The Lagos State Urban Renewal Agency (LASURA) has commenced the regeneration of the Isale Gangan area of the state, even as plans are underway to ensure that the nine major blighted areas of the state get a face-lift in the not too distant future.
The redevelopment project involves 13 families coming together to relinquish their interest/landed property into a common pool for development. They were involved in the planning and design concept/final plan of the project.
Eleven of the 13 families actively participated in the decision to pool the 11 plots of land together to redevelop into condominiums of their choice.
The project comprises a block of 11-floor residential apartments designed to accommodate 56 units of two-bedroom flats on a total land area of 2,500 square metres to be completed in 24 months at a cost of N2 billion. The project cuts across Binuyo, Princess, Onola and Isale Agbede streets on the Lags Island.
It entails the relocation of the affected families to Amuwo-Odofin Housing Estate, which serves as a resettlement accommodation with each of the family being provided with a three-bedrooms flat.
In the resettlement programme, four families collected the flats provided, while nine families, because of the large family size, opted out of the offer and, instead, collected money for two years’ rent from government to seek accommodation of their choice elsewhere.
Each of the 13 families was also paid N100,000 as relocation allowance, while government also paid 90 tenants residing in the buildings a year’s rent of their accommodation  at the prevailing market rate.
The contract for the development of the new structure was awarded to the firm of Anatolia International Limited and it has already commenced work on site.
LASURA General Manager, Benedict Kehinde, described the project as a key indicator to the Island’s overhaul, saying it is a model strategy for urban upgrading.
According to him, similar efforts would be made to extend this to other areas that are identified and where the families involved agree to surrender their land for redevelopment purpose.
LASURA, a parastatal under the Ministry of Physical Planning and Urban Development (MPPUD), is responsible for reduction and prevention of slums in Lagos State through the implementation of all government policies and programmes on urban renewal. It is statutorily empowered  to facilitate the process of improving the living conditions, upgrading and empowerment of the communities thereby creating a sustainable environment.
The Isale Gangan project is fashioned along developments in Sao Paulo in Brazil and other Latin American cities that share similar slum experiences with Lagos.
