The Federal Government has authorized the Ogun State Government to undertake the long-awaited rehabilitation and tolling of the Lagos-Abeokuta Expressway.
The announcement was made by the Minister of Works, David Umahi, during a press briefing at the Aso Villa following the Federal Executive Council (FEC) meeting on Monday.
Frustrated by years of enduring the dilapidated condition of the crucial Lagos-Abeokuta Expressway, motorists and commuters have persistently urged the government to take action. Minister Umahi emphasized that this initiative would be executed within the framework of the Highway Development and Management Initiative (HDMI).
“On permission to build federal roads, when such requests are made, we give approval within 24 hours but then there are conditions to be met – they must have to use the Federal Ministry of Works standard designs,” Umahi said.
“Under HDMI, when they (state governments) finish the roads, they have to toll it. There is a maximum number of years they have to toll it, recoup their money and then the funds will have to start coming into Federation Account and that is why we are very much interested in how much the road is going to cost and to adopt the standard procedure in road construction and design. This is very important.
“An example of this system — HDMI – was the approval of Lagos-Otta-Abeokuta today (Monday) for Ogun State Government to build and toll.”
Moreover, both the Infrastructure Concession Regulatory Commission (ICRC) and the Federal Ministry of Finance are slated to play integral roles in overseeing the entire process.
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