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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