By Zubairu Idris

Katsina State Government says the 3,750 housing units combined with aquaculture project in Kankia and Radda towns will be financed by COSMOS Residential City Nigeria Limited.

It said the project would be executed through “Build, Operate and Transfer (BOT)” arrangement.

The State Head of Civil Service (HoS), who is also the Chairman, implementation committee, Alhaji Falalu Bawale, made the disclosure at a press briefing on Friday in Katsina.

“Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) has already been signed between the State Government and the company. Katsina government will only provide land for the project.

“It is not a contract and will not cost Katsina government money. Our committee is given the mandate to select beneficiaries across the 34 Local Government Areas of the state,” he said.

The Managing Director of the company, Mr Murtala Sani, revealed that the project was conceived out of the “Renewed Housing Estate” agenda of President Bola Tinubu, adding that the company has been an expert in aquaculture.

“It is a system whereby the company will Build, Operate and Transfer. The beneficiaries will not also spend any amount of money. It will be implemented in partnership with Spire USA Incorporation, a COSMOS subsidiary.

“We only require a good atmosphere to operate in terms of security to guarantee the agreement in case there is a change of government. We will also rehabilitate Kankia dam; its cost has not been included in the earlier amount.

“We intend to spend about $97 million, which is about N155 billion for the package. Kankia is a full package that will have 2,500 housing units, while Radda will have 1,250 housing units totalling 3,750 houses,” he said.

He further said that the project would combine modern housing with backyard fish farming and vegetable gardens in every home, thereby creating sustainable livelihoods for beneficiaries and boosting local and export-oriented food production.

According to him, government will  identify unemployed youths and low-income households, including those without formal western education but with practical farming and vocational skills, as beneficiaries.

Also speaking, Mr Adamu Yau, explained that when they took the project to the Minister of Housing and Urban Development, Ahmed Dangiwa, the minister forwarded same to the President, who finally approved.

“The President approved the project for the six geopolitical zones, the minister proposed Katsina for the North-West; Kankia and Radda were also selected for Katsina State, which were graciously approved.

“Kankia has proximity to both Kano and Katsina. This implied that produce can easily be moved to the airports in Kano or Katsina for onward transportation abroad,” he said.

According to him, the project will transform the lives of the population and curb rural-urban migration, especially among the youth.

He noted that experts in the project would come from Australia, Canada, USA and Spain, where some 5,000 adults would be engaged, adding that 500 others would work with the experts who would be trained directly.

He added that beneficiaries were expected to earn N200,000 monthly, with N70,000 compulsory saving as exit package. NAN