The Minister of Power, Works and Housing, Mr Babatunde Fashola, says the ministry will deliver 17,760 flats nationwide to address housing deficit in the country.
Addressing his maiden news briefing in Abuja on Tuesday, he said that 480 flats would be built per state, including the Federal Capital Territory (FCT).
He said that the ministry would collaborate with state governors to provide land of between five and 10 hectares with title documents and access roads to the the the project sites.
“In the housing sector, if we complete our ongoing projects, and we get land from state governors and the FCT, using the Lagos Homes model, we should start 40 blocks of housing in each state and FCT.
“We see this leading to potential delivery of 12 flats (homes) per block and 480 flats (homes) per state, and 17,760 flats (homes) nationwide, for a start.
“These figures are only examples and not fixed in definition and they are subject first to budgetary approvals and availability of finance.’’
Fashola said that the projects would create job opportunities for many Nigerians, especially the youth.
The minister said that government would appraise the national housing policies and make changes where necessary.
“Beyond a policy, what is important is consistency of implementation.
“Government will lead the aggressive intervention to increase supply, by undertaking construction of public housing and formulate policies that will invariably lead to private sector participation and ownership, to reduce our housing deficit.
“We are mindful of some numbers about the size of housing deficit.
“Those numbers need to be verified and we will undertake a process of scientific assessment to define the accuracy of that data and the actual demand.’’
He stated that the ministry would change the budget for national housing, current construction method and time frame for completing construction.
Fashola said that the ministry would ensure that many Nigerians were captured in the new housing policy, when formulated.
“We are also considering the re-design of existing housing roof types to make them ready to receive solar panels for electricity, without damaging the roof or cause leakage during installation.
“If we are successful, this will open a new vista for local manufacture of solar panels, create jobs at manufacturing, distributorship and installation levels, especially for technicians as we have seen with the cable television,” Fashola said.
