FG to Inaugurate 650 Housing Units in Asaba

• FG to Inaugurate 650 Housing Units in Asaba

The Federal Government’s special housing intervention programme, Family Homes Funds, is set to inaugurate an affordable housing project in Asaba, Delta State.

The estate, developed by the FHF in partnership with Delta State Government, is made up of 650 housing units for low-income earners, and will be inaugurated by the Vice- President, Prof Yemi Osinbajo, alongside the Managing Director of Family Homes Funds, Femi Adewole, on July 12.

According to the FHF, the event will be hosted by the Delta State Governor, Dr Ifeanyi Okowa, who is said to have offered additional land for further development.

The affordable housing project consists of one, two and three-bedroom bungalows with facilities such as water supply, power, security and road network, among others.

The FHF said the estate had been built with high quality and sustainable materials, with the houses structured in ways that give each owner and their family a decent living space and some sense of privacy.

Adewole stated that the estate represented the FHF’s vision to not only build houses, but to build ones that were healthy to live in and affordable for the owners.

He said, “The estate is one of the Federal Government’s special interventions in tackling the country’s housing deficit through Family Homes Funds. Family Homes Funds is a partnership between the Federal Ministry of Finance and the Nigerian Sovereign Investment Authority as founding shareholders.

“The fund is the largest affordable housing-focused fund in sub-Sahara Africa, leveraging its significant capital (in excess of N500bn by 2023) to facilitate access to affordable housing for millions of Nigerians on low to medium income groups.”

He added that through strategic partnerships with various players in the sector and some of the world’s main development finance institutions, the fund had an ambitious commitment to facilitate and supply 500,000 homes and 1.5 million jobs for the low-income earners by 2023.

The MD said that as a strong sign of commitment, the estate in Asaba was developed in line with the FHF’s critical objective.

According to him, beneficiaries of the project will enjoy a deferred loan for up to 40 per cent of the cost of their home.

“For the first five years of the loan, no payments need to be made. From the sixth year, monthly payments will be made to start repaying both interest and capital to assist the purchaser. The amount paid starts low and increases each year in gradual steps, average 6.5 per cent per annum, in order for the ‘Help To Buy loan’ to be fully repaid by the 20th year, the same year the mortgage is expected to be fully repaid,” he said.