Plans are on by the Federal Housing Authority (FHA) to develop diaspora smart city in Kabusu district area of Abuja.
The Diaspora Smart City is located in Kabusu village after Mpape, a community in the Abuja Municipal Area Council (AMAC), with about 700 hectares of land which 17,000 is designed so far.
Speaking during the suppervision of the project site, on Tuesday, the Minister of State for Works and Housing, Hon. Umar Ibrahim El-Yakub, said the Federal Government would ensure that the project commences very soon.
El-Yakub said: “This is a huge development which will be one of its kind with over 700 hectares of land and it is a mixed development, one of its kind. It is going to be one of the iconic developments in our model and diaspora city where Nigerians living abroad will invest and own a property back home and the entire community is a city of its own.
“So the planning, designing, certification and approval are ongoing. So a lot is going on. Partnership will be recorded, it will be built based on public private partnership, the agency does not get appropriation from the federation account. This model city will be built through public-private partnership (PPP) but we will be providing direct infrastructural amenities.
“So by the time this project will start, one can only imagine the number of jobs this project will create for the community. So a lot of employment will be generated and it has already started.”
Also speaking, the Managing Director of FHA, Senator Gbenga Ashafa, explained that this project is located within the Kabusu community, stating the community is safe.
He said: “The compensation is being paid. So it is a welcome development for the community. This was done in collaboration with the FCDA”.