Kano state government has said it adopted a public private partnership (PPP) model in its quest to bridge infrastructure deficit and rejuvenate the economy of the state, refuting a story by a section of the media over sale of public properties by the administration of Governor Abdullahi Umar Ganduje.
A statement signed by the Commissioner for Information, Malam Muhammad Garba and made available to Blueprint indicated that under the PPP concept which is grossly misunderstood by the public, the government of Kano state is revitalising under-performing assets in partnership with willing investors as part of move to make the ancient city catch up with modernity for a befitting mega city status.
He said the PPP arrangement, one of the best global practices, is a long-term contract between a private party and a government agency for providing a public asset or service, in which the private party bears significant risk and management responsibility.
Malam Garba pointed out that the build-operate-transfer variations, which are also commonly used in Nigeria, including design-build-finance-transfer, build-operate-own, and design-build-finance-operate models, are part of efforts by the government to re-appraising the Kano Master Plan which has not been rendered to any re-appraisal for a very long time to give impetus for proper planning and implementation of infrastructure development.
The commissioner stated that most of the properties in question are either abandoned or under-performing, indicating that one of such properties-Daula Hotel, which had been abandoned for years, has become a hiding place for criminals, even as the School of Hospitality and Tourism situated within its premises only occupies 10 per cent of the structure, would now be developed to a residential building for enhanced revenue generation.
On the once vivacious Triumph newspapers brusquely closed down by the Rabi’u Musa Kwankwaso administration in 2012, one quarter of which was converted to a public convenience, Malam Garba said it was revived by the present administration and now relocated to a more convenient place befitting a newspaper house to pave the way for the development of a more economically viable and modern Bureau de Change Market that can generate more revenue to the state and provide employment opportunities to the teeming populace.
He also said the Shahuchi parking area was originally earmarked for the project by the previous administration but the structure was faulty, which informed the decision by the Ganduje administration to fine tune it to standard level, while construction of corner shops in public spaces is aimed at curving criminal activities by miscreants who hide under the cover of darkness to perpetrate crimes.
