Water Transportation Identified As Key solution To Traffic Gridlock In Lagos
Lagos has begun the dredging and channelization of four commercial ferry routes in a bid to upscale water transportation in a state bedeviled by road congestion. The routes are 10km Ebute Ojo to Marina, 7km Bayeku to Ajah, 16km Ijede to Marina and 6km Ijede to Badore with 40 meters width and a minimum of four meters deep into the waters.
The four water routes are being dredged out of a total of 30 identified to drive water transportation and boost the tourism potential of the state.
Aside from the four routes, two additional routes would be added pending when the remaining twenty-four would be implemented in phases.
Already Three boats have been commissioned by the State government as part of the ground plan to escalate activities along the state’s inland waterways.
According to Adebowale Akinsanya, the commissioner for Waterfront Infrastructure Development, “The intention of the state government is to make any boat or ferry sail freely Lagos waterways so they don’t run into the issue of being grounded
“Essentially, what we are seeing is the ongoing channelization which is creating a road on water.
“These routes being channelized are part of the thirty routes already identified by the state government. We are laying the groundwork to make things easy for the ferries to travel safely. We are doing this to demonstrate our commitment to water transportation. Through this, we want tourists who travel to our state to be safe while traveling on our waterways. Aside channelization, we also need ferries and terminals to complete the package and all those are being done as well. Some jetties numbering about 10 are under construction and more ferries are still coming which are part of the plan to fully tap into the potential of the waterways”.
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Commissioner for Information and Strategy, Mr, Steve Ayorinde described the recent inspection tour of the waterways by state officials as a vote of assurance on what government is doing to improve the waterways. He added that it is also in sync with the integrated transport system of the state government.
According to him, “We can no longer rely on roads alone and so you see what we are doing in terms of rail and also the commitment and emphasis that the governor is putting on water transportation. The advantage of this is that it does not go alone, it drags with it tourism attractions which is why we are stopping over on this trip in Ilashe beach house.
With Report from BusinessDay
