Barring any disagreement on the concession fee, a new management may soon take over the National Arts Theatre, with a mandate to develop the 65-hectare facility into an international tourism destination.
Director General of the Infrastructure Concession Regulatory Commission (ICRC) Mr. Aminu Diko, said yesterday in Abuja that all issues relating to the concession had reached an advanced stage with a preferred bidder and the facility would soon wear a new look.
Diko said transactions on Public Private Partnership under his leadership were carried out with regard for transparency and consideration for investors that would add value to the projects.
Although he said the National Theatre building would be renovated, other buildings would be developed on its wide expanse of land to generate income and create jobs under a PPP arrangement that is mutually beneficial.
He named the preferred bidder as Topwide/Apeas.
The ICRC chief said: “Due process was followed where a preferred bidder emerged. The concession fee is still being negotiated. It will be ventilation for the city. People travel from Lagos to Dubai to make purchases. If we can provide facilities to attract them to do their shopping in Nigeria, it will be better for our economy; it will create jobs and create wealth for ourselves. That is the idea behind it.
“Part of the new buildings would be a multi-story car park, a five-star hotel and a total renovation of the National Arts Theatre. The National Theatre will be renovated and returned to its former state. If you go round our continent, you will not see that size of open space anywhere in the heart of the city as you see around the Arts Theatre. It will be free, the investor will recover the money used to refurbish it from the income he gets from that area.
“The business case was done and we certified and FEC approved and a competitive process was run, where a preferred bidder came in. Although I don’t have the amount of investment required. It is being negotiated but it will be a destination and called the Nigerian Entertainment City.”
He said while a number of concessions had experienced glitches due to loopholes in the agreements, the commission was being meticulous in its responsibility by making sure that PPPs no longer run into similar problems in the future.