The Nigerian Institute of Town Planners has lamented the total lack of physical planning on new sites being built by the Federal Government.
According to The PUNCH, this was said by NITP President Nathaniel Atebije during the organization’s quarterly news conference, which had the topic “Wake up, Nigeria, and put on strength,” recently conducted in Abuja.
He stated that “the main goal of the conference was to conduct a thorough diagnosis of problems pertaining to the nation’s growth and development, especially those that have to do with the actual physical planning of its land resources.”
Before the construction of the 3112 housing units under the Renewed Hope Cities project began, he questioned the government’s adherence to basic technical procedures.
To prevent the negative effects of a badly designed city, Atebije contends that development ideas must be submitted for technical review, environmental impact assessment, and development approvals.
“The government recently unveiled a housing program and we applaud the President and ministers for initiating ‘the groundbreaking Renewed Hope Cities’. Without a doubt, the initiative is grandiose, enormous, and might help Nigerians.
“But even with that, there are still some perplexing problems that make us wonder if the houses are really constructed. Are they meant to make housing units more accessible and inexpensive for Nigerians who are vulnerable and impoverished, or are they meant to expand the number of dwelling units in the country?
“In addition to this, especially in a city like Abuja, there are some fundamental technical processes for such a project to undergo before construction commences.”
“The submission of development projects for technical reviews, environmental impact assessment studies, development permits from the development control department, and stakeholder public scrutiny were issues that required special attention,” he continued.
