About 1,000 unemployed Nigerians have been taken off the labour market by Taf Nigeria Homes to build 750 housing units at its RivTaf Gold Estate in Port Harcourt.
This figure comprises both direct and indirect labour including civil and structural engineers, architects, builders, block moulders, iron benders, carpenters, sundry artisans and food vendors.
This development buttresses argument by construction experts that the housing and construction sectors are the highest employers of labour, explaining that operating at optimum capacity, the sectors have the capacity to contribute significantly to nation’s economy through job creation.
Ibikunle Ogunbayo, the immediate past president of the Association of Consulting Engineers of Nigeria (ACEN) had told our correspondent in an interview that the construction sector holds better prospects for the economy than oil and gas.
Where N100 million investment in oil and gas will employ 50 workers, the same amount of investment in the construction sector will employ at least 200 workers, he said.
Mustapha Njie, Taf Nigeria Homes’ CEO, emphasized that any nation that wants to significantly reduced unemployment should invest in construction of houses and roads.
“What we are doing now is just the first phase of this project. You can imagine the number of workers that would have been engaged here if we had gone all out to build the second phase at the same time”.
“Don’t forget that there are some people who provide ancillary services here on one-off basis including drivers and food suppliers who come and go”, he added.
RivTaf Golf Estate is a joint venture project between the Rivers State government and Taf Nigeria Homes Limited where the state government has provided the land and the developer provides the rest including capital for the development.
The estate is designed for middle to high income earners in the state, consisting of the development, building and management of middle to high income housing communities as well as the development and delivery of infrastructure such as shopping centres, sports centre, recreation centre, 9-hole golf course, central water sewage and power supply.
According to Njie, the estate would deliver 200 two-bedroom apartments; 408 three-bedroom apartments; 30 three-bedroom Town/Terrace Houses; 32 four-bedroom Town/Terrace House; 10 four-bedroom Villa/Duplex; 21 five-bedroom Villa/duplex; 50 plots of site and services; retail and shopping mall; recreational facilities and 9-hole Golf course.
CHUKA UROKO
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