Lagos State government has sealed a deal valved at $7 million with UK lighting company, Low Energy Designs Limited (LED) to construct street lights using LED technology across the state.
The deal is also expected to complete construction of 300 kilometers LED lighting and Hybrid Energy Power Assembly Plant in Epe .
While speaking at the signing of the memorandum of understanding (MoU) , Mr Akinwunmi Ambode, the Lagos State Governor, represented by Mr Olawale Oluwo, Commissioner for Energy and Mineral Resources, says that the development is a major breakthrough and a positive paradigm shift in the supply of street lighting for the state.
The partnership is a positive progress to the light up Lagos project which he said is a special initiative of his administration composing street lighting, embedded power programme and community electrification, according to him. The agreement is setting a new path for the future of what street lighting, installation, management and control will be in Lagos State.
“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.” he adds.
On the issue of 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 associated with street lighting would now be a thing of the past.
In his words “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 this 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.
He assured that government would ensure continuous implementation of the deal, as well gets maximum benefit which the programme is designed to deliver.
On his part , Mr Alan Parker, Chief Executive Office of LED UK Limited, said his firm was greatly honored to partner with the State Government to deliver the project, noting 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 $7 million 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” he said.
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