Infrastructure Metro Top Story

CBN supports Lagos Blue Line project with N60bn

Lagos, Oct. 14, 2021 (NAN)  The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) said on Thursday that it had supported the Lagos State Blue railway line project with N60 billion to facilitate ease of businesses and passengers’ movements in the state.

The Director, Development and Finance of the  CBN, Mr Phillip Yusuf, disclosed during an inspection of the project , held in collaboration with the Lagos Metropolitan Area Transport Authority (LAMATA) at the  Marina, Lagos.

The futuristic Blue Line project.

According to him, this is one of the projects the apex bank and some deposit money banks are supporting under its N1trillion DCR Intervention.

“The total amount that we have made available for this line is N60billion, we had disbursed N45 billion, there is another tranche of N15 billion due.

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“So, we can see the progress matches the disbursement that had been made so far. This is just one of the many projects under its DCR Intervention,’’he said.

Yusuf expressed satisfaction over work done and the solid structure being put in place by the contractor.

“I am quite impressed with what I see on ground, LAMATA had taken us round and we can see the solid structure that is being put in place in Marina. I am confident  based on our observations.

“The quality of work is quite impressive and they had shown us all the work done  so far. Luckily,  I am an engineer, I can appreciate the amount of work being done.

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“Most importantly, I see young Nigerians welding, fabricating and there are over 500 jobs on site and for me,  that is a very good take away,” he said.

The Managing Director, LAMATA, Mrs Abimbola Akinajo, said, “The vision of the state is to ensure that this  project will be operational in the first quarter of 2022, as we are on track.

“One of the major things in every project is funding and with the support we have from the  CBN and three other  banks- Sterling, Fidelity and Access, we will ensure we meet our goal and target which is last the  quarter of 2022,” Akinajo said.

Furthermore, she said that  LAMATA was  at present constructing the first operational phase of the blue line, adding that five stations at  Mile 2, Alaba, Iganmu, National Theatre and the  Marina would be constructed within the axis.

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She said that the  Marina  station would actually  serve as  the hub in Lagos State because both the blue and red lines would  terminate at their and the green line which would come from Lekki would also terminate at the  Marina station.

Akinajo said that  the Marina station would serve as an  interchange because every form of transportation would be catered for there: BRT, regular busses, ferry and others.

She,  therefore,  sought stakeholders’ collaboration on the project to enable the state government achieve its aim, stressing that three sets of coaches would commence on the line in 2022.

She said that each of the coaches would carry not less than a thousand passengers,  saying the signaling system in place, would allow the movement of train every three minutes during peak hours.

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