Lagos state which is home to Nigeria’s economic and industrial hub is engaging the European Union to develop inland waterways as part of an integrated urban-transport system intended to ease gridlock in Lagos, which is also its most populous city.
They are due to break ground on the €410 million ($464 million) project in June, the Lagos state government said in an emailed statement Friday.
The project called Omi Eko — which means Lagos water in the local Yoruba language — will provide jetties and high-capacity electric boats along the region’s waterways to “harness the economic potential of the state’s aquatic ecosystem to solve socio-economic problems,” the government said.
Read also: Five reasons inland waterways remain neglected
Lagos is home to more than 20 million residents and occupying a land area of 351,861 hectares, less than the smallest US state of Rhode Island but it is notorious for traffic jams. After improving some roads and rail infrastructure, the government is turning to developing waterways to ease some of the congestion.
Last year, it inaugurated 37-kilometer (23-mile) rail service known as the Red Line that connects the northern part of the city to the central business district of Victoria Island.
Read also: NIWA moves to design new blueprint for waterways operations, management
In 2023, it opened 13-kilometer Blue Line connecting Mile 2 — near the Lagos seaport — to Marina in the heart of the city. The rail expansions were intended to ease rising vehicle traffic occasioned by rapid urbanization and economic activities.
Public and private equity from partners including the European Union, French Development Agency, European Investment Bank and Lagos State will fund the project, the government said.
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