Lagos State Government said it has completed and commissioned 172 roads, translating to 177.93 kilometres, while 253 other projects, totalling 298.22 kilometres of roads, including bridges, are witnessing an increased pace of work as part of efforts towards developing first-class infrastructure to support the state’s growing population.
The Special Adviser (SA) to the Governor on Infrastructure, Engr. Olufemi Daramola, made this known on Friday during the ministerial press briefing to commemorate the first year of the second term in office of Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu’s administration, which took place at Bagauda Kaltho Press Centre, Alausa, Ikeja.
Daramola listed some of the projects, including the 3.89km Ojota-OOpebi Link Bridge being put in place to provide a direct route between Opebi, Mende, Maryland, and Ojota and the Abiola-Onijemo link road with bridge, a 643m length of road and 135m length of the bridge section that traverses a swampy terrain to serve as a strategic link from College Road, through Ajayi Street, Ogba, to Aruna/Obawole/Iju-Ishaga in Ifako-Ijaiye.
Others, according to him, are Babafemi Dada Road with Bridge; Yinka Folarin-Jamiu Lawal-Shalom Academy Road Network in Alimosho Local Government Area; a 1.57 km semi-rigid pavement road with a 250m long Deck on Pile (DOP) that replaces the former wooden Idowu Egba Bridge, which will provide a shorter route for motorists connecting LASU-IBA road with Candos road (Academy bus stop) in Baruwa community, among others.
He expressed delight at some of the transformative infrastructural projects underway in Lagos, saying that these reflected the administration’s commitment to progress and development.
Daramola, while noting that infrastructural development remained a critical development vehicle for realising the Babajide Sanwo-Olu-led administration’s T.H.E.M.E.S. Plus Agenda and the Greater Lagos vision of Africa’s model smart city, said the delivery of new road projects, massive upgrading and rehabilitation of existing roads, and the construction of new bridges had brought succour to the people and helped in delivering the dividend of democracy to the citizenry.
He stressed that the provisions for roads would further drive development and open up the host communities, assuring that all ongoing projects would be completed before the expiration of the tenure of the administration.
Speaking further, Daramola assured that the state government was resolved to deliver on some of its other iconic projects, such as the 150-bed New Massey Street Children’s Hospital, Lagos, and the 280-bed General Hospital, Ojo, just as he highlighted the construction of Kosofe and Ijede Fire Stations, the Students’ Union Arcade Ojo Campus, the construction of the Faculty of Management Sciences Complex Phase 1, the construction of the Central Library Phase 2A, the renovation of the Nigerian Law School Hostel, Lagos Campus, and the remodelling of the University of Lagos Main Gate.
Others, he said, include the construction of the Central Library, the Faculty of Management Sciences Complex, the construction of LASU Business School, and some projects at LASUSTECH, Ikorodu Campus; the Multi-Agency Office Complex, Alausa, Ikeja; and the redevelopment of the J.K. Randle Centre for Yoruba Culture and History, Onikan; and the Multi-Storey Car Park, Onikan, among others, which were at various stages of completion.
This was just as he noted that the Lagos State Infrastructure Asset Management Agency (LASIAMA) had implemented several projects to improve and maintain public infrastructure assets, creating employment and opportunities for small and medium-scale businesses to thrive.
He, however, called for the strategic participation of the private sector, noting that notwithstanding the building of infrastructure by the government, the present administration was convinced that the future of any meaningful infrastructure delivery should be private-sector-driven, with the government strengthening the operational environment and legal framework for private sector participation.
Also speaking, Special Adviser (SA) to Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu on Works, Dr Olakunle Adeyinka, said the state government had continued to fulfil its promise to complete projects inherited from past administrations, asserting that it had matched its words with actions.
He disclosed that based on its strategic thrust, his office had delivered 30 building infrastructure projects out of a total of 76 of the building projects being undertaken, while works were steadily progressing on the remaining 46 buildings, saying that the government had continued to deliberately invest in building infrastructure as one of the platforms used for discharging the social contract signed with Lagosians.
According to Adeyinka, some of the buildings the office is currently working on towards effective administration of justice include the construction of the Commercial Court at Tapa, Lagos Island; the renovation of the Magistrates’ Court at Ebute-Metta, J.I.C. Taylor Magistrate Court; Igbosere, Lagos Island; Igando, Ogba, and Ikeja Magistrates’ Courts; the construction of Judges and Magistrates’ Quarters, Epe; the construction of the Police Model Area Command at Elemoro (Phase II) and the Police Model Station at Alausa; and the construction of the Warehouse and Fence Works for the Lagos State Judiciary (Sherriff Department).
Others, according to him, are: the renovation works at the Lagos State Code of Conduct Bureau and Magistrates’ Court at Ikorodu, Ajegunle, Surulere, Yaba, and Ajegunle; the construction of the Citizens’ Mediation Centre (Offices, Alimosho), which he said had been completed.
“Through our projects, we have continuously provided jobs for hundreds of our people and provided impactful economic succour to those living in the state,” he said.
The governor’s aide, while noting that his office had the mandate to bridge the gap between the required infrastructure and the current infrastructure projects in a way that generates economic growth and enables society to function, stated that one of the important methods adopted to achieve the goal was to deliberately improve both the maintenance and management of existing infrastructure assets in a way that would preserve the quality of the assets.
According to him, facility management has become an increasingly visible aspect of project design and management strategies under the current administration, pointing out that the strategic thrust of his office on the THEMES Plus Agenda of Governor Sanwo-Olu’s administration has been centred around the continuation of strategic ongoing offices and public buildings, major renovation works, facility management, and maintenance of offices and public buildings.
Speaking further, Adeyinka, while noting that Governor Sanwo-Olu had also approved the construction of a 1,500-bed Psychiatric Hospital and Rehabilitation Centre in Ketu Ejinrin, listed projects that had been delivered to include three Mother and Child Centres (MCCs) at Eti-Osa, Igando, Badagry, and Epe; renovated health centres at Harvey Road, Yaba, and Ebute Metta Comprehensive Health Centre; and the construction of a four-story Faculty of Basic Medical and Clinical Sciences Office Block at the Lagos State University College of Medicine (LASUCOM), among others.
Adeyinka disclosed that for staff welfare, the construction of 24-unit doctors’ and staff quarters in LASUTH and Gbagada General Hospital had commenced, adding: “The Sanwo-Olu administration has, no doubt, demonstrated that the restoration of public health facilities remains vital.”
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