An investment of at least N48.8tn
($300bn) is required over the next 30 years for housing construction
costs alone in the country, the Minister for Lands, Housing and Urban
Development, Mrs. Akon Eyakenyi, has said.
Minister for Lands, Housing and Urban Development, Mrs. Akon Eyakenyi |
Eyakenyi stated this in a presentation on
‘Affordable housing finance: The role of government’, at the World Bank
and International Finance Corporation’s Sixth Global Housing Finance
Conference held in United States between May 28 and 29. The presentation
was made available to our correspondent on Sunday.
She said with a population of 167 million
people, Nigeria remained one of the most rapidly urbanising countries
in Africa, with rising housing needs.
The minister said, “From 56 cities in
1953; currently, Nigeria is estimated to have over 1,000 urban areas,
with no fewer than 19 cities having a population of one million people
and above. The housing deficit in the country is estimated at about 17
million units.
“About one million housing units per
annum are required to achieve significant reduction in the national
deficit and eventually eliminate it by the year 2043, at a unit cost of
$10,000. This requires an investment of at least $300bn minimum over the
next 30 years for housing construction costs alone.”
According to the minister, housing is
universally accepted as the second most important human need after food;
and the 1999 Constitution enjoins the government to provide suitable
and adequate shelter for all citizens, to guarantee the wellbeing and
productivity of the Nigerian people.
Eyakenyi said the most important
constraint to adequate housing in the country was the lack of access to
serviced and titled land as well as the absence of sustainable long-term
housing finance.
“Accordingly, the removal of these two
barriers is one of the most effective strategies for reducing poverty
and achieving sustainable development. The shared prosperity agenda is
about removing imbalances, ensuring equal opportunities, equitable and
inclusive growth and enhanced security for improved quality of life and
reduction of human misery,” she said.
Eyakenyi stated that the provision of
affordable housing and urban basic services was a veritable policy
instrument for ensuring that the prosperity of the society was shared
more rationally and beneficially by the citizenry.
According to her, a little progress has
been made through the approved National Policy on Housing and the
National Policy on Urban Development of 2012, but a lot still needs to
be done.
She said, “There should be a provision of
a favourable macro-economic, political and social environment for both
local investment and foreign direct investment, including incentives for
cost recovery and repatriation of funds and profits.
“There should also be assistance to
developers in the supply of unencumbered land and promotion of the use
of alternative building materials and new technologies in housing
delivery.”
Eyakenyi also urged the government to
partner with strong and competent non-government actors for community
mobilisation in the delivery of mass housing projects and ensure
amicable resolution of conflicts.
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