Firm Unveils Mini City in P/Harcourt to Attract High Net Worth Executives

Raheem Akingbolu

A mini-city within the Garden City to be known as the PH-Airport City has been unveiled in the Rivers State capital.

The estate located near the Port Harcourt International Airport in the Omagwa area of the state is said to be a piece of investment initiative to attract back topmost executives most of whom fled the Garden City in recent years in the wake of threats of insecurity.

The mini-city, PH-AirportCity is planned to commence with 2000 houses which is to be implemented in phases. The scheme is a partnership between the Rivers State Government through the Greater Port Harcourt City Development Authority (GPCDA) and Masta Services Company Limited ably superintended by Ugo Ohuabunwa, a renowned and career professional builder with 40 years of experience in the design, construction, engineering and building profession.

The project is propelled by a Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV) known as Masta-Rivers Development Company Limited with 70% to the private equity holder (Masta Services Company Limited) and 30% to the GPCDA on behalf of the Rivers State government.

In his presentation, Ugo Ohuabunwa, the Managing Director and CEO of Masta Services, who is doubles as the Managing Partner of Masta-Rivers Development Company Ltd, said concerned developers were aggrieved that the city was undergoing infrastructure decay, requiring urgent action, hence, the idea of a mini-city within the city.

He reminded investors that “Port Harcourt was a unique city connected to Aba (Abia State), Uyo (Akwa Ibom State), Owerri (Imo State), Onit

sha (Anambra State), and Yenagoa (Bayelsa State) in a matter of between an hour or two.,”

He said “We want to change that; we want to create a mini city in the main city for the highest class. This will free space for the middle class. The new city is deliberately located close to the Port Harcourt International Airport and will become the first aerotropolis, which is an urban area where the airport is the central economic driver, with infrastructure, land use, and economy structured around it. This concept expands beyond a typical airport city to include a wide range of connected developments, such as commercial, residential, logistics, and entertainment areas, all feeding off the airport’s global connectivity.”, he asserted

He mentioned affordability as a key strategy, saying luxury is affordable. To achieve the initiative, Ohuabunwa said the company got land directly from the government partner, loan opportunities for buyers from the Federal Mortgage Bank of Nigeria (FMBN), and further funding from the Stanbic IBTC Mortgage company.

On what the mini-city and the modern houses boast of, the CEO said the houses range from one-bedroom affairs to five-bedroom classes with e-security, CCTV system, malls, road network, storm water drainage, central sewage system, gas to power, gas for cooking, fibre optics, four fire stations, etc. The minimum rate may be N32m. He said this has not been done in Nigeria because the buyer’s money is not needed at the initial stage to build the houses.