Rendeavour woos investors with Alaro City Phase II

One of the biggest new city builders in Africa, Rendeavour, has offered investors and prospective homeowners the opportunity to be beneficiaries of the second phase of its Alaro City being built at the Lekki Free Zone (LFZ), Lagos.

Alaro City, launched in January, is a 2,000-hectare integrated mixed-use, city-scale development with industrial and logistics locations, complemented by offices, homes, schools, healthcare facilities, hotels, entertainment and 150 hectares of parks and open spaces.

The project, more than two times the size of Victoria Island, is a joint venture between the Lagos State Government and Rendeavour.

While phase one of its residential plots have already been sold out, and the phase two sales are ongoing, the company announced in a recent statement.

Businesses are also taking advantage of the mixed-use characteristics of the new city because of the various facilities under construction at the site. Over ten businesses, including multinational firms, are currently investing in the city.

One of the biggest investors in the zone is Dangote Group with the building of a petroleum refinery, a fertilizer processing plant, a gas pipeline project and a petrochemical plant in the South East Quadrant of the zone.

CEO of Alaro City, Odunayo Ojo, said the new city, located in the North West Quadrant of the LFZ, lies in the growth path of Lagos and aims to serve as a model for what a modern mixed-use city looks like.

Ojo said the company expected high uptake of the plots in phase I, but the rate at which they sold out was exceptional.

“Alaro City is situated in a prime location in the Lekki Free Zone, making it one of the most exciting development projects to come to Lagos State. The location and exclusive benefits have undoubtedly been key selling points for buyers,” Ojo said.

Another key attraction, according to him, is the pedigree of the city’s developers. Rendeavour, seen as the biggest new city builder in Africa, is currently building seven new cities in Nigeria, Kenya, Ghana, Zambia and the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

Founder and CEO of Rendeavour, Stephen Jennings, disclosed that the company invests over $250 million in each project to create the infrastructure as well as the living and working spaces that will help sustain and accelerate Africa’s economic growth. The development company works to meet the aspirations of Africa’s burgeoning middle class, and serve as a catalyst for further urban development.

Real estate experts have said that Alaro City is located at the most appreciable real estate areas in the country.

“The Lekki-axis has been a key driver in residential real estate over recent years,” Gbenga Olaniyan, chairman of Estate Links Limited, a leading real estate consultancy said.

Olaniyan believes the key to real estate success is to invest early. He notes that Alaro City offers a unique and valued investment proposition that the market clearly recognises.

Businesses in the LFZ are exempt from all federal, state and local government taxes, levies and rates while operating in the zone. Some of these taxes include Value Added Tax (VAT), Withholding Tax (WHT), Company Income Tax and Custom/Import Duties. This has also been identified as a magnet for investors in Alaro City.

“These investors are attracted by, among other things, the tax breaks available with operating in a free trade zone,” Bidemi Olumide, Partner and CEO of Taxaide, a tax management firm said.

Olumide explained that every company operating in that territory, have a significant rebate in taxes as well as no income and transaction taxes.

On the regulatory side, Olumide said investors will only deal with the “Nigeria Export Processing Zones Authority (NEPZA), who then organises all the relevant regulators under one umbrella so that you have only one port of call for all regulatory matters which significantly reduces your compliant costs.”