The Ministry of Housing and Urban Development on Wednesday announced that it was exploring partnership areas, particularly in housing infrastructure development with the Kuwait Fund for Arab Economic Development (KFAED).
The partnership, it said, will focus on pursuance of the delivery of affordable housing and promoting sustainable urban development in Nigeria, a statement signed by the ministry’s Director of Press and Public Relations, Badamasi Haiba, said in Abuja.
KFAED is Kuwait’s agency for the provision and administration of financial and technical assistance to developing countries.
Minister of Housing and Urban Development, Ahmed Dangiwa, expressed the readiness of the ministry to receive the interventions, during a meeting with a delegation from the Kuwait Fund, held at the Ministry’s headquarters in Mabushi.
The minister highlighted a couple of programmes launched by the ministry, under the leadership of President Bola Tinubu, as key areas where the Ministry needs intervention.
The areas, he said, include the establishment of building material manufacturing hubs across Nigeria’s six regions to reduce the cost of building materials in the country and create job opportunities.
Dangiwa explained that each hub would be built on 200 to 300 hectares of land, to be equipped with infrastructure such as roads, drainages, electricity, water and other facilities that would enable the hub to function properly.
He also informed that solicitors and proposals from investors have been received by the ministry to develop the hubs, with four investors currently involved.
“After we have done the site and services infrastructure, the spaces will be allocated for investors who want to build medium size factory, small size factory and the large scale factories that can produce roofing sheets, doors, windows, ceramic tiles and all the printing materials that we need into the locations”, he added.
Besides, the minister spoke about the development of a district called Centenary City in Abuja, which spans over 1,200 hectares of land along the airport road, saying that funds were needed to develop the infrastructure.
He noted that the infrastructure development at the city would attract investors who will take up a portion of the land to develop commercial, tourism, residential, and industrial outlets.
Dangiwa mentioned the need for intervention in the area of the Renewed Hope Social Housing programme of the ministry which aims to build 100 houses in the 774 local governments of the country, targeting low-income and underprivileged individuals.
He explained the plan to sell 70 per cent of the houses to the low incomeearners who would pay only 30 per cent of their income and the rest subsidised by the government, while the remaining 30 per cent of houses would be given to the zero income, underprivileged and displaced individuals.
Dangiwa however noted that the social housing initiative is currently facing funding challenges which the ministry seeks solutions to.
Earlier in his remarks, the Director-General of the Kuwait Fund for Arab Development, Dr. Wahad Al-Bahar, stated that the visit to the ministry was to explore potential areas of collaboration and support.
He informed that the organisation was interested in identifying projects within the Ministry that could benefit from its assistance, particularly in infrastructure and social development, emphasising the importance of having updated feasibility studies for the proposed projects.
Meanwhile, Dangiwa, has reaffirmed the federal government’s commitment to providing affordable and dignified housing to Nigerians.
The minister spoke when he received the President of the National Health Insurance Authority (NHIA) Cooperative Society, Abdullahi Yusuf and members of his team on a visit to his office.
He mentioned that the Renewed Hope Housing Programme of the present administration was ambitious and a people oriented one to cater for all categories of income earners.
Dangiwa also stated that the ministry is working with state governments to provide land for the houses to be built in the states for the benefit of the citizens of the state, adding that developers and financial institutions such as Federal Mortgage Bank of Nigeria (FMBN), and Family Homes Fund, will provide access to delivery.
He told the cooperative team that they, as well as other Cooperative Societies, have a unique opportunity to be at the forefront of the housing programmes, highlighting that the federal mortgage loans are available with single-digit interest rates over 30 years to support members.
Speaking earlier, the President of the NHIA Cooperative, AbdullahiYusuf, explained that the Cooperative’s previous financial commitments with a private developer to address the housing needs of its members failed, as the Society neither received land nor a full refund of the funds committed.
Yusuf stated that NHIA under his leadership was determined to avoid further losses, hence the decision to write to the minister seeking to benefit from the Rent-to-Own product of the FMBN and hoping that it would enable members to realise their dream of homeownership.
Emmanuel Addeh
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