Dangote, 14 investors picked for FCT new districts’ development

IN a novel move to increase the housing stock and ease accommodation challenges in Abuja, the Federal Capital Territory Administration (FCTA), has selected private investors to develop 15 additional districts.

  Under the agreement, the new investors will be provided with a total land area of 3,886 in about 15 districts of the FCT, and a total of 1million houses would be constructed in the new districts.

    Senior officials disclosed that the investors are Dangote group, Urban shelter infrastructure limited, System property developers, African international projects, BGD properties, Gilmir Engineering Company, Am-PM global Network, Ketti East infrastructures Bolus Nigeria Limited, Deep Earth Nigeria limited Day spring limited, Haitong limited, Rosehill group and Waru-Pazema infrastructure group.

      FCT minister, Senator Bala Mohammed who confirmed the development last week, during the ground breaking ceremony of the first phase of the land swap initiative, said that the partnership would in addition to creating more districts to accommodate the increasing FCT population, generate over one million jobs in the new districts.    

  He noted that the initiative entails the grant of land in a green field area to competent developers for real property development, adding that in exchange, the developers are to provide specified infrastructure in the district including the responsibility for resettlement and compensation of the affected original inhabitants.

    Speaking while performing the ground breaking ceremony at Waru village of the Apo district, president Good Luck Jonathan who was represented by the vice president, Namadi Sambo noted that the initiative was approved in line with the governments projection of an over exploding population in the FCT.

  He noted that the FCT established in 1976 with a projection of three million populations is currently been over populated with an approximate population of five million, adding that the federal government is also projecting a population growth of 10 million by 2025.

    “This administration is determined to protect the vibrant private sector. This unique programme is based on the initiative of the minister of FCT in leveraging the enormous land resources for infrastructure, better know as land for infrastructure swap initiative. The programme provides further testimony for the transformation by attracting private sector investment. In concept, the Abuja master plan was built with 79 districts with some satellite towns estimated to accommodate a total population of three million people.

  “Today the population of FCT is put at approximately five million people with only 11 districts completed in 37 years. It is worthy to note that Abuja as the nations capital is projected rise to a population of about 10 million people by 2025.

    “ With demographic and economic activities fast out growing the city, it is appropriate that the FCT administration would rise to the challenge by initiating such programmes like the land swap which guarantees equity, in providing land in exchange for investment under a special contract that conforms with the land use act. This policy is agreed with total exit of government funding and purely private investor funding in line with the transformation agenda of the government,” the president noted.