Earlier this week Rendeavour broke ground on a new satellite city development in the Lekki Free Zone as part of a joint venture with the Lagos State Government.

The project, Alaro City, is a mixed-income, city-scale development with industrial and logistics locations, complemented by offices, homes, schools, healthcare facilities, hotels, entertainment and 150 hectares (370 acres) of parks and open spaces.

Located in the North West Quadrant of the Lekki Free Zone, Alaro City lies in the growth path of Lagos, one of Africa’s fastest-growing cities with a population of over 20 million. Alaro City is adjacent to the future international airport, the region’s largest deep-sea port and major Nigerian and international companies.

At a ceremony marking the start of the project, which already has multi-national companies building facilities on site, Alaro City’s partners outlined their vision of the satellite city.

“We welcome the substantial foreign direct investment Rendeavour is making in Alaro City, which will further enhance the Lekki Free Zone as the gateway of choice to Nigeria and West Africa,” said Lagos State Governor Akinwunmi Ambode. “Alaro City symbolises the government’s continuous support for private investors and fast tracking development.”

Stephen Jennings, founder and CEO of Rendeavour, said: “We are proud and delighted to be bringing our successful inclusive city model to Nigeria and Lagos State, the heart of the country’s vibrant economy. Our partnership with Lagos State will ensure that Alaro City is an economically sustainable city open to all Nigerians.”

Rendeavour, who own more than 30,000 acres (12,000 ha) of land in the urban growth trajectories of major cities in Kenya, Ghana, Nigeria, Zambia, and the Democratic Republic of Congo, work in partnership with world-class experts, local developers, governments and local communities to create large-scale, mixed-use, mixed-income, satellite cities. Alaro and another project in Abuja named Jigna have been on hold for years and it is great to finally see this project come on stream.

Other projects in Ghana (Appolonia City) and Kenya (Tatu City) have noted strong success and the same is expected within Africa’s most populous nation.