The waterways and ongoing rail system, which should constitute major modes, asides road, in the public transportation sector, will be the target for increased investment by the Lagos State government in 2020.
Although Lagos is richly endowed with water bodies, its contribution to the overall public transportation system in the state, according to statistics from the Lagos Metropolitan Area Transport Authority (LAMATA), is about 0.34 percent.
Similarly, inter-city rail trips are non-existent in the state, as the only passenger rail system that runs through the state is operated by federally owned Nigeria Railway Corporation (NRC), and bears no impact on inter-city movement.
Consequently, the road accounts for almost 100 percent of movement for people and goods, in a city heavily impacted by increasing urbanisation and population (estimated at 22m residents).
The state governor, Babajide Sanwo-Olu is, however, seeking to change this status in 2020, with the promise to invest heavily on the waterways and ongoing construction of the state-owned rail system (Blue Line).
Sanwo-Olu, in a new-year message in which he unveiled his administration’s policy direction, also assured of prioritising investment in other critical infrastructure.
According to Sanwo-Olu, the state government is prepared to shift the burden of transportation away from roads alone.
The objective, he explained, is to disperse traffic on the roads and give residents alternative choices in mass movement across the state.
With the signing of the state’s N1.168 trillion 2020 budget, the governor says his administration is now statutorily emboldened to tap into the potential of its waterways and rail corridors by pursuing fresh investment and partnerships that will help to deliver the much expected inter-modal transportation system.
“We are prioritising investment in infrastructure this year to shift the burden of transportation away from the roads unto the waterways as a means of moving our people around safely and efficiently. Lagos is endowed with a large body of water that has been under-exploited over the years. This is why we have to challenge ourselves to invest in this under-utilised channel.
“Work will begin to happen on our waterways and Lagos State Waterways Authority (LASWA) has been saddled with this responsibility. In terms of the pace of work that is going on our Blue Line rail project, which stretches from Okokomaiko to Marina, we expect the work to pick up and get phase 1 of it completed for operations. Also, construction work to commence on the Red Line that will stretch from Agege to Ebute Metta, this year,” he states.
