The Lagos State Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu would on Tuesday, unveil the State’s transport policy to help galvanise the government’s developmental goals, key transportation objectives and strategic initiatives in traffic management and transportation for the people of the state.
Announcing the completion of the policy document in readiness for it unveiling by the governor yesterday, the Commissioner for Transportation, Mr. Oluwaseun Osiyemi, explained that the policy is long overdue for a state like Lagos, reputed as the commercial hub of the nation adding that when it is fully implemented, the comprehensive policy document will be catalyst for economic growth, enhance quality of life and improve overall transportation planning, design and accessibility.
SUNRISE NEWS recalled that the journey to the berthing of the Transport Policy began in 2017, when the former Governor Akinwunmi Ambode constituted a team of experts which joined its team from the Ministry of Transportation and the Lagos Metropolitan Area Transportation Authority (LAMATA), to develop a transportation policy befitting a mega city, and be a catalyst for a state with a 24-hour economy primed as a smart city.
The document which was submitted in 2019, was however held down by the Babajide Sanwo-Olu administration which subjected it to further tinkering to make it more robust.
The document which is being released five years after its initial year of release, Osiyemi said, now accommodates the state’s giant multi-modal strides among which was the delivery of two metro rail cars, one of which is electric, delivery of modern water ferries and a robust bus reforms that has set the state apart from other states of the federation where inter-modality works.
The unveiling ceremony, which Osiyemi said, will take place at the Sheraton, Lagos, would have in attendance stakeholders’ in the transportation sector, policy advocates and industry experts, and will also afford the opportunity to share insights into the policy which would sanitise the sector and ensure a more efficient and sustainable transport infrastructure for the residents of the state.
Osiyemi assured that the Policy is flexible and dynamic to accommodate the integrated Multi-modal Transport System that is safe, adequate, reliable, comfortable, efficient and affordable within the framework of a progressive and competitive market economy.