Lagos partners Dutch waste company to provide electricity for 40,000 homes

The Lagos government says it has partnered with Harvest Waste Consortium, a Dutch-owned company, to build a waste-to-energy plant in the state.

Babajide Sanwo-Olu, governor of Lagos, announced the partnership on Tuesday at the 10th edition of the Lagos international climate change summit.

Sannwo-Olu, who was represented by Obafemi Hamzat, deputy governor of Lagos, said the partnership is part of efforts to reduce emissions in the state.

He noted that the plant will provide electricity for about 40,000 homes in the state.

“This initiative will divert 2,250 tonnes of waste daily from dumpsites and transform it into 60–75 megawatts of electricity,” Sanwo-Olu said.

“Additionally, we have entered into an agreement with the Jospong Group of Companies from Ghana to manage our organic waste stream.”

He added that the state has been able to reduce emissions by 15 percent with the introduction of the bus rapid transit (BRT) system.

“We saw the implementation of a multi-modal transport system with the rollout of the bus rapid transit (BRT) system — the first of its kind in Nigeria and, I dare say, in the West African region,” the governor said.

“This system has significantly improved the health and safety of Lagosians by reducing the number of unregulated mini-buses, optimizing the transport fleet, introducing more efficient vehicles, optimising the public, alleviating congestion and boosting public transportation, and significantly reducing carbon emissions by 15 percent.

“We have blazed the trail under our transportation policies and initiatives, with the unveiling of the first Nigerian electric car, named Hyundai Kona, in November 2020.”