Business
Epe Marina Reclamation Shoreline Project Commences , September
An official of the Epe Local Government Council in Lagos
State said that the work on the Epe Marina Shoreline Reclamation Project would
start in September.
Mr Abiodun Ajero, Special Adviser on Markets Development and
Revenue Generation to the Epe Local Government Council Chairman, disclosed this
in Epe, Lagos.
He explained that the project would be carried out in
collaboration with the State Government.
According to him, affected residents and businesses along
the shoreline have started relocating, to pave way for the movement of
reclamation equipment and personnel to the project site.
He said that the exercise would stretch from the Erepoto
area to Oluwo market on the Marina at Epe.
The Special Adviser said that the council had provided an
area popularly called “Chief’’ for the displaced sand dredgers and other
traders to continue their small-scale businesses.
He said that the council was, however, still searching for
an alternative location to resettle other affected residents and places of
worship.
Ajero said that the state government and the council were
carrying out the project to enable them to effectively harness the economic and
tourism potentials of Epe.
He said that the focus was on the development of tourism and
economic infrastructure in Epe, to boost business and leverage sustainable
development in the area.
Describing the Epe Marina waterside as a tourist haven,
Ajero said the area’s historical antecedents, dating back to when Oba Kosoko of
Lagos berthed at Epe in 1851, made the area a legacy asset which should be
appropriately transformed.
Ajero, who was, however, silent on the value of the contract
and its duration, noted that on completion, the project would also boost the
council’s internally generated revenue.
He said that the state government had sensitised communities
in the area on the need for them to buy into the project and also provide an enabling
environment for it, adding that it also boost infrastructural development in
Epe.
Ibrahim Agbadanla, a Senior Special Adviser (Special Duties)
to the Council Chairman, said that reclamation seeks to enhance aquatic
businesses in Epe, as well as the tourism potentials of the state.
Agbadanla also listed the benefits of the project to include
shoreline protection, as well as the creation of recreational and childrens’
parks in the area.