Apapa Trailer Park: Why facility is not open for use — FG
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Despite the siege on Apapa and, indeed, the entire Lagos by rampaging trucks, the Trailer Park being constructed opposite Tin Can Island 2nd Gate along the Apapa-Oshodi Expressway is not open for use even though it has reached over 80 percent completion.
Contract for the construction of the park was awarded to Borini Prono, an Italian construction giant, almost the same time as that for the reconstruction of the Expressway about eight years ago. Expectation was that, on completion, the park would take about 500 trailers away from the expressway.
The federal government has explained that the park is not open to trailers yet because it has not been completed. Federal controller of works in Lagos, Adedamola Kuti, told BusinessDay, in a phone interview on Wednesday, that the major reason the park was still not opened was because there have to be a shoreline protection for the park.
“Contract has been awarded to Borini Prono for the construction of a shoreline protection for the park before it can be put to use. Work is already on-going at the construction site. But as it is now, because some of the materials needed for the construction will be imported, I cannot categorically tell you when that project will be completed; but I can assure you that by the end of the year, a substantial amount of work shall have been done”, Kuti assured.
However, when BusinessDay visited the project site Thursday to ascertain the progress of work, there was nothing serious on ground to assure that the shoreline protection will be ready in the next 24 months. The workers on site had nothing dependable to communicate and attempts, through phone calls, to speak with an official of Borini Prono, Borini Franco, was futile as he would not pick his calls.
As the Apapa gridlock got messier and became a serious threat to the Apapa economy which is estimated at N20 billion a day, the federal government ordered that the park should be thrown open to trailers as part of measures to decongest the ports which became literally impenetrable.
“As part of efforts to decongest the Oshodi-Apapa Expressway, in the short term, we have directed the immediate deployment of trucks to the trailer park being constructed by our ministry with the capacity to accommodate about 300 trucks while construction works for the shoreline protection continues”, Babatunde Fashola, minister for power, works and housing, said in the statement obtained by BusinessDay.
The minister assured that the on-going palliative work on the sections of the Apapa-Oshodi Expressway, the on-going construction of the road leading to the Apapa Port from Ijora would soon be completed while the main exit route through Tincan–Oshodi–Oworonshoki was under procurement for award. “When completed, the project will enable free flow of traffic in that axis”, he added.
This ministerial order, just like the 72-hour presidential order to clear Apapa of gridlock which followed, was never carried out and, therefore, the madness that defines Apapa traffic has continued with increasing ferocity. The harrowing impact of the Apapa siege on surrounding areas like Festac Town, Mile 2, Olodi Apapa, Okota, Ijesha, etc is better imagined than expressed.
It is now over 60 days since Vice President Yemi Osinbajo on Helicopter gyration came to Apapa, saw the frightening situation, the danger stationary trucks on bridges posed to lives on property, and gave an order that, within 72 hours, the bridge should be rid of trucks and sanity returned to the entire port city, yet nothing has happened and the government carries on as though Apapa is part of another country.
The taskforce to effect the presidential order comprising the Police, Nigeria Navy, Nigeria Army, the Nigeria Air Force, FRSC and the NSCDC, LASTMA, LASEMA, Container truck drivers, National Association of Road Transport Owners, NUPENG, Road Transport Employers Association of Nigeria has failed woefully for reasons of alleged compromise and extortion.