Bauchi’s N4.8bn New City: What you need to know

On February 25, 2021, Governor Bala Mohammed, alongside his Bayelsa State counterpart Douye Diri, flagged-off the N4.8 billion new city called ‘Kaura City’ project and 2.8km Tambari Bypass road in Bauchi. The new city will be built under a public-private-partnership (PPP) with an Abuja-based construction and civil engineering company, KK Kingdom. Our correspondent in Bauch […]

On February 25, 2021, Governor Bala Mohammed, alongside his Bayelsa State counterpart Douye Diri, flagged-off the N4.8 billion new city called ‘Kaura City’ project and 2.8km Tambari Bypass road in Bauchi.

The new city will be built under a public-private-partnership (PPP) with an Abuja-based construction and civil engineering company, KK Kingdom.

Our correspondent in Bauch caught up with the Vice President of KK Kingdom, Naziru Abdullahi, and the Bauchi State Commissioner for Lands and Survey, Professor Adamu Ahmed, to explain the project and the PPP arrangement.

“KK Kingdom and our financers, Norrenberger, will work together in delivering these projects in 18 months. We aim to complete the 2.8km road by the end of July this year,” Abdullahi said.

The PPP arrangement

Professor Adamu said the state government is contributing the land under a land swap arrangement, KK Kingdom Nigeria Limited will invest N4.5 billion in the first instance, to deliver top-class serviced plots on 81 hectares of prime land and a 2.8km dual carriageway, part of the inner southern bye-pass corridor, in exchange for right over a percentage of serviced plots.

He also explained that the state government is investing its resources in building 129 units of houses in the three-arms-zone, while the company will also develop plots and build estates in the city which it will sell.

Within the next four months, the city infrastructure will be completed and then returned to the market for interested members of the public to buy.

What’s in the new city?

Abdullahi said the new Kaura City will have standard features and amenities, including two filling stations, a farmers market, a shopping mall, a school and a clinic.

“It is going to be like Palmjumero in the United Arab Emirates or Eko Atlantic City in Lagos. It will be an entire city where you can find everything, safe, secure and the state of the art innovation in the building sector,” he said.

Commenting on the technical aspect of the project, he said, “What we plan to do at the old airport layout is to provide basic infrastructure. We have taken the virgin land with the runway and we are providing over 456 residential plots with also some commercial pilots.”

He said: “The idea here is that the government will spend nothing, but we will create everything; create the roads which increase the value of the location and from selling it, pass it to our financers, Norrenberger, to retrieve their money.

“One of the most important aspects of the project is that there is a part that has been set aside for the government, which the government intends to have as sort of its new three-arms-zone where it will have houses for the legislators, judges and other government officials.

“All in all, it makes this layout something to be coveted because it will be a new frontier of PPP and also open a new era of how places will be developed especially in the North.

“When we came in initially, we wanted the old Bauchi airport but in the negotiations, the government included the construction of Tambari bypass road at no cost. For us, we are checking our marketing and sales projection vis-a-vis the location.

“That 2.8km road project alone will cost over N1 billion, it will increase the value of the area. It will make the place look modern. It is one of the most important things everyone needs, whether low-income earner, middle-income earner or high-income earner. And that road is coming to the state government free-of-charge.

“The good thing about infrastructure is its impact on the masses because, with construction, you hire labourers, you hire architects and you engage engineers. Construction affects everyone because it trickles down. The 2,500 jobs projection is direct, by the time you do a proper calculation you will find that it affected more than 7000 people,” the commissioner said