Relief seems underway for Lagos commuters following the disclosure that the Apapa trucks terminal would soon be completed, to ease the gridlock caused by heavy duty vehicles on Lagos highways.
The Federal Controller of Works in Lagos, Mr. Adedamola Kuti, said that the Apapa trailer park project in the state would be completed by the end of this month.
Kuti told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Lagos that the shoreline protection aspect of the project is about 25 per cent done, while the entire project has reached 94 per cent completion.
“We expect that the work will be completed this April and we should be handing the trailer park over to the NPA – Nigerian Ports Authority – by end of this month,” he said.
He added: “The materials we were waiting for have arrived and are being cleared in the port as we speak.
“We have already done 25 per cent of the shoreline protection which has been the major aspect holding us. The entire project is 94 per cent completed,” he said.
Kuti said that facilities, including toilets and bathrooms, police post, ticketing section and boreholes to make the park comfortable for use, had been completed.
On the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway, he debunked media reports about variations in the project’s cost and delivery time.
He said that additional works such as foot bridges, under passes, toll plazas and walkways were added to the project due to springing up of settlements on the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway corridor.
Kuti said there are no variations in the cost of the project, but the additional works increased its cost.
He said that the additional works, costing about N64 billion, made the contract sum to increase to about N134 billion.
He said the Federal Executive Council extended the project’s completion period by four years – which would be 2021/2022 – because of the additional work.
“This additional works cost money and must be added to the cost of the job,” he said.
He said that the contractors for the project are on site and that the work is progressing.
He appealed to motorists on the road and other construction zones to be patient and obey all road signs and traffic rules.
“Right now, we are working around the MFM and RCCG area – that is Kilometers 15 and 26, we do hope that work will be completed soon on those sections.
“We want to appeal to people to be patient as they use the road, bearing in mind that it is a construction zone; they should be very careful when they drive.
“There are traffic officers that control the traffic; motorists should obey them as well as traffic rules and regulations; they require a lot of patience,” he said.
According to him, there are no alternative routes to the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway at the moment because the Ikorodu-Sagamu is also under construction.
- NAN