By Kingsley Adegboye

Against the backdrop of criticisms that have trailed the ongoing development of Eko Atlantic City on an expansive parcel of land reclaimed from the Lagos Bar-Beach, the Lagos State Government and South Energyx Limited, developers of the nine million square metres city, weekend, rose in stout defence of the scheme, saying the project’s Environmental Impact Assessment, EIA, shows that the envisaged dangers have been taken care of.

The duo told newsmen that the EIA for the multi-billion dollars project is in compliance with regulations. When completed, Eko Atlantic City which construction started in 2006, would be three times the size of Victoria Island
Lagos State Commissioner for Waterfront Development and Infrastructure, Prince Adesegun Oniru told newsmen that all the tests carried out on the strength of the protective wall showed that  the great wall of Lagos as it is called, will last even longer than 100 years.

Prince Oniru who noted that when the wall was tested against Tsunami only splashes of water were observed, meaning that it  can withstand Tsunamis. He added that when completed, the high wall will adequately protect the sprawling city. Prospective residents are expected to start living in the next three years.

Mr. Dirk Heigboer of Royal Haskoning, the Dutch marine firm that carried out the EIA stated a project of that magnitude must have an EIA. He pointed out that both the Federal Ministry of Environment and Lagos State Ministry of the Environment were involved in  doing the EIA, explaining that there is a monitoring team in place to monitor the project.

He disclosed that  the report of the EIA was discussed extensively at a forum in Lagos last year. He maintained that the construction of the city will not add to the coastal problems of the beach or the   Lagos coast line.  He said with the ongoing construction of the city, the shoreline at the beach is better than it was before.

According to him, his firm carried out marine engineering activities on the city’s reclamation project, stressing that in view of the scale of the project, it was concluded that the project will have major positive effects in restoring and protecting the shoreline with minimal side effects.

‘’A scoping exercise was carried out to identify the main issues that needed to be addressed as part of  the EIA. Following this, a report was prepared and the terms of reference for the EIA were agreed with the Federal Ministry of Environment, the body with national regulatory authority over the project.

“Extensive consultations were carried out throughout the EIA process. They started during the scoping phase with meetings with the Federal Ministry of Environment, the Lagos State Ministry of the Environment and the Nigerian Ports Authority NPA. Following these sessions, further consultations were expanded to cover a wider range of stakeholders and local community leaders. Consultations and liaison with relevant parties will continue,’ he said.

Continuing, he said: ‘The Eko Atlantic project has completed a full and comprehensive Environmental and Social Impact Assessment on the entire land reclamation works and its sea wall protection as required under the Nigerian Environmental Impact Assessment Act N0. 86 of 1992. The EIA has been carried out in accordance with these regulations.

‘The EIA was submitted to the Federal Ministry of Environment and underwent public consultation in November. In January 2012, the Federal Ministry of Environment gave EIA approval for Eko Atlantic reclamation works and sea wall protection in combination with established procedures for ongoing compliance’’, he said.

The new land mass that will eventually spread across 10 square kilometres is protected by a sea revetment known as The Great Wall of Lagos. It will be seven kilometres long when completed.