Namadi Sambo Flags Off N1.2 Trillion Infrastructure And Housing Project In Abuja

Vice President Mohammed Namadi Sambo, today, flagged off N1.2 Trillion urban developmental project for the nation’s Federal Capital Territory, Abuja. The project is aimed at providing infrastructure and quality housing in eight districts simultaneously under the land for infrastructure swap initiative at a whopping cost of N1.2 trillion ($6 Billion).
Namadi Sambo who performed the ground-breaking ceremony on behalf of President Goodluck Jonathan at the Waru District, Abuja today commended the Minister of FCT, Senator Bala Mohammed for his ingenuity to provide engineering infrastructure initiative in partnership with the private sector within the context of the Land Use Act to serve as a solution to the public funding challenges.
Vice President Sambo said the Federal Government is not unmindful of the plight of the affected original inhabitants in the Federal Capital Territory.
“We recognize their accommodating spirit and ability to live in peace and harmony with all Nigerians that are residing in and trooping into Abuja for work, politics, businesses or other legitimate activities. I am happy that the FCT Administration had, for the first time, provided a realistic platform for synergy amongst the major stakeholders to tackle issues of compensation and resettlement of the affected original inhabitants in the land-swap districts. It is my hope that this synergy will mark the beginning of a permanent solution to compensation and resettlement issues of the original inhabitants in Abuja,”
The Vice President said that the project is a testimony to the impact of the present administration’s commitment in transforming governance, in order to attract private sector investment in public infrastructure.
He recalled that the founding fathers of FCT through the Abuja Master Plan, envisaged a territory that would be built in 25 years with 79 districts, nine Sector Centers and 11 Satellite towns with a maximum of 3.2 million population.  He however observed that today, the population of FCT stands at approximately five million, with only 11 districts completed in 38 years while the population of the Territory is projected to rise to about 10 million by 2025.
The $6 Billion private capital to be deployed by the developers for the comprehensive development of the eight districts within two sector centres comprise of infrastructure investment amounting to $2.4 Billion and secondary investment in residential, commercial, multi-purpose, institutional and active recreation development to the tune of $3.6 Billion.
The amount excludes the cost of over N4 Billion so far expended by the investors to produce the necessary critical documentation for the districts, namely the survey data, the detailed land use plans, the final engineering designs and the bills of engineering measurement and evaluation (BEME). This is a significant saving for the FCTA.
Concerning resettlement and compensation of Abuja original inhabitants in the area, the investors are committing the sum of N64 Billion for the funding of infrastructure and housing for the Project Affected Persons at Gude Resettlement district. He addecd that so far, the survey, planning and engineering designs of this resettlement district have already commenced.
With the injection of $6 Billion of investment, the huge benefits accruable to Nigeria, and the FCT in particular, cannot be overemphasized. The Land Swap initiative would create over 25,000 plots of land, provide housing for more than one million residents and create over 500,000 new jobs.
The 15 core investors were currently participating in the project while six of them have concluded on all aspects of the technical and financial negotiations including the execution of the necessary Agreement, which was done on the 23rd of September 2014. The six investors are Urban Shelter Infrastructure Limited; System Property Development Company Limited; Afri-International Projects Limited; BGD Properties Limited; Gilmor Engineering Company Limited; and AM-PM Global Network Limited.
Eight other investors have concluded all aspects of preliminary technical works and are awaiting final negotiation leading to the execution of the relevant Agreement. These are: Dangote Group; Ketti East Infrastructure Limited; Bolmus Nigeria Limited; Deep Earth Nigeria Limited; Dayspring Limited; Haitong Limited; Rosehill Group; and Waru-Pozema District Infrastructure Limited. [myad]