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Nigerian Government approves FESTAC Phase 2

By on March 14, 2013

1The Federal Executive Council, FEC, on Wednesday granted approval for the reclaiming and concessioning of the FESTAC phase 2 project.

The Minister of Lands, Housing and Urban Development, Ama Pepple, said at the end of the FEC meeting in Abuja, that the project was expected to fetch government about N25.7 billion from the concessioner apart from ground rent of about N150 million every year.

The Minister also said the area, measuring about 1,126 hectares of land, which was acquired since 1977 for the African festival of arts and culture, FESTAC, would be concessioned to a company called New FESTAC Property Development Company.

Four other companies including PW Nigeria Limited, SCC Nigeria Limited, Enacco Nigeria Limited and Funtaj Limited would be joined as concessionaires.

The existing FESTAC (Phase 1) is a largely residential area located in Amuwo Odofin Local Government Area of Lagos and providing accommodation to over ten thousand residents.

Ms. Pepple, who was briefing State House Correspondents at the end of the meeting alongside the Interior Minister, Comrade Abba Moro as well as Information Minister, Labaran Maku, said Council gave the approval after deliberating on the economic viability of leaving such a vast expanse of land fallow for so long.

“The area involved is about 1,126 hectares of land, and we estimate that when the largely swampy area is completely reclaimed and sand filled, that we (government) will be able to create at least 7,000 plots to make the new area FESTAC phase 2 be like a new city ,with houses, shopping malls, schools, police station, health centres, etc”, she said.

The Minister explained that the project, which is expected to yield a lot of money for government, had been presented to the council since 2006. She said the project was stepped down because at the time, the money the project handlers said would be accrued to the government was only N10.6 billion, which was considered too little, compared to the size and location of the property.

“We worked on it again and we looked at what it will cost the company to reclaim the land and the figure that we came up with was N25.7 billion. It is going to be concessioned over a 30 year period, but they are going to have a three year moratorium to enable them start and stabilize the project,” she said.

Ms. Pepple said the concessioning of FESTAC is purely funded by the private sector.