FCT Minister Nyesom Wike said on Tuesday in Abuja that the FCT Administration had secured funding from SUKUK to complete the Abuja Millennium Tower and Cultural Centre.

The minister disclosed this while inspecting various project sites in Abuja and assured that part of the fund would be used to complete other ongoing projects.

Mr Wike said SUKUK management had agreed to fund projects outside its coverage areas, mainly roads and bridges.

The Millennium Tower, located in the central area of Abuja, is a multifunctional edifice with facilities for cultural exposition, tourism, socialisation, recreation, hospitality, and commercial activities.

The contractor on the project is Salini Construction Nigeria Ltd.

The project, conceived in 2005, had reached 40 per cent completion but was abandoned because of paucity of funds.

Upon completion, it is expected to self-finance itself from revenues generated from commercial activities.

“As I speak with you, we have more than N70 billion to N100 billion that we shall access, and we are going to attach the fund to specific projects.

“We have also submitted a supplementary budget for 2023, and President Bola Tinubu has approved it and will transmit it to the National Assembly.

“We are asking that we should be allowed to spend N61 billion, and we want to use that money for specific projects so that by May 29, these projects are completed,’’ he said.

The minister assured that no project would be abandoned under his watch and expressed joy that residents were witnessing the completion of abandoned projects.

Mr Wike expressed optimism that when completed, the Millennium Tower would change the landscape of Abuja and boost its tourism potential.

He assured residents of the territory that all ongoing projects would be completed before May 29, 2024.

The Millennium Tower and Cultural Centre project is one of several projects in the Central District of Abuja. At 170 metres (560 ft.), it is the tallest artificial structure in Abuja.

The tower was designed by Manfredi Nicoletti, an Italian architect, who died on October 29, 2017, in Rome.

The tower includes the Nigerian Cultural Centre, an eight-storey, low-rise, pyramid-shaped edifice.

Construction of the tower started in 2006 and was suspended in 2014.

(NAN)