FG Commits N44bn to Social Housing

The federal government has committed N44 billion to the development of social housing in the 2016 budget, in fulfillment of its proposed plan to build one million housing units across the country yearly.

Prof. Mohammed Al-Amin, Managing Director of Federal Housing Authority (FHA), disclosed this when he visited the Turkish Embassy in Abuja, as a follow-up to the recent visit by Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan to President Muhammadu Buhari.

He  recalled that that housing featured prominently in the discussion between the two Presidents on areas of possible economic cooperation between the two nations during the visit. The FHA boss noted that the Federal Government’s plan envisaged that the Federal and State governments would build 250, 000 housing units each while the balance of 500, 000 would be taken up by domestic and foreign investors.

According to him, the Federal Government had matched its words with action by initiating a budget of N44 billion to take care of its own commitment, which would consist solely of social housing units. Al-Amin said the FHA plans to partner with Turkish companies to facilitate the realisation of the government’s housing development target. He noted that Turkish housing products were of high quality and enjoined the Commercial Counselor, Dr Ahmed Zafer Gulsen who received him, to encourage companies from his home country to come and partner with the FHA through: mass production of building materials, contribution of construction finance and technical expertise and housing construction.

The FHA boss praised Turkey’s rich history and noted that the country occupied a strategic geographical position at the intersection of Asia and Europe, and commended the friendly relations between Nigeria and Turkey. In his response, Gulsen said he would do his best to facilitate the coming of Turkish companies to take up the opportunities offered by the FHA. He promised to forward the request to his home Ministry of Economy, which he said would seek out the appropriate Turkish companies to partner with the authority.

–Vanguard