Six-lane Ikorodu Road expansion to cost N15b

The planned six-lane expansion of the Ikorodu Expressway will cost about N15 billion ($100 million), the Lagos State Government has said.

Commissioner for Finance Rotimi Oyekan disclosed this yesterday during a media briefing on the activities of his ministry in the last one year.

Oyekan said the fund for the project had been provided by the French Development Agency and work would begin shortly.

He said the project would be executed by the Lagos Metropolitan Area Transport Authority (LAMATA).

Oyekan said: "The expansion is to ease traffic from Ikorodu to Mile 12, as well as bring the BRT scheme closer to Ikorodu residents

He said the government has been paying salaries and pensions promptly, adding that the average monthly wage bill is N5.4 billion while pension is N251 million.

Oyekan said the government has mapped out strategies to sustain the implementation of the new minimum wage.

On the delay in the take-off of the Housing Mortgage Scheme, he said the government was putting finishing touches to a stress-free mode of payment, including a single digit interest rate.

Oyekan said: "The interest rate has now moved from single digit to double digits. It’s an inflation signal and government had to return to the drawing board to map out a mortgage plan that would sustain the scheme."

"The other objective is to create, in partnership with the private sector, a long term fund that will give employed citizens access to credit to own their homes."