Nigeria’s capital city of Abuja is about to get a new heart: a
brand new World Trade Center complex.
The development is expected to open to the public early
next year after the completion of the first phase of
construction. It will join a network of 323 locations in 89
countries, started in 1970 with the inauguration of the first
World Trade Center in New York City.
Funded by local and foreign financial institutions, as well as
private investors, to the tune of 200 billion Nigerian Naira,
or just over $1 billion, the WTC Abuja will be the largest
mixed-use development in West Africa.
WTC Abuja has been under development since 2010, on a lot
spanning over six million square feet in th
e Central Business
Area of the capital.
The location offers easy access to the city center and the
airport, with a dual-carriage highway surrounding the site
and a new light rail system currently under construction.
World Trade Center Association Timeline
1939: The World’s Fair in Queens, NY, names its grounds
“World Trade Center”
1961: The NY Port Authority approves the WTC project
1969: the non-profit, non-political organization is
founded in New York
1970: The first 15 members meet in Tokyo
1973: The WTCA moves to the 77th floor of the WTC in
New York
2015: the network reaches 323 members in 89 countries
and connects 750,000 companies and entrepreneurs
For business tenants, though, the most important
connections will be those with the global network of 750,000
entrepreneurs that make up the World Trade Centers
Association (WTCA).
“One of the missions of WTC Abuja is to improve trade
relations between Nigeria and the rest of the world,” Vinay
Mahtani, CEO of the site’s developer, Lagos-based
Churchgate Group, told CNN.
“For example, it will enable international businesses to
make investments in our community. Ties will be forged
between government agencies, non-governmental
organizations and international corporations, and the
additional business that is captured within the walls of the
World Trade Center will provide tax revenues to government
which can be used to improve the welfa
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