A turning of the sod ceremony has finally kick-started activities to construct a residential est.JPG)
ate for the Foreign Service Nationals (FSN) of the American Embassy, on a 40-hectares site along the Lekki-Epe Expressway. The ceremony is coming one year after the firm of Grant Properties Limited was hand-picked by the Embassy officials for the execution of the project estimated at US$10 million. The out-going Consular General of the Embassy, Mrs Robyn Hinson-Jones performed the ceremony at the project site last week, with the Lagos State Governor Bola Tinubu in attendance. Christened the Beautiful Gate Estate, the project comes in two divisions comprising the 315 Foreign Service Nationals Estate on 40 hectares and 600 units fully detached houses on 65 hectares to be developed simultaneously.
The FSN Estate comprises two, three and four bedroom bungalows constructed with an American-developed alternative building technology that uses light gauge steel frame and truss system. According to the CEO of Grant Properties Ltd, Reverend Jide Awosedo, the system is cost effective with the capacity to drive down production cost with about 20% in order that the units would be delivered cheaply to their owners. A consortium of Nigerian banks has lined up to bankroll the project. They are NAL Bank Plc, Gateway Bank Plc, and Prudent Bank Plc in addition to foreign commercial banks. Insurance guarantee is provided by the American Import-Export Bank.
Hinson Jones noted that the scheme was initiated by the FSN Association and supported by the Embassy as a worthy cause to give the staff the privilege of owning individual 
houses that are affordable. However, she disclosed that getting approval from the Lagos State Government proved an uphill task. ‘I never expected to be writing letters to various commissioners of Lagos State explaining the project. I could not believe the number of meetings we had to have over this project but I am happy we went through all that because at the end everyone saw that it was worth all the trouble,’ she said. She commended the management of Grant Properties for showing faith in the project and putting so much effort to make it a reality. According to her, the project is a ground-breaking model in the world because no other embassy has done it before.
Governor Tinubu also lauded the project for being the first of its kind anywhere in the world, and suggested it should be re-christened Robyn Hinson-Jones Estate. Reverend Awosedo disclosed that the completion date for the project is 36 months time. He added that part of the expected outcomes of the project would be the transfer of the innovative technology of building system into the country as plans are being made to set up a factory and manufacture it locally here in the country. ‘The system developed by Hexaport International Limited, New Hampshire , America , will soon become a household name in Nigeria , when we eventually set up the factory here. It will result in the transfer of technology which will in turn satisfy the mass housing delivery policy of the government and the Nigerian general public’.
From The Guardian Newspaper, Monday June 7, 2004