Ogun State Governor, Prince Dapo Abiodun has called for the support of Lafarge and other multinational companies operating along the Abeokuta-Ota-Lagos Expressway as government makes efforts to reconstruct the ever busy road.
The Governor said reconstructing the road will have multiplier effects on the socio-economic development of the state, while companies who have their base of operations along the route stand to benefit more.
The Governor spoke when the management team of Lafarge Africa Plc paid a courtesy visit to his office in Oke-Mosan, Abeokuta.
Prince Abiodun regretted the deplorable state of the road, even as he recalled the various palliative interventions by the Ogun State Government to lessen the pains of motorists.
The Governor said that although, Ogun State has secured the permission of the Federal Government to reconstruct the road, the cost, which was initially put at about N70 billion, would be in the region of N150 billion or more due to high cost of asphalt, diesel and cement as a result of inflation.
“It is important we sit down and identity what portion of the expanse of that road Larfarge and the likes are going to contribute because the truth is that you are one of the biggest contributors to the condition of that road.
“Your trucks are causing damages to the road. They are carrying cement and raw materials, and most of those trucks are even overcapacitating the design of the road,” the governor said.
Abiodun called on the management of Larfarge to use global best practices in disposing industrial waste in their areas of operation.
Acknowledging the company’s longstanding commitment to the local economy, Governor Abiodun emphasized the crucial role of collaboration with the private sector in addressing the challenges of sustainable economic growth and job creation.