I’m in a rush to decongest Port Harcourt, create more cities -Fubara

Rivers State Governor, Sir Siminalayi Fubara says machineries are on towards the actualisation of the development blueprint of ending the one city status of the State and attracting more investors.

Fubara spoke during an inspection visit to the Greater Port Harcourt City Development Authority, GPHCDA, office and project sites in Ikwerre Local Government Area of the State, yesterday.

The Governor said his administration is determined to do more by adding to what it has inherited of the agency in order to establish more cities in Rivers State.

He said: “I can assure you that in our time, we might not achieve the dream of that big city in four years, but we will add a few things that would also help us in getting at that target.

“This is because, we are thinking of decongesting the present one city state that we have, which is Port Harcourt and Obio Akpor. We are thinking of developing other parts of the State and our coming here is to see what the agency has been doing, what you have done already and what we can also do to make us achieve more new cities in our State.

Fubara noted that despite the challenges the agency has been facing, if their development ideals are aligned with those of the State government mutually with required synergy provided, there will be remarkable difference in what will be achieved within his tenure, and further charged the agency to be self-sustaining as outlined by the establishment law through attracting investors.

In his address, the Sole Administrator of Greater Port Harcourt City Development Authority, Ambassador Desmond Akawor informed that since its establishment in 2009 by the Greater Port Harcourt Law, the agency has been slowed down in its mandate of creating more cities because of its operational structure and the nature of the Public-Private Partnership adopted.