Twelve years after the flagging of the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway by the Federal Government, a new completion date of mid-September 2023 has been announced by the Minister of Works, Mr Dave Umahi.
He said against all odds, the roads which ex-Minister of Works, Babatunde Fashola (SAN) had promised to deliver first in 2022, will now be completed by mid-September.
The minister gave the fresh promise on Tuesday during an inspection tour of completed and ongoing Federal Government projects in the Lagos State.
Persecondnews recalls that Fashola had reassured that the main carriageway of the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway will be completed ahead of schedule on April 30, 2023.
The ex-minister had enumerated efforts to keep pace with construction speed, in spite of challenges of high vehicular volume, impact of bad soil, reckless driving by impatient motorists and other technical issues.
He said the contractors were working on the last stretch of six kilometres which was the most difficult aspect, to construct out of the entire 44 kms of section one of the highway which spans from Ojota in Lagos to Sagamu Interchange.
“We will do our best to deliver this on the expected date which is 30th of April,” he said.
Umahi’s inspection tour started at outer Marina Road, in Victoria Island, a project constructed under the SUKUK financing option by the Federal Government.
He then moved to the newly rehabilitated Eko Bridge, then to Ijora Olopa, the Lagoon section of Eko Bridge and Apapa.
Umahi was briefed by officials of the ministry and contractors handling different projects on that axis.
The minister is also expected to inspect the reconstructed Apapa Oshodi expressway, the Deep Sea Ports, and other Federal Government projects on the Lagos and Ogun corridor.
A total of 8,352.94km of roads were constructed or rehabilitated between 2016 and 2022, according to the scorecard released by the Ministry of Works and Housing towards the end of the previous administration.
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