Currently ranked top in the megacities list in Africa, in 30 years, Lagos could become a model megacity, says its Governor, Babajide Sanwo-Olu. He made this declaration at the ninth edition of Ehingbeti Lagos Economic Summit, currently going on at Victoria Island.
He said that the government had made concerted efforts towards the conceptualisation and development of a comprehensive 30-year plan. According to him, the Lagos State Development Plan 2052 has the ambition of transforming Lagos into Africa’s Model Mega City. “The Lagos State Development Plan 2052 is built around four strategic pillars – Thriving Economy, Human-centric City, Modern Infrastructure and Effective Governance. This plan focuses on 20 strategic areas that will drive this ambition. This long-term development plan has been meticulously devised to accommodate the best of all existing and prior high-level policy documents, transformation plans and development policies, including the THEMES Agenda.”
Although the Economist Intelligence Unit in its 2022 ranking of the world’s most liveable cities ranked Lagos the second worst city among 172 ranked cities, just a little above Damascus in war-torn Syria, the Lagos State chief executive is optimistic the plan will make the city more liveable. “In line with the ongoing work to fine-tune the Lagos State Development Plan 2052, the focus of this year’s Ehingbeti Summit will be on the long-term sustainable socio-economic development of Lagos State,” he said.
The governor said that the implementation of the Development Plan required purposeful and dedicated leadership. “Our unwavering promise to you, as a State Government, is that we will provide the required leadership, to move from ideation to action, and to transform Lagos from Megacity to Model Megacity. As we look forward, Lagos State will continue to achieve its potential, which will be built on our resilience, our rich heritage of culture, innovation and entrepreneurship, and most importantly, our people.
The Commissioner for Economic Planning and Budget, Mr. Sam Egube, said that the summit had offered Lagos a better deal in growth prospects, as the state harnessed robust conversations with key private sector players. Egube said that the state government had implemented 210 of the 222 resolutions reached in the past eight editions of the economic summit, adding that the engagement with the private sector had helped improve accountability in governance.
The state government has been investing billions of naira to expand infrastructure, such as a light rail network to ease perennial traffic congestion. It also recently secured approval to build an airport at the Lekki axis of the state. However, plans for a fourth mainland bridge have been stagnated.
Ayodelé is a Lagos-based journalist and the Content and Editorial Coordinator at Meiza. All around the megacity, I am steering diverse lifestyle magazine audiences with ingenious hacks and insights that spur fast, informed decisions in their busy lives.
