About 50,000 housing units are coming the way of Nigerians as the federal government’s Renewed Hope Cities and Estates programme gains traction across the six geopolitical zones and states of the country.
Over the last couple of months, there have been series of ground-breaking exercises for the Renewed Hope Cities and Estates which the government says represents a stellar signpost of the activities of the ministry of housing and urban development since its inauguration almost a year ago.
Ahmed Dangiwa, minister of housing and urban development, who gave these hints while giving account of his stewardship in the last year at the on-going ministerial briefing in Abuja, noted that the ministry planned and commenced the actualization of the Renewed Hope programme launched earlier this year by President Bola Tinubu.
“Under Phase One, we plan to deliver a total of 50,000 housing units across Nigeria. The Cities will have 1,000 housing units per site in one location in each of the six geo-political zones of the country and FCT, while the Estates will have 500 housing units per site in the remaining 30 states,” the minster explained.
He revealed that a total of 6,612 housing units of various house-types are currently under construction nationwide as part of the Renewed Hope Cities and Estates programme, stressing that the programme is designed to deliver 50,000 housing units in the first phase.
The ministry’s broad strategy, according to him, was centered around three core pillars of President Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda. These include growing the economy, lifting 100 million Nigerians out of poverty, and creating an enabling environment for investments to thrive.
“We are committed to delivering on our promise to Nigerians,” he said, noting that the ministry has achieved significant success in the areas of affordable housing provision, slum upgrade, and the implementation of sector-wide reforms to position the housing and urban sector as a critical enabler of social and economic prosperity for Nigerians.
To foster affordability and convenience of purchase of these houses, Dangiwa stressed the focus on integration and inclusivity in the ministry’s approach to redefining the concept of cities.
“We have designed the Renewed Hope Cities as integrated living communities targeting all income brackets. They comprise one-bedroom blocks of flats, two-bedroom blocks of flats and three- bedroom blocks of flats; two-, three- and four-bedroom terraces, four-bedroom duplexes, and five-bedroom duplexes.
“On the other hand, we have conceptualized the Renewed Hope Estates to cater to low- and medium-income earners. They comprise one-, two-, and three-bedroom semi-detached bungalows. To enhance affordability and ease of off-take, we used organic designs where one bedroom can be expanded to two-bedrooms and three-bedrooms as the income of beneficiaries increase over time,” he explained.
The minister disclosed that the sum of N126.5 billion was approved by the Federal Government from the 2023 supplementary and 2024 budget for implementing the projects, as well as carry out slum upgrade and urban renewal.
He added that nationwide, the ministry currently has estates in 12 states and cities. The estates, he said, are sited in Katsina, Yobe, Gombe, Abia, Nasarawa, Benue, Akwa Ibom, Delta, Sokoto, Oyo, and Osun while the cities are in Abuja, Yobe, and Lagos. Contractors have been mobilized and have commenced work to deliver a total of 3,500 housing units.
“We also signed an MoU with reputable developers to develop 100,000 housing units nationwide. Work has commenced on 3,112 housing units under this public, private partnership (PPP) arrangement, bringing the total number of housing units currently under construction to 6,612,” he said.
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