Lagos opens bid for fourth Mainland bridge

• ‘Sanwo-Olu will complete predecessors’ projects’
Lagos State government will be hosting a live ceremony on Wednesday to open bids from prospective firms that expressed interest in construction of the fourth Mainland Bridge.

It will also complete and test-run the blue rail line project by December 2020, as part of its commitment to providing intermodal transportation for residents.

Speaking at a press briefing yesterday to mark Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu’s 200 days in office, the Commissioner of Information and Strategy, Mr. Gbenga Omotoso, said: “The Government will be announcing the bids at the ceremony, which will officially set process in motion to realise the project.” He added that local and international construction giants expressed interest in the construction of the 37-Kilometre-long fourth Mainland Bridge.

Omotoso, flanked by the Commissioner for Transportation, Dr. Frederic Oladeinde, and his Special Duties counterpart, Dr. Wale Ahmed, among other executive council members, said as a consequence of the Executive Order, steps had been taken to aggressively address the challenge of bad roads and ease movement across the state.

According to him, 116 roads had been rehabilitated while another 139 roads were to be rehabilitated in the coming days, in addition to the eight multi-national construction firms mobilised to carry out massive repair on critical highways.

“Interestingly, the Victoria Island, Lekki Traffic Circulation project on Oniru axis was also flagged off the same day. The project, being undertaken by Lagos State Government and Access Bank under a Public Infrastructure Improvement Partnership (PIIP) arrangement, would ease traffic considerably around Victoria Island, Oniru and Lekki axes,” he said.

Omotoso stated that the Lagos State Special Taskforce on Land Grabbers, popularly known as ‘Omo’nile Taskforce’ with a mandate to rid the state of land-grabbers, had continued to receive petitions and was prosecuting several criminal cases in courts.

Meanwhile, the administration may unlikely go the usual way in politics where incumbents abandon projects embarked upon by their predecessors.

Omotoso said Governor Sanwo-Olu was determined to develop the state.

He specifically dismissed insinuations that Lagos was gradually becoming dark because the streetlights were not receiving necessary attention.

“The government is not sleeping on any project. Regarding the streetlights, concerted work is going on and the administration has resolved the issue of non-payment of contractors. As we speak, most of the streetlights are functioning,” he stated.

The commissioner disclosed that in the bid to strengthen the drive for a multi-modal transport system, “the government launched UberBoat water transportation service. The business, a partnership between the global ride-hailing company and Lagos State Waterways Authority (LASWA), has begun to explore the abundant waterways to reduce the pressure on roads.”

According to him, the government has recorded a milestone in infrastructural development with the signing of the $629 million funding from China Development Bank for the Lekki Seaport project.