Lagos: The 'Dubai' of Africa?

Culled from www.castlesweekly.com:

Lagos: The 'Dubai' of Africa?The Lagos State Government in conjunction with a private firm plans to build a brand new city on the Atlantic Ocean!

Lagos, the central nervous system of Nigeria in terms of business, entertainment and tourist attraction, if well repackaged and branded, can be made a haven for business and fun seekers, which can generate several billions of dollars and create tens of thousand jobs for the teeming unemployed youths of the state. To achieve this lofty but attainable gigantic dream, their must be a political willingness that will facilitate enabling environment to bring this dream into reality.

The present Governor of Lagos, His Excellency, Babatunde Raji Fashola (SAN), has severally made it very clear in all speeches that he will ensure that Lagos will be able stand tall in the mist of world class cities such as London, New York City, Madrid, and so on. Victoria Island, the main commercial and business district of Lagos State obviously does not fit this mould.

The infrastructure is decrepit, traffic situation horrendous and the lack of regard for planning laws has resulted in what should have been a well planned residential district into a nightmarish commercial cum residential mess. So what should the learned Governor do? Build a brand new Victoria Island by sandfilling the Atlantic Ocean. What should you call this brand new city? EKO ATLANTIC CITY of course!

The proposed Eko Atlantic City (see layout on page 16) when completed will combine residential, commercial, financial and touristic accommodation in a location serviced by a state of-the-art high tech infrastructure. Once completed, Eko Atlantic shall be as big as Lagos' current prime business district, Victoria Island. The city is targeting 250,000 residents and 200,000 commuters flowing daily to the island to work.

The project reminds one of the gigantic city building projects of Dubai which has totally reinvented itself in the last 15 years, building brand new cities in the desert and on the seas surround it. Can the Government pull it off?

Well it is interesting to note that the Lagos state Government is not putting one kobo into the project! Eko Atlantic City is promoted and sponsored by the Chagoury Group, West Africa's leading construction and property development group.

The group is also involved in infrastructures development, dredging and land reclamation and owns Lagos' largest hotel (Eko Hotel). Currently the group is developing two major projects: Banana Island in Ikoyi, a residential complex on reclaimed land of approximately 1.8million square metres and Eko Akete, an infrastructural development of approximately 400 hectares, 30 km from Victoria Island, and situated on the Atlantic Ocean with an estimated 4 million square metres of land that will be available for sale for both residential and commercial purpose.

If there is any group that can pull off this amazing project in Lagos, because of its expertise and experience, there is no doubt the Chagoury Group is the best partner for the Lagos State Government.

How will the project be structured? Eko Atlantic Development, the special purpose vehicle put up by the Chagoury group for the development has been given a certificate of Occupancy for the reclaimed land according to an agreement signed between it and the LASG.

Eko Atlantic Development is also responsible for setting guidelines for future construction. As concession holder and primary developer, Eko Atlantic Development will be entitled to grant leasehold to any buyer of any plot of land and will also be responsible for infrastructure development. Investors can then construct properties of their choice but according to previously established guidelines.

Although it all sounds very good on paper, questions will still have to be asked. How environmentally friendly would the process of creating the new city be? With the rampant waves of the Atlantic Ocean, how safe will the new city be from flooding and ocean overflowing its banks?