Green rail line construction to begin December, says Lagos commissioner

The Lagos state government says construction of the green rail line project will commence in December.

Oluwaseun Osiyemi, the commissioner for transportation, spoke during an inspection tour in the Lekki area alongside Tokunbo Wahab, the commissioner for environment and water resources.

According to a statement posted on the X account of the state government on Monday, Wahab inspected the environmental infraction along the Lekki-Epe expressway in preparation for the forthcoming green rail line.

He said the state officials were on site to assess the extent of the infractions and explore how both ministries could collaborate to restore the wetlands and realign the master plan for the green line project, directing that enforcement actions against the violations commence immediately.

On September 5, 2024, the Lagos government signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the ministry of finance incorporated (MOFI) and China Harbour Engineering Company (CHEC) to construct the green line rail in the state.

Babajide Sanwo-Olu, governor of Lagos, said the green line is expected to carry over 500,000 passengers daily, with the numbers expected to increase as demand grows.

The green line is a 68 km rail line designed to run from the Lekki free zone to connect the blue line at Marina.

Speaking during the inspection, Osiyemi said the government had carried out extensive stakeholders’ engagements and feasibility studies along the Lekki-Epe expressway corridor ahead of the project’s takeoff.

“The commissioner for transportation, Mr. Seun Osiyemi remarked that the government had done a lot of stakeholders’ engagements as well as a lot of feasibility studies along the Lekki-Epe Expressway Corridor because the green line project will commence in December,” the statement quoted Osiyemi as saying.

GREEN LINE RAIL PROJECT TO BE COMPLETED IN THREE YEARS 

He said the green line project would be completed in two to three years and would begin from Marina to Epe.

“The projects would come in phases-with the first phase from Lekki First Tollgate to Epe and the second Phase from Marina would be on the water,” he added.

On his part, Wahab said abatement notices were issued on September 26, 2025, to automobile dealers who had encroached on wetlands and built temporary structures under high-tension power lines, in violation of their approved boundaries.

“This negates the original masterplan for the green line by the ministry of transportation,” he said.

The commissioner said the temporary approvals granted to the dealers clearly stated that no permanent structures should be erected since the area lies under power lines.

He, however, said some had extended beyond the approved sites and encroached further into wetlands.

Wahab reiterated the government’s commitment to preserving wetlands across the state, describing them as solutions to mitigating flooding.