Nigeria: Cable Car Project On the Verge of Completion - Fashola

Governor Babatunde Fashola of Lagos State, yesterday, said the state government had commenced the construction of the route for the cable car project to complement the transportation system in the state, saying, "the project is on the verge of completion."

Fashola, who disclosed this at the event marking the 2013 World Habitat Day: 'Urban Mobility,' at the Alausa Secretariat, Ikeja, said the introduction of the cable car transportation was in line with the global practices.

The governor, who was represented by Commissioner for Transportation, Mr. Kayode Opeifa, described the innovation as vital to achieving the mega city status.

He assured that, "the present administration is committed to activating every means of transportation in Lagos in order to reduce numbers of vehicles on the road, which translates to unhealthy volumes of carbon emissions."

Fashola noted that the state would soon commission the Blue and Red Rail lines to further increase residents transport options, saying, "when completed, about 1.6 million Lagosians would be transported daily."

According to him, "at the end of the 2014, the Blue Line of the rail project should begin to transport residents from Mile2 to Marina, a journey of about 13.5 kilometres, in the shortest possible time.

"We are also proud to say that the cable car, a veritable means of fast and unhindered transportation, is on the verge of completion.

"To grow the economy of our dear city of Lagos into one of the model mega cities in Africa, embracing the best practices in the transportation/urban mobility cannot be overlooked.

"Lagosians must accept the concept of transportation as safer and more economical. We must recognise that individual transportation translates to more vehicles on the roads, which translates to an unhealthy volume of carbon emissions.

"Hence, our drive is to provide a combination of transportation that would include road, rail and water-ways. The challenges, however, are formulating more innovative changes aimed at ensuring the sustainability of these policies," he added.

Speaking on the theme, Fashola said that the theme was apt, boasting that his administration is already working on arrays of affordable intercity modes of transportation to easy the movement of the residents, having realised that over 70 per cent of the residents live in the state metropolis.

Commissioner for Physical Planning, Mr. Olutoyin Ayinde explained that the 2013 theme of the World Habitat Day was not determined by his ministry, but the United Nations, saying, "the state government state is living no stones unturned to implement the intermodal transportation.

"Our water transportation now moves about two million people daily. The cable car will take off from Apapa and link to Falomo via Lagos Island.

"The visibility study is on and tests are being conducted. Soon, Lagosians would soon experience another transportation experience. The Blue line and the Redline rail projects are on-going and will soon completed. Lagos state is the third in the African continent to achieve urban mobility.