The proposed Fourth Mainland Bridge project will cost $2.5 billion and will be ready in 2027, it was learned on Friday.
Special Adviser to the Governor on Public Private Partnerships, Mr Ope George, and his counterpart in the Ministry of Works and Infrastructure, Mrs Aramide Adeyoye told reporters at Alausa, Ikeja that the official turning of sod would be done by Governor Bababjide Sanwo-Olu in the first quarter of 2023.
The government, through the Office of Public-Private Partnerships, on Thursday announced Messrs CCECC-CRCCIG Consortium as the preferred bidder for the construction of the bridge.
Eight roads – Lagos/Ibadan Expressway, Lagos/Abuja highway, Benin/Sagamu, and Igbogbo/Lagos – would be aligned with the bridge, which would be delivered through a Public-Private Partnership Initiative and tolled for two years.
According to George, the project would also comprise the construction and operation of a greenfield tolled road and bridge with a design speed of 120 kilometers per hour, including the development of adjacent real estate.
He added: “Lagos State began a bidding process for the selection of a concessionaire, by the issuance of the Request for Expressions of Interest on 27th November 2019, with 52 responses received and 32 being responsive.
“Subsequently, a Request for Quotation was issued on 10th February 2020, to the 32 eligible applicants, and 15 responses were received on 15th April 2020. Upon evaluation, six bidders met the criteria to progress to the Request for Proposal stage”.
Adeyoye added that the bridge would reduce congestion on the existing Carter, Eko, and Third Mainland bridges while opening new areas of the city for future developments.
She said that the state had carried along the over 48 estates, traditional rulers, and others that would be affected by the bridge.
According to her, the negative impact of the bridge was minimal compared to the advantages, and so urged residents to be patient and cooperate with the contractor.
