Someone asked me what needs to be done to improve transportation using the waterways. Here’s my uninformed view.
First thing that needs to be done is channelization of more waterways to provide a route for boats. Lagos State has channelized 4 of 40 routes, needs to ramp up on this. guardian.ng/news/lagos-cha…
The work done on the Ijede you’re for example has greatly reduced the need for road transport. Ijede to Marina is a super popular route, for those who know.
Next, tariff on boat and marine related imports is very high at 70%. It means we impede how much boat and spare part trade happens, which affects service providers.
Then jetties. My view is jetties should also be farmed out, and not necessarily state run. We need safe jetties with food courts, bars etc. The state has built some, but more work needs to be done.
Then safety. @TalktoLaswa has done great work improving standard of boats and making sure providers use life jackets. But mishaps still happen, so we need more capacity to handle emergencies.
We also need to clear the water of logs and hyacinth. The work Boston did with the Charles River is good place to start, prevent sewage from getting to the water; and prevent illegal dredging.
Interesting final note. Even with these challenges, the waterways carry 3 million people annually.
Oh one more thing, NIWA and LASWA now have a great opportunity to resolve their longstanding issue that went to court, especially since NIWA is now led by Senator Mamora.
That spat not only increased supervision and cost to operators, it also prevented the state from an extensive channelization of the waterways.
All these must be supported by licensing more operators and encouraging bigger ferries. If waterways are channelized properly, we will see bigger ferries that can benefit from economies of scale.
Then costs will drop, service will be safer, passenger volumes will increase, operators get a decent return; and everyone is happy, hopefully. The end.
