Monday, 22 December 2014 00:00
Written by Tunde Alao
THE
city carved out of the Atlantic ocean has started to take shape, as the
first residential and commercial tower blocks under construction can now
be clearly seen in the light of day from Ahmadu Bello Way on Victoria
Island and the Marina on Lagos Island. Recently, another brave move was
made by developers, with the launch of a new facility, known as LED
Light, which the promoters described as the best technology in modern
day streetlight. The lighting system is installed in one of the street
in the Atlantic City, where road construction has reach an appreciable
stage called Eko Boulevard.
Conducting Journalists around the
first phase of the infrastructure last week, the Managing director of
South Energyx Nigeria Limited, the developer of the new city, Mr. David
Frame said the facility is to herald a new dawn in Eko Atlantic, thus,
bring into light, huge construction work going on and that are not
visible to those who have never visited the site. “But now there is
something new to see at nighttime after a section of new road in the
emerging city was illuminated by streetlights. Eko Atlantic’s road
system is rolling out more and more each day but it is the first time
any of the internal city routes have been lit”, said Frame.
First street lights in Eko Atlantic (LED Light) According
to Frame, the first row of lights along Eko Boulevard, a paved
eight-lane thoroughfare that is over a mile long and is the spine of the
Business District, will be extended in the New Year as the developers
forge ahead with infrastructure development. “Presently, concrete block
paved roads, spacious sidewalks and kerbs are being built in the first
and second phases of developing the Eko Atlantic city. The project
development area is now so large and progressing so quickly that it
won’t be long before we need internal road signs to drive around,” said
Frame.
To date 10 per cent of Eko Atlantic’s roads in Phase I and
II are paved while 32 per cent have stone-base in place providing
access to motor vehicles, while about 25 per cent of the roads are
defined with kerb lines. Besides, 56 per cent of storm water drainage
has been installed along with 34 per cent of what he described as
“state-of-the-art communications”, while 50 per cent of the sewage
distribution network and 36 per cent of the water supply network are
already completed.
“We are very satisfied that the street
lighting has come on as this represents another important step in the
successful development of Eko Atlantic,’ said Frame, who hinted that
every infrastructure, facilities and amenities in the city are being
followed to the letter. “All what our consultant, Messrs Dar Handasah
consulting engineering put in place is to ensure that the city will meet
all the mission and vision of the new city.
”For those still in
the dark about what Eko Atlantic City is about, the planned city is
being constructed on land reclaimed from the Atlantic Ocean along the
Lagos Bar Beach. It is expected that when completed, the new island will
be home to about 400,000 residents, with a daily flow of 250,000
commuters. Adjacent to Victoria Island, Eko Atlantic is being touted by
its proponents - South Energyx Nigeria Ltd, a subsidiary of the Chagoury
group specifically created to undertake the development as the next
generation of property in Africa, which will in turn transform Lagos
into the economic hub of the mother continent.