- Says project will create hundreds of jobs, stimulate the economy
The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has expressed satisfaction at the level of work on the Lagos Blue light rail, saying it has no doubt the project would be completed and ready for flag-off by the fourth quarter of 2022.
The Director Development Finance Mr Phillip Yusuf Jila, made this known on Tuesday, during a joint inspection of the project site, between the supervising agency, Lagos Metropolitan Area Transport Authority (LAMATA), and the CBN.
Leading the LAMATA Team was the Managing Director Mrs Abimbola Akinajo, who led other top officials among them the Director Rail Services Engr. Olasunkanmi Okusaga, and Project Manager, Engr Abidemi Atobatele, among others.
Briefing the CBN team, Akinajo said Lagosians are at the cusp of history, as Marina is going to occupy a very strategic place on the transportation dynamics of the state.
According to her, while the first phase of the Blue line would start from Mile 2 and terminate at Marina, the Red line, the first phase of which would also be delivered in the last quarter of 2022, would ultimately terminate at Marina.
“Also here at Marina, the Green Line, will begin here and terminate at the Lekki Free Trade Zone. Also to begin here is the monorail which goes through Victoria Island and terminate at Lekki.
There will also be ferry services, as well as the BRT, as well as the First and the Last Mile Bus system. So at Marina we are going to have a multi-modal tramsportation interchange that is going to be a world class station.”
She said the government is coming with two such interchanges, at Marina and at Mile 2, to take care of the closeness to water resource.
Akinajo said the state government’s master plan has six rail lines all of which would help reduce transportation stress in the state, adding that while the government would develop two of the lines, it is already shopping for private sector support for the remaining four lines to make them come up.
She said five stations are proposed on the Blue line out of which four had been delivered by the previous administration and efforts are on to ensure that operations can start by the fourth quarter next year.
Akinajo said when completed the blue line would operate three rolling stocks which are already on ground and.the line could carry about 1,000 passengers every day, adding that from Mile 2, people would be able to make Marina in less than 35mins.
She said though the entire stretch of the project is 27kms, the first phase for which the CBN is providing support is about 13.5kms.
She expressed happiness at the CBN support, adding that such would assist the government in accelerating the pace of delivering the project to the people.
On his stead, Jila, said he is happy that the pace of work.
He said: “What I see here is jobs and more.jobs. already I have been told over 500 Nigerians are working on this project. This figure can only continue to increase the potentials to create more jobs and ensure that many more people are taken away from poverty and penury and stimulate the economy. I am happy at the level of work done and I can say that it is commensurate with what has already been advanced for the project.”
He said the CBN is happy to have supported the Lagos State government on its Differentiated Cash Reserve Requirement (DCRR) intervention.