- Lagos State will establish a $90,000 biogas plant at the Ikosi Fruit Market to convert organic waste into biogas, improving cold storage and market lighting.
- The project, funded by the UK Government through UCAP, aims to reduce methane emissions and improve livelihoods for over 1,000 traders, with potential for city-wide impact.
Lagos State is set to benefit from a $90,000 biogas plant at the Ikosi Fruit Market in Ketu as part of the UK Government-funded Urban Climate Action Programme (UCAP), implemented through C40 Cities. The announcement was made during the three-day Regional Academy in Lagos, where representatives from African cities gathered to discuss climate action strategies.
Scheduled for completion by mid-2025, the biogas plant will convert organic waste from the market into biogas, which will power cold storage facilities and improve market lighting. This project aims to reduce food spoilage, mitigate methane emissions, and improve the livelihoods of over 1,000 traders, 80% of whom are women.
The Ikosi Biogas Project will use a biodigester to process 0.5 tonnes of market waste daily, converting it into biogas. The initiative also includes plans to separate and manage 30 tonnes of daily waste, diverting organic materials to composting and recycling processes.
Lagos State Commissioner for Environment and Water Resources, Tokunbo Wahab, explained that while the primary goal is to reduce methane emissions, the project will also benefit market traders by providing a cold storage facility that helps keep produce fresher for longer.
Aditi Maheshwari, Managing Director for Climate Action Implementation at C40 Cities, emphasised the potential for the project to inspire broader city-wide climate initiatives. If replicated across Lagos’s 35 other food markets, the initiative could cut up to 130,648 CO2-equivalent tonnes annually, representing about 3% of the city’s total waste emissions.
Representatives from Accra, Nairobi, Johannesburg, and Addis Ababa attended the Regional Academy, discussing strategies for enhancing climate governance, securing financing, and communicating the benefits of climate action. Lagos, generating approximately 5,600 tonnes of organic waste daily, views the Ikosi biogas plant as a potential model for sustainable waste management and energy generation across urban centres.