The Lagos State Governor, Babajide Sanwo-Olu, has stated that N150 billion will be necessary to pay the state’s entire rail network, including the red and blue lines currently under construction and slated to be finished in the fourth quarter of this year.
Sanwo-Olu stated this on Channels Television’s Sunrise Daily on Friday, January 28, 2022. “We’re looking at N150 billion to finish the red and blue lines, We can raise that amount from the debt market as a bucket number.” He remarked.
He said that the government contemplated low-interest local financing for a period of 10 to 15 years, knowing that the rail may endure 30 years or longer.
“If you don’t do it, inflation will catch up to you years later. Now is the time to make the difficult decision,” he remarked.
The governor stated that his government was adamant about not passing on the project’s costs to the public, but that the expense of maintaining the railway infrastructure will be passed on. For railway journeys, he estimated a price of N200-N300 per passenger.
“A train car has a capacity of 150-200 passengers. The price will drop, making it more affordable. A cabin, to the best of my knowledge, would not cost more than N200-N300. The fare structure cannot be higher than that of the current Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) line. It must be affordable in order to be accessible”.
“At best, if our operators feel it should be pricey, we can give them a longer tenure while still keeping it reasonable.” He continued.
Sanwo-Olu promised that the Badagry road development project’s Mile 2 to Okokomaiko segment will be completed by June 2022.
“On that stretch, we’re building a 10-lane motorway.” With a number of bridges and overpasses, we’ll finish the stretch to Okokomaiko by the second quarter of this year. Mile 2 to Okokomaiko would be finished in its entirety. The Federal Government is working with a construction business to complete the project from Okokomaiko to Agbara, and they are currently on site”.
“We adopted a bold stance in constructing the road.” It was upgraded from a four-lane roadway to a ten-lane motorway. We already have three jetties in Badagry, so you can travel from Ikoyi, Liverpool, to Badagry in 20 to 25 minutes.”
The governor stated that the train line will be finished by the end of the year, with terminals and stations ready in the fourth quarter and test runs beginning in March 2023.
