Lagos govt awards contracts to deflood Lagos Island

FOR the purpose of regeneration, the Lagos State Government said it has awarded contracts to deflood the entire Lagos Island.

Parts of the areas to be deflooded, according to the Commissioner for the Environment and Water Resources, Mr Tokunbo Wahab, included Oroyinyin, Idumagbo, Binuyo, AroloyaEpe and Ojo-giwa amongst others.

The commissioner disclosed this during the ministerial press Briefing on the 6th Year of Mr Babajide Sanwo-Olu’s administration in Lagos.

He explained that the project had already commenced, adding that the state government has also constructed a state-of-the-art pumping station in order to eliminate the problem of tidal effect in the locality.

He described the pumping station as “the first of its kind in Africa” at Ilubirin, adding that it was designed to pump discharged storm from Lagos Island into the Lagoon via an elevated channel after the completion of the ongoing Lagos Island Drainage Regeneration Project.

Contrary to insinuations, the commissioner said the state was actively leveraging natural purification processes to improve the quality of water in the lagoon and canals whilst ensuring that the authority engages in continuous surveillance and enforcement measures that ensure that businesses and residential areas comply with wastewater management policies to reduce pollutants in waterways.

At the last count, he hinted that the state through the Waste Water Management Office deployed three Modular Septage Pre-Treatment Plants (MSPP) that enabled efficient treatment of fecal sludge before discharge into the OdoIya Alaro water body.

Besides, he said: ”In order to ensure a clean city, we are daily deploying 15,000 street sweepers across highways, inner roads and markets whilst also ensuring stronger enforcement of environmental laws, penalizing illegal dumping and indiscriminate waste disposal alongside several measures.“

The state in recognition of the need to address open defecation, he said, would be constructing modern public toilets in markets, transport hubs and informal settlements “just as the construction of additional 150 new public toilets is on-going alongside an additional 250 toilets being executed through the public private partnership under the WASH initiative.

In building a climate resilient Lagos, Wahab said the present administration has been investing in climate resilience measures such as urban greening programmes, enhancing air quality and reducing urban heat as well as an expansion of air quality monitoring systems to track pollution levels.

As part of measures to ensure a greener and healthier Lagos, he disclosed that more parks are being created in addition to planting more trees to promote recreation and leisure and fighting the negative effect of climate change.

“The Lagos State Parks and Garden Agency recently launched a “A Trees for Lagos campaign” that will accelerate tree planting efforts through cluster and creation of urban forest gardens: with the target being the planting of an additional 50,000 trees in two years to join the stock of trees already planted.

“We have also consolidated our enforcement campaign through our collaboration with sister para-military agencies in line with the provision of the 2017 Lagos State Environmental Protection and Management Law,” he said.

To underscore the importance which the administration attaches to the issue of strategic partnership, Wahab said that Governo Sanwo-Olu, personally last May, initialed the signing of an MOU with a Dutch firm, Harvest Waste Consortium, for the construction of a high efficiency 60-80 MW Waste-to-Energy plant on Epe landfill, which will utilize advanced technology to generate clean energy from municipal solid waste, commercial and industrial waste and also consume 2,500 tonnes daily of municipal solid waste.

The innovative waste management solution, he said, would take some 40,000 homes off the national electricity grid, as the technology would enhance energy security and diversification, generating between 60 and 75 megawatts of base load electricity annually.

He said: “The state has also initiated a major agreement with Jospong Group represented by Zoom lion Nigeria for the construction and of operation of Material Recovery Facility (MRFs) and Transfer Loading Stations (TLS) in key areas.

“The partnership also includes processing of 3500 tons of solid waste and 4000 cubic metres of liquid waste daily and in the process improving collection and recycling efficiency.

“Others are the signing of an MOU agreement with a Netherlands backed company “Close the Loop” BV to establish an e-waste smelter plant in Lagos to manage the vast deposit of electronic waste in the state whilst creating new jobs and a new economy.

“Another plus for our partnership in waste management was recently recorded with the signing of another MOU with Swedish backed companies on how both parties can partner on how to turn solid waste and liquid waste to energy across the state,” the commissioner said.

Besides, he said that the state also signed an MOU with Green deal Company for processing plastic waste into oil while providing a circular solution for plastic waste pollution in addition to another one that will bring about the establishment of a smelting plant for processing electronic waste while ensuring that Lagos becomes a leader in electronic waste recycling.

“The last of such MOUs was the one signed by the State with Lafarge Africa/Geocycle for the treatment of non-recyclable combustible waste and diverting all waste from landfills and converting them into industrial energy.

“We are of the firm belief that these partnerships will make Lagos remain at the forefront of waste recovery, recycling and energy generation,” he said.

He stated that the government was very pragmatic and decisive in transitioning to a sustainable circular economy by banning the sale, distribution and use of Styrofoam food packs, a major contributor to urban flooding and clogged drains over a year ago with positive results emanating from the drainage clearance process.

 “We have also in line with our commitment, commenced the enforcement of a ban on single-use plastics from the beginning of 2025 while promoting sustainable alternatives and extended producer responsibility.

“We have also been upbeat in the last two years concerning the way we confronted the menace of industrial effluent discharge into the Lagos waterways bringing about a drastic reduction to 25 percent owing the proactive consistency of the Lagos State Environmental Protection Agency (LASEPA) in regulating their discharge through permits, fines, penalties and outright publicized sealing off.

The organization is also responsible for conducting yearly training for effluent treatment plant handlers in industries to ensure that the handlers are up to date on the current trends of wastewater treatment and the operation of the plants,” he said.

READ ALSO:  ‘Urban renewal across Lagos Island will address flooding problem’