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Wednesday, August 28, 2013

Lagos State Government to take Over Management of Lekki-Epe Express Way


 There are indications that the Lagos State Government  is ready to take over the construction and management of the 50km road (Phase I) of Lekki-Epe express way, and construct another 20km of coastal road (Phase II) along the Lekki corridor from the Lekki Concession Company (LCC).

This was confirmed on Tuesday as the Lagos State Government announced the termination of its concession agreement with the Company.

In a letter written to the state house of assembly dated August 19, 2013, on supplementary budget proposal, Governor Fashola requested the House to amend the 2013 budget, owing to unforeseen developments in terms of the state’s internally generated revenue.
He said, “The proposal for further amendment is largely predicated on the need to fund the acquisition of the existing concession, right and toll revenue benefit held by the Lekki Concession Company, the concessionaire for the Eti-Osa-Lekki-Epe Expressway. This will effectively accelerate the transfer of ownership of the road to the state, leaving the state with wider policy options with regards to that important infrastructure.
“In order to address these issues, we have proposed a two-prong approach namely: re-ordering some expenditure provisions and also directing supplementation of the year 2013 budget. This will entail an increase in the overall budget size by N7.5bn. This is against the background of a projected shortfall of N22.5bn in budgeted internally generated revenues, which now need to be covered by the additional borrowings.”
 However,....
The State Assembly gave its approval to the request on Tuesday in a proposal read on the floor of the house.

Lekki Concession Company and the state government had been in disagreement since 2011, when the firm introduced what the residents considered as high tolls on the Admiralty Plaza after significant progress was made in the first phase.
The decision of the state government to terminate the concession agreement,  was borne out of the lawmakers’ approval of the supplementary budget, which gave it the right to acquire the existing concession rights and toll revenue benefits held by the concessionaire.

What is the reaction our readers to this new development? Will this State intervention actually mean to favour the Lagosians or the State government? Let us hear you out.







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