Disappointed with the old contractors’ inability to meet the expectations of the state government on the 4th Mainland Bridge project, the Lagos State Government on Monday told journalists that it was shopping for new investors to execute it.

The state’s Commissioner for Waterfront Developemnt, Mr Adebowale Akinsanya, Lagos said this at the 2017 Ministerial Press Briefing of the ministry in Alausa to commemorate governor Akinwunmi Ambode’s second year in office.

He explained that investors from various countries which include South Korea, Europe and America had indicated interest in the project.
“The pace the old contractors were moving is not what we are looking for.
“Right now we are looking at many investors and the interests are high, I would rather wait till everything is finalized before giving the detailed information.
“Investors from all over the world are indicating interest, from China, South Korea, Europe and America.
“What we are doing now is vetting through the process to make sure that we do not waste more time, very soon you will see work begin on the bridge,” he said.
The commissioner used the occasion to update the media on other developments in his ministry, which included the closed Fadeyi pedestrian bridge, Lagos airport road project, manholes across the state among other issues.

According to him the state is working on replacing the recently repaired Fadeyi foot bridge which a portion of it was damaged by an articulated vehicle damaged and thus threatened its stability and safety.

He also explained that the state government was partnering with the Federal Ministry of Power, Works and Housing to actualize the Lagos airport road project but are yet to get approval from the Federal Government but they are getting things ready to move into action as the approval is given.

“Whenever the approval comes in, the next day we will begin work on the site.

“We are collaborating with the Ministry of Power, Works and Housing to speed up the process, it is the interest of Lagosians and Nigerians as a unit to address the problem of that road, that is the first contact with Lagos and the road is not in a good condition,” he said.

On open manholes across the state, he said that the state was working on applying inner locks to the covers so that they cannot be removed by vandals. According to him there is an ongoing project by the state government to replace steel manhole covers with fibers that cannot be stolen by vandals but it would not be possible to replace all of the covers at once.

“This is a new system to lock the manholes from inside to prevent theft and it is something ongoing,” he said.