Almost always political leadership in Nigeria seem to have forgotten that governance is an act of seed sowing and that irrespective of the kind of seed that a government in power sows, it must surely reap the fruit—good or bad—from the seed it has sown.
Many leaders who sow bad seeds in their communities by neglecting the provision of basic necessities of life, especially primary infrastructure, end up having troubled tenure manifesting in social unrest and security challenges arising from general discontent and ill-feeling towards the government.
On the contrary, when a government realizes that governance is about ensuring the security of lives and property of citizens and also providing enabling environment for businesses to thrive and for new investors to come in, what such government gets in return is a peaceful citizenry and investment inflow, leading to the growth of local economy through job creation and increased household income.
This has been the story of Enugu State, the regional capital of old Eastern Region, where the past eight years of Sullivan Chime administration has committed enormous resources providing infrastructure and creating conducive environment for investors who now see the state as an investment haven
Governor Chime has assured genuine and potential investors of adequate protection of their lives and businesses in the state, adding that, as a matter of policy, the state would continue to create investment friendly environment for investors to do business.
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The state, in recent time, has received a number of investors including Platinum Mortgage Bank which would be developing 10,000 housing units in partnership with the state government. Another is the Elim-FMBN partnership which has built a 234-unit estate commissioned recently by the Vice President, Namadi Sambo.
The latest investor is Private Estate International West Africa which is in the Coal City to build a lifestyle community popularly known as Centenary City or Enugu Lifestyle and Golf City where the developer is offering opportunity for residence, commerce, industry and serviced plots of land for sale.
The residential development within the community caters for a wide range of housing needs including entry-level, middle-income, executive, and super-exclusive homes. The community is located around an 18-hole golf course that winds itself around the entire stretch of the development. An additional, exclusive 9-hole golf course is located within the Presidential Park Estate and opens to only residents of this super-exclusive and ultra-secure community.
A 5-star clubhouse and hotel is planned to be the central meeting point for residents in the community. The hotel, to be managed by the Marriot brand, would be located next to a lake and wrapped around the golf course. It will be built as a resort-getaway for business conferences and families desiring a vacation away from their busy daily lives. Other amenities like schools, places of worship, sports facilities, and many others will be provided in this self-sustaining city. The community is such that no other city in Nigeria is conceived in this way.
This facility which occupies a large expanse of land measuring 1,097 hectares, is designed to offer a lifestyle of luxury, serenity and security and the developer estimates that infrastructure and other related cost of developing the city is about $300 million.
A public private partnership between Private Estate and Enugu State government, the Centenary City has recorded significant progress in infrastructure development while several off-takers have commenced construction of their building units.
Kingsley Eze, the MD/CEO of Private Estates International, says the Golf City is the premier lifestyle city in Sub-Saharan Africa, pointing out that it is characterized by breath-taking vintage layout with a fine blend of functionality that connects living with sustainable grandeur.
Cutting edge infrastructural facilities in the city include state-of- the- art electronic security system, water treatment plants, steady electricity supply, good roads network with street lightings, drains and walkway, telecommunication facilities, wireless network, recreation park, hospital, nursery, primary, secondary school, shopping mall, Club House, 18-hole golf course, 9-hole golf course, 5-star hotel, security post and fire station.
The city which is located in Independence Layout Phase 2, along Enugu-Port Harcourt Expressway, is about five minutes’ drive from Independence Layout Phase One and eight minutes’ drive from Akanu Ibiam International Airport, Enugu. It is bordered by River Ayo and River Nyaba, and pockmarked by lakes and other bodies of water. As with all modern cities around the world, this lifestyle community has a combination of residential, commercial and industrial developments.
Chuka Uroko
