Nigerian Infrastructure Development

Enugu Monorail

2011-11-01T02:12:00.000-07:00

According to Skyscrapercity "...The first phase of the 21- kilometre Enugu Monorail Project will cost $246m, the consultant, Canada-based engineering firm, Globim Corporation, has announced.

A statement by the Chairman of the firm, Dr Jude Igwemezie, in Enugu on Tuesday said the first phase of the project would have six lines.

It said the project, expected to be completed in three years, would run from Gariki through Agbani Road, Coal Camp, UNTH Road, Ogbete Market, Zik‘s Avenue, back to Agbani Road and looping on the Enugu-Port Harcourt Expressway.

The statement said the cost would cover building of the infrastructure and acquisition of sufficient trains to ensure viable operations.

It said that when completed, the train would have a minimum of four cars or coaches and six lines with a total capacity of 500 passengers at a speed of 80 km per hour.

“This will be the lowest cost of any monorail of similar size and capacity ever built anywhere. In all, the 117-km equivalent single line monorail system in Enugu will cost approximately $1.5bn.

“The monorail, which will be electrically powered on a straddle beam, will not depend on Nigeria’s epileptic power supply, as diesel generators strategically located on the lines will power the trains,” it said.

The statement announced that the project would be 100 per cent financed by Globim Corporation, which would deliver the best, safe and most conducive intra-city transportation system.

The News Agency of Nigeria reports that the project will be executed at no cost to the state government, while Globim will deliver over a concession period of 30 years from the initial opening and operation of the lines.

The statement quoted the state Commissioner for Transport, Mr John Egbo, as saying that government was satisfied with the expertise of Globim in rail engineering.

He said, “They have more than 150 years experience in financing, manufacturing, building, managing profitable rail system in America.

“Globim intends to utilise its new TGM-01 train-set designed to provide a combined seating and standing capacity of 550 passengers.‘‘

Egbo said the train would be air conditioned, while passengers would be able to move from one car to another in the trains.

He said that each train would be equipped with remote control, while anti-collision devices would be installed in them and tracks “to ensure that no two trains collid

Enugu Inline Skating Rink and Skateboard Park

2011-04-04T16:20:00.000-07:00

The City of Enugu, in Nigeria has and ever growing number of skaters but the problem is that there is no safe and designated recreational space to learn, teach, watch inline skating or even skate boarding. It would be good to see the development of such a facility that could in the future hold X-game type sporting events as well as serve as a spectacular sporting facility.

Strategic bridges in Nigeria - Oron to Calabar Unity Bridge.

2011-02-11T04:10:00.000-08:00

The distance between Oron and Calabar is 21 km by boat and about 200 km by road. If a high level suspension or cable stayed bridge is located across the Calabar river delta between Oron and Calabar, it will not only cut the time it takes to travel by about 4 hours. It will also cut the cost of transportation in the area as well as diversify the local and national economy.

I believe the a high Suspension or Cable stayed bridge is the ideal bridge in this area because of the potential river bound traffic on the Calabar river if a huge container terminal were to be built there. An example of this can be seen in the Stonecutters Bridge Hong Kong - see arial map

Bridge photos attached are the conceptual images of the Hong Kong - Zhuhai - Macao Bridge (HZMB) Main Bridge

Lekki-Ikoyi Cable Stayed Link Bridge

2011-02-10T11:18:00.000-08:00

The Lekki-Ikoyi link bridge is to be one of the first major cable stayed bridges to be built in West Africa. The 1.4km long bridge with a cable stayed pylon of 90m the middle and a full span approach and departing bridge linking admiralty way to Bourdillon road.

It would be nice to see more bridges like this in Nigeria that will have better specifications and features that complement and support advanced infrastructure in the present and future.

However I am concerned about the height of the approach bridge from the mean sea level and how it is going to impact shipping and boat traffic in the area.

Could "Sea kites" be used to harness tidal energy off the cost of Nigeria?

2010-05-08T08:39:00.000-07:00

With all the tidal energy wasting off the coast of Nigeria on a daily bases. Could we one day see the use of "Sea Kite" technology which uses sea kites anchored to the bottom of the sea bed producing gigawatts of electrical energy.

In an article that is featured in Popsci this new technology being developed in "Sweden could be a low-cost, low-impact method for harnessing ocean energy".

Enugu Golf City

2009-10-30T12:27:00.000-07:00

According to their website The Enugu Golf City ".. has been designed around the style and comfort offered by the most advanced European cities whilst retaining broad African influences.."

"...The development team has been able to start with a clean slate and design a fully self-contained community in Nigeria, that seamlessly integrates luxury living with industrial and commercial activities within a conserved natural habitat that retains the indigenous flora and fauna in an ecstatic marriage of man and nature.

Efficient management and strict design and development standards will ensure that consistent superior quality is delivered as the city evolves..."

Images courtesy of The Enugu Golf City

Asa Dam Project

2009-10-30T12:14:00.000-07:00

Loy Okezie features in his blog about a project by the Kwara State to build a new city called the Asa Dam Project.

It says "..The Asa Dam project is a massive undertaking that will result in a tourist center unlike anything that has ever existed in that part of the world. It includes a large amusement park, three hotels, a conference center, a mall, gardens, and a sprawling golf course.

Also included in the plans is an international school, which will give Nigerian children the chance to experience high-quality education for the first time. The project will cover almost 1,000 acres and seeks to elevate the Asa Dam area’s prominence, both nationally and internationally.

It is also an environmentally-conscious project that will preserve the ecosystem and biodiversity of the area. The goal is to bring new investment to Nigeria and new pride to a nation of people..."

MENA Infrastructure

2009-10-21T09:38:00.000-07:00

MENA Infrastructure is a website that focuses on infrastructural development and construction in the Middle East.

Mordern Aquatic Communities for the Niger Delta

2009-08-10T12:42:00.000-07:00

We are told that building beautiful modern communities in the Niger Delta's riverside,coastal and creek-side areas are difficult because of the terrain. But I believe that one of the problems of the new developments is that they are alien for the people it is meant for.

By combining sustainable materials like palm timber,low-cost roofing materials(from palm trees) with modern materials like steel, concrete, and ingenuity you can reproduce modern cites and towns.

These cities an communities have the potential of sprouting up from Makoko to Eket along the coast and could look like Malaysia's Sepang Gold Coast or the Citadel floating apartment complex.

I have blogged about designing abodes for riverside communities in the past and now believe that we can do something about it.

Photos courtesy of Skyscrapercity and Popular Science

Nigeria Infrastructure (NIF) 2009 Conference & Exhibition

2009-07-20T13:50:00.000-07:00

According to the Nigerian infrastructure website"...In continued partnership with the Ministry for Works, Housing & Urban Development, Ministry for Transportation, Federal Capital Development Authority, Federal Capital Territory Administration, as well as the Nigerian Investment Promotion Commission, Bureau of Public Enterprises, and the Infrastructure Concession Regulatory Commission, the Nigeria Infrastructure (NIF) 2009 Conference & Exhibition will unite key decision makers, contractors and service providers with direct opportunities to develop your business over the next 10 years. Never before has the political will and the national sector been so strong to deliver such visionary goals to industrialise the country..."

"...Nigeria Infrastructure (NIF) combines a commercial tradeshow and strategic conference which will deliver key information, business opportunities and networking events that provide the foundation of successful strategy implementation..."

We hope that this forum which takes place (from 17-19 NOVEMBER in ABUJA) is able to amalgamate all the big thinkers with pragmatic leadership that Nigeria has got at home and diaspora. This synergy of government assistance, financial backing and expertise should lead to the development of the right infrastructure in the right places.

Harnessing Electric power from the Sahara Desert

2009-07-20T13:21:00.000-07:00

When I blogged about how a Sustainable Sahara desert Oasis could supply Food, Fresh water and Electric power to African cities I did not know the Europeans were far ahead in the planning for such a project already.The aim of the Sahara Desert project Desertech is to "harness power from the Sahara Desert sun to bring extra electricity to European homes".

According to the Desertec website "The DESERTEC Foundation is intended to serve as a hub for realizing the DESERTEC Concept. It will also work for creating a global alliance to ensure security of energy supplies, to promote economic development, and to stabilize the world’s Climate".

Photos courtesy of Desertech

Tianjin Eco-city Vs Eco Atlantic City

2009-06-22T13:13:00.001-07:00

Will our new cities like the Eco Atlantic city be designed and built to meet efficient and sustainable standards that will keep municipal maintenance budgets and well as the cost of living low. According to Wikipedia "...Eko Atlantic City is a planned district of Lagos, Nigeria, being constructed on land reclaimed from the Atlantic Ocean. Located on Lagos’ Bar Beach; the proposed development is targeting 250,000 residents and 200,000 commuters flowing daily to the new island. The development will also have a positive environmental impact; its purpose is to stop the erosion of the Lagos coastline..."

"...Adjacent to Victoria Island, Eko Atlantic will rise as the next generation of property in Africa. Expected to be around 4 square miles, the city will satisfy needs for: financial, commercial, residential, and touristic accommodations. These needs will easily be satisfied with a state of the art high-tech infrastructure that will be in line with modern and environmental standards. These standards will offer the city’s residents better water, waste management, security, and transportation. Eko Atlantic will also offer its residents an independent source of energy, generated specifically for the city..."

I hope our Eco Atlantic city will not end up looking like the Lekki(Lekki, Phase 1, 2,and 3) Peninsular that is devoid of open spaces,nature parks,recreational space, closed sewage and trees. The current proposed design does not show any greenery I wonder why?

The Tianjin Eco-city website says that "...one of the main guiding principles was to adopt a holistic approach towards creating and designing a liveable, efficient and compact city, which would be developed in an ecologically sound and environmentally sustainable manner.

"...The intention is for development to take place around a central core of conserved ecological wetlands and rehabilitated water bodies. The main centre of the Eco-city will be located on the southern bank of a historical thousand-year old river course, which has been planned for a variety of uses, including commercial, cultural and recreational uses. This will allow for a varied live-work-play environment close to the natural environment, and provide easy public access to the waterfront.

A comprehensive green transport network, i.e. non-motorised and public transport, will be developed in the Eco-city. A light rail transit system will serve as the main mode of transport through the Eco-city. Green open spaces and public amenities will be interspersed amongst the residential developments to facilitate recreation and social interaction..."

State of the art Healthcare in Nigeria?

2009-05-30T09:06:00.000-07:00

With the laying of the foundation stone of the International Cancer Centre Abuja and the soon to be completed Justice Adolphus Karibi-Whyte Specialist 1000 bed Hospital Port Harcourt could it be that Nigeria is about to leave the starting blocks of reform of its ailing health care sector. I am delighted to see where private hospitals like the Lagoon Hospitals and Reddington Hospital are currently taking Nigerian Health care

I am delighted and hope that ICCA will be built and sustained even after this current administration and also will like to see the completion other Health care projects by the private sector like The West Africa Heart Centre Port Harcourt being pioneered by Dr. Ernest Madu of the Caribbean Heart Institute

Nigeria still needs more Cancer research and treatment facilities modeled around or similar to World class cancer centers like the Belfast City Hospital Cancer Centre that will be equipped with many Linear Accelerators, MRI scanners, Radio Therapy Suits, Isolation wards, In and Out Patient Facilities, Research Laboratories, Doctors, Students and Staff accommodation etc.

Some photos courtesy of ClinoRiv

Harnessing Methane from the Ojota Dump.

2009-03-17T04:41:00.000-07:00

The Infamous Garbage dump of Ojota in Lagos is probably producing enough methane gas that could run a 100Mw power station. Getting certain important infrastructure like laying pipes now that will collect the methane gas in the future should be encouraged by the state govt to potential IPP consortium's.

A dual gas(Methane/Natural Gas) IPP(Independent Power Plant) generation plant located in Ojota will help fill the power deficiency void that the state currently sits in. Success of such a plant will probably encourage the establishment of plants that will recover methane from the biodegradability of human and animal waste. Sewage or Septic tank disposal trunks could them be instructed to dump their goods at the processing plants rather than in the Lagoons of Lagos as they currently do.

Green Energy from the Makoko sawdust heaps

2009-03-17T04:13:00.000-07:00

The sawdust heaps that currently grace the shanty skyline of Makoko that are visibly while driving south bound on the third main land bridge can be converted to clean electrical energy. The fuel sawdust is generated presently in very large amounts which currently end up being set on fire to reduce its bulk because it seen as a nuisance and potential hazard for the timber mills in the area.

If a plant Gas turbine generator that is suited for wood gassification power generation is incorporated in the power plant enough methane gas will be produced to generate large amounts of clean energy for the city. About 1.8 tonnes of sawdust is believed to be capable of generating 2.43MW of electrical power and taking a wild guess the tonnage of sawdust burnt in Makoko should be about 100 to 200 tonnes per day if not more.

Other by products from such a plant could be a sea water desalination plant for Makoko and Yaba that uses residual heat from the turbine exhaust to boil and recover clean water by condensing the steam.

Photos courtesy of Robert Neuwirth and World Wide Exporters

Nuclear Power Generation in Nigeria?

2008-11-09T11:59:00.000-08:00

I love nuclear power but I wonder why Nigeria would rather choose a difficult path to generate power with nuclear energy by developing its own nuclear technology. I have been browsing through the Google Earth images of Nigeria and have barely found large expanses of land that do not have communities located within at least 50km from them.

These communities support large populations of people, cash crops, livestock and dwellings. I wonder where they plan to locate these nuclear power stations. The contamination created by the oil industry in the Niger delta region is nothing to write home about considering the large number of aquifers that are unable to produce clean drinking water in the area because they have being tainted with crude oil.

We cannot even properly handle the radioactive waste from x-ray machines and other low radiation producing equipment used in the medical and oil industry.In an article featured in the IAEA website "IAEA Helps Recover Stray Radioactive Sources in Nigeria" it says "..At the request of the Nigerian government, the IAEA deployed a team of nuclear safety experts to secure and transport several potentially hazardous radioactive sources in the country. Staff from the Agency´s Nuclear Fuel Cycle and Waste Technology department (NEFW) traveled to several different locations within Nigeria to safely recover the radiological sources and ship them in transport containers for return to Canada or processing at a Nigerian waste facility..."

Why re-invent nuclear technology that could turn your country to a radioactive wasteland when you can buy one off the shelf that is safe, compact and cheaper according to Hyperion Technology. Some schools of thought may say look at what happened to your Chinese built satellite (NigComSat-1) that could could be lost soon.However with nuclear technology I writing about you have a sealed nuclear reactor that is encased in concrete and buried underground capable of generating electricity for 20,000 homes at the rate of N12 per watt according to this story in U.K guardian

I have blogged about this technology in the past and I wonder whether the Nigerian nuclear agency has even looked at such technology before going down the experimental nuclear joy-ride they plan to take Nigeria down to.

The Chinese Nuclear plant in Daya-Bay near Hong Kong uses French nuclear technology, and the Chinese are currently looking to import nuclear power generation technology from Japan, Canada, France, US, South Africa because these countries have more advanced nuclear technology than theirs according to this report

Future Nigerian Railway projects

2008-11-02T14:27:00.000-08:00

It seems the Lagos state of Nigeria plans the kick off the construction of its "Red Line" Light rail line in 2009 according to this news report. This will be a good project for Nigeria as long as it is; not too expensive to use, cheap to run and maintain. The Federal Nigerian Metro Rail project has now been suspended but I hope it will be started after review. I believe it would be one of the best projects the country has embarked on for a long time in the transportation sector.

I have blogged in the past about Railway Infrastructure that I wished Nigeria and other West African countries would be inspired by as a Railway network liking their countries. Lagos State seems to now be committed in starting its rail project which could end up being the catalyst for an important rail network for West Africa.

Biomass Power Generation from Peanut Shells and Elephant Grass

2008-10-25T11:28:00.000-07:00

Imagine compact rural power plants located across the food belts of Nigeria that each generated about 2MW of power a year. This is equivalent to supplying power to about 2000+ average homes 24/7 and 365 days in the year. In the case of house holds in the rural parts of Nigeria this could even supply more home because their average power usage in lower than that of the average western home.

The key components needed for this power plant are the

1. The plant itself.
2. A natural source of water i.e Stream or River
3. A storage yard for grass or alternative biomass fuels
4. A drying facility for fuels delivered that have high water content.
5. Loading facility for byproducts i.e ash etc.

If hundreds of these plants are strategically located from Kwara to Sokoto, From Ebonyi to Borno and Niger to Adamawa we will all of a sudden be looking at about 200-500MW of additional power given to the bread baskets of Nigeria. The fuel they will be utilizing will not cost the country any extra as it is the by product of what is burn every dry season either intentionally or accidentally.

We should borrow a leaf from what is been done in developing countries with Elephant grass/alternative bio fuels and with current biomass power generation technologies available in the market. We are loosing our trees because rural dwellers cannot afford the exorbitant prices of cooking Paraffin I believe ideas like this could reverse the current rate of deforestation in Nigeria.

Photos courtesy of hear.org and laurenacklin.com

Sustainable Sahara Oasis

2008-09-11T08:06:00.000-07:00

The year is 2055 and Musa has just sealed a transaction with a Wholesale fruit dealer in Lagos. Musa and his family future farmers and residents of a series new Sustainable Sahara Oasis towns aka Sahara Forest Projects that have sprung up in Agadez province in country Niger, West Africa. These towns are equipped with the technology and infrastructure that processes the abundant solar energy that these areas of the desert are exposed to. It is then converted with the help of Concentrated Solar Power or CSP technology to large amounts of electrical energy and the excess heat that is used to distill seawater.

The byproducts of this CSP are distilled and de-salinated water that is used to grow fruits,vegetables. This also adds to the revenue already generated by supplying drinking water and electric power to cites as far away as West Africa coast and Europe.

I an article that is featured in Inhabitat about Sustainable Sahara Forest projects it says "...Recently a trio of entrepreneurs announced an incredible solution for the worlds resource problems: turn the Sahara desert into a source for food, water, and energy. The Sahara Forest Project (.PDF) is a solution that combines seemingly disparate technologies - Concentrated solar power and Seawater Greenhouses - and turns them into a mean, green super-massive biomachine. The elegant system could potentially produce enough energy for all of Africa and Europe while turning one of the worlds most inhospitable regions into a flourishing oasis.

The Sahara Forest Project is the brainchild of Charlie Paton, Michael Pawlyn and Bill Watts. The project aims to provide a source of renewable energy, food and water to desert regions around the world by taking a number of proven technologies and merging them into a system that works holistically to do its work. It's an exciting synergy, as both Seawater greenhouses and concentrated solar power technologies are perfectly suited to work in hot, dry climates.

A Seawater Greenhouse converts sea water into fresh water using nothing more than the suns rays. It does this by running air through a structure whose walls are infused with cold sea water. As air enters it is immediately cooled, humidified, and then condensed into fresh water by sunlight..."

Grass-Root Independent Power Production

2008-04-17T05:57:00.000-07:00

The Fact is that the Natural Hydrocarbons that presently flow out of Nigeria's Oil blocks will one day be exhausted and we should start now to look at sustainable clean alternatives.

The Food belt of Nigeria produces a lot of biomass waste in the form of:

1. Damaged produce - Fruits and Vegetables

2. Biomass waste - Elephant Grass, Corn,millet, rice,yam, cassava stalks as well as husks from grains.

These two products depending on their water content and ability to generate bio-gas after going through a digester can either be processed into a Bio-gas which can be used to generate electricity or burnt as a biofuel.

Small communities or villages in Benue,Ebonyi,Kogi,Niger, Kwara, Nasarawa, Kaduna, Taraba, Adamawa, Plateau can emulated villages like Freiamt in Germany that is leading the Grass-root movement to generate its power and supply excess to the grid.

The Bio applications blog of Obayomi Olatunbosun has a breakdown of how much a Nigerian made bio digester will cost.

By the time you add other alternative power generation and equipment that consume low energy like:

1. Photovoltalics

2. Flywheel Energy Storage - For environmentally friendlier uninterruptible power supply.

3. Water Wheels - For power generation

4. Heat Exchangers - For Lower cost Refrigeration

5. LED and Low Wattage bulbs

Small villages, and towns, in rural Nigeria can now start to chart the paths of their development without depending on a failed national grid electric network.

Photos courtesy of Engindia, haase-energietechnik,Randburg

WAHSR1-West Africa High Speed Railway 1

2008-04-13T12:00:00.000-07:00

The vision of the West-Africa-High Speed Rail 1 would be to deliver passenger and goods between strategic cities of commerce and industry in West Africa. It could be built on a similar model to the Taiwan High Speed Rail.
A good start would be for such a rail network from Phase 1 of the project to connect the following cities with stations at:

Onitsha -Nnewi-Enugu-Aba-Port Harcout
Onitsha-Asaba-Benin City-Lagos(Ikoyi) -Lagos (Marina)
Lagos (Marina)-Lagos(Apapa)-Port Novo-Lome-Accra-Takoradi-Abidjan

Phase 2

Kano-Kaduna-Abuja-Makurdi-Nsukka-Enugu
Abuja-Lokoja-Okene-Auchi-Benin

Important features such as pedestrian,livestock,wildlife under-passes and over-passes will be incorporated into such a network to eliminate railway crossings on the network.
Extensive case studies would have to be carried out based on the rail systems in Japan, Western Europe, The Americas, China, Malaysia,Thailand and Philippines. The best qualities of their rail networks coupled with the most efficient system that could be used as the foundation for WAHSR1.

Friendly Compact Nuclear Power Generation for Nigerian Cities

2008-03-23T03:55:00.000-07:00

Should the non-oil producing Nigerian States and municipalities be thinking of acquiring safe nuclear reactors like the Hyperion hydride reactor as a source of steady power generation?

Especially with the increase of our river based hydroelectric plants declining and the Hydrocarbon based power plants outputs bogged down with political and economic sabotage.

Even though nuclear energy cannot be classified as sustainable form of energy it is much cleaner,more efficient and produces C02 emissions compared to fossil fuel and hydrocarbon fueled power plants.

According to Hyperion Power Generation website this safer and self contained method Nuclear Power Generation is "...Often referred to as a “cartridge” reactor or “nuclear battery,” the Hyperion hydride reactor is self- regulating with no moving parts to break down or corrode. The inherent properties of uranium hydride serve as both fuel and moderator providing unparalleled safety among nuclear reactors.

Sealed at the factory, the module is not opened until it is time for the unit to be “refueled,” approximately every five years or so by the manufacturer. This containment, along with the strategy of completely burying the module at the operating site, protects against the possibility of human incompetence, or hostile tampering and proliferation..."

Kinetic Hydropower farms of the Coast of West Africa

2008-03-21T04:47:00.000-07:00

Harnessing the energy from changes in ocean tide levels along the West African coast has the potential of providing the region with alternative electric power supply. Hydrocarbon, fossil Fuel Biomass and Solar based power stations cannot be completely be relied upon to meet the regions energy needs in the coming decade as our energy demand grow exponentially.

Verdant Power one of the leading companies in this technology says that "...In three phases, the RITE Project will test, demonstrate and deliver commercial electricity from an array of tidal-powered Free Flow™ Turbines. The Project is progressing from an initial demonstration array of six turbines to a complete arrangement of 100-300 turbines. At full capacity the project could generate up to 10 MW, enough to power nearly 8,000 New York homes..."

Siting such coastal hydro power farm must also be done with proper risk analysis to the commercial marine activities in the area as well as the marine ecosystem. The use of protective Stainless steel cages could be considered.

Photos courtesy of Scientific American and Google Earth

Solcar's solar thermal power plant Seville

2007-05-19T13:35:00.000-07:00

The BBC writes about Solucar "...Europe's first commercially operating power station using the Sun's energy this way and at the moment its operator, Solucar, proudly claims that it generates 11 MW of electricity without emitting a single puff of greenhouse gas..."

"...It works by focusing the reflected rays on one location, turning water into steam and then blasting it into turbines to generate power..."

"...Central receiver systems consist of a fixed receiver mounted on a tower surrounded by a large array of mirrors called heliostats. These heliostats track the sun on two axes to concentrate solar radiation onto the absorber of the receiver. Steam is generated in the receiver and then forwarded to the turbine to produce electricity..."

I think our semi-arid climates in the northern region of Nigeria especially in the states of Yobe, Kebbi, Zamfara etc. seem to be quite suitable for generating power by such means what do you think?

Renewable powered Cell stations in Nigeria could be a good idea.

2007-01-26T14:59:00.000-08:00

Most of the cell stations in Nigeria rely on dual diesel powered generators as their main source of power. Would it not be a good idea if some of them were powered on alternative renewable sources of energy like Solar Power. An Israeli company SolarPower Ltd has already started to sell such technology to any telecommunication company that is wiling to switch to such a system.

Their website says "... SolarPower Israel Ltd. is a dynamic company which provides renewable energy solutions. We design, integrate, supply and install solar energy systems for telecommunication applications, rural electrification, grid-connected, security applications, irrigation and many more. Our vision is to bring electricity to remote locations, private, public and industrial, and to do that with clean and safe energy..."

Such a system will not only be vital in an electric power starved country like Nigeria but will also in the long term save more money for the telecom companies even though the initial investment will be high.

Recently, wind power has been adopted in Namibia to supply power to mobile cell stations

Photos courtesy of SolarPower

Battle field styled medical trauma centers for Nigeria?

2007-01-16T22:00:00.000-08:00

Could procedures in United States Military style Medical evacuation and Trauma treatment be applied to new A&E centers in Nigeria?

I am not a medical doctor or a surgeon but one thing we all notice is the complete lack of adequate Trauma care for Nigerians involved in all types of life threatening accidents everyday.

Maybe we should adopt a different cost effective approach buy using a combination of very well trained paramedics using advanced military style medical treatment techniques to save lives. This also works because the availability of critical equipment which include ECG monitors,Ultrasound monitors,Portable X-ray Machines, Two way radios, Tourniquets, Intravenous equipment, Defibrillators, Drugs, Portable artificial respirators, stretchers, neck braces, etc which would need to go into additional equipment like:

- Medical Evacuation Helicopters
- Paramedic Motorcycles
- bio diesel Ambulances
- Airboat Ambulances or Boat Ambulances (for costal areas)

The main aim of this infrastructure is to evacuate or stabilize victims of accidents during emergencies. These victims would have to then be transferred to a zonal trauma hospital were doctors and surgeons would take over to treat the victims.

Designated Landing zones(LZ's) could be located in suitable areas e.g soccer fields,parking areas of churches or mosques.

Why suggest US military style medical evacuation procedures? After reading a National Geographic Magazine article article captioned "The Hero's of Healing"

Photos courtesy of National Geographic,Defense Link

Micro Power Stations powered by Bio-waste

2006-12-30T11:52:00.000-08:00

While driving along the Third main land bridge in Lagos, Nigeria it is hard not to notice around the coast around the Yaba area un-ending heaps of smoldering sawdust from the timber saw mills located in the area.

These never ending smoldering heaps of sawdust(from saw mills),rice-husk (rice-mills) and millet-waste that are a common site in the food basket towns could be put to good use by turning it to useful energy.

These waste products also better known as bio-fuels are good for the environment when converted to energy because they fit well into the natural carbon cycle.

Extracting the energy in these bio-waste products put them to good use with little toxic emmissions when compared with hydrocarbon fuels.

More strategic bridges needed in Nigeria

2006-11-19T17:32:00.000-08:00

There are presently about 6 bridges across the river Niger and 2 across the Benue. Many other communities from the far North to the middle belt and the Delta region require hundreds if not thousands of new bridges to be build across local streams, river, creeks, lakes and valleys

These bridges are needed to provide a diverse and strategic road and rail network that will help distribute food produce, finished goods, raw materials and commuters.

I would suggest that these bridges in some cases have the capabilities for both rail and road traffic with dedicated lanes for trucks, cars, motorcycles, bicycles and pedestrians.

I think a BOT (Build Operate and Transfer) type of infrastructure would work because if private finance is involved in the project they might produce better bridges that cost less.

400 million Oil Palm trees should be our target in the South East?

2006-05-16T09:51:00.000-07:00

Alternative bio fuels and oils are fast becoming a choice in the developing and developed world. Nigeria lost its status as a major source of palm oil to Malaysia, Indonesia and Ivory Cost in the early 1970's.

A proposal to plant about 400 million oil palm trees over 10 years will not be a bad idea considering what is to be gained economically and environmentally from such a project.

It would be great if we could mobilize our Youth Corpers and grass roots citizens to plant, protect, nurture these new palms.

Maybe this project could help reduce out reliance on crude oil as the major source of revenue in Nigeria?

The bio-waste generated by these palm trees could also serve as a source of fuel for potential fuel for power generation plants.

What do you think?

Strategic Seaport development for Nigeria?

2006-05-14T09:43:00.000-07:00

Currently the ports we have at Apapa, Tin Can Island, Warri, Sapele, Port Harcourt and Calabar are either over crowded or under utilized. A lot of government policies are to blame but we are here to put different proposals on the table, and maybe someone might borrow a leaf from it when developing strategic shipping infrastructure for Nigeria.

Firstly, based of the size and population of Nigeria it currently needs about 15 to 20 new shipping terminals located around country at specific strategic locations. Out of these 15 proposed terminals about 10 should be located on the River Niger and Benue respectively. They should be capable of handling the export, import and distribution of various types of goods and have adequate storage storage facilities and support within around the port.

They would be sited on the their importance to trade, production, manufacturing. Their proximity to large cities and finally there location near the two major rivers of the Niger and Benue.

Some of my suggestions for these ports are:

1. Baro - Niger State

2. Lokoja - Kogi State

3. Makurdi - Benue Sate

4. Ida - Benue State

5. Onitsha - Anambra State

6. Asaba -Delta state

7. Bonny - Bayelsa state.

What do you think?