Kwara Government Approves N600m For New Ilorin Masterplan

The Kwara State Government has announced the implementation of a new city master plan for the state capital, Ilorin, during a semi-virtual cabinet meeting held on the 10th of September.

The Council approved the awarding of the relevant contract to Dar-Al-Handasah Consultants Ltd at the cost of N600m for a duration of 15 months.

This comes decades after the only master plan of the city was designed by the former military regime of the late Brigadier-General David Bamigboye. 

In a statement signed by the state commissioner for information, Harriet Afolabi-Oshatimehin, the government explained that the plan has been deemed necessary due to the spiralling population growth and challenges of physical development in the city.

The State Commissioner for Works and Transport, Rotimi Suleiman Iliasu, said the ministry adopted selective tendering for the job due, in part, to its technical nature and the stellar track record of the company in Africa and the United States.

He said a total of four prominent firms were originally invited for a restricted tendering process in November 2019, including Fola Consultant which bid for N175,268,977.68; Bluenile Associates which quoted N1,784,459,257.00; Dar-Al-Handasah Consultants Ltd which offered to do the job at N600,000,000.00; and Akom Construction and Engineering Synergy Ltd which bid for N899,850,000.00. 

Governor AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq noted that the master plan became necessary to allow for proper development while also preparing for the future.

AbdulRazaq said other major cities in the state will also have master plans developed for them.

“The committee for Offa/Oyun master plan is already in place and it’s working; the one for Patigi will start soon. Same for Lafiagi, Omu Aran, and others. This is not just the end; all our cities will get urban master plans so we can organise the way we live. We can plan our infrastructure. There are parts of Ilorin today that we cannot get infrastructure to because people have built haphazardly,” he said.

“We need to plan how we live not just now but also how we live in the future. In fifty years time, for example, would we still be using this same Ilorin Airport or there will be another airport designated somewhere? Because the Ilorin airport will be right in the heart of the city of Ilorin in about 50 years time. That’s why we need a planned neighbourhood, planned environment, and our various institutions.”