Lasimra to Demolish 1,500 Masts

Lagos State Infrastructure Maintenance and Regulatory Agency (Lasimra), established by the state to regulate the building of infrastructure, will anytime now begin the demolition of 1,500 illegal masts and towers, Nigeria CommunicationsWeek has learnt.
The agency has identified these illegal masts mostly erected by cyber café operators and cable television receivers and has also written to some banks and companies whose communications masts are defective to fix them or risk demolition.
The move is considered preventive rather reactive because of the dangers the illegal masts and towers which dot roof tops and skyline of the state pose to both human and environment.
This is coming as Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) indicated last week its readiness to liaise with Lagos State government to demolish illegal masts in the state.
Nigeria CommunicationsWeek investigations reveal that there are about 11,000 masts in the state out of which 5,000 belong to telecommunications operators, 3,500 masts erected by 24 banks at their various branches in the state and another 1,000 erected by Internet Service Providers, Television/Radio stations and some cyber café operators.
The other 1,500 masts illegally erected, defective or out of use have been marked for demolition.
It would be recalled that Lasimra and Association of Telecommunications Operators of Nigeria (Alton) have been engaged in legal battle over the regulation of  masts’ erection in the state.