• Friday, March 29, 2024
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Developers to lose investment as Lagos revokes layout approval on Lekki regional road RoW

Owners of property on Lekki Regional Road right of way (RoW) are losing their investment, as Lagos State has revoked all layout approval on already

Owners of property on Lekki Regional Road right of way (RoW) are losing their investment, as Lagos State has revoked all layout approval on already developed and yet to be developed property along the corridor.

This is coming four days after the state government flagged off the construction of the about 9km road, which will further open up the Lekki-Epe corridor and possibly attract more investments to that axis.

The government before now had accused developers of deliberate encroachment on the alignment and warned it would demolished all property illegally situated along the road RoW.

At the flag off of the construction on Sunday, Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu said state officials found to had colluded with developers to contravene the RoW would be meted appropriate sanctions.

Read also: Sanwo-Olu honours COVID-19 front-line health workers

Some affected property owners in Cowrie Creek Estate told BusinessDay early in the year that about N10 billion could be lost in the process.

Idris Salako, the state commissioner for physical planning and urban development, said on Tuesday that recent observations revealed that the corridor had been encumbered by physical developments (including shanties), which negate the objectives of which the regional road was conceived.

“Consequently, by virtue of Section 21(1) (a) of Lagos State Urban and Regional Planning and Development Law, 2015, I, Idris Okanla Salako, the commissioner, ministry of physical planning and urban development hereby REVOKE in part, a section of Elegushi Chieftaincy Family Layout that falls within the alignment.”

Salako regretted that some estates, buildings/structures had encroached on the RoW of the road in Lekki axis.

The Lekki road was first conceived by the state in the Lagos Metropolitan Master Plan (1980-2000) and was retained in the approved Lekki Comprehensive Master Plan 2013.

“Lagos State granted title to land totalling about 500 hectares and issued layout approval (1991) wherein four (4) major roads were recognized namely, Coastal Road and Lekki-Epe Expressway, Southern part of Elegushi Land, Regional Road and Lagoon at the Northern part of the Elegushi layout, all running parallel to one another. The roads have been envisioned to engender social-economic and transportation development of the state.

“In line with the THEMES agenda of Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu, the regional road is precursor to the proposed Fourth Mainland Bridge and a promised dividend of democracy to the people of Lagos in order to improve traffic and transportation system within the state,” Salako said.