President Muhammadu Buhari has agreed to inaugurate Africa’s first mega bus terminal, Oshodi Transport Interchange before May 29, officials of the Lagos State Government have confirmed.
Besides, the president
will equally unveil the 10-lane Oshodi-Murtala Mohammed International
Airport road, another iconic transport infrastructure project the
administration of Governor Akinwunmi Ambode executed under two years.
The
state’s cabinet-ranking officials disclosed the plan to inaugurate the
two strategic transport projects purposely developed to serve at least
one million commuters in the metropolis daily.
One of the state
officials, who spoke with Akelicious in confidence, described the
transport interchange, as the first of its kind in Africa, which he
said, was similar to Victoria Terminus in London, the United Kingdom.
At
the time Ambode formally sealed the contract to construct the transport
exchange at the height of economic meltdown in 2016, the project was
then awarded at a whopping cost of $70 million
Constructed purely by
an indigenous construction firm, Planet Project Limited under the
leaders of Mr. Biodun Otunola, the official said the transport
interchange was a people-oriented project that would help at least one
million residents commute easily daily.
He, specifically,
compared the socio-economic value of the transport interchange with the
Murtala Mohammed International Airport, which according to him, was
designed to serve about 40,000 people daily.
While the airport would
only serve the elite, the official noted that the transport interchange
was conceived “to reduce travel time on Lagos roads; unlock gridlocks
associated with the megacity and help people commute without stress.
“That
informed Ambode’s decision to construct other bus terminals – Ikeja Bus
Terminal, Berger Bus Terminal, Yaba Bus Terminal, Oyigbo Bus Terminal
and Race Cross Bus Terminal – to make Lagos function like other
megacities in the developed world.
“This is the kind of project
the governments at different level should invest in. The project will
serve larger population and not just the elite. Ambode’s burden to
relieve commuters’ pains of gridlocks informed the conception of the
project.”
A statement from Planet Project Corporate Communication
Office explained the rationale behind the transport interchange, which
it said, was informed the peculiarity of Oshodi, West Africa’s busiest
transport interchange in West Africa, with over 13 parks and 5,600 buses
loading per day.
It said Oshodi “has over 100,000 passengers and
1 million pedestrians daily, with 76 percent of its land area dedicated
to transport and related activities. This leads to serious traffic
congestion and other environmental issues.
“Our concept seeks to
transform Oshodi into a world-class Central Business District (CBD) with
business, travel and leisure activities conducted in a serene, secure,
clean, orderly and hygienic environment, comparable with other transport
terminals around the world including Stratford and Victoria Bus Station
in the United Kingdom.”
The statement, therefore, said the transport
interchange would consolidate all the 13 city and interstate bus parks
into 3 multi-storey terminals, providing standard facilities including
waiting area, loading bays, ticketing stands, drivers lounge, parking
areas, rest rooms, accessible walkways and pedestrian sky-walks linking
all the 3 terminals.
According to the statement, other components
of the terminal include 20 lifts and escalators, two sky-walks
connecting the terminals to each other, Architectural LED Lights,
passenger concourse, public address systems, bus depot, passenger
drop-off areas, taxi and car parks, passenger lounge for intercity
commuters, loading bays, passenger information systems, etc.
It,
also, explained the benefits of the transport interchange, which it
said, ensure the reduction of the traffic congestion and chaos
traditionally experienced at Oshodi with a reduction in the scattered
and unruly transport activities, leading to a world-class excellent
transport experience for commuters and an improvement in the standard of
life of Lagos residents.
With the consolidation of all transport
activities, the statement said a lot of the informal economic
activities “will be brought into the tax-net of the State government and
Oshodi would thus be rebranded as the new and iconic face of Lagos.
“With
the ongoing pace of works, the project is billed to be completed this
month, and operations commencing soon after. Commuters around Lagos can
therefore look forward to having a comfortable, accessible and
world-class transport system.”
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