China Civil Engineering Construction Corporation (CCECC) has started the construction of the first phase of Lagos Rail Mass Transit (LRMT) Red Line project in Lagos, Nigeria. It is the second light rail project that the company has implemented in Lagos State, after the LRMT Blue Line project.

In mid-April Lagos State Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu attended the groundbreaking ceremony for the construction of the 37-kilometre Red Line, which will run between Agbado and Marina, moving over one million commuters daily.

The first phase of the project, which will partially run on an existing rail track being upgraded as part of the Lagos-Ibadan Railway Modernization Project, will comprise eight stations and should be operational by the last quarter of 2022.

CCECC said the completed project will interconnect with the existing Lagos State Bus Terminal and the Lagos-Ibadan Railway Station that is still under construction, as well as to Lagos Airport.

The Red Line is part of the state government’s vision of an integrated multimodal transportation system contained in the State’s Strategic Transport Master Plan (STMP), which was developed by the Lagos Metropolitan Area Transport Authority. The STMP has identified better connectivity as critical to the economic development of Greater Lagos.