Lagos stays one in every of Nigeria’s most lively property improvement markets, fuelled by inhabitants development, rising housing demand and the enlargement of its city centres.
But behind town’s rising skyline is a property market formed by complicated land preparations, rising improvement bills and the problem of offering properties and neighbourhoods that meet the wants of a various inhabitants.
As town expands, questions round the price of creating property, entry to inexpensive housing and the standard of city infrastructure have develop into more and more necessary.
Developers should navigate a market the place the calls for of development, regulation and concrete development intersect, whereas the implications of poor planning can prolong past particular person tasks to have an effect on total communities.
In an unique interview with Nairametrics, Tpl. Godfrey C. Aniebo, Managing Director and Co-founder of Goania Project Limited, a Lagos-based city planning consultancy, shares his perspective on the realities of property improvement in Lagos.
He discusses the monetary and planning issues developers want to grasp, the problem of constructing housing extra accessible, and the broader city improvement points shaping town’s future. The dialog additionally explores the necessity for better-planned neighbourhoods and the function of efficient improvement management in constructing a extra habitable Lagos.
Nairametrics: From your expertise at Goania Project Limited, what are the largest costs and challenges developers usually underestimate when planning a mission in Lagos?
Tpl. Godfrey C. Aniebo: As a co-founder of Goania Project Limited, I’ve noticed that developers usually underestimate a number of costs when planning tasks in Lagos.
Title perfection is likely one of the first. Developers have to account for the price of excision, Certificates of Occupancy, e-GIS searches and title validation. Purchasing unverified household land can even expose developers to disputes that will develop into costly to resolve.
Planning approvals are one other main value. EPPPS submissions, skilled charges, environmental assessments, drainage research and site visitors affect assessments all require money and time. Developers who don’t issue these into their budgets from the start could face surprising bills and delays.
Drainage and sand-filling are significantly necessary in areas corresponding to Ibeju-Lekki, the place floor situations can require substantial filling and cautious consideration to setbacks.
Community engagement is one other space that developers typically overlook. Unresolved obligations and casual calls for can create disputes, making correct agreements with host communities important.
Developers should additionally account for compliance penalties arising from breaches of planning, environmental and constructing laws. Inflation presents one other problem, as rising costs of cement, diesel and labour can have an effect on mission margins, significantly the place properties have already been presold.
Finally, post-sales administration can create further costs by way of purchaser disputes, documentation gaps and property administration duties.
At Goania, we advocate utilizing an EPPPS pre-launch compliance guidelines to confirm land titles, approvals, infrastructure budgets and group agreements earlier than advertising or gross sales start. In actual property, profitability begins with preparation, not gross sales.
Nairametrics: Despite the variety of new developments throughout Lagos, many residents nonetheless wrestle to afford first rate housing. What wants to alter in how properties are deliberate and developed to make them extra accessible?
Tpl. Godfrey C. Aniebo: The drawback just isn’t a scarcity of homes, however a scarcity of correctly deliberate, inexpensive housing.
Most new developments in Lagos goal high-income earners. We want practical studios, one-bedroom and two-bedroom residences that academics, younger professionals and {couples} can afford, with room to broaden over time.
High approval costs additionally improve housing costs. When Layout Approval, EIA and Planning Permits from MPP&UD/LASPPPA take months and price hundreds of thousands, developers go these bills to consumers. Faster, automated EPPPS approvals might help scale back costs.
Developers additionally bear vital infrastructure costs, together with sand-filling, roads and drainage. Government-led infrastructure improvement in Ibeju-Lekki, Epe and Ikorodu would cut back improvement costs and enhance affordability.
Adopting domestically sourced supplies and quicker development applied sciences can additional decrease constructing costs.
Finally, accessible Certificates of Occupancy (C-of-O) and single-digit mortgage charges are important. Without safe land titles and inexpensive financing, many residents can’t entry mortgages or use their land as collateral.
Affordability should be constructed into housing from day one by way of environment friendly design, shared infrastructure, streamlined approvals and accessible mortgage financing.
Nairametrics: Following Lagos State’s plans to develop a 16,300-hectare master-planned group round Ito-Omu, Sangotedo and Ibeju-Lekki, what are the important thing planning issues for integrating current communities, housing, transport hyperlinks and important infrastructure right into a practical new city?
Tpl. Godfrey C. Aniebo: The proposed improvement presents a possibility to handle unplanned city sprawl alongside the Lekki hall. However, its success will rely on how properly current communities are built-in into the brand new city.
Indigenous settlements shouldn’t merely be displaced or remoted. Their integration requires the availability of infrastructure, tenure safety and applicable buffers, whereas recognising current group constructions.
Housing also needs to be deliberate to accommodate completely different revenue teams. A balanced mixture of low-, medium- and high-density developments is critical, with a minimum of 40% of housing focused at inexpensive and incremental housing choices.
Transport planning should be thought of from the outset. This contains an interconnected highway community, hyperlinks to the proposed Fourth Mainland Bridge, and reserved corridors for BRT and rail companies. Walkability also needs to be prioritised to cut back dependence on personal autos.
Essential infrastructure corresponding to water provide, unbiased energy, wastewater therapy and stormwater administration should be deliberate alongside housing. Environmental affect assessments and the safety of wetlands are equally necessary, as is efficient improvement management.
The goal ought to be to create a practical, inclusive and sustainable metropolis, moderately than one other residential property.
Nairametrics: In some elements of Lagos, developers are constructing multi-storey house blocks on comparatively small plots, leaving restricted area for parking, greenery and different shared services. How can planners accommodate rising housing demand with out compromising residents’ high quality of life?
Tpl. Godfrey C. Aniebo: This is a rising concern in high-demand areas corresponding to Yaba, Surulere, Ikoyi, Lekki and Ikeja GRA. While higher-density improvement is critical to accommodate Lagos’ rising inhabitants, extreme improvement on particular person plots can undermine residents’ high quality of life.
Planning authorities should implement laws on plot protection, setbacks, pure lighting and air flow. Development approvals also needs to be linked to the capability of current infrastructure, together with parking, drainage, roads and utilities. Traffic affect assessments are necessary the place proposed developments may place further strain on surrounding roads.
Density ought to be concentrated alongside public transport corridors, whereas established low-density neighbourhoods are protected. Developers also needs to present ample shared services and inexperienced areas. Where laws allow, incentives corresponding to further floor-area allowances might be thought of for developments that present public facilities, inexperienced areas or consolidate plots.
Lagos wants to maneuver from plot-by-plot approvals to area-based planning. Higher density should include proportionate infrastructure, parking, inexperienced areas and public facilities.
Nairametrics: As improvement expands into reclaimed and beforehand undeveloped areas of Lagos, what planning and security checks ought to be carried out to make sure buildings are appropriate for the land and secure for future occupants?
Tpl. Godfrey C. Aniebo: Reclaimed areas corresponding to Banana Island, Eko Atlantic, Orange Island and elements of the Ibeju-Lekki axis require cautious planning and engineering controls. Development on these websites should account for floor settlement, flooding and soil liquefaction.
Before development begins, developers ought to conduct site-specific geotechnical and environmental assessments. These ought to embody borehole investigations, Cone Penetration Tests (CPT), Standard Penetration Tests (SPT) and consolidation evaluation to ascertain floor situations, groundwater ranges, settlement dangers and flood publicity. Environmental Impact Assessments also needs to be carried out the place relevant.
Foundation designs should mirror the findings of those investigations. Depending on the bottom situations, this might contain piled or raft foundations. The placement and compaction of fill supplies also needs to be correctly monitored, with unbiased quality-control checks.
Developers should take into account minimal ground elevations, drainage and hydrological assessments to account for tidal flooding and storm surges. Materials testing, staged development inspections, regulatory certification and applicable insurance coverage are additionally necessary.
Development on reclaimed land ought to be guided by scientific investigation, sound engineering and efficient enforcement, not merely the position of sand.
Nairametrics: Flooding stays a serious drawback in lots of elements of Lagos. To what extent do poor improvement practices and insufficient drainage planning contribute to the issue, and what approaches may assist enhance flood administration?
Tpl. Godfrey C. Aniebo: Flooding throughout Lagos, from Ikeja to Lekki and Ajegunle, is pushed by heavy rainfall and worsened by poor improvement practices and insufficient infrastructure planning.
One main drawback is the encroachment on waterways, wetlands and drainage rights-of-way. Some estates are developed with out complete drainage grasp plans that join their inside drainage techniques to major channels. Undersized drains, extreme paving that reduces pure water infiltration, and waste or particles blocking drainage channels and unapproved culverts additionally contribute to flooding.
Building approvals ought to be linked to the State Drainage Master Plan and environmental laws. Drainage corridors should be protected and restored by way of lawful enforcement supported by GIS mapping.
Developers and property house owners also needs to undertake sustainable city drainage techniques, together with permeable paving, retention ponds, inexperienced areas and rainwater harvesting. Better coordination amongst planning, drainage and waste administration companies is equally necessary. Drainage channels should be frequently maintained and desilted, significantly earlier than the wet season.
Flooding might not be eradicated solely, however its affect could be considerably lowered by way of higher planning, infrastructure and upkeep.
Nairametrics: What enhancements may make the method of acquiring planning approvals in Lagos extra environment friendly and clear, whereas additionally encouraging developers to comply with authorized plans and constructing laws?
Tpl. Godfrey C. Aniebo: Lagos wants to maneuver from a punitive strategy to preventive enforcement and from guide processes to digital techniques.
A unified e-planning portal that integrates planning, constructing management, fireplace security and drainage approvals would make the method extra environment friendly. It ought to present a standard guidelines, utility monitoring and clear processing timelines.
Standardised payment calculators based mostly on location, ground space and constructing use would additionally enhance transparency. Verified fee channels can scale back discretion and the actions of touts. Open entry to GIS-based zoning maps would assist developers perceive relevant land-use necessities earlier than committing sources.
Authorities also needs to take into account quicker processing and incentives for developers who constantly adjust to laws, whereas sustaining efficient enforcement towards violations. Professional authentication and accountability are crucial to make sure that submitted plans meet the required requirements.
A clear approval course of builds belief and encourages compliance.
Nairametrics: As Lagos continues to broaden, what are the largest planning considerations that want pressing consideration, and what modifications would assist create higher, extra habitable neighbourhoods over the following 5 to 10 years?
Tpl. Godfrey C. Aniebo: Lagos’ greatest planning problem is that we’re constructing homes, not full neighbourhoods.
One main concern is unplanned densification, the place current bungalows are changed with multi-storey house buildings with out corresponding enhancements in infrastructure. Floor-area ratio limits and correct affect assessments are crucial to make sure that improvement doesn’t exceed the capability of surrounding neighbourhoods.
Flooding is one other pressing concern. The lack of wetlands, encroachment on waterways and extreme paving have elevated the strain on drainage techniques. Better drainage infrastructure, rainwater retention and pure water infiltration should develop into priorities.
Poor connectivity additionally impacts liveability. Neighbourhoods want walkways, dependable public transport and last-mile connections. The lack of important services corresponding to colleges, healthcare centres, markets, parks and leisure areas additional reduces residents’ high quality of life.
Over the following 5 to 10 years, Lagos ought to prioritise walkable, mixed-use developments, supported by digitised improvement management, street-level zoning and satellite tv for pc monitoring. Informal settlements also needs to be upgraded by way of improved drainage, water provide and tenure safety with out displacing residents.
A habitable Lagos requires greater than homes. It wants drainage, colleges, dependable infrastructure and full neighbourhoods.
