Lagos State governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu, governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Mr Godwin Emefiele and the minister of information and culture, Mr Lai Mohammed, have expressed satisfaction with the level of renovation being carried out at the National Arts Theatre, Iganmu, Lagos.
They spoke yesterday during a high-level inspection of the facility by the project’s steering committee led by Emefiele, who is the chairman.
According to them, major milestones had been achieved since the project’s commencement on site early in 2021.
The over N40 billion investments committed to the project by the Bankers’ Committee is expected to deliver far-reaching benefits to the Nigerian economy and supports the initiatives of the Muhammadu Buhari administration to grow the creative industry and provide jobs to Nigeria’s youth population.
Since the award of contracts in March 2021, the main and subcontractors and several specialist contractors have followed a rigorous project plan of identifying and saving items of significant historical value and art, stripping away and carrying out integrity assessments, creating new services routes, and remodelling some of the interior spaces including nearly 300 units of conveniences.
Sanwo-Olu, Emefiele, Mohammed and other members of the steering committee, including the CBN deputy governor in charge of Financial System Stability (FSS), Mrs Aishah Ahmad, the group managing director of Access Bank and chairman of the Body of Bank CEOs, Herbert Wigwe; and the managing director of GT Holding Company, Segun Agbaje, said the entire heating, ventilation, air conditioning system, power, water supply and sewage systems were currently being replaced while fire safety standards are being significantly upgraded.
The nearly 3,000sqm roof terrace, which had been a major source of leakages, is also currently undergoing repair, while the floors, walls, panels, and ceilings have been stripped back as part of a plan to ensure that all underlying structures are able to support new finishes.
