Lagos rolls out waterways master plan, to deploy CCTV cameras

By Kazeem Ugbodaga

The Lagos State Government is set to award contracts for the dredging and channelisation of the waterways in line with its waterways master plan.

This is expected to lead to a significant increase in economic and business activities around the Lagos waterways between now and the first quarter of 2018.

The dredging and channelisation was to allow for free navigation of bigger passenger vessels as well as open up the sector for new investments, and key it into the overall inter-modal public transportation master plan of the state.

Managing Director, Lagos State Waterways Authority, LASWA, Abisola Kamson, said among major routes listed for channelisation within the next six months were Falomo, Osborne, Ikorodu, Badore and Marina.

She disclosed that several other routes connecting different parts of the state were also to be opened up, in what  she said would be executed in phases.

According to her, the plan would also see to the upgrading of some of the existing jetties and making them more passenger-friendly.

Also to be introduced on the waterways, according to Kamson, were Global Positioning System (GPS) trackers, cameras and other navigational aids, aimed at further enhancing the safety and making the sector more attractive to investors and commuters.

She said the ultimate objective was to integrate the waterways into the public transportation master plan, with the target to grow monthly ridership within the next 10 years, from the current two million, to 15 million passengers.

Kamson added that the move was encouraged by the recent ruling of an Appeal Court, which upheld the powers of the Lagos State House of Assembly to make laws regulating and controlling economic and commercial activities within the state’s inland waterways.

“On the back of the appellate court’s ruling, the state government is building a database of boat operators, dredgers and other forms of businesses around the waterways, to enable it track their activities and effectively monitor their operations.

“Each vessel would be tracked with the new technology to see the level of compliance with the safety measures we have introduced including the use of life jacket, number of passengers per boat, engine capacity. There is going to be a total transformation on the waterways; a win-win situation for the state, operators and passengers.

“We expect that those engaged in any form of activities on the waterways would take advantage of this moment to register and be captured in our database or would be seen operating illegally. We are ready to apply sanctions and prosecute illegal operators in line with our laws,” she said.