FEC Approves Master Plan for Abuja Boulevard

[ufookoro]

FEC Approves Master Plan for Abuja Boulevard
From Juliana Taiwo in Abuja, 06.19.2008

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The Federal Executive Council (FEC), chaired by President Umaru Musa Yar’Adua, has approved the revised master plan for the construction of Abuja Boulevard.
When completed, the boulevard will be like Rodeo Drive in Los Angeles, United States, and is expected to boost tourism in the city.
The boulevard will have a cluster of highrise buildings, hotels, conference centres and parks, in a bid to modernise the nation’s capital.
Briefing State House Correspondents yesterday, the FCT Minister, Dr. Aliyu Moddibo-Umar, in company with the Minister of Information, John Odey and his Minister of State, John Akpanudoudeghe, said the new arrangement would see the upward review of the new development levies payable by allottees in the Boulevard area from the prevailing rate of N2,000 per square metre to between N50,000 and N70,000 per square meter.
This means under the new arrangement, a plot of land in the planned boulevard will cost over N500 million in the 6.5 kilometre stretch of the new downtown facility.
Already, N250 million has been provided for in the 2008 Budget of the FCT as seed money for the planning, engineering design and similar preliminary works/services for the project.
The Boulevard, he said, is contained within four major axial roads which are Road B06, B08, B10 and B12, adding that the FCTA administration resolved to embark on the development of the Axial roads B08 and B10 into world standard similar to other popular boulevards substantially through private partnership.
According to Modibbo-Umar, the boulevard would make Abuja a more befitting town comparable to its peers around the world.
He said when completed, “it is expected to attract and facilitate 24/7 commercial activities complemented by 24/7 vehicular and pedestrian movement.”
“There are three categories of plots in the proposed Boulevard area - they are the undeveloped, partially developed and fully developed. Out of the plots, 71 plots have been fully developed, 72 have been partially developed while 132 have not been developed at all.
“Some of the developed and partially developed structures are not in conformity with the boulevard concept. They shall therefore require some upgrading for integration into the boulevard scheme or shall need to be removed subject to compensation,” he said.
The FCT Minister said current allottees within the Boulevard area would be given the right of first refusal to reacquire the Boulevard plots “for which they will pay the revised development levies failing which they will be considered as having opted out of the scheme. They will be relocated to other plots outside the Boulevard area”.
The minister who said government had not fixed any time frame for the commencement of or the cost of the project said: “We are not sure of the estimate though we are working towards getting the correct estimate but the original estimate just for that 6 kilometres will cost N50 billion to build it.
“That is why we believe the time is over where government will build infrastructure and develop it and give to somebody who paid N2000 per square meter only for him to resell that plot for N300 million and put into his pocket. At the moment, a plot of 5,000 square metres is selling for between N100-150 million and it is not fair on government and people of Nigeria, where some people by virtue of their privilege will take this land and wait for government to take this precious money that could be channelled to other use to develop the area for you only for you to resell. When there are even institutions like MTN and Globalcom waiting for us at the Boulevard even with the new rate,” he said.
Modibo said the project “is expected to pay back its cost through payment of development levies or premium by allottees of the plots within the boulevard area. To facilitate the private finance arrangement for the project to pay back its cost, allottees of the plots will be required to pay in full the new development levies.”
“Similarly, properties in the central area which may benefit indirectly from the development of the boulevards will be required to pay betterment levy for the increase in value of their properties,” the minister said.
He said talks would be held with owners of plots in the planned boulevard, as there are fears that many of the present owners would lose their plots due to the new development rate of between N50, 000 and N75, 000 per square metre to be introduced by the FCT administration.
“We don’t want to bulldoze people based on our new mantra of the rule of law. We want to respect the rights of our citizens to fair hearing. If a tenant decides he does not want, he will first go to the FCT Land Use Act Tribunal and if he is not satisfied, he will go to the Abuja High Court, then the Appeal Court. And we are willing to go all the way because one way or the other the Boulevard will have to be built. This is very clear, is either the government does it long time or government gets money to do it because it is already in the master plan,” he said.
“Under the Land Use Act we have the right to change that plan but the tenants have the right to seek redress and the Land Use Act is also clear about the rights of the sitting tenants. In the next one or two weeks we are going to publish in the papers. We are going to discuss with the owners. The key word there is the right of first refusal because we are not going to say move… if you are going to retain your plots this is the new development levy. We are going to exercise that right,” he said.
The FCT Minister assured Nigerians that the FCT authorities “are going to follow due diligence” in all the activities concerning the new project.
The new boulevard, according to him, would stretch from the Eagle Square to the National Hospital, all in the central business district of the FCT and is contained within four major axial roads (which are roads BO6, BO8, BO10 and B12) - also constitution avenue, hospital avenue north, hospital avenue south and independence avenue respectfully.
He said the FCT administration resolved to embark on the development of the axial roads “into world standard boulevards similar to other popular boulevards in the big cities of the world substantially through public private partnership”.
He explained that the “status of the city of Abuja has informed the strong desire of the FCT administration to embark on the development in the central area to provide Abuja with a downtown and make the city more befitting of its status as a world class city”.
Other decisions taken by the council were for the construction of six recreational parks and gardens in the FCT.
The parks are to be constructed by some corporate organisations such as banks, construction companies and other service providers.

[Jim856796]

Is this proposed boulevard located in the Central District of Abuja or is it located elsewhere in the city?

[Tbite]

It is Approved and it was always in the Masterplan.

And it is in the Central District, around the location of the NNPC HQ

[Tbite]

Abuja Boulevard Preliminary Renderings and Artist Impressions courtesy of Gar3th's link; http://fct.gov.ng/web/

Pictorials Culled from Download from that Link.

Rendering of Abuja Boulevards (It is more than one boulevard)



Location of the Abuja Boulevards



Artist Impression of the Central Area built up





Design Criteria







National Mall





National Mall (Revised Concept)

[GAR3TH]

thanks tbite

[Pule]

Looks nice, thanks Tbite.

[GAR3TH]

[GAR3TH]

The web site just opened: http://www.boulevard.fctabuja.net/index.php

[GAR3TH]

P.S. if this website just opened can anyone try to find the kano economic city website.

[pappy]

Looks good.

[Tbite]

Gareth Brother, I doff my hat for you.

I hope all this projects go through smoothly. The world is a very volatile place these days. Buildings in Australia are being canceled, the Dubai Property boom has crashed.

[Tbite]

You can also see the Millenium tower in that picture.

[Naija]

Looks impressive. I hope they pull this off.

[GAR3TH]

Abuja Boulevard: Replicating Champs Elyssee in Abuja

Abuja's metropolitan business hub is expected to receive a boost when the proposed Abuja Boulevard comes on stream. Strategically located in the very heart of the Federal Capital City, the Boulevard is very close to the Three Arms Zone, the seat of government. It accommodates parts of the Ministries and cultural zones as well as the Central Business District. It is expected to be the perfect business and living environment geared towards developing a healthy and ideal community.

This vision of the Minister of Federal Capital Territory, Dr. Aliyu Modibbo Umar, which has received the approval of the Federal Executive Council, will be characterized by an efficient road network, with multiple motor ways (4 lanes on each side including a dedicated bus lane and an angle parking lane) and sidewalks (up to 10m wide also on each side) which will allow for effective pedestrian movement, complete with a 7m wide median, sufficient to accommodate a Tramway. It boasts of elegant structures comprising big shopping malls, luxury apartments, corporations, government ministries and agencies, restaurants, banks, casinos, cinemas and several forms of recreation and entertainment, 24 hours of the day.

It also incorporates several green malls or Parks including the National Mall designed like the Washington DC mall fronting the Capitol Hill. Oxford Street in London the Abuja Boulevards (two in number) each 6.5km long and 200m apart, stretch from the Shehu Shagari Way (Eagle Square) to the National Hospital, cutting across several major Arterial Roads such as Ahmadu Bello Way, Sanni Abacha Way, Herbert Macaulay Way and Olusegun Obasanjo Way. It also cuts across two Transit Ways, NS2 and NS12.


abujadigest.com

[Carver02]

(4 lanes on each side including a dedicated bus lane and an angle parking lane)

I wish they would add one more lane. This only leaves two lanes for normal traffic.

[Carver02]

Originally Posted by Tbite

You can also see the Millenium tower in that picture.

It looks like it is not centered on the Mall - which is okay, it just surprised me.

[GAR3TH]

Emporis has labeled the Abuja International Tower & Hotel as never built... so i guess the project is dead... in other terms that tower that we see is not the A.I.T. it must be a new project that we never herd of.

emporis.com

[skytrax]

nice

[Carver02]

neva mind

[abdeka]

Very nice project! I'm happy for my nigerians brothers.