Sanwo-Olu, private sector to discuss Lagos traffic congestion

The Governor of Lagos State, Mr Babajide Sanwo-Olu, will, on Thursday, discuss and profer solutions to traffic congestion in the state.

At the maiden edition of Transport and Traffic Conference, to be held virtually, Governor Sanwo-Olu would participate in a public-private sector dialogue on the causes of Lagos perennial traffic congestion, its costs to individuals, businesses and government and sustainable solutions.

The conference is hosted by Danne Institute for Research, a Lagos-based research institute in partnership with BusinessDay Newspaper.

This year’s conference titled “Connectivity and Productivity in Lagos Megacity,” according to the Institute is aimed at catalysing discussions around the opportunities and risks facing Lagos if the megacity’s connectivity challenges are not addressed and the imperative of using research-based solutions in the concerted efforts directed at solving the perennial traffic problems.

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Speaking about the webinar and what it seeks to achieve, the Founder and Executive Director of Danne Institute for Research, Professor Franca Ovadje, said, “Lagos is overwhelmed with congestion, mobility challenges, high commuting costs and inadequate infrastructure. One report states that three of every ten years spent in Lagos is lost to traffic congestion. At this Dialogue, Danne Institute for Research will present findings of its research on connectivity and productivity. Results of the study conducted by Financial Derivatives Company in collaboration with Danne Institute on the economic costs of traffic congestion in the megacity will also be presented. This novel research has implications for individuals, businesses and the Lagos State Government.”

In its Connectivity and Productivity report set to be launched the same day, the research institute states that traffic jams are still a regular sight in Lagos despite the state spending approximately 38 per cent of its budget in the last two decades on infrastructure, building roads and bridges and revamping the public transport system. The study on the cost of traffic congestion which was done in conjunction with Financial Derivatives Company is novel in the sense that it estimates the economic costs of traffic congestion to individuals and businesses in Lagos, a city where “more than eight million people move in five million vehicles on a tiny road network of 9,204 roads, including two tollways and three bridges linking the mainland to the island.”

NIGERIAN TRIBUNE