BY: News Peddlers
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| Mr Babatunde Fashola [photo credit: Channels] |
On Saturday, Mr Babatunde Fashola, the minister of works and housing, expressed pleasure over the development of all three sections of the current rebuilding and rehabilitation project for the Lagos-Badagry Motorway.
During the highway's inspection, Fashola noted that the project had made enormous strides since 2015.
The Special Adviser on Works and Infrastructure to Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu, Mrs. Aramide Adeyoye, the Commissioner for Transportation, Dr. Frederick Oladeinde, and other senior engineers accompanied him on the inspection.
"This is proof of the Buhari administration's commitment to our infrastructure," he remarked.
Fashola claimed that by beginning to build its own portion of the project, Nigeria has shown leadership.
On a 22-kilometer stretch of section three, he claimed the last layer of construction had been completed.
“We are in the last 22 kilometres section to Badagry roundabout, on one side, the Badagry bound side, our engineer’s representative said to me that except for the first three kilometres, work has been completed all the way to kilometre 22.
“What is left is just the wearing course that you see is being installed at kilometer one plus 800.
“So, it is just about 200 metres to kilometre 22. This is the part of the road that will be three lanes on a dual carriageway,’’ he said.
He described the status of the various highway sections, noting that sections one and two were finished.
Fashola asserted that section three's money was secure because NNPC had assumed responsibility for it.
Three independent contractors are reportedly working on the highway under the supervision of the Federal Ministry of Works, FERMA, and the Lagos State Government, according to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN).
The first section of the project, which runs from Eric Moore to Okokomaiko, is under the control of the Lagos State Government.
The Federal Ministry of Works is in charge of section three, which runs from Agbara to the Seme Border, while the Federal Roads Maintenance Agency (FERMA) is in charge of section two's rehabilitation, which runs from Igboelerin to Agbara.
Fashola listed the financial advantages the initiative had given to both small and large enterprises along the Badagry corridor.
He claimed it was a component of the government's plans to lift millions of people out of poverty under the leadership of Buhari.
The minister said that highway travel times had also decreased.
Oba Isreal Okoya, the traditional head of Ibereko in Badagry, expressed gratitude to President Buhari for the project and confirmed that it has improved inhabitants' quality of life and cut down on travel time.
However, in order for the villages to fully benefit from the initiative, the traditional ruler urged its swift completion.
According to NAN, Fashola's administration, then-governor of Lagos State, conceptualised the expansion of the Lagos-Badagry Motorway in 2009, a key gateway connecting Nigeria and neighbouring West African nations.