Benoy reveals City Walk masterplan: Abuja set to become home to Africa's tallest tower

A continental landmark and a national first will define Abuja's new gateway district. City Walk, Benoy's 250-hectare mixed-use masterplan on Airport Road, will be home to Africa's tallest tower at 450 metres and Nigeria's largest indoor arena with a 13,000-seat capacity. Positioned within a Free Trade Zone, where the capital first presents itself to international visitors, investors and businesses, City Walk integrates trade and civic life. The masterplan marks Benoy's first project in Nigeria, bringing the practice’s experience of large-scale mixed-use urbanism to a development designed around Nigeria’s climate, culture and communities. Phase One is currently underway.

The masterplan is organised around a strong north–south connector running from the active northern gateway on Airport Road, home to the arena and tower, as well as a hub for food, art and nightlife, to the quieter southern side, where the city fades gradually into intimate residential compounds and landscaped gardens. Subtle, layered security and the absence of defensive barriers will encourage inclusive public life throughout. The Ravine forms the green spine of the masterplan, structuring the landscape and supporting ecology, stormwater management and wellbeing. The Sponge District approach uses these corridors as ecological and recreational assets, managing water and supporting biodiversity. A light mobility network of low-carbon shuttles, bikes and micromobility systems connects the residential, cultural and commercial districts and reduces reliance on cars.

Neil Serridge, Design Director, Benoy, said: "Abuja is a city that was designed from the ground up with purpose. For its people, its climate, its culture. City Walk takes that founding ambition and carries it forward. The tower and the arena will draw the nation's attention, but what matters most to us is the street between them: the shade, the Wadi, the square where people gather. That is where a city actually lives."

At the heart of Phase One is the Art District, bringing together 12,000 m² of cultural space within a mixed-use block of residences, retail and public realm. A gateway boulevard leads to an event piazza and the Art District's outdoor spaces, extending into a retail and leisure plaza and office district, connected in a navigable loop. Phase One delivers approximately 245,000 m² of built space across nearly 185,000 m² of land in total, encompassing Art District blocks, urban apartments, townhouses and garden apartments alongside the arena, a 15,000 m² hotel, 30,000 m² of offices, Fashion Avenue retail, a school, university campus, hospital. Climate-responsive shading and ventilation create comfortable outdoor environments throughout the year, and a river park along the southern edge offers landscaped paths and pedestrian routes along the Ravine ecological corridor. The school, university campus and hospital together mean that City Walk is built to serve its residents across every stage of life.

Mahmood Ahmadu, Chairman of the Board of Directors of MAG International Links Limited, added: “City Walk is being built to welcome the world – a destination where global visitors, investors, and professionals experience Africa’s dynamism, creativity and technological ambition.”