Nigeria's World Trade Center In Capital City Abuja Will Open Early Next Year

by Diana Tomale / Sep 11, 2015 02:04 AM EDT

(Photo by: Spencer Platt / Getty Images News) A World Trade Center will soon rise in Nigeria. WTC Abuja is expected to open early next year.

A World Trade Center in Nigeria's capital city, Abuja, will open to the public early next year as the project's first phase is near completion.

According to a CNN report last Monday, the complex joins the network of trade centers in 323 locations across 89 countries. The network has been established upon the inauguration of the first World Trade Center built in New York City in 1970.

The funding of the WTC Abuja comes from local and foreign financial sectors as well as private investors. The project costs over $1 billion and its site measures over six million square feet, making it the biggest multi-pupose development in West Africa. Located in the Central Business Area of Abuja, the project construction has started in 2010.

"One of the missions of WTC Abuja is to improve trade relations between Nigeria and the rest of the world," Lagos-based Churchgate Group CEO Vinay Mahtani says.

"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 welfare of the people."

The WTC Abuja was initially planned to open to public in 2013. However, the project has undergone changes along the project's development.

"For example certain areas of the project have had to be redesigned as we repositioned ourselves in order meet the ever-changing consumer and market needs. We have also faced logistical issues such as congestion in the ports, which has meant our building materials arrived at site behind schedule," Mahtani said.

The project's first phase comprises separate 24-story commercial and residential towers. The former offers 100 to 1,400-square-meter offices to accommodate different businesses, while the latter has luxury apartments equipped with modern amenities.