TheCable

The Lagos state government says it will announce the preferred bidder for the construction of the proposed Fourth Mainland Bridge in the third quarter of 2021.

Aramide Adeyoye, special adviser to the governor on works and infrastructure, announced this during a presentation of the state’s 2021 budget on Thursday.

She explained that the contract was delayed because of the transparency requirement to secure funding under the public-private partnership arrangement.

“The 3rd Mainland Bridge was constructed well over 30 years ago and we ought to have finished on this Fourth Mainland Bridge. One of the things that have not allowed us to close on that is the transparency that we have to show if we are getting funding on a PPP (public-private partnership) basis,” she said.

She noted that the state government started the selection process for construction companies in November 2019 and has concluded three out of the six steps.

“We started that process in November 2019 when we gave Expression of Interest (EOI) requests and by that way we declared to the whole world that we are going to throw up the field open.  That commenced the selection process,” Adeyoye said.

“It is a six steps process, we are in step three of the process. We have seen the EOI, we have seen the analysis, and now we have the fourth process where we clarify and ask questions, and then we are in the process of concluding the process, where you get proposals from people as to all the alternatives.

“Fourth Mainland Bridge is a 38 kilometre road and bridge section starting from Abraham Adesanya (in Lekki-Ajah Express) road all across the lagoon. So I am hoping that come before the end of the second or third quarter, between the second and third quarter of this year we would be getting to a financial close where you have your reserve bidder and your preferred bidder. And I want to believe with all the transparency that we have shown, there is no reason why this project should not flow.”