Ambode flags off Epe-Marina lagoon reclamation

Lagos State Governor Akinwunmi Ambode on Tuesday flagged off the Epe-Marina Lagoon reclamation project as a stimulus to the tourism potential of the coastal state.

According to the governor, the lagoon reclamation projects in Epe and Badagry, upon completion, will measure with Dubai in United Arab Emirates (UAE).

Ambode, who stated this while fielding questions from journalists after inspecting ongoing road projects in Epe, said the state government had decided to develop its tourist sites that could compete with the best in the world to boost its economic prosperity.

“The road will be dualised with about five meters of walkway in order to make it pedestrian friendly. The intention is to build a modern Marina that can compete with others worldwide. We have already incorporated some of the world Marina design into the project. There might be some hotel and malls that will encourage 24-hour commercial activities. It will be mega terminal for water transportation.

“And the reason we’re embarking on these project simultaneously is because we want to replicate what we have studied in Dubai Marina. This is a stretch of two kilometres of real estate and tourist centre in Epe and Badagry,” the governor said.

He said the Badagry-Marina lagoon reclamation project would be completed by end of next month. Both the Epe-Marina lagoon and Badagry-Marina lagoon projects would facilitate the development of the area and promote tourism.

The projects entail sand filling to the lagoon up to about 200 meters and dualisation of the network of roads in the axis with functional walkways.

“We want to duplicate what you see in Dubai-Marina. This is a whole stretch of two kilometres of real estate and new tourist centres that we are putting in Epe and Badagry at the same time.

“Coming out from our retreat we said we are going to grow the IGR of Lagos State by 2017 to N30 billion and 2018 to N50 billion. We believe that some of these projects that we are commencing now are just inlets to our dream of growing the IGR.

“We know that by the time we are expanding tourism potentials of Badagry and Epe at the same time, we will be able to get new investors that will be able to come to our new locations to do other things beyond what you see about recreation, tourism or entertainment and then get a whole lot of investments into Lagos State. This is part of our dreams and dreams do come true,” he said.

The governor added that it was not possible to put tourist attractions in these places without building necessary aiding infrastructure that gives the tourists access.

Ambode, who also inspected on-going dualisation of about 25 networks of roads in Epe, said the investment being made in the area was part of the grand plan to transform the axis and link it to the Lekki Free Trade Zone (LFTZ) project.

He expressed the optimism that the projects, upon completion, would decongest the heartland of Lagos, as people would be encouraged to move to Epe and Ibeju-Lekki axis.

“We believe with this expansion, the whole lot of what we are trying to do in Epe and Ibeju-Lekki axis will be developed. We are inspired to see how we can look at the phase two of this project as quickly as possible. This road dualisation is expected to be completed in 16 months but because we are ahead of schedule, we are looking at the first quarter of next year,” he said.