The Rivers State Government may be losing about N40 million annually, for not utilising the Rivbank Insurance Company Limited building on Port Harcourt-Aba Road, an estate manager has revealed.

Speaking on the issue when The Tide called at his office in Port Harcourt, the estate manager, Bestman Ariobiobara, said the property in question could at present be described as a property that is functionally, obsolete due to its long period of neglect.

Bestman, who works with Pabod Finance and Investment Company Limited in Port Harcourt posited that the loss of revenue which the state incures for abandoning five-storey edifice along with its pent house could be computed in terms of property tax, tenement rates, ground rent, withholding tax, return on investment and the actual office rent.

According to the property expert, “The operating open market rentals for standard open office goes for more than N2 million anywhere on Aba road, and for this building under consideration, there are double units of open plan per floor and when computed to the number of floors with the pent house, it value rental income which can be of immense benefits to the state, as return on investment”.

Apart from the economic value, the property expert further explained that physical appearance of the building, in relation to its location has not really meant well for the environment, and does not give the beauty required in the area.

He, therefore, urged the State government not to abandon the Rivbank building, but rather undertake the redevelopment of the property, with a view to handing it over to a reputable state-owned establishment like the Pabod Finance and Investment Company, whose primary responsibility is to administer state-owned real properties with the aim of generating optimal economic returns to the state.

The said Rivbank building, The Tide gathered, was not included in the acquisition of Rivbank Insurance by the International Energy Insurance (IEI) Limited.

Corlins Walter