Nigeria: Lagos looks to waterways for sustainable commute

What used to be a three-hour nightmare journey to work is now an express boat ride gliding across the waters of the Lagos Lagoon. With around 16 million residents, Lagos is the largest city in Nigeria. This half-hour boat ride from the mainland to the business district on Lagos Island has already changed the lives of many commuters.

Places are limited, and there's usually a big rush at the Ikorodu ferry terminal in the morning. While most Lagosians live on the mainland, many offices and workplaces are located on Victory Island, Ikoyi, Lagos Island and Lekki, connected by a series of bridges. This means regular road traffic to the islands can be very congested.

Poor roads, fleets of minibuses and flooding during the rainy season exacerbate Lagos' traffic problems. Newly commissioned railroad lines are also intended to help reduce car traffic and ease the chaos.

But even more commuters could soon be traveling by boat, as there are plans for a massive expansion of waterway transport. The Omi Eko program, which has received €410 million ($453 million) from the French development agency Agence Francaise de Developpement and the European Union, aims to reduce car traffic and cut carbon emissions with electric ferries.

The city government has already announced ambitious plans for a better public transport system. Lagos is one of the most populous cities in the world, and is growing steadily. For the French development agency AFD, inland waterways were a clear solution to Lagos' congested road network.

For many passengers, everyday life in the port city is challenging. Nigeria is in the midst of a severe economic crisis, and people are facing rising food and fuel prices and high inflation.

Traffic and its costs are a major problem for the inhabitants of Lagos, but they have already adapted. Some are driving less, or choosing to opt for public transportation. Anyone who travels by boat is required to wear a life jacket.

With water on all sides, boat transportation was an obvious solution. "We have looked at the waterways as a potential jewel in the crown to ensure that we can handle the traffic we see on the roads," Oluwadamilola Emmanuel, the director deneral of Lagos State Waterways Authority, told the French news agency AFP.

Over the next three years, the project will set up 15 ferry routes with more than 75 electric ships and modernize the mooring system. To avoid overloading the city's weak electricity grid, solar panels and generators for compressed natural gas will charge the ships at the landing stages.