By Nelson Utip
Over 80 businesses and 12,000 jobs will be affected if the government demolishes the leisure centre for the Lagos-Calabar coastal highway project according to The Management of Landmark Beach, this was contained in a Press Release by the group on Wednesday, April 17, 2024.
The popular Tourist Resort in Lagos is in dispute with the government of the day as the resort is to be demolished to pave the way for the coastal highway project.
Paul Onwuanibe, the proprietor of The Tourist Center was served a seven-day demolition notice in late March, raising concerns in its impact on tourism and investment.
The government insists that the beach and other properties are situated within the area the first phase of the road will passs. In a Release titled “Clarifying Facts and Preserving Tourism Businesses Amidst Coastal Road Construction and Beach Sand Filling,” Landmark Beach Management gave an update on the controversial topic in recent times.
“The issue of the Lagos Calabar Coastal Road passing through the Landmark Beach remains a topic of wide-reaching discourse and we think it necessary to clarify certain salient matters with the hope that this will help to keep the ongoing conversation centered on achieving a win- win solution that secures the unhindered development of the Coastal Road while preserving a major tourism outpost on the West African coast.
“We would especially like to address these matters in light of the sudden acceleration of the sand filling works, which has the potential to further disrupt activities in our tourism platform.”
READ ALSO: Lagos-Calabar Coastal Road: Landmark, Govt Deliberate On A Win-Win Solution To Save Structures
The statement read in part. The management observed that the original 1.5-kilometre coastal road route, which passes through the Water Corporation Road median has no permanent structures, calling on government to revert back to the original route as a win win situation that will save jobs and investment Landmark management lamented that they has never been consulted on the coastal highway alignment, nor have they been engaged in discussions with regards to the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) of the project on the leisure centre observing that the accelerated sand filling of its shoreline has sent widespread panic and fear to the independent businesses, suppliers, employees, investors, financiers, and clients that all conduct business within the ecosystem noting that over 80 businesses have invested between ₦15-20 billion, excluding the ₦20 billion from Landmark in the environment, and “all of these businesses will undoubtedly be affected if the alignment is not changed.
Pictures, videos, and a physical inspection can ascertain the extent of the real beach infrastructure investment made by Landmark and the businesses operating on the beach.”
“The entire Ecosystem, the over 80+ businesses operating within and the livelihoods of over 12,000 Nigerians directly and indirectly employed by it, would be gravely jeopardised if it is contemplated that the beach is demolished,” the statement continued.
The Landmark group claims that it has brought in over $100 million in Foreign Direct Investment in it’s 17 years of operation.
The management wishes to maintain a relationship of “working continuously with the Lagos State government to achieve a win- win solution that preserves the Landmark Beach, retains the ethos of the coastal road, and maintains Lagos and Nigeria as a beacon for positive development in the tourism industry.”
