LCCI seeks creation of BRT on Lekki-epe corridor

…wants PPP with LASG on int’l expo centre

Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCCI) has urged for the creation of a Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) corridor on the Lekki- Epe Expressway as parts of the solutions to the heavy traffic congestion in that axis.

Recall that stakeholders drawn from the private sector, including Access and Fidelity Banks, recently met with the government of Lagos State, at Four Points by Sheraton Hotel, Victoria Island, to discuss possible solutions to the intractable congestion on the island and along the Lekki corridor.

The meeting presented various suggestions- ranging from total overhaul of traffic architecture in the area, removal of some of the large roundabouts as well as fixing areas riddled with potholes.

But the LCCI believes in addition to the solutions being proffered, there is the need to create a BRT corridor on the road. BRT is a segregated lane exclusive to high capacity buses and operated either by government or franchised private operators.

“Most residents on Lekki-ajah corridor have their offices in Ikoyi and Victoria Island; we believe that having a BRT corridor will encourage most of them to drop their cars and commute on buses,” said Babatunde Ruwase, president of LCCI during a visit to Governor Babajide Sanwo-olu at the Lagos House, Ikeja,

The LCC is also looking to partnering the government in the construction of an international convention and expo centre to be executed via a Public Private Partnership (PPP) model. The proposed centre has been necessitated by the fact that Lagos remains one of the few mega cities in the world without an international convention and expo centre.

According to Ruwase, the centre would be an important trade promotion infrastructure which the state government is best positioned to facilitate.

“If the government can provide us with the land, we will mobilise the resources to build it. The location must be strategic, and the land sizable so that it can be befitting of the commercial capital of the largest economy on the African continent,” said Ruwase.

He bemoaned the current situation where exhibitions of international rating hold in five star hotels whose cost are prohibitive, thus inhibiting inclusive participation, especially by small businesses; while others hold in improvised structures and tents.

The construction of the centre, he believes will support the LCCI’S quest to making the Lagos international trade fair not just the biggest fair in Nigeria, but also in Africa.

Ruwase called for the intervention of the state government towards boosting investment in digital economy.

According to him, members of the LCC in the telecommunications sector had complained about the time and cost of getting right of way from the state government, saying that it will be difficult to achieve the dream of digital Lagos, if the situation persists.

Sanwo- Olu promised the support of his administration for the actualisation of the proposed international convention centre.

On the issue of Right of Way, he promised a more coordinated open access fibre optic lane process toward building a smart city.