₦airaland Forum

Introduction

Ibeju Lekki was one of the rural local governments of Lagos when I was growing up. Government interventions in the area were usually about establishing farm settlements and improving the lives of rural dwellers. However, things have started changing in the area.

Ibeju Lekki Local Government should not be confused with the Lekki Phase 1 to Ajah areas, which are in Eti-Osa Local Government.

Lekki, in Eti-Osa, witnessed rapid growth and development in the 1990s and 2000s with the establishment of Lekki Phase 1, Victoria Garden City and other estates. The oil companies, Chevron, Elf and Mobil, also established structures in the area.

This led to congestion on the Lekki-Epe Expressway. I remember that the expressway had absolutely no traffic jams up till the mid-1990s, but it later became synonymous with traffic jams.

Development has now spread from Lekki in Eti-Osa to Ibeju Lekki Local Government. The local government is being transformed from a rural local government to a heavily industrialised one. Ibeju Lekki Local Government currently hosts and will host the folllowing facilities:

1) The Lekki Deep Sea Port: This is currently the deepest and biggest port in Nigeria.

2) The Lekki Free Trade Zone: This free trade zone is home to many industrial concerns including a Kellogg's cereals plant, a Sinotruck heavy truck assembly plant, Golden Dream Diapers plant, etc.

3) Dangote Refinery and Petrochemical Company: This refinery is also at the Lekki Free Trade Zone.

4) Alaro City: This new city, which is being built to rival Lekki Phase 1, Victoria Garden City, Banana Island and Eko Atlantic City is also in Ibeju Lekki Local Government.

5) The proposed Lekki Airport is also at Ibeju Lekki Local Government.

6) Dangote Port: Due to the fact that the Apapa Port could not handle some of the equipment that he needed for his refinery, Dangote built another port in the Ibeju Lekki area and it was deep enough and had the equipment to enable him import what he needed for his refinery.



With all these developments springing up in the local government area, people fear that the kind of congestion that we see in Apapa and even in neighbouring Eti-Osa (Lekki Phase 1 to Abraham Adesanya area) will be witnessed in Ibeju Lekki and some also fear that the traffic jams will spread from Ibeju Lekki to Eti-Osa.

However, there have been plans to prevent this from happening. Some of the facilities that are going to help to prevent this from happening have already been built, some are currently being built, while others have yet to be built.

This thread highlights those facilities.

Pictures 1-3) Maps of the local governments in Lagos showing Ibeju Lekki and Eti-Osa local governments.

Picture 4) Satellite picture showing Ibeju Lekki, Epe and Ijebu Ode.

1) Epe - Ijebu Ode Road.

Traffic from Ibeju Lekki does not need to go through Eti-Osa.

Some people are scared that the only way out of Ibeju Lekki is the Lekki - Epe Expressway which passes through Eti-Osa, but that is not true. They are scared that the Lekki Phase 1, Chevron, Ajah and Abraham Adesanya area will become congested, but that is not necessary.

Traffic from Ibeju Lekki can simply get on the Lekki - Epe Expressway and go in the opposite direction from Eti - Osa. Vehicles can go from Ibeju to Epe and from Epe to Ijebu Ode in Ogun State using the Epe - Ijebu Ode Road. There is a clover leaf interchange at Ijebu Ode which connects to the Lagos - Benin Expressway and vehicles can head to the South-South, South-East, other parts of the South-West and even to the North of Nigeria using this expressway (see satellite picture above).

Governor Akinwunmi Ambode of Lagos rebuilt the Lagos end of the Epe - Ijebu Ode Road, while Governor Dapo Abiodun rebuilt the Ogun end of the road.

This means that vehicles do not have to pass through Eti-Osa (Lekki Phase 1, Ajah, Abraham Adesanya) in order to exit Lagos from Ibeju Lekki.

See more photos here:

https://www.nairaland.com/6941102/pictures-projects-commissioned-president-buhari


Video: Governor Dapo Abiodun inspecting Ijebu-Epe Expressway in June 2021.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G_-aLPPR2XU

2) Epe - Ijebu Ode Road - Lagos - Benin Expressway Interchange.

The Epe - Ijebu Ode Road is connected to the Lagos - Benin Expressway via a cloverleaf interchange (see pictures below). Motorists can then take the Lagos - Benin Expressway to the South - South and South - East, or they can go the other way to Sagamu and take the Lagos - Ibadan Expressway to other parts of the South - West or to the North.


https://www.nairaland.com/7032489/pictures-completed-ijebu-ode-epe-sagamu-benin-expressway

3) Lagos - Calabar Coastal Highway:

In 1955 Chief Festus Okotie-Eboh, who was finance minister at the time, proposed a road that would run from Koko in the Niger Delta to Epe near Lagos. Since then many people have been planning to build a coastal road that would run from Lagos to Calabar.

Governor Lateef Jakande built sections of the road in Lagos State, Governor Raji Rasaki said he saw a coastal road on a Julius Berger map when the Third Mainland Bridge was being built, so he constructed a portion of the road from Akodo to the boundary with Ogun State. Governor Bola Tinubu also built portions of the road.

In 2011, when the Lekki - Epe Expressway was being tolled, some residents protested that the coastal road should be built before the expressway is tolled. The Lagos State Government said that the Federal Government would build the road.


The route of the coastal road is known, but mechanics and homeless people often built shanties on the route, but in recent times the Lagos State Government (Fashola, Ambode and Sanwo-Olu) have demolished the shanties in preparation for the construction of the road.

The good news is that the road is now being built. President Bola Tinubu flagged off the construction of the road and it will obviously pass through Ibeju Lekki and serve as a means through which vehicles can enter and exit the area.

Trucks, tankers, trailers will be able to use the Lagos - Calabar Coastal Highway to move goods straight from Ibeju Lekki to anywhere in the Niger Delta , to the South-East and even back to Lagos through Victoria Island. They would be able to do all of these without passing through the Lagos-Epe Expressway.

December 2nd, 2024 update about the Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Oub-nMoHzlw?si=kGXmeZ_a9MmKG67U

4) Lagos Calabar Railway

Back in the early 1980s people complained that Nigerian railway lines only ran from north to south. They complained that you had to go through Kaduna in order to go from Lagos to Enugu by rail. They blamed the colonialist for this. I asked why Nigerians had not built a line that went from east to west, after all, the colonialists have been gone since 1960.

There were proposals for the construction of a Lagos - Calabar rail line during the Obasanjo Administration (1999-2007), but it wasn't built. The idea was discussed again during the Goodluck Jonathan (2010 - 2015) and Muhammadu Buhari Administrations.

The idea had always been that the rail line would run along the right of way for the Lagos - Benin Expressway.

The promoters of the Lekki Deep Sea Port said that they were prepared to provide money to build a rail line that would run from the port (in Ibeju Lekki) through Epe and Ijebu Ode to connect with the Lagos - Calabar rail line.

https://www.nairaland.com/7498920/800-million-rail-ease-cargo

However, the former minister of transport, Rotimi Amaechi, told the Lekki Port officials that President Buhari had ordered him to connect the port to a rail line and that the Lagos - Calabar rail line will probably start at the port.

https://www.nairaland.com/7028366/lekki-deep-seaport-inject-360

Since the commencement of the construction of the Lagos - Calabar Highway, several government officials, including the minister of works, Engineer Dave Umahi and the president's special adviser on new media, Olusegun Dada, have said that there will be a rail line in the median of the highway and that it will run from Lekki to Calabar.

https://pmnewsnigeria.com/2024/05/06/lagos-calabar-coastal-road-leave-the-talk-lets-face-the-business/

This means that the rail line on the right of way of the Lagos - Calabar Highway will pass through Ibeju Lekki and people and goods will be able to enter and exit Ibeju Lekki with it.

5) Moving goods on the Atlantic by ship and barge

As I said, Dangote built its own port when it was building its refinery and there's also the Lekki Deep Sea Port in the area. Some of the goods from Ibeju Lekki will be moved by sea.

Yes, I am also referring to goods that will be moved to other parts of Lagos and to other parts of Nigeria.

Dangote will move its petroleum products by ship from Lekki to Apapa and other parts of the Lagos Mainland. Containers will also be moved by barge from Lekki to Onne, Warri, Onitsha and other parts of Nigeria.

Dangote‘s first sea cargo of petrol arrives Lagos as key refinery ramps up


Our Reporter
October 26, 2024

Nigeria’s Dangote refinery, larger than any other in Africa or Europe, has shipped its first seaborne petrol cargo as a vital fuel-producing unit continues to ramp up.

The Sabaek sailed with about 500,000 barrels of petrol from Dangote to the nearby commercial hub of Lagos in recent days, according to a port report and ship-tracking data compiled by Bloomberg.

Meanwhile, the refinery’s residue fluid catalytic cracker, a crucial unit in the production of the fuel, is continuing to ramp up output, according to a person familiar with the matter, who asked not to be named discussing private information.
Spokespeople for Dangote didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.

Once fully operational, the 650,000-barrel-a-day plant will transform the regional gasoline market, potentially reducing the need for imports of the fuel from Europe to West Africa. It has already shaken up crude oil flows by trimming an overhang of Nigerian supply.

This first shipment via sea comes about one month after the new refinery began using trucks to transport petrol.

A refinery’s RFCC unit helps upgrade petroleum products into more valuable fuels like gasoline.

The Dangote Petroleum Refinery has so far received four cargoes of crude oil from the Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) Limited under the naira-for-crude sale agreement.

It was gathered that the four cargoes of crude were delivered to the refinery within the past three weeks when the government began the sale of crude to local refineries in the local currency.

Officials said that the refinery was still waiting to receive more crude oil cargoes from NNPCL, the organisation managing the country’s hydrocarbon resources.
They also confirmed that the $20bn Lekki-based plant was now set to begin the direct sale of refined Premium Motor Spirit, popularly called petrol, to domestic dealers.

A source close to the Technical Subcommittee on Domestic Sale of Crude Oil in Local Currency, who did not want to be mentioned because he was not permitted to speak with the press, confirmed to The PUNCH that “more cargoes (of crude) would be delivered to the Dangote refinery in the coming weeks.”

The official disclosed that the programme started with the Dangote refinery as the only petrol-producing facility in Nigeria at the moment.

https://businessday.ng/energy/article/dangotes-first-sea-cargo-of-petrol-arrives-lagos-as-key-refinery-ramps-up/?amp

Video of the construction of the Dangote Port.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xQ2CuBXkT6Q?si=O5ePxid7H6K3EJLe


Video: Moving containers from Lekki Seaport to the West African Container Terminal in Onne, Rivers State by ship.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1xHEyyX55gs?si=j0Jy9MsGul1s5KlT

naptu2:
This is for people that are mixing up the Lekki Deep Sea Port and the Dangote Port.

The Lekki Port was conceived by the Lagos State Government decades ago and it is part of the Lagos Free Trade Zone project.

The Dangote Group wanted to import some components for their refinery, but they discovered that the components were too big for Apapa Port to handle, so they built their own port in Lekki. It is not far from the Lekki Deep Sea Port and I'll show you both ports on Google Maps.


The Lekki Deep Sea port is on the left of the first screenshot. It is just below the Kellogs Factory. The Dangote Port is on the extreme right of that same map.

The second screenshot is of the Lekki Deep Sea Port.

The third screenshot is of the Dangote Port.

7

6) Lagos Green Line Metro:

The Lagos Green Line is one of the rail lines that was proposed by the Lagos Area Metropolitan Transport Authority (LAMATA) in the early 2000s. The Green Line will run from Marina on Lagos Island, through Victoria Island, Lekki Phase 1 and Ajah in Eti-Osa to the Lekki Free Trade Zone and the Lekki Airport in Ibeju Lekki. This will provide faster passenger transport and ease the pressure on the Lekki-Epe Expressway.

The MOU for the project has been signed.

https://www.nairaland.com/8205444/governor-sanwo-olu-signs-mou

And the contractor and other stakeholders have inspected the route of the rail project (see links and pictures below).
https://www.nairaland.com/8242430/lasg-conducts-site-visitation-green

7) Araromi - Ibeju Lekki Road:

The late Governor Rotimi Akeredolu of Ondo State signed an agreement with the Niger Delta Development Commission to build a road from Araromi in Ondo State, through Ogun State to Ibeju in Lagos State.

This would enable Ondo State to benefit from the developments that are taking place in Ibeju.

https://www.nairaland.com/6002181/nddc-ondo-begin-n19bn-coastal

However, not much has been heard of the project since Governor Akeredolu's death.

I am also not sure if the project will be affected by the Lagos - Calabar Coastal Road.

8 ) Moving goods across the Lagos Lagoon by barge:

Governor Babatunda Raji Fashola said that goods would be moved by barge (over the Lagos Lagoon) from the Lekki Free Trade Zone to the Lagos Mainland. This was back when the Lekki Sea Port was still being constructed.

naptu2:
This was one of the things that Governor Fashola discussed early in the life of the project. He said that goods will also be moved by barges on the Lagos Lagoon (via Epe). The Federal Government also had to adopt this option to reduce congestion at Apapa. Some containers at the Apapa Port were also moved by barges to Ikorodu and Epe.

The Lekki Free Trade Zone management also offers barge handling services.

https://www.lft-ng.com/services/bargeHandlingServices

The Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA) has a lighter terminal in Ikorodu and it ordered that containers should be moved from Apapa to Ikorodu and Epe by barge back when the Apapa Port was congested.

Barges to evacuate containers from ports to Epe soon

By Sulaimon Salau
22 May 2019 | 2:22 am

Arrangements have been concluded to extend the use of barges to evacuate containers from the ports beyond Ikorodu to Epe soon.To this end, the Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA), has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU), with APM Capital to adopt barges as part of the plans to relief importers of the Apapa gridlock.

The Managing Director of Nigerian Ports Authority Hadiza Bala Usman, who confirmed this during a meeting with a team from AP Moller Capital, said the problem of Apapa access road seems intractable because of decade long decadence which was caused by multiplicity of problems.

Usman recalled that NPA had made several efforts including contributing ₦1.8 billion to rehabilitate the road at a time as well also coming up with “call up system”, which would soon be upgraded to be electronically operated.She assured that NPA would continue to consult with stakeholders across all levels, since the provision of infrastructure is crucial for sustainable ports operations.

Senior Investment Advisor of APM Capital, Fleming Dalgaard, assured on the construction of a jetty and truck park to facilitate the movement of cargo with barges from the port, adding that they would provide technical capital, competence experience, financial capacity and other required resources. Dalgaard commended openness of NPA adding that such transparency and efficiency were part of the quality that excite them to come forward for signing the agreement.

The agreement stipulated that: “NPA in realization of the fact that the provision of infrastructure is crucial for sustainable operation of ports has continued to pursue a programme of infrastructural investments.“The NPA and APMC entered discussions and have agreed to find a lasting solution to the traffic situation in and around the ports, there is a need to provide the level of required infrastructure.

“APMC has indicated their interest, technical capacity, competence, experience, financial capacity and other required resources to execute or cause the project required resources to execute or cause the project required for the attainment of item two above.

“The project that are currently being contemplated include the construction of a jetty and truck park to facilitate the movement of cargo by barge from the ports. APMC understands that some associates investments like construction of truck holding bays maybe required to support the option in item four above.

“APMC intends to commit financial and human resources to further explore these solutions even though the exact nature of infrastructure to be provided may differ from the option currently being envisage in the course of further studies and time spent on the project”.

https://guardian.ng/business-services/barges-to-evacuate-containers-from-ports-to-epe-soon/


tolu ogunlesi @toluogunlesi

Random: I saw this barge moving containers on the Lagos Lagoon a week ago. Like 6 containers - which is the equivalent of 6 trucks (or 3, if 40ft) taken off the roads no?

https://twitter.com/toluogunlesi/status/1342862096355221504

9) Lekki Airport:

The Lagos State Government will also build an airport in Ibeju Lekki and goods and people will be moved from Ibeju to other parts of the world by air.

10) Fourth Mainland Bridge:

The Lagos State Government is also planning to build a bridge from the Ajah/Badore/Langbasa area in Eti-Osa to Ikorodu on the mainland. This will also help to prevent congestion in the Ibeju area.

Some of the plans that I have seen for the bridge also feature a rail link in addition to the road bridge.

11) Lagos - Epe Expressway:

The Lagos State Government is also reconstructing portions of the Lagos - Epe Expressway. The reconstructed road will have a dedicated truck lane (just line a BRT lane), space for a rail track (presumably the Green Line) and other facilities to prevent congestion. The portion of the road from Eleko Junction (which leads to the Lekki Free Zone) to Epe has been reconstructed and the section from Eleko to Abraham Adesanya is being reconstructed.

Construction of the 6-lane rigid pavement on Eleko Epe T junction

Project Summary

This is the ONGOING Massive Construction of the 6-lane rigid pavement on Eleko Epe T junction by Messers Craneburg Construction.
Governor of Lagos State, Mr Babajide Sanwo-Olu flagged off the construction on 1st November 2020.

Project Details:

- The Total Length of the road from Eleko Junction to Epe T junction is 18.75km.
- CONTRACTOR: Craneburg Construction
- Provision of reinforced concrete drains, Culverts and Median Barrier
- Installation of Traffic Lights
- Landscaping of Road Verges
- Preservation of rail line corridor with 50m RoW
- Installation of Street Lights
- Dedicated Truck Lane and Railway Line (for future).

- Road to serve as template for construction of road leading towards the Dangote Refinery, Lekki Ports and the Lagos Free Zones, so that we don’t have a future problem with the ports like Apapa.

Mr Governor, Mr Babajide Sanwo-Olu promised this project, flagged it off and delivering quality infrastructure to the Lagos East axis of the State.

https://www.babajidesanwoolu.com/projects/construction-of-the-6-lane-rigid-pavement-on-eleko-epe-t-junction

Rail

Seaport.

There are other measures, like the Lekki Regional Road in Eti-Osa, that will help prevent congestion in Ibeju Lekki and Eti-Osa. The Lekki Regional Road will connect motorists from Victoria Garden City (VGC) to Freedom Way in Lekki Phase 1 via a bridge over the lagoon.

And I remember that, when the Lekki Expressway (the portion in Eti-Osa) was being reconstructed between 2007 - 2011, Tarzan Ferries got a barge and used it to ferry vehicles from Lekki Phase 1 to Queen's Drive in Ikoyi.

naptu2:
I wanted to give a Nigerian example of a self propelled barge.


The Lekki Expressway was being reconstructed in the 2000s and this work led to enormous traffic jams. Tarzan developed a solution to the problem. It used a self propelled barge as a roll on-roll off car ferry.

From 2007 till 2011 when the reconstruction work was completed, people could have their vehicles ferried from Lekki Phase 1 or Sandfill to Queens Drive in Ikoyi.

Why are self propelled barges now significant? You'll soon find out.

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Nice reading. Informative.

Vehicular traffic is like computer network traffic. The points of constriction or orifices should be identified and decongested or expanded accordingly. No petty trading to slow down vehicles. No agberos. No potholes.

Ok

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My worry is that these alternatives are mostly still in developmental stages, some are just still MOUs. I feel these should have been out in place before the takeoff of the Dangote Refinery and Lekki Ports and free trade zone.
If these are not urgently put in place, Apapa congestion will be a joke compared what we will witness on the island. This is because unlike the mainland, there is only one road on the island.
So, they should hasten up.

Nice one

Nice concept in theory

well-done
now i understand why the Coastal road project was a no going back

Government continues regardless of party differences. This is why intelligent people should be voted as Governor's and House of Assembly. A great responsibilities lies more on them. No one is saying you shouldn't steal. Steal the little you can and work. Lateef Jakande legacies can never be forgotten in the history of Lagos. His great works are still been taught till date.

How I wish they can find a way to decongest Lagos

Lagos state is over congested.

Industries should seek to establish their office other areas. Other states