World Trade Centre Abuja
The World Trade Centre is a complex of eight buildings under construction in the Central Business District of Abuja, FCT in Nigeria. There are seven skyscrapers planned for the site, two of which have already been topped out, with the others either under construction or at various stages of development. At, the 24-floor WTC Tower 1, which topped out in 2015 was briefly the tallest residential building in Nigeria, while WTC Tower 2 is the tallest building in Abuja, standing at. Initially scheduled to be opened in 2013, the World Trade Centre Abuja is now scheduled to open in 2016.
The complex is being funded by private financial institutions, as well as private investors, costing about ₦200 billion. it is being developed by First Intercontinental Properties Limited, a subsidiary of The churchgate Group, a Nigerian real estate company, and the project was designed by Woods Bagot, WSP Consulting is the structural consultant, whilst Abuja Investments Company is also a partner. The WTC Abuja, when completed, will be the largest mixed-use development on the West African subcontinent.
Development
The development of World Trade Centre Abuja started in 2010, on a land size of over 6,000 hectares in the Central Business District of Abuja. The project was initially on a much lesser scale; at the conceptual stage of the project, two unsuccessful attempts were made at securing development partners before First Continental Properties Limited was secured in 2009 through a bid process which eventually led to a development-lease agreement with Abuja Investments Company Limited. Along the line, the scope of the project was later expanded to a mega-multi-use complex, "which would be bustling throughout the day and night".President Goodluck Jonathan broke ground for the project in September 2011, with an estimated completion and opening date initially scheduled for 2013. However, the date could not be kept due to several challenges in design, development and even during construction process of the project. The project has also undergone several redesign in order to meet the changing "market demands".
The complex is being funded by private financial institutions, as well as private investors, costing about ₦200 billion. it is being developed by The churchgate Group, a Nigerian real estate company, with Woods Bagot as the architect. Other partners and consultants of the project include: Abuja Investments Company who is a partner, WSP Consulting is the structural consultant, Edifice Consultants PVT Limited is the executive architect, as well as MEP Consultant. Others are: Messrs Hancock Ogundiya & Partners, Local MEP & C&S Consultants, while Space Designers Limited is the Local Architectural Consultant.