PROPERTY NEWS

LAGOS State Governor, Babatunde Raji Fashola, while commissioning newly completed projects last week, pledged to ensure completion of all ongoing projects in the state before the end of his administration, despite the increase in political activities ahead of the 2011 general elections.

Among the projects commissioned were the Meiran mini-water works, the Mancity/Olaniyi Road in Ifaki/Ijaiye Local government and the Abule-Egba-Ekoro Agelekale Road, also in Meiran.

The Abule-Egba-Ekoro road, which contract was awarded in October 2008, also involves the construction of collector drains at Karimu-Luka, Bammmeke Agbelekale Meiran Streets to allow free flow of water. The length of the road is 4.41 kilometres and the width is 12.3 metres.

The scope of work on the project involved clearing of carriage way and drains, construction of box culverts, provision of kerbs, concrete walks, service ducts, median barriers and provision of street lights, features that Fashola said would be the hall mark of every new road in the state.

The contract for the construction of Mancity/Olaniyi road in Ifako Ijaiye was awarded to Messrs Gabakar Nigeria Limited. The project is to comprise two phases, with drainage works, which served as Phase I being executed between 2008/2009, while the second phase involving actual construction of the road was recently completed.

Fashola, while commissioning the Abule Egba/Ekoro/Agbelekale road, told the residents that because the state government intended to ensure that the same quality of services enjoyed by people living in Victoria Island and Ikoyi is replicated in Meiran, the road project was handled by the same contractor that had handled similar ones in other parts of the state. He said while the state government would continue to ensure that residents had access to qualitative life, it would be their responsibility to encourage the administration by ensuring that they paid their taxes regularly.

The governor also urged developers to always obtain building approvals before they commence construction of any structure, adding that building without approved plans would lead to distortion of the masterplan.

He also said the various infrastructure improvement projects across the state had led to the empowerment of several classes of people, affirming that cost of renting houses in the Ekoro and Abule Egba area had gone up considerably following the construction of the roads. He, however, appealed to the landlords to be considerate in charging new rates.

He urged residents of areas that have not been touched by government to be patient, saying that all parts of the state would eventually feel the presence of the government.

Said he: "Our work has just started. Please let everyone be patient with us. We will construct the roads in phases and ensure that they interlink. We cannot construct roads that lead nowhere. They must be linked."

While emphasizing his call for peaceful coexistence, Fashola said as long as the people keep the peace, respect each other’s religious and ethnic beliefs and respect leaders in the society, nothing would be impossible to achieve in Lagos State.

At the handing over of the Mancity/Olaniyi road, Chairman of Ifako Ijaiye Local Government, Mr. Adeyemi Olabinjo thanked the governor for coming to the aid of the people of the area in providing a Grade A road that would help reduce pressure on the Lagos-Abeokuta Expressway.

Olabinjo said Fashola had ruled against toll collection on the road by the local government and pleaded for assistance to the council on other major roads in the area, while at the Ekoro Road hand over, a community leader in the area, Chief Kola Ogunjale commended the governor for bringing smiles and comfort to the residents of the area.

The Special Adviser to the Governor on Works and Infrastructure, Mr. Ganiyu Johnson, said the road projects were conceived in part, to meet the mega city challenges.

The road projects, according to Johnson, were designed to serve as bypass for motorists plying the Lagos-Abeokuta expressway from Abule Egba.

According to him, Olugbade, Transformer and Wusamotu Oreagba streets, in Meiran were initially single carriage ways, with a total length of 1.235 kilometres. But the project was awarded in 2009 to abate incessant flooding in the area, noting that the Egbeda-Idimu dual carriage way is undergoing rehabilitation.

He said that before the three roads were upgraded, the entire community had been facing the challenge of incessant flooding whenever it rained. The roads had remained impassable and were abandoned over the years, thus creating hardship to motorists and commuters.

The governor commended the contractors that handled the various water projects, and expressed his delight at how indigenous contractors and professionals were proving their mettle.

"It is time we make use our own contractors and professionals in the execution of big projects. These are challenges that they can cope with. All they need is to be given incentives, just like their foreign counterparts and definitely, they would deliver".

He also expressed his satisfaction over the construction of Meiran Water works plant by HFP Engineering services, assuring the firm that its partnership with the state would go a long way.

Earlier, the Group Managing Director HFP Engineering, Mr. Dele Martins, noted that having been a provider of engineering and construction services in Nigeria since the last 30 years, working on Meiran mini water works was not particularly different from the other water works it had constructed in the past except for erosion which had taken over the site and the conveying of building materials to the site which was a bit tasking because of the situation of the road.

Other dignitaries present at the commissioning ceremony were Deputy Governor Lagos State, Princess Sarah Adebisi Sosan and Group Managing Director Lagos Water, Mr. Shayo Holloway.