Lagos Blue Line: Why We Spent $45 Million Per Kilometre—LAMATA Boss

The Managing Director of Lagos Metropolitan Area Transport Authority, LAMATA, Abimbola Akinajo, has explained why the Lagos state government had to spend $45 million per kilometre as opposed to the international benchmark worldwide.

She spoke while reaching to the growing criticisms that the Babajide Sanwo-Olu’s administration may have ripped off the state through the metro line project.

Mrs Akinajo while reacting to enquiries why Lagos spent so much said the peculiar nature of the state warranted the huge spending.

She said most of the rail line was on top of ocean, while some were also built where some bridges have been built before, thereby making it to incur additional cost.

The governorship candidate of the Labour Party in Lagos state, Gbadebo Rhodes-Vivour had accused the Sanwo-Olu’s administration of awarding contracts four times above the established benchmark when he featured on channels television current affairs program, Politics Today.

Rhodes-Vivour maintained that what is going on in Lagos was not acceptable.

According to him, awarding contracts four times above the established benchmark is not sustainable.

Some Lagosians who were pissed off by such squandermania said such project constructed elsewhere in Africa by the same Chinese contractors did gulp as much as Lagos spent on its blue line.

They explained that the alleged inflated cost may have diminished the  euphoria that greeted the metro line project.