China Civil Engineering Construction Company(CCECC) has assured communities living along the Lagos-Ibadan rail corridor that it would address their welfare and primary infrastructure needs before the completion and handing over of the project.
The company, which is handling the 156 kilometre standard gauge rail line, said it is in talks with relevant government officials to address all their infrastructural needs.
The company, in a statement in Abuja by its media adviser, Dr. Eshemokha Maho, noted that the clarification became necessary following recent agitation by some communities along the rail corridor over an overhead bridge and a flooded link road.
Two of the affected communities in Ogun axis of the rail line- Laderin and Alagada- recently went on protests to complain about the state of infrastructure in their areas.
Laderin during the protest demanded that CCECC construct an overhead bridge across the rail line to connect villages in their area to the main road while Alagada community urged the company to fix the link road in the community which has been rendered unpassable as a result of flooding.
CCECC, while noting that the construction of an overhead bridge in Laderin was not captured as part of the rail project, said as an ethical company, it was committed to the development of local communities in all areas of operations.
The company added that machinery have been put in place towards addressing the complaint of the community.
โWe are working based on designs given to us by the contracting authority, as you know we cannot go outside the design, without appropriate approvals, it would be going outside the scope of the project and we could be sanctioned.
โHowever we have long taken note of the concern of the community and have taken it into consideration and are working with relevant government officials to ensure that the issue raised by the community are appropriately channelled and addressed.โ
On the issue of link road raised by Lasada community, Maho noted that CCECC is a company built on integrity.
โYes it is true that we promised to fix the road, if you go there now, work on the road is in progress and it would be delivered soon. I can assure you that the road would be better than it was before. There was no need for any agitation in the first place, because when we promise, we deliver. CCECC is a company that values its reputation and integrityโ
He urged the affected communities to maintain peace and cooperate with CCECC to ensure that the project is delivered on schedule while the company works towards addressing all their demands.
