APC Will Take 230Yrs To Complete Lagos Rail Mass Transit Project – LP Guber Candidate

Lagos State gubernatorial candidate of Labour Party, Gbadebo Rhodes-Vivor, has said that at the rate at which Lagos Rail Mass Transit project is being done by the All Progressives Congress (APC)- led government in the state, it will take 230 years to complete the project.

According to Rhodes-Vivor, the state government took a loan of $1.2 billion for seven lines, but after 13 years, it is test-running just one of the proposed seven lines.

Comparing the Lagos Rail Mass Transit project with the 752 kilometers Djibouti to Addis Ababa heavy rail line, he said it cost $4 billion, adding that even the 157km Lagos-Ibadan rail line that cost $1.6 billion was completed in 5years.

THE WHISLER had on Wednesday reported that Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu led members of his cabinet, the State House of Assembly, and journalists to take the first trip aboard the electric-powered rail infrastructure, from the National Theatre Station to the station in Marina.

The test-run was for the first phase of the project, spanning 13 kilometres and extend from Mile 2 to Marina, covering five stations.

Sanwo-Olu informed that the construction of the second phase of the project, spanning 14-kilometre from Mile 2 to Okokomaiko, will be launched immediately afte commissioning of the first phase in January.

The project, which is being constructed by Lagos Metropolitan Area Transport Authority (LAMATA), started in 2010 under the administration of Babatunde Fashola.

However, it experienced some delays under the administration of Akinwunmi Ambode, before the current administration restarted it in 2019.

LAMATA had proposed seven lines in the network: Red, Blue, Green, Yellow, Purple, Brown and Orange.

However, only Blue Line and Red Line have received government attention. The chairman of the Lagos State House of Assembly Committee on Transportation, Temitope Adewale, recently confirmed that the Red Line is 85 percent complete.

Upon completion, it is expected to move 500,000 passengers daily. This translates to 3.5 million passengers weekly and 15 million passengers a month.

“It took 20yrs to lay rail of 16kms out of the 160km. At this rate it will take 230yrs to complete the required 160km. You took a loan of 1.2 billion dollars for a 7-line, 12/13 yrs later your are commissioning one single line out of of this 7-line (light) rail.

“Let’s do a comparison pls cos (please, because) it’s been done severally in Africa. With a total length of 752 kilometers from Djibouti to Adis ababa, a heavy, not light o cost them $4 billion.

“I hate to imagine how long it would have taken the APC government to build 3rd mainland bridge,” Rhodes-Vivor said via his Twitter handle @GRVlagos.

“Lagos – Ibadan ( In this same Nigeria) 157km at $1.6bill was done in 5years. Please let us stop making excuses for mediocrity. Especially not in Lagos, the supposed CENTER of EXCELLENCE,” he noted.

He decried bad state of roads in the state saying, “It is painful to see how inefficiency and greed of the ruling party has destroyed so many lives. From bad roads that destroy vehicles, containers tipping over leading to loss of lives and the detriment to businesses from time waste and demorage cost. We will do better.”