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Sanwo-Olu: Lagos red rail line’ll be delivered in December

Lagos State Governor, Babajide Sanwo-Olu, has expressed satisfaction with the quality of the work done on the Lagos Rail Mass Transit (LRMT) Red Line project, saying most of the difficult tasks have been completed.

Sanwo-Olu said the entire construction has moved into the finishing phase in which precast beams and other concrete fittings were being coupled to the constructed structures.

The governor made this known after inspecting the pace of work on the 37-kilometre-long rail project on Sunday.

He said: “The Red Line is a project conceived and started by our Government, which will be delivered in the lifetime of this administration. We have given our commitment to ensure the project is completed by the end of this year as promised.

“This is our fourth inspection trip on this project within the year alone and each time we come, there is significant progress that the contractor achieves along the rail corridor.

“Along the rail corridor, there is massive regeneration that is taking place and we have paid extensive amount in terms of compensation, far more than anyone else, for those affected by the construction activities. That is why we don’t have problems with members of the communities on this corridor. After inspecting the Agege station, we went on to check the Ikeja terminal, which happens to be the iconic station of the Red Line. Its size is almost about the size of three football fields together.

“As we have seen, all the stations inspected are at the roof level, moving into the completion stage. The civil work has been completed, it’s just the finishing job we are doing at the moment. All the activities are on schedule and we are hoping the best entire project will be completed by the end of the year.

“There are places that were particularly challenging for the contractor to do drilling due to high vehicular density. All the challenges have been overcome; what is left is concrete in-situ and placing of precast beams,” Sanwo-Olu stated.

The governor added that the construction work on the overpasses was at different stages of completion but assured that all work would be done by December.

He said the work on the bridge on Awolowo Way to Agege Motor Road and inward Mongoro Bus Stop remained on track and would finish by the end of October.

Governor Sanwo-Olu said the Mushin overpass, which crosses from Kayode Street at Ikorodu Road to Agege Motor Road in Mushin, and the one at Yaba from Tejuosho exiting onto Murtala Muhammed Road would be completed by November.

To eliminate human interference with the rail corridor, the governor said the rail passageway would be walled off the residential areas.

This, he said, would also prevent encroachment and unapproved commercial activities around the corridor.

The Star