The Nation Newspaper

Category: Building & Properties

  • ‘Plant trees save environment’

    ‘Plant trees save environment’

    NIGERIANS have been urged to plan trees to beautify and save their environment from destruction.

    A former school principal Mrs Yemi Akinsanmi gave the advice at this year’s tree planting awareness campaign by the Ikeja Golden Lions Club at Opebi Junior and Senior High Schools, Ikeja, Lagos.

    She said beside beautifying the environment, trees provide shade and wade off storms from homes. She said: “When we plant trees, we make the environment beautiful; when the trees mature they provide shade, cool breeze and keep off storms. They also make the environment very green.’

    Mrs Akinsanmi, who is the chairperson of Loins Club District 404 B2 Environmental Services Committee, said the event was part of the club’s centennial anniversary, noting that the global group provides humanitarian services to the less privileged. She educated the pupils on the importance of tree planting, adding: ‘’Let’s plant trees. Lions say yes to trees. Everyday, anyday.’’

    The District 404B 2 Zonal chair Esther Benson also spoke on the imperativeness of tree planting, advising the pupils of the schools to water the plants daily to speedy their growth. She said the younger generation should know about tree planting, adding that it is part of environmental cleanliness.

    Members of the club, teachers and pupils took turn to plant trees in front of the school premises.

  • ‘Lagos needs N60b for water projects’

    The Lagos State Government requires about N60 billion to execute its water projects, Commissioner for the Environment Dr Babatunde Adejare has said.

    He said: “Water production is not cheap. No one believes that our population will be over 20 million. We have so many people in Lagos. The state government is working hard daily to meet resident’s water need. We have a deficit of 500 million gallon daily. To construct the 70-million gallon water Adiyan 11 will cost the state N60 billion.’’

    Although the Adiyan 11 water project is about 70 per cent completed, Adejare said this facility can still not meet the water need of the state. “Igbo-nla water plant is still there and the projects will cost the state huge sums of money,” he lamented.

    Adejare said as part of its ongoing solid waste management reform, the state government was set to construct world-class Engineered Sanitary/Engineered Hazardous Landfills and Material Recovery Facilities (MRF) sites in various locations across the state.

    The Commissioner revealed that the Engineered Sanitary/Engineered Hazardous Landfills will be constructed under the Build, Finance, Operate and Transfer model to provide an efficient and effective final disposal for all waste generated in the state.

    “These new facilities would ensure the protection of public health and the local environment, the global environment as well as provide an efficient and effective final disposal option for all waste generated in the state through design and operations that mitigate water, odour, and noise pollutions”, he said.

    Adejare said the approved Sanitary landfill site would be designed with technology that mitigate water, odour and noise pollution as well as control vermin, wind-blown litters, and dust, including also maximising, capturing and using landfill gas emissions, while providing land-fill based opportunities for material recovery.

  • Firm to tackle housing challenge

    Firm to tackle housing challenge

    Determined to join the battle to reduce the housing deficit in the country, a Lagos real estate company, Cross and Churchill Estates Limited, has launched a triple assault on the problem. It has three estates of 50-unit apartments at Lekki Peninsula on the Victoria Island-Ibeju Lekki corridor.

    The projects are the Orangeville Residences (Berkshire Apartments), which phase one has been completed, Shepherd Apartments, also finished, and Fort Alexander.

    Berkshire Apartments consist of 24 units of standard and affordable two- and three-bedroom apartments. Shepherd’s Apartments II have 16 units of three-bedroom apartments, and the Fort Alexander boasts of a 10-unit apartments.

    The Berkshire Apartments and Shepherds Apartments are to be inaugurated next month.

    Berkshire Apartments are located at Okun-Ajah (on Okun-Ajah- Coastal Road), Eti-Osa Local Government Area, while Shepherd Apartments are sited after Adiva plains/Beechwood Estates, Lakowe Lake Resorts and Mayfair Gardens.

    The estates feature stand-by generator, water treatment plant, paved floor, drains and walkways, parking space for two cars per apartment, security post and CCTV system. This is why its promoters have labelled the estate as “a haven of affordable luxury.” Besides, its location of just about five minutes before Amen Estates and about eight minutes before the junction of the proposed Lagos Airport, makes it investors’ delight.

    Its Managing Director, Mr. Taiwo Ogunbodede, said his firm has built a sterling portfolio of properties by creating value at vintage locations and distinctive communities. He explained that while his team specialises in building highly desirable developments and structured transactions, it takes the greatest pleasure in creating beautiful communities that enrich lives, relationship that lasts and, above all, building trust. This mission, he further said, is why Cross and Churchill ensures it understands the needs of its clients and works diligently to achieve the results they desire. Hence, the firm has, over the years, developed the knack for creative and out-of-the-box solutions to housing requirements.

    “Orangeville Premium Apartments adorns one of the most prestigious areas of Lagos and Nigeria – “The Lekki – Peninsula”.  Coupled with the humongous opportunities that abound in this vicinity, the Lekki-Peninsula has created massive residential and commercial real estate opportunities, making it a magnetic hub. The Berkshire Apartments is a chic edifice spreading across three floors which blends modern attitude with traditional delight to create contemporary living with high specification facilities.  Our bespoke living room/dining room, which was crafted with your extra coziness in mind,” Ogunbodede said, adding that the Shepherd’s Apartment II is a masterfully crafted luxurious home offering  a blend of modern attitude with traditional neighbourhood comforts and brings a new meaning to urban living.

    Cross and Churchill has also ensured that the apartments fits into people’s pockets in terms of affordability by reducing the commitment fees to as little as 10 per cent. “We reduced it to make entry level easy. We also offer our customers, the best in price in terms of finishing,” he said.

  • Expert advises govt, others on ‘affordable homes’

    The construction and mortgage sectors must collaborate more effectively to deliver affordable homes, an estate surveyor and valuer, Mr Emmanuel Okoli, has said.

    Okoli, the president of Osita Okoli and Company,  wants industry operatives to pledge their support for “Family Homes Fund,”  a newly-introduced private sector-driven financing solution to housing challenges by the Federal Government.

    It is aimed at financing mortgages for low-income earners under its social housing programme, by raising about N1trillion. The fund is aimed at delivering solutions to alleviate the country’s affordable housing crisis.

    “In the face of all the odds, there is need for industry professionals to strive to lend their expertise to the Family Homes Fund, or any other such innovative, so that as a united property industry, we can tap into these ground-breaking initiatives to put an end to rising homelessness in our country,” Okoli said.

    On the spate of construction mishaps in the country, he said enforcement of the revised National Building Code (NBC) imbued with specific punishment for culprits in case of collapsed building, was the only way out. Not punishing culprits involved in such incidents sends the wrong message to the public and the industry.

    For instance, Okoli regrets that two years after, nobody has been found culpable in the unfortunate incident of the collapse of the roof of the indoor hall of the sports complex of the U.J Esuene Stadium in Calabar, and also a church building which collapsed during a Sunday service in the same state.

    Stressing the need for a collective effort to ensure the implementation of the Code, which he believes will arrest the national embarassment often caused by the increasing cases of the built environment failures and the near dominance and take-over of the industry by quacks, Okoli warned that the consequences of an ineffective and non-operational NBC in social and economic terms are too monumental for any sane society to ignore.

    The NBC was published in 2006 to put a stop to the unpalatable trends in the building construction industry, eliminate or reduce to the barest minimum the growing incidences of collapsed building in the country, as well as promote safe, qualitative housing for every Nigeria

    In order to meet with new trends and innovations in the sector, the building code is expected to be reviewed every three years. But unfortunately, several efforts to revise it to meet new challenges had met a brick-wall until the recent efforts of the Federal Ministry of Lands, Housing and Urban Development.

    Okoli is also worried about the poor state of infrastructure in the country. To stem this trend, he wants a declaration of a state of emergency in the infrastructure sector and the establishment of an Infrastructure Development Fund (IDF). He said they were essential to get the country out of its huge infrastructure deficit.

    Although he noted that the country has completed the development of a National Integrated Infrastructure Master Plan (NIIMP), its implementation will require tens of trillions of naira, making him to urge the National Assembly to pass appropriate legislation establishing the IDF and the implementation of the NIIMP.

    Seeking an amendment to the Company and Allied Matters Act that requires companies to contribute three to five per cent of their pre-tax profit to the IDF, Okoli described the infrastructural deficit as large and affecting every sector, adding that investments in the road sector alone requires at least the construction of 18,000 km of new roads annually for the next seven years.

    “Good infrastructure is critical to the overall development of the Nigerian economy, which in turn, impacts the standard of living of Nigerians. The government alone cannot fund the huge portfolio alone due to its limited financial resources and against the backdrop of current global financial tightening and increased competition for available infrastructure funds, so all hands must be on deck to achieve it,” Okoli submitted.

  • Hope rises as Africa holds infrastructure investment summit

    Hope rises as Africa holds infrastructure investment summit

    There is fresh hope of more investment in infrastructure on the African continent as a global law firm, Hogan Lovells,  leads sponsors list of an investment summit to be hosted by the Africa Finance Corporation (AFC).

    The summit, scheduled to hold in the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja, on May 15 and 16, will feature a number of high-level participants from government and the private sector, including having the Presidents of Nigeria, Ghana and Uganda in attendance.

    The Head of Hogan Lovells’ Africa Practice, Andrew Skipper, will lead high-level discussions on catalysing investment and leveraging success stories in the African infrastructure space.

    The summit is already generating excitement among stakeholders in the industry, who are concerned about the state of infrastructure on the continent. While Africa may be the world’s fastest growing continent, access to basic infrastructure services remains a critical challenge across the continent, with studies showing that poor road, rail and port facilities add 30 to 40 per cent to the cost of goods traded among African countries. An often quoted World Bank report suggest that Africa needs to spend $93billion annually until 2020 to bridge its infrastructure gap.

    This explains why AFC Live has been created to provide a platform to develop solutions that will fast track African and international capital towards infrastructure. Although investments in energy and in transport can offer better commercial and social returns than most investments, stakeholders however believe that creating the right structure to make these projects commercially attractive requires skill as well as political will and a conducive regulatory environment.

    In this instance, the sponsors of the summit, Hogan Lovells, is believed to have the requisite knowledge and experience to help countries and clients navigate through. This is buoyed by the firm’s several decades spent working across the continent, covering almost 50 countries and a network of local law firms in all but two African countries. This has also helped the firm to develop an intimate knowledge of the continent’s business environments.

    “We are thrilled to be the lead legal sponsor for this event because we believe in and want to support business on the continent. Infrastructure plays an incredibly important part in any country’s growth story and in Africa, it is vital,” Skipper said.

    On the challenge of project funding, he explained that African-focused direct foreign investments (DFIs), Export Credit Agencies or foreign grant funds, cannot entirely fund the continent’s infrastructure needs.

    Skipper further explained that international investors and commercial lenders need to adjust their thinking on a range of issues in order to encourage an appropriate view on acceptable risk allocation and investor returns in these sometimes complex markets.

    He contends that by bringing financiers and investors together alongside project developers and fund managers, AFC Live aims to ensure that more capital, both African and international, can be deployed towards addressing the continent’s pressing infrastructure needs. “Hogan Lovells are proud to be a longstanding partner to investors, sponsors, developers and governments on this journey,” Skipper said.

  • Beware! Recycling contaminates plastic toys

    Beware! Recycling contaminates plastic toys

    Some banned toxic flame retardant chemicals are now found in recycled plastics in form of e-waste, which are being made into several toys for children to play with. It is believed that the popular magic puzzle toys called “Rubik” contain these harmful chemicals.

    Though these chemicals are already banned, the Stockholm Convention is however yet to address their use in recycled form, so the case is for the Convention to take action in extending the ban to their not being used in recycled plastics, which is considered a threat to children’s health. The Stockholm Convention on Persistent Organic Pollutants (POPs) is an international environmental treaty, signed in 2001 and effective from May 2004, that aims to eliminate or restrict the production and use of POPs.

    Observers see the situation as a case of another toxic dump on Africa by Asian countries, where most of the toys come from.

    Indeed, a new global survey has found out that recycling plastics containing toxic flame retardant chemicals found in electronic waste results in contamination of the world’s best-selling toy along with other children’s products. Ironically, the chemical contaminants can damage the nervous system and reduce intellectual capacity but are found in Rubik’s Cubes – a puzzle toy designed to exercise the mind.

    The study was performed by IPEN (a global civil society network), Arnika (an environmental organisation in the Czech Republic) and SRADev Nigeria (a national NGO). The toxic chemicals, OctaBDE, DecaBDE and HBCD, are used in the plastic casings of electronic products and if they are not removed, they are carried into new products when the plastic is recycled.

    The survey of products from 26 countries, including Nigeria, found that 90 percent of the samples contained OctaBDE or DecaBDE. Nearly half of them (43%) contained HBCD.

    In Nigeria, SRADev purchased 18 rubik’s cube-like toys and sent them for analysis to the Czech Republic. Fourteen samples were chosen for laboratory tests. The analysis found that all 14 samples contained OctaBDE and DecaBDE at elevated concentrations. One of the samples from Nigeria  tested with the highest concentration of OctaBDE among 111 samples from 26 countries. These chemicals are persistent and known to harm the reproductive system and disrupt hormone systems, adversely impacting intelligence, attention, learning and memory.

    “Toxic chemicals in electronic waste should not be present in children’s toys,” said Leslie Adogame, Executive Director of SRADev Nigeria. “This problem needs to be addressed globally and nationally.”

    The result of the study emerges just a few days before the global Conference of the Parties (COP) to the Stockholm Convention will decide whether to continue allowing the recycling of materials containing OctaBDE and possibly make a new recycling exemption for DecaBDE. The treaty’s expert committee has warned against the practice.

    “Recycling materials that contain toxic chemicals contaminates new products, continues exposure, and undermines the credibility of recycling,” said Joe DiGangi, IPEN. “Governments should end this harmful loophole.”

  • Ogun says no price variation in road contract

    Ogun says no price variation in road contract

    The Ogun State Commissioner for Works and Infrastructure, Mr. Olamilekan Adegbite, has said that there is no price hike in the on-going road projects in the state. Majority of the contracts were awarded by the Governor Ibikunle Amosun’s government in 2013.

    According to a statement  signed by the Ministry’s Press Officer, Mr. Ayokunle Ewuoso, despite the astronomical increase of construction materials, the government has been able to ensure prices were not increased.

    Adegbite, in the statement, explained that it took the intervention of Amosun to convince the various contractors on why there can be no price variation on the road projects. It also said the economic recession has slowed down the pace of work on these projects.

    “The record is there for everybody to see. The governor as an accountant and a financial engineer was able to bring his experience to bear, as he was able to convince the contractors why price variation on all of these projects was not possible,” the statement read.

    On compensation for owners of buildings that will be demolished for the project, the commissioner pointed out that the consultant hired by the government had done due diligence on the affected buildings and had advised government how much should be paid as compensation to owners.

    The compensation are in three folds. The first is the compensation which would be paid to owners of the buildings and the second  would be for those who have buried dead bodies in their compounds which they have to exhume and relocate for reburial in another location. The third fold is termed “Merciful Grants’’ meant for those who do not have money to pack their belongings to a new place.

    He noted that government has mobilised all the contractors back to sites assuring that those who were yet to go back due to some factors would by the end of April be back.

  • ‘Solid Waste Reform ‘ll improve residents’ conditions’

    The ongoing reform in solid waste management, tagged the “Cleaner Lagos Initiative” will contribute to improving the socio-economic conditions of residents, Commissioner for the Environment Dr Babatunde Adejare has said

    Adejare explained that the Solid Waste Management (SWM) sector has been identified as critical to the realisation of the vision of Governor Akinwunmi Ambode to position Lagos as a clean, healthy and livable state.

    The sector,  he said, required urgent attention to bring it to the required level of international standard, as its current situation, which had necessitated the reform of the entire solid waste management sector.

    “Current realities in this sector reveal deficiencies across the entire process chain, from insufficient collection services, to inefficient transportation methods, and abysmal disposal practices that are not only wasteful in terms of resource utilisation but also injurious to environmental and public health,” he said.

    The Commissioner recalled that Lagos State, in its 50 years of existence, has grown exponentially in population, thereby impacting on solid waste management and sanitation as a whole. Presently, he disclosed, the daily waste generation in the state officially stood at 13,000 metric tonnes.

    Faced with the challenge of urbanisation, Adejare said the state government had to think unconventionally and come up with a model that will not only prioritise sanitation but create the enabling environment for private participation.

    The Commissioner explained that by devolving the provision of SWM services to the private sector, the CLI will create a new financially viable and technology-driven sub-sector to the Lagos economy, creating new businesses and job opportunities that can be emulated by others.

    His words: “These reforms are all encapsulated under the CLI with a broad strategy of creating an environment for the private sector to harness international best practice in this vital area of infrastructure. The CLI aims to protect the environment, human health and social living standards of Lagos residents by addressing the lacunae in the existing legislation and refocusing the scope of Lagos State Waste Management Authority (LAWMA), to enable it enforce, regulate and generate revenue from the waste management process,” he stated.

    The components of the Cleaner Lagos Initiative include Residential Waste Collection and Processing, Commercial & Industrial Waste Collection, Primary, Secondary and Tertiary Drainage Maintenance, Provision of Engineered Sanitary Landfill ,Manual Street Sweeping, Mechanised Street Sweeping, Provision of Transfer Loading Stations(TLS), Material Recovery Facilities(MRF) and Marine Waste Collection.

    Under this initiative, waste generated by the commercial sector will be handled by licensed waste management operators (PSP), while an environmental consortium would provide waste collection processing and disposal services for residential properties.

    He said that a reputable and competent multinational Waste Services Company would be concessioned to provide waste collection services to all residential premises in the state through the deployment of state-of the-art machinery and equipment , adding that the concessionaire would provide a twice- week service with 600 brand new compactors and 900,000 electronically tracked bins.

    “To support the collection operations, three Transfer Loading Stations located in Agege, Oshodi, Simpson and three Waste Depots in Mushin, Ogudu, Simpson, are being concessioned with the sole aim of rehabilitating, remodeling and retrofitting the facilities to world class standards” he said.

    He highlighted the major benefits of the initiative to include: creation of 40,000 jobs, recruitment of 27,500 Community Sanitation Workers (CSW) who would be engaged to clean inner streets in the 377 wards of the state and will receive several incentives which include: tax reliefs and healthcare, life, injury and accident insurance benefits.

  • LAF 8.0 to reposition Lagos for regeneration

    The Lagos Chapter of the Nigerian Institute of Architects (NIA), is to begin a revolution in city redevelopment. The plan, once commenced, will help governments and town planners in urban regeneration.

    To set the tone for this, the Lagos NIA has themed its Lagos Architects Forum, LAF 8.0: “An architectural autopoiesis.”

    The Chairman, NIA Lagos Chapter, Mr. Fitzgerald Umah, said the conference would offer an opportunity for stakeholders in the built environment, especially architects, to devise new means of running practices in the light of current economic realities.

    Regeneration of the city’s architectural designs and practices is the order of the day in other climes and has also become necessary in the country in view of the shrinking building space and also to get the best value out of buildings and other properties.

    Through the conference, NIA hopes to give the state government a document that will help end building collapse not just in Lagos, but throughout the country, including simplifying the process of building approval, among others.

    “Generally, we want to work with the government, given the fact that we have had building collapses in the state and because Governor Akinwunmi Ambode is excited about construction and infrastructure,” Fitzgerald explained.

    To this end, both local and international speakers and industry leaders have been lined up to grace the occasion and give lessons on issues around design and urban renewal. Included are personalities like Bishop Matthew Kukah of the Catholic Diocese of Sokoto; the Obi of Onitsha, Igwe Nnaemeka Achebe; Theo Lawson, an architect that regenerated the Freedom Park; hotel development and urban renewal expert, Carlo Toson; Aramide Akinoso; Kunle Adeyemi; Joe Adodo and Jennifer Mpysi, among others.

    “As architects, our designs shape the society. Autopoiesis is regeneration and we are looking at what to do to recreate ourselves as well as Lagos and the nation at large,” said the Secretary of the Lagos NIA, Mr. Samson Akinyosoye.

  • Developer takes home ownership to the grassroots

    Developer takes home ownership to the grassroots

    Amid  growing concern of stakeholders on the lingering housing in the country, some industry players have seized the bull by the horns to ensure that Nigerians do not become homeless. And while most developers are concentrating on highbrow areas for estate development, a young and upwardly mobile developer is gradually taking homes to the majority of Nigerians who truly need a home.

    The firm of realtors and investment firm, Pertinence Nigeria Limited, promoters of the ABC and VIP Gardens Estate, said it is gradually achieving its objectives by building houses for Nigerians through the purchase of large expanses of land at places people had thought could not be developed. In this regard, the firm said it is  contributing its quota by reversing the housing shortage in the land.

    The Founders and Executive directors of the firm, Sunday Olorunseyi and Wisdom Ezekiel, in a chat with The Nation, explained that Nigerians have come to realise that  owning a house is a personal responsibility, such that waiting for government to help them in this regard would mean waiting till eternity given its huge responsibilities and cash constraints.

    According to the duo, Pertinence is assisting Nigerians by reducing the costs associated with home ownership, some of which are things that the firm has taken off a prospective house owner. For instance, Ezekiel explained that owing to financial constraint, his firm has been able to acquire large expanse of land which are then divided into plots and sold at reduced prices.

    Besides, he explained that Nigerians have decided to solve their own housing problems by themselves; hence, they get involved in monthly savings to acquire land- an option his firm readily provides a platform for.

    “This is an indication that the market is yet to attain its potential, but in a place like Lagos State, for instance, the deficit is gradually closing up, because people now realise that you can start building a house with N50,000, and that is now being entrenched in other parts of the country,” Olorunseyi said.

    The executive directors of the Lagos-based firm, who spoke at the super promo launch organised by their company last weekend in Egbeda area of Lagos State, said it is in realisation of this desire and to ease life for Nigerians that the firm put together the promo so as to put smiles on the faces of some prospective home owners. In the promo, six plots of lands were given out in a raffle draw to lucky winners.

    The super promo launch, they explained, is their own little corporate social responsibility to the society.

    “This is our own way of appreciating our teeming customers for believing in us since we started business about five years ago. We are giving out six plots of land in any of our estates and all expense-paid return ticket to Dubai to winners today. We are doing this to help people to become home owners. We have done this for about five times now”, the co-founders stated.