The Abia State Government has announced plans to launch the Greater Aba Master Plan, a 25-year comprehensive blueprint designed to guide the long-term development and transformation of the commercial city.
This was disclosed on Monday by the Commissioner for Information, Mr. Okey Kanu, during a press briefing at the Government House in Umuahia, following the outcome of the State Executive Council (EXCO) meeting.
Kanu described the initiative as a collaborative effort between the Greater Aba Development Authority and the United Nations Human Settlements Programme (UN-Habitat).
He explained that the master plan is built around four key pillars: road infrastructure and connectivity, economic development, sustainable urban expansion, and flood management.
He stated that the State Government, through a collaborative effort between the Greater Aba Development Authority and UN-Habitat, has been working assiduously for a while now to deliver on this master plan.
Four strategic pillars
According to him, the master plan is primarily designed to address the land use infrastructure, and communication goals of the authority, and the master plan is designed to rest on four pillars.
“The first pillar focuses on road infrastructure, which includes transportation, development, and improved connectivity within Aba.
“The second pillar will deal with the economic development of Aba, and it will deal with industrial zones, upgrades, and formalization of commercial hubs within the city,” he said.
He added that the third pillar addresses sustainable development and the planned urban expansion of Aba, while the fourth pillar focuses on enhancing terrestrial resilience and flood management, which, of course, have been a perennial problem of that city.
Healthcare expansion
On healthcare, Kanu said the government had inaugurated three additional Primary Health Centres (PHCs), bringing the total number of completed facilities under the Project Ekwueme Scheme to 17.
He added that a fourth PHC is scheduled to be inaugurated on June 20 in Ngu, Bende Local Government Area.
According to him, all the centres are fully equipped with modern medical tools and staffed with qualified personnel to enhance healthcare access across the state.
Kanu stated that the state’s health insurance scheme currently has 91,227 enrollees, describing the figure as “encouraging.”
He added that the State Ministry of Health has received approval to extend the scheme’s coverage to the informal sector in the coming weeks.
He also announced that a new Intensive Care Unit (ICU) has become operational at the Abia State Specialist and Diagnostic Hospital, significantly boosting the state’s capacity for emergency medical response and specialized surgeries.
Public infrastructure overhaul
He said that the state had made remarkable progress in its broader public infrastructure overhaul.
The commissioner also said that the hostel renovations at the Abia State University, Uturu, were nearing completion.
Kanu also stated that Abia State University, Uturu, would soon commence staff recruitment in critical academic areas, following the approval granted by the State Executive Council (EXCO).
He added that key infrastructure projects are ongoing at the Abia State College of Education Technical, Arochukwu (ASCETA), including internal road construction, library upgrades, and auditorium retrofitting.
According to him, these efforts are part of the administration’s agenda to support course accreditation in ASCETA and, more broadly, to elevate the standard of higher education across the state.
Addressing the recent security situation, Kanu acknowledged that there had been breaches but assured the public of the government’s commitment to respond decisively.
He emphasized that security agencies remain on high alert to ensure peace and stability are maintained throughout the state.
