There are many cities in the world that are sitting, literally, on water. There is Holland for example. Many do not know it but the famous Schiphol airport is sitting on what used to be water. It is actually four meters below sea level at the bottom of what used to be a lake.
Then there is Venice which has somehow found a way to dwell on water.
Now, Lagos has created a city that is practically sitting on the Atlantic Ocean.
The Eko Atlantic City is not for the hoi polloi. When finished it will be akin to a Dubai in Lagos. It will be a glittering and dazzling city and playground for the rich and well heeled.
s the rich and mighty pay for pieces of the city, many continue to express fears that one day the Atlantic Ocean will convulse then flood and destroy Eko Atlantic City.
Well, not so fast.
As you drive around Eko Atlantic city you will discover a series of canals (also known as dikes, dykes or levees) much like Venetian aqueducts. These canals lead water right out of the city into Victoria Island. Those canals are responsible for keeping the water levels.
These same canals were built into the Victoria Island master plan, a civil engineer we spoke to recalls. “Some of them were so wide a boat could ride in them. But successive governments began to close and block them and that was one of the reasons Victoria Island began to get flooded because the canals that had been created to evacuate water were blocked. If you go to Ajose Adeogun, you will find one by the roundabout. You will also find another on Ozumba Mbadiwe near Mr. Biggs. Urban planning is always a problem. But you know the Eko Atlantic City is owned by a private concern so they will be more circumspect.”
Here is a video of a canal in Eko Atlantic City.
