Benue govt, firm signs agreement on development of 36-unit smart estate

Benue State Government and Cosgrove Investment Limited have sealed a multibillion Naira smart estate development deal for the development of 36 units super-smart homes that will consist of 10 units of five-bedroom detached duplexes and 26 units of four-bedroom terrace duplexes.

The estate, which groundbreaking ceremony was performed by the Executive Governor of Benue State, Dr Samuel Ortom at the construction site of the estate in Mabushi, Federal Capital Territory, on Thursday has a project completion timeline of 18 months.

Speaking at the ceremony, the Governor, who was represented by the Deputy Governor of the state, Engr Benson Abounu said the groundbreaking ceremony is “extremely important not only to Benue State government but also to the economic development of Benue State and the country.”

The governor explained that the Benue State government had planned to sell of the land, but was advised to collaborate with a competent real estate developer, stating that the initiative promises to haul in greater revenue to the State.

“Recently, the BIPC (Benue Investment and Property Company) Board made a fresh presentation to the Executive Council that they have found a reliable investor who desires to collaborate with Benue State government in order to actualize the dream,” he said.

“The Benue State Executive Council carefully examined and scrutinized Cosgrove via a behind the scene investigation to find out the viability or otherwise of Cosgrove as a competent investor, and we came to the realization that Cosgrove Investment Limited is a very reliable investment company.”

Governor Ortom said “as a result of that, the Benue State Executive Council unanimously passed a resolution to collaborate with Cosgrove for the development of the land.”

The Chairman of Cosgrove, Mr Umar Abdullahi described the ceremony as a remarkable public private partnership between the Dr. Samuel Ortom-led government of Benue State and a wholly indigenous yet forward-looking construction company – Cosgrove Investment Limited through the aegis of the Benue Investment & Property Company.

He added that the Public-Private Partnership is the quintessential vehicle that captures the Benue State government’s goal through the BIPC to drive economic development in the state by promoting, managing and investing in projects which maximize stakeholders’ value.

Abdullahi, who was represented by the Chief Technical Officer, Cosgrove, Engr Baba Kalli said: “Cosgrove is the obvious choice for this as our strategic strength integrating technology and automation in construction enhances user experience in the built-up space and creates high yield assets by way of the homes constructed.”

He said the estate, which will sit on 1.29hectares in Mabushi District of the FCT consist of 36 state-of-the-art smart luxury homes, adding that every real estate investor knows that location is key to the value of every asset.

“With its proximity to strategic locations within and around the FCT – the airport, major shopping malls, recreational centres, just to list a few,” he added.

Discussing some features which homeowners will enjoy in the estate, he listed Fibre to the Home supported by full fibre optic cabling, and Automatic Number Plate Recognition at the gate adding that “Cosgrove is the first company to offer this in Nigeria.”

Chairman of the occasion, Dr Gabriel Suswam commended the collaboration between Cosgrove and BIPC saying that it is in line with global best practices in the real estate investment sector.

“All over the world, governments are collaborating with competent private sector operators who have the technical and financial competence to deliver great initiatives for development,” Suswam said.