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  • FG reopens Apapa/Leventis Bridge, pledges repairs on Third Mainland Bridge

    After closure for over one year, the Federal Ministry of Power, Works and Housing on Wednesday reopened the Apapa/Leventis Bridge to traffic.

    The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) recalls that the bridge was closed for emergency repairs in August 2016 after a portion of the bridge deck damaged by fire caved in.

    Some of the reinforcement rods on top of the bridge’s centre had become exposed as the asphalt covering them had been eroded.

    It was re-opened to light traffic after the emergency repairs and later shut in 2017.

    The permanent repairs began in 2018 after Julius Berger, the contractor on the project, imported some materials to aid the repairs.

    The 40-year-old bridge links Nigeria’s premier port to both the Lagos Mainland and Island.

    While performing the tape cutting ceremony to open the bridge, the Director Highways, South West, Mr Funsho Adebiyi said that the opening would ease gridlock on the Apapa axis.

    “It is my pleasure to open this bridge in the name of God the Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Today we are having a new bridge as well as a new access road. So, hopefully gridlock will end here,” he said.

    He said that government was going to take drastic action against all forms of abuses that would cause damage to bridges in Lagos.

    The Federal Controller of Works in Lagos, Mr Adedamola Kuti said that the bridge was damaged in 2016 due to “activities of some miscreants living under the bridge’’.

    “When the contractor came on board and removed the slab, that is the deck that got damaged, we discovered that the beams carrying the weight of the slab itself had been affected by the fire.

    “So, there was no way we could go ahead with the replacement of the slab, other than for us to start from the beams. So we had to produce new distress beams, and then, of course, the slabs.

    “And we have also done the surfacing of the other adjoining slab close to the damaged one,’’ he said.

    He thanked residents for their patience during the period of closure of the bridge and pledged Federal Government’s commitment to continued maintenance of all the roads and bridges in Lagos.

    He listed bridges that had been repaired to include the Marine Beach Bridge, Coconut Bridge and Ijora 7Up Bridge.

    He added that work was ongoing on the Alaka Bridge in Surulere and the Third Mainland Bridge.

    He further explained that repair works were ongoing on Lagos-Ota-Abeokuta, Lagos-Ibadan, Ikorodu-Sagamu Expressways and some other federal roads in the metropolise.

    Kuti said that materials for total rehabilitation of the Third Mainland bridge had been imported and that permanent repair works would soon begin on some damaged expansion joints alongside the ongoing rehabilitation of the bridge.

    “We have completed the Adeniji Adele bound, we are working on the Mainland bound. So the repair works on the Third Mainland will start very soon because our materials are on the way,’’ he said.

    Speaking on the newly installed beams on the Apapa/Leventis Bridge, Mr Thomas Balzuweit, Julius Berger’s Regional Manager, said that experts were used to get “a comprehensive design study to get high quality materials“.

    Balzuweit added that various quality control checks were done before installing the beams to ensure structural integrity of the bridge to cater for the huge vehicular traffic on the axis.

    Alhaji Wasiu Olowuntoye, President, Container Truck Owners Association, who led a delegation of truck drivers to witness the opening, said that the hardship to truck owners would be minimized.

    “We are happy today because our members have suffered so much, they spend several days and sometimes weeks trying to go in or out of the ports but with this bridge opened, there will be good for traffic flow,’’ he said.

  • Ex-chairman,MAN, urges FG to decongest Apapa road

    Ex-chairman,MAN, urges FG to decongest Apapa road

    Mr Wale Adegbite, former Chairman, Manufacturers Association of Nigeria (MAN) Ogun Chapter, has advised the Federal Government to intensify efforts in decongesting the traffic jam from Apapa road to the Port.

     

    Adegbite, who gave the advice in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Monday in Ota, Ogun, said the effort would ease the pains of manufacturers and others.

     

    He noted that the massive congestion from Apapa road to the Port had resulted to a significant increase in the cost of transporting containers from Apapa port to various destinations.

     

    “The transporters face heavy traffic when going in and out of the port and this is not good for the economy, “he said.

     

    “This is a national issue that needs to be urgently addressed to restore sanity on that road and reduce cost of transporting goods.

     

    He further said that lorries and articulated vehicles parked from Funsho Williams road to the Port which slowed down the pace of doing business in the area. (

  • LASG acquires expansive land for trailer park to check Apapa gridlock

    Lagos State Government has acquired a large land at Ojo for the construction of a trailer park to tackle gridlock in Apapa and other areas caused by indiscriminate parking of articulated vehicles.

    The Commissioner for Transportation, Mr. Ladi Lawanson, told the News Agency of Nigeria in Lagos that the construction would ease traffic significantly.

    “Recently, we got information that there is land available around Ojo.

    “We found a land that can potentially be used to take some of these trucks off the roads; the logistics involved is being borne solely by the Lagos State Government,’’ Lawanson said.

    He said that the government would soon begin construction of the trailer park to complement other efforts being put in place to ensure that trucks are off the roads.

    The official said that gridlock in Apapa had defied solutions for a long period because of lack of holding bays.

    According to Lawanson, road and port infrastructure in the state are over-stretched because they have not been developed in commensurate with the growth of Lagos State population.

    He told NAN that the Apapa ports took care of about two-thirds of daily cargoes in and out of Nigeria.

    The commissioner said that construction of the truck park would be one of the ways of tackling the problem of overstretched infrastructure.

    “Because of the importance of petroleum products to the nation, Lagos will continue to bear the brunt for the rest of Nigeria.

    “That is why are calling on the Federal Government to give Lagos a special status,“ he said.

    He, however, hailed the Managing Director of the Nigerian Ports Authority, Ms Hadiza Bala-Usman, and the Minister of Transport, Chief Rotimi Amaechi, for efforts in tackling congestion in Apapa.

    Lawanson said that the Lagos State Government would continue to partner with Federal Government agencies and other stakeholders to ease congestion in Apapa and other roads in Lagos.

     

    (NAN)

  • Apapa congestion: Ambode flags off expansion of Orile tanker terminal

    Apapa congestion: Ambode flags off expansion of Orile tanker terminal

    Gov. Akinwunmi Ambode of Lagos State on Sunday flagged off the expansion of the Orile Tanker Terminal, as part of solutions to the Apapa gridlock. It will now accommodate trucks.

    Ambode assured that work would be accelerated on the 1000-capacity terminal at Orile-Iganmu area of the state.

    Ambode, while on an inspection tour of the Apapa-Iganmu axis said the expansion of the terminal was one of the resolutions reached at the recent meeting with stakeholders, especially in the maritime sector.

    He said that lasting solutions were suggested to take off the roads, the containerised trucks , majorly responsible for the gridlock in the Apapa area.

    “One of the other resolutions is that we should have authorised truck terminal park and so my visit to this place today is to flag off the reconstruction of this terminal so that we can accommodate 1000 trucks.

    “We will do this in collaboration with the Nigerian Ports Authority so that the call-up system can work efficiently.

    “The expansion we are adding to this particular terminal in which we have decided to acquire the adjoining land, we will use that primarily for non-petroleum trucks so that we can sectionalise these trucks and allow the call-up system to work,” he said.

    Ambode said this was part of the efforts of the State Government to make sure that Apapa gridlock and the truck menace become a thing of the past permanently.

    He also disclosed that the State Government had concluded plans to utilise an expanse of land in Ijanikin area, along Lagos-Badagry Expressway with a capacity to accommodate at least 5,000 trucks.

    “I have just been briefed that we have an additional land space in Ijanikin that can accommodate 5000 trucks.

    “We will explore that possibility immediately; all that we are doing is just to make sure that there is a permanent solution to this whole idea of trucks destroying our bridges and roads,” Ambode said.

    While appealing to residents for their understanding, the governor assured that within the next six to eight weeks, the terminals would be up and running to get the trucks off the roads and bridges within the axis.

    He said aside the expansion of the terminal, the commitment by the Federal Government to commence the reconstruction of the Apapa-Oshodi Expressway was on course with the approval of N72.9billion by the Federal Executive Council for the project.

    “You will recall that about two weeks ago, we had a stakeholders’ meeting with the Vice President presiding in Apapa and at that meeting, we resolved that we will ensure that the reconstruction of the Oshodi-Apapa Expressway will be awarded within two weeks.

    “This has been fulfilled by the Federal Government; they have awarded the contract and construction should commence within the next two weeks.

    “We thank the President, Vice President, Minister of Power, Works and Housing, and that of Transport for reconstruction of Oshodi-Apapa Expressway and the rail track from Apapa Ports to Ibadan which is strictly a cargo rail that will assist in moving heavy-duty goods away from the Apapa axis,” Ambode said.

    The governor said his administration was also looking at utilising barges on the waterways to move heavy cargo as a way of complementing efforts on road and rail transportation system.

    “I just think Lagosians will have the relief to see that we have actually done what is right and in their overall interest.

    “I want to thank all the stakeholders for their interest and we must continue to join hands like I said and we will get the results that we so desire,” he said.

    Chairman of Association of Maritime Truck Owners (AMATO), Chief Remi Ogungbemi, said the commissioning of the truck terminal by the governor was a new dawn toward addressing the Apapa gridlock.

    “Today, I must say is a beginning of a good thing that will start happening in our sector as haulage operators in the state. Today is the beginning of a new era as far as Lagos State is concerned.

    “The governor coming here today has shown that he is very dynamic and pragmatic.

    “This is what we have been expecting and for the governor to be here to see things for himself and flag off the rehabilitation and expansion of this terminal shows that he is not only talking but matching words with action,” Ogungbemi said.

    He expressed optimism that the steps taken by the State Government would go a long way to end the menace of trucks parking on roads and bridges in the state.

    The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the governor also inspected the progress of work on the modern bus terminals in Yaba and Oyingbo.

    He also inspected the failed section of Sari- Iganmu Road which had been abandoned for over two years, assuring residents, who trooped out to welcome him, that contractors will move in to fix it within the next two weeks.

    Ambode also assured them that their blocked canals would also be cleared.

    NAN also reports that the governor and his team inspected the ongoing palliative work embarked upon to fix the bad sections of the Lagos-Badagry Expressway.

  • Works on Apapa-Oshodi Road begins in two weeks – Osinbajo

    Vice President Yemi Osinbajo has revealed that the reconstruction of the Apapa-Oshodi Expressway would start within the next two weeks.

    Osinbajo spoke at a dialogue with stakeholders on the Apapa traffic congestion in Lagos on Thursday.

    According to him, “We have been working quite hard now to get approval for road construction.

    Among the roads are the Apapa-Oshodi Expressway and Mile 2- Liverpool roundabout are important roads but they have been delayed but I am personally working to ensure that we could get that through and we are trying to look at immediate solutions that can be done and how the process could be expedited to achieve results.

    He added that “I can guarantee that we will get all the approvals done. I don’t think that it should take us more than two weeks to get the approval so that we can begin the work.

    “There are so many other bad areas, especially the coconut area in front of Tincan Port, the Leventis to Wharf Road is also another area we are looking at, the rehabilitation of the Creek Road so that we can have a two-lane access into the ports and all of those are important roads and all of them are Federal roads, so we have a responsibility to ensure that these things are done.”

  • Osinbajo visits Lagos, orders 72-hour joint operation to clear Apapa traffic gridlock

    Osinbajo visits Lagos, orders 72-hour joint operation to clear Apapa traffic gridlock

    The Vice President Prof. Yemi Osinbajo on Friday directed security agencies and relevant bodies to commence a 72-hour joint operation to restore order around Apapa and environs with a view to easing vehicular movement in that part of Lagos.

    Recall that trailers parked indiscriminately over a long stretch of the Apapa/Oshodi expressway have been causing massive traffic gridlock on the road for several days now.

    Osinbajo who made an unscheduled visit to the road to personally assess the situation also asked relevant government agencies to speed up decongestion of the Apapa ports.

    Involved in the 72 hour joint operation are the Police, Navy, Army, Air Force, Federal Road Safety Commission (FRSC) and the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC).

    The Lagos State Traffic Management Authority (LASTMA), LASEMA, Container truck drivers, National Association of Road Transport Owners, NUPENG, Road Transport Employers Association of Nigeria are also joining in the operation.

    The vice president was flown in a Navy chopper, first to Tin Can Island park.

    He was accompanied by Transport Minister Rotimi Amaechi and senior Naval and Police officers.

    He walked close to the traffic to see the situation for himself and then proceeded to the Five Star Berth at the NPA where he met with relevant officials and security officers.

     

     

  • Lagos sympathises with residents, commuters over incessant congestion on Apapa road

    …Urges FG to do more

    The Lagos State Government has expressed deep sympathies with commuters and residents of Apapa and other parts of Lagos affected by the lingering logjam occasioned by the congestion created by trucks and articulated vehicles along the Apapa vehicular corridor.

    In a statement issued on Thursday by the State’s Commissioner for Information and Strategy, Mr. Kehinde Bamigbetan, the Government expressed sadness over the difficulties faced by motorists and commuters seeking the use of the Apapa-Oshodi highway and other routes leading to the ports.

    Blaming the renewed congestion on the recalcitrance of owners and drivers of tankers and trucks to fully comply with the subsisting directive that restricts their movement within the State, the Government also attributes the worsened situation to the ongoing industrial action by a section of workers at the Apapa ports which has slowed down the pace of goods clearance as well as the slow pace of repair works on the roads leading to the ports, most of which are federal roads.

    To ameliorate the situation, the Government assured Lagosians that the State Police Command and the Lagos State Traffic Management Authority (LASTMA) have been directed to flood the affected areas with sufficient officers to further control traffic and bring sanity to bear “on this hectic situation so as to bring immediate succour to our people.”

    The statement further said that the State Government would urge the Federal Ministry of Works, Power and Housing to consider shifting the proposed closure dates for the Third Mainland Bridge to a latter date to avoid compounding the situation as Ikorodu Road and adjoining roads will not be adequate to cope if Third Mainland Bridge is shut for repairs at a time that Apapa-Oshodi express road and others leading in and out of the ports are experiencing an unusual, albeit, temporary traffic snarl.

    “It is indeed pathetic that private firms seeking to make profit from legitimate commerce would continue to subject the citizens of Lagos State to horrendous pains inspite of the provision of holding bays for their trucks and tankers until it is their turn to pick goods at the ports,” it stated.

    The statement added that the recent rehabilitation of the truck park at Orile Iganmu, with capacity to take 3,000 trucks shows the commitment of the Akinwunmi Ambode administration to find a lasting solution to the enormous challenge posed by the indiscriminate use of the highways by articulated vehicles.

    According to the Commissioner, government had hoped that, with the unfortunate loss of lives and property to destruction caused by tanker explosions and truck mishaps, the conscience of the haulage stakeholders would be pricked sorely enough to save Lagosians from the threat of carnage on the highways by adhering to directives and also investing in truck terminals themselves.

    He however assured that the State Government would not allow its highways turned to death traps while urging speedy delivery of the roads under reconstruction within the axis and full computerisation of the ports operations in order to save the State from this incessant but avoidable hardship.

    “If the powers of the State is inadequate to force these powerful merchants to obey the law, shall we also say that the Federal Government with all the forces at its command, is unable to protect residents of Lagos against this common threat?”

    The statement noted that while Mr. President had assured Lagos State that the Federal Government would tackle this matter decisively, the latest hardship makes the much needed intervention extremely imperative.

    The Commissioner expressed regrets that ongoing rehabilitation of roads in Apapa and its environs and the efforts towards sanitizing truck entry procedures have pushed the trucks to other parts of the city all because the haulage operators have continued to illegally turn major roads to parks thereby using public facilities to increase their private profit.

    “We therefore once again call on the Federal Government to save Lagosians by assisting to enforce the rule that all haulage operators must have designated parks immediately, while we continue to solicit the understanding and cooperation of the general public.”

     

     

  • APM Terminals Apapa does not delay containers – Official

    APM Terminals Apapa does not delay containers – Official

    The Management of APM Terminals in Apapa has said that it does not deliberately delay cargo in any port terminal, as this would work against its business interest.

    The General Manager, Government, Stakeholder Relations and Communications of APM Terminals Apapa, Mr. Augustine Fischer, made this known in a statement in Lagos.

    According to him, the terminal in Apapa is a gateway terminal and from a business perspective, it makes sense to have high flow of imports and exports and not store cargo in the terminal.

    “In fact, we work tirelessly to ensure cargo leaves the port in Apapa as soon as possible to avoid vessels having to wait to berth due to lack of space to discharge containers,” he said.

    Fischer also disclosed that in the past year, APM Terminals did not experience Information Technology problems that affected cargo delivery.

    He added that there was also no protest by any association of freight forwarders.

    Also, the president of Nigerian Importers Integrity Association (NIIA), Mr Godwin Onyekazi spoke in similar vein.

    He quoted him as saying that it was inconceivable that any terminal operator would either impose arbitrary charges on its customers or deliberately delay the delivery of containers.

    He said the challenges in cargo delivery at the ports in Lagos were as a result of poor port access roads and poor traffic management in Apapa.

    Onyekazi said a new truck call-up system introduced by the Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA) had worsened the plight of truck owners, consignees and their agents.

    “The whole of Tin Can and Apapa ports are now in a state of comatose. There is a near total gridlock, because trucks are not allowed into the port as much as they should be.

    “With the gridlock, government revenue will also continue to suffer while diversion of cargoes to the ports of neighbouring countries and smuggling will continue to be on the increase,” he said.

  • Lagos State Govt. cleans up illegal dumpsite in Apapa [Photos]

    Lagos State Govt. cleans up illegal dumpsite in Apapa [Photos]

    The Lagos State Ministry of Environment on Saturday mopped up an illegal dumpsite at Coconut Area of the Apapa axis, to ensure a cleaner and healthier environment.

    During the clean-up, the Commissioner for Environment, Mr Babatunde Durosinmi-Etti, said that the black spot had been in the area for over a year.

    Durosinmi-Etti said that the mope up of refuse on the Apapa axis of Oshodi Expressway was necessary because of the hazard it posed for the residents of the environment.

    He said that the mope up would last for five days, after which bins would be placed at strategic locations in the area.

    According to him, the ministry is in collaboration with stakeholders to ensure a sustainable environment, after the clean-up.

    ”There is a proliferation of trucks in the area, which has been a major problem in Lagos State over the last one year.

    ”This has led to an accumulation of waste and it has constituted hazard to the communities and residents around this area.

    ”Virtually, what has accounted for this is the inaccessibility of the zone by refuse trucks, because of traffic caused by trucks parking along the road.

    ”We are also working with the Ministry of Transportation to see how there can be a traffic ingress and exit for refuse trucks coming to pick these bins.

    ”This is important because we need to look at sustainability. We are working with volunteers from truck owners and volunteers from the communities,” he said.

    Alhaji Abdullahi Inuwa, the State Vice Chairman of the Nigerian Association of Road Transport Owners (NARTO), said that the association was working to provide mobile toilets, to ensure that its members did not defecate in the open.

    ”We are very happy about the clean up because a clean environment is an access to good health. That is why we are collaborating with the Ministry of Environment on the clean-up.

    ”We thank the Ministry of Environment for coming to mope up the place in spite of the difficulty in accessing the road,” Inuwa said.

    He said that the association had constituted a committee that would ensure the environment was kept clean.

    According to him, the committee will also ensure that the ministry has access whenever it wants to come for evacuation of refuse in the area.

    The Secretary of Ibafon Market, Alhaji Rafiu Oga, said that the refuse had caused havoc for them and all efforts by the market to evacuate it proved abortive.

    Oga said contrary to insinuation, the market women and men were not actually the ones dumping refuse in the illegal area.

    ”We have given the commissioner assurance that we are going to monitor the environment because we already have a committee,” he said.

    NAN

  • Fashola begs for support to end Apapa gridlock, port congestions

    The Minister of Power, Works and Housing, Mr Babatunde Fashola, on Thursday in Lagos called for the collaboration of all stakeholders to tackle traffick gridlock, port congestion and other problems in Apapa and its environs.

    Fashola made the call at a stakeholders meeting on the ongoing Apapa Wharf Road reconstruction project in Surulere.

    The stakeholders at the meeting included the three financiers of the project, AG Dangote Construction Company Ltd, Flour Mills of Nigeria Ltd and Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA).

    Others were National Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas Workers (NUPENG), Association of Maritime Truck Owners (AMATO) and National Association of Road Transport Owners (NARTO), among others.

    The stakeholders, after extensive deliberations, agreed to resolve issues of logistics and regulation of truckers and port operations.

    They called on shipping companies to return to the system of using their loading bays and effective call up systems to end port congestions.

    They also advised AP Molar Multi Terminal (APMT), whose cargo operations take hours to emulate the operations of Port Terminal Multipurpose Ltd (PTML) who have perfected the act of evacuating cargo within minutes.

    They agreed that emergency interventions should be carried out on the roads around Coconut bus stop area and some other bad portions.

    They resolved to have another inclusive meeting to carry Shippers, government regulatory agencies and other stakeholders who were absent at the gathering along to evolve permanent solutions,

    Fashola advised the stakeholders to organise forums where they could proffer solution to the problems and make recommendations to government to speed up solutions on various issues.

    The minister stressed the need to put other ports in the country to use to reduce pressure on the two major ports in Apapa and promised to work with his transport counterpart, Mr Rotimi Amechi, to involve the rail sector in finding solutions.

    He called for sacrifice on the part of the various stakeholders as the Yuletide season is approaching to ensure speedy solution to all the problems.

    “During this period when everybody is sacrificing something, let us sacrifice, it is an exchange, everybody must sacrifice.

    “This is not about us, it is about everybody,” he told stakeholders.

    He explained that procurement process for the Oshodi Tin Can Island road was ongoing.

    Earlier, Fashola had inspected ongoing rehabilitation works at Costain and its environs, which he told journalists was to ensure smooth roads during the festive period.

    Honorary adviser to the Dangote Group, Mr Joseph Makoju said that Dangote was handling and co-funding the Apapa Wharf Road reconstruction project as part of its Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR).

    Makoju said that it was painful that the project was being misunderstood by both the public and a section of the media who make negative remarks against the Dangote Group instead of commending it for giving back to society.

    He explained that the Dangote Group also suffered from the problems of gridlock and other problems caused by port congestions as it affected their businesses and operations as well.

    He added that the company was ready to tackle all problems that related to the construction raised at the forum and deliver the project within one year.

    “We give our assurances that we will deliver and we need your understanding,” he said.

    Mr Ashif Juma, Managing Director AG Dangote Construction Company Ltd, contractors handling the project said that there was massive deployment of men and equipment to site as the rainy season ended adding that by November significant visible progress would be seen in the construction.

    Juma explained that it was not easy to work on old roads because some unexpected problems usually came up in the midst of the project.

    He added that the firm was working closely with the Federal Ministry of Power, Works and Housing (FMPW$H) on the project and that work tempo would double in November.

    “We will work two shifts seven days a week. We cannot do this work without your help,” he told the other stakeholders.

    The NPA on its part promised to begin enforcement of traffic regulations in port areas which include Oshodi, Babs Aminasaun, Costain and Ijora Olopa road areas,

    NAN reports that Fashola, on June 17 signed the N4.34 billion Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) for the reconstruction of the four kilometres Apapa Wharf road with AG Dangote Construction Company Ltd and other companies.

    The project is being funded by AG Dangote Construction Company Ltd, the Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA) and Flour Mills of Nigeria.

     

    NAN