Purple Lekki – Everything you need to know

On Monday the 21^st of December 2020, Purple Group announced Dutum Construction Company as the main contractors of the Purple Lekki project.

“The new black box” popularly known as Purple Lekki, is a mixed-use state-of-the-art seven-story building. Where you can work, shop, eat, play, drink, live, and have an unforgettable lifestyle experience. This iconic project is located on Freedom Way, Lekki Phase 1, Lagos State, Nigeria.

Purple Lekki construction site hand over

Temitope Runsewe, the managing director of Dutum Construction Company had a recent interview with Olaide Agboola, the CEO and Co-founder of Purple Group. In the interview, he spoke about how Dutum feels about the project. He also spoke about the number of jobs the project will be providing, and more.

How do you feel about the project?

We would like to thank the entire purple team for this opportunity. It is a pleasure and we are excited to be here. This project is an iconic one; it would change the entire skyline in Lekki, in Lagos, and the whole country probably the whole of West Africa. We are excited to be a part of this project. The process leading to this point has been extremely rigorous and we are glad to have come out on top of that process.

How do you see things taking on from here? What sort of timelines and mobilization is Dutum working on?

In terms of timeline, we will be moving equipment to the site. All our machinery and cranes will be mobilized fully to the site in the next couple of days and weeks leading to the end of the year. Things will start picking up on the site. And we look forward to delivering the first part of this project in the next 16 months as discussed. So this site will change rapidly and very quickly.

In terms of the number of people that will be working here on a daily basis, what sort of employment capabilities do you see us generating in the mid to long term from the construction phase alone?

In the construction phase, this will be huge. There are some days where 200 people will be working here. We will have direct labor of between 50, 100, and 200 people at the maximum. There is also the ripple effect of people providing food, health care, and other facilities for the workers. This will culminate in 300 to 400 direct and indirect jobs created directly during construction alone. People will have a means of livelihood and this excites us. As we are in an industry that gives people jobs and decent jobs at that.  

What level of synergy and what level of comfort do you have on being able to come on this assignment?

What excites me is the fact that we have a fantastic team on this project. From the architect, structural engineers, quantity surveyors, and the company that handled the piling. We have had a fantastic relationship, it’s been very seamless and this is good. Because the handover will be completely seamless, we will flow right into the project. The fact that the piling has been done by a reputable company gives us a lot of comfort. All the necessary technical and structural things will be done to satisfaction and that will give us confidence that whatever is put on it will stand forever.

Olaide Agboola, CEO and Co-founder of Purple Group also had this to say about Dutum:

This is the first time we are working with Dutum and we are very comfortable with what Dutum will do at Purple Lekki. We believe that this is the beginning of alliances. And alliances take a while to build and we know we will be doing more projects with them. This is an iconic project at Purple Lekki. It will be interesting for Dutum and Purple, as this is a landmark project that the economy requires at this point in time. We expect a lot of sweat and tears and arguments, but like in all things if there are no arguments and sweat the end result may not be the best.

Olaide Agboola the CEO and Co-founder of Purple Group

Features of Purple Lekki

1. Work (Workplace): comprising of private office space, conference facilities, meeting rooms, an art studio, and a gym facility.
2. Shop (Grocery and department stores): The ground floor incorporates an open-plan department store retail. This model consists of well-designed modular concession stands. Allowing brands of all sizes to have a slice of the retail oasis. The ground floor also contains activation spaces allowing brands to engage the public in a variety of ways.
3. Play: The first floor called ‘play’ houses all the entertainment attractions. This is anchored by the food court, pool bar, sports bar, and cinema.
4. Multilevel and rooftop parking: Parking has been made available on-grid as well as on multiple floors within the building for maximum convenience. Accessible via a ramp, most drivers will be able to find space on the dedicated parking floor the 3^rd floor; which has been designed to accommodate over 300 cars safely.
5. Live (Nano Apartments): The premium and standard units are conceived with the modern professional in mind. Available in 1 bedroom, 2 bedrooms, 3 bedroom, and studio room variants. These Nano apartments feature key value-adding items laundry, shared communal areas, open plan kitchens, pool bar, and gym.

Current stage of the Purple Lekki project

The Purple Lekki project is currently on the first floor stage of construction. Stay up to date with progress images of the Purple Lekki project.