BY NONYELUM JULIET
Kaduna
The Director-General, Kaduna State Urban and Planning Development Agency (KASUPDA), Ismail Umaru Dikko on Monday received award of excellence from the Kaduna State Motor Dealers Association.
Receiving the award yesterday from the Board of Trustees, Kaduna Motor Dealers Association, Ismail Umaru Dikko disclosed that Kaduna State Government has concluded it’s plans to relocate all car marts operating by the road side and other locations within Kaduna City in the next two years.
Dikko said as part of measures to make Kaduna city function properly and in line with the master plan, arrangements have been concluded to relocate all the car marts to three locations on the outskirts of Kaduna metropolis.
According to him, “we felt it is important for us to do this for our city. So, we have identified three locations in Kaduna and we started with the one at millennium city. We are empowering the Motor dealers; we gave them the land free of charge, it has been allocated to them, within our reach we are trying to be as honest as possible, it was allocated to them as (Development Lease Agreement (DLA) like development based on agreement to spend certain period of time to develop it.
“We are also trying to provide little infrastructure that we can within our reach, the land is just at the eastern bypass along Umar Musa Yaradua Way and the one at Gonin gora axis and the other one at Kaduna-Zaria expressway by Rigachikun. Those locations are the sites that we have identified, we are at the final stage of the two locations, we encourage them to develop within the period of two or three years.
“Once they develop the land it is going to be theirs forever, once they abide by the terms and conditions,” he said.
He explained that, after the development of the sites in the next two years, all motor dealers within the city will move to the locations as their hub.
The KASUPDA Boss however assured that adequate security arrangements has also been thought out to ensure that they are comfortable in all of the locations.
Umaru-Dikko however expressed appreciation to the association for the honour done to him, saying that, he never expected the award as there were still pending assignments yet to be delivered on his table.
Earlier, Chairman BoT, Kaduna State Motor Dealers Association, Alhaji Yakubu Leko Zangon-Daura said the award was presented to the KASUPDA boss based on his developmental strides in Kaduna State, saying that, they were comfortable with the new arrangement but, “we are only worried about the security but we believe that government is going to take care of that.”
