Lagos commissions 7 boats, cowry card

Lagos state has commissioned seven high-capacity boats to double the number of boats in the fleet of Lagos Ferry (LAGFERRY) Service for water transportation.

The new boats commissioned on Tuesday by Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu were built by local boat builders.

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The governor had in February 2020 commissioned eight locally-made boats to complement the existing six being operated by the LAGFERRY then. This addition, the firm now has 20 boats and could ferry 710 passengers per trip.

Sanwo-Olu who was represented by the Deputy Governor, Dr. Obafemi Hamzat, also launched the Cowry Card for water transportation to create a seamless payment scheme for the multimodal transportation system.

The new boats launched include two 50-seater, and five units of 30-seater, with one utility boat for operational purposes.

He disclosed that LAGFERRY in one year moved over 500,000 passengers across the waterways including the Super Eagles who were ferried to and from Benin Republic for their AFCON qualifying match.

“Some of the steps we are taking in this regard include the ongoing construction and rehabilitation of 15 jetties across the state as well as the dredging of our waterways to open up more jetties,” he noted.

Commissioner for Transportation, Dr. Frederic Oladehinde, said the government’s approach to solving the State’s transportation gap was to adopt an all-round approach which took cognizance of the development of all modes of transportation.

Managing Director/CEO of LAGFERRY, Hon. Abdoulbaq Balogun, said the state-owned operator, which commenced its operations in February 2020, had a mandate to move 30 percent of commuters through the waterways.