•4th Mainland Bridge, Lagos
Three years after Lagos State government announced a preferred bidder for the Fourth Mainland Bridge, a Chinese civil engineering group, CCECC-CRCCIG Consortium, work is yet to start on the site.
This is just as Lagos State governor, Mr Babajide Sanwo-Olu has moved from promises of when the project will start to being silent, as he did not allude to it during the new year thanksgiving service held some days back, though, he spoke on a number of state projects, reports Saturday Guardian.
It would be recalled that in December 2022, the state government had announced the preferred bidder for the project, and followed it up on November 1, 2023, with a loan commitment of $1.35 billion between the Lagos State government, on the one hand, and the African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank) and Access Bank, on the other, for three major infrastructural projects in Lagos, including the fourth mainland bridge.
This is not notwithstanding that fact that in December 2022, the Chinese CCECC-CRCCIG Consortium was announced as preferred bidder, with repeated commitments by Sanwo-Olu that construction will commence in early 2023 and later by March-April 2024.
But 15 months after the last announced work commencement date, the flag off has not been done.
But after those two landmarks about the project, it has gone from promises of when the project will start to the state government keeping quiet about the project.
For instance, Sanwo-Olu once said that the work will start in early 2023 but in January 2024, Sanwo-Olu announced that work will commence on the bridge in the first quarter of 2024, but it never happened.
Commenting on the project earlier last year, Sanwo-Olu, in a television interview, said: “Everybody that has raised fund to help us develop the Fourth Mainland Bridge project, which is about a $2 billion project, is asking for a sovereign guarantee. They are asking you to get a commitment from the central government. We are not the central government, so, we have not been able to push that because that would mean going to the Federal Executive Council (FEC) and the National Assembly. So, it is a difficult line for us to go through.”
Despite being first proposed in 2006, and slated for construction in 2017 and a completion date of 2019, the Fourth Mainland Bridge remains a project in the paper.
It is, however, instructive to note that the bridge construction was part of President Bola Tinubu’s message to the Lagos governor, Babajide Sanwo-Olu, while congratulating him on his 60th birthday.
In the statement by the president’s Special Adviser on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, Tinubu described Sanwo-Olu as a dedicated public servant who has stayed true to the vision of transforming Lagos.
“Your execution of this vision is exemplified by landmark achievements, including completing the Blue and Red Rail lines and the ongoing preparations for the Purple Line, which will serve the vital Lekki corridor. I urge you to sustain this trajectory by prioritising impactful projects for Lagosians, notably the long-awaited Fourth Mainland Bridge and the Freedom Way to Victoria Garden City (VGC) Road,” Tinubu said.
The Fourth Mainland Bridge is an ambitious 38-km project envisioned as Lagos State’s next transformative infrastructure. It is designed to connect Ajah with Ikorodu via a state-of-the-art tolled corridor featuring three toll plazas, nine interchanges, and a 4.5 km lagoon crossing, expected to emerge as the second longest bridge in Africa.
Originally budgeted at $2.2 billion and later revised to around $2.5 billion including entering into a public-private partnership framework, the project has struggled to take off.
Surprisingly, while speaking at the 2026 Lagos annual thanksgiving service, Sanwo-Olu listed a number of projects that would get the state government attention including provisions for them in the 2026 budget, he never mentioned the Fourth Mainland Bridge.
Hear him: “Under my leadership, we will continue consolidating the gains of the past six and a half years, guided by our THEMES+ vision. We will complete and commission many transformational projects across multiple sectors and in different parts of the State.
“The year 2026 is particularly significant for me, as it marks my last full year as Governor of Lagos State. For this reason, I am deeply driven and compelled to make this year count – deliberately and decisively. It must be a year of extraordinary meaning, significance, and benefit for all of us. Among the many projects we will be commissioning and putting to use this year, there are some that are especially close to my heart.
“These include the Ojo General Hospital; the Odo Iya-Alaro Link Bridge; the new Massey Children’s Hospital; the Central Food Security Systems and Logistics Hub in Epe; the new Psychiatric Hospital in Ketu Ereyun, Epe; and the new Multi-Storey Office Complex in Alausa.
“In the area of road infrastructure, we will complete and commission the following projects in 2026: In Ikorodu: the Igbogbo–Bola Ahmed Tinubu–Igbe Road; Agric Isawo–Konu–Arepo Road, Phase One; the Gberigbe Road, from Ewu Elepe through Gbodu Junction to Gberigbe Town; and the Adamo–Akanun–Agunfoye–Lugbusi Road.
“In Ikeja: the Opebi–Mende Link Bridge and its approach roads. In Eti-Osa: the Eti-Osa/Lekki/Epe Expressway, Phase 2A, from Eleko Junction through Awoyaya to Greensprings, and from Majek to Abraham Adesanya. In Ibeju-Lekki: the Magbon–Alade Township Roads. And in Alimosho: the Ijegun–Ijagemo Road and the Akesan–Igando Road.
“As I have said, this is not an exhaustive list. There are many other construction and rehabilitation projects that Lagosians will benefit from in 2026—educational and medical facilities, youth and sports centres, drainage and flood control systems, bus and ferry terminals, housing projects, water schemes, waste management plants, court buildings, and much more.
“Our Green Line metro rail project, that will connect Marina to the Lekki Free Trade Zone (LFTZ), will see progress this year, transforming life and commerce along the eastern corridor of the state. The Omi Eko project, which we flagged off last year, with support from development partners, is another major transport infrastructure program that we will advance in 2026. It will revolutionize our water transportation system and complement our road and rail upgrade and expansion efforts. All of these projects and ambitions will be supported and enabled by our 2026 budget, The Budget of Shared Prosperity,” Sanwo-Olu stated.
