BY OLASUNKANMI AKONI AND MONSUR OLOWOOPEJO

…As Property owners demand for compensation
The much publicised expansion work on the 13.5 kilometre  Mile12 to Ikorodu Road project has begun as Lagos State government  mobilised  the contractor- Chinese Civil Engineering and Construction Corporation, CCECC, to site. The project is estimated to cost N30 billion.

This came as affected property owners appealed to the state government to ensure adequate compensation for the structures to be demolished.

The 59-year-old dual carriageway is to be expanded into six lanes with Bus Rapid Transit, BRT route in the middle.

Other features of the multi-million naira road project include 15 BRT bus stations, three terminals –to be located at Mile 12, Agric and Ikorodu, nine new bridges, seven pedestrian bridges to access BRT stations, nine pedestrian crossing points, 12 new U-turns to allow for traffic going towards Lagos and Ikorodu,  lane markings and streetlights.

The project is scheduled to be completed within two years.

As expected, however, leaders of the Ikorodu community, including Ayodele Elesho, a former Commissioner for Information in Lagos, at a stakeholders’ forum, yesterday, organised by Lagos Area Metropolitan Transport Authority, LAMATA, expressed total support for the  project, but  called on the state government to consider compensation to owners of properties that must give way for the road expansion.

However, the consideration for compensation, it was gathered, is already being worked out  by the government, as a source from the state Land Bureau advised those whose properties had been marked for demolition to send in relevant documents inclusive of Certificate of Occupancy, CofO, Approved Building Plans and related papers for assessment, and possible compensation.

The reality is that those without  relevant documents may not benefit from the compensation.