Eko Atlantic City project to create 150,000 jobs, Lagos commissioner says

The Lagos Commissioner explained the details of the Eko Atlantic Project.

The Lagos State Commissioner for Waterfront and Infrastructural Development, Adesegun Oniru, on Thursday said that the Eko Atlantic City Project would create 150,000 jobs

Mr. Oniru made this known in Ikeja at an interactive session with newsmen.

The commissioner, who spoke on the benefits of the project, said it would serve as another avenue to reduce unemployment in the state and generate more revenue.

“The Eko Atlantic City Project is where 250,000 people will reside and work. The city would create 150,000 jobs,” he said.

“It is a world-class city that you can compare to any city in the world, by the time it is completed. And the commercial activities that are going on in Victoria Island now, with time, will de-congest and move to the new city.’’

According to him, there are commercial activities dedicated to banking and other ventures within that city. Mr. Oniru said the project was being funded by a private firm known as South Energyx Nigeria Ltd., and that the role of the state government was to supervise the project.

“The ministry signed the agreement on behalf of the government in order to make sure that the agreement is adhered to, for the supervision of the project,” he said.

The commissioner said that the idea of the project was to protect ocean surge from taking over the whole of Victoria Island.

According to him, the project is also to put an end to the perennial flooding in the area.

“Eko Atlantic City Project is a project that is being put together to protect the existing Victoria Island and Lagos as well.

“Just before you climb from Falomo Bridge from Victoria Island, whenever there is a heavy rainfall, there is major flooding there and it is a very low point.

“The Eko Atlantic City Project, when completely done and the drainage are put together on Akin Adesanja, you will not see such flooding there anymore,” he said.

Mr. Oniru said, “if you have an ocean out there that is higher than the city, what do you think would happen, any powerful surge and high wave will take over that city.

“The Eko Atlantic City Project is, therefore, to protect that and it is a big benefit to Lagos”.

The commissioner said the whole of Victoria Island had been submerged with water, saying that the idea of the project was to put a permanent solution to the erosion being witnessed in the area.

“Eko Atlantic City Project is 1.5 km from the edge of Ahmadu Bello Way into the Atlantic Ocean and 7.5 km across. It is all lost land and you don’t claim lost land without protection and without turning it into something that is viable.

“What we are doing is turning liability into assets, to make sure a re-occurrence problem does not occur, what we are now doing is developing the Eko Atlantic City,” he said.

(NAN)