GOVERNOR Babajide Sanwo-Olu of Lagos State, Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN, Mr Godwin Emefiele and the Minister of Information and Culture, Mr Lai Mohammed, yesterday, expressed satisfaction with the level of renovation work being carried out at the Lagos Creative and Entertainment Centre, LC&EC, popularly known as the National Arts Theatre, Iganmu, Lagos.
Exchanging views during an inspection of the facility, the Project’s Steering Committee, led by its Chairman and CBN Governor, Mr Emefiele, noted that major milestones had been achieved since the project’s commencement on site early in 2021.
The over N40 billion investments committed to the project by the Bankers’ Committee is expected to deliver far-reaching benefits to the Nigerian economy and supports the initiatives of the Muhammadu Buhari administration to grow the creative industry and provide jobs to Nigeria’s youth population.
Sanwo-Olu, Emefiele, Mohammed and other members of the Steering committee, including the CBN Deputy Governor in charge of Financial System Stability, FSS, Mrs Aishah Ahmad; the Group Managing Director of Access Bank and Chairman of the Body of Bank CEOs, Herbert Wigwe; and the Managing Director of GT Holding Company, Segun Agbaje, noted that the entire heating, ventilation, air conditioning system, power, water supply and sewage systems are currently being replaced while fire safety standards are being significantly upgraded.
The nearly 3000sqm roof terrace, which had been a major source of leakages, is also currently undergoing repair, while the floors, walls, panels, and ceilings have been stripped back as part of a plan to ensure that all underlying structures can support new finishes.
In the 4000-seater main bowl, the new stage infrastructure will deliver future-fit performing arts spaces, for dance, theatre, music, and multimedia, with adjustable acoustics and advanced technical systems, adaptable to the requirements of audiences, artists, and sponsors.
The team also observed that the banquet halls and exhibition spaces as well as the two-500-seater cinemas had been stripped out, with new walls, floor and ceiling finishes being installed.
While inspecting the master plan for the adjoining 44Ha site, which had been concluded, the inspection team was informed that an environmental remediation exercise, along with the Lagos State Government, was also on course with the recently concluded Environmental and Social Impact Assessment Review led by the Federal Ministry of Environment of the 44Ha site.
Similarly, the committee was briefed that mitigation plans had been put in place to support the preservation of the natural ecosystem and manage all potential impacts, in line with the project sponsors’ commitment to ensuring the legacy of sound environmental principles.
According to the project team, the sand filling will commence shortly, having identified the areas that will generate the least impact on the environment through site studies (topographical, bathymetric, geotechnical, hydraulic and hydrology) conducted over 12 months.
