Many affordable housing estates imminent—Adesola

Stories by Tony Odey

In a bid to provide residents of Federal Capital Territory (FCT) and Nigerians affordable and decent houses they can proudly call their own, FCT Permanent Secretary, Mr. Olusade Adesola, has disclosed that the FCT Administration (FCTA) has taken practical steps to ensure that massive and various categories of affordable housing estates will soon begin to spring up in the nation’s capital city.

The Permanent Secretary made the revelation last Friday when he visited Sunrise Estate Development in Asokoro, Abuja.

Among other numerous initiatives the Administration has embarked upon to ensure that many low income housing estates come onboard in the Territory, the Permanent Secretary particularly mentioned the FCT Land Swap programme, which the Federal Executive Council (FEC) recently gave approval for resumption of full implementation.

Mr. Adesola explained that under the Land Swap initiative, the private sector and Nigerian citizens of all categories will have access to land encased in essential urban infrastructure to build their homes.

Poised to ensure that owners of the various houses which will soon come onboard are spared from spending huge sums of money on maintenance, the Permanent Secretary urged estate developers to incorporate local content in terms of the building materials which will be used for construction.

The Permanent Secretary, therefore, charged the FCT Department of Development Control to be alive to its responsibility by ensuring that all estate developers in the Territory abide strictly to the approved development plan.

Earlier, Executive Director, Sunrise Estate Development Limited, Mr. Jack Farah revealed that construction work on Phase 2 of the estate, which is essentially mass housing, will soon commence and should be completed within the next one year.

Mr. Farah, who assured FCT residents that Phase 2 of the estate will address their housing needs, urged them to take advantage of the safe, scenic, high quality construction standards and scrupulous codes offered by the estate.

The Sunrise Estate is sitting on a large expanse of land totaling over 600 hectares. Phase 1 of the estate was completed in 2016.