Eko Atlantic

Eko Atlantic will satisfy needs for financial, commercial, residential and tourist accommodations, with infrastructure in line with modern and environmental standards.^[10] 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.^[7]

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,^[11] a planned 8.5 km long barrier constructed primarily of rock and faced with concrete accropode armour.^{[citation needed]}

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.^[12][13][14]

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.^[15][16] The city will have its own bureaucracy and be regarded as a separate municipality. It will have an offshore banking zone and permit investors to transfer money freely.^[15]

When the city is finished, it will have 3,000 buildings and 400,000 homes for residential, business, financial, and tourist lodging purposes.^[15] Ten districts will make up the city,^[15] including:

• Business Districts
• Fall lights
• Marina Districts
• Downtown
• Eko Island
• Avenues
• Four Bridges
• Eko Drive
• East Side Marina
• Ocean Front^[15]

The cost of a plot of land is dependent on its size and location. Land is sold per m². Plot sizes in Phases 1 and 2 start from approximately 2,200 m² and prices per square meter within this phase start from $1,150.

In Phase 3, land within this phase starts from approximately 1,200 m² mainly for low-rise residential houses where the land prices are at $1,050.

There is no maximum cap on the amount of land that can be purchased. Each plot of land can be used for a residential or commercial development or a mix of both as Eko Atlantic is designed to be a mixed-use city.

The plots in Phases 1 and 2 have been created to accommodate mid to high-rise buildings. In Phase 3, some plots have been created to accommodate single residential dwellings and low-rise developments.

As of May 2009, while the project was still in its dredging phase, about 3,000,000 cubic metres (3,900,000 cu yd) had been sand-filled and placed in the reclamation area, while about 35,000 tonnes of rock had been delivered to the site.^[4] In certain parts of Bar Beach, the land being reclaimed can already be seen. Dredgers were working around the clock to fill the site with sand.^{[citation needed]}

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.^[17][18]

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".^[19]

By November 2020, a few buildings, most notably Eko Pearl Towers, had been completed, with several more under construction and at planning stages. The city had become an active venue for popular afro-concerts and sports events like the Lagos City Marathon and Copa Lagos.^{[20][21][22][23]}

Eko Atlantic City has secured an EDGE certification from the International Finance Corporation (IFC), a member of the World Bank Group.^[24]

The Eko Atlantic project has been criticized by residents living nearby, who say that ongoing construction works have caused coastal erosion and ocean surges/^[25] 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.^[26][27][28]

In August 2012, the Atlantic Ocean surged and overflowed its banks, sweeping 16 people into the Atlantic Ocean, killing several, and flooding Kuramo Beach, Victoria Island and other areas.^[29] 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".^[30] 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 for the bereaved families.^[30]

• Eko Pearl Towers
• Centenary City
• Lekki

• Brown, Brad (5 June 2012). "Nigeria's most populous state poised to become a metropolis". South Florida Times. Florida United States. Retrieved 23 June 2012.
• Iroegbu-Chikezie, Okwy. "A city behind walls". The Nation. Lagos, Nigeria. Archived from the original on 22 February 2013. Retrieved 23 June 2012.
• Akinsanmi, Gboyega (28 May 2012). "'Eko Atlantic City'll Generate 150,000 Jobs'". Thisday. Lagos, Nigeria. Archived from the original on 31 May 2012. Retrieved 23 June 2012.
• Tautou, Annabel (21 April 2012). "Africa Working On World's Biggest Project". French Tribune. Bouches-du-Rhône, France. Archived from the original on 30 November 2012. Retrieved 23 June 2012.
• Onyema, I. C. (18 September 2012). "That Kuramo Beach ocean surge". Business Day. Lagos, Nigeria. Archived from the original on 4 December 2013. Retrieved 11 October 2012.
• New Yorker (magazine). 2013 article
• Wall Street Journal. 2013 article
• The Guardian (UK). 2014 article
• Ownahome.ng (NG). 2023 article

• Official website