Experts in the built environment have criticized the development of Awka Millennium City being championed by Obiano administration, saying such projects discriminate between the poor and the rich in the society.
According to one of the experts, Chukwukelu Odawulu, such development is in bad fate because government will, in order to get the support of the affluence in the state, develop facilities in the city exceptionally compared to what obtains in other locations in the state.
According to him, “government should provide social amenities to everybody in the state without minding their status as long as government is for all. What should be done is to map out a portion of land in some parts of the state and put it for sell. In this regards, those who can buy into the area will be able to support the kind of infrastructure required by those in the area.
Another respondent, Mrs. Ngozi Ukachu, said that government should deploy the resources in the development of the entire state.
She said: “The roads in the state are being washed away by erosion and/or flood. Yet, instead of fixing them, government is talking of carving special area for the rich that can care for themselves. Let the roads be fixed, then we can get to where ever we do our business without much problems”.
However, Mr. Clem Nwogbo, Group Chairman of M-P Infrastructure in the state, said such development is not out of place because it is not by force. He said anybody who is willing and capable of meeting the financial requirements of being there can go there and register.
According to him, “capital is like a living organism; it goes and stays where it will thrive the most. For us at M-P Infrastructure Ltd, investing in the South East of Nigeria, Anambra, in particular, was a question of time. We were always aware of the economic potential of the South East dating back to the era of late Michael Okpara, former Premier of the Eastern Region of Nigeria, and then the Jim Nwobodo era as Governor of Anambra State and up till the present time of Governor Willie Obiano.
“Recall that Nigeria’s industrial revolution also took place in the South East. Companies such as Eastern Nigeria Development Company (ENDC), Golden Guinea Breweries Ltd, Modern Ceramics, Nkalagu Cement, Premier Breweries, and so on, were all thriving southeast Nigeria-based firms.
“We were never in doubt of the huge economic potential that abound in the region. The demographics of the teeming population, there, rising purchasing power, the increase in the number of educated members of the population, etc.
As the population grew, and the people got more sophisticated and enlightened, their needs and tastes will increase too so already we could see the gaps in the market for various products and services