Nigeria is set to commence construction of diaspora
city in Abuja. The Managing Director/CEO, Federal Housing Authority (FHA), Prof. Mohammed Al-Amin said that the diaspora
city will be sited on 750 hectares of land in Kabuzu-Maitama II district.
Prof. Mohammed Al-Amin explained that the project
is a strategy to attract Foreign Direct Investments (FDI) and boost job
creation and access to housing schemes for Nigerians in the Diaspora.
“FHA made a case for legal means of channelling the
funds for local investments rather than allow offshore funds to go into
the black-market in the country and it was approved so we chose seven cities
for the project. They are Abuja, Lagos, Port Harcourt, Benin, Kaduna, Enugu and
Kano,” said Prof. Mohammed.
Nigerians in Diaspora constitute
a very important Segment of the nation’s workforce and a veritable source of
foreign exchange earning to the nation. It is estimated that over US $20bn in
cash and goods emanates from Nigerian diaspora population into the country
annually.
The diaspora phenomenon is a
global mechanism for people to travel and work outside their country of origin
with the view to generating adequate resources to support a sustainable living
on their return from the diaspora. One of the first focus of diaspora citizens
globally is to secure a descent accommodation in areas of their choice in their
motherland.
The project will involve construction of 30,000 mass housing. It is expected to be completed in 20 to 30 months. Gonto pointed out that plans were underway for road shows in parts of Europe and Asia in partnership with Nigerian in Diaspora Organisation (NIDO) as part of efforts geared toward attracting foreign investors into the country.https://constructionreviewonline.com/2019/10/nigeria-to-begin-construction-of-diaspora-city-in-abuja/
