World Trade Centre Abuja: Further Boost for Foreign Direct Investments
After missing the initial completion date of 2013,the confidence and promise of a new completion date by the promoters of the World Trade Centre (WTC) fuel expectations of increased Foreign Direct Investments (FDIs),
As the first phase of the World Trade Centre (WTO) towers nears completion, the profile of the Federal Capital Territory ( FCT) Abuja is set to notch some steps higher as the city is set to witness increased inflow of the much sought after Foreign Direct Investments (FDIs) from some of the over 150 member-countries of the organisation as well as a changed skyline. Even before the completion of the Phase 1 which comprises the Commercial and Residential Towers, the Abuja property market has reportedly gone into frenzy.
The tower, structured to have 37 floors, excluding the ground floor will feature a multi-use complex comprising luxury high rise office and residential apartments, international standard conference facilities, entertainment facilities and a shopping mall comparable to the best anywhere in the world.
The entire project from phase one to three, which according to the promoters, First Continental Properties Limited, a subsidiary of Churchgate Group will cost N156 billion and is being built with financing from a tripartite arrangement involving private funds as well as local and foreign finance institutions. Though it was flagged off in July 2011 and the initial completion date put at 2013, the initial completion date could not be met due to challenges beyond the control of the promoters and project funders.
Speaking with THISDAY, General Manager Churchgate group, Ibukun Adeogun, stated that Nigerian businesses are not new to the advantages of Nigeria being a member of the World Trade Organisation (WTO) and added that the frontiers of the advantages was about to be extended with the coming to fruition of the first phase of the WTC. He stressed that when completed, the building would further engrave Nigeria in the global commerce market map and further increase the inflow of Foreign Direct Investments (FDIs) to the country as well as boost international trade with over 150 countries.
Checks by THISDAY revealed that the site sits on 6,102 hectares of land along Constitution Avenue in the Central Business Area of the city and is strategically positioned at the heart of the city of Abuja leading directly into the city from the Airport. It is adjacent to the main Railway Station under construction as well as the Central Business Transport Terminal. A ring road is also being constructed around the site giving it advantageous access in to the city centre.
THISDAY further learnt that two unsuccessful attempts were made at securing development partners before First Continental Properties Limited was secured in 2009 through a competitive and transparent bid process which led to a development-lease agreement with Abuja Investment Company Limited (ACIL). This was disclosed by the Chief Executive Officer of AICL, Dr. Abdu Muktar, at the launch of the project in 2011. He had stated at the occasion that “The scope of the project was later expanded to a mega-multi-use complex, which would be bustling throughout the day and night.”
About the World Trade Organisation
The World Trade Organization (WTO) is a rules-based member-driven international organization, which deals with the rules of trade between its member countries. It was established in 1995. THISDAY checks also revealed that the organization mainly trades in goods, service and intellectual property, and there are several common principles in each of the agreements covering the three main trade areas (i.e., goods, services and intellectual property), most notably: MostFavored-Nation and National Treatment.
WTO membership means that the nation automatically receives the Most Favored Nation status. Basically, this means all 159 WTO members must treat each other the same. They give no preferential trade benefit to any one member without giving it to all. As a strong member of the organization, Canada endorses the goal of universal membership in the WTO and participates in all WTO accession negotiations.
Members enjoy lower trade barriers with each other which allows for larger market for their goods, leading to greater sales, more jobs and faster economic growth. WTO membership also allows for access to developed markets at lower tariff rate. Membership allows them time to remove reciprocal tariffs in their own markets. This gives these countries an opportunity to catch up to sophisticated multinational corporations and their mature industries before opening the developing countries’ markets to overwhelming competitive pressure.
Benefits of the completed towers
A property market operator in the city told THISDAY that Abuja, with the clout of the capital of Nigeria, Africa’s largest economy deserves a building of the stature of the World Trade Centre and added that the business community in the city was eagerly awaiting the completion and for it to be commissioned.
“It is a welcome development that the phase one is eventually being completed. A city like Abuja as the capital of Nigeria which is the largest economy in Africa, is long overdue for an edifice with the global clout the type that a completed and functioning World Trade Centre (WTC) will bring to it. The business community in the city is eager for its completion. The Abuja property market is the biggest in the country and it will lap it up as there are several foreign businesses domiciled in the city that will appreciate such structure either for their business operations or as residence for its top management executives.” Uduehe noted. Speaking with THISDAY on the telephone, Managing Director of Churchgate Group, Mr. Vinay Mahtani, explained that the shift in the initial completion date of 2013 to December 2015 was as a result of challenges beyond the promoters and the project funders. He assured that the December completion date was irrevocable as work was far gone on the project. He also stated that when completed the complex will compete with similar World Trade Centre complex anywhere in the world and insisted that the confidence is founded on the fact that the promoters assembled proven professionals with global renown to handle various aspects of the project.
“When it is fully completed the project would consist of luxury offices, serviced apartments, hotel, and the 40,000 sq. meters Capital City Mall. Other components are a leisure center, cinema and convention facility. The quality is going to be global best standard, it will compete with any WTC towers in any part of the world be it in Europe or America. Abuja is a frontline city in Africa and the world, and deserves such landmark project such as this.
“The Churchgate Group has a track record for developing quality high rise buildings and the Abuja World Trade Centre development would not be an exception which was why we assembled proven professionals who are respected internationally to handle all aspects of the project,” Mahtani stated. He added that “The building site for the proposed World Trade Centre Abuja is set to emerge as the premier address for residential, commercial and office space in Nigeria,” he stated. Consultants for the entire project includes Woods Bagot Limited, concept architect; Edifice Consultants PVT Limited, executive architect; WSP Consultants, Structural Consultant and MEP Consultant. Others are Messrs Hancock Ogundiya & Partners, Local MEP & C&S Consultants, while Space Designers Limited is the Local Architectural Consultant.
According to Adeogun: “The World Trade Center master plan provides for areas of public gatherings, services and amenities unlike anything Nigeria has ever experienced and will rank amongst the landmark destinations of the world. The site is located along the main gateway into the Central Business District. With 40,000 square meters of shopping centre on two levels, a branded hotel, twin tower office space for the blue chip companies of the world and a real-estate component, the World Trade Centre in Abuja has something for everyone,” he added.