There are deadlines. Around a month and a half or 2 months ago the governor went on an inspection tour of projects. According to him, the projects he was inspecting are projects that had one problem/delay or the other and he took his entire team with him because he wanted to solve problems on the spot. Amongst the projects inspected were the Lekki-Ikoyi Bridge, Ozumba Mbadiwe Road, Badagry Expressway and some other projects that I can't remember at the moment.
At the Lekki Bridge he said the delay was caused by issues that had to do with the toll plaza and they were working to resolve those issues. At Ozumba Mbadiwe he said the contractor needed to access Bonny Camp to work on a drainage channel, but the army authorities were denying the contractor access to the channel (the army authorities have now allowed the contractor to work at Bonny Camp and the road work is scheduled to be completed by July). At Badagry Expressway he said that CCECC needed to complete work (piling, etc) before Julius Berger can start the second phase. He said that they had learnt from the first phase when Julius Berger started work before CCECC started its on part of the job and this affected progress. He said the first phase of the of the rail project (Orile - Mile 2) will be completed in June. So I expect to see trains running between Orile - Mile 2 by the end of this month. I passed there about 3 weeks ago. They were laying the tracks between Orile and Mile 2. There was a dummy train there which is being used to test the tracks.
The bolded above was June. Today is the first of August, two months later. Still no show for any trains on the fake rail project.
Lekki Epe expressway, 23km out of about 80km expansion still uncompleted. Only about 12km completed after 7 years and N50b. Who do you idiots think you're fooling?
You APC fools had better start packing your bags, because you're leaving Lagos in 2015, back to Iragbiji.
O! I thought you've seen pictures of the stations.
THANKS naptu,
I've seen those before, i'm assuming there'll be more stations apart from the mile 2 station- like the next stations on opposite side; Alaba-Mile2-Festac
I've seen those before, i'm assuming there'll be more stations apart from the mile 2 station- like the next stations on opposite side; Alaba-Mile2-Festac
O! Ok. The last time I passed there, the Orile Station was complete, the Mile 2 Station was complete, but the Alaba Station was far from complete.
They've not laid tracks beyond the Mile 2/Festac Bridge, neither have they done that section of the road (that's the Phase 2 of the project). They were clearing the right of way, relocating utility poles, etc.
Finally! I now have some pictures of thursday's inspection. Most of the pictures are not really useful because they are close up shots of officials, but I've also got two shots of the National Theatre Terminus.
The National Theatre Terminus which will serve as interchange for buses and Parks and Ride for the Light Rail users during Governor Fashola’s inspection tour to the Station at Orile-Iganmu, Lagos, on Thursday, August 1, 2013.
The National Theatre Terminus which will serve as interchange for buses and Parks and Ride for the Light Rail users at Orile Iganmu, Lagos, on Thursday, August 1, 2013. INSET: Lagos State Governor, Mr. Babatunde Fashola SAN (middle), Commissioner for Transportation, Mr. Kayode Opeifa (right), Managing Director, Lagos Metropolitan Area Transport Authority (LAMATA), Dr Dayo Mobereola (2nd right) and the Project Manager, Blueline Lagos Light Rail Mass Transit, Mr. Li Bing (2nd left).
Traffic today on the road is virtually clear. maybe due to it's weekend. On weekdays, that road is terrible as those i know who ply that road have been complaining of how they trek long distance from barracks to Iyana Iba because of the traffic congestion at Volks u-turn. Another part of the road that needs urgent attention is the portion of road from under bridge( via Trade Fair) to Onireke. That portion of road is a total mess!! As i passed the road today ,i saw CCECC trucks stationed near Abule Ado. seems work on the sandfilling of Abule Ado( by the right) is nearly in completion. will update pictures later.
lovetterrison: “It is work in progress, it is not finished yet but so far so good”, he says
Lagos State Governor, Mr. Babatunde Fashola (SAN), Thursday undertook an inspection tour of the on-going construction of the Light Rail Mass Transit (Blue Line) and retrofitting of ferries at the Mile 2 Jetty, expressing satisfaction that although there has been some delay, there has also been significant progress in the projects.
The areas inspected by the Governor included the National Theatre Terminus and interchange for buses and Park and Ride, the four-kilometre of tracks being laid from Orile to Mile 2, Mile 2 Terminal and Works Yard for the Lagos – Badagry Expressway project.
The Governor also visited the Mile 2 Jetty Terminus where he inspected retrofitting work being carried out on five 80 – seater Aluminum ferries to be deployed for subsidized water transportation by the Lagos Ferry Services Company.
Fielding questions from newsmen after the inspection, Governor Fashola said in spite of the delay, substantial progress has been made especially on the terminals at Costain and Mile 2 which, according to him, were just concrete the last time he visited but are now advancing rapidly to finished work.
The Governor, who said the contractors attributed the delay to adverse weather, noted, “When we came here earlier this year, I was told that the section from Costain, Iganmu to Mile 2 would be completed by the end of July. I filed that in my head and I decided yesterday was end of July and I should come and see the progress here. Some progress has been made clearly”.
“You can see the rail project has advanced. They have covered more track lanes, about four kilometres of track has been laid. About eight kilometres have been logged preparatory for more track lanes”, the Governor said adding, “You could see people at work, welding, casting and we also visited the works yard for the Badagry Expressway where we have about seven kilometres of concrete beams for drainage already precast and ready to go once the sand-filling and the preparation is done”.
He further disclosed, “The section of the rail from Costain to Marina now is under consideration for award; that is another five kilometres, if you add that to the one from Mile 2 to Costain, that is eight kilometres. If you add that together that is 13 kilometres of rail road”, he said.
Governor Fashola, who was conducted round the project by the Blue Line Light Rail Project Manager, Mr. Li Bing, further disclosed that the contractors would start asphalting the Mile 2 bound section of the Lagos - Badagry Expressway, from FESTAC Gate to Trade Fair, by the end of August while the same work on the Trade Fair bound section, from Mile 2 to Trade fair, would commence by September.
Describing the project as a transport as well as an economic solution, Governor Fashola declared, “And you see thousands of Nigerians working on those sites; so for us it is a transport solution and also an economic solution, a job creation solution. So many things are involved there”.
Commenting on the progress of work at the Mile 2 Jetty, Governor Fashola, who recalled that during his earlier visit to the Jetty, there were several dilapidated and abandoned boats sunk in water, said five of the boats have been lifted out of the water for retrofitting and three have had advanced retrofitting work while the other two were being cleaned.
“The engines are on their way so we are on course. I think about two or three of them should be ready to start operations by the end of this year and the last three should be ready by the first quarter of next year with our Lagos Ferry Service”, the Governor said, explaining further that the Lagos State Ferry Service Company would be fully owned by the Government “to work and subsidize ferry service for middle level and poor commuters, somewhat different from what the private operators, whom we are also licensing, would be providing”.
According to him, “We are expecting more private operators to bring in more ferries; we have granted more licenses, I think we have about 59 operators and 110 ferries on the waterways. We are expecting some ramp up gradually. You remember about three years ago we started with just about six ferries now we have about 109 ferries. The ridership has also increased to about 1.8 million per month”.
He explained that one of the boats, a flat pontoon just imported from Europe, would be ferrying vehicles alone across the waters for car owners who do not wish to drive adding that a second one was being awaited.
“Each of them can carry eight vehicles. That is the first one that has been delivered; we are waiting for the second one which is being shipped from Europe. It will also give choice to people who don’t want to drive; they just put their vehicles on the pontoon and ferry them across to their next destination”, the Governor said adding that the jetties were being designed to allow the roll-on roll-off type facilities to enable such people to just drive in at the entry point and drive-off at the exit point.
On the seeming uncontrolled commercial activities on the Mile 2 section of the Lagos Badagry Expressway, Governor Fashola said it was one of the problems of urban renewal pointing out that people should not be prevented from earning their living legitimately just because Government was undertaking urban renewal.
“The problem of urban renewal includes that people have to be managed. Life cannot stop because we want to do urban renewal. People also have to survive. Those people are earning a living in a legitimate way, so we respect that so long as they do it while respecting that commuters also have to move”, the Governor said.
He, however, explained that all the rail stations have shops in them adding, “It is when all of this has been put in place that all of the trading in the fullness of time will leave the road and we will be on to a much more orderly and much more organized society and economy”.
“The problem is as a result of what we are doing at the same time. In terms of transportation, we are implementing about five major solutions at the same time. It is not easy. It has been possible so far with the cooperation of the people who have continued to trust, who have continued to sacrifice, who have continued to contribute. I do not know any city in the world today that are operating five major transport solutions simultaneously, I don’t know any”, Governor Fashola said.
Thanking all public servants, the contractors and all Lagosians for dedication to work and cooperation, Governor Fashola, who named the projects to include the Badagry-Mile 2 expansion, the Mile 12-Ikorodu expansion, the Lekki-Epe Expressway expansion, the ferry terminals and the rail project added, “I don’t know of any city that is doing that at the same time”.
“So, I must thank all of the public servants and the contractors who, in spite of the large population of people having to be moved, adjusted, working at night; it has really been a very exciting journey so far. I remember the Lekki-Epe Expressway when we started and the traffic gridlock. But the pain is easing off gradually. So it is work in progress, so far so good but it is not finished yet”, the Governor said.
Accompanying on the inspection tour were the Commissioner for Transportation, Mr. Kayode Opeifa, his Physical Planning and Urban Development counterpart, TPL Olutoyin Ayinde, Special Adviser on Works and Infrastructure, Engineer Ganiyu Johnson, Special Adviser on Public-Private Partnership (PPP) and recently nominated Commissioner for Finance, Mr. Ayo Gbeleyi, Managing Director of the Lagos Metropolitan Area Transport Authority (LAMATA), Dr. Dayo Mobereola, Managing Director Lagos State Waterways, Mr. Yinka Marinho, Managing Director, Lagos State Ferry Sevice Company, Mr. Babatunde Williams, among other top government functionaries. HAKEEM BELLO
the way those Chinese guys are working I don't understand, they stop somewhere and jump elsewhere. work on the rail has stopped at mile 2, testing of the rail by their dummy train stopped around alafia bridge. drainage construction and road arrangement being done from festac first gate to after second gate
I made an error earlier. There's an article that I wanted to post to correct that error, but I kept forgetting. I hope I'll be able to find the article now.
[size=14pt]Fashola Blames Litigations, Technical Issues For Late Delivery Of Roads[/size]
Posted by: Channels Television Posted date: May 19, 2013 In: Local
Lagos State Governor, Mr. Babatunde Fashola (SAN), at the weekend threw more light on the reasons behind seeming delays in some road projects across the State saying they are much more complex, sophisticated and with people issues involved.
Fielding questions from journalists at an interactive session at the Lagos House, Marina, in Central Lagos, Governor Fashola said some of the roads being built in the Mainland areas of the State needed piling and other underground work before surfacing while others were facing problems of lack of urban planning, community resistance and court actions.
Governor Fashola explained that what is going on with the Lagos-Badagry Expressway Expansion project was that the road was awarded to two contractors, Messrs Julius Berger, which is doing the 10 lane road and Messrs China Civil Engineering Construction Corporation (CCECC) which is handling the Light Rail section of the road adding that because of the piling work which CCECC has to complete before the road is filled, Julius Berger had to step aside until the piling is finished.
The Governor told the journalists, “Remember we have two major contractors on the road, Julius Berger, doing the road surfacing while China Civil Engineering Construction Corporation (CCECC) is handling the rail. We asked Julius Berger to stop meanwhile for CCECC to complete the piling on the road before they come to surface it”.
“Julius Berger cannot handover the road because any time they finish a project, they sign off and they have not in this case. Besides, there are going to be 11 pedestrian crossings between Alaba, Orile and National Theatre and they have to drive in piles along the road. The project as it is now is like a building you have finished but you cannot paint until all the external works are finished then you paint”, the Governor said.
According to the Governor, “That is why in order to avoid those problems, we have now awarded Phase 2 from Mile 2 to Okokomaiko . The reason we have two contractors there in the first instance was that we wanted Julius Berger to build the roads. There were a lot of things under that road which the other contractors who bid for the road did not see. Julius Berger found it”.
“The most difficult part of the road is from Eric Moore to Mile 2 and we thought they should do it. The CCECC is doing the rails on the same road so they were getting in each other’s way. That in itself was a nightmare”, the Governor further explained adding that the current Phase of the road being done, Eric Moore to Mile 2, consists of seven kilometres of 10 lanes totaling 70 kilometres with two contractors in one place.
On the other inner city roads in various parts of the State, Governor Fashola said some of the delays came from the owners of land on which the roads pass, some of who went to court to stop Government from acquiring their land while others protested and fought contractors on site.
“The work we are doing now is much more people issue because we are now engaged in holding a lot of meetings with communities and people and explaining to them to allow us build the roads. The alternative is that all our projects can hang up in courts and I will be the last person to defy court injunction”, the Governor said.
Governor Fashola also explained that lack of urban planning and people building without permit have caused delays in the execution of inner city road projects adding that in some places, people just build anywhere, including drainage channels so that it becomes difficult to construct roads without damaging many properties and incurring cost of compensations.
“The projects are getting much more complex, much more sophisticated involving densely populated areas where people have built without a plan. It was easy to build many places in the city because there was a plan there and the setbacks were already in place. But in these inner roads, there are no plans; people just build anywhere, joining building here and there and later they say they have no roads”, the Governor said.
Citing Ago Palace Road as example, Governor Fashola declared, “Everybody just started building and that is why they are having problems. If there was right of way, it would have been just to follow it and start building the road. That was why Surulere was easy, that was why Yaba was easy. So when we are insisting on urban planning, getting building permit, these are the consequences in the future. If there is a plan, it is easy to work with”.
On Ikorodu Road, Governor Fashola explained that there are eight bridges to be built on the road and the contractors, Messrs CCECC, are at the moment engaged in doing the bridge section of the project before embarking on the surfacing of the road adding that as soon as the bridge section is finished the rest would be easy.
“What you see today is that the contractors are doing the bridge sections. The moment they are finished the road is easy. All they need to do is pour sand”, the Governor said adding, however, that there are also community issues that are related to the road with owners of land not ready to let go of their land.
According to the Governor, “Communities, Baales and other stakeholders don’t want to give up their land but they want road. So these are some of the issues. You can pass through Apongbon today. Some people gave up land so that we can have Eko Bridge. The resident community there I remember how they relocated, they fought, they rioted they fought. I have the video recording”.
“So that is how we go about it. My lawyer’s instinct, I have to lay aside if this work must be done because if I follow it we won’t get out of the courts. I will simply tell you that we are in court and I can’t disobey court processes and injunctions”, the Governor said.
This road is quite advanced now......work is moving on very fast for the past few months........I use it daily...... 10 way lane.......... Good job going on
Well, it's no longer just the Badagry axis. They are building the rail bridge on the Marina (as you can see from these pictures and videos that were taken late last year and early this year). They have also begun work on the Lagoon Bridge (connecting the island and mainland across the Elegbeta Channel).
Work resumed full speed last year after the hiccup caused by the refusal of the previous Federal Government to guarantee the 2nd tranche of the loan.
I'm simply informing posters and viewers of this thread of the updates that were posted on the other thread.