The federal government over the weekend disclosed that it was targeting the construction of about 50,000 housing units annually, stressing that it currently has 6,612 units being developed nationwide.
Speaking at a ministerial briefing held in Abuja, the Minister of Housing and Urban Development, Ahmed Dangiwa, said the projects were ongoing in states where their governors had offered land to the ministry to build affordable houses for Nigerians.
“Our target since we assumed duty is to increase the availability of affordable housing units across different income segments by an additional 50,000 per year, initiate urban and slum upgrading programmes aimed at improving living conditions, infrastructure and basic services in informal settlements.
“It will also lead to implementation of policies that promote inclusivity and address the needs of vulnerable and marginalised groups, including persons with disabilities, women, and the elderly,” he stated.
He noted that the ministry’s broad strategy was centred around three core pillars of President Bola Tinubu’s agenda, including growing the economy, lifting 100 million Nigerians out of poverty, and creating an enabling environment for investments to thrive.
The minister added that the ministry has achieved significant success in the areas of affordable housing provision, slum upgrade, and the implementation of sector-wide reforms to position the housing and urban sector as a critical enabler of social and economic prosperity for Nigerians.
From the 50,000 planned housing units, under the president’s agenda, he stated that it will have 1,000 housing units per site in one location in each of the six geo-political zones in the country and Abuja, while the estates will have 500 housing units per site in the remaining 30 states.
Speaking on affordability and convenience, Dangiwa stressed the focus on integration and inclusivity in the ministry’s approach to redefining the concept of cities.
“We have designed the Renewed Hope Cities as integrated living communities targeting all income brackets. They comprise one-bedroom blocks of flats, two-bedroom blocks of flats and three-bedroom blocks of flats; two-, three- and four-bedroom terraces, four-bedroom duplexes, and five-bedroom duplexes.
“On the other hand, we have conceptualised the Renewed Hope Estates to cater for low- and medium-income earners. They comprise one, two, and three-bedroom semi-detached bungalows.
“To enhance affordability and ease of offtake, we used organic designs where one bedroom can be expanded to two-bedrooms and three-bedrooms as the income of beneficiaries increase over time,” he explained.
The sum of N126.5 billion, he said, was approved by the federal government from the 2023 supplementary and the 2024 budget to implement the projects as well as carry out slum upgrade and urban renewal.
Emmanuel Addeh
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