‘World Trade Centre Abuja will open this year’
The Abuja World Trade Centre is a USD $1.2 billion initiative of the Churchgate Group. This project is a seven-tower development made up of the world trade centre tower, a 37-storey iconic tower which will be surrounded by commercial towers which are the office complexes, presidential towers which are for residences. These comprise one-bedroom, two-bedroom, […]
The Abuja World Trade Centre is a USD $1.2 billion initiative of the Churchgate Group. This project is a seven-tower development made up of the world trade centre tower, a 37-storey iconic tower which will be surrounded by commercial towers which are the office complexes, presidential towers which are for residences. These comprise one-bedroom, two-bedroom, three-bedroom, four-bedroom, five-room and six-bedroom luxury flats.
The World Trade Centre apartments, a hotel, a conference centre as well as mega shopping mall – we call it capital city mall, a 40sqm development for which we’re almost completing the approval from authorities, the department of development control.
For the first phase which we’re now rounding off – the first phase comprises two towers – the commercial tower and the residential tower. The commercial tower is just office blocks and the residential tower comprises the luxury flats. We also have spars, swimming pools.
Under these two towers are basements, underground parking of three levels. Here, parking is not allowed on the surface. All parkings are below surface. That’s why in between these two towers, you’ll see long developments. We call those intermediate parking.
Under the residential tower are two floors of underground parking. Under the commercial tower, there are three levels of underground parking. These are complemented by the intermediate parking. There’re arms that bring up your car from the underground. You drive through our internal roads to link the link roads which Julius Berger is constructing.
The beauty of this thing is the level of assistance we’ve been having from the FCT minister, Sen Bala Mohammed. He single-handedly made sure that the infrastructure around the World Trade Centre which actually are part of the central area development are fast tracked.
Just behind this World Trade Centre, we have the Abuja metro railway. We also have the national railway. They have the stations overlooking us — between us and the NNPC station. This is contract undertaken by CCECC.
Then around the whole World Trade Centre which has been planned into the city infrastructure, Julius Berger is doing the link roads. We call them AR14 and AR16. One will go across and reach the American embassy site. Another will come out through Churchgate glass tower.
We got information you have been selling. How has the response of the clientele being?
As we know, the World Trade Centre in Abuja is the first of its kind in West Africa. It’s an outstanding project – many Nigerians have been very happy to associate with it. So the response has been really fantastic.
We don’t have any form of advert in the media but many who pass by and see these buildings – just by seeing them and the billboard we have out there, they come in. Most of our clients are either working clients or referral clients.
We’re undertaking direct marketing. There’s a marketing team in place. We identify the clients and we approach them.
Do you have clients – companies and individuals from outside Nigeria coming?
Yes, we have companies and individuals outside Nigeria who’re really interested in this project. They’re all coming. We don’t limit it to Nigeria. The response is good.
When all this is completed, what does it hold for the people of Abuja and probably Nigeria?
The whole aim of the project is to bring international brand to Nigeria that will define the skyline of Nigeria. We don’t have any structure in Abuja at present that has up to the height of 25 floors and 22 floors. It will not only create employment, a lot of international brands will be interested in coming in to invest and be part of this wonderful project. It’s going to bring a lot of development.
It’s actually a very beautiful spot. The whole idea of the project is to have everything under one roof — starting from where you live to where you work to where you do your entertainment and all of that.
This place is positioned to be a 24-hour hub where nobody sleeps. It’s going to be the central area like we have the Oxford Street in London, Times Square in New York, Sumpton in Johannesburg – the hub of the central area.
Concerns over security are paramount. What do you do here to guarantee security of those taking stakes in this project?
These buildings have special cladding which we call the glass. The glass we use here is the first of its kind in Abuja. It is double glaze. You have the glass, you have the gas inside it, then you have the glass again. The glass inside is captured so that it keeps away the heat while trapping inside your air conditioning to make it cool. At the same time, it has a kindly of bullet-proof effect while being eco friendly.
So when are businesses to commence in this phase?
We’re intensifying the infrastructure. We’re not going to wait until the second phase is completed…you don’t do it that way. You make sure that the first one you’ve done is commissioned. That’s why the marketing aspect is going on for the leasing of the commercial and the residential towers.
We’re developing infrastructure within the complex while Julius Berger has the contract from the FCDA [Federal Capital Development Authority] for infrastructure outside the complex. We’re doing our own internal roads, we ensure that our connection to the main sources of power, sewage, water…we’re fast tracking these things to ensure that this first phase…this year, the first phase will come on stream.
The special glass we use is sound proof so by the time we embark on another [phase], it does not disturb the first phase where you have people inside.
There is this general misconception that this project is government’s. What’s government’s link with this project?
People say it’s a government project. Some say it’s a European project. It’s a real private initiative of the Churchgate through its subsidiaries. It’s not an easy task for a private developer to do this. But we have experience.
In Lagos, you’ll see the first Churchgate Tower of this nature – the 12-storey Churchgate Tower One on Churchgate Street formerly African Street.
The tower was completed in 1996. It was a special construction. There’s another Churchgate Tower on the same Churchgate Street which is a 16-storey. We have luxury apartments in Lekki. We’re undertaking the Krayana Hotel. Now we have the Churchgate Three in Abuja. The one across was completed in 1997.
Since you started construction here, any problems?
We have problem of clearing goods at the ports. A lot of things are imported because of the nature of the construction. So many containers are outside — containers that should have come in before December – we incur demurrages at the ports.
When did this project start?
2011.
When will all the phases be completed?
I can’t say that! The next phase we’ll embark on this year is a 37-storey iconic tower. Then we’ll go to the capital shopping mall for which we already have partial approval from the FCDA authorities. By the end of this year, you’ll see more structures coming up. We want to live up to the expectations of the FCDA which has been supporting us.