The Federal and Lagos State governments have said 795 houses could be demolished to pave the way for the development of the proposed 37-kilometre Fourth Mainland Bridge.
The two authorities said tons of efforts had been made to scale back the amount of affected structures from about 9,000 to but 800.
This was whilst the government assured that owners of the affected property would be adequately compensated, despite the prevailing economy circumstances.
It said all stakeholders would be satisfactorily considered within the execution of the project.
Speaking at the Environmental and Social Impact Assessment Stakeholders’ scoping workshop with the Federal Ministry of Environment in Lagos, Environment Minister Mamoud Abubakar said there should be sincere commitment on the a part of Lagos government on the compensation for owners of affected properties.
The minister, who was represented by a director within the ministry, James Kolawole, explained that though the project would have about 16 alignments, but the simplest had been selected.
“There was an alignment which will affect about 9,000 structures along the corridor, but we’ve reviewed it and gone for the alignment which will affect about 795 houses, rather than the one which will take more houses. it’s an ongoing thing on how best to minimise the negative impact,” he said.
The State Ministry of Physical Planning and concrete Development said the bridge, which can connect Lagos and Ogun states, will undergo Abraham Adesanya in Lagos and Sparklight Estate near the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway in Ogun State.
A town planner within the ministry, Mr. Abayomi Omolola Amos said the alignment of the project had been carefully designed to scale back the amount of homes that ought to be demolished.
The federal said the proposed bridge will boost economic process and enhance international trade.
Abubakar said the Lagos government had been performing on the project for about four years and had made several representations to the federal .
The minister, whom spoke through Kolawole, said the project would enhance commerce and international trade to enhance the people’s livelihoods.
He congratulated the government on the laudable project, while stressing the necessity to require cognisance of both positive and negative impacts of the project on stakeholders.
According to him, doing this may ensure all issues are addressed to avoid compromising the comfort of future generations.
“For us as a ministry, we are proud of the positive impact, but there’s got to resolve the negative aspects: what we’d like is sustainable development,” he said.
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