Governor Umar Abdullahi Ganduje of Kano State has showcased some of his administration’s multi-billion naira public investment geared at re-activating the dwindling socio-economic fortune of the commercial state.
Some of the landmark achievements showcased to a team of media personalities on a visit to the state included the Kano Economic City Project and Kartin-Kwari Textile Market, among others, being developed through Public Private Partnership (PPP) funding arrangement.
Ganduje disclosed to the visitors at the premises of Kano Economic City that a private investor-Brain & Hammer is investing about N150 billion into the project whose first phase is expected to be completed in two years time.
According to him, the state government’s share in the investment was the sum of money so far, committed by his administration in the acquisition of the land from its original owners.
In the same vein, the governor, while conducting the visitors around the Kartin–Kwari Textile Market, stated that the modernization of the market would cost about N5 billion, pointing out that the money is being provided by private stakeholders in the market.
He added that his administration is committing over N600 million in the construction of supporting infrastructures, such as road networks, banking facilities, security posts, and toilets in the market.
Also, Ganduje revealed that his administration is investing over N3 billion in the development of Skill Acquisition Centre, as a way of addressing the mounting joblessness among the young residents of the state.
Giving further insight into the investment, he pointed out that about N2.3 billion of the money being put into the project was the purchase of some equipment to be installed in the Centre for the purpose of teaching skills to the young people to be selected for the programme.
“Before our election we promised the youths in the state that we would be providing facilities where they can acquire skills for their self actualization, instead of depending on the government for jobs, which are daily diminishing.
“Some of the skills to be taught here, includes, Hair Dressing, Dress Making and Fashion, Electrical Installation, Fabrication of Mechanical Parts, Auto-Mobile Skills, as well as various other related skills.
“Under this programme over 200 youths both males and females have been sent by this administration to Peugeot Auto-Mobile Training Institute in Kaduna to learn different skills in the field of automobile, so in this centre too we are going to train more youths in the area of automobile.
“This centre will also be involved in the training of youths in Leather Works, as you know the state is very endowed with a lot of potential in Leather Industry, we also have a specialized market dedicated to leather products”, he explained.
Speaking further, the governor noted that before the centre was conceived, research was conducted on measures that needed to be put in place to make the young people assets rather than a liability which they presently constituted
