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The Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Senator Bala Mohammed, has said that the administration of the territory attracted over $6.6bn (about N1.086tn) foreign direct investments in 2012.
This, he said, included $2.6bn for the Abuja Town Centre Development, and over $1bn being expended on the ongoing construction work at the Abuja World Trade Centre.
The minister, who said this on Monday in his office in Garki, Abuja, while reviewing the activities of the Federal Capital Territory Administration in 2012, added that the FCTA had performed creditably well.
He expressed optimism that 2013 would be packaged with lots of promises for the residents of the FCT.
Mohammed explained that history was made during the year as the FCTA officially signed a Memorandum of Understanding with 13 land-swap investors to immediately commence the opening up of eight new districts in the FCT, Abuja, a feat he described as unprecedented.
He said that each of the investors paid the sum of N350m to the FCTA, being fees for survey maps, detailed land use plan, engineering design, demographic reports, legal documentation and other ancillary services to qualify, in addition to the over N300bn investment from banks in and outside the country to develop infrastructure in those districts.
The minister recalled the commencement of infrastructural development in three districts of the Federal Capital City, Abuja, during the year, which he also described as historic and a realisation of President Goodluck Jonathan’s transformation agenda and the FCT Road Map for sustainable development.
He added that in order to increase the speed of development in the FCT, five districts, including Katampe, Mabushi, Gwarinpa I and Kado were approved for procurement by the Federal Executive Council since 2006, using the Public–Private-Partnership model. He said this had been taken to the next level.
Mohammed recalled how, as part of his promise to create as well as ensure the take off of FCT Social Housing Scheme, he gave approval for the allocation of 50 hectares of land to the United States-based company, American Building Systems International, to build the first phase of the Abuja Social Housing Initiative. He said another aspect of the social housing scheme was the approval of 1,000 hectares of land meant to be set aside for the Federal Mortgage Bank to build decent and affordable houses.
The minister added that the objective of these was to take care of victims of demolition exercises and provide affordable housing for medium and low-income earners, noting that the latter initiative had already commenced near Ushafa, Bwari Area Council.
He said, “The FCT administration has constructed and completed three new Police stations and 11 new Police posts in and around the 250 square kilometres of the Federal Capital City, Abuja; procured 114 brand new vehicles for the security agencies apart from the administration been able to use the data generated from the Abuja Geographic Information Systems to enhance security of lives and property in the FCT.â€
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