Lagos begins demolition for light rail project

Lagos State government has said that demolition of structures would begin in the second week of May, to pave way for the red line section of Lagos Rail Mass Transit (LRMT) project.

Commissioner for Transport, Dr. Frederic Oladeinde, said Lagos Metropolitan Area Transport Authority (LAMATA) was committed to compensating owners of affected structures.

Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu had last week flagged-off the Lagos Rail Mass track project, which stretches from Agbado to Marina corridor. Its completion date is set for fourth quarter of 2022. It is expected to ferry 500,000 passengers per day.

Already, LAMATA has engaged two firms, Nolasimbo Consulting Engineers and Partners Limited, and Global Impact Environmental Consulting Limited to identify Project Affected Persons (PAPs), businesses, premises and structures along the Right of Way (RoW), with about 297 properties affected.

The commissioner, at the 2021 State Ministerial Press Briefing, revealed that the state had secured funding to complete the blue rail line from Mile 2 to Marina, which has reached 93 per cent completion as part of efforts to reduce travel time, promote multi-modal transport and facilitate intelligent transport systems.

He said the construction of the rail line spans from the National Theatre via Ijora to Marina. This section is a 5.5km elevated rail route that spans over the Lagos Lagoon (sea crossing section) through Ebute-Ero to Elegbata and Marina. A terminal station will be constructed at Marina
He stated that the blue line would be commissioned in the fourth quarter of 2022.

Meanwhile, Oladeinde said Lagos State would not phase out yellow buses, but modify their operations to allow regulation of the sector.The commissioner said: “It will be unfair to say we will kick out the yellow buses because we will only have unemployment and more problems. Our plan is that drivers will be reformed, trained and urged to form cooperatives so that they can come together and get financial incentives and also get buses and pay in instalments.”

Oladeinde decried the persistent traffic congestion in Apapa and its environs despite the introduction of the electronic-call up system.He said the government would do more to restore sanity to the axis. He added that the state is building alternative seaports at Lekki and Badagry to decongest Apapa and its environs of persistent gridlock.