June 2010

Nigeria: Town Planners Urged to Utilize Vision 20 - 20 Blue Print in Professional Practise - Recent government interventions such as the creation of NDDC, NEPAD, MDGs, and the release of the final blue print for the attainment of vision 20:2020 will open a new vista to the professional practice of town planners. [AA Urbanisation]

Nigeria: Burnt Bricks Making As Brisk Business - Faced with the biting effect of the economic meltdown, many Nigerians have gone back to their traditional ways of earning a living. In the Northern part of the country the local block industry has come alive as jobless youths have turned to it as an alternative means of survival. [AA Construction]

Uganda: Construction of New Aswa Bridge Starts - Construction works on a new two-way bridge over Aswa River have started. Works state minister John Byabagambi commissioned the construction on Tuesday. [AA Construction]

West Africa: ECOWAS Council of Ministers Adopts Regional Industrial Policy - The Ecowas Council of Ministers has adopted the West African Common Industrial Policy (WACIP), its action plan and supplementary acts and called on the Ecowas Commission to take all necessary steps to ensure their speedy implementation. [AA Urbanisation]

Nigeria: Lagos Plans Rehabilitation of Scavengers - Lagos State Government on Monday said it would rehabilitate refuse pickers known as "scavengers" and use them for waste recycling. Mr. Ola Oresanya, the Managing Director of the Lagos Waste Management Authority (LAWMA), said this at the state's maiden Solid Waste Management Open Day held in Lagos. [AA Urbanisation]

Nigeria: Katsina Govt Pays N563 Million to Housing Contractors - The Katsina State Government has so far paid N563.1 million to the contractors handling the construction of 252 new low cost houses along Daura road in Katsina. [AA Construction]

Nigeria: Bayelsa to Build 2,000 Houses - The Bayelsa Government says it has approved the construction of 2,000 low cost housing units to tackle shortage of ccommodation.The Commissioner of Information, Nathan Egba, disclosed this in a statement in Yenagoa. [AA Construction]

Nigeria: Actis Commences Work On U.S.$100 Million Ikeja City Mall Project - Actis, a leading private equity investor in emerging markets, has commenced construction at the $100million Ikeja City Mall project in Lagos with a groundbreaking ceremony attended by Governor Babatunde Fashola, and project partners, Paragon Holdings and RMB Investments & Advisory. [AA Construction]

Uganda: KCC to Beautify City - Kampala City Council (KCC) has launched a campaign to beautify the city and turn it into a model city, town clerk Ruth Kijjambu has said.She was commissioning a sh100m fountain at the Nile Avenue round about opposite Nakumatti Oasis shopping Mall. [AA Urbanisation]

Mozambique: Government Repeats Commitment to Decent Housing - Mozambican Prime Minister Aires Ali on Monday reiterated the government's commitment to improve living standards by providing Mozambicans with decent housing or the possibility to build their own homes on land where roads, electricity and water supply are already available. [AA Urbanisation]

Nigeria: From 1Million FG Homes to 55,000 - How Feasible? - The late President Umaru Musa Yar' Adua early last year gave a directive to the then Minister of Housing, Halima Alao, to set in motion a machinery that would make available an estimated one million housing units for the masses nationwide. [AA Construction]

Nigeria: Firm Wins $1.2 Billion Mass Housing Project in Chad - Efforts at boosting economic integration between Nigeria and the Republic of Chad have started yielding dividend, as an indigenous construction firm based in Nigeria, over the weekend won the bid to construct 50,000 housing units in Chad at a cost of $1.2billion. [AA Construction]