Operator Seeks $50m For Lagos Cable Car Project

Transactions worth $40.1bn were secured at the second edition of the African Investment Forum, President of the African Development Bank, Dr Akinwumi Adesina, has said.

Ropeways Transport, promoter of Lagos Cable Car Project, also sought $50m from financiers to make up funds already secured to execute the project.

They both spoke at the closing of the forum in Johannesburg, South Africa, last Wednesday .

Chief Executive Officer of Ropeways Transport, Capt. Dapo Olumide, told journalists that the Lagos Cable Car Project had been delayed because of the difficulty of securing land that would serve as stations for the transport system.

He, however, confirmed that the company had secured as much as $230m that would go into the project.

Olumide said the company made a presentation at a closed-door session for the $50m additional funding that would be required to see the projection to fruition within a period of two years.

According to the AfDB boss, the transactions in the second edition of the event initiated by the bank and its partners are worth more than the $38.7bn transactions recorded in the first edition in 2018.

Although no Nigerian transaction has been announced as sealed, some state governors including the Abia State Governor, Dr Okezie Ikpeazu, and the Ekiti State Governor, Dr Kayode Fayemi, were at the event to market some projects to prospective financiers.

The governors, like other fund seekers, met with potential investors in closed-door meetings. However, it was learnt that the Abia State Government made a presentation on a project called Enyimba City.

It was also learnt that $10m had already been secured from AfDB for feasibility study on the project. The stage of discussion on the project at forum could not be ascertained as of the time of filing this story.

Speaking at the closing ceremony of the three-day event, Adesina expressed delight at the number of deals that were sealed at the event, as well as proposed transactions.

He said, “It’s been a phenomenal three days of intense engagements. You can feel the energy in the hallways, the marketplace, restaurants, over meal, as all you hear is all about deals and deals.

“We have had an incredible event. We had 2,221 participants; they came from 109 countries — 48 from Africa and 61 from outside of Africa.”

Adesina stated that 56 deals worth $67.6bn went into boardroom sessions, a 44 per cent increase from last year.