Lagos State Governor, Mr. Akinwunmi Ambode on Thursday assured Lagosians of his administration’s determination to complete the Mile 2-Badagry Road Expansion project in quick time.

Governor Ambode who gave the assurance when he inspected the Mile 2-Badagry road expansion works, which is being expanded to a 10-lane way, ‎said the contractor working on the project will be mobilised to ensure its completion.

“What we have come here to do is to specifically ensure that the contractor here is mobilised. It’s also important for us that the contractor takes it as a major priority”.

“The Mile 2 Badagry Expressway is very important to all of us and like we said, it’s a project that we must finish. It’s a project that I would like to be completed within the shortest possible time, so I’ll like to see greater work done on the road project itself”, he said.

On the Blue Line Light Rail project, the Governor said efforts will be made to ensure that the Mile 2 to National Theatre Corridor is completed soon.

“We should be able to put to use whatever has been done from Mile 2 to Marina. Immediately they commence work on the road project from Mile 2 towards Badagry, once we pass the aspect of Okokomaiko, we should be able to do the Blue Rail from Mile 2 to Okokomaiko”.

He urged the contractor to increase the pace of work on the project just as he assured them that the government will address the challenges they might be encountering towards finishing the project.

“What we expect is that notwithstanding the rain or whatever, the immediate mobilisation should be done and then the contractor should also increase the pace of work and that’s what we’ll like to see and to let you know that whatever it is that are encumbrances to completing this project, we’re all going to sit down to make sure that we alleviate the sufferings of our people”.

The Governor who later inspected the Badagry Deep Sea Port ‎project assured that the state government will give adequate support to the initiative just as he assured the communities within the location of the project that their interests will be protected‎.

He said the Sea Port, on completion, will be the biggest in the African continent.

“The land space for the Deep Sea Port is over 1000 hectares of which we have just been told that there’s going to be a free trade zone and then a container terminal that we are going to have here”.‎

“We already know that the investors have done the best they can. We have Mearsk in the bouquet of investors who have signed on to this project and what that means for us is that we are going to have the largest cargo container port in Africa, situated in Badagry.

“That means a lot of us in terms of employment. It means a lot for us also in terms of new settlement like it has been said, we hope that in the next two months we’re coming to start this project here”.

He said that he personally came to see the project, stating that it is part of promise aimed at bringing development to the communities in that axis.

Harping on the need for compensation, he said that the state government will ensure that the 12 communities expected to be resettled as a result of the project are duly compensated.

He said aside the Deep Sea Port, the state government will utilise the tourism potentials and side attractions notable within the axis.

“Like you have also been told this project is 500 metres away from the ‘Point Of No Return’ which is also a tourist attraction for us, so we have decided to protect that particular place to make sure that tourism is also complemented in this project.

“With a Deep Sea Port project like this, it means that there would be new settlements in Badagry, new towns and the standard of living is positively affected by this kind of project”.

“That is why we want to appeal to everybody including every Lagosian, before I came here, I inspected the Mile 2 Badagry Expressway Project which is a 10-lane project. There is no way we want to do the Deep Sea Port project here if we do not finish the Mile 2 Badagry Expressway project”.

“I just want to assure you that simultaneously, those two projects will start in earnest and then we will use that to create jobs for our people and also increase the GDP of the Lagos economy and strongly within the next four years you will see a dramatic change in this axis of Lagos”, the Governor said.