18 years after: Lagos awaiting metro line

Eighteen years down the line, there is uncertainty over the Lagos Metro Line project started by the administration of former Governor Bola Ahmed Tinubu. Daily Trust Saturday reports. The present Governor, Babajide Sanwo-Olu, had promised to deliver the first phase of the project in 2022 but there are doubts being expressed by some Lagosians over […]

Eighteen years down the line, there is uncertainty over the Lagos Metro Line project started by the administration of former Governor Bola Ahmed Tinubu. Daily Trust Saturday reports.

The present Governor, Babajide Sanwo-Olu, had promised to deliver the first phase of the project in 2022 but there are doubts being expressed by some Lagosians over what they call “slow pace of work”.

More so the project has suffered neglect due to what sources call paucity of funds and lack of commitment to finish it by successive administrations in the state. From the times of Babatunde Raji Fashola (2007-2015) and Akinwunmi Ambode (2015-2019); it has been promises upon promises on the completion of the all-important project while the state’s transportation deficit continues to widen amid debilitating gridlocks and population explosion in the nation’s commercial nerve centre.

Glimpse into the project

The idea of a metro line for Lagos State was conceived by the first civilian Governor of the state, Alhaji Lateef Jakande.

When Jakande initiated the metro line in 1983, it was meant to be delivered in 1986, with all the paper works done while the contractor was ready to be mobilised to site. However, the project was yet to begin when the military regime of Gen. Muhammadu Buhari truncated it.

Since then, the dream has become elusive, but the present Governor, Sanwo-Olu, has vowed to deliver the two phases of the project before the end of his administration.

Daily Trust on Sunday reports that the project has been colour-coded in different phases comprising the Blue Line (Mile 2-Marina); Red Line (Agbado-Marina); Purple Line (Redeem-Ojo); Yellow Line (Otta-Iddo); Brown Line (Mile 12-Marina); Orange Line (Redeem-Marina) and Green Line (Marina-Lekki).

The construction of the Blue Line which covers 27 kilometres started during the administration of Babatunde Fashola and it is being handled by China Civil Engineering and Construction Corporation (CCECC).

The contract includes the fundamental design and development of the rail infrastructure and the construction is being done in phases. The first phase includes the National Theatre to Mile 2 section and the second involves the Mile 2 to Okokomaiko section.

From 2011 when the project was set to be completed, the completion date has continued to drag. On assumption of office in 2015, Ambode promised that the project would be delivered in 2016, but this was never done. Ambode completed his four-year tenure in 2019 without delivering on the project.

Now in 2021, Gov Sanwo-Olu is shouldering the responsibility of delivering the Blue Line alongside the Red Line.

A source privy to the construction said the Blue Line had reached over 65 per cent completion and that, “The bridge construction has been completed. Now the contractor is in Iganmu. All the stations have been delivered and the work is ongoing.”

On the Red Line, the government, it was learnt, is clearing the right of way from Agbado to Ido where the line would terminate. Also, it was learnt that engineering design has been completed while construction is said to begin soon.

The Commissioner for Transportation, Dr Frederic Oladeinde, was yet to respond to our correspondent’s enquiry on the two projects.

However, the government is said to be committed to deliver the projects by December, 2022, barring any unforeseen circumstance. The Lagos State Metropolitan Area Transport Authority (LAMATA), the government agency in charge of the project, said penultimate week that the two lines would be ready by December, 2022.

Daily Trust Saturday further reports that the state recently closed the Yaba Overpass for the soil testing of the Red Line project.

The Managing Director (MD) of LAMATA, Mrs Abimbola Akinajo, said, “These two lines will change the transport landscape of Lagos when operational. We have a transport master plan which speaks the vision of Gov Babajide Sanwo-Olu on transportation.

“We have six rail lines and one monorail, 14 Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) corridors, over 20 water routes, and we are sure that when all of these are properly harnessed, Lagos will join the league of cities with an efficient transport system.

“We have advertised four other rail lines for the private sector to invest. We are working on the private sector so they could bring in about 1,500 high capacity buses by 2022. We would be launching our First Mile Last Mile scheme very soon. We are working on the construction of two interchanges at Mile 2 and CMS. We want to ensure that Lagosians travel in comfort.”