The project, when completed, is expected to put an end to years of pain suffered by tens of thousands of commuters and the yet uncalculated man- hours lost by the businesses which engage them, as a result of excruciating daily traffick gridlocks.

The Mile12 – Ikorodu Road , is a routine passageway for tens of thousands of Nigerians who live in Ikorodu town and work in Lagos , as well as for teeming others, who use it as an alternative route into and out of Lagos – the Lagos/Ibadan Expressway, being the primary route.

Lagos State Governor, Babatunde Fashola, who yesterday disclosed transactions for the financing of the road project, on the occasion of the 1,700 days of his administration in office, said the design for the road project had been ready since 2007, when he was first elected governor.

Travelling on the road had become a daily nightmare, as motorists and commuters spend several hours for a journey that should normally take about 20 minutes. So its expansion will reduce the man-hours motorists and commuters spend on the road.

At the occasion, Governor Fashola decried the poor response to tax payment by eligible tax payers in the state, revealing that only approximately 2.5 million people out of the estimated eight million working class residents of Lagos pay their taxes.

The governor observed that this situation was unacceptable, stressing that it had become necessary for the state government to curb evasion, in order to redistribute the tax burden and continue its pursuit of infrastructural development.

He added that 152 inner roads were earmarked for reconstruction, under this fiscal year, while work had begun on inner roads in areas such as Ogudu, Surulere, Mushin , Ajegunle, Ifako, Alimosho, and Ikorodu.

“Our team is ready to implement a budget that was planned in painstaking detail, and to deliver on the critical areas of the budget, if we have the tools. And the most useful tool, apart from peace and security, is finance. Therefore, voluntary payment of tax is an obligation under our social contract.

“However, budgetary constraints dictate that we start with 152 most critical inner roads, and these have of course now become subject to further review, in the light of price index changes triggered by the increase in pump price of petrol.

“I have been advised by the Ministry of Works, that in addition to those 152 roads, there are 62 roads upon which work commenced in the last 12 to 18 months, bringing the total roads that we hope to deliver at the end of the budget cycle to 217,” the governor stated.

To complement these efforts, the governor revealed that the Turn Around Maintenance (TAM) of the Lagos State Asphalt Plant, was carried out in November last year, which now enables the plant produce at its installed capacity of 300 metric tons per hour.

This, he said would greatly assist the Lagos State Public Works Corporation in its rehabilitation and maintenance of roads in the state.

Fashola, who was first elected in 2007 and re-elected in the April 2011 general elections, has been using every 100 days in office to give account of his administration’s stewardship.


culled from www.businessdayonline.com