Eko Atlantic

Eko Atlantic, officially Nigeria International Commerce city, also known as Eko Atlantic City, or the initials E.A.C. and E.A., is a planned city of Lagos State, Nigeria, being constructed on land reclaimed from the Atlantic Ocean. Upon completion, the new peninsula is anticipating at least 250,000 residents and a daily flow of 150,000 commuters. The development is also designed to help in stopping the erosion of Lagos city's coastline.
Its main objective is to reduce erosion, which includes future sea level rise and storm surges. On the Lagos Bar Beach, coastal erosion has long been an issue, happening at a rate of 30 m year in particular. Wave tides, littoral movements, and sediment characteristics are examples of natural causes.
Around 1960, man began adding nourishments to the Bar Beach in an effort to stop the significant loss of beach width caused by erosion. Despite being fed with enormous amounts of material, the beach continued to erode. The city of Lagos's expanding population is another issue, as it increases the need for space for residential, commercial, and recreational activities.
The private project developer South Energyx Nigeria Ltd. (SENL) has started the Eko Atlantic City Development Project to address this space shortage as well as the land loss caused by the erosion of the Bar Beach. This project involves reclaiming 9 km2 of ground in front of Bar Beach, just east of the East Mole. A revetment with a length of around 8.4 km surrounds the newly recovered area to prevent erosion. Among other things, Royal Haskoning provides advisory services for Eko Atlantic City's marine construction.
The city adjoins Victoria Island district of Lagos city, and the Phase 1 area of Lekki to the north, while the entire Western, eastern and southern borders is a coastline. Eko Atlantic is expected to rise as the next generation of property on the African continent; having a total of 10 districts, spread across a land area of approximately , the city will satisfy needs for financial, commercial, residential and tourist accommodations.
Eko Atlantic development is being carried out as a Public–private partnership (PPP)with private companies and investors providing the funding, whilst Lagos State Government(LASG) is a strategic partner, with the support of the Federal Government.(Nigeria Government) The Contractors are China Communications Construction Group LTD(CCCC), a company that works in the field of marine dredging and landfill operation. Consultants are Royal Haskoning (traffic and transport expertise) and ar+h Architects. South Energyx Nigeria Ltd., a subsidiary of the Chagoury group, was specifically created to undertake the development. Testing of the sea defence system took place at the DHI Institute in Copenhagen, Denmark, where models were successfully tested for one-in-a-hundred-year ocean surges, and one-in-120-year, one-in-150-year and one-in-1,000-year storms.
Overview
Eko Atlantic will satisfy needs for financial, commercial, residential and tourist accommodations, with infrastructure in line with modern and environmental standards[this document does not show which environmental standards are used neither if Eko Atlantic is in line with any environmental standard]. These standards will offer the city's residents water, waste management, security and transportation systems. The city will also have an independent source of energy generated specifically for the city.
Eko Atlantic is situated on land reclaimed from erosion and is protected by a coastal revetment designed by Royal Haskoning colloquially known as the Great Wall of Lagos, a planned 8.5 km long barrier constructed primarily of rock and faced with concrete accropode armour.
The Eko Atlantic City project received global attention in 2009, as the Lagos State Government and its private sector partners on the Project, South Energyx, received the Clinton Global Initiative Commitment Certificate.
Purpose
In addition to providing a state-of-the-art business district for West Africa, the City aims to restore land lost to coastal erosion over the past century, offer a long-term solution to the erosion problem along Lagos' coastline, shield Victoria Island from ocean surge, and create job opportunities. Seven kilometers of revetment will also be built.The city will have its own bureaucracy and is regarded as a separate municipality. Additionally, it will have an offshore banking zone and permit investors to transfer money freely.
Districts
When the city is finished, it will have 3,000 buildings and 400 000 homes for residential, business, financial, and tourist lodging purposes. Ten districts will make up the city, including:
Business Districts
Harbour Lights
Marina Districts
Downtown
Eko Island
Avenues
Four Bridges
Eko Drive
East Side Marina and
Ocean Front.
Milestones
As of May 2009, while the project was still in its dredging phase, about have been sand-filled and placed in the reclamation area, while about 35,000 tonnes of rock have been delivered to the site. In certain parts of Bar Beach, the land being reclaimed can already be seen. Dredgers are working around the clock to fill the site with sand.
On 21 February 2013, a dedication ceremony was held at the reclaimed land of Eko Atlantic, with Goodluck Jonathan, Bill Clinton, Babatunde Fashola, Bola Tinubu, Aminu Tambuwal, and Ibikunle Amosun attending.
In March 2014, David Frame, managing director of South Energyx Nigeria Ltd., the firm responsible for the development, confirmed that "The first residential tower will open in 2016".
By November 2020, a few buildings most notably Eko Pearl Towers have been completed with several more under construction and at planning stages. The city has become an active venue for popular afro-concerts and sports events like the Lagos City Marathon and Copa Lagos. Eko Atlantic City has also secured an EDGE certification from the International Finance Corporation (IFC), a member of the World Bank Group.
Controversy
The Eko Atlantic project has been criticized by local residents living nearby, saying that ongoing construction works have caused coastal erosion and ocean surges; as ocean water surges through living areas, flooding access roads and taking down electricity poles and forcing residents to relocate. The Lagos State Government is also being criticized for failing to involve the people in the project.
In August 2012, the Atlantic Ocean surged and overflowed its banks, sweeping 16 people into the Atlantic Ocean, killing several people and flooding Kuramo Beach, Victoria Island and other areas. According to an environmental expert, "the ocean surge occurred as a result of the failure of the contractors handling the sandfilling activities of the proposed Atlantic Ocean City, to put in place measure that would reduce the effect of the surge on the environment". The Lagos State chapter of the People's Democratic Party issued an official statement, blaming the ACN (now APC) -led state government's sand filling for the ocean surge. The party called for a stop to the Eko Atlantic project and immediate compensation to the bereaved families.
See also
Eko Pearl Towers
Centenary City
Lekki
References
Further reading
New Yorker (magazine). 2013 article
Wall Street Journal. 2013 article
The Guardian (UK). 2014 article
External links
Atlantic Ocean
Land reclamation
Mixed-use developments in Lagos
Planned communities in Nigeria
Victoria Island, Lagos
Cities in Nigeria