The Lagos State Government yesterday commissioned the newly rehabilitated 1.2-kilometre access road and two tipping platforms at the Olusosun Landfill in Ojota, in a move aimed at restoring efficient waste evacuation and strengthening the state’s waste management infrastructure.

The project, executed by ZoomLion Nigeria Limited under its Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) initiative, is expected to improve access for refuse trucks, reduce turnaround time for Private Sector Participation (PSP) operators and ease the waste collection challenges experienced across Lagos, following weeks of heavy rainfall.

Speaking at the commissioning, the Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer of the Lagos Waste Management Authority (LAWMA), Dr Muyiwa Gbadegesin, described the intervention as the beginning of a new era in waste management, anchored on stronger public-private partnerships and engineering-driven solutions.

According to him, the project represents an expansion of the state’s collaboration with private sector operators beyond waste collection to technical and infrastructure development.

“What you are seeing here today is the beginning of new protocols for waste management in Lagos. In Lagos, we have always relied on partnerships. LAWMA is the regulator, while the Private Sector Participation operators are our primary partners. We also work with recycling companies and other stakeholders. Today’s partnership, however, goes beyond waste treatment to include technical and engineering collaboration that improves the management of our landfills,” he said.

Gbadegesin said journalists were invited to inspect the project firsthand to better appreciate the engineering and resources required for modern waste management.

“Waste management is resource-intensive. You cannot fully understand the effort involved unless you see the operations yourself. Experts had to be brought in from Kenya, Ghana and other countries because Lagos was facing an emergency that required innovative solutions,” he said.

He commended ZoomLion Nigeria for completing the rehabilitation within record time despite difficult weather conditions.

“If you look around, you will see one of the most heavily engineered access roads and landfill platforms we have had in recent times. Those who will use this facility will testify to the ease of access and quicker turnaround time it will provide,” he added.

The LAWMA boss thanked Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu, the Ministry of the Environment and Water Resources and ZoomLion Nigeria for supporting the intervention, expressing confidence that it would pave the way for deeper collaboration in the state’s ongoing waste management reforms.

Earlier, the Managing Director of ZoomLion Nigeria, Habiba Abubakar, said the intervention was undertaken to restore access to landfill sites that had become inaccessible following weeks of heavy rainfall, a situation that disrupted waste evacuation across Lagos.

She explained that the waste collection challenges experienced by residents were largely caused by the inability of refuse trucks to access dump sites rather than a breakdown in household waste collection.

“The core of the problem was that most of the landfill sites became inaccessible because of the rains. The roads were in poor condition, making it difficult for trucks to dump waste,” she said.

“What should ordinarily take a truck two trips in a day ended up taking several days or even a week. When PSP operators cannot offload waste quickly, they are unable to return to residential areas to pick up more refuse. That is the effect residents have been experiencing.”

Abubakar said ZoomLion, whose parent company has more than 25 years of waste management experience across Africa, responded to an emergency request from the Lagos State Government and LAWMA despite the assignment falling outside its contractual responsibilities.

“Our role in Lagos is to help move the waste management system from a linear economy to a circular economy. We receive waste after it has been collected and convert it into useful resources through waste-to-wealth initiatives,” she said.

“They know what we are capable of doing and asked us to assist because this was an emergency. We considered it and decided to support Lagos because improving the lives of people is part of our mission.”

She disclosed that the company mobilised technical experts from several African countries to execute the project.

Although the intervention was scheduled for completion within 21 days, persistent rainfall extended the delivery period to 25 days.

“We understood the urgency because every day of delay had consequences for residents. Despite the weather challenges, we completed the intervention within 25 days,” she said.

Abubakar expressed confidence that the rehabilitated access road and tipping platforms would significantly improve landfill operations.

“Now trucks can move more freely, tip waste faster and return to collect more refuse. That means quicker turnaround time for PSP operators, improved efficiency and ultimately cleaner neighbourhoods for Lagos residents.”

She added that the intervention forms part of a broader partnership with the Lagos State Government to build a sustainable waste management system and improve environmental sanitation.

“Our vision is to continue partnering with Lagos to build a cleaner city. Once the larger project is completed, everyone will benefit from a more efficient and sustainable waste management system.”

Explaining the scope of the work, ZoomLion’s project team said the company reconstructed the 1.2-kilometre Road E and built two engineered tipping platforms using hard rock and laterite materials to ensure all-weather access for waste trucks.

The team noted that although the volume of work exceeded initial estimates, the company remained committed to completing the project.

On the future of the Olusosun Landfill, Gbadegesin clarified that the facility had not been shut down as widely believed. He recalled that the Lagos State Government had only announced plans to gradually phase out operations at the site within 18 months after transfer loading stations and material recovery facilities become operational.

He revealed that ZoomLion is also partnering with the state government to develop transfer loading stations and material recovery facilities, while Lagos continues investing in waste-to-energy plants, biogas facilities and other modern waste infrastructure to meet the demands of its growing population.

Gbadegesin disclosed that the rehabilitation project was executed entirely under ZoomLion Nigeria’s CSR programme and did not cost the Lagos State Government any funds.

“We appreciate this gesture and hope that by making good use of this facility, our partners will be encouraged to do even more for Lagos,” he said.