Amana city, located off Kano-Zaria highway, is the second mega city in Kano.The city enjoys Physical presence of some federal and state agencies that benefitted from the allocation of the houses with free rent by the state government.
The city was built essentially to address the challenges of housing deficit, overcrowding,and overstretched public infrastructure in a bid to Make Kano economically developed.
The city was commissioned in 2015 by Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso administration and later renamed Sheikh Nasiru Kabara estate by Abdullahi Umar Ganduje administration, initially faced the challenge of near zero physical occupation,absence of electricity and water supply.
All these have changed, however, with the renewed vigour of the state government with which it promoted outright purchase of the houses or physical occupation of completed buildings in the city.
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Amana city is now placed under the purview of Kano State Investment and Property limited KSIP, a body responsible for encouraging, promoting and coordinating investments in the state economy as well as attraction of domestic and foreign direct investment.
According to KSIP, Kano State is the regional hub serving a market of over 300 million people located in northern Nigeria with links to the neighbouring Niger, Cameroon,Chad and Mali.
Kano is the most secure state in the North that is suitable for any kind of business.The state is 3rd with the highest number of universities,providing access to skilled manpower said KSIP on its official website.
Nazir Sani Daura, who works with Shelter Gold Corporate a private property development firm,said that Amana city project has been encouraging private developers to embark on private estate development close to Amana city as demand for property along the axis increases.
" We do not have a site near Amana city, but our competitors are developing lands near the city but they realised that properties in the city are attracting buyers and available ones are limited.I can tell you that the area is now hotcake because the value of the houses has been rising unlike previously people were reluctant to buy or relocate to the city,"said Daura.
Kabiru Adaji , an estate Valuer at Jide Taiwo and Co, also said investors and property owners are racing to acquire houses at Amana city because of the prospects of appreciation in value.
Hazim Abdullahi, an estate agent living in the city said houses for outright sale in Amana city are scarce as the price of a 3 bed room duplex may reach up to 70 million naira.A two bedroom bungalow costs about 25 million naira in the city.
" Those who have properties here must be smiling now because the value has gone up.You hardly can get a house for sale now unless you are ready to double the price.But if you want rent you can get it because some of the owners are residing elsewhere . Water is available and we also have electricity supply," said the agent.
Corroborating what the agent said, Musa Alhaji, a civil servant, said he regretted not buying a house at Amana city in the last few years when with 10 million naira one could get a house but now the price has reached up to 50 million naira.
He said " I spent 550,000 naira just to fix Windows in a house under construction.Few years back it could have been a deposit for a bungalow in Amana city. Had it been I have known, I could have even borrowed money to pay for one house and by now a proud owner of a property in that Mega city."
Kano State government had repurchased 324 houses at Amana, Kwankwasiyya and Bandirawo cities from the state Pension Funds Trustees after paying the sum of 4.5 billion naira.The amount is inclusive of 10 percent profit to funds totalling 400 million naira.
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Recall that funds from the pension trustees were used in building the 3 mega cities.The state Housing corporation made the payment and took over possession of the housing units for proper utilisation and livability of the cities.
In the meantime, the state government had given property owners in the two Mega cities -Amana and Kwankwasiyya - till December 31 this year to complete building their houses for occupation,failure of which their allocation will be revoked.
The state commissioner for Housing Development Arc Ibrahim Yakubu Adamu said the warning was given after expiration of the 3 months ultimatum and two months grace period expired.
The commissioner said house owners whose structures have reached between 50 and 95 percent completion should complete and occupy them before the new grace period.
