Lagos, UK firm sign N2.52bn MoU to provide 10,000 street lights

LAGOS State government and a United Kingdom (UK) firm, Low Energy Designs (LED) Limited, on Monday signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to construct 10,000 LED street lights covering 300kilometres across the state.

The state governor, Mr Akinwunmi Ambode, while speaking at the signing of the MoU at Lagos House, Alausa, Ikeja, said the partnership, which also includes the provision of about 500 jobs and construction of an LED lighting and Hybrid Energy Power Assembly Plant in Epe, is estimated at $7million (about N2.52billion) to be delivered in the next 12 months.

The governor, who was represented by the Commissioner for Energy and Mineral Resources, Mr Olawale Oluwo, described the development was a major milestone and a positive paradigm shift in the provision of street lighting for the state.

According to Ambode, the successful commencement of the partnership signposts a positive progress to the Light- Up Lagos Project, saying it was a special initiative of his administration comprising street lighting, community electrification and embedded power programme.

“With this agreement, we are signing today, we are setting a new chart for the future of what street lighting, installation, management and control will be like in Lagos. It is a major paradigm shift.

“We have about 33,000 street lights in Lagos under the Lagos State Electricity Board. Now, the LED UK, based on this 300km, will give us about 10,000 street lights. So, technically, they are going to be having about 31 percent of our entire street light infrastructure and this is a major significant development,” the governor said.

Chief Executive Officer of LED UK Limited, Mr. Alan Parker, earlier in his remark, said his firm was greatly honoured to partner with the state government to deliver the project, adding that over the next 12 months, a British and Nigerian consortium would work to retrofit major roads in the state with urban regeneration project in Ikoyi, Ikeja and Victoria Island.

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“As part of this project, we will be employing over 500 local people here in Lagos and investing $7million in the construction and setup of a LED lighting and Hybrid Energy Power Assembly Plant here in Epe,” he said.