The Lagos state government says it will announce the
preferred bidder for the construction of the proposed Fourth Mainland Bridge by
the end of 2022.
Ope George, special adviser to the governor on public
private partnerships (PPPs), said this at a roundtable discussion with
journalists on Thursday.
The state had failed to name the preferred bidder in third
quarter (Q3) of 2021, as earlier announced.
George, however, said the project is worth $2.5 billion – $3
billion and must be well-scrutinised before it commences.
“We had over 50 expressions of interest when we started this
process. We went from expression of interest to a request for qualification to
a request for proposal. The request for proposal was split into two stages,”
George said.
“We are now at the second stage of request for proposal. We
are now down from initially over 50 bidders to 3 bidders.
“We are confident that by the end of this year, we will
identify who the preferred bidder is. The bidder will then go ahead to construct
it.”
George further emphasised the importance of stakeholders’
engagement to the success of PPP projects.
“We understand the value of stakeholder consultation. You
can’t go to an area and say you want to build a bridge or a road without understanding
what’s going on in that area,” he said.
“Extensive stakeholder participation is key to ensuring that
everyone is carried along. Everyone has to understand the value of the
infrastructure you are bringing in.
“We adopt a holistic approach in Lagos. We ensure that
everything we do is regulated by law.”
Responding to a question on how heavy taxation kills small
businesses, the special adviser said Lagos will take steps to reduce tax burden
on businesses.
On ease of doing business, George said: “the office of SDGs
and investment is working on setting up a one-stop shop for people to be able
to come in and get guidance when they want to do business.”
Advertise on NigerianEye.com to reach thousands of our daily users
No comments
Post a Comment
Kindly drop a comment below.
(Comments are moderated. Clean comments will be approved immediately)
Advert Enquires - Reach out to us at NigerianEye@gmail.com