Sanwo-Olu, Fashola seek support for proposed 4th Mainland Bridge

Lagos State Governor, Babajide Sanwo-Olu, has appealed for cooperation from Lagos residents and all other stakeholders toward the successful execution of the proposed 4th Mainland Bridge in the state.

Represented by his deputy, Dr. Obafemi Hamzat, the governor made the appeal on Tuesday during a maiden stakeholders meeting on the Environmental and Social Impact Assessment for the Lagos 4th Mainland Bridge in Ikeja.
Sanwo-Olu said, “There is a need to review and evaluate the gains we have made so far, assess the bottlenecks we have encountered and recommend necessary steps towards achieving our desired objective, that is the delivery of the 4th Mainland Bridge.

“It is instructive to note that the commencement of the project will be another undeniably flagship project of this administration.

“We must therefore use this stakeholders meeting to consult amongst ourselves as we take steps to remove all the bottlenecks that may impede the delivery of the bridge.

“All the components of Lagos mobility must be considered.”

According to him, the proposed 4th Mainland bridge project has been well integrated into the overall Lagos Master Plan in relation to transportation infrastructure and will boost the economy of the state.

“The project allows for the first time direct access from the large suburb of Ikorodu to the Island and the Lekki Free Trade Zone area,” he said.

Sanwo-Olu said the meeting, which would be replicated in various local government areas where the project would be extended, was expected to boost the acceptability and implementation ratings of the bridge.

The governor recalled that the 4th mainland bridge project was conceived 15 years ago to complement the existing 3rd Mainland Bridge in addressing the transportation needs of the growing population.

Sanwo-Olu explained that government was working with other agencies and the private sector and had also appointed a dedicated advisory team, including KPMG Nigeria, to handle the financial aspects.

He added that Olaniwun Ajayi and AEC-Rendel were to handle the legal and technical areas respectively.
Sanwo-Olu said the team evolved strategies working through various stages of selecting a consortium to deliver the project, which was at the sixth and final stage for construction to begin.

The governor said in order to proceed to the next phase of the process, six consortia were selected, including Mota-Engil/CCCC Consortium and Power China International Group Limited/Power Construction Corporation of China.

Others are China State Construction Engineering Corporation Nigeria Limited, CGGC/CGC Consortium, CCECC/CCRICG Consortium and ICICTAS Insaat San ve Tic ASIConds INds and Trade Corp.
Sanwo-Olu explained that the various stages of negotiation and construction would be handled by different layers of experts, giving opportunity for replacement of under performing preferred bidders in the six categories on the project.

In his remarks, the Minister of Works and Housing, Babatunde Fashola, assured Lagos residents of his “unalloyed support toward the construction of the 4th Mainland Bridge”.

He noted that the bridge would create job opportunities, both direct and indirect, for the people of Lagos and its neighbouring states.

He said, “It will empower a lot of its citizens and a lot of businesses will blossom.

“Currently, the 6 October Bridge, Cairo, Egypt, which measures 20.5km, holds the continent’s length-crown.

“When completed, the Fourth Mainland Bridge will be the longest in Africa.”’

Giving a brief of the project, Dr Peter Agunbiade of Advance Engineering Consultants said the project was redesigned to reduce the length of the bridge, travel time and number of houses to be demolished on the alignment of the construction.

According to him, the project is now a 37.4km freeway, subdivided into three sections, namely: Island Section, Lagoon Section and Mainland Section.

He said, “It starts at the Abraham Adesanya Roundabout in Lekki, where a free flow interchange will be constructed, as well as some traffic flow alterations to the existing Lekki-Epe Expressway so as to maintain traffic movements during construction.

“The freeway then proceeds north, toward the lagoon, passing through Ajah and Langbasa areas, crossing the Addo Badore Road, before arriving at the lagoon shoreline.

“The road crosses the lagoon via a 4.5km lagoon bridge and land between Bayeiku and Ijede villages.

“It continues northward, passing through the Ikorodu/Epe and Ikorodu/Sagamu expressways and then continue and turns northwest, within Ikorodu suburbs toward Isawo Road.

“The freeway continues west, where it briefly enters and exits Ogun State toward the Lagos-Ibadan expressway, where it will interfaces with the federal highway.”