Ambode says investment in water transportation will reduce gridlock

Lagos State governor, Akinwunmi Ambode has identified water transportation as a key solution to the Lagos gridlock saying more investment will be made to further expand the waterways and make it attractive.

Ambode spoke at the first annual stakeholders’ forum organised by the Lagos State Waterways Authority (LASWA).

He said the water transport mode was a critical part of the intermodal transport system of the government and plans are on to develop it with international best practices.

The governor, who was represented at the forum by Ade Akinsanya, the commissioner for Waterfront Infrastructure, said the forum took place at a time when one of the critical challenges facing the state was how to efficiently move the citizens across the state by improving the capacity of the various modes of transportation.

He recalled that the State was inundated with the challenge of traffic gridlock across the metropolis, adding that such was a sign that the prosperity of the State was on-going, being at the heart of the nation’s economy.

The governor added that not only is there a growing influx of people into the State, but that Lagos, just as other cities across the world, is facing the challenge of rapid urbanization, and as such there is the need to ensure provision of infrastructure that extends beyond the present generation.

He said that in line with his administration’s vision to ensure a safe, secure and prosperous Lagos State, there was the need for the establishment of appropriate standards and regulations in the transportation sector.