04/06/2015
2ND Toll Gate to hit values of Lekki Estates
Fifteen years ago, the values of Lekki Phase 1 and Victoria Garden City (VGC) were almost at par. Three years later, land prices in VGC pulled ahead ashomeowners preferred its quiet ambience and well planned nature. VGC was significantly further away from the Central Business Districts of Victoria Island and Marina but the journey time between Lekki Phase 1 and VGC was a negligible 20 minutes of smooth driving along the LekkiEpe Expressway, with hardly any traffic. This idyllic existence was shattered as more estates (hence more traffic) started to spring up along the Expressway. The amount of time it took to get to VGC came to a head about five years ago during the reconstruction of the LekkiEpe Expressway, when on a bad day, journey times to VGC could be as long as three hours. Residents there took to using a ferry service to get to and from work. The real estate market of VGC at this time virtually ceased and has not really recovered as although traffic is better, it still takes a significantly longer time to get to Victoria Island from VGC and back. Land prices in the estate are estimated at between N85,000 – N95,000 per square metre compared to the N120,00 – N130000 per square metre in Lekki Phase 1. The difference is the issue of traffic.
Therefore, it must be with some trepidation that property investors should be watching the Lagos State Government moves regarding a second toll Plaza which is located in the Chevron axis of the LekkiEpe Expressway. This toll plaza, when (it is a question of when not if) it becomes operationalhas the potential of creating a significant traffic jam thereby making estates within that axis unattractive. The Toll Plaza will make estates and locations situated after it unattractive compared to those before it, because of journey times.So you can be in your house at Idado at the sixth roundabout while your colleague still has to face another 30 minutes of travel time to get to Ikota because of the Toll Plaza. Then there is the annoying and expensive issue of paying two tolls while other estates before the Toll Plaza only pay one toll at the Oniru Plaza. Our conclusion is that the gap in values between the two section of Lekki: the locations before the Toll Plaza and those after the Plaza will widen significantly once the 2nd Toll Plaza becomes operational.