Lagos State Governor, Babajide Sanwo-Olu, has said the construction of the Red Rail Line is in the finishing phase.
Sanwo-Olu stated this on Sunday after an extensive inspection of the ongoing construction activities around the Lagos Rail Mass Transit Red Line project.
The governor was joined on the inspection tour by the Deputy Governor, Dr Obafemi Hamzat, and members of the cabinet.
After the inspection tour, which lasted for four hours, Sanwo-Olu disclosed that the contractor had completed most of the difficult tasks.
The governor said the entire construction has moved into the finishing phase in which precast beams and other concrete fittings are being coupled to the constructed structures.
Sanwo-Olu’s spokesman, Gboyega Akosile, disclosed this in a statement 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 problem 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.”
