5th December, 2024
Lagos State is set to benefit from the establishment of a $90,000 biogas plant at the Ikosi Fruit Market in Ketu as part of the UK Government-funded Urban Climate Action Programme (UCAP), implemented through C40 Cities.
The announcement was made during a three-day annual Regional Academy hosted in Lagos, where representatives from African cities gathered to discuss climate action strategies.
The biogas plant, slated for completion by mid-2025, will convert organic waste generated at the Ikosi Fruit Market into biogas to power cold storage facilities and improve market lighting.
This project aims to reduce food spoilage, mitigate methane emissions, and enhance the livelihoods of over 1,000 traders, 80% of whom are women.
The Ikosi Biogas Project will employ a biodigester to divert 0.5 tonnes of market waste daily, converting it into biogas. The initiative also includes plans for separating and managing the full 30 tonnes of daily waste generated by the market, diverting organic waste to composting and recycling processes.
Speaking on the project, Lagos State Commissioner for Environment and Water Resources, Tokunbo Wahab, stated: “Our entry point is reducing methane emissions, but an important co-benefit of the project is that it improves the lives of market traders, as we are also providing a cold storage facility which will see their produce stay fresher for longer.”
Aditi Maheshwari, Managing Director for Climate Action Implementation at C40 Cities, highlighted the project’s potential for city-wide impact: “What we would like to see is that due to this project, the city is able to build a case for leveraging its own finances as well as external investments for scale-up and greater city-wide impacts.”
If successfully replicated across Lagos State’s 35 other food markets, the initiative could reduce up to 130,648 CO2-equivalent tonnes annually—approximately 3% of the city’s total waste emissions.
Representatives from cities including Accra, Nairobi, Johannesburg, and Addis Ababa convened at the Regional Academy to discuss strategies for inclusive climate action.
The event focused on enhancing climate governance, securing financing, and communicating the benefits of climate initiatives to stakeholders and the public.
With Lagos State generating an estimated 5,600 tonnes of organic waste daily, the Ikosi biogas plant is poised to be a model for sustainable waste management and energy generation in urban centres.
