Archive for year: 2023

The Lagos State Government on Wednesday announced that the Blue Line Rail will start commercial operations on Monday, September 4, 2023.

The Managing Director of the Lagos Metropolitan Area Transport Authority (LAMATA), Engr. Abimbola Akinajo, spoke on the commencement date during a press conference at the iconic Marina Station of the Blue Line Rail in Lagos.

Akinajo, who took reporters on a guided ride and tour of the physical infrastructure of the Blue Line Rail from the Marina Station to the National Arts Theatre Station in Iganmu, said Lagos State Governor, Mr. Babajide Sanwo-Olu would take the inaugural ride on the train at 9 a.m. on Monday, September 4, before other passengers begin to ride.

She said partial passenger operations will start on Tuesday from 6:30 am to 10 am for the morning peak and the afternoon Peak from 4 pm to 9:30 pm, adding that the operations will start with 12 trips for two weeks, which will later be increased to 76 trips per day.

Akinajo disclosed that though the train is electric, it would run on locomotive for the first four weeks of operation to allow the electric system to come up fully and sync properly with the physical infrastructure, adding that the plan is to allow passengers to get familiar with the rail system.

She said despite the train running on locomotive for the first four weeks, the tracks would remain energised so that passengers are not allowed to cross them.

The LAMATA boss said about 150,000 passengers are expected to board the train daily. “The train would run 12 trips in two schedules for now – 6.30 am to 10 am (morning peak) and 4.30 pm – 9 pm (evening peak). The train will stop for 90 seconds at each station. It will run 76 trips, from 5.30 am to 11 pm, when it becomes fully operational in four weeks,” she said.

The full length of the train trip from Marina – Mile 2, according to Akinajo will cost N750 but noted that the 50 percent discount announced by Governor Sanwo-Olu on all Lagos public transportation rides also applies to the train ride.

She said passengers can only access the service with their cowry cards, noting that cash or paper tickets would not be accepted.

Akinajo, who warned against eating and drinking on the train, said adequate security has been put in place for the security of lives and property, noting that anyone with criminal intent would be arrested and handed over to the Police as there are about 30 cameras along the tracks.

She said: “A full Journey from Marina to Mile 2 will cost N750 and Zonal fares will be between N400 and N500 for people not making the complete full trip. The transportation palliative announced by Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu will also cover the Train system, meaning that the highest fare for the full trip will be N375.

“We are going to put safety measures in place. There are over 300 CCTV cameras across the whole Blue Line Rail and over 30 cameras monitoring the tracks alone. Command and Control centers are also available in all stations. Plain cloth security agents and officers of the Lagos Neighbourhood Safety Corps will ride with passengers at all times. Any altercation on the train will not be tolerated. Vandalism also will not be tolerated.”

Speaking on the initial delay in the commencement of the Blue Line Rail, which was earlier scheduled to commence operation in August, Akinajo said the delay was caused by prevailing circumstances around import and export.

She, however, noted that LAMATA is committed to starting operations on September 4 without any further delay since all the necessary things have been put in place for the operations of the Blue Line rail.

It would be recalled that President Muhammadu Buhari on January 24, 2023, in the company of Governor Sanwo-Olu and his deputy, Dr. Obafemi Hamzat, commissioned the first phase of the Blue Rail Line, which runs from Marina to Mile 2 and also witnessed the signing of the commencement of Phase 2 of the project from Mile 2 to Okokomaiko.

The Blue rail line, part of the Lagos Rail Mass Transit, will run 27.5 km from Marina to Okokomaiko, with 13 stations and an end-to-end journey time of 35 minutes.

Lagos State is shifting to an innovative and sustainable consumption model aimed at saving the future generations of resource scarcity. The launch of Circular Economy Hotspot in Lagos on Wednesday pioneered the transformation of the current production order towards regeneration and sustainability.

Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu formally unveiled the initiative at a conference organised by the State Government in collaboration with Circular Economy Innovation Partnership (CEIP) and African Circular Economy Network.

The two-day event with the theme: “Towards a Circular and Resourceful Economy: The Future Lagos”, is taking place at Lagos Continental Hotel, Victoria Island.

The initiative is aimed at engendering a new pattern of production and consumption involving producing, repairing and recycling of used materials. Circular economy is based on regeneration of products for continuing production in a sustainable and environmentally-friendly manner.

Sanwo-Olu said the idea was critical to the future of Nigeria, noting that circular economy would proffer a programmatic approach to addressing global economic crises occasioned by pollution, climate change and loss of biodiversity.

Lagos, the Governor said, made the move in championing the initiative to create new wealth for the youths in Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs), while also generating more jobs, as additional innovative production ideas and extra manpower would be required to keep the regenerated materials in the loop for a long time.

The Governor said: “The Circular Economy Hotspot 2023 is of utmost importance, not only for Lagos and Nigeria, but for the entire sub-Saharan Africa. This speaks to my administration’s core principle of encouraging citizens engagements and partnerships in our bid to sustain a resilient socio-economic development for Lagos. Developing countries like ours, which have contributed the least to global warming, are facing the worst impacts of climate change. We are also at a disadvantage in accessing resources and strategies needed to fight climate change and adapt to its impact.

“To save the future generations of resource scarcity, efforts must be committed to ensuring that resources are reused again in order to minimise waste. Our linear approach to delivering public goods and services is being re-evaluated and the principles of Circular Economy shall be adopted fully. In a city like Lagos, we believe that this initiative will create more jobs, because additional innovative production ideas will be needed and extra manpower required to keep materials in the loop for a long time.”

Sanwo-Olu disclosed that the State’s journey to circular economy began three years ago when Lagos brought stakeholders together on a roundtable to discuss options towards a resourceful and waste-free economy. He said a technical working group on “Circular Lagos” was set up in 2021 to co-ordinate and facilitate the development of the initiative, while supporting and monitoring project implementation.

The Governor said the State followed up the effort with the establishment of an interactive, web-based citizens’ engagement dashboard designed to measure implementation. Sanwo-Olu reiterated his administration’s commitment to promote inclusive and sustainable economic growth through the encouragement of sustainable consumption and production patterns.

He said: “This event is coming at no better time, especially as the nation continues the process to free up its limited resources and optimally channel it towards addressing the different socio-economic needs of the citizens. The commercial activities that abound in Lagos, along with its major link to international businesses, has made the State a beacon of prosperity, attracting a constant influx of people which translates to a growth in population.

“The attendant pressure on our limited resources therefore requires a deliberate shift from materialisation to de-materialisation. We believe that it is by these indices and more that Lagos will be adjudged for compliance with Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) 8, 9 and 12 on promotion of inclusive growth and building a resilient infrastructure.”

CEIP co-chairman, Mr. Bolaji Akinboro, said the concept of circular economy would allow the State to construct a new cycle of material use and save the future generations from scarcity.

By the development, Akinboro said Lagos had set the pace for a new model of economy which would set new trends and standards in sustainability.

“Adoption of a circular economy will lay the foundation for big businesses operating in Lagos to key into the new economic trend,” he said.

Consular General of the Kingdom of Netherlands, Mr. Michael Deelen, congratulated Lagos for being the first sub-national to embark on a circular economic project, noting that it was time for Nigeria to have a change of perspective and expectations.

Deelen, represented by Deputy Consular General, Ms. Leone Van der Stijl, observed that the climate change had been projected to become more severe and would hit a point where the planet’s ecosystem would no longer replenish the resources being used up.

The envoy said: “With 70 percent of Nigeria’s population under the age of 30, the possibility of climate change tainting their future is exponentially higher. This simply means there will be more people living with more scarcity in the future from the scarcity we are creating today.

“It makes sense to replace the current linear model of grab, use and dump to a circular model of feeding recycled materials back into the system. The Netherlands is willing to provide the knowledge and capacity needed to build the circular economic model.”

At the event, Lagos State Government signed a Memorandum of Understanding with Netherlands Circular Hotspot on technical cooperation and knowledge exchange towards accelerating the implementation of policies that will promote circular economy.