Lagos Signs MOU for 4th Mainland Bridge, Project to be Fully Financed by Private Sector

Lagos Signs MOU for 4th Mainland Bridge, Project to be Fully Financed by Private Sector

The Lagos state government on Wednesday signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with a consortium of investors to signal the commencement of the construction of the 38km 4th mainland bridge.

The project which is expected to gulp about N844 billion will be completely financed by the private sector, according to the state governor, Mr Akinwunmi Ambode.

The #4thMainlandBridge project is to be funded solely by the private sector pic.twitter.com/QKyr5IkIoY

— Akinwunmi Ambode (@AkinwunmiAmbode) May 25, 2016

The governor noted that the project would be the first long-span bridge construction effort to be embarked upon by the Lagos state government without funding from the federal government. He added that the willingness of the investors to provide funding for the project was testimony of their confidence in his administration and in the Nigerian economy as a whole.

This is the first time in the State that we’re embarking on the construction of a long-span bridge & expressway without Federal funding.

— Akinwunmi Ambode (@AkinwunmiAmbode) May 25, 2016

This arrangement with our partners is a major testimony to the confidence they have in our administration & the Nigerian economy in general.

— Akinwunmi Ambode (@AkinwunmiAmbode) May 25, 2016

The Nation reports that the bridge is being constructed under the Build, Own and Transfer (BOT), concession of 40 years under a Public Private Partnership (PPP) initiative of the state government.

The consortiums to handle different stages of the mega project are Visible Asset Limited, Julius Berger Nigeria Plc, Hi-tech Construction Limited, J.P. Morgan, Eldorado Nigeria Limited, Nigerian Westminster Dredging and Marine, Africa Finance Corporation, AFC and Access Bank.

The bridge is designed to accommodate cyclists and pedestrians and feature two service areas as well as additional pedestrian crossing.

The bridge would also accommodate three Toll Plazas which are still being tested from a financial point of view and it would serve as a major boost to the actualisation of the Lekki Master Plan.

Ambode stated that the 4th mainland bridge will provide the required transportation compliment to the rapidly growing industrial activities on the Eti-Osa – Lekki – Epe corridor of the State.

He said the proposed alignment of the bridge will pass through Lekki, Langbasa and Baiyeiku towns along the shoreline of the Lagos Lagoon estuaries, further running through Igbogbo River Basin and crossing the Lagos Lagoon estuaries to Itamaga Area in Ikorodu.

He also said the bridge would be made up of eight interchanges to facilitate effective inter-connectivity between different parts of the State.

It would be recalled that the Lagos state government on Tuesday equally revealed plans to rebuild the Oshodi bus terminus. The proposed outcome of the project was illustrated in a video which the governor shared on his Twitter page

In a very short time, this is what Oshodi would look like https://t.co/JxUKS3iQjI, a world class transportation & commercial hub #NewOshodi

— Akinwunmi Ambode (@AkinwunmiAmbode) May 24, 2016