Lagos-Ibadan Expressway's Reconstruction And Expansion To Start From Ibadan – Bi-Courtney

The expansion and reconstruction of the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway, initially scheduled to start from Lagos, will now start at the Ibadan end of the road.

Oyo State Governor, Senator Abiola Ajimobi, has welcomed the arrangement and offered to support Bi-Courtney Highways Services Limited, the concessionaire handling the road, in speeding up the modernisation project.

The project was to have taken off from the old Lagos toll gate with the provision of two additional lanes on each direction up to Sagamu interchange, and one lane from Sagamu to Ibadan. The shift in the arrangement, according to the spokesman of Bi-Courtney Highways, Mr. Dipo Kehinde, is not unconnected with lack of cooperation of Lagos and Ogun state governments.


The decision to commence the project in Ibadan was reached after a meeting between the Chairman of the company, Dr. Wale Babalakin, and Ajimobi on Wednesday.

A statement by Kehinde on Thursday reported Ajimobi as saying that “his government was willing and ready to partner with the concessionaire on infrastructural development, especially the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway.” The governor said the project had a lot of benefits for the people of the state.

“While exploring ways of working together with BCHSL towards a quick delivery of the 105 km highway project, the governor also sought to know what will happen to the section of the expressway between the toll gate in Ibadan and the Ojoo end of the road, which is not covered by the concession agreement,” the statement added.

With the new arrangement, the concessionaire is set to move its operational base to Ibadan.

Some South African firms, led by Group Five, are partnering Bi-Courtney Highway to reconstruct the road. A team from the foreign firm had visited the country and inspected the road. The firm, it was learnt, had also started to move some of its equipment to a work yard around the Sagamu interchange.

But some officials of the Ogun State Government with police officers reportedly went to the yard a couple of days ago to disrupt the operation there. Some workers were said to have been arrested and equipment forcibly removed.

Kehinde said, “BCHSL has petitioned the Federal Government over the seizure of its equipment and the arrest of its workers by officials of the Ogun State Government at the Sagamu Interchange last weekend.

“A detachment of mobile policemen and some officials from the governor’s office impounded BCHSL’s excavator, which was promptly moved to the state government secretariat, Abeokuta, on a low-bed truck brought from the government secretariat.” He also said the policemen were led to the Sagamu interchange by the Ogun State Permanent Secretary, Bureau of Monitoring Project, Mr. Tokunboh Odebunmi.

The statement quoted Babalakin as expressing his happiness for the expected partnership from Governor Ajimobi. He said the project would be in four phases, starting with the construction of three lanes from Ibadan to Sagamu.

The agreement to reconstruct the road, which was conceded to BCHSL in 2009 by the Federal Government, will now be jointly handled by the company and Group Five, and financed by Rand Merchant Bank of South Africa. Other partners on the project, according to Kehinde, are Vela VKE (supporting engineers and consultants); Project Management International (construction experts); and Yola Consultants.

The 105-kilometre road was handed over to Bi-Courtney on May 26, 2009 to expand, modernise and maintain for a period of 25 years. Its scope of work will involve the full reconstruction of the existing carriageways from Lagos to Ibadan; the provision of two additional lanes in each direction between Lagos and Sagamu Interchange, making it four lanes.

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