The Federal Mortgage Bank of Nigeria (FMBN) on Thursday said it was partnering with Brains Hammers, a leading housing developer, to deliver about 5,000 units of affordable housing in the next 12 months across the country.
Managing director, FMBN, Ahmed Dangiwa said the housing plan was captured under the National Economic Sustainability Plan (NESP) of the federal government and is expected to ameliorate the needs of numerous Nigerians desiring to own houses in the country.
Dangiwa, who said this in Abuja during the flag-off ceremony for 350 units of Bristol Terraces developed by Brains and Hammers, said estate developers have developed 1,250 housing units worth over N9 billion funding from the bank.
The MD said the bank would provide mortgages to Nigerians when the 350 units of four-bedroom terraces are completed.
This comes amid the country’s rising housing deficits now put at 22 million.
“FMBN is committed to ensuring that Nigerians have access to decent and secure accommodation through affordable mortgage financing, especially ordinary Nigerians who have limited opportunities and access to products in the Nigerian financial sector” the MD said.
“At Bristol city, we provided the off-taker guarantee for the developers to source funds from ARM securities to construct the houses. Given the track records of Brains and Hammers, I have no doubt that this project will be delivered timely and qualitatively. Therefore I want to congratulate the potential beneficiaries of the houses in this Bristol city”, he added.
Daniel Amos, chairman, Brains and Hammers group, said the flag-off of the Bristol Terraces marks the beginning of the construction of houses in phase 2 of Brains and Hammers City, Abuja.
“Overall, we are creating a new district within the federal capital territory.
No doubt, the economic realities of the country in the past 36 months have been less than conducive for business, yet, we continue to work round-the-clock to deliver on our obligations to our clients across the country. Neither over 100 percent price increase of building construction materials nor the high exchange rate has daunted our resolve to continue meeting our obligations” Amos said.
“We know that developing a city on this scale is tasking and requires support from the government and its agencies, the private sector, and potential individual residents. The presence of the managing director of the federal mortgage bank as our special guest today confirms the importance of partnerships in this journey”, he added.
It also represents the fulfillment of our quest to develop Brains and Hammers city into a one-stop residential and commercial city supported by quality infrastructural facilities that will also aid top-class hospitality activities.
While we are committed to delivering the best housing units, our approach is buttress by the development of quality infrastructures like the existing 7.8km access road built by Brains and Hammers for the larger Brains and Hammers City project. The internal road network that will serve Bristol terraces would develop on the existing network of paved roads within the project.
Distinguish ladies and gentlemen; we have no doubt set for ourselves an enormous task. We are not naïve about the financial, human, and physical capital needed to bring this project to fruition. While we are proud of our heritage,
With an aligned mission statement, the federal mortgage bank is an integral partner on this journey. Beyond providing institutional guidance as required, the bank is our source of industry support. For these gestures, we say thank you.
I will take this opportunity to commend the management of Jaiz Bank for their unrelenting support. The Brains and Hammers team appreciate your continued belief in our dream to provide quality residential and commercial housing units across Nigeria. I also acknowledge ARM investments and Fidelity Bank.
While we are proud of our heritage, we remain humbled by the scale of our dreams as an organization. We started by building gated communities to developing cities, constructing economic centres like the one in Kano, and honing our hospitality expertise,” he said.
