Speaking during the assessment speech of his 2nd year as the head of the state, Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu revealed that the construction of the proposed 4th Mainland Bridge in Lagos will start before the end of December this year.

He said, “The laying of the foundation stone for the 4th Lagos Bridge site will take place before the end of 2021. The contract is at the final stage of completion and our Public-Private Partnership (PPP) concessionaires appear to be very committed. The preferred bidder out of the six under-listed bidders is expected to be determined by October.”

The 6 bidders in question are Mota-Engil and CCCC Consortium, Power Construction Corporation of China, CGGC–CGC Joint-Venture, CCECC Nigeria Limited, China State Construction Engineering Corporation Nigeria Limited, and IC ICTAS Insaat Sanayi ve Ticaret.

The governor also mentioned that all the necessary funding for the project has been secured. The project is currently estimated to cost US$ 2.5bn, an approximately US$ 3m increase from the US$ 2.2bn estimates made in September last year.

Overview of the bridge

The proposed Lagos Fourth Continental Bridge is approximately 37 kilometers long. It cuts across Lekki, Langbasa, and Baiyeiku towns along the shoreline of the Lagos Lagoon estuaries, further running through Igbogbo River Basin and crossing the Lagos Lagoon estuaries to Itamaga Area in Ikorodu. It then crosses the Itoikin road and the Ikorodu – Sagamu Road to connect Isawo inward Lagos Ibadan Expressway at the Ojodu Berger axis.

Upon completion, the 4th Mainland Bridge is expected to be the longest of its kind in the whole of Africa. It will be a Four-lane dual carriageway, each comprising 3 lanes and 2 meters hard shoulder on each side. It will also have 8 interchanges to facilitate effective interconnectivity between different parts of the State.

According to the design, the bridge will be constructed to have a generous median to allow for both future carriageway expansion and light rail facility.