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Monday, December 22, 2014

FASHOLA UNVEILS DEVELOPMENT PLAN FOR NEXT ELEVEN YEARS IN LAGOS STATE

Lagos state development plan

Lagos state governor, Mr Babatunde Fashola, SAN on the 16th  of December 2014, publicly presented the Lagos State Development Plan 2012-2025, stating that quite a number of the items that form the Development Plan are already in progress.

A Development Plan is an aspect of town and country planning comprising of set of documents (written statements and accompany maps) that set out the overall strategy for proper planning, development and use of land in an area in other to achieve sustainable development and create human settlements that accommodate a variety of land uses to meet the needs of the people who live in this settlements.
The Lagos State Development Plan (LSDP) is a policy document that came into being by harmonizing all existing high level policy documents operational in the State. It captures past strategic development plans and statements and bring them into a harmonious and coherent whole (Lagos State Development Plan 2012-2025).

Lagos has always been Nigeria’s most populous city but its rapid growth began in the 1980s and has continued to this day. This growth is fuelled by a large amount of in-migration from the surrounding rural areas as well as from further afield. Lagos reached a Mega City status (cities over 10 million) by 1995 and the State Bureau of Statistics estimates that its current (2011) population stands at just over 20 million. By 2015 it is estimated that Lagos will be ranked as the third largest city in the world after Tokyo and Mumbai (Lagos State Development Plan 2012-2025).

According to Mr Babatunde Fashola, Lagos City-State as one of the fastest growing cities in the world has a vision of becoming Africa’s Model Mega City and Global, Economic and Financial Hub that is Safe, Secure, Functional and Productive. To achieve this laudable objective, there is need to direct investment towards economic development of Lagos. Thus, LSDP serves as a veritable platform providing overall direction for the growth and development of the State.

Basically, development plans of any sort involve deliberate efforts on the part of government to speed up the process of social and economic development of a country and good governance. In pure capitalist countries, like developing countries, where government intervention is relatively small, the provision of a policy framework usually through development plans cannot be overemphasized for the economy and other sectors to operate. The most logical interpretation of this is that the relative rates at which heavy industry, light industry, agricultural improvement, transport and commerce, housing and the like are to be pursued become a matter of conscious policy (Ayinla, 1998).

According to Fashola, in the area of transportation, the Ferry terminal in Badore and Ikordu has finished and the one in Osborne almost completed, Train terminus already built at Mile 2, Orile and Costain and more are on their way. In terms of water supply, the state now has full power at Adiyan water works and long term desalination may be considered in some areas due to limited water resources. Work has started at Odo Iya Alaro waste water treatment plant. Not forgetting the housing sector, Governor Fashola said that homes construction are ongoing  at 21 different sites, adding that the State has kept the promise of delivering 200 new homes every month to qualified residents.

Importance of the Development Plan

With the development plan, all developments in the area of jurisdiction of the plan must comply with the requirements of the plan i.e it guides how development should progress in an area.
For all sectors, it will provide the means through which their performance can be evaluated against the set goals and objectives.
The plan will also be a vehicle through which the State  Government can publicise to the general public the direction in which the State intends to advance development over the coming ten years and beyond.
Finally such a plan will also be an important framework for international assistance.
According to Governor Fashola, the Lagos State Development Plan is one which the average resident in Lagos state must take ownership of because it provides a framework which all sectors of the economy – public, private and civil society - can direct their energies and contribute to the improvement of the quality of life of people in the State.

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