Investors have been urged to consider investment opportunities in waterfront communities, which are currently vastly untapped.

The Director, Acquisition, Revocation and Compensation, Land Services Directorate of Lagos State, Mrs. Yetunde Olusegun, who gave the advice at a lecture by Outdoor

Subcommittee of the Lagos State Branch of the Nigerian Institution of Estate Surveyors and Valuers (NIESV) in Ogun State, said professionals must be willing to advise government on what to do in waterfront locations instead of keeping busy with their private practice as this investment niche potentially promises handsome rewards for all stakeholders.

Olusegun said it is a well-known fact that Lagos is a coastal city, with waterfront areas, which are quite vibrant, and a plot of land selling for as high as N1.2b in some locations. These waterfront areas, she said, are of economic importance that a whole ministry has been dedicated to its oversight through the Lagos State Ministry of Waterfront Infrastructure Development.

The director highlighted opportunities in waterfront areas to include recreation, hospitality and tourism, water transportation, and luxury residential accommodation.

She said: “Waterfront properties are major revenue earners in many parts of the world. Apart from the high property values they command for their owners, they provide extra revenue for the government through taxation and other levies,” she said.

The Outdoor Sub-committee Chairman of the branch, Mrs. Olaide Faji, said the forum, which also featured games/aerobic activities, medical checkup and others, was to create an enabling environment for the practitioners to refresh for optimal performance in practice.

Faji noted that before now the professionals were not exposed to opportunities in waterfront area, adding that the lecture was an eye opener for them.

The Chairman, Lagos branch of NIESV, Gbenga Ismail, said practitioners must explore the advantages waterfront locations offer and ensure that it benefits the local communities.