Encomium
Billionaire mogul, Jim Ovia is expanding his business empire. His 15- storey office complex is almost ready. Valued at about N4bn, the gargantuan building being constructed by G Cappa is called The Civic Centre Towers. It’s on Ozumba Mbadiwe Road, Victoria Island, Lagos.
The imposing structure was initially promoted as a hospitality facility, being the dividend of a partnership deal between Jim Ovia’s Quantum Luxury Properties and Marriot Hotel Group. But when ENCOMIUM Weekly called at the water front construction site on Thursday, September 4, 2014,our reporter saw a sign board describing the intimidating structure as The Civic Towers, a 15-storey office complex.
It would be remembered that the billionaire ex-banker, Mr. Jim Ovia in 2012 announced plans to bring the prestigious Marriott Hotels brand to Nigeria following the multi-billion naira agreement signed by Quantum Luxury Properties Limited (Quantum Capital) which he chairs and Marriott Hotels.
At the agreement- signing ceremony held at The Civic Centre, Lagos, the former CEO/ Group Managing Director of Zenith Bank Plc said the planned five-star hotel which will be located on the Ozumba Mbadiwe Waterfront, Victoria Island, Lagos (where The Civic Towers now stands) will comprise 150 star rooms. The Ozumba Mbadiwe Waterfront is already home to Radisson Blu and Oriental Hotel.
The Lagos Marriott Hotel was to be launched this year with all the facilities and luxury associated with an international market leader like Marriott but in its plan now is a mighty edifice accommodating luxury office spaces.
An ambitious commercial development, the wondrous structure designed by Inter-city Architects is strategically cited in one of the best locations in Victoria Island, Lagos with a panoramic water front view of the Five Cowries Creek. And as luxurious as it comes, the developers said it’s mainly for “dynamic businesses, multinational industries, financial institutions that require top brand positioning and desire to be at the very heart of the target market. The Civic Centre Commercial Towers provides the absolute best location”.
Sitting on a land size of over 9,172 sqm on 15 floors, the Civic Towers is in the neighbourhood of landmark structures like The Civic Centre, Oriental Hotels, Mobil House, a helipad, a jetty and other prominent upcoming developments.
Its features include a raised floor for electrical cable management on all lettable office floors, double glazed curtain wall systems to minimize solar heat gains, plug and play internet facility, borehole and water treatment.
There is also a generating set, 8,096 square meters of lettable office areas as well as car parking facilities for over 180 cars, coffee room, drivers lounge, among other features. With the facility nearing completion, it is obvious that the Civic Towers would be officially commissioned this year.
THE MAN, JIM OVIA
Jim Ovia (MFR), 60, one of the wealthiest men in Africa with a Forbes net estimates at $900 million, took over as Chairman of Zenith Bank on July 16, 2014, from Nigerian advertising guru, Steve Omojafor, who resigned last month. A bank he founded over two decades ago.
Apart from Zenith Bank, where the billionaire entrepreneur allegedly controls over 50 per cent share, Ovia also founded Visafone, a mobile telecoms outfit, with over 2.5 million subscribers. Aside his real estate business (he owns massive portfolios in Victoria-Island and Ikoyi), Ovia equally owns Aquamarine, an exclusive boat club catering for Nigeria’s richest folks.
Ovia served in the bank he co-founded as Group Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer in 1990, stepping down in July 10, 2010, in compliance with a Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) directive limiting the tenure of bank chiefs to a maximum of 10 years.
Jim Ovia has over 23 years of banking experience.
He joined IMB as a Financial Analyst in 1980 and moved to the management cadre in 1987. Ovia headed the Corporate Finance Department of Merchant Bank of Africa from 1987 to 1990.
He is the Chairman of the Nigerian Software Development Initiative (NSDI) and also Chairman, National Information Technology Advisory Council (NITAC). He is a member of the Honorary International Investor Council, as well as the Digital Bridge Institute (DBI).
Ovia is a member of the Governing Council of Lagos State University, Lagos and also a member of the Board of Trustees, Redeemer’s University For Nations, Lagos. He was a member of the Governing Council of the Nigerian Investment Promotion Commission (1999 – 2007) and also served on the board of American International School, Lagos between 2001 and 2003.
He also serves as the Chairman of Quantum Luxury Properties Limited and as Director of Africa Finance Corporation. He served as a Director at Transnational Corporation of Nigeria (Transcorp) Plc. He is a motivational speaker and an avid ICT person. Noted for his philanthropic gestures, it has earned him a spot as head of numerous non-government organisations (NGO) at various times. Once asked about what money means to him, Ovia reportedly said, “Wealth means nothing to me. It’s what you do with it that is truly important. Yes, I am blessed but there is really nothing special about me. I’m just a regular guy who has a hunch for identifying opportunities and taking advantage of them.”
-UCHE OLEHI
