Lagos picks firms for road contracts

Poised to tackle the intractable traffic situation and improve property value in the metropolis, the Lagos State Government has awarded contracts for the construction of road projects to two building and civil engineering contractors.

Under the contracts, Messrs Fountain Construction Company Limited would handle 520-metres Ojota- Ogudu-Alapere Link Road, while Messrs Adold Engineering Development Company Limited oversees work on the 460 metres- Otunba- Toyin- Abass Street road project.

The Ojota- Ogudu- Alapere link road will provide relief to motorists who are usually stuck in the gridlock at Ogudu bus stop along the third Axial Road, the Lagos- Ibadan Expressway and the Ogudu Roundabout end of the Ojota-Ogudu Road. The construction of Otunba Toyin Abass Street will complement the link road and improve the flow of traffic at Ogudu roundabout and its surroundings.

Special Adviser to the Governor on Works and Infrastructure, Mrs. Aramide Adeyoye, an engineer, disclosed this at the stakeholders’ engagement to commence works on the roads.

On his part, the Commissioner for Physical Planning and Urban Development, Dr. Idris Salako said the projects represent another right step in the right direction of enhancing the Ease of Doing Business by improving interconnectivity within the State.

Salako, who spoke through the Special Adviser to the Governor on Urban Development, Ganiyu Ayuba, stated that the essence of the interactive exchange, in line with the inclusive governance drive of the administration, was to obtain mutual understanding of the people for the smooth take-off of the project.

Meanwhile, the residents of Osborne Foreshore Estate, Phase II in Ikoyi have called on the state government to check some construction projects in their estate.

Speaking under the aegis of Osborne Foreshore Residents Association, the residents urged the government to curtail activities of the developers within the estate.

The developers, according to the residents, were said to be violating various building development laws guiding physical development. The Chairman of residents association, Chinwe Ezenwa-Mbah, who spoke on behalf of the residents, alleged that a developer is building high-rise structures without regard to the supporting infrastructures.

“Conducting industrial batching in a residential estate without regard to the health implications on the residents and the damage to the little infrastructures in the estate.

These infractions, according to the residents, beyond jeopardizing their current security and safety, put so much pressure on their self-developed infrastructure, as some of the roads and gutters are seen to have started collapsing. In addition, they said, it poses a great danger to their continuing and future existence in the estate.

Reacting, State’s Commissioner for Physical Planning and Urban Development, Idris Salako said the ministry has penalized the developers.The Commissioner, who visited the estate with senior members of the ministry on the invitation of the residents, stressed that they were also aware that the law permits 10-storey buildings to be constructed within the estate