Africa’s largest food hub, psychiatric hospital ready in 2025 — Sanwo-Olu

Lagos State Governor, Mr Babajide Sanwo-Olu, on Saturday, said the 500-bed psychiatric hospital and Lagos State Food Security Systems and Central Logistics Hub, said to be the largest in Africa, being built in the Epe area of the state, will be completed by next year.

Governor Sanwo-Olu made this known during a working visit to the projects, disclosing that the Lagos Central Food Security Systems Logistics Park would be ready in the second quarter of 2025 while the Psychiatric Hospital will be ready by the fourth quarter of next year.

On the food hub, the governor disclosed that the projects were envisioned five years ago based on the determination “to have our destiny in our hands, notwithstanding the fact that Lagro was an agro-producing state.

According to him, the COVID-19 pandemic that happened in 2020 taught a lesson, recalling that it was during that time that his administration saw a global disruption in the chain of logistics of food and, therefore, the need to address such challenges to protect the state “from food insecurity.”

“Covid that happened in 2020 taught us a lesson because it was during that time we saw a global disruption in the chain of logistics of food. You remember at that time, if you don’t have anything in your house, you continue to pray to God.

“Even after we saw global disruption, that is when we came up with a plan that Lagos should be a very large-scale food logistic hub to protect itself from food insecurity. We did mention at that time that food is security, and it is becoming an important and even a normal threat to life’s security. We can see that indeed that move that we made three years ago is on the right course.

“The largest food logistics hub in the whole of sub-Saharan Africa is here. It is on over 230 hectares of land, about five thousand square meters. It is going to be the largest cold and dry chain storage,” Sanwo-Olu stated.

Governor Sanwo-Olu, who expressed delight at the level of work on the 500-bed facility Psychiatric Hospital facilities, said the hospital would help to promote mental healthcare delivery in the country, noting that the hospital is the first of its type, with phase one being the 500-bed health facility.

”The psychiatric hospital is the first of its type; it is a Lagos State Mental Health Institute, Psychiatric Rehabilitation Centre, Ketu Ejinrin.

“It just borders the food and logistics hub, but this would be the largest psychiatric rehabilitation centre in the entire sub-Saharan Africa. Phase one of it is the 500-bed health facility. You can see that all of the structures of phase one are out, which will include the 500-bed accommodation in different sizes. It will include consultation rooms, dormitories and dining rooms, a kitchen, and a residence for health facility workers.

”It is a massive health institute sitting on about 25 hectares of land. We believe this kind of health institute is equally important. We have seen enough health challenges in mental health issues, and we need to make a classic case and we need to make it first class. They come in for psychotherapy and rehabilitation and get well in a serene environment,” the governor stated.

“Phase two of it will be additional accommodation for patients who need services here and who need rehabilitation centres.

”We are targeting this time next year to also complete this project. This project is about 50 per cent done, and we believe in the next 12 months we can bring it to completion. I am impressed with the level of work that the contractor has put into it. They are all bungalows, and this is because of the kind of institute that it is,’ he added.

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