FG unveils N40bn CCTV centre on Third Mainland Bridge

The federal government says it has inaugurated a N40 billion closed-circuit television (CCTV) control centre for the Third Mainland Bridge in Lagos.

In 2025, David Umahi, minister of works, announced that the federal government had installed surveillance cameras on the Third Mainland Bridge.

Umahi said the installation of closed-circuit television (CCTV) cameras on the bridge was intended to prevent suicide attempts.

At the time, the minister said security personnel would monitor footage from the CCTV and enforce speed regulations.

Speaking at the inauguration of the centre on Sunday, Umahi said the current administration met a “very terrible Third Mainland Bridge”.

“When we came on board in 2023, we met a very terrible Third Mainland Bridge, Carter Bridge and Iddo Bridge, both on the pavement, surface, infrastructure above the water and even infrastructure below the water,” he said.

“The president, therefore, directed total re-evaluation and rehabilitation of the surfaces of the Third Mainland Bridge and changing the expansion joints.

“Lagosians were very happy with the president for that beautiful work, and that work completed and commissioned is still succeeding because of the quality.”

Umahi commended China Civil Engineering Construction Corporation (CCECC), which executed the project, for delivering what he described as quality work.

He said the ministry would hand over a surveillance boat and two Hilux vans included in the contract to the police for monitoring activities on the bridge.

“If they need to incorporate other security agencies, they can do that, but the idea of this project is that we have a lay-by on the bridge, so we view everything going on on this bridge,” he said.

The minister expressed concerns over excessive speeding on the bridge and urged motorists to obey traffic laws.

Earlier, Olufemi Dare, federal controller of works in Lagos, said the CCTV centre is the first of its kind in the country.

“I doubt if there is any bridge in Nigeria that has what we have deployed here today, where you have CCTV to monitor both the underwater and even the bridge itself,” Dare said.

“We have a boat that has been bought for surveillance of the bridge. There are two Hilux vans, too.

“We have 240 solar panels in this environment, and that is not enough. The whole place is fully air-conditioned. We have 10 inverters inside the building.

“We have the powering units. We have a transformer, a 300 KVA transformer. We have a standby generating plant and monitoring screens.”

He thanked President Bola Tinubu for approving the project and commended Umahi for ensuring due process in its execution.

“We have about 1,268 solar street lights that are part of this contract,” he said.

He added that the project also includes a borehole facility, noting that the project was awarded at the cost of N40.17 billion.

Dare also said the federal government had so far paid N36 billion to the contractor.

“This is the first level of commissioning. We are still going to come back here to do even for the extension of the bridge, which is about to be completed,” he said.

“We pray that very sooner than later, we will come back to do a full-blown commissioning.”