Govt to build new Abuja City for centenary celebration

A new city near the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja is to be built to mark Nigeria’s centenary celebration in 2014, Minister of Information Labaran Maku, said yesterday.
According to him, the project which will be private-sector driven, was approved at yesterday’s Federal Executive Council. He spoke to reporters after the eight-hour meeting presided over by President Goodluck Jonathan.
Nigeria, as a geo-political entity, came into existence following the amalgamation of the Northern and Southern protectorates in 1914 by the British.
The minister said the project might take up to 10 to 15 years to be completed.
Maku explained that the celebration is important for the country.
He said: “The new city that has been proposed as part of our centenary celebration is entirely private sector driven. Let that be very, very clear. This is absolutely private sector driven with private sector investment.
“All that government will do is to provide an area through the FCT, agree on a proper design and then it will be taken up completely, totally by the private sector.
“The only government facility that will be there will be an arcade for the celebrations.”
The Presidency also clarified the planned N2.2billion presidential Banquet Hall, saying what it intended to build is not a replacement of the old one but a multi-purpose hall.
Minister of the Federal Capital Territory Bala Mohammed said “it is not a substitution or a duplication of what we already have as the main banquet hall which is not going to serve the purpose for which we are building the multi-purpose hall
“The facility is a multi-purpose hall where the president will host his colleagues or other persons of similar importance when they visit the Presidential Villa’
He also argued that “the existing banquet hall is not user friendly as there are so many components that are absent and we are trying to procure some things to add to the facilities that would be available in this proposed mini multi-purpose hall that would be close to the President’s office”
The minister said contrary to public held view, the budget for the banquet hall was in the statutory budget of the FCT, saying that it is not true that the project was not in the FCT budget.
“I wish to clear the misconception that we don’t have a provision in the budget and to explain that the FCT operates two budgets. One, the National Priority Budget, certainly that item is not on that. The development of Abuja can be done either from the National Priority Budget or FCT Statutory Budget.
“It is in the FCT Statutory Budget and we have quoted all the subjects, I don’t have them up head and that is why we do the procurement and we got the no objection and everything. So, it is not true that this is not in the FCT budget.”
On the development of the new City”, the FCT Minister said this was in line with government policy of unbundling the FCT to private initiative.
He said about 16 companies would be investing about 4billion dollars in the development of 10 districts in the smart city.
Also, the council approved the contract for feasibility studies for two new standard rail lines.
Transport Minister Idris Umar said the feasibility studies which will be awarded to consultants are the Coastal rail line will take off from Benin to Sapele, Warri, Yenegoa, Port Harcourt, Calabar, Akamkpa, Ikom and Obudu cattle ranch with 673km at a feasibility cost of N334 million.
The second rail line of 280km at a feasibility cost of N144 million and it will be from Ajaokuta through Lokoja, Abaji and to Abuja.
He added that the scope of work to be carried out by the consultants are extensive and will include among others a detailed survey of the alignment of the tracks and also to provide a platform for a private, public partnership on the project