Lagos-World Bank €410m Omi Eko water transport project will run on electric powered ferries — Sanwo-Olu

The Lagos State government has said that its Omi Eko water transport project worth €410 million will run on electric-powered ferries.

Babajide Sanwo-Olu, the Lagos state governor made this known at an investors’ roundtable on Wednesday in Lagos while briefing investors and stakeholders on the state’s plan to expand its waterways and explore opportunities in public water transportation

“We are starting a project with the World Bank called Omi Eko. It’s about a €400 million in which we will be buying a lot more electric-driven ferries. We’re building a lot more terminals and jetties and the private sector can come in and partner with us.”

The Omi Eko transport project, an initiative of the Lagos State Government under the Lagos State Climate Action Plan 2020-2025 to decarbonise public transportation received funding in December 2023 at the 28th Conference of the Parties on Climate Change (COP28) held in Dubai, UAE.

Investments for the inland waterways project will be financed by an AFD loan of €130 million, an EIB loan of €170 million, a €60 million grant from the European Union, and the remainder by the Lagos State government.

The project is expected to achieve a significant carbon reduction of approximately 41,000 tCO2 per year.

Besides carbon reduction, the governor stressed that the project could take the pressure off Lagos’ congested roads by providing a viable and faster alternative for commuting.

“We need to take 20-25% of our people using the waterways. From here to Ikorodu will take you an hour and a half. If you go by waterways, in 45 minutes, you’re in any part of Ikorodu. So there’s no better means in terms of doing it than for us to do our water corridor.”

The Omi Eko project is expected to be implemented between 2024 and 2030 and includes construction work on 25 ferry terminals. The governor informed investors that an additional 15 ferries had been secured.

Earlier this year, Lagos recorded the highest number of drownings recorded in a week including a boat accident that claimed four lives in the Ikorodu area of the state in March.

The governor assured of Lagosians safety and says it will be made a priority during implementation.

“I am confirming and assuring you that our public water transportation is equally as safe as our road transportation,” he said. “We want to utilise more of the natural waterways that nature has given to us. One-third of Lagos is water…So we need to be able to ensure that our citizens trust and believe that public water transportation is safe…We have made deliberate investment there.”