French, European Banks, Others Grant Lagos €410m Funding For Omi Eko Project

Eko Hot Blog reports that Lagos State has secured funding for the €410 million Omi Eko project at the 28th Conference of the Parties on Climate Change (COP28) being held in Dubai, UAE.

This development is contained in a publication on the website of the Embassy of France in Abuja.

It emerges a few days after Lagos State Governor, Babajide Sanwo-Olu, called for international support to fully harness the state’s water potential.

According to the publication, the Agence Française de Développement (AFD) or French Development Agency will finance the inland waterways transportation project with a loan of €130 million, while the European Investment Bank (EIB) will contribute a loan of €170 million and the European Union will deliver a grant of €60 million.

The remainder of the investment fund will be provided by the Lagos State government.

The ‘Omi Eko’ project is an initiative of the Lagos State Government under the Lagos State Climate Action Plan 2020-2025 that aims to decarbonize public transportation through the development of mass public inland waterways transport (IWT) with electric ferries (e-ferries).

It is projected that the ‘Omi Eko’ project will achieve a significant carbon reduction of an estimated 41,000 tCO2 per year, according to the publication on the website of the Embassy of France in Nigeria.

The Lagos State Government, through the ‘Omi Eko’ project, aims to develop 15 ferry routes cutting across the Lagos lagoon, including 140 kilometres of IWT network that will be marked and dredged.

Furthermore, the ‘Omi Eko’ project involves the upgrading of 25 ferry terminals and jetties, as well as the acquisition of 75 electric-powered vessels.

The inland waterways transportation project will also feature charging stations at pontoons which would be powered by a Battery Energy Storage System (BESS) supplied by solar PV panels. The BESS would be supported by the grid and a CNG backup generator.

The Omi Eko project will also be equipped with equipment for routine maintenance, a Control Centre for the IWT network, and associated systems including ticketing.

Also, the Lagos State Waterways Authority (LASWA) would serve as the project implementing by providing technical and engineering assistance.

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