The Lagos State Government on Monday announced
plans to upgrade the network of roads in Ikeja to
improve and boost the economic stature of the seat of
Government to world class standard and to reduce
traffic gridlock around the corridor to the barest
minimum, just as it revealed readiness to expand the
Awolowo Way with an elevated highway from the Ikeja
Airport Hotel to Alausa.
Speaking at the ongoing Ministerial Press Briefing held
at the Bagauda Kaltho Press Centre to commemorate
Governor Akinwunmi Ambode’s one year in office,
Commissioner for Works and Infrastructure, Engr.
Ganiyu Johnson said the elevated highway was
designed to decongest the traffic gridlock along Allen
Round-about, Kudirat Abiola Round-about and Agidingbi
Road-about.
Johnson, who equally disclosed that there would be an
expansion of the Allen/Opebi Road to Odo Iya-Alaro
via a link bridge at Ogudu to the Third Mainland
Bridge, said the network of roads, when upgraded,
would boost the economic activities in Ikeja, adding
that the development was in line with the vision of
Governor Ambode to transform Ikeja to a state capital
in the real sense of it commensurate with other
capital cities in the world.
Highlighting the scorecard of the Ministry so far,
Johnson said the Lagos State Public Works
Corporation (LSPWC) worked on 540 roads from May
30, 2015 to April 5, 2016 out of which outright
rehabilitation was carried out on 32 of the roads, while
sectional patching and overlay was done on 509 roads,
adding that 433 of the roads have been successfully
completed.
Some of the major roads rehabilitated by the LSPWC,
according to the Commissioner, included but not
limited to Alfa Nla Road in Agege, Metal Box Road in
Ikeja, Ikotun-Ejigbo Road and the ongoing road
projects in Ajasa Command and Aboru.
He said: “At the inception of this administration, this
Ministry put in place a three-fold strategy for the
provision of road infrastructure. The short term
measure is the maintenance of existing roads known
as “Operation Patch the Roads”, being carried out by
the LSPWC, while the medium term strategy is aimed
at the sustainability of existing roads, rehabilitation
and construction of new roads, reconstruction of
existing and expansion of highways and bridges.
“A total of 224 on-going road projects were inherited
from the previous administration in the various Local
Government Areas of the State and I wish to inform
you that 42 of these projects have been completed
while construction works are still on-going on others.”
He said government has already completed the
alignments of the proposed 4th Mainland Bridge, and
that talks have been held with a consortium of
consultants in furtherance of the project, while a
Memorandum of Understanding would be signed
before the end of May.
He said the bridge, when completed, will traverse from
Ajah to North West direction towards the Lagoon
shoreline to Lagos-Ibadan expressway via Ikorodu,
adding that approximate length of the bridge would be
37.9km with a designed speed of 140km/h.
He assured that all the on-going projects would be
completed as scheduled which included pedestrian
bridges, flyovers in Abule-Egba and Ajah, and many
other projects.
Also speaking in a similar briefing, the State’s
Commissioner for Housing, Prince Gbolahan Lawal
said the State Government has introduced a policy
known as rent-to-own designed to make housing more
accessible and affordable particularly to low and
medium income earners in both the formal and
informal sectors.
He said under the arrangement, individuals would be
required to pay just 5 per cent of the value of housing
unit as commitment fee and payment is spread over
10 years at 6 per cent interest rate.
Lawal also disclosed that the State Government would
soon embark on massive construction of 50 Housing
Units in each of the 20 Local Government Areas and
37 Local Council Development Areas (LCDAs) in the
State in a bid to tackle the housing deficit.
He said that government would also go into
partnership with private sector to deliver affordable
housing units, and also facilitate mortgage finance
with the view to addressing the challenges in the
housing value-chain.
SIGNED
HABIB ARUNA
CHIEF PRESS SECRETARY
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