FRESH building blocks will be laid soon to usher in an exciting and ambitious urban development initiative in the country, which will create a mixed-use environment for residents and visitors in Lagos and PortHarcourt.The initaitive, being planned by Moscow-based Renaissance Partners, one of the world's leading emerging markets investment firms will provide a comprehensive mix of land uses for residential developments, retail, commercial, tourism, socal facilities and recreation in a new decentrailised urban centres.Renaissance Partners is the principal investing arm of Renaissance Group, managing an investment portfolio of more than $750million in Russia, the CIS and Africa: building, buying and selling investments ranging from major agricultural, forestry and mining holdings, to urban residential and commercial real estate developments. Renaissance Partners is one of the foremost urban land developers in Africa.Coming as a model for sustainable urban development, the project is expected to create new, high profile local and international opportunities; the proposed cities will also offer opportunity to live, work and play within a new community.Though details are still sketchy, The Guardian gathered that talks have commenced between the company, and a team of leading urban planners and architects as well as some relevant authorities.Senior official of the company told The Guardian that its model city is 'energised with opportunity, attractive, allowing freedom of movement of its citizens in complete saftey. The cities will be a place where children can grow up, be educated and find employment. An environment that thrives through global and local investment, an engine that generates its own income.'Already, similar projects have been jump-started in other African countries like in Kenya, where Renaissance Partners is a cornerstone investor in Tatu City, a groundbreaking urban development project focused on the work-live-play concept, providing a comprehensive mix of eco-friendly land uses.The Ghana projects to be launched next month has already received the approval of the authorities. For instance, the Takoradiman Divisional Chief, in Western Ghana, has finalised a strategic partnership with Renaissance Partners to develop a mixed-use residential and commercial project on 958 hectares, near the city of Takoradi. Renaissance Partners has commenced formulation with its partners of a development concept and masterplan, and will also see to the development of infrastructure and provision of an urban management framework.Takoradi is the third-largest city in Ghana, and a major growth centre due to recent offshore oil and gas discoveries that are attracting people and capital to the region. Major investments by the government of Ghana and international investors are already under way to boost the exports and imports to the Sahelian countries of Burkina Faso, Niger and Mali, is situated 10 km from the site. Final regulatory approval was granted in December 2011.Katamanso constituency and represents a future mixed-use commercial and residential development. The 816 ha land project has been agreed by Appolonia Chief and Elders and its structure and local plan were approved by the Statutory Planning Committee of the Tema Metropolitan Assembly in January 2012. Both projects are currently in the process of obtaining the necessary regulatory and community permissions, after which the land will be developed for residential properties, retail and other commercial centres, as well as schools, healthcare centres and other social infrastructure.The company's major developments in Africa include Tatu city, a 1,000 ha mixed-use development for 62,000 residents on the outskirts of Nairobi, Kenya; and Roma Park, a pioneering residential and commercial development, in Lusaka, Zambia. Among other projects in its portfolio is a 2,791 ha development project in Lubumbashi, Democratic Republic of Congo. Renaissance Group's Head of Real Estate, Africa, and Mr. ArnoldMeyer said: 'We are master developers. We acquire large pieces of land outside of the city in order to create satellite cities. We believe that current cities are rather complicated. It will be too difficult to try to re-engineer them. It's too congested and over populated'If we're going to do developments for the upper end, we will run out of steam very quickly. What we are focusing on it's the middle-income groups of the populace. We believe that both locations ' Lagos and Port Harcourt have potentialsthat can take the pressure off the city centres. In order for all cities to be sustainable and survive, we can't build cities like the ones that have been built in the last 100 years. If build a city with a lot of commercial activities, and everybody spends two to three hours every morningand night, it would not achieve its aim.We need to create a city that is multi- use so that infrastructure is utilized for 24 hours a day not 10 hours a day like Tatu city in Kenya.We can't build for low and higher income groups. We need to create a master plan that takes care of all income groups and economic interdependency among entrepreneurs as well as create a cross subsidization of land use in order to create economic independent city.On funding, Meyer disclosed that the company is funded by equity from the group for the master planning and engineering design to the point of raising finance for the infrastructure.Taking a critical look on investment support by governments, hesaidopportunity lies in Africa, as it take a minimal time to obtain approvals and documents for projects than in the United Kingdom and France, where such process will take up to 12 years. Meyer said that 60 percent of African children would live in cities not yet conceived.
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