President Bola Tinubu will on Sunday, May 26, 2024, commission the reconstructed Apapa-Oworonshoki-Ojota-Oshodi expressway and the newly rehabilitated Third Mainland Bridge in Lagos State in commemoration of his one year in office.
A statement by the Special Adviser on Media to the Minister Works, Barr. Orji Uchenna Orji, said the President will also flag off the construction of the Lagos-Calabar coastal highway and other legacy highway projects being undertaken by Federal Ministry of Works.
He said the 36.02km Apapa-Oworonshoki-Ojota-Oshodi expressway is a crucial link connecting Nigeria’s premier ports—Apapa and Tin Can Island as well as the Murtala Mohammed International Airport, to the larger part of Lagos as well as other parts of Nigeria through the arterial routes of Lagos-Ibadan expressway.
The road was originally constructed between 1975 and 1978 but deteriorated significantly over the years, causing severe delays in the evacuation of goods from Apapa Wharf.
The reconstruction commenced in 2018 and completed in 2024 by Dangote Industries Limited under the Tax Credit method of infrastructure funding, with Hitech Construction Nigeria Limited as the subcontractor.
Also, the 12.5km Third Mainland Bridge connecting Lagos Island to the Mainland will be commissioned.
The bridge first commissioned by President Shehu Shagari in 1980 and completed by President Ibrahim Babangida in 1990 recently underwent significant rehabilitation to improve its structural integrity and extend its lifespan
On the other projects to be flagged off, he said the President will physically flag off the construction of 700km Lagos-Calabar coastal highway and virtually flag off the construction of 1,000km Sokoto-Badagry Highway.
The President is also expected to flag off nationwide emergency interventions on 330 roads and bridges and other new road rehabilitation projects across the six geo-political zones of the nation.
The flag-off and commissioning of the projects demonstrate the Tinubu administration’s commitment to infrastructure transformation and Mr. President’s vision on road infrastructure as a catalyst for national socio-economic advancement.