Tell Magazine October 11, 2010 Wonder City on the Atlantic By Boye Ajayi

The real estate sector will soon receive a major boost with the recent flagging off of the Eko Atlantic city project. Courtesy of the collaboration between Lagos State Government and South Energyx Nigeria Limited, SENL, a subsidiary of the Chagoury Group, the reclaimed land along the Lagos Bar Beach will be transformed into a world-class city. The project, regarded as one of the most ambitious marine engineering projects on the African continent, requires the extension of the beach defence walls originally constructed by the same company to curtail the effect of the 2005 coastal erosion into the open sea, a mile and a half offshore, to reclaim the land that was lost to Atlantic erosion over the past century.

David Frame, Managing Director and Chief Executive, SENL, confirmed that the project, aside from providing the housing needs of over 250,000 residents and 150,000 commuters, is principally aimed at "protecting Victoria Island from further erosion with a shoreline protection plan resulting in a new sea wall that runs along the entire length of Bar Beach, holding back the ravages of ocean surge". He pointed out that Eko Atlantic city would set a new standard for living and working in West Africa.

According to Frame, "A new sea barrier called the Great Wall of Lagos will protect Eko Atlantic city". The wall was designed by Dutch specialists, Royal Haskoning, and tested in Denmark by the world-renowned Danish Hydraulic Institute, DHI. "The design of the sea wall has proved it can withstand the worst storm imaginable in a thousand years," says Frame. Sand-filling for the entire project is expected to be completed by 2016, and already over 1.3 million square metres have been completed, and sand-filled, and are ready for sale.

The concept of Eko Atlantic city, according to Kolawole Diya and Diya Fatimilehin and Company, a firm of estate surveyors and valuers, is the solution to the overcrowding problem of Victoria Island. He says, "The city will provide world-class property in a world-class environment where people can live and work in harmony". Diya disclosed that plot sizes in the choice location range from 1,800 to 7,000 sqm while land cost per sqm is currently fixed at between $825 and $1,600. He pointed out that the planned Eko Atlantic city would be international standard and have dazzling towers as part of the Atlantic Financial Centre. These structures, he said, would be among the first set of buildings in the newly reclaimed land.

Marc Chaghouri, Head of Marketing and Sales, SENL, disclosed local and international banks, including First Bank, FCMB and Guaranty Trust Bank and BNP Paribas Fortis, would provide financial backing for the project, while Royal Haskoning is handling shoreline protection works. Dredging International, a Belgian company, is shouldering the massive landfill operation.

Eko Atlantic city, when completed, will stand on nine million square metres of land, and boast a first-class infrastructure such as independent power generation, water supply, sewage treatment, 60 kilometres of well-paved roads, light railway and canal transportation system.

Eko Atlantic city is divided into seven districts: Ocean Front, Harbour Lights, Business District, Eko Drive, Marina, Avenues and Downtown. SENL was granted 78 years concession to reclaim and develop Eko Atlantic city in July 2006.