Lagos State Government has applauded readiness of the Kingdom of Netherlands to partner with the state in checking coastal erosion, rapidly ravaging coastal areas, through the Public-Private-Partnership (PPP) investment model.
Commissioner for Waterfront Infrastructure Development, Hon. Ekundayo Alebiosu, made this known while playing host to the trade delegation led by the Consular General of the Netherlands in Lagos, Nigeria, Michel Deleen.
The trade delegation came to express their readiness to invest in Makoko, Okunde, Okun Ajah, and other Lagos coastal areas.
Alebiosu, who sadly noted that coastal erosion is a serious issue that can lead to loss of land and property, as well as endangering lives, however, acknowledged that the Kingdom of the Netherlands had been dealing with this issue for a long time, given that their land is below sea level.
“Over the years, our coastal communities have been challenged and devastated by ocean surge, especially the Okunde and Okun Ajah area in Lekki, with several houses destroyed, and communities going to extinction. The depletion of these communities has also continued unabated due to ocean surge triggered by several activities along the coastline,” Alebiosu said.
The commissioner, however, recalled that the Dutch had embraced numerous modern techniques to keep water at bay against the sea, expressing optimism that this investment would assist the government in checking the surging erosion in Okunde, Lekki, Okun Ajah and other areas in the state from going to extinction.
He assured the Dutch trade delegation that his team was working on a robust masterplan, which would be an improvement on the current Waterfront Masterplan, saying that the masterplan would accommodate the concerns of all stakeholders and also help investors know the areas they can key into, concerning the PPP partnership.
Speaking earlier, the Consular General, Michel Deleen, said they had come to see how they could partner with Lagos in checking coastal erosion, especially around Makoko and the Atlantic Ocean, expressing his concerns about the sea surge that was affecting Lagos and also causing environmental crisis.
Deleen inquired about the state policy on waterfront and coastal areas, to see how they could key into the plan, as well as partnering on the Great Wall of Lagos project, just as he proposed a PPP model, with which Lagos and the Netherlands can work to check the erosion ravaging the coastal areas.
The envoy said it was great to see that Lagos was taking steps to address this issue, assuring that the partnership would lead to innovative solutions that can be applied in Lagos.
On the Dutch delegation were Edwin van Veehuizen, the Strategy and Partnership Manager at Invest International, which is the platform that is pushing the investment, and Opeyemi Oriniowo, the Policy Adviser/Economic Affairs and Public Diplomacy at the Consular of the Kingdom of Netherlands, while Kehinde Gbajumo, the Permanent Secretary, and some key ministry officials attended on behalf of the state government.
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