Minister of Environment, Mamoud Abubakar, has said that no less than 795 houses will be demolished during the construction of the fourth mainland bridge in Lagos.
Speaking at the Environmental and Social Impact Assessment Stakeholders’ scoping workshop with the Federal Ministry of Environment in Lagos, the minister said as agreed by state and federal governments, the houses will be demolished to pave the way for the construction of the proposed 37-kilometre bridge.
A lot of efforts, according to Abubakar, had been made to reduce the number of affected structures from about 9,000 to less than 800.
The minister, who was represented by a director in the ministry, James Kolawole, explained that though the project would have about 16 alignments, the best had been selected.
He said:
There was an alignment that will affect about 9,000 structures along the corridor, but we have reviewed it and gone for the alignment that will affect about 795 houses, instead of the one that will take more houses. It is an ongoing thing on how best to minimise the negative impact.
The State Ministry of Physical Planning and Urban Development, on their part, said the bridge, which will connect Lagos and Ogun states, will pass through Abraham Adesanya in Lagos and Sparklight Estate near the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway in Ogun State.
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Abayomi Omolola Amos, a town planner in the ministry, said the alignment of the project had been carefully designed to reduce the number of houses that should be demolished.
The Federal Government said the proposed bridge will boost economic growth and enhance international trade.
Abubakar said the Lagos State government had been working on the project for about four years and had made several representations to the Federal Government.
Upon completion, the fourth mainland bridge would have a 2 x 4 lane carriageway cross-sectional road with allowance for BRT Lane and future road expansion.
It would also become the longest bridge in Africa second only to the 6th October Bridge in Cairo, Egypt, featuring three toll plazas, nine interchanges, 4.5Km Lagoon Bridge, Rest and Service Areas, and an eco-friendly environment amongst other added features.
