The
Lagos State Government and a United Kingdom firm, Low Energy Designs
(LED) Limited on Monday entered into partnership to construct 10,000 LED
street lights covering 300kilometres across the State.
The
deal, which also includes the provision of about 500 jobs and
construction of an LED lighting and Hybrid Energy Power Assembly Plant
in Epe, is estimated at $7million (about N2.52billion), and is expected
to be delivered in the next 12 months.
Speaking
at the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on the
partnership held at Lagos House, Alausa, Ikeja, the State Governor, Mr
Akinwunmi Ambode said the development was a major milestone and a
positive paradigm shift in the provision of street lighting for the
State.
Governor
Ambode, who was represented by the Commissioner for Energy and Mineral
Resources, Mr Olawale Oluwo said the successful commencement of the
partnership signposts a positive progress to the Light Up Lagos Project,
which he said, is a special initiative of his administration composing
street lighting, community electrification and embedded power programme.
He
said: “With this agreement we are signing today, we are setting a new
chart for the future of what street lighting, installation, management
and control will be like in Lagos. It is a major paradigm shift.
“We
have about 33,000 street lights in Lagos under the Lagos State
Electricity Board. Now, the LED UK, based on this 300km, will give us
about 10,000 street lights. So, technically, they are going to be having
about 31 per cent of our entire street light infrastructure and this is
a major significant development.
“The
second major significant development is the fact that as from today
onward, what we have with LED UK is what will be replicated to power
Lagos with respect to street lighting going forward.”
Giving
details on the agreement, the Governor said with the partnership, there
will no longer be any fixed costs with regards to management of street
light installations across the State, while all challenges hitherto
associated with street lighting would now be a thing of the past.
“As a
government, what we are doing is that we are not installing poles, we
are not providing security, we are not bothering ourselves with diesel,
we are not worried on Fridays and Saturdays about people coming back
from clubs knocking down our poles.
“All
those have been outsourced now. We are not going to be worried about
that. We just buy light from investment of this LED UK with all their
installations; they manage it, they provide the security, they power it
and as long as we see the light, we pay. That is what has changed
today,” Governor Ambode said.
While
appreciating all the key players that contributed to the partnership
including the British Deputy High Commission, Lagos State Office of
Oversees Affairs and Investment, Lagos State Electricity Board, among
others, the Governor assured that government would ensure seamless
execution of the deal, as well gets maximum benefit which the programme
is designed to deliver.
Earlier,
Chief Executive Office of LED UK Limited, Mr Alan Parker said his firm
was greatly honored to partner with the State Government to deliver the
project, adding that over the next 12 months, a British and Nigerian
consortium would work to retrofit major roads in the State with urban
regeneration project in Ikoyi, Ikeja and Victoria Island.
“As
part of this project, we will be employing over 500 local people here in
Lagos and investing $7million in the construction and setup of a LED
lighting and Hybrid Energy Power Assembly Plant here in Epe. This
facility will offer ground breaking testing, training and education
programs on renewable technologies whilst providing the future for all
lighting and hybrid energy power systems in Nigeria.
“These
high quality products will be built by Nigerians with the support,
experience, knowledge and technology supplied by LED UK for all
commercial indoor and outdoor applications for the African market,”
Parker said.
Press Release
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