Buhari commissions Lagos Blue Rail line

President Muhammadu Buhari on Tuesday unveiled the the 1st phase of the Lagos Blue Line Rail project.

The unveiling of the project is part of the president’s official visit to Lagos State which commenced on Monday.

President Buhari also witnessed the signing of the contract for the phase 2 of the rail project by the Lagos State Government and the China Civil Engineering Construction Company (CCECC).  He then embarked on the first ride on the metro train from the Marina Station to National Theatre and back to Marina.

The President was aboard the trip with Lagos State Governor, Babajide Sanwo-Olu, Deputy Governor of the State, Dr Obafemi Hamzat, members of the Federal and State Executive Councils, members of the Federal and State Legislative Assemblies, President of China Civil Engineering Construction Company (CCECC), Chen Sichang and journalists.

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The first phase of the project, executed by the State Government, which spans 13 kilometers, has five stations – Mile 2, Suru-Alaba, Orile Iganmu, National Theatre and Marina.

Governor Sanwo-Olu said during the occasion that since 1999 the State has not enjoyed the level of support shown by the Buhari administration from the Federal Government. Sanwo-Olu said the project will reduce travel time, improve the quality of life of citizens and make Lagos one of the most resilient mega cities in Africa that can compete favorably with other mega cities around the world.

He said: “This iconic Marina Station would be the largest and busiest in Africa. It has the capacity to process about 450 passengers per minute, meaning that in an hour this station can process about 25,000 passengers”.

Hamzat, the Lagos Deputy Governor, traced the pioneering role of the presidential candidate of the All Progressives Congress, Bola Ahmed Tinubu, in envisioning and laying the foundation for the project, as governor of Lagos State.

“Talking about the Blue line without making a reference to the ground-breaking contributions of the presidential candidate of our great party, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu, is like talking about the beach without the ocean”, Hamzat said.

He further said: “The Tinubu administration developed the Strategic Transport Master Plan (STMP), which laid out the foundation for a network of robust and modern transport infrastructure befitting a 21st century City-State, such as ours.

“The master plan has six rail lines and one monorail, 14 Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) corridors, over 20 water routes and a number of major roads”.

The Chinese Ambassador to Nigeria Cui Jianchun said the completion of the first phase of the project is a demonstration of the harmony in the bilateral relations between Nigeria and China.

“It is a harmony in integration, diversity, and development”, he said.