Lagos stays one in all Nigeria’s most lively property growth markets, fuelled by inhabitants development, rising housing demand and the growth of its city centres.
But behind the town’s rising skyline is a property market formed by advanced land preparations, rising growth bills and the problem of offering houses and neighbourhoods that meet the wants of a various inhabitants.
As the town expands, questions round the price of growing property, entry to inexpensive housing and the standard of city infrastructure have change into more and more vital.
Developers should navigate a market the place the calls for of development, regulation and concrete development intersect, whereas the results of poor planning can prolong past particular person tasks to have an effect on complete 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 growth in Lagos.
He discusses the monetary and planning issues developers want to grasp, the problem of creating housing extra accessible, and the broader city growth points shaping the town’s future. The dialog additionally explores the necessity for better-planned neighbourhoods and the position of efficient growth management in constructing a extra habitable Lagos.
Nairametrics: From your expertise at Goania Project Limited, what are the most important costs and challenges developers typically underestimate when planning a undertaking in Lagos?
Tpl. Godfrey C. Aniebo: As a co-founder of Goania Project Limited, I’ve noticed that developers typically underestimate a number of costs when planning tasks in Lagos.
Title perfection is likely one of the first. Developers must 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 which will change into costly to resolve.
Planning approvals are one other main price. EPPPS submissions, skilled charges, environmental assessments, drainage research and site visitors impression assessments all require money and time. Developers who don’t issue these into their budgets from the start might face surprising bills and delays.
Drainage and sand-filling are notably vital in areas reminiscent of Ibeju-Lekki, the place floor circumstances can require substantial filling and cautious consideration to setbacks.
Community engagement is one other space that developers generally 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 undertaking margins, notably the place houses have already been presold.
Finally, post-sales administration can create further costs by 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 battle to afford respectable housing. What wants to vary in how houses are deliberate and developed to make them extra accessible?
Tpl. Godfrey C. Aniebo: The drawback just isn’t an absence of homes, however an absence of correctly deliberate, inexpensive housing.
Most new developments in Lagos goal high-income earners. We want practical studios, one-bedroom and two-bedroom flats that lecturers, 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 value thousands and thousands, developers move these bills to patrons. Faster, automated EPPPS approvals might help scale back costs.
Developers additionally bear important infrastructure costs, together with sand-filling, roads and drainage. Government-led infrastructure growth in Ibeju-Lekki, Epe and Ikorodu would scale back growth costs and enhance affordability.
Adopting regionally sourced supplies and sooner 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 not entry mortgages or use their land as collateral.
Affordability have to be constructed into housing from day one by 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 growth presents a chance to handle unplanned city sprawl alongside the Lekki hall. However, its success will rely on how nicely current communities are built-in into the brand new city.
Indigenous settlements mustn’t merely be displaced or remoted. Their integration requires the supply of infrastructure, tenure safety and applicable buffers, whereas recognising current group buildings.
Housing also needs to be deliberate to accommodate totally different revenue teams. A balanced mixture of low-, medium- and high-density developments is critical, with at the very least 40% of housing focused at inexpensive and incremental housing choices.
Transport planning have to be thought-about from the outset. This contains an interconnected street 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 reminiscent of water provide, impartial energy, wastewater therapy and stormwater administration have to be deliberate alongside housing. Environmental impression assessments and the safety of wetlands are equally vital, as is efficient growth management.
The goal ought to be to create a practical, inclusive and sustainable metropolis, slightly than one other residential property.
Nairametrics: In some components of Lagos, developers are constructing multi-storey condominium blocks on comparatively small plots, leaving restricted house for parking, greenery and different shared amenities. 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 reminiscent of Yaba, Surulere, Ikoyi, Lekki and Ikeja GRA. While higher-density growth is critical to accommodate Lagos’ rising inhabitants, extreme growth 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 impression assessments are vital the place proposed developments might 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 satisfactory shared amenities and inexperienced areas. Where laws allow, incentives reminiscent of further floor-area allowances may very well be thought-about 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 growth 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 reminiscent of Banana Island, Eko Atlantic, Orange Island and components 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 determine floor circumstances, 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 circumstances, this might contain piled or raft foundations. The placement and compaction of fill supplies also needs to be correctly monitored, with impartial 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 vital.
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 components of Lagos. To what extent do poor growth practices and insufficient drainage planning contribute to the issue, and what approaches might 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 growth 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 methods 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 have to be protected and restored by lawful enforcement supported by GIS mapping.
Developers and property house owners also needs to undertake sustainable city drainage methods, together with permeable paving, retention ponds, inexperienced areas and rainwater harvesting. Better coordination amongst planning, drainage and waste administration businesses is equally vital. Drainage channels have to be repeatedly maintained and desilted, notably earlier than the wet season.
Flooding might not be eradicated completely, however its impression will be considerably decreased by higher planning, infrastructure and upkeep.
Nairametrics: What enhancements might make the method of acquiring planning approvals in Lagos extra environment friendly and clear, whereas additionally encouraging developers to comply with accepted plans and constructing laws?
Tpl. Godfrey C. Aniebo: Lagos wants to maneuver from a punitive method to preventive enforcement and from handbook processes to digital methods.
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, software monitoring and clear processing timelines.
Standardised payment calculators primarily based 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 sooner processing and incentives for developers who constantly adjust to laws, whereas sustaining efficient enforcement towards violations. Professional authentication and accountability are needed 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 most important planning issues that want pressing consideration, and what adjustments 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 condominium buildings with out corresponding enhancements in infrastructure. Floor-area ratio limits and correct impression assessments are needed to make sure that growth 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 methods. Better drainage infrastructure, rainwater retention and pure water infiltration should change into priorities.
Poor connectivity additionally impacts liveability. Neighbourhoods want walkways, dependable public transport and last-mile connections. The lack of important amenities reminiscent of faculties, 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 growth management, street-level zoning and satellite tv for pc monitoring. Informal settlements also needs to be upgraded by improved drainage, water provide and tenure safety with out displacing residents.
A habitable Lagos requires greater than homes. It wants drainage, faculties, dependable infrastructure and full neighbourhoods.
