Gov. Ambobe of Lagos State
Lagos State Governor, Akinwunmi Ambode,
yesterday restated that the Blue Line of the Light Rail Project will commence
in December.
Governor Ambode spoke at the 5th Lagos
Corporate Assembly, which is a forum for public-private sector engagement held
at the Banquet Hall of Lagos House, Ikeja.
Responding to questions from captains
of commerce and members of the Organised Private Sector (OPS), Ambode debunked
claims that work had stopped on the first phase of the project connecting Mile
2 to CMS, saying the allegation is untrue.
“The truth is, you might not see the
contractors but they are actually working on the waters for now and by December
this year, the project will start running. So, work is seriously ongoing,” he
said.
He said the government was also about
to conclude the channelization of the waterways to improve on water
transportation so as to reduce the pressure on roads.
The governor assured OPS members and
would-be investors that the state is willing to create an enabling environment
for businesses to thrive in order to improve the citizens’ socio-economic
well-being.
He said efforts were on to reduce
traffic in Apapa and make life comfortable for people and businesses in the
axis. He added that, “the idea is that when we open up the area and construct
the Ishawo-Oke-Oko creek road to connect the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway from
there, we would have greatly reduced the traffic gridlock on the expressway and
then finally put a stop to the activities of pipeline vandals so that we can
begin to directly pump petroleum products from Atlas Cove in Apapa to Mosimi,
and then the tankers will have no business to come to Lagos to lift product.”
He promised to perfect the method for
rates collection and unfold a plan to tackle the menace of touts.
On power, Ambode said between now and
2017, he will create clusters of Independent Power Projects (IPPs) across the
state to improve on power generation and ensure 24 hours supply.