As Lagos-Calabar coastal road continues to be dogged by controversy, the promoter of the Eko Atlantic City, South Energyx Nigeria Limited has revealed that the reroute of the project cost them N87 billion losses.
The company also said the claim by Landmark Group that it spent over N3.5 billion and adopted a triple defence approach through stone embankment around its site to reduce the impact of the large tidal wave, which was occurring as a result of the ongoing land reclamation work in the area, was false.
According to the Assistant Public Relations Officer, South Energyx Limited, Mr Larry Akanbi, the loss is the value of the land they reclaimed, where the road will pass through. He also stated that the land, which was used as Landmark Beach was not reclaimed, but a settlement.
Akanbi said that the Landmark Beach belongs to Eko Atlantic City, and Landmark Group was supposed to pay the South Energyx over N7 billion for using the beachfront, as the certificate of occupancy covers the area.
He, however, clarified that the company didn’t ask for any payment during the time it was used as a beach.
“The company encroached on 182,442 m2 of land out of the 1,037.763 hectares of land subject to a Statutory Right of Occupancy granted by the Governor of Lagos State, which commenced from July 7, 2006, for a term of 78 years, to reclaim the lost land, construct the Great Wall of Lagos and build the Eko Atlantic City.
“Since the beginning of the last century, historical records have indicated that sand and sedimentary materials along the coast of the region of West Africa have been transported from West to East by ocean currents through a process known as a littoral drift.
“Over time, interruptions to the littoral drift appeared in the form of river dams, major port developments, and other coastal disruptions such as shipwrecks. These interruptions resulted in large sand deposits in some areas and the extensive erosion of land in other areas,” he said.
Akanbi stated that the original route would have caused massive damage to the Landmark complex and event centre, adding that the reroute toward the beachfront saved the property from major demolition. “There is no serious demolition on the property, what has been consumed is the beach. The company didn’t even own the beach; where they’re using as the beach is part of our land,” he said.
He recalled that in 2005, Lagos State government proved that two kilometres depth of beachfront, the entirety of Bar Beach had been lost to erosion leaving Victoria Island directly exposed to heavy ocean surges and with no protection from the Atlantic Ocean. This posed a severe threat to the residents, businesses, and properties in Lagos State, especially within Victoria Island and Lekki areas of the state. Indeed, before its erosion, Lagos Bar Beach had developed a reputation for periodically overflowing its banks and claiming lives and property.
“In particular, the coastal city of Victoria Island in Lagos was in imminent danger of being overwhelmed by ocean surges from the Atlantic Ocean. The coastal road, Ahmadu Bello Way, had collapsed into the ocean after the adjacent Bar Beach had completely eroded. Further, the resulting substantial flooding forced adjacent businesses and homes to be abandoned, due to the danger it posed to the lives and livelihoods of residents in Victoria Island. With time, it became obvious that if action was not taken, and urgently too, millions of square meters of developed land would be lost to the ocean forever.”
He said under the Certificate of Occupancy evidencing the Statutory Right of Occupancy of South Energyx, as well as the concession agreement, the company has been exercising all acts of ownership over the Eko Atlantic City. In particular, the infrastructural road works and underground surface drainage pipes are already laid along major routes across the Eko Atlantic City; all bridges in Phase 1 & II of the project have been completed; and the Great Wall of Lagos sea revetment, which is being built more than two kilometres offshore at eight-and-a-half metres above sea level, has surpassed six kilometres in length and is now protecting over six million square metres of Eko Atlantic City and Victoria Island.
Akanbi disclosed that the Eko Atlantic City project and the Great Wall of Lagos have both provided tremendous benefits to both the Victoria Island/Lekki Peninsula and Lagos State as a whole. For instance, roads that were once deplorable or destroyed are now motorable; properties that were once abandoned have now seen re-development and re-investment, while businesses and residents that previously fled the Victoria Island/Lekki Peninsula axis due to the menace once posed by the erosion activities have now returned and considerable developments have since returned to the axis.
He also revealed that when the Eko Atlantic City was about to start, South Energyx Limited wrote to Landmark Realty to vacate the beachfront for reclamation, but it was not honoured by the company, adding that the Lagos- Calabar coastal road project is an intervention project.
