By Daniel Tyokua
The technical committee for the implementation of the Abuja Metropolitan Management Council staff cooperative housing scheme has disclosed that work on the 421 units of affordable apartments for the FCTA staff was ongoing.
The president of the cooperative and head of the committee, Engr. Mohammed Hamisu said there is steadily progress on the much anticipated units of affordable apartments under construction by Abuja Metropolitan Management Council (AMMC) Staff Multi-Purpose Co-operative Society LTD.
During the inspection of the progress work in Wassa site of the project, Hamisu said the struggle for the commencement of work on the scheme started in 2014 when the FCT Administration allocated 4.2 Hectares of land to AMMC Co-operative Society.
He said the Engineering Design comprised 421 units of dwelling flats meant for low-income earners made up of two-bedroom blocks of flats of three suspended floors each and Terraces of two suspended floors.
The President explained that funding issues occasioned by delays in remittance of staff deductions by FCTA to Federal Mortgage Bank were responsible for starting the work behind schedules despite the Ground Breaking ceremony performed by the Hon. Minister of FCT, Mallam Muhammed Musa Bello, in September 2021.
“His words: “It is not an easy task for us, especially as regards something that concerns Civil Servants. The money is not all that there. Initially, we intended to finance the project with Federal Mortgage Bank.”
“Unfortunately, the FCT Administration did not remit our National Housing Fund to Federal Mortgage Bank since 2017. It was after the groundbreaking by the Hon. Minister that we found out that they were not remitting forcing them to stop our request for funding,” Engr. Mohammed lamented.
He added that the situation compelled the Management of the Co-operative Society to adopt Al-Gamji Investment LTD, a Real Estate Developer who has since commenced work in April this year with a view to delivering the houses in 18 or at most 22 months.
A comprehensive and total package of the cost of constructing the houses including infrastructure released to Abuja Digest Online shows that 220 units of One-bedroom blocks of flats are selling for N5.8M per unit; while 112 units of Two-Bedroom blocks of flats will go for N12.2M per unit with 89 flats of Terraces including pent floors will cost N22.2M per unit.
