Lagos Rail Mass Transit: House of Assembly approves N153 billion for construction

The Lagos State House of Assembly has approved the sum of N153 billion requested by Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu to construct the Lagos Rail Mass Transit (LRMT), also known as the Red Line and the Blue Line

The information was made public by a member of the Lagos State House of Assembly, Hon. Jude Idimogu through his Facebook post, and seen by Nairametrics.

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Hon. Idimogu disclosed that the House unanimously approved the amount to adopt the report of the House Committee on Finance, as submitted by its Chairman, Hon Rotimi Olowo, at its plenary session on Monday, October 5, 2020.

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“Governor Sanwo-Olu had on Monday, September 14, 2020, sought the approval of the assembly for the amount to enable the government finance the construction of the Lagos Rail Mass Transit (LRMT) from Marina to Agbado (Red Line);  from Mile 2 through Alaba, Iganmu to Marina (Blue Line),” he said.

On funding for the project, Hon. Idimogu gave an extensive breakdown by stating that; “N93 billion of the sum would be sourced through Differentiated Cash Reserve Requirement (DCRR) of Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) Intervention Facility, from First Bank of Nigeria (FBN), United Bank for Africa (UBA), and Zenith Bank for the Red Line. N60 billion would be sourced from DCRR CBN Intervention loan funds for the Blue Line.”

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Lagos Rail Mass Transit is an urban rail system being developed and under construction in Lagos. The system is managed by the Lagos Metropolitan Area Transport Authority (LAMATA). The railway equipment including electric power, signaling, rolling stock, and fare collection equipment will be provided by the private sector under a Concession Contract. LAMATA is responsible for policy direction, regulation, and infrastructure for the network.

The first section of the network, Phase I of the Blue Line, was originally planned to be completed in 2011. After many delays caused by funding shortfalls, the opening date was revised to 2022 and subsequently brought forward to 2021.