Financial hub

Like the Smart Village Cairo, Eko Atlantic will become a home to numerous financial institutions, oil and gas corporate headquarters, legal and accounting firms, insurance companies, stockbrokers, and advertising and marketing companies.

It also aims to host the new Lagos Stock Exchange, conference center and a hotel. And more importantly, if it is to be feted as a megacity, then Eko Atlantic will have no choice but to have high speed broadband network, possibly, fiber optic, connecting all office buildings to ensure fast, secure and uninterrupted data exchange, voice and video transmission, virtual private network connections, cable television and video conferencing systems.

But unlike Nigeria, Egypt did not have to dredge out tons of sand from the sea to make the business park. It simply reclaimed neglected desert land.

Nonetheless, the lessons for Nigeria are immense, especially if it is true to the vision of having a city where 250,000 people will "live" while an additional 150,000 people will join the residents in "work, and play."

To this end the planners of Eko Atlantic will be well advised to include sports facilities, schools and universities, and high-class hotels with modern conference facilities.

Meanwhile, the rest of Africa is watching, waiting and hoping that the talk of Eko Atlantic doesn't wind up as another lofty dream that, like many before it, ended up, being white elephants.

Besides, Nigerians should keep their fingers crossed, and hope that they won't regret that these developers spent the billions on Eko Atlantic megacity, instead of being utilized in urban renewal for other parts of Lagos, like Surulere, Yaba, Ikeja, Apapa, Mile 12, Oworonshoki and Ajegunle.

(Reporting from Kenya)

Megacity Facts

>Development area - [+] 9 square km  

>Land for sale - approximately 6 square km  

>Length of city - 6 km

>Average width of city - 1.5 km

>Expected number of buildings in Eko Atlantic - 3,000

>Resident population - 250,000

>Commuters - 150,000

>Length of internal roads - 100 km

>Length of internal waterway - 20 km

>Duration of marine works - six years

>Total amount of sand for reclamation - 140 million tons

>Average depth of water in landfill area - 8 meters

>Daily volume target for sand pumping - 82,000 tons

>Length of main sea wall (revetment) - 7 km

>Height of sea wall above water level - 9 meters

>Number of plots for sale - approximately 1,500

Source: www.eko-atlantic.com