Mass Housing: FG, Shelter Afrique Sign N610bn MoU

• Mass Housing: FG, Shelter Afrique Sign N610bn MoU

The Federal Government on Thursday signed a Memorandum of Understanding with Shelter Afrique and the Real Estate Developers Association of Nigeria for the construction of about 100,000 housing units across the country for N610bn.

It stated that a total of $200m would be used for the construction of about 10,000 houses nationwide on a yearly basis and that the project would be over 10 years.

This makes it a total 100,000 housing, units which will gulp $2bn (N610bn at the official exchange rate of N305 to a dollar) for the 10-year period.

Representing the Federal Government during the MoU signing ceremony at the headquarters of the Federal Mortgage Bank of Nigeria in Abuja, the Acting Managing Director/Chief Executive, FMBN, Mr. Richard Esin, stated that the Nigerian housing market did not require anything less than $200m annually over the next 10 years to build considerable number of houses.

He, however, stated that the projection was to build about 10,000 housing units annually, adding that over 100,000 jobs would be created across the country through the scheme.

Esin said, “The $2bn will be used for the construction of mass housing units over a 10-year period and this translates to about $200m annually. So, whatever that gives us every year is what we will take as we make adjustments for inflation, etc.

“The projection is 10,000 housing units annually, but even if we are able to get 8,000 units annually, I think it is okay. This will be done over the next 10 years and there are other things we are also doing to make sure this exercise is successful.

“The minimum number of jobs we are looking at through this exercise is about 150,000 jobs across the country.”

The Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer, Shelter Afrique, a company for habitat and housing in Africa, Mr. James Mugerwa, stated that his organisation’s shareholders included 44 African countries and two financial institutions.

According to him, Shelter Afrique provides loans, grants and credits for the development of the environment and the provision of houses for Africans, adding that Nigeria had a deficit of more than 17 million houses.

“We will commit and dedicate all the expertise to ensure that good quality houses are delivered, and these will be houses that are energy efficient, environmental friendly and comfortable. Nigeria is our biggest sovereign shareholder and this collaboration is the beginning of many other opportunities,” Mugerwa said.

The President, REDAN, Mr. Ugochukwu Chime, said the signing of the MoU was a milestone in housing delivery and appreciated the Minister of Power, Works and Housing for making the exercise happen.

He noted that it was gratifying that the FMBN was reaching out to other stakeholders in a bid to close the housing gap and stressed that previous efforts by the bank were made in isolation of critical industry players.