Lagos to attract £410m investment through Omi-Eko Project – LASWA boss

The General Manager of the Lagos State Waterways Authority, Oluwadamilola Emmanuel, talks about the state’s Omi-Eko Project, among others, in this interview with ANOZIE EGOLE

How would you describe 2024 in the Lagos water transport sector?

Well, it was a very good year, I must say. Because you know, one of the ways in which you can trace development is to know if you are progressing or not. And I think we actually progressed last year because, for the first time, we saw what I will call standard boats coming into the sector. These were boats which were conceived in Lagos, produced in Lagos, and operated in Lagos. These were the Omnibus, which obviously you were there when the governor also commissioned that Omnibus. So that Omnibus came into play because, you know, largely there are a lot of the informal sector boat operators as well.

But with this, we see how things begin to get standardised, because even the informal sector, they want to be formalised. What they have been clamouring for is always for the government to support them with boats. And the government, after years, is finally able to support them with these boats and, of course, offer it to them as well, all within the guidelines. And the appropriate procedures are being followed for them to apply for the boats as well and be able to get the boats.

Are you saying that the informal sector operators have access to this, probably on a higher purchase basis?

Yes, that’s what it is, basically on rent; it’s not rent to own; it’s rent to operate. So basically, they are getting it from us.

So far, how many operators have had access to these boats?

As we speak today, we have about 10 operators. These are existing operators, by the way, who don’t have boats, who don’t have standard boats. One or two of them had boats, but Omnibus is definitely far higher than whatever it is they had before. In fact, the reason I said 10 is because I know that there are still a few more, but let’s even just say 10 of the operators.

Fifteen of the agreed 25 boats have been delivered. When will the remaining 10 be delivered?

Now, the reason the remaining 10 haven’t been delivered is because we have seen that with the first 15 were fossil fuels, which means petrol boats. So, we are now thinking that we need to reconsider this 10 to think about whether it will be electric boats; those options should be there. So, we are now trying to see whether we might need to now introduce that with the next 10 because we want to see full optimisation of the existing boats. And we have seen that with petrol, there have been a few challenges along the way. So, with these 10, we want to see if there is any way we can provide options where, apart from petrol, maybe hybrid, you have petrol but also be able to use electric in case. That’s where we are, but so far, there has not been any competition on that. The boats have been made, but you know how it is. When the boats are made, you can then put in these multiple propulsion and multiple transmission systems as well.

In 2023, you said that Lagos State planned to renovate 15 jetties across the state. What is the update on that project?

Yeah, there are 10 of them that have been renovated, and I know that the other five are being renovated as we speak. So, I know about five of the 10 are currently operational as we speak.

Are there plans to make these boats fully electric, given the economic situation of the country?

Absolutely, yes, we have an Omi-Eko project. I don’t know if you have heard of the Omi-Eko Project; it is a new project which the state government is backing up. It’s a foreign-funded project for the waterways by the French government agency called Agency for French Development, with partner donors as well as partner financiers, which is the European Investment Bank. So, it’s an AFD, EIB, and European Union project. The AFD and the EIB are bringing a loan. AFD and Lagos State Government are the main initiators, while others are co-financiers.

It’s a French agency that looks across different countries, especially third-world countries, and then they take French funds to support different projects that help improve the lives of the less privileged.

Whatever project they are going to do, whether it’s education, health or transport, what they are really targeting is the improvement of lives of the citizens in that country, and they usually look at those who are at the lower end of things and how their lives can be improved upon. So whatever project they are getting involved in must target those people, and to ensure that nobody is discriminated against in any society.

That’s all they tend to look out for. So, this is a French-funded project; it’s a £410m project. The £130m loan is from AFD, and the £170m loan is from EIB. If you put that together, that’s a £300m loan. We now have the largest grant which the EU has ever given to any project anywhere in sub-Saharan Africa. They are giving a £60m grant. Then, there’s counterpart funding of £40m on the side of Lagos State. That brings everything to about £400m. Then there’s a £10m equity which we believe that the private sector will also put into this whole thing because they will make their money back.

They invest this amount to set up the ITS, which is the Intelligent Transport System, and the ticketing system. So, when they invest, they will make this money back from the sector. So that’s how it comes to £410m. The plan is that you procure 70 electric ferries, construct and upgrade 25 jetties and terminals across the state, dredge and channel 140 kilometres of the waterways and ensure that there is a fund to also improve the boats of the informal boat operators to meet up. The stage we are now is a signing agreement phase. Once the agreement is signed any time from now, there will be an actual launch of this.

How soon are we expecting this?

We are starting this year, as soon as possible. I mean, they are going to start a lot of back-end work. Like I said, we are just waiting to sign that agreement with the Federal Government. The negotiation has happened; all the negotiations have happened. It is just to sign the agreement with the Federal Government. Because you know, it’s a loan which is coming to the state, but the Federal Government has to guarantee it. So, any time from now, they can call us and sign the agreement; everything has been sealed. So, I am sure before the end of the second quarter, we should actually start. So, it’s safe to say the second quarter.

How is the relationship between the National Inland Waterways Authority and LASWA?

To be honest, it’s been very good for us. The current managing director of NIWA, Mr Bola Oyebameji, has been very cooperative with Lagos State. I don’t know if you are aware, NIWA called all the transport commissioners from all the littoral states. And it’s all to ensure that we can improve water transportation at the state level. They are working hand in hand with states. So, the relationship has been very good. Even in regard to this Omi-Eko Project that we want to embark upon, they even gave us a letter of support to say we will support this project, so it’s been very cordial. There have been no issues whatsoever with us regarding water transportation.

What are your plans for Liverpool jetty, which is dilapidated, with very few persons adhering to safety measures like wearing life jackets?

Liverpool jetty is one of the jetties which obviously we have had over time. And in terms of safety, we continue to improve. Now we have our water guards there; we are trying to ensure safety, but we know that there is a lot more that can be done. And that is something we are actively trying to develop. But you see, the real plan is to remodel that Liverpool jetty and also improve the standard of boats there.

What we are trying to do now is enforce a lot more around the use of proper life jackets. The state government procures life jackets every year, and we give these jackets to all these operators. But we also enforce it; if you don’t have the appropriate life jackets, we would also enforce that. We will make sure that their boats don’t function until they have the appropriate life jackets.

What challenges did your operations face in 2024?

The challenges that we had last year, I think, will always be funding. Because all the states are trying to allocate funds as best as they can. The state government gave, but you know how it is; we still want more. We wanted more, to get more boats, you know, to improve more on the jetties. It was really more about getting more and more boats.

I think that’s where we need to do more because now, we need to transform from the informal to the formal.

What are your expectations in 2025?

Well, the launch of the Omi-Eko Project, but in the meantime we also want to see that the 10 Omi buses also come to the sector. And then the third phase of our command and control centre, which I think you had been to. The third phase now sees us having communication from boat to boat, different boats communicating with each other, and also being able to track them on our system from here. Being able to see their actual locations, or where they are. Continuing to improve safety, because as you know, Lagos State is number one in terms of safe water transportation in the whole of Nigeria, where other states keep coming to Lagos to learn. I am sure you heard about all the accidents that happened last year in different states. All of the states that it happened to referenced Lagos, and they wanted to come and see how we are helping to improve things in Lagos.

Can you give details of phase three of that information centre?

Basically, like I said, it is for us to now begin to track the boats in real time. We are going to start with a few of them, track them, and then begin to ensure that we can see where they are at every point in time so that in case of any emergency, response is faster, and then also improve the communication between boats in real time.

What’s the secret of safer Lagos waterways?

No, there’s no secret. It’s just making sure that you have structures in place. And one of those structures, of course, would be LASWA. To ensure that at the state level, there’s an agency that is working alongside the federal agency. The federal agency would not be able to do all of it because look at how big and how wide and how many resources are required. There has to be collaboration.

Even as a state government, we know we want to work with the Federal Government. It’s important that we work with the Federal Government. Secondly, there is continuous inspection of these boats. And of course, you can’t rule out the workforce, which is very important. We have 103 water guards stationed at all of these jetties. They would ensure safety at all of those jetties. And of course, it’s the continuous monitoring by our patrol boats as well. So, all of these structures ensure that you definitely have safe waterways if you have all of these structures in place.

What spurred LASWA into training some primary school students in swimming last year?

Well, as you know, if you know how to swim, it also promotes the swimming culture. So, we are trying to encourage a lot more negotiations to learn how to swim because, you know, it gives you water confidence. And also, the reason I organised that programme was to make people begin to learn how to treat our water better.

You see a lot of the dirt in our water, but water doesn’t create its own dirt; it’s the people that are throwing that dirt and dumping it in the drainage, which will eventually go into the water.

So, it was mainly, first of all, to encourage a lot more people to begin to learn how to swim, even adults as well, and create awareness around the whole idea of swimming, and also encourage people to treat water and take care of our water.