Lagos issues N50billion bond to finance waste management

With current statistics showing Lagos State generating about 13,000 metric tons of waste daily, the state government has disclosed its intention to raise N50 billion through bond issuance to finance waste management.
The bond, which is in two series, will see the first series of N27 billion being offered today, Monday 14, at 17.5 percent coupon with a five-year tenor, and offer ends August 25. It has an issue rating of A+ by Augusto & Co., and limited at an issue price of N1,000 per unit, while the second series will be offered at a later date.
Babatunde Adejare, the state commissioner for environment, disclosed this last week at an investors’ roundtable towards the ‘Cleaner Lagos Initiative,’ in Victoria Island, Lagos.
The corporate bond is guaranteed by the state, as the state has left waste management to the private sector and only regulate through the Lagos State Waste Management Authority (LAWMA), a subsidiary of Lagos State Ministry of the Environment. To this end, the state has concessioned, in a 10-year contract, the state’s waste management to Visionscape, an environmental utility group.
Speaking at the gathering, Adejare said in order to show the seriousness the state government attached to waste management, Governor Akinwunmi Ambode recently signed a new environment bill into law, separating waste management from regulation.
“This is so because the state can no longer be the waste manager and the same time regulator. With this new arrangement, the state will only play as regulator,” the commissioner said.
With this new arrangement, the state will create 27,500 new jobs, and grant tax holiday to any participant involved in waste management, the commissioner said further.
“Outside of the environmental benefits, The Cleaner Lagos Initiative will provide over 27,500 street sweeping jobs and 400,000 indirect jobs within the state as part of a poverty alleviation initiative and incentives such as tax relief and healthcare, life, injury and accident insurance benefits which reflect our desire to tackle the issue of poverty and the chronic unemployment crisis,” he said.
At a presentation on how the state intends to manage the waste, Maimuna Maibe, manager, environmental product and services development, Visionscape, said the utility group specialised in turnkey solutions in areas of sanitation, energy and wastewater treatment.
To this end, the Visionscape team is set to use cutting-edge technology and tools to address Lagos waste management needs, Maibe said.
The initiative, expected to start September 1,2017, is aims to protect the environment, human health and social living standards of Lagos residents by promoting a harmonised and holistic approach to the challenges, thereby improving operational efficiency.
According to Maibe, the initiative entails the reform and consolidation of various environmental policies including restructuring of the existing waste collection and management system to ensure a sustainable waste management system through incorporation of global best practices and adoption of best-in-class technologies.
So far, the preliminary of the contract has taken Visionscape to 40 waste black spots, and 43 percent of waste excavated are purely organic waste, she said, noting that, “With this, we deliver commercial benefit and greater operational efficiency to our clients, reducing risk and helping hem meet the challenges faced in achieving their sustainability goals.
“The company hopes to use over 800 vehicles to manage the over 10,000 tons of waste a day throughout the communities we serve. With a dedicated workforce of over 29,000 skilled employees, we ensure effective and efficient management of every phase of the waste stream.”
Visionscape is an environmental utility group with extensive expertise and innovative solutions to deploy effective integrated waste management system in emerging markets such as Lagos. With a socially conscious business model that places as much emphasis on its social goals as it does its business goals.