Excitement Greets Visionscape’s Roadmap for Lagos

For believing in Nigeria, the government and other stakeholders in Lagos have commended Visionscape for launching the first phase of the Cleaner Lagos Initiative to revolutionise solid waste management, Raheem Akingbolu reports

In what looks like a complementary move towards consolidating the various works being done by the current administration in Lagos State to beautify the city, Visionscape, an innovative environmental utility group, at the center of the Cleaner LagosInitiative (CLI), recently rolled out the drum to celebrate the beginning of its operations in Lagos.

At a well attended event, the management of the company announced that Visionscape Sanitation Solutions has successfully completed the development of their first waste management depot in Lagos State. The depot, which is located in Ogudu, is the first of three 24-hour depots that the company will open in Lagos State.

To this end, the Lagos State Government commended the company for investing in Nigeria during at a period of economic recession and inflation when other investors had considered it unhealthy to invest in the country.

The State Governor, Mr. Akinwunmi Ambode, represented by the state’s Commissioner for Environment, Dr. Babatunde Adejare, stated this at the soft launch of the Cleaner LagosInitiative (CLI) and the commissioning of Nigeria’s first 24-hour waste management depot on Friday at Ogudu. He described the commissioning as a vote of confidence and expressed delight that Phase One of the CLI, a pet vision of Governor Akinwunmi Ambode, was finally taking off.“The soft launch of the new waste management policy is a dream comes true, and a demonstrable evidence of what determination and proper planning could bring into fruition,” he added.

The commissioner also averred that the Lagos State Government has its vote of confidence in Visionscape. “We believe in Visionscape. We are standing by you. We know you can do it. With your capabilities and clout, Lagos State will be the cleanest city in the world. We will work with you in every way and we will make it happen together. This is your Lagos, our Lagos”.

He called on Lagosians to embrace the Cleaner Lagos Initiative which will add value to the quality of life in the city and stressed that the Ambode government will not evade challenges but will rather face it head-on to deliver solutions.

He also reiterated the commitment of the Akinwunmi Ambode administration to bequeath Lagos State with a functional, robust and sustainable waste management system that would transform the State into the cleanest city in the world.
The commissioner stated that Governor Ambode’s dream all along had always been to positively affect the State as far as waste management is concerned, and that his commitment to follow it through was unwavering.

He said: “Coming here and seeing these fantastically looking vans and trucks of Visionscape that would be used for waste management in the State is inspiring and encouraging. This is just a small bit of what we intend to launch through the CLI in days to come.

“I must say I am one of the happiest persons in the world today because a lot of people thought that this would not be achieved but here we are today launching the first phase.

“I just want to say here that we have always believed in Visionscape and if not, we would not have chosen the consortium to do this for us. We firmly believe in the firm; we are standing by them because we know they can do it and they will do it and make Lagos to be the cleanest city in the world by the grace of God.

“We are very glad and satisfied with the giant strides Visionscape is taking in ensuring that we achieve the aim that we have all sat down to set. I just want to admonish members of staff of the firm that apart from what they would be paid, they should see this as their own contribution to making Lagos what we all want it to be, which is to become the cleanest city in the world.”

Earlier, in his opening remarks, Visionscape’s Executive Director, Mr. Harry Ackerman said the company was delighted to be part of the journey to make Lagos a clean State, assuring that modern techniques and technologies in waste management would be deployed to provide top class services for the people.

He said: “Our top priority is to ensure that the waste management needs of Lagos are met. We will do this by implementing sustainable long-term solutions that are tailor-made for Lagos specifically.

“We have also developed sound business models, processes and technologies which are a central component of our integrated waste management plan. We are refurbishing, building and upgrading waste management facilities located in different parts of the State. These include engineered sanitary landfills, transfer loading stations, material recovering facilities and multiple maintenance centres,” he added.

In addition to the Ogudu depot which was commissioned on Friday, two other depots will be located inMushin and Lagos Island.The Cleaner Lagos Initiative (CLI) was established by the Lagos State Government to address, enforce and regulate the challenges in the solid waste management systems within Lagos State. The initiative is focused on improving the environment to make it cleaner, safer and healthier for all Lagos State residents, while also improving operational efficiency in waste management. Visionscape, currently in a public-private partnership with the Lagos State Government, is set to provide waste management services for the CLI, under the Lagos State Waste Management Authority (LAWMA).

He added that as the group commences this historic journey with the state, it will strive to install a cohesive partnership allowing them to deliver best practices.

“In today’s modern society, environmental issues are at the fore front of all our daily lives and as such when these critical issues are managed professionally and systematically it allows governments to attract additional sustainable investment to assist in the growth of the States own GDP. Lagos is undeniably a leading destination for investors, entrepreneurs and businesses alike. With a diverse talent pool and a strong culture of innovation and we are truly honoured that we were selected to be a part of this journey,”

According to the executive director, the top priority of the company will be to ensure that the waste management needs of Lagos are met. This, he said would be done by implementing sustainable long-term solutions that are tailor made for Lagos specifically.

“We have also developed sound business models, processes and technologies which are a central component of our integrated waste management plan.
“We are refurbishing, building and upgrading waste management facilities located in different parts of the State. These include engineered sanitary landfills, transfer loading stations, material recovery facilities and multiple maintenance depots such as this one we are in right now.

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