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People seeking to invest in property may have nothing to fear anymore as the Nigerian Institution of Estate Surveyors and Valuers (NIESV) has inaugurated an association/body to oversee/regulates the activities of estate agents in the country. The body, known as the Association of Estate Agents in Nigeria (AEAN) , according to NIESV, will correct the poor perception and image of estate agents, and in effect, the profession of estate surveying and valuation. Over the years, estate agency has been bastardised and turned into an all comers affair where fraudulent activities are perpetuated. The President, NIESV Mr. Emeka Eleh, said the regulation of the practice of estate agency was long overdue, adding that there was a need to train practitioners in the relevant areas of the profession and equip them with the capacity to serve the consuming public. He said estate surveying and valuation was a noble profession and as a part of the practice, estate agency must

As Lagos property market gears up for rebound, savvy investors are set to leverage on immense opportunities along the buoyant Lekki-Epe axis. Notably one of the five fingers of the state with others including Lagos-Badagry expressway, Ikorodu expressway, Lagos-Ibadan expressway and Lagos-Abeokuta expressway, the axis, analysts say has attracted so much investment in recent time because of its rewarding potential. With other fingers significantly developed for mostly residential and commercial purposes, the fast-developing Lekki-Epe corridor currently presents the most rewarding investment opportunity for real estate investors. Currently, the axis boasts of over 50 estates, gated residential developments, commercial complexes, with numbers expected to double in the next few years as a result of on-going developments on the corridor. Some of the infrastructure expected to further trigger property value on the axis is the on-going construction of the L

Dolphin High-rise Estate in Ikoyi, Lagos was planned to be a model exclusive residential enclave, but broken down infrastructure, emergence of illegal structures (Kiosk) and a general state of insecurity are putting the residents on the edge. The name, Dolphin High-rise Estate, creates an image of luxury in the mind but as ironic as it sounds, most of the residents sometimes wish they live somewhere else. Although the estate, built by the Lagos State Development and Property Corporation, is located in one of the choicest parts of the state, Ikoyi; most of the residents have had cause to regret investing in the property. Some of the residents, who spoke with our correspondent last week, lamented the absence of government presence in the estate, which they said had almost turned into a ghetto where all manners of illegal structures were springing up. “There are all manners of illegal structures everywhere, people just come from anywhere and put

A walk along the 2km of light rail that Lagos authorities have managed to build in three years gives a sense of how hard it is to impose order on one of Africa’s most chaotic cities. From either side of the concrete structure – no track has yet been laid – the crowded slums and highways of Nigeria’s lagoon-side commercial hub teem with activity. Its trademark yellow buses overtake, undertake and force their way down impossibly narrow side streets, where women stir pots next to canals clogged with rubbish. With 21-million people generating a third of gross domestic product (GDP) for Africa’s second-biggest economy, Lagos has become almost as alluring to yield-hungry investors as it is to the 4,000 or so economic migrants who turn up each day. Violent crime, mushrooming slums, police extortion and widespread fraud have often held investment back, but in the past decade, authorities have started trying to tackle some of the obstacles, especially maddening

The Federal Government has said it is considering the reintroduction of tolling on roads and has come up with the ‘Green Paper: Federal Roads and Bridges Tolling Policy for Nigeria’ to actualise this. The Director, Public-Private Partnership, Federal Ministry of Works, Mr. Babatunde Ekunsumi, said road tolling was a globally accepted method of raising funds for road maintenance and management, and would be of substantial economic benefit if properly managed. He said the Federal Government was seeking new funding methods to attract needed investment to the road sector in an effort to create an efficient and effective transport system. Ekunsumi said, “Nigeria had operated some toll roads for several years, but they were abandoned in 2004 due mainly to legal disputes, revenue leakages and unmet maintenance of the tolled roads.  With tolling once again being considered as a policy option, Nigeria has the advantage that it can assess successfully execute

Nigeria is investing N35 billion on airport infrastructure upgrade being among six nations in Africa currently infusing funds into infrastructure development and improving the lot of African airports to be at par with their counterparts worldwide. This is just as the country may introduce a token developmental charge to have return for investment once the projects are done. The Managing Director, Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria, FAAN, Mr. George Uriesi disclosed this yesterday while presenting a paper on Airport Regulation, from the Africa perspective at the Airport ongoing Council International Conference and Exhibition in Lome, Togo. Uriesi said that many countries are investing in their infrastructure and some do not have the passenger figures to gain return for investment. Uriesi said that apart from Egypt and South Africa that have over 30 million passengers annually only eight African countries have a total passenger figure of above seven million. H

Al-Maktoum International The Gulf emirate of Dubai opened on Sunday passenger operations at its second airport, Al-Maktoum International, touted to be the world’s largest once it is completed. A Wizz Air plane from Budapest was the first passenger aircraft to land at the sprawling new facility, and it was welcomed on the tarmac with a water cannon salute, AFP reports. Jazeera Airways, another low-cost carrier, will follow suit on Thursday with daily flights to and from Kuwait, while Bahrain’s national carrier, Gulf Air, will begin operations on December 8. No other airlines have announced intentions to use the new airport, which lies some 50 kilometres (30 miles) south of Dubai International, one of the world’s busiest hubs for air passengers. Dubai International handled 57 million passengers in 2012, as it has become a major stop for air traffic between the West, Asia and Australasia. Al-Maktoum International was opened only for cargo

One of the dismantled graves where a corpse was exhumed at Ijoko Many graves have been reportedly dismantled and their corpses exhumed in Ijoko, Ifo Local Government, Ogun State, in the ongoing demolition exercise of the state government. Residents said  that the number was expected to rise as the state continued to take down houses in its road expansion project. It was reported on Tuesday, reported the demolition of several buildings and structures along the Yakoyo/Alagbole road and the Ijoko/Sango areas by the Ogun State Government. The demolition was said to be have been carried out in preparation for the expansion of the said roads. Our correspondent gathered that while some of the corpses had been interred for as long as 30 years, a few were said to have been in the graves for about eight years or less. The families of the deceased were said to have taken the exhumed corpses to unknown destinations. A commercial motorcyclist, who identified hi

Minister of Information, Mr. Labaran Maku The Federal Government will spend $2.86bn (N457.6bn) between now and 2017 in order to give the nation a power transmission infrastructure that can carry 16,000 megawatts of electricity. The Minister of Information, Mr. Labaran Maku, said this in Abuja on Tuesday at a news conference on the performance of the economy, especially following the successful sale of the Power Holding Company of Nigeria’s successor companies. Maku said a transmission expansion blue print prepared by the Presidential Action Committee on Power had committed the government to a transmission capacity of 16,000MW. He said the government was committed to funding the programme, which will cost $2.86bn, listing the sources of funding as the African Development Bank, $150m; World Bank, $290m; and Eurobond of $150m. Other funding sources are a $500m loan from the China Export Import Bank; proceeds from the sale of the National Integrated Po

Scenes of the demolition at Yakoyo ...on Monday No fewer than 100 buildings were demolished on Monday and countless persons displaced when the Ogun State Government embarked on its road expansion project. The demolition, which began around 9am, affected structures on both sides of the Ojodu/Alagbole road at Yakoyo and the Sango/Ijoko road all the way down to Ogba-Ayo. Shops, residential buildings and shanties were lost to the demolition which was carried out to clear structures within 22.7 metres from the road. It was said to have lasted well over six hours. At Ogba-Ayo along Ijoko road, a shopping complex housing over 70 shops, two petrol stations and scores of residential buildings were destroyed. As of 4pm, Sango residents, whose buildings had also been marked for demolition, were seen hurriedly moving their valuables in preparation for the demolition that would continue on Tuesday (today). Some landlords and few of the residents at Yakoy

Intercontinental Hotel Tower Nigeria is the most heavily populated and one of the most economically developed nations on the African Continent. However, advanced development is significantly localized around two areas: Lagos Island (Lekki) and Abuja . Beyond these two economic centres, development is marginal and poverty is still prevalent despite government efforts. However, key marginal areas have experienced rapid growth recently. The tallest building recently completed is 'Intercontinental Lagos' on Lagos Island, at 100 m (328 ft) tall (23 storey). Built at a cost of N30bn, the hotel, located at Kofo Abayomi Street, Victoria Island, has 358 rooms and 37 suites, including a presidential one. Intercontinental Lagos, a subsidiary of the Intercontinental Hotel Group, is owned by the Milan Group. This development showed that Nigeria's economy is witnessing growth daily. the 23-storey Intercontinental Hotel aimed at expanding the state's tourism potent