President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has described the newly commissioned Oworonshoki – Apapa Expressway as the tenth Wonders of the World.
This is just as he commenced the President of Dangote Industries Limited, Alhaji Aliko Dangote, for his selflessness in actualising the project.
President Tinubu represented by the Senate President, Godswill Akpabio enthused that the 37 Kilometres road, which commenced in 2018 by the former administration and completed in 2024 is a win for all Nigerians.
He explained that the importance of Lagos state to Nigeria makes it very vital and as such must work for the benefit of all.
According to him, “Lagos is home to all, I thank Aliko Dangote for coming up with this initiative and in partnership with HiTech have delivered the Tenth Wonder of the World.
“Lagos is not the only state experiencing growth and development under the Renewed Hope Agenda. I also congratulate the Minister of Works, Engineer David Umahi for his passionate commitment to structural development across Nigeria, he said.
Speaking on the extremely poor condition of the road before December 2018, Dangote stressed that the road severely hampered evacuation of goods and restricted access to markets, paralysing the shipping and manufacturing industries and disrupting supply chains across the entire economic landscape.
“Before the completion of the road, it used to take two weeks before we get to port and in about 18 months, we lost over 60 billion naira in demurrage —- The completion of this project is an example of the positive impact that be achieved when public collaborate with the private sector, Dangote said.
“Utilising the visionary framework of the Executive 007 in Road Infrastructure Development and Refurbishment Investment Tax Credit Scheme, the Dangote Group has been able to mobilise capital for the complete Refurbishment of the entire 37 Kilometres length of Apapa – Isolo – Oworonshoki road and its expansion to ten lanes”.
He also stated that the scheme must be revisited to make it more viable for private sector participants. “In this case, we have so far recovered only 40 per cent of our investments and the balance is not due until 2027, we consider this project merely as Corporate Social Responsibility.
“We believed that more commercial interest rate recovery be allowed given the high cost of capital in Nigerian Fiscal environment,” he said.
In his remark, Engineer Umahi also commended the Dangote Group for delivering a well executed project adding that the quality of the Dangote Cement is a testament to the value seen on the road.
“I was once trapped for 8 hours on my way to the airport and so, I understand how terrible the road was. We are celebrating this project today because it was well done and a display of new technology. It is fully completed with Solar – powered streetlights.
“In the same vain, the Third Mainland Bridge was not just a rehabilitation work, a road that has been standing for 40 years —- to ensure that our bridge last longer, I’m happy to announce that Mr. President has approved the ban of excavation of sands 10 Kilometres from bridges across Nigeria.
The Governor of Lagos State, Babajide Sanwo – Olu, represented by his deputy, Obafemi Hamzat revealed that about 20 companies had relocated from the Apapa axis of the state owing to the condition of the road —- the state of the road is unimaginable. We are grateful to Aliko Dangote, HiTech for the excellent job they did. It used to take over seven hours to drive from one end of the road to the other, it now takes around an hour, he said.
