By Henry Umoru

The National Integrated Infrastructure Master plan will require a total investment of three trillion US dollars over the 30-year period (2013 – 2043). President Goodluck Jonathan who disclosed this at the ground-breaking ceremony for the provision of Engineering Infrastructure in two Sectors of Phase IV (South), Federal Capital City of the Land Swap Districts at  Waru District, along Apo Mechanic Village in the Federal Capital Territory, FCT, Abuja.

The sectors for investment, according President Jonathan who was represented by the Vice President, Arc Namadi Sambo, include: Energy – USD$ 1,000 billion; Transportation – US$ 775 billion; Agriculture, Water and Mining – US$ 400 billion; Housing and Regional Development – US $350 billion; ICT – US $325 billion; Social Infrastructure – US$ 150 billion and Vital Registration and Security – US$ 50 billion.

“In this Integrated Infrastructure Master Plan, the FCT will require about 2.6 trillion Naira in the next four years, and 65 percent of these resources, will be targeted at providing infrastructure in the territory. It is in this regard, that the FCT is partnering with 15 investors presently in the provision of engineering infrastructure, in the two sectors of Phase IV.

We estimate that this initiative will provide additional housing for more than 1,000,000 residents. This will further reduce the housing deficit by about 35 percent in the next five years, as well as put more money in the hands of the FCT Administration for human development activities, particularly in the areas of health and education. It will further provide more than 500,000 jobs.”

The President who stressed the need for cooperation and synergy between the investors and the original inhabitants said: “ I am encouraged 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 original inhabitants affected 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. As much as we desire the rapid development of Abuja, we must do so with the greatest fairness and least discomfort to the original inhabitants”.

FCTA Minister, Senator Bala  Mohammed disclosed that 15 investors would spend over $2.8 billion (about N560 billion) to provide the needed engineering infrastructure for the Abuja Land Swap Initiative for the districts. He said that they would spend over N64 billion on resettlement and compensation challenges, which include their infrastructure, housing and compensation.

According to Senator Mohammed, “the total land area designated for the Land Swap investment is 3,886 hectares. This represents less than 0.50 percent of the Federal Capital Territory and less than 15 percent of the Federal Capital City. We succeeded to get to this level of project preparation because, as can be seen from the list of these investors, we attracted the best of Nigerian investors including the richest person in Africa and the richest black woman in the world as well as prominent construction and property development companies to key into the initiative.

We hope in the next four- six years to increase the Abuja infrastructure stock by more than 27 percent as the 15 Land Swap investors are providing a total of 464km of new roads, seven bridges, 696km of Street Lighting lines and 334km of telecommunication Ducts. Other components include 2,566km of Electricity Distribution lines, 643km of Water Distribution lines, 626km of Foul Water drains, 672km of Storm Water drains and 226 Culverts. “The total value of private capital to be deployed for the comprehensive development of these two sector centres by our developers is $6 billion, which comprise 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.