Lagos launches seven high-capacity boats, to open new water routes – Newstrends
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Lagos launches seven high-capacity boats, to open new water routes

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3 years ago

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In a move to boost water transportation, the Lagos State Governor, Bababjide Sanwo-Olu, has launched seven high-capacity boats and announed plans to renovate 15 jetties as well as open new water travel routes aimed at attracting more people into the transport mode to reduce traffic congestion on the road.
He also inaugurated cowry cards at the Cowries Jetty of the Lagos State Waterways Authority in Ikoyi, Lagos.
The governor, who was represented by his deputy, Obafemi Hamzat, urged the people to embrace water transportation “as it remains the fastest, most reliable and safest means of transportation within the state”.
He said, “The procurement of these high-capacity boats is in fulfilment of our promise to double the number of boats in the LAGFERRY fleet within the shortest time, enhance the capacity of ferry services for efficient service delivery.
“We are also launching the cowry card for water transportation to create a seamless payment scheme for our multimodal transportation system, which is gradually taking shape as we have begun the integration of our rail lines, bus terminals and waterways.”
He urged the organised private sector to invest in water transportation, noting that the economic potential was limitless.
The governor said, “I assure you that we will continue to support private sector participation in water transportation by putting in place the most appropriate regulatory framework for high returns on investment.
“We are building and rehabilitating 15 jetties across the state, and dredging our waterways to open up more jetties.
Our people have nothing to fear when they board our ferries.”
According to him, in the last one year, LAGFERRY has moved over 500,000 passengers across our waterways, including the Super Eagles, who were successfully ferried to and from Benin Republic for their AFCON qualifying match.
He said, “In addition to commuting people, it is heartwarming to know that LAGFERRY promotes tourism and commerce by providing logistics solutions to business owners who move their trucks and cargoes through the waterways within Apapa and through regular charter services.”
The current administration in state, he added, would continue to prioritise absolute safety on the state waterways by ensuring total compliance with safety protocols and
regulations including regular use of life jackets by both operators and
passengers, conducting seaworthiness inspections bi-annually, and removing wrecks from navigable channels.
“We have concluded plans to boost our water transportation safety measures and protocols with the deployment and installation of technological devices for improved navigation, the development of nautical charts and the purchase of state-of-the-art patrol boats and safety equipment to upgrade LASWA’s SAR unit,” Sanwo-Olu said.
Managing Director of LAGFERRY Abdoulbaq Ladi-Balogun, said the seven new boats brought the total number of boats to 20 running concurrent commercial operations.
He said, “This is the first time we are going to have a total of 20 boats running concurrent commercial operations. The seating capacity of the 19passenger boats currently stands at 710.”
“Mr Governor’s commitment and promise to continue to patronise local manufacturers of boats has ensured the construction of these seven new boats by local boat builders.
“The boats are built to international standard and equipped with modern gadgets like Wi-Fi, GPS, Echo Sounder, VHF radio, USB charging ports, 13-amp sockets, TV and radio, tool box, first aid box, fire extinguishers.”
He noted with the unwavering support of the governor, his administration’s commitment to create an instant alternative to road transport.
He also stressed the need to ensure Lagos benefits from the Blue Ocean Economy with a global asset base of over $24tn, generating at least $2.5tn each year from the combination of fishing and aquaculture, shipping, tourism, and other activities.
The governor said, “To date, we have moved over 41,040 trucks from our terminal. Over 2,308 cleared goods containers have been received from the port and well over 941 containers have been loaded back to the ports.
“We have also been able to create 284 employment directly and indirectly, and of course, paying taxes to the coffers of the state.
“LAGFERRY, as at yesterday, (Monday), after 317 days of operations, has ferried over 524,000 passenger with an increasing daily average passenger flow of over 1,500. “12 passengers boats have collectively ran 7,061 hours spanning 286,280 kilometers for 10,182 trips.
“We boast of an impressive safety record as we can proudly tell you that we have never recorded any accident since the agency started commercial operations on February 6, 2020. With the kind approval of Mr. Governor, all passengers on the boats of LAGFERRY can now enjoy insurance cover on all trips.”
Some of the new routes recently approved by the governor are Badagry- Liverpool – CMS; Agbara-Ojo- Liverpool – CMS; Agbowa Ikosi – Ebute Ero – CMS; Ilaje Bariga – Ebute Ero – CMS – Falomo – Victoria Island; Epe – Victoria Island – Falomo; Bayeku – Oke Ira Nla – Badore; Badore – Falomo – CMS Marina; Ibeju Lekki – Falomo.

 

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Food price, transport fare hike push Nigeria’s inflation to 33.88% 

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14 hours ago

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November 15, 2024

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Food price, transport fare hike push Nigeria’s inflation to 33.88% 

Rising cost of living based on the increase in food prices and transport fares among others has reflected in the latest inflation figures in Nigeria, put at 33.88 per cent.

Nigeria’s headline inflation rate rose to 33.88 per cent in October 2024, up from 32.7 per cent in September 2024, according to the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) Consumer Price Index (CPI) report released on Friday.

Newstrends.ng observes that the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has raised interest rates five times this year in an effort to rein in inflation.

The NBS in its latest report attributed the rise in inflation to increased transportation costs and higher food prices.

On a year-on-year basis, the rate was 6.55 percentage points higher than the 27.33 per cent recorded in October 2023, highlighting a substantial increase in inflation over the past year.

On a month-on-month basis, the headline inflation rate in October 2024 stood at 2.64 per cent, representing a 0.12 per cent increase from the 2.52 per cent recorded in September 2024

This indicates that the rate of increase in the average price level in October 2024 was higher than the rate of increase observed in September 2024.

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Aviation

Disaster averted as bird strike hits Abuja-Lagos Air Peace flight 

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1 day ago

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November 14, 2024

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Disaster averted as bird strike hits Abuja-Lagos Air Peace flight 

 

An Abuja-Lagos flight was on Thursday aborted following a bird strike on the airplane belonging to Air Peace, forcing the authorities to ground the aircraft.

The bird strike experienced in the early hours reportedly prompted a ramp return to ensure the safety of passengers onboard.

All the passengers quickly disembarked and were calmed down before they were moved into another plane for the one-hour journey.

A bird strike is a collision between a bird and an aircraft, or other airborne animal, while the aircraft is in flight, taking off, or landing. And it can be a significant threat to aircraft safety.

Air Peace in a statement by its Head of Corporate Communications, Ejike Ndiulo, said the bird strike occurred at 6:30am, and all passengers disembarked normally.

The statement read, “We wish to inform our esteemed passengers that our Abuja- Lagos 06:30 flight experienced a bird strike before take-off, prompting a ramp return as a safety measure. All passengers disembarked normally.

“We have deployed a replacement aircraft for the affected flight in order to minimize disruptions, thus ensuring that passengers continue their journeys promptly.

“We appeal for the understanding of our valued passengers impacted by this development, as well as those on other flights that may experience delays.

“At Air Peace, we are committed to providing safe, comfortable, and reliable air travel for all our passengers.”

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Business

NNPC achieves 1.8mbpd crude oil production

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1 day ago

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November 14, 2024

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NNPC achieves 1.8mbpd crude oil production

The Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPC Ltd) and its partners have revved up crude oil and gas production to 1.8million barrels per day (mbpd) and 7.4standard cubic feet per day (scfd).

The company which announced this at a press briefing said the feat was achieved in compliance with the mandate of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu.

Speaking on the development, the Group Chief Executive Officer, Mr. Mele Kyari, congratulated the Production War Room Team that anchored the production recovery process.

“The team has done a great job in driving this project of not just production recovery but also escalating production to expected levels that are in the short and long terms acceptable to our shareholders based on the mandates that we
have from the President, the Honourable Minister, and the Board,” Kyari explained.

Giving details of the efforts of the Production War Room, the Chief War Room Coordinator and Senior Business Adviser to the Group Chief Executive Officer, Mr. Lawal Musa, disclosed that the feat was achieved through the collaborative efforts of Joint Venture and Production Sharing Contract partners, the Office of the National Security Adviser, as well as government and private security agencies.

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He said the interventions that led to the recovery of production cut across every segment of the production chain with security agencies closely monitoring the pipelines.
He stressed that when the Production War Room team was inaugurated on 25th June 2024, production was at 1.430mbpd, but the team swung into action, culminating into sustaining the production recovery to 1.7mbpd in August and hitting the current 1.808mbpd in November.
“We are confident that with this same momentum and with the active collaboration of all stakeholders, especially on the security front, we can see the possibility of getting to 2mbpd by the end of the year,” he stated.
Also speaking on the development, Chairman of the NNPC Ltd Board of Directors, Chief Pius Akinyelure, who also congratulated the team, said he was happy to be part of the production recovery process, adding: “today, I will leave this place with my heart full of joy”.

He charged the Company’s Management to come up with a cashflow projection based on the new production figures to facilitate planning, stressing that he was looking forward to further production increase to 3mbpd.

On his part, the Honourable Minister of State for Petroleum (Oil), Senator Heineken Lokpobiri, expressed satisfaction with the performance of the team and pledged the Federal Government’s support for the company to do more.

 

NNPC achieves 1.8mbpd crude oil production

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