VZCZCXRO6585
RR RUEHMA RUEHPA
DE RUEHOS #0007/01 0080710
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 080710Z JAN 08
FM AMCONSUL LAGOS
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 9673
INFO RUEHUJA/AMEMBASSY ABUJA 9416
RUEHZK/ECOWAS COLLECTIVE
RUCPDOC/DEPT OF COMMERCE WASHDC
RHMCSUU/DEPT OF ENERGY WASHINGTON DC
RUEATRS/DEPT OF TREASURY WASHDC
RUEAIIA/CIA WASHINGTON DC
RHEFDIA/DIA WASHINGTON DC

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 LAGOS 000007 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SIPDIS 
 
STATE FOR AF/W 
COMMERCE FOR KBURRESS 
ENERGY FOR PERSON, GAY 
TREASURY FOR DPETERS, RHALL, RABDULRAZAK 
STATE PASS USTR FOR LISER, AGAMA 
STATE PASS TRANSPORTATION FOR KSAMPLE 
STATE PASS OPIC FOR ZHAN, MSTUCKART, JEDWARDS 
STATE PASS TDA FOR EEBONG, DSHUSTER 
STATE PASS EXIM FOR JRICHTER 
STATE PASS USAID FOR NFREEMAN, GBERTOLIN 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: ECON EFIN EINV NI
 
SUBJECT: NIGERIA: OGUN STATE GOVERNMENT DEVELOPS TRANSPORTATION 
PROPOSALS 
 
REF: 07LAGOS 794 
 
¶1. (U) Summary: Ogun State's proposed transportation infrastructure 
comprising road, rail, sea and air will help manage the steady 
growth in population and economy stemming from its proximity to 
Lagos. In collaboration with private sector, the government plans to 
build an extensive road and rail network that will link the state to 
eastern and northern Nigeria. An agro cargo airport that will back 
up the Lagos airports is also in the offing. End summary. 
 
Ogun Plans Integrated Transport System 
-------------------------------------- 
 
¶2. (U) The Ogun State government outlined plans for an integrated 
transportation system at its third Economic and Investment Summit 
(Ref).  The proposed transportation infrastructure comprising road, 
rail, sea and air, will redefine Ogun as a metropolitan state, when 
completed.  Governor Gbenga Daniel said the state's proximity to 
Lagos created transportation challenge for Ogun State residents.  As 
Lagos's population grew, poor households migrated to Ogun and 
commuted longer distances to work, spending 20-30 percent of monthly 
income on transportation, he said. 
 
Road Network Links State to the East 
------------------------------------ 
 
¶3. (U) Extensive road network will link Ogun to east via Edo State. 
Femi Egbeoluwa, Ogun State Bureau of Transportation Executive, said 
the government will not directly operate the proposed public 
transport system, but has developed regulatory regimes and 
strengthened regulatory capacity to encourage private-sector led 
growth in the sector. The proposed road network, expected to drive 
government's innovative industrial activities in different parts of 
the state, will be constructed by investors through Public-Private 
Partnership (PPP) initiatives. 
 
¶4. (U) Among roads to improve access is an East-West road that will 
link the state to the east, and the Sagamu-Lagos Expressway, which 
will be upgraded to a four-lane dual highway, to ease traffic into 
Lagos.  Egbeoluwa said investors may toll these roads to recover 
their costs.  He stated that the payback analyses are promising as a 
pilot run on Sagamu-Abeokuta road showed that 44,062 vehicles were 
recorded in a week which would yield a net return of USD 800,000 in 
annual revenue.  With this, he predicted investors can breakeven 
within 6 years. 
 
Private Participation in Rail Projects Encouraged 
--------------------------------------------- ---- 
 
¶5. (U) The state plans to develop rail mass transit systems, such as 
light rail transit (LRT) on standard gauge, monorail transit and 
suburban rail transit. A 43 kilometer (km) LRT from Iddo to Ifo, is 
planned to move between 2,000 to 36,000 passengers per hour per 
direction.  The LRT, which will serve the Kajola Specialized FTZ, is 
estimated to cost USD 344 million. While the 12km monorail, suitable 
for the Ogun Guangdong FTZ, because it uses only one rail will cost 
USD 25 million. 
 
¶6. (U) The Suburban Rail Transit, using the existing 48 km Nigeria 
Railway Corporation (NRC) facilities from Iddo station to Ifo town, 
will cost USD 155 million to upgrade. The 21 Diesel Multiple Units 
with 140 coaches with capacity for 12,000 passengers per hour per 
direction at peak periods, (that is 10 minutes between trains), will 
transport an estimated 500,000 passengers daily, Egbeoluwa said. The 
government proposes that the suburban rail system would be a joint 
venture between the NRC, Ogun State Government and private 
investors. 
 
Ogun Airport: Back Up for Lagos MMA 
----------------------------------- 
 
¶7. (U) Ogun plans to build an Agro-Cargo Airport as back up for the 
Murtala Muhammed Airport (MMA) in Lagos. MMA cargo traffic volume 
 
LAGOS 00000007  002 OF 002 
 
 
accounted for 95 percent of all air freight movements in Nigeria in 
2005, Egbeoluwa said.  The need for a relief airport in Ogun State 
is justified increasing in air cargo movement and the fact that MMA 
has reached about 93 percent of its installed capacity, he said. 
Besides, land constraints in Lagos and steady growth in Ogun State 
population and economy have increased the need to transport people 
and goods by air.  Sanusi Daggash, Minister of National Planning 
agreed that the MMA, built in 1978 can no longer meet Nigeria's 
needs as a flagship airport and at least two more airports must be 
built to augment it, he claimed. 
 
¶8. (U) The airport, though a government initiative, will be 
established as a commercially viable private sector driven project. 
It is being planned, designed and developed in partnership with Dar 
Al-Handasah, a foreign consulting firm.  Martez El-Edin, a Dar 
Al-Handasah consultant noted that there is presently no dedicated 
cargo handling airport in West Africa. The airport will also provide 
cold storage facilities for imports and exports, which are currently 
limited at the MMA. 
 
¶9. (U) According to El-Edin, the first phase of the project will 
have an international passenger terminal with two aprons for 
passengers and cargo, check-in counters and four passport control 
points each in the departure and arrival halls. The airport, which 
is only two minutes airtime from both Lagos airports, will have an 
airstrip for light to medium cargo and commercial air traffic, and 
an aircraft maintenance center to cater for Nigerian and West 
African commercial air fleet. Other facilities at the airport will 
include a control tower, warehousing and cargo depot, petroleum 
product depot, a fire station and a regional light rail hub that 
will link the airport to the national rail network. 
 
¶10. (U) Participants at the conference raised concerns about the 
viability of the airport particularly when most cargo flights to 
Nigeria depart empty. Aviation experts noted that cargo flights to 
Nigeria cost more than they do to other destinations because of 
this, and they urged the Ogun State government to ensure that agro 
processing and other export industries produce internationally 
acceptable products for cargo flights to take back. 
 
Deepwater Port to Receive Bigger Vessels than Lagos 
--------------------------------------------- ------ 
 
¶11. (U) A new 20km shoreline deepwater port will be located at 
Olokola to serve the proposed Ogun/Ondo OK FTZ and OKLNG projects 
(see Septel). Egbeoluwa said about 50-60 million tons of cargo are 
shipped through deep seaports in Nigeria annually, and the Olokola 
port will be able to receive ships with between 11 and 16 meters 
drafts which are currently unable to berth at the Lagos ports. 
 
Blair