According to Landmark Group, it is in the business of creating enabling environments for the provision of world-class business, leisure, hospitality and tourism services within its ecosystem known as Landmark Lagos, located along the Water Corporation Road, Oniru, Victoria Island Lagos, and along the road’s proposed right of way.
Landmark Realty, a property development company, has lamented the plan by the Nigerian government to have the Lagos-Calabar Coastal Road cut through its ecosystem, contrary to the initial plan.
According to Landmark Group, it is in the business of creating enabling environments for the provision of world-class business, leisure, hospitality and tourism services within its ecosystem known as Landmark Lagos, located along the Water Corporation Road, Oniru, Victoria Island Lagos, and along the road’s proposed right of way.
In its ‘Briefing Note On The Lagos-Calabar Coastal Road Construction And The Preservation Of Tourism And Hospitality Businesses Along The Coastal Right Of Way,’ the company called for an in-depth consultation to safeguard the growth of tourism and hospitality Industry.
It stressed that the original construction plan for the road – as part of the West Africa coastal highway – was to go through the Water Corporation Road Median.
According to Landmark Realty, the median is still undeveloped.
It, therefore, expressed surprise that the plan was changed to now cut across its ecosystem “with over 80 businesses operating within” it.
A Google Earth photo provided by the company shows the proposed and original paths of the road.
It sought the intervention of the Nigerian government in rerouting 1.5km out of the 700km cutting across its ecosystem, to its original location.
It said, “Landmark acquired beachfront realty along the Water Corporation Road in 2007 and at the time, the original construction plan for the Road as part of the West Africa coastal highway was to go through the Water Corporation Road median which to date remains undeveloped.
“The Landmark Group is now seeking the government’s intervention in facilitating the rerouting of just about 1.5km out of the 700km stretch of the Road to its original location on the Water Corporation Road median.”
The company said it welcomed over 3 million visitors in 2023; “a significant number of which were from the diaspora or foreigners who came to enjoy ‘Detty December’ in what is arguably the premier leisure and tourism destination along the West African coastline”.
It further noted, “The Landmark Ecosystem has indeed become a cultural phenomenon in Nigeria catering to the aspiring middle class and beyond and helping to establish the culture of “staycations” for many who would otherwise vacation abroad thus saving millions in foreign exchange. It is also a favoured meet-spot particularly for the younger demographic with our Ecosystem frequently featured in Nollywood movies, Afrobeat music videos, influencer social media posts and the like.”
It noted that it was founded over 27 years ago with serviced office operations across Europe and America before setting up operations in Africa with the Lagos, Nigeria debut in 2003.
It said it acquired beachfront property along Water Corporation Road in 2007 where the present-day Landmark Ecosystem is situated, “has over 4,000 people directly employed within the Landmark Ecosystem” and has “over 12,000 people indirectly employed via the Landmark Ecosystem operations.”
According to the company, it supports the contribution of over N1.6 billion in annual tax revenue to various strata of government.
“Over its 27 years in existence, Landmark has been and continues to serve as a home to several Fortune 500 companies such as PricewaterhouseCoopers (PWC), Regus, Johnson & Johnson, Ansaldo Energia, Facebook (Meta), Google, IBM, Procter & Gamble, Novartis, Bosch, Universal Music Group, Cisco, Netapp, JP Morgan, Hewlett Packard (HP), Nokia Siemens Network, etc.,” it said.
“The Ecosystem regularly hosts events of a regional or international stature by organisations such as Google, Facebook, YouTube. Other events include international conferences and exhibitions, movie premieres, concerts by Grammy awardees or nominees, to mention a few.”
It noted that it hosted the “only privately run Covid Isolation Centre in 2020 in partnership with the Young Presidents Organisation (YPO) and the Lagos State Government and hosted a vaccination centre also”.
It added, “It is well known as a ‘small business incubator’ as the Group supports the development of small businesses with its low entry barrier. The majority of these small businesses are owned or managed by the younger demographic, a large number of whom are women.
“The destruction of this Ecosystem to make way for the Road would undoubtedly create a huge void which would be very difficult to fill given what the Ecosystem represents to many Nigerians and the outsize role the Landmark Ecosystem is playing in spotlighting Lagos as a viable tourism destination on the global stage.
“The construction of the Lagos-Calabar Coastal Road stands out as a commendable project as it will connect vital regions of the country and contribute immensely to the growth of the economy particularly the tourism industry while enhancing employment
“The construction of the Road as presently planned however portends the destruction of the Landmark Group with the over 80 businesses operating within its Ecosystem thus leading to the demise of a major player in the hospitality and tourism industry, mass unemployment and lost taxpayer revenue, among other socio-economic fallouts.
“Wide-ranging consultations with concerned stakeholders are urgently needed for the purpose of formulating alternative win-win solutions for undertaking the development of the Road while preserving the existing businesses and their strong socioeconomic value add. Federal, state and local government support for this is very much required.”