Lagos State Governor, Mr. Akinwunmi
Ambode, yesterday embarked on an extensive tour of Eko Atlantic City,
expressing confidence that the project would not only boost the economy
of the state, but also increase its internally generated revenue (IGR).
Governor Ambode, who was accompanied
on the tour by members of the State Executive Council, pledged the total
commitment of his administration towards the success of the project,
saying it would go a long way to facilitate the quest to grow the
state’s economy.
He said: “I would like to express the
total support of this government to this project because at the end of
the day we need to grow the economy of Lagos and this obviously is going
to have multiplier effect on our IGR.
“We promise that we are going to grow
our IGR to N30 billion by 2017 and N50 billion by 2018 and this project
is a sure outlet in achieving that goal.”
He also expressed satisfaction with
the infrastructure already put in place, saying that it now behoves
investors to take advantage of the massive opportunities.
The Eko Atlantic City project is a
multi-billion dollar undertaking sitting on over 10 million square
metres and is expected to accommodate over 150,000 people who would
reside there and another 250,000 who would work and commute within the
city on a daily basis.
While commending the promoters of the
project for their confidence in committing huge resources to the
Nigerian economy, Ambode said their investment was a positive sign that
the country remains the investment hub in Africa.
The governor said: “Notwithstanding
the economic recession that has befallen the country right now, we have
come to also show that outside the recession, there is a whole lot of
progress going on in the investment climate in Lagos State.
“We are very happy that the signs are
looking very good for investment in Lagos. We are also very happy that
we are doing everything possible to encourage investors to come into the
state and I will like to assure you that we are committed to making
this project a big success.”
Ambode, who also inspected the 8.5km
shoreline wall, otherwise known as the “Great Wall of Lagos”, built to
protect the Eko Atlantic City, said it was gratifying that the project
would not only protect the new city, but also protect the whole of
Victoria Island against any ocean surge, which was one of the primary
reasons for the project.
He added that: “This is a new and a
bigger version of Victoria Island. We are going to have an energy city
here, a financial hub that is more or less going to run under a free
trade zone and so on.
“Basically, all these put together
turns Lagos to that leader that we want it to be in Africa and the
quality of infrastructure that has been put here is also encouraging.
“I just want to encourage other
investors and other people who had taken one step or the other in
respect of Eko Atlantic City that the time is now, because in another
one and a half years, this place will be something else.”
So far, out of the over 10 million
square metres of the project, about six million square metres have been
reclaimed, while there are 15 bridges and two tunnels designed with the
project.
Earlier, Chairman of Eko Atlantic
City, Mr. Ronald Chagoury, said one of the first two residential
buildings in the new city would be completed by the end of August, while
the second would be ready before the end of the year, adding that the
first office block would be ready between September and October 2016.
Chagoury described the project as an
impressive financial district, which upon completion, would compare with
the financial district in Paris, France and the 5th Avenue in New York,
United States.
He added that the Great Wall of Lagos
was scientifically designed to withstand any ocean surge and that it was
built to last for 1,000 years.
Also, Managing Director of Access
Bank, Mr. Herbert Wigwe, whose bank is the major partner with the
promoters of Eko Atlantic and the Lagos State Government, said aside the
fact that adequate arrangements had been made to protect the city, the
project was all about saving the state and creating a new tomorrow for
people to live in Lagos.
He said that with the project, the
land that was lost over time to the Bar Beach had been reclaimed, adding
that investors and interested people need not entertain any fear over
the safety of the city.
Culled from Thisday
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