Amid Uncertainties, Lagosians await Multibillion Naira light Rail Project

Amid Uncertainties, Lagosians await Multibillion Naira light Rail Project

Lagosians have continued to lament the endless wait with stakeholders raising questions about how long it will take the state government to deliver the multi-biĺlion naira light rail project.

Theconscienceng reports that the state government had made several promises on the timelines for its delivery which did not come to pass.

However, the Lagos light rail project has failed to see the light of the day, several years after it was birthed amid high expectations.

As a result, Sanwo-Olu’s promise that the project would be delivered later this year has been seen as a political statement. But top officials of the Lagos State government insisted that the governor meant what he said.

However, keen observers and stakeholders familiar with the project said it would take a miracle for the governor to keep the promise he had made to Lagosians and Nigerians in general project.

Officials close to the project said it was nearly impossible for the government to deliver the project by the last quarter of this year.

The officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorised to speak on the matter, argued that many of the rail stations were not ready while also noting that several aspects of the infrastructure were yet to be constructed.

One of the top officials said, “I wonder how the state government will fulfill its promise to deliver the project by the last quarter of this year. This is a huge project that has several aspects. It will be difficult to deliver it by year-end.

“For example, many of the rail stations are yet to be completed. This is in addition to the fact that other major aspects of the infrastructure projects are yet to be ready. Several other things are yet to be on the ground. I wonder how this will happen.”

Another top official close to the Lagos State Metropolitan Agency said if the project would come on stream by December, the state government ought to have commenced the recruitment of personnel that would run the project by this time.

He wondered how this would happen when nothing of such was happening.

“Rail system relies on significant number of personnel to run effectively. By now, they should have commenced the recruitment of personnel but nothing like that is happening now. To me, this December date appears like a political statement,” he said.