Red Line Railway Project
…..As Lagos is set to begin construction
House owners and residents along the Oyingbo-Agbado axis of Lagos are set to experience another disruption occasioned by demolition of houses and other steuctures to pave way for the Red- Line railway project initiated by the state government as part of its urban renewal programme aimed at solving the age long transportation problem facing the 22 million city.
Lagos by now is the only city in Africa with a population of 7million without a metro system.
Both Cairo,Abidja and Daaersalam including Gabon capital, all have metro lines.
The construction of the Red Line will be a follow up to the Blue Line from Okokomaiko to Marina which construction started in 2007 during the tenure of the government of Babatunde Raji Fashola and now nearing completion.
Towards the new project, enumeration and verification of houses and other structures to give way to the project started few months ago by the Lagos Metropolitan Area Transport Authority(LAMATA) and is expected to be completed by the end of this month or early February.
To give succour to those property owners and tenants to be affected,compensation are to be given to them as soon as the enumeration is completed .
As to controversies and claims which may attend to such in view of past experiences especially the recently completed Lagos-Ibadan modernisation project,Kolawole Ojelabi,Assistant Director of Corporate Communications of LAMATA told Newdawnngr.com that adequate compensation will be given as soon as the enumeration is completed.
He said that in the new project part of which will share tracks with the Lagos-Ibadan rail corridor, five new bridges and overpasses will be constructed by the Lagos state government.
The bridges among which is the Pen Cinema flyover now nearing completion are at Oyingbo,Yaba,Mushin and Ikeja adding that they will form part of the Phase 1 of the Red Line which is 37kilometre in length.
As to conflict resolution which normally arouse from demolition in such cases,he said the LAMATA ,the consultant to the project ,will ensure it is a win-win situation for all stake holders adding,”we do not forsee any obstacles to the project. However should they come,we would take them one at a time to ensure that they are amicably resolved to make it a win- win for all parties.”
As for now,the state government is implementing the Oyingbo-Agbado corridor of the project while the Marina end is to come later.
The project is to be completed in 24months beginning from the commencement after the demolition and payment of compensation to owners of structures and property on the route.
It will be recalled that the first attempt at a state sponsored metro project was initiated by the civilian administration of Alhaji Latest Jakande in 1980 and the first phase of a seven rail project for the fast growing metropolis was to run from Yaba through Agege ,Mushin to Festac but was abandoned by the military government under the leadership of late Navy Commodore Gbolahan Mudasiru.
He was allegedly advised against continuation of the project by the then federal government headed by Major General Muhammad Buhari who overthrew the second republic civilians regime of late Alhaji Shehu Shagari.
The project then was to have cost $774milkion dollars out of which the Lagos state government have made an initial payment to Interinfra,the French consortium that was awarded the contract.
The termination of the metro was taken to the international court of Justice at the Hague and Lagos government lost its initial deposit and was made to pay a fine for wrongful contract termination.
Though the cost of the new metro now being championed by the Governor Babajide Sanwoolu administration is not known,the state government under former Governor Fashola took a loan of $150 million dollars to complete the Okokomaiko-Marina stretch which was 65% completed by the time he left officevin 2011 but was later abandoned by his successor,Akinwunmi Ambode while the loan was being serviced with resources diverted to other projects.
