FCTA partners Indian group on tech varsity

The Federal Capital Territory Administration (FCTA) is planning a partnership with the Nigerian University of Technology and Management (NUTM) to build a world class university of technology and management in the FCT. The Senior Advisor of NUTM, Rajat Gupta, emphasised that Public-Private Partnership (PPP) would be required to create such world class institution in the […]

The Federal Capital Territory Administration (FCTA) is planning a partnership with the Nigerian University of Technology and Management (NUTM) to build a world class university of technology and management in the FCT.

The Senior Advisor of NUTM, Rajat Gupta, emphasised that Public-Private Partnership (PPP) would be required to create such world class institution in the country.

Gupta said the project would require several years and possibly decades of commitment to make it worthwhile, adding, however, that its impact as an educational institution would be felt in the country for hundreds of years to come.

Minister of the FCT, Malam Muhammad Bello, who spoke while receiving executives of the group, led by the Minister of Trade and Investment, Dr. Okechukwu Enelamah, yesterday in his office, said the project was in furtherance of the plan of the FCTA to have specialised institutions in phases IV and V of the territory.

The minister, while noting that Abuja had matured in terms of population and infrastructure, said the FCTA would give the group all the support to ensure that the project commenced as quickly as possible.

He said arrangements were being made in the interim to situate the project within the premises of the Abuja University of Technology, Abaji, or the Abuja Technology Village.

“We are now developing a new area of the city; which is called Phase V, in the southern axis of the city. We are earmarking an area that can basically accommodate what you did in Hyderabad, India. It’s not just going to be yours alone, but other institutions that have similar ideas, and we are doing so because we have a major arterial road network that is going to connect Phases III, IV and V, and part of it is under construction already.

“We are now concentrating on so many other things, the industrial zone, medical and even school facilities. Now even within the educational system, we are now targeting more of specialised institutions because by the natural phase of growth, the city has reached a point where it requires that,” he said.

The Minister of Trade and Investment, Dr. Okechukwu Enelamah, said Nigeria was very privileged to have a group of investors who had gone through the system, having been trained by such universities and had contributed and given back to their own societies by building such institutions.

Dr. Enelamah said they were now going beyond the call of duty to help Nigeria in building such a university.