…As Lag Ferry puts up temporal office at jetty
The Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Lagos Ferry, Hon. Paul Kalejaiye has said that the concessionaire who won the bid for the Mile 2 jetty will begin construction work at the jetty within the next two weeks.
A visit by our correspondent to the jetty revealed that the jetty had been demolished and materials gradually being mobilized to site in readiness for the commencement of construction work.
Speaking to members of the Association of Nigerian Journalists and Editors of Tourism (ANJET) who were on tour of Lagos waterways last weekend in Lagos, Hon. Kalejaiye also hinted that while the construction work would be ongoing, Lag Ferry would temporarily relocate its administrative office at the site to accommodate them while the construction work lasted.
According to him,” We are hopeful that in the next maximum of two weeks, construction work will start on the site. But in the interim, while the construction work is going on, you know we are expecting our ferries in the first quarter of this year, we might do a temporary office here. We are trying to see the governor for approval for the temporary office as an administrative headquarters so that it can accommodate us while the construction work is going on. So, we are actually going to relocate here in the first quarter of this year, our office must relocate in readiness for the arrival of the ferries. So we will be commencing operation soon.
“You should also understand that this is being used as multi-modal transportation system of Lagos state. So, what we are doing is, you know that rail is coming, we are already discussing with LAMATA to ensure that that walkway that they are doing there, they will link it up into the waterways here so that when you leave the train, you can also walk down to the waterways.
“We are also working with LAMATA to develop the under park. You see, the road under the fence, if you pass it through here, it goes through this under park, it is going to link us to the other side of Mile 2 where you have the road to old Durbar Hotels. So, we are also working with LAMATA who has already submitted a budget to the World Bank so that we develop the under park there, so that vehicles coming from Amuwo can want to do a turn to the other side rather than go to Alakija, so that as you are going, you can park your vehicle, join the ferry or go by road. So, it is a meeting point where we are doing a multi-modal system of transport which is what we are doing at Marina”.
He observed that what was coming at the jetty would be a terminal and a shopping mall that would aid buying and selling so that while people were waiting for the ferry, they could also do their shopping, do a lot of things as while as have access to Wifi.
“Actually, we trying to put that in our ferries to ensure that when you are in our ferries, you can have access to Wifi. We are also going to do a command and control centre here where we will be able to monitor people on our ferries on our waterways. So, we are going to link up the control centre to the command centre in Alausa meaning that whatever is happening in our waterways can be reported straight to the command centre in Alausa. So, we have done it and we are also in conjunction with the Ministry of Science and Technology who had looked at our plan and said we should upscale it to such that we should also have a space at the command centre so that the command centre at Alausa can view and see what is going on on our waters”, he added.
On the choice of the location as against Marina for the project, he said,” This place has a historical angle to it, this is where the ferry corporation started and this place is also a link between the west and the eastern parts of Lagos and then the West Coast. So, this is the strategic location of all ferry operations. This is the place to be”.
He further hinted that the concessionaire has two years moratorium and were still working within the time frame adding that they have concession for ten years and two years moratorium, altogether making twelve years.
On why the concessionaire was not on site, the Lag Ferry Chairman enthused, “This demolition was completed about a week ago. I mean they don’t have to be here, as you can see, they are already moving in their material a little bit and I have told you that in two weeks, they will commence construction work”.
He however failed to disclose the identity of the concessionaire when asked to do so saying,” I don’t think I need to disclose that. I am not under obligation to tell you, all I know is that it has been concessioned, when they start construction, you will see them”.
Photo: The Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Lag Ferry, Hon. Paul Kalejaiye fielding questions from Journalists at Ikorodu Jetty Weekend.
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