Eko Atlantic City, a 10 million square-metre city being built on the
Atlantic Ocean along Ahmadu Bello Way in Victoria Island (VI) of Lagos State,
is indeed a beautiful place. The city which is twice the size of VI has
different types of property, especially high rise structures, springing up on
the massive land.
The city which has continuously played host to the Lagos Marathon in the last
five years is being referred to as the Dubai of Africa due to its attractions.
When fully completed it will contribute about 10 per cent revenue to the budget
of the Lagos State Government, in addition to tourism, employment and other
services.
When completed, the city is expected to accommodate 250,000 residents and
400,000 people working in it.
The land on which Eko Atlantic City is situated 10 million square metres, with
many facilities, including good road network, drainage, independent power,
fresh air and a feeling of being in Dubai.
Daily Trust reporter recently went round the amazing city built on water and
spoke to the Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer (MD/CEO) of Eko
Development Company, Mr. Olawale Opayinka, and he gave an insight into the
city.
Mr. Opayinka said, "Eko Atlantic City, Lagos, is a city which was created to
protect the Victoria Island shoreline. Many decades ago, the Atlantic Ocean
used to overflow Ahmadu Bello Way. When the water level rises, it used to cause
flooding. "With the acceleration of the impact of climate change and the
related environmental antecedents, if there was no way to curb the surge from
the Atlantic Ocean, eventually, Victoria Island as we know it today would have
been under a lot of threats. In mid-2000, discussions were held on how to
protect VI and Lagos as a whole; that led to the idea to put a sea wall to the
Atlantic Ocean. The sea wall today is about 1.3km away from Ahmadu Bello Way
and it is 10 metres above sea level. The sea wall stretches about 8.5km out of
which 6.5km is completed.” Lagos residents voiced their fear on building on the
Atlantic. Little did they know that not just any building, but high-rise towers
would be built on the land which was once part of the Atlantic Ocean.” Mr.
Opayinka, a building expert insists there is no cause for alarm. He said,
"There is a huge infrastructure in place to channel water, so water cannot be
the problem. The floors in the towers within the city are so high that the
fourth floor of a building in VI is the first floor of a building in the
Atlantic City. The surge has never gone as high as a floor not to talk of
climbing three floors. Every tower in the Phases 1 and 2 of the buildings in
the city are going to be towers, and the first two floors are going to be for
parking.” On what is so special about the much talked about Atlantic City,
Opayinka explained that, "There is a significant amount of every basic
infrastructure in the city. There is an area where independent power will be
generated to the whole city. There will be state-of-the art drainage system,
any ocean water that comes into the city will have a comprehensive network to
ensure all waters are drained out. State-of-the-art fibre optic cables have
gone throughout the city already and the roads and bridges are in place too.
When you build towers, roads and other infrastructure, maintenance is an issue,
and we have systems in place to ensure it is well maintained. We are building
towers and infrastructure that will serve many decades.” Considering the rate
of building collapse in Nigeria, he noted that, "Everything used in making the
towers is pure concrete. The builders of this city have built many places such
as the National Assembly, Eko Hotel, Lagos Continental Hotel, among others, and
such buildings are still standing.” He emphasised that Eko Atlantic would be
the new financial centre of West Africa because, "when it matures, it will
contribute a billion dollars in a year. Many financial institutions, capital
houses, merchant banks and microfinance institutions across Africa and West
Africa will be in the city.” One of the towers in the city, Eko Pearl, has been
completed and people are already living in it. Another tower which is yet to be
completed is the Azuri Towers, where there are three towers on a footprint of
13,500 meters with five concrete flooring. Opayinka said, "In Azuri Towers,
affordable and expensive luxury is being built, basically the kind of life
people want to buy in Dubai. It is located in the most dynamic part of the
city. Out of the three towers, there is one office and two residential
buildings.” According to the CEO, Azuri 1, an iconic building, is the tallest
residential tower in Nigeria and West Africa and the second tallest in Africa.
The 33-floor building has a height of 145 meters. The Azuri 2, a 29-storey
building, is also one of the tallest residential buildings in Africa, while the
Azuri offices is 32 floors. When completed, 130 families will be living in the
tower. At the moment, the towers have generated employment for over 270 people
and are expected to be completed in December, 2021. "The towers will draw
people to the city and this will make tourism thrive as it offers people the
opportunity to live, work and play,” he said. He further explained that Azuri
Towers had 18 lifts with facilities such as a gym, shopping mall, squash court,
Olympic size 50m swimming pool, spa, restaurants high security, four floors of
parking, clean air, among other attractions. "Our plan is to ensure the third
and fourth generations of Nigerians can live in the towers we are building now.
Our consideration is that the structures here should endure for 150 to 200
years,” he said.