FG To Embark On Mass Housing

The Federal Government is set to embark on mass housing project in all states of the federation to bridge the housing deficit in the country.
Minister of State, Power, Works and Housing, Mustapha Shehuri, disclosed this recently at the first Real Estate Developers Association of Nigeria (REDAN) building Expo in Abuja.
Shehuri said that the Federal Government would continue to engage stakeholders in its quest to reducing the housing deficit in the country.
“Government is more than ever willing to rejuvenate the housing sector, hence the resolution to increase the share capital of the Federal Mortgage Bank of Nigeria (FMBN), to N500 billion.
“The government intends to build mass housing in all states of the federation and would collaborate with REDAN in this regards,’’ he said.
The minister commended REDAN for the expo, emphasising the journey to revamp the economy by focusing and investing in the real estate sector for economic revitalisation.
He called on other bodies to organise a similar expo that would provide ideas to bring the desired level of transformation in the sector.
Speaking at the event, the President of REDAN, Mr Ugochukwu Chime, said that the expo was a way of bringing stakeholders together to discuss possible ways of contributing to the economic growth of the country via real estate.
He said that it had been accepted globally that housing was about employment generation, economic growth and shelter provision in that order.
“Undoubtedly, investing in housing has been a fulcrum to reversing economic downturn in most climes.
“In times like this in the history of our country, it behoves on all that hands must be on deck to collectively replicate what other economies used to turn around their dwindling fortunes, thus bringing it back to prosperity’’.
Chime said that the challenge to reduce the housing deficit in Nigeria and using it as a formidable tool for employment generation and inclusive economic growth could be attained only when stakeholders worked together.
According to him, the focus of REDAN has been on making land and finance available as a way of achieving affordable housing for all.
“We need to design a new and sustainable funding approach for housing construction finance in Nigeria, and networking with all relevant stakeholders to produce, execute and continue a seamless transaction value chain for both construction and off-taker finance,’’ he said.
He explained that the housing sector held the key to reducing the present high unemployment rate, especially youth unemployment.
“We propose that for every 20 units of housing in any community, the developer should give formal artisanal training to one youth from that community,’’ he added.
Mr Charles Inyangete, Managing Director, Nigeria Mortgage Refinance Company (NMRC) presented a paper entitled: ‘The Housing Deficit, Challenges, opportunities and strategic Imperative.”
Inyangete said that the cost of housing could be reduced to between 20 and 50 per cent by unlocking land at the right location and reducing financing costs for buyers.
He explained that it was estimated that the cost of housing could also be reduced by 30 per cent by providing infrastructure such as roads, water, drainage, electricity among others.
He said that the 30 per cent reduction in housing cost due to infrastructure savings would improve affordability by a factor of 42.85 per cent.