By Yemi Olakitan
The Lagos State Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu has vowed to receive the tourism potentials of the city of Badagry.
According to the Lagos State Governor, the Badagry Deep Seaport coming up is expected to open up that axis to huge commercial activities.
Sanwo-Olu stated that the tourism potential of Badagry could not be over emphasised, and that his government was committed to reviving those potentials.
He added that the ‘Point Of No Return’ festival, which brings Nigerians and Africans in the Diaspora home, in commemoration of the trans-atlantic slave trade, is another step that had been taken by the state government to open up Badagry to tourists.
The governor equally said the state government had started constructing facilities and other projects around the state-owned charlets, in its quest of turning the axis around for good and so as to attain its full potential with regards to tourism.
He presented a catalogue of achievements in the West of Lagos.
The governor also attributed the delay in the kick-off of the 38-kilometre Fourth Mainland Bridge to funding challenges.
The bridge will connect Lagos Island across the Lagoon from Langbasa (Lekki) to Baiyeku, Itamaga in Ikorodu.
The 2 x 4 lane carriageway, with permission for Bus Rapid Transit Lane and future road contraction was designed to relieve traffic on the three bridges connecting Lagos Island to the Mainland.
According to Sanwo-Olu, the Lagos State owned airline business plan had been in the pipeline for months, with the state now finalising the financing model.
“What is being considered is the Federal Government’s approval and operational contingency for the airline,” the governor said.
The state is not ruling out venturing into owning an airline, solely owned and run by the state.
He stressed that the plan, along other major and strategic ventures were in the pipeline and at various operational stages in the overall master plan of his administration in ensuring that the cosmopolitan city becomes one of the admired cities and choice locations of the world.
He added that Lagos would soon begin the construction of its own airport in Lekki, a Lagos suburb which is fast-developing on the Epe axis.
The governor spoke during the Lagos West Senatorial District Town Hall meeting at the Balmoral Convention Centre, Ikeja on Friday, where he presented the scorecard of his administration to Lagosians.
At the meeting, Sanwo-Olu and his deputy, Dr. Obafemi Hamzat, took feedback from residents, who were on ground to ask series of questions.
The governor noted that input from the public was necessary to guide his government’s decision on planned programmes and interventions before their implementation.
He pointed out that his administration had completed and opened 42 new roads projects and two flyovers in the district, with the combined length of the infrastructure spanning over 72 kilometres.
Saying that the last four and half years had seen Lagos taking a leap forward in its socio-economic and development trajectory, the governor said he remained resolute in doubling his efforts to keep the state on the sustainable growth path as his second term progresses.