The Lagos State Government has issued a notice of demolition of $200 million Landmark Beach Resort, saying the property obstructs the planned route of a 700-kilometer coastal road intended to connect the state with Calabar.
The proprietor of Landamark Beach Resort, Paul Onwuanibe lamented the development in an interview with CNN, saying it is a discouragement to investors in the State.
Onwuanibe said he was given a notice to vacate his multimillion-dollar beach resort within seven days of its impending demolition.
He said the Landmark property, worth over $200 million, accommodates more than 80 businesses and sustains over 4,000 jobs directly.
He added that the company claims it contributes more than N2 billion in taxes each year.
The beach resort, regarded as one of the top tier tourism spot in Nigeria, receives about a million local and foreign visitors last year.
The resort is surrounded by coconut trees. It is about twenty miles towards Nigeria’s border with Benin Republic.
Onwuanibe explained he purchased the land in 2007, well before the coastal highway plans were formulated, and was left with mixed feelings after the demolition notice arrived, also prompting him to claim compensation.
He said, “People who bring in money to make cities like this effective will be very concerned (with the proposed demolition of the beach resort). It will pose a huge threat to inward investment into the state and, most importantly, pose a threat to people who are already in the state trying to do things.
“We’ve spent between $80 and $90 million developing this ecosystem and one-third of that was spent on the beach. So, all that, which we are still paying loans on, will disappear,” he said.
Onwuanibe said that both international and domestic investors in the Landmark Group are considering withdrawing their investments if the beach resort, which features a mini golf course, beach soccer field, volleyball, and basketball court, is demolished.
“Without the beach, the entire ecosystem is at risk and is severely damaged.
“I have had widespread panic calls from my international and local investors as well as local debt providers threatening to pull the plug as they think this is material to our survival as a business,” he added.
The Lagos State Government earlier announced plans to start demolishing all “illegal” constructions along the planned route of the Lagos-Calabar coastal highway.
The State Government served removal notice to the owners of the affected physical structures and other property within this category.
The notice revealed that announcements were published on March 15 and 16, 2024, detailing the construction of the 103km section of the 700km Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway by the Federal Ministry of Works in partnership with the Lagos State Government.
“I am directed to inform you that your property which is a two-story floor falls within the right-of-way alignment of the project by 10.4 metres,” the notice signed by Somolu O., deputy director at the Development Matters Department, reads in part.
Recall that in March, the Federal Government started constructing the 700-kilometer Lagos – Calabar Coastal Highway, designed to extend through 9 states with two spurs leading to the Northern States.
The Minister of Works, David Umahi, disclosed this during the official handover of the first phase, which includes a 47.47-kilometer dual carriageway, to Hitech Construction Company Ltd.
Umahi said the road would be built using concrete pavement.
He added that since the Federal Government awarded the contract, Hitech Construction Company Limited has made significant progress, completing 1.3 kilometres of the required filling.
