Gridlock Would Ease In Lagos With New Project

A new Urban Railway Development project, embarked upon by the Lagos Metropolitan Area Transport Authority (LAMATA) in conjunction with Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) is expected to reduce gridlock in the state, particularly in Marina, Victoria Island and Ikoyi.

The $1 billion project, called the Automated Guide Transit (AGT), a type of Monorail, would mitigate traffic congestion and improve business environment, Lagos State Commissioner for Transportation, Dayo Mobereola said during a presentation on the plan in Lagos.

Mobereola said the essence of commencing the project from Marina, Victoria Island and Ikoyi was because the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) of Lagos State majorly comes the axis.Acting Managing Director of LAMATA, Iyiola Adeboye, said the project, would ensure smooth transportation and reduce gridlock in Lagos State.

Adeboye said: “Lagos State should have a Mega City Structure as is seen in other countries.”While addressing the current condition of transportation in Lagos Island, LAMATA Public Transport Director, Gbenga Dairo observed that the current issues affecting road networking around Victoria Island and Ikoyi were inappropriate road layout, poor traffic management, inadequate public transport and institutional obstacles.

Team Leader of JICA, Akiyama Yoshihiro, while presenting a survey of the project stated that the preparatory survey was based on terms of reference between JICA and LAMATA carried out in August 2015.

Giving the survey report, Yoshihiro explained that JICA conducted its first survey on route planning/ demand forecast in March – April 2016, and as a follow up on rough estimate of project cost review of funding policy, comparison and review of the new transportation systems, initial environmental and social considerations.

Expressing worry about how to power the project, he assured the stakeholders that with or without gas supply, there will be an inbuilt generator to power the project.
He however stressed more on route planning, stating that after much deliberation in reviewing the route plan of Victoria Island Monorail Line in revised Strategic Transport Master Plan (STMP) and considering route options for the project, the conclusion on the proposed best route plan was actualised with the total length of approximately 15.4km and 16 stations within, connecting from Marina to British International School Way with two ways visible in both island (Victoria Island/ Ikoyi).

The basic concept of the survey is to minimize obstruction and to check for possible land acquisition that will result to good connectivity with other transport modes and Eko Atlantic City, he noted.

Source: TheGuardian