LAGOS (Nigeria) | Eko Atlantic City | Masterplan

[friendsofthecity]

Lagos aims to be Africa's model megacity

By Egon Cossou
Africa Business Report, BBC World News

Lagos is the financial heart of Nigeria - the most populous nation in Africa, and it is a teeming tangle of humanity and enterprise.

Megacity model
A city within the city aims to turn Lagos into a financial powerhouse

The economy of Lagos state is thought to be worth around $33bn, despite the chronic overcrowding, crumbling infrastructure and hellish traffic.

Expansion continues at a breakneck speed and part of the expansion plans for Lagos include an ambitious new city within a city.

The Eko Atlantic project promises to turn Lagos into a hugely important financial powerhouse.

Under construction

Enormous quantities of rock are poured into the sea to build what is already being called the great wall of Lagos.


Prince Adesegun Oniru, Waterfront Development
We have 18 million people that reside in Lagos State so you need projects like this to draw people away from the centre and spread them to areas like this
Prince Adesegun Oniru, Waterfront Development

A mile and a half out in the Atlantic ocean, the city is taking a stand against the sea. Lagos is creating a seven kilometre long wall to hold back the waves.

For more than 100 years the sea has been eating away the shoreline of Victoria island in Lagos - some ten metres disappear every year.

Now Lagos has what it hopes is a permanent solution to the problem of erosion.

The idea is to claw back the lost land and build a new, futuristic city on it. It is to be called Eko Atlantic City.

Every day some 90 trucks arrive weighed down by granite mined from the neighbouring city of Abeokuta and the wall is advancing some seven or eight metres a day...

LINK

[Jim856796]

It looks like they're constructing one of the world's largest beach. But this isn't a beach, it's supposed to be a brand-new central business district. Either a beach or a new CBD or anything else constructed on that zone will help stop the erosion of the Lagos coastline.

[friendsofthecity]

Replying to Jim856796 comment,I know so well that's not a beach.It's been an eroded part of the Lagos Island which they are reclaiming from the Atlantic Ocean to build on it the Eko Atlantic city.Which is going to be a new modern city within Lagos city. It will bring to mind the the picture of the Palm Jemeira in Dubai which was built on a reclaimed land from the Persian sea.

If there's anything so important for the development of Lagos at the time(atleast to give Lagos aesthetic look), it should be this Eko Atlantic City.

[GAR3TH]

BBC video....cant remember if i posted this before

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/business/8476856.stm

[scholes0]

I read an article today that part of the reclaimed land is begining to come on-shore I.e rising above sea level/becoming visible.
Maybe i,ll go visiting soon, to see.

[zexyworm]

Will any of the proposed light rail lines in Lagos reach Eko Atlantic City? I would appreciate an answer regarding the expected transporation /access to this reclaimed area. Eko Atlantic's website is very vague on the subject.

[JoblessBeggar]

Originally Posted by zexyworm

Will any of the proposed light rail lines in Lagos reach Eko Atlantic City? I would appreciate an answer regarding the expected transporation /access to this reclaimed area. Eko Atlantic's website is very vague on the subject.

Eko Atlantic City will actually abut Victoria Island at Ahmadu Bello Way (which will be expanded to an eight-lane highway, and the beginning of the new proposed coastal highway to Lekki), so that should be the primary means of ingress and egress.

There are also provisions for a bridge that will link Eko Atlantic to Lagos Island and a ferry terminal to transfer onto the public water transportation system. Although Eko Atlantic City will have its own internal tramway system, I do not believe that there are presently any plans to extend the Lagos Light Rail network to Eko Atlantic.

[megacity]

Originally Posted by zexyworm

Will any of the proposed light rail lines in Lagos reach Eko Atlantic City? I would appreciate an answer regarding the expected transporation /access to this reclaimed area. Eko Atlantic's website is very vague on the subject.

Eko Atlantic will have its own internal light rail system. I imagine that if need be there could be a way to expand the lagos blue or red line so that people in Eko Atlantic City can catch train in Eko Atlantic and connect to the blue or red line.

[GAR3TH]

[Tbite]

Investors jostle to commence construction at Eko Atlantic City

AKINPELU DADA

After years of preparation and massive reclamation of a part of the Lagos Bar Beach, the developers of the futuristic Eko Atlantic City say that intending developers can now move in. AKINPELU DADA reports that the city is attracting interest from international investors and construction firms.



Having already created a new land space of over one million square metres and well on course to meet the target of two million square metres before the turn of the year, the promoters of Eko Atlantic City have said that developers who are interested in commencing development immediately can now do so.

The global economic meltdown and the attendant cash crunch appear not to deter international real estate savvy investors, whom our correspondent gathered, are making serious enquiries about investing there despite the fact that a square metre of land in the city commands between $825 and $1,660, in the first instance.

In addition to would-be landlords, our correspondent further gathered that reputable international developers and engineering design firms are already jostling to win handsome contracts to build innovative buildings in the city.

Eko Atlantic City is a futuristic settlement extending from the popular Bar Beach right into the Atlantic Ocean, and is being jointly promoted by the Lagos State Government and South Energyx Nigeria Limited.

The city, according to its promoters, is destined to set new standard of living and working in the West African sub region. The new city will rise up from freshly reclaimed land next to Victoria Island that had been lost to sea erosion in the last 100 years.

Having recorded a significant milestone in the life of the project, officials of South Energyx last week commenced subtle marketing of the city to local and international investors at the 5th Lagos Economic Summit, Ehingbeti 2010, which had as its theme, "Lagos: Investment Opportunities in Africa's Emerging Model Mega City."

They officials said that work had progressed steadily on the drive to retrieve nine million square metres of land from the sea to provide some of the finest development property in West Africa.

The said that the city's footprint would be similar to that of the skyscraper district of Manhattan Island, New York City, United States, and would accommodate about 250,000 people, who would live in the seven districts of the 21st century city, with 150,000 more commuting to work there daily.

Flaunting a safe, clean and sustainable environment, the promoters are optimistic that investment in homes, businesses and tourism will flourish in Eko Atlantic City.

The city will take six years to complete with three distinct building phases. Work began on the first phase in 2008 and is expected to be completed by the end of the year, with the creation of two million square metres of land, double the size of Banana Island.

The "Great Wall of Lagos," as the reclaimed land is being called, is touted as an engineering masterpiece and a major solution to the environmental damage on Victoria Island caused by a century of coastal erosion, as the imposing sea wall will shield metropolitan Lagos and the new Eko Atlantic City.

The city, our correspondent gathered, will stretch seven kilometres from the back of the Nigerian Institute for Oceanography and Marine Research to the Oniru Estate area in Lekki.

The Managing Director, South Energyx, Mr. David Frame, said that about 100 million cubic feet of sand dredged from the ocean bed would be required to fill the city, whose sea wall would go 10 metres under water and nine metres above the water.

The Financial District of the new city, he explained, would be a centre of international business, finance and commerce with the imposing high-rise architecture also housing restaurants, bars and penthouse apartments for living and socialising.

Frame said that Eko Atlantic City would give its residents the space to breathe with tree-lined streets, green boulevards and breathtaking views of the ocean, noting that with nine kilometres of waterfront along the Atlantic Ocean and Harbour Channel and six kilometres of coastal highway as well as 20 kilometres of internal waterway, the city offered attractive investment options for waterfront development.

He said, "Reliable independent services will deliver power cleanly and effectively. Drinking and irrigation water will flow through the city from a dedicated treatment plant. A secure and integrated telecommunications network will serve every district.

"Traffic jams will be unheard of thanks to the well planned public transport network. Energy efficient trams will run on the Eko Tramway network and, for those who prefer a more leisurely pace, the Eko Waterway system will link to marinas at both ends of the city.

"A total ban on street parking will keep the streets open and clear. All vehicles will find a space in the multi-level car parks or within the boundaries if developed plots of land."

Expectedly, safety concerns were raised at the Ehinigbeti summit, especially with rising sea levels causing havoc worldwide and with the recent history of the Lagos coastline that has suffered massive erosion.

However, Frame gave an assurance that necessary safety tests had been carried out and that the proposed city had come out clean.

For instance, he said that the city was subjected to intense testing at the DHI Institute in Copenhagen, Denmark, which is reputed to be one of the best in the world, using two-dimensional models.

Our correspondent gathered that the model was tested for one in a hundred-year ocean surge, one in 120 years, one in 150 years and one in 1,000 years' storm, the worst storm that possible can happen, and city held up.

The Lagos State Commissioner for Waterfront Infrastructure Development, Prince Adesegun Oniru, had in December 2009, while responding to enquiries about the safety of the city, told our correspondent, "The city held up because the protection we are having at the edge of the Eko Atlantic City will be eight to nine metres above the sea level. The worst surge that we have had so far at the Bar Beach was 1.5 metre high coming from the ocean, and when that happened, the protection was already in place and it held up.

"If we had not put the breaker in place, Victoria Island would be no more today because when we had the 1.5 metre surge coming to hit the island, the lowest point on Victoria Island is by the Falomo Bridge just before you get into Ikoyi and at that point, the ground level point there is two metres below sea level.

"You can imagine us having a surge of 1.5 metres and the lowest point is two metres below sea level, if that protection was not there as at the time, the entire area would have gone. That protection is three metres above the ground level; that was what saved VI then.

"You can now imagine that at the completion of this new city, we will have a protection area of eight to nine metres above sea level, this is the guarantee that nothing is going to happen to Eko Atlantic City, the Bar Beach and Victoria Island once the city is completed."

The developers of the city have put in place a detailed management and safety plan to steer its evolution and boost investors' confidence.

Messrs Royal Haskoning, renowned consultants, architects and engineers from the Netherlands, have created the urban design and a special advisory team to work hand-in-hand with the developers and investors to ensure that the highest standards are met.

Source

The real construction to start!

[Samuel107]

[megacity]

I can't wait to start seeing the designs for the buildings and other projects in the city

[friendsofthecity]

When they said "work commenced on the first phase in 2008", are they talking about the land reclamation?

There are evidences from that news story that the Eko Atlantic City is geared for construction works very soon. I think this is a good hope for the most anticipated construction work in the sub-regional Africa.We are hoping to see more news here soon as work progresses.

[paddylo]

When they said "work commenced on the first phase in 2008", are they talking about the land reclamation?

Yea

[paddylo]

Nice on Tbite...when r u coming back home to snap up a plot lol...that would be the hottest address in Nigeria. .

[Håkønljzberg]

Thanks tbite

image hosted on flickr


image hosted on flickr


image hosted on flickr


image hosted on flickr

[friendsofthecity]

This will quite address the accommodation scarcity in the city of Lagos also profiling the idea that will create lopsidedness among the city dwellers. We are going to see only the rich people and foreign expats living in this area. It would be wise for the Lagos state govt. to start putting into place similar projects in slum-ridden places. Not just cleaning them but building a better housing estates in the places of shafts.

[paddylo]

We are going to see only the rich people and foreign expats living in this area

Thats how it is all over the world mate...try getting an apartment in manhattan. .
most newyorkers are poor and middleclass,living in the bronx or harlem. . .
doesnt mean there shouldnt be million dollar apartments in downtown

[First&Last]

Eko needs to demolish many buildings, I mean they really need to be leveled high-rises and all.

[First&Last]

Any news on actual indigenous people investing in this (construction as well as buildings, buying plots) or will it all be foreign investment?

Also how come they couldn't hire a Nigerian architectural firm? I am not really impressed with the master planned rendering.