Quick Facts on Ogun State Road Works
Justification for a 10-lane Sagamu-Abeokuta Road
1. There is the need to build the road because as a government we are aware of the number of international conglomerates that have or are in the process of acquiring lands along the road for the purpose of siting their factories in Ogun State. Two Examples are Coca Cola and SAB Miller, the world’s biggest brewer, there are several others, each investing not less than $100m.
2. There is the need to think ahead, put the road infrastructure in place now that there is still space to do that rather than wait until the corridor is fully built and demolishing structures for expansion.
3. A good example of such forward thinking is the present day Ikorodu Road, Lagos. When it was built as a six lane expressway over 40 years ago, a lot of people then felt there was no need for such but today, government would pay anything to be able to expand Ikorodu road!
4. Besides that, almost 40 years after it was constructed as a 6-lane expressway, the size of the road was one reason Lagos was able to attract World Bank financing for the construction of the BRT corridor. The World Bank will not support such on roads less than 6-lanes.
5. Today, the administration of Senator Ibikunle Amosun in Ogun State is also thinking ahead by embarking on the construction of a 10-lane expressway that will be an impressive gateway to the Gateway state.
6. Beyond that, the size of the road is also one of the factors to be considered by multilateral agencies that have concluded plans to assist Ogun State in financing the construction of the road.
7. Two lanes on either side of the expressway, to be built with concrete, is dedicated for trucks thereby reducing chances of road accidents between trucks and smaller cars as well as preserving the road
8. The road is also going to host the rail project of the Governor Amosun-led administration which will run parallel to connect the federal government rail line at Sagamu interchange and greatly reduce the travel time between Abeokuta and Lagos.
9. When completed, the road will not only reduce the travel time between Abeokuta and Lagos, the rail line will further shorten the distance between the two states such that a lot more people can live in Abeokuta or Sagamu area and work on the Lagos Island
10. This also explains why a lot of housing estate development project of the state are located along that same axis
11. The road project will be constructed in phases with phase one covering the area between MTD around Government House, Oke Igbein and the PMB Estate, Kobape.
Cost/Financing
1. The entire project, including four flyover bridges at different points and other road furniture, was awarded at N60bn.
2. The initial fund for the construction is solely sponsored by the Ogun State government in the form of counterpart funding
3. The rest is to be financed by multilateral development agencies who have concluded plans with the Ogun State government concerning the construction of the road
4. What is required of the state government is to start as a way of demonstrating seriousness and then the development partners take over from there
5. The development partners determined the road they wanted the fund spent on, based on their viability studies, and also weighed in heavily on the specification.
6. This sort of development funding usually comes for periods of over 40 years and they attract ½ or maximum of 1 per cent.
7. Interestingly, similar facilities had been used for developmental projects by previous administrations as far back as the Late Chief Bisi Onabanjo era, which we are still repaying today at 1 per cent.
Will this road project stop the completion of other road projects?
1. No. The construction of Sagamu-Abeokuta expressway does not in any way stop the completion of ongoing road and other infrastructural projects spread across the nooks and crannies of Ogun State.
2. The project will be substantially financed by multilateral development partners who have concluded plans with the state government
3. In the course of the 2017 Fiscal year, the state government will complete many of the ongoing projects while new ones, especially rural roads that will impact on our agricultural output, will also be constructed.
Which Other Road Projects Are We to Expect
In the 2017 Fiscal Year, the state government has budgeted for the following roads among several others:
1. Sango-Ojodu-Abiodun road
2. Ilara-Ijoun Road
3. Lafenwa-Ayetoro Road
4. Mowe-Ofada road
5. Brewery–OGTV
6. Ijebu Ode-Ibadan junction road
7. Agbara-Atan-Lusada road
8. 100 rural roads
God bless Ogun State
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