IKENNA EMEWU
The multinational construction giant, China Civil Engineering Construction Corporation (CCECC), and the Lagos State government have pledged a synergy in the provision of housing for the state and its residents.
The cooperation was made known Monday as the state governor, Mr. Babajide Sanwo-Olu unveiled the foundation of the Grand Panorama at the downtown Ikoyi, Lagos.
The groundbreaking for the mega project that is billed to be a 22-story block with an underground parking lot is expected to be a landmark in the upscale area of Lagos.
As the governor made his speech at the event, he promised to allocate land to CCECC to build more housing facilities in the state to enable the government meet the housing needs of the citizens.
He lauded CCECC for venturing into real estate development, diversification from the mainstay of its business which is construction.
The governor expressed happiness that the company is assisting in the objective of the state to provide affordable housing to all classes of citizens of the state, and challenged them to go beyond the high-income area of Ikoyi into developing for the masses.
He said “I would be glad to welcome you for a partnership in housing development even in the low-income areas of Lagos. We are ready to work with you to realize our objective of providing affordable housing for our people. I am ready to provide you land for such development in any part of the state.”
Over the years, you have proven to be reliable partners in Nigeria with your investments and the efficiency with which you provide infrastructure for society and I would challenge you to sustain your culture of quality engineering in the construction of this housing facility. Moreover, I want you to keep to the time of this project so that we will expect to come back here in the next two years to commission the finished project ready for people to move in.”
A unique architecture
The multi-floor facility is planned to accommodate 75 apartments in three classes. It will also have a children’s playground, leisure/exercise garden, underground parking lot, visitors’ car park, a basketball court, gym, cinema, squash court, clubhouse, swimming pool, game room, sauna, golf simulator, and a high-speed elevator.
Partners for growth
The event also hosted other dignitaries like the Chinese Consul General, Mr. Chu Maoming and the Chairman of CCECC, Mr. Jiang Yigao, and the Lagos deputy Governor, Dr. Obafemi Hamzat.
In his speech also, the Consul General, Mr. Chu said the diversification of CCECC into real estate development is a sign that the company has come to stay and sees itself as a part of Nigeria, and ready to contribute to the development of the country.
Chu said the CCECC has continuously demonstrated the true spirit of the diplomatic relations between China and Nigeria which he noted is in tandem with the renewed objectives of the Forum on China Africa Cooperation (FOCAC) that was re-emphasised at the Dakar FOCAC Ministerial Conference last year November in Senegal.
He urged Nigeria, the Lagos government, and the people to see China and the Chinese businesses in Nigeria as well as the Chinese community in Lagos especially, as true friends who are here for good.
Chu thanked CCECC and asked them to do more for the good of their business and the benefit of their host communities in Nigeria, assuring that the Chinese community will remain a good and beneficial part of the society.
The chairman of the CCECC, Mr. Jiang stated that CCECC has a resolve of not sparing any good effort to remain a great partner for the development of Nigeria, recalling the outstanding projects the company has built in the past including the Abuja metro railway line, Abuja-Kaduna railway, Lagos-Ibadan railway, the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja and many more.
As at the end of last year, CCECC had completed and handed over to the government a minimum of 717km of the railway that has been of immense impact to the economic development of Nigeria and also still handling the construction of the Redline of the Lagos metro railway.
Awesome facility
Grand Panorama covers a total area of 5,000 square meters, with a planned building area of 22,365 square meters, including 4,473 square meters underground. The project will consist of 21 floors above ground level, a floor underground, 150 parking spaces which are of 36 sets of 2 bedrooms (about 150 square meters indoor), 38 sets of 3 bedrooms (about 200 square meters indoor), a set of 4 bedroom suite (about 300 square meters indoor) which make a total of 75 apartments and affiliated facilities which include; a gymnasium, meeting room, swimming pool, squash court, underground garage, etc. After the completion of Grand Panorama, it will redefine the high-end apartment market in Nigeria and lead the high-end apartment market in Lagos.
Old partner in Nigeria
Since starting her business in Nigeria in 1981, CCECC Nigeria has been adhering to the principle of “growing together with Nigeria” for 41 years, providing Nigeria with high-quality infrastructure constructions and high-quality residential products.
The company expressed appreciation to the Lagos State government for its partnership and trust in it and said “the Lagos State Government has invested long-term trust in CCECC Nigeria Limited and in its strives to build the Grand Panorama Apartments project into a new landmark of Lagos, contributing to the Lagos skyline and looking forward to a broader cooperation with the Nigerian government to promote the all-round social and economic development of Nigeria through the improvement of infrastructure construction and diversified investment.”
With its modern design and complete amenities, the Grand Panorama Apartments project aims to set a benchmark for real estate development and provide top-quality residential products to Africa’s largest economy.
The development of The Grand Panorama Apartments project will lead the innovation of the local real estate market development concept, promote the healthy development of the Nigeria real estate industry, the completion of the project will reshape the Lagos skyline, and also marks the transformation and upgrading of the real estate business segment of CCECC.
Old in housing provision
In an interview with the media after the event, the Managing Director of the CCECC Real Estate Company Limited, Mr. Jimmy Zhong explained that the Grand Panorama is just an extension of the real estate investment arm of the construction company.
Zhong noted that some years ago, the company started housing development in the Lekki area along the Lekki-Epe expressway that is already completed and fully occupied.
He said the development in Ikoyi is the effort of the company to do more in housing and that it decided to make a bold statement in the upscale Ikoyi area of the city with plans to extend further over time.
The CEO said the company welcomes the challenge of the governor to spread further and would consider it seriously for implementation.
“You can see that we are not a portfolio company that steps into Nigeria and out. We have invested in facilities that are enduring and would do more in the years to come.
Regarding the quality of the multi-floor Grand Panorama, we promise to give it the best quality and finishing. We would use our best engineers in the construction and deploy Nigerian workers as part of our efforts to create job opportunities for the people of Nigeria who are our partners in progress,” he assured.
