Fourth Mainland Bridge: Lagos to announce preferred bidder by end of 2022

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.”