Minister of Works and Housing Babatunde Fashola has expressed satisfaction with the progress of work on all three sections of the ongoing Lagos-Badagry Expressway reconstruction and rehabilitation project.
Fashola, during inspection of the highway, said tremendous progress had been recorded beyond where the project was in 2015. He was accompanied by the Special Adviser to Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu on Works and Infrastructure, Mrs. Aramide Adeyoye, Commissioner for Transportation Frederick Oladeinde and other top engineers.
Fashola, who said the project is part of the Lagos-Abidjan Highway which serves over 40 million commuters travelling to Ivory Coast, noted that Nigeria had demonstrated leadership by starting construction of its own side of the project. According to him, construction had reached final layer on 22 kilometres stretch of section three.
Fashola said,
“We are in the last 22 kilometres section to Badagry roundabout. On the Badagry bound side, our engineer’s representative said to me that except for the first three kilometres, work has been completed all the way to kilometre 22. What is left is just the wearing course that you see is being installed at kilometer one plus 800.
“So, it is just about 200 metres to kilometre 22. This is the part of the road that will be three lanes on a dual carriageway.”
The minister explained progress of work on various sections of the highway, saying sections one and two had been completed. He also stressed that financing for section three was sustainable because NNPC had taken over the funding.
Three independent contractors are working on the highway under the supervision of Lagos State government, FERMA and the Federal Ministry of Works. Section one of the project spans Eric Moore to Okokomaiko, and is being supervised by the Lagos State government; FERMA has jurisdiction over rehabilitation of section two (Igbo-Elerin to Agbara) while the Federal Ministry of Works is supervising section three (Agbara to Seme Border).
Traditional ruler of Ibereko, Badagry, Oba Isreal Okoya, thanked President Muhammadu Buhari for the project, confirming reduced travel time and enhanced quality of lives of residents.
He however called for a speedy completion of the project so that the communities could reap the full benefits.
Fashola also promised that the contractor handling the Lagos/Abeokuta express road would soon return to site as the Federal Government is doing everything possible to fix all federal roads in Ogun State.
He cited the Lagos/Abeokuta expressway, Sagamu/Ogijo road and Sango-Ota/Idiroko Roads as three of the federal roads receiving attention.
The minister stated this after opening the 850km inner road within the Federal Medical Centre, Abeokuta, as part of initiatives to rehabilitate internal roads of tertiary institutions and medical centres across the six geo-political zones. He was represented by the Federal Roads Controller in the state, Forosola Oloyede.
According to the minister, the contractor handling the Sagamu/Ogijo road had done 23kilometers of the 30.04 kilometers road, and he was confident the work would be completed before the year ends.
On the 850km FMC inner road, the minister urged the referral health facility to make good use of it.
“The Lagos/Abeokuta expressway, Sagamu/Ogijo road, Sango-Ota/Idiroko roads are receiving attention. Recall that the contractor was on site up till July 2022 when we had differences in the prices of materials when the quotation was requested, but that has been resolved.
“Any moment from now, the contractor will be back to site. There have always been interventions on the Ota/Idiroko road. We have done special repairs two times on the first five kilometers of the road and, currently, there is a contractor on that road doing special repairs. The big one will come soon which will be full rehabilitation.
“Also, Globacom has indicated interest to partner with the ministry on tax credit scheme and everybody will see it soon.
“There are many roads in the country begging for attention, and if we picked three from the Southwest, other zones need to benefit also. The ones we cannot fully rehabilitate like Lagos/Ota, Lagos/Sagamu, Lagos/Ibadan, are undergoing special repairs. Also, Iboro, Ilaro is undergoing special repairs. Papalanto to Obele is undergoing full rehabilitation. It is not as if the Federal Government is watching, we are aware of the people’s pains, we are part of the people and we live in this environment and pass through the roads,” He added.
However, work is expected to resume on Lagos/Abeokuta road soon, says minister.
