Lagos Awards Contract for Extension of Light Rail Project

The Lagos State Government  announced the award of a contract for the extension of the light rail (blue line) that would start from the National Theatre, Iganmu and  terminate at Marina.

Managing Director, Lagos Metropolitan Area Transport Authority (LAMATA), Dr. Dayo Mobereola, told journalists yesterday in Lagos, that the Governor, Mr.  Babatunde Fashola (SAN), had awarded the contract to the China Civil Engineering Construction Corporation (CCECC).

He described the light rail project as the first in the country, adding that it “is one project that cannot be completed at once as people expected. Nowhere in the world is a metro line project started and completed at once."

“All over the world, the light rail system is done in phases and that is one idea we have copied in this regard. For instance, it took 22 years to complete one line in New Delhi. It also took 18 years to complete the one in Jakarta. Even in Dubai, it took the UAE eight years to complete it and it was done in phases,"  he added.

Mobereola, who spoke on the subject, 'LAMATA at 10: Challenges, Successes and Prospects', also said the Bus Rapid Transport (BRT) system introduced 10 years ago, had exceeded the agency’s projection.

He explained that before the BRT was introduced, the agency had projected it would transport 60,000 passengers daily, but now it transports over 200,000 passengers daily.
Gradually, according to him, Lagos residents have been abandoning 'danfo' and 'molue' buses for BRT.

"We have been reducing waiting time at bus stops, the travel time within the metropolis and we equally have reduced transport fare by 40 per cent compared to the service being rendered by yellow painted buses,"  he added.
He explained that the transport system would collapse if LAMATA “fails to plan ahead in spite of the achievements recorded in the past years."

He said the introduction of electronic ticketing system had replaced the previous paper ticketing system, adding that the agency would soon introduce Lagos Connect Card, to make it easier for commuters in the state to use aboard train, ferries and buses.

The managing director admitted that the BRT buses “are fast turning to 'molue'  buses as a result of lack of proper maintenance."

"It is something we have been worried about for some time now. It has been a challenge, no doubt. But we did not sit down and fold our arms on the issue. LAMATA has been training and retraining the operators of the buses. Additional 50 buses will soon be introduced to replace  those that are no more roadworthy.

“We have developed a 20-year development programme. We believed Lagos needs seven rail lines. We are in the process of starting the Red Line rail project that will run from Alagbado in Ogun State to Marina.

“We believed the state still needs nine BRT routes. We are talking with the state government to ensure commercial centres are put in place on the mainland to reduce the number of people travelling to Lagos Island daily,” he said.

Source: ThisDay Newspaper