Why many people are moving to BADAGRY axis…

• To Buy Land & Properties,        -What City People Found Out

Presently, the number of people who live in Badagry and its environs is high. And almost on a daily basis people from other parts of Lagos are moving there. Why? The major development that attracts people to a location is accessibility and modern infrastructures, which Badagry and its environs can currently boast of. As we write, Badagry and its environs have now become the hottest locations for real estate developers and investors in Lagos recently.

City People’s findings revealed why more and more real estate investors are moving there.

This is a moment of relief for the residents of Badagry and its environs.

First, The Federal Government is leaving no stone unturned to complete the 10-lane dual expressway, from Mile 2 to Badagry Town. The project, which commenced a few years ago, has now reached 70 per cent completion.

It is a known fact that an average Lagos resident on the Mile 2, Oluti, Alakija-Abule, Ado, Ojo-Alaba, Okokomaiko, Ijanikin, Agbara–Badagry axis cannot wait to see the completion of the expressway and the accompanying light rail. This would be a new dawn for them.

On Monday, September 4, 2023, the much-anticipated project, Blue Rail Line began operation and it will cover many locations in that axis.

It will take off from Marina to Mile 2, boasting five stations: Marina, National Theatre, Iganmu, Alaba, and Orile. Some of these areas are directly linked with Badagry and these will aid smooth transportation and ease of doing business in that axis.

These are some of the reasons real estate investors, especially those who have a large expanse of land there, or those who have one or two properties that are undervalued in the axis are happy. Another set of people who are rejoicing are Omo-Onile who see this as a means of selling their land with a higher valuation. A lot of real estate players now see the Badagry axis as the new Lekki. In the last few weeks, property valuation in the axis is beginning to rise and more and more people have ticked the axis as their next destination of investment.

What City People found out is that property valuation in the axis will quickly rise as big property firms are set to spend big to acquire land to build big estates in the axis in the coming months. Another thing we have also found out is that those property firms with big investments there have suspended selling out properties pending when the two massive projects reach a stage of completion. According to one of them, “We can’t really say how far the prices would go but we are very sure that in the next few months, we would be selling double the price of what we sell now”.

The Lagos Blue Line light rail project comes as an accompaniment of the ambitious reconstruction and expansion of the Lagos-Badagry Expressway (LBE) from four to a 10-lane regional road.

In the estimation of Lagos residents and other keen watchers of the project, the completion of the rail lines promises a new lease of life and an improved standard of living for residents living along the rail routes. There will be a growth of businesses and sundry economic activities and increased revenue for the government.

The Lagos State Metropolitan Transport Authority (LAMATA) says it is certain that the impact of the two lines would be monumental, explaining that the rail lines would reduce traffic congestion. They would also stimulate growth, development and job creation just as they are expected to promote the use of public transport; promote business tourism, and improve road traffic safety.

Additionally, the projects are expected to improve the image of public transportation and attract more car users to public transport; increase travel efficiency and workers’ productivity. “It will improve the quality of the environment – air and life. We project that the first phases of the two rail lines would cut down congestion on the two rail routes by more than 50 per cent LAMATA said.

From 2009, when the Blue Line was started by Babatunde Fashola as Lagos Governor, it could be said that the project has dragged on, more so when a similar light rail project in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, that was started two years after that of Lagos, has been completed and operating since 2015.

But there is good news with its completion now in sight, according to Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu, who is assuring Lagosians that, by the last quarter of 2022, the project will completed.

By its nature, rail transportation is a mass transit system which explains why the goal of the rail lines is to reduce traffic gridlock in the metropolis, particularly along the Mile 2-Okokomaiko-Marina corridor. Specifically, the approximately 27-27-kilometer line is aimed to facilitate the development of economic activities along its route. With these two major infrastructures on this axis, there would be a relief for the people in the axis while the investors, especially real estate big boys, would also relocate to the axis and boost the real estate business.

– Isaac Abimbade