Stakeholder Makes Case For Satellite Town Dev

A stakeholder in the hous
ing sector, Mr Emmanuel Okeh, has said that one of the ways the Rivers State Government as well as the Federal Government can address the issue of high cost of accommodation is to develop satellite towns.
Okeh, a quantity surveyor by training, who disclosed this to The Tide in Port Harcourt, Monday, attributed the almost prohibitive cost of rented accommodation in some major metropolis in Nigeria, particularly Lagos, Port Harcourt and Abuja to the high cost of land and building materials.
He said that massive development of the satellite town would provide the people access to build their own houses at well as buy already developed homes at an affordable cost.
“There should be more efforts in the developments of satellite towns. Government should also embark on massive development of infrastructure in such towns.
“That way, people will have access to land and people can easily buy plots of land to build their houses as well as buy direct developed homes without much struggle.
“That way, the pressure on the city centre would reduce and the rent being charged will crash”, he stated.
The quantity surveyor noted also that most completed housing estates in some areas were unoccupied because of the high rent demand by the estate developers whose aim was to earn more profits from their investment.
“Some of these houses are built using bank loans. So, the owner wants to pay their debt and in the process overcharge the rent”, he said.