For affordable-housing interventions, Nigeria has been urged to move from housing-unit targets to system reform.
According to an expert, one of the most powerful affordable-housing interventions Nigeria could make is to identify suitable land, resolve titles, undertake proper planning and provide trunk infrastructure before bringing private developers into projects.
Canvassing for mass and affordable housing for average Nigerians, Executive Director, Housing Development Advocacy Network, Festus Adebayo, pointed out the huge financial outlays for infrastructure remain a contributor to rising housing costs.
He said: “Imagine a developer receiving serviced land with clear title, road access, drainage, electricity, water infrastructure and predictable planning approval.
“Government could then competitively select developers based on the lowest sustainable selling or rental price, rather than simply awarding construction contracts.
“The savings generated by government intervention should be transparently passed to the eventual homeowner,” he said, describing the intervention as a “more intelligent subsidy”
He bemoaned the situation where the government frequently treats roads, drainage, water, transport and electricity as separate from housing.
He said this should not be, pointing out that every naira a developer spent in constructing infrastructure would eventually find its way into the price of the house.
He said government could reduce housing prices without constructing a single apartment simply by providing infrastructure to designated affordable-housing growth corridors.
According to him, housing ministries must consequently work much more closely with ministries responsible for works, transportation, power, water, environment and urban development.
He pointed out that…
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