By Daniel Tyokua
The Federal Capital Territory Administration (FCTA) has called for private sector backing on housing development in the territory.
The minister of state for FCT Dr. Ramatu Aliyu said the private sector would assist in bridging the housing deficit being experience by the residents.
Mrs Aliyu stated this at the launch of a home brand and the groundbreaking ceremony of the maiden development of The Oak Villas and Victor’s Court in Abuja.
The minister who was represented by the Special Assistant on Technical Matters, Mubdiyu Mustapha, identified high cost of land registration and irregularity of land titles, policy implementation somersaults, licencing issues, inadequate funding as some of the challenges facing the housing sub-sector.
Aliyu, however, assured that the FCT Administration was working assiduously to address some of these challenges so that private sector entities could feel encouraged to invest more in affordable housing provision
“In this wise, the Administration is willing to engage in Public-Private-Partnerships that can guarantee accelerated delivery through the provision of land and on-site infrastructure.
“With these costs borne by the Administration, it is expected that developers such as Oak Homes are able to bring cheap funds to the table for the construction of the houses, thereby guaranteeing unit selling prices that are affordable to the target market segment. We shall therefore continue to work with the private sector and development partners to ensure that continuous progressis made in this direction,” she said.
While pledging the dedication and commitment to national development and sustainable provision of housing as mandated by President Muhammadu Buhari, she however acknowledged that housing provision was a fundamental socioeconomic right and a key pillar upon which the effort to lift millions out of multidimensional poverty, shall be judged.
Earlier, the Chief Executive Officer of Oak Holdings, Mr. Olukayode Olusanya, explained that the project was designed to echo architectural magnificence in luxury buildings and finesse in real estate engineering, stressing that the Oak villas would also redefine the concept of luxury living in Abuja.
