Urban development and infrastructure renewal: The Lagos example

According to UN-Habitat, “Lagos is indisputably the gateway to globalization in Africa…and inevitably, the centripetal node of forces that link the region in many respects.”

With a burgeoning population of over 20 million people, Lagos, easily the most populous city in Africa, is indeed confronted with enormous urban challenges which require coordinated and sustainable urban planning and development. It is trite that the higher the population, the greater the demand and pressure on basic social amenities and public infrastructure. In this sense, it is gratifying to note that one of the defining achievements of the erstwhile Fashola administration  in Lagos State is in the area of urban planning and infrastructure renewal which is gradually transforming Lagos into a truly megacity.

The Lagos State government under the exemplary, cerebral and visionary leadership of Governor Babatunde Fashola, to a considerable extent, was able to address some of the problems associated with rapid urban growth through the government’s urban renewal and expansion programmes. From transportation to housing, to infrastructure development, to waste management/public sanitation, to the environment, there seems to be a general consensus that the Fashola administration impacted positively on the lives and general well-being of Lagosians.

The following incontrovertible evidences  abound: enhanced and reinvigorated public transportation system with the provision of government-assisted buses (LAGBUS) and dedicated routes under the Bus Rapid Transport (BRT), Africa’s first and largest BRT lite corridor system,  with a current movement of 180,000 people daily and a projected movement of 400,000 people daily by the end of 2016; construction of about 281 roads and additional 201 currently undergoing construction; massive rehabilitation and expansion of major roads across the state, including the Lekki-Epe Expressway, Lagos-Badagry Expressway, Mile 12-Ikorodu expansion, the construction of Lekki-Ikoyi link bridge, expanded ferry services through the construction of model jetties/terminals in Marina/Lagos Island, Osborne/Ikoyi, Badore/Ajah, Ipakodo/Epe, as well as Ibeshe/Ikorodu floating jetties.

Others are on-going construction of Light Rail Mass Transit [Blue Line] project along the Badagry-Marina/CMS axis, construction of over 10,000 housing units in different parts of the state, construction of transfer loading stations for efficient solid waste management, improved public sanitation and efficient waste disposal by Lagos State Waste Management Authority [LAWMA], as well as private sector participation (PSP) assisted waste collection system, beautification and landscape projects with the planting of over 5 million trees and construction of 196 parks and gardens as part of efforts to tackle climate change and enhance the beauty and aesthetics of the city, effective traffic management through the Lagos State Traffic Management Authority (LASTMA), reduced street trading, hawking and begging through the Kick Against Indiscipline (KAI), improved security system through the institution of the state security fund and partnership with private sector and donor agencies, among others.

In order to boost electricity supply to power critical public utilities like water works, court rooms, hospitals/health care facilities, schools, police stations, etc., the Lagos State government, through Public-Private Partnership, has gone a notch higher to initiate, construct and commission six Independent Power Plant [IPP] projects across the state in addition to solar-powered street-lighting projects. Also, in order to boost rural electrification, as part of measures to enhance rural development, about 841 electricity transformers were provided to rural communities in the last eight years, while 95 percent of the rural communities have been linked with the national grid.

One of the most ambitious and innovative urban development projects by the Lagos State government is the Eko Atlantic City and New Wall of Lagos on the Atlantic Ocean, which has been described as “the most impressive urban development project in Africa”. The Eko Atlantic City project, the first phase of which is expected to be ready for occupation by 2016, is designed as part of concerted efforts to decongest and expand the frontiers of the Lagos Metropolis and “to protect Victoria Island from the danger of frequent ocean surge upon its completion”. According to the Lagos State Ministry of Waterfront Infrastructure which is coordinating the project, “Of the total land size to be reclaimed from the Atlantic Ocean- almost twice of the land size of Victoria Island- about 5,184,999 sq. metres had been reclaimed as of October 2014. The City will host an estimated 250,000 people who would live and work there, while about 150,000 people are expected to commute to and fro the city daily.”

It is also instructive that the state government is presently working on establishing the right of way for the fourth mainland bridge, the construction of which, hopefully, will be started and completed by the Ambode administration. It is hoped that the Ambode government will consolidate on the achievements of the Fashola administration and give priority to ensuring substantial investment, renewal, upgrade and significant improvement in socio-economic infrastructure.

In conclusion, it must be said that efficient urban planning and transformation is a function of good governance, as aptly and remarkably demonstrated by the Lagos example under the leadership of Babatunde Fashola. I must say that as a bonafide indigene of Lagos, I am personally proud of the unparalleled achievements of Governor Fashola in the area of urban development and infrastructure renewal. While it is not yet uhuru, as there is still much to be accomplished by the new Ambode administration, it must be said that the uncommon initiatives and innovative strides in urban planning and infrastructure renewal recorded by the Lagos State government under Fashola are laudable, commendable and worthy of emulation by the Federal Government as well as other state governments in order to bridge infrastructure deficits and ensure sustainable rapid urban growth and development across the country.

KAYODE OLUWA