Expectation remains high as the blue-line light-rail project, which is estimated to generate at least 8,000 skilled and unskilled jobs and change the face of public transportation in the commercial city of Lagos, is making appreciable progress on the Lagos-Badagry road corridor.
Checks by BusinessDay showed that as of yesterday the track laying for the first phase had reached the Mile 2 end of the road from Orile-Iganmu. Also, currently receiving finishing touches are the rail stations at Orile and Mile 2, where passengers will do the check-in and check-out. The stations are designed to host mini shopping malls where passengers will be able to do small shopping while waiting to board the train.
Insiders in the state government told BusinessDay on Monday that “if the progress is sustained the first phase spanning seven kilometres will be delivered by end of this year.” Close watchers of events in the state are also of the view that if the project is not influenced by politics, as the 2015 draws near, Lagos could be making history as the first accomplisher of modern light rail different from the locomotive run by the Nigerian Railway Corporation (NRC), which is out of fashion in most advanced economies around the world.
For the millions of residents of the state, expectation on the light rail designed to run from Okokomaiko to Marina, and handled by China Civil Engineering and Construction Corporation (CCECC), remains high.
Seen by many as the most ambitious project of the Governor Babatunde Fashola administration, the light rail is estimated to lift an average of 400,000 passengers daily with stop-over at Mile 2, Alaba, Orile-Iganmu and the National Arts Theatre, as the journey would be faster, safer, reliable and efficient.
On the whole, the project is designed to have a total of 12 stations, but currently undergoing construction is the first phase of seven kilometres from Iganmu to Okokomaiko with about five stations.
The train at some point will go on overhead track, starting from Orile across the National Arts Theatre over the lagoon separating the arts theatre from the island.
The project is coming with an added advantage of cheaper fare compared with what is presently charged by unregulated commercial bus operators on that route. Asides this, the rail is conceived to encourage the use of public transport as a lot more vehicles are expected to be taken off thereby decongesting Lagos roads and reducing the level of vehicular emissions in the densely populated city.
But it is not only commuters who are eager to see the completion of the project. Thousands of unemployed youths will take their fair share from the scheme, as it is estimated that over 8,000 jobs will be created for skilled and unskilled labour some of whom currently roam the streets in frustration.
The governor during a recent visit to the site expressed the optimism that the project will bring a huge relief to millions of residents when eventually married into the inter-modal transportation of the state. According to him, on completion of the first phase, the concessionaires will supply the coaches for full operations.
“We have moved from vision to dreams and to reality. The project has taken off; the baby has been born, it is left for us to nurture it to adulthood. This is going to be the most impactful project this state has ever had. You can only imagine the number of people that will be employed, both directly and indirectly, when the project is finished. It will reduce travel time and all the stress associated with traffic will be removed. Lagosians will travel in comfort,” he said.
Dayo Mobereola, managing director, Lagos Metropolitan Transport Authority, described it as a project that will change of face of transportation in Lagos, and an eloquent testimony of the determination of the Fashola’s administration to accomplish its goal of delivering an effective and efficient inter-modal transportation system in the state.
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