The Lagos State Governor, Babajide Sanwo-Olu, has said the 2022 deadline set for the completion of the Lagos Rail Mass Transit projects being undertaken by the Lagos State Government remains sacrosanct.

This was disclosed as the governor conducted a physical assessment of the construction of both blue and red lines while inspecting the rail corridors to evaluate the ongoing work.

A statement from the Lagos State government said that the 37-kilometre-long red line would start from Agbado and terminate at Oyingbo while the blue line project, which started in 2010, was currently at over 80 per cent completion.

The rail projects are being undertaken by the Lagos Metropolitan Area Transport Authority under the Ministry of Transportation.

Sanwo-Olu said the take-off of the red line project was a major breakthrough for his administration in its drive to deliver an integrated transportation model that would ease road congestion in the state.

Sanwo-Olu said, “We are excited about the ongoing rail projects being undertaken by the Lagos State government and there is a huge number of jobs being provided to Nigerians engaged by the contractor at all stages of the construction work.

“There are over a thousand personnel working at the Marina terminal alone. We are happy with the extent of work on both projects.

“What we have seen at the Ikeja station, which is the second biggest station after the one being built at Marina, gives us so much hope that the projects are on course.

“Based on the physical assessment, we believe that the timelines set for the completion of major engineering work are on track. We also believe that our contractor is working on schedule.

“Although there are few hiccups, we believe we will be able to address and surmount them. By the last quarter of 2022, we hope that trains will move on both corridors. And by 2023, we expect to see the full operation of both blue and red lines.”

The governor said there would be quarterly assessment and monitoring of the two projects to forestall any issues that might delay their progress.

The governor added that the Marina terminus of the blue line, which would be an elevated station, would be a transportation hub that would offer intermodal transportation services.

He said, “At Marina Station, not only are we building rail tracks, underneath we will have a bus station as well for the BRT and First-and-Last Mile buses.”

He added that there would also be a ferry service at the Marina station for those who would travel through the waterways.