THE Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Administration has approved the
request of a consortium of Brazilian investors to build a model
satellite city in Abuja.
FCT Minister, Bala Mohammed, disclosed
this during a dinner and interactive session he hosted in honour of 50
visiting Brazilian businessmen at his official residence in Abuja at the
weekend.
He pointed out that the Brazilians would undertake the
multi-billion naira investments under the land swap programme recently
introduced by the administration to fast-track infrastructure and
housing development in the nation’s capital.
According to the
Minister, the Brazilian investors are ready to sign a Memorandum of
Understanding (MoU) with the FCT administration to define the legal and
physical framework for the collaboration.
He said the two parties
have resolved that the MoU would be signed before the Brazilians depart
for home at the end of their visit.
In addition to their
participation in the land swap initiative, Mohammed announced that the
Brazilians have also indicated interest in developing an industrial
park, a monorail transport system, a world-class hospital and a standard
university in the FCT.
The Minister had earlier, in a Power
Point presentation, reeled out FCT’s numerous investment attractions
such as centrality of location, excellent infrastructure, abundance of
rich natural resources, relative security, neutral character and
cosmopolitan ambience.
Mohammed told the Brazilians about Abuja’s
strategic location as a territory that can be accessed from any part of
the country by flight in less than one hour and from any part of the
African continent in less than seven hours. Abuja’s unique position
as the foremost regional, continental and global conference centre in
Africa was also highlighted by the Minister during the presentation.
Earlier,
the leader of the delegation and Secretary of Agriculture in the
Brazilian state of Grande Do Sul, Mr. Rio Fernando Malwardi, had said
that they were in Abuja to explore greater bilateral collaboration with
Brasilia the capital of Brazil and Grande Do Sul on one hand and Abuja
on the other.
He hailed the FCT Administration for various
measures put in place to accelerate development of the capital city, in
line with best global standards, adding that he has no doubt that within
the next couple of years, Abuja would rank among the best cities in the
world.
He said they were delighted to learn that the Abuja
master plan envisages the development of the city in a similar manner as
Brasilia, the capital city of Brazil. He described Nigeria as an
important trading partner of Brazil.
In his remark, the Nigerian
Ambassador to Brazil, Ambassador Vincent Okoedion, said Nigeria would
benefit immensely from closer bilateral relations with Brazil.
He said that Brazil recently displaced Great Britain as the sixth strongest economy in the world.
The dinner witnessed interactive sessions, cultural dances, songs, entertainments and exchange of gifts.
Source: Guardian
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