- A statement from the Special Adviser on Media to the Minister of Housing and Urban Development, Mark Chieshe, outlined this forward-thinking strategy
The Ministry of Housing and Urban Development has announced intentions to launch a transformative initiative in Nigeria, focused on enhancing inclusivity and affordability in housing projects.
This initiative involves implementing cross-subsidies to achieve its goals.
A statement from the Special Adviser on Media to the Minister of Housing and Urban Development, Mark Chieshe, outlined this forward-thinking strategy.
Spearheaded by the Honorable Minister of Housing and Urban Development, Ahmed Dangiwa, the plan aims to revolutionize housing accessibility. It envisions a balanced blend of low, medium, and high-end housing projects to ensure inclusivity for Nigerians across all income levels.
It stated, “Dangiwa, unveiled this innovative approach while reviewing affordable housing options presented by the Ministry’s Affordable Housing Building Design Committee. The Minister had established the Committee during his first week in office to review designs of the Ministry’s projects and ensure that houses that the Ministry promotes fall within price ranges that low- and medium-income earners can afford.
“The revised designs featured several cost-saving changes including organic one-bedroom bungalows to lower the cost of purchase while allowing beneficiaries the latitude to expand to two and three-bedrooms as their income increases, optimized space management, smart roofing techniques, and basic internal finishings amongst several others.”
In his remarks, Dangiwa commended the Design Team for their creativity. He also emphasized the necessity of embracing innovative concepts like cross-subsidies to counter the challenges posed by inflation, and the soaring costs of building materials, which have led to an increase in planned house prices.
He said, “I am impressed with the work that the affordable housing design Team has accomplished, thus far, in reducing the cost of houses that we plan to promote so that all Nigerians can benefit. While there is progress, the escalating cost of building materials has almost taken off all the savings from the revised designs. For us to achieve our goals, we have to think out of the box and embrace creative solutions. This is why we plan to work out a comprehensive framework for introducing cross-subsidies in projects delivered through Public Private Partnerships and the agencies under the Ministry.”