The Kaduna State government has designated 117 new settlements as urban areas in addition to the existing 23.
The government also said it had awarded contract for the preparation of master plans for 19 urban areas.
Deputy Governor Dr Hadiza Sabuwa Balarabe who stated this when she received the executive committee of the Northern Town Planners Forum when they visited her in Government House Kaduna said Governor Sani’s administration would ensure that all towns and cities in the state have master plans for development.
Dr Balarabe explained that the state government would partner and collaborate with regulatory bodies and professional associations to develop the state for the greater good of the citizens.
She said: “The governor has rolled out road constructions across the state, three have been flagged off and many more will be flagged off in the coming days, there are 32 roads to be constructed across the state.
“The previous government made considerable progress in executing the urban renewal programme and this administration will ensure the completion of all projects commenced. All these initiatives we hope will provide an environment that is serene, aesthetically beautiful, and most importantly safe for pursuance of livelihoods, liberties and businesses”
She appealed to professional town planners to collaborate with government in sensitising Nigerians on the critical importance of engaging the services of professionals when constructing or developing properties.
Earlier in his presentation during the visit, the chairman, Northern Town Planners Forum, Barnabas Atiyaye, pointed out that while governments in the southern part of the country had come to terms with what physical planning can do in transforming their cities and rural areas, most of governments in the North hardly appreciate the role of the physical planner.
Atiyaye said: “Kaduna State stands as a role model and is absolutely on the right track and ahead of all its counterparts in respect to physical development in the North apart from the FCT.”
