Nigeria's Lagos turns to waterways for green transport solution

FRANCE 24 English

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00:00What was once often a three-hour nightmare drive to work with a pre-dawn start and dense traffic,

00:07has become a half-hour sprint across the waters of the Lagos Lagoon by boat.

00:12For Ivy Genade, who works on one of the islands off the coast, the ferry has changed her life.

00:19You actually get out of bed when you need to.

00:22You have breakfast at home, strut in here, strut into the boat,

00:27and 30 minutes across the water, you're on the other side. It's way easier.

00:31Flanked by the lagoon and the Atlantic Ocean, Lagos has long used its waterways

00:36as an alternative to the megacity's chaotic roads.

00:40However, with over 21 million inhabitants, the city is set to become the world's largest by the end of the century,

00:47hence the urgent need to adapt to the river traffic.

00:50Over the next three years, a project partially funded by France and the EU

00:55aims to develop 15 ferry routes as well as upgrade the jetty system and the dredge routes.

01:00The state ministry of transportation is now developing very actively the rail and the water transportation services.

01:07We believe very strongly that this will boost the current percentage of water transportation

01:13from about 2% to almost about 10%.

01:16For experts, the Lagos government will have to take important measures

01:20in order to make the water traffic environmentally and financially sustainable.

01:25Nigeria is currently facing its worst cost of living crisis in decades,

01:30with inflation at more than 30% and fuel costs tripling over the last 18 months.

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