PRESS:FCTA MAY CHANGE KARSHI-APO ROAD CONTRACTOR – MINISTER

The FCT Minister, Malam Muhammad Musa Bello has indicated that the FCT Administration may be forced to hire another contractor to take over construction works on the Karshi/Ara/Apo alternative route linking the Abuja city centre to the northern axis of the country.

 

The Minister who expressed sadness that work on that road has remained uncompleted against all expectations, said the Administration is trying to see how it could salvage the challenges being faced by the current contractor; warning, however, that it might be forced to look for alternatives, should these challenges persist.

 

Malam Bello spoke while receiving the Managing Director/CEO of Army Post-Service Housing Development Limited, Brig. Gen. Mahe Bashir, who paid him a visit with his team in Abuja on Tuesday.

 

According to him, “with respect to Karshi/Ara/Apo road, quite frankly, I had thought that by now, we would have completed that road. But unfortunately, the contractor handling the project has been faced with a number of challenges, which we are trying to overcome to salvage that project. Ultimately, what will happen is that if we are not able to sort out the issues of the contractor, we may have to look at some other alternatives of making sure the road is completed. But you can be rest assured that that road is a priority for this Administration. We will try as much as possible to see that it is really completed as quickly as possible.”

 

While noting the intervention being done by the Army in area of providing housing facilities for its officers and men, Malam Bello said these interventions have brought a lot of benefits to both retired and serving members of the Army, as well as other civilians.

 

He said the FCT Administration would continue to provide all the needed support so that the Armed Forces can continue to develop, strengthen and deliver on its various mandates.

 

“Definitely, whatever support we can give you in the form of land in the FCT to continue your projects, we will do,” the Minister stressed.

 

The Minister however called on the Army Post-Service Housing Development Limited and indeed all other mass housing developers to ensure that all the housing schemes they are embarking upon adhere strictly to all the housing regulations in the FCT to make the process of individual title documentation and certification a lot easier.

 

“It is very important also to ensure that all the estates are built based on approved plans from the relevant authorities and departments of the FCTA. We have had instances of organizations that go into projects without seeking the necessary approvals. Invariably, that tends to distort planning in the city and development control generally,” he added.

  

On illegal sales of plots, the Minister emphasized that no individual, entity or community is authorized to sell land; adding, “each land you see in the FCT is earmarked for a specific purpose based on the Master Plan and the Master Plan is a document that is very important for us and as much as possible, we guard very it jealously”.

  

Malam Bello, stressed that, sequel to the earlier assurance by the Administration to give Certificates of Occupancy to individual beneficiaries of houses within Mass Housing Projects in the Federal Capital Territory, the process will commence soon.

 

He said, “as a policy, we are working out the modalities whereby all the estates within the FCT, every house and every flat will be issued a C of O because that’s the only way you can make the properties more flexible in terms of ownership, in terms of transferring title and even as a way of investment and store of value”.

 

The Minister noted that the project would commence from the Army Post-Service Housing Scheme in Kubwa, a suburb of Abuja, in earnest.

 

Malam Bello insisted that all landed properties in the Federal Capital Territory must have title documents to add more value and make them bankable.

 

Speaking earlier, the Managing Director/CEO of the Army Post-Service Housing Development Limited, Brig. Gen. Mahe Bashir remarked that the organization is a commercial entity registered with the Corporate Affairs Commission doing business of housing development for its officers and men as well as the general public which has developed 26 estates so far across the country.

 

General Bashir, therefore, solicited for plots of land in the Federal Capital Territory to provide affordable houses particularly for its officers and men presently fighting Bako Haram in the North East of the country.

 

Signed 

Muhammad Hazat Sule, FCAI

Deputy Director / Chief Press Secretary,

Wednesday, January 11, 2017.