‘Lagos, Dubai SmartCity to attract multi-billion dollar investments’

Lagos State, on Tuesday, expressed the optimism that the Lagos-Dubai partnership will attract multi-billion dollar investments into Nigeria.

The memorandum of understanding (MoU) for the Lagos SmartCity was signed by Adeniji Kazeem, commissioner for justice and attorney general, on behalf of Lagos State government, with Jabber bin Hafez, CEO, signing on behalf of SmartCity Dubai LLC, at the Emirate Towers, Dubai.

The MoU will make Lagos home of the first smart city in Africa. A smart city is a growing concept that draws from the success of Dubai’s innovative knowledge-based industry clusters to empower business growth for companies and knowledge workers all over the world.

The agreement signing was witnessed by Ahmad bin Byat, chairman of Dubai Holdings, who is also the deputy prime minister, and Governor Akinwunmi Ambode of Lagos State.

Ambode in a statement on Tuesday, signed by Steve Ayorinde, his commissioner for information and strategy, said the smart city (Lagos) would bring multi-billion dollar investments to the Lagos, create thousands of jobs and transform the Ibeju-Lekki axis in particular and the entire state.

“This is a deliberate attempt by us to establish a strong convergence between technology, economic development and governance.
“The MOU is between Lagos State government and Dubai Holdings, LLC, owners of smart city (Dubai), to develop sustainable, smart, globally connected knowledge-based communities that drive knowledge economy,” Ambode said.

The governor stated that the collaboration was part of the larger vision to make Lagos safer, cleaner and more prosperous.

“A smart-city Lagos will be the pride of all Lagosians just as we have smart city Dubai, smart city Malta and smart city Kochi (India). We are encouraged by the fact that we do not, as a government, need to develop at a slow pace, but take full advantage of the digital age and fast track development of Lagos to a real megalopolis that we can all be proud of.

“The future is ours to take. It also marks the first smart city in Africa when completed.”
The governor added that apart from creating jobs for the people, the project would also become the world’s first carbon neutral city.
“Lagos,” he said, “will become an important centre for innovation in smart technologies, wellness and destination for green tourism.”
On his part, Bin Byat said the Dubai authorities were impressed with the conduct and readiness of Lagos State government and were eager to proceed with the state and the smart city Lagos project.