Investors express willingness to build Smart City in Abia

African Rebirth Vision International has expressed its willingness to build a smart city in Abia to facilitate socio-economic development in the state.

The President of the organisation, Mr. Chuka Nwokoro, said this on Friday during a meeting with Gov. Alex Otti of Abia in Nvosi, Isiala Ngwa South Local Government Area.

Nwokoro said that the organisation had embarked on a mission to build a city that would be engineered by technology, just like other smart cities in the world.

He said that the organisation had brought together a team ofserious-minded and responsible developmental partners to make the project a reality.

“They are here to deploy the best solutions to make it possible for the Abia Smart City to be set up in the state,” he said.

Nwokoro noted that Abia was blessed with numerous mineral resources, saying that these would be harnessed to generate funds for the state’s infrastructure development.

According to him, the city will have a residential area, an industrial park, a community centre, and a church, among others.

He said: “It was conceived by the very best and we brought together the right team of developmental partners who will play responsibly to ensure that this happens in our lifetime.

“A city that will be engineered by technology and every Abian will live in.

“The team of developmental partners is among the 500 most respected companies in the world, and they are collectively coming together to deliver this project.

"Abia, in terms of minerals, has a lot, and we took time to do a comprehensive study of the state and saw that there was a lot of wealth sitting in Abia.

“We are asking for access to land and security, then we will harness the resources within our corridors.

“We have the power sector, the waste recycling sector, and every arm of a smart city.”

Nwokoro expressed confidence that his organisation and its team of developmental partners had the capacity to deliver the project.

In her remark, the Managing Director of the organisation, Miss Gandi Baai, commended the governor on his developmental strides within one year in office.

Baai said that the governor’s achievements had become a source of encouragement for people interested in promoting good governance.

“I am sure you have heard what happened in South Africa during the elections.

“When we hear success stories of Africans across the continent, it gives us inspiration because ‘One African, One Voice,” she said.

Baai added that the organisation had a lot of partners that had expressed willingness to ensure that the re-building agenda of the present administration would be achieved in Abia.

Responding, Gov. Otti expressed the readiness of the state government to partner with the organisation to make the proposed new Abia Smart City project a reality.

He said, “I am quite pleased to learn of this vision called Abia Smart City, and it ties very well with our own vision.

“He spoke about the digital economy and how it will integrate biometrics data, facial ID, or recognition and put everything together in a database, including certificates of occupancy, which are the title documents.

“We have started by making the title documents electronic. I sit in my office, and I sign them electronically.

“I think what you are speaking about is a more integrated system, which we will be happy to discuss further.”

The governor stressed that, in line with its rebuilding agenda, the state government had been making serious efforts to launch Abia into a digital economy.

He said that the government would explore the digital and building technology of the developmental partners and promised to deepen engagements with them to make the project a reality.

Otti directed the Special Assistant on Lands and Housing, Mr. Okorougo Aji, and the Commissioner for Digital Economy and SMEs, Mr. Matthew Ekwuruibe, to work closely with the development partners to further drive the project.