Social Housing Scheme To Create 1.8m Jobs As CBN Commits Initial N200b Facility To Project Which Kicks Off This Week

ABUJA – As the economic sustainability plan proceeds with implementation of a number of its sector specific schemes, the Social Housing element which will build about 300,000 very affordable houses for Nigerians is taking off this week just as about 20 State governments have indicated interest in joining the housing plan.

According to a release e-signed and made available to StarTrend Int’l & online – www.startrendinternational.com by Laolu Akande, Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media and Publicity, Office of the Vice President, this week the portal to invite Nigerians interested either as beneficiaries of the Social Housing or as delivery partners would be launched by the Family Homes Fund, the Federal Government agency designated to implement the scheme. The portal is Nshp.gov.ng

In an update on the Social Housing plan of the ESP shared with the media by Mr. Laolu Akande, the Senior Special Assistant on Media and Publicity to the President in the Office of the Vice President, it was disclosed that more than 20 States including the FCT have already expressed interest and support in the programme including many who have offered free land for the constructions of the houses.

The ESP Update shared with the press over the weekend showed that some of the States that have already expressed interest and supported the implementation of the Social Housing scheme which will offer houses at low prices such as between N1.8m to N2m include the States of Osun, Ogun, Enugu, Delta, Bauchi, Kebbi, Nasarawa, Plateau, and the Federal Capital Territory where the first set of construction sites have been indicated.

There are also others like Abia, Anambra, Ebonyi, Imo, Cross River, Sokoto, Kaduna, Zamfara, Katsina, Borno and Yobe States that are now working towards joining in a similar vein.

Under the ESP Social Housing Plan, 300,000 low cost houses would by itself create 1.8 million jobs in the housing sector and beyond, while as indicated under the ESP approved by the President and the Federal Executive Council the Central Bank of Nigeria has now committed N200B facility for the Social Housing

Below is the

*UPDATE ON THE SOCIAL HOUSING SCHEME OF THE ESP AS BEING IMPLEMENTED BY THE FAMILY HOMES FUND
• In June 2020, President Muhammadu Buhari approved the 2.3 Trillion Naira Economic Sustainability Plan (ESP) prepared by the Osinbajo-led Economic Sustainability Committee.

• The Federal Government social housing scheme is one of the planned schemes under the ESP targeted at providing 300,000 low-income houses and creating 1.8 million jobs in the process.

• To achieve these goals, the Family Homes Funds has been appointed as the implementing agency for this initiative and it will construct 300,000 housing units across the country.

• To kickstart the social housing projects, the CBN has already committed to a N200 billion facility and most of the sites where the housing project will commence have already been identified across various geo-political zones by the Federal Government.

• The early start sites include those in Osun and Ogun in the Southwest; Enugu in the Southeast; Delta, in the South-south; Bauchi in the Northeast; Kebbi in the Northwest; Nasarawa and Plateau in the North-central; and a number of sites in Abuja.

• Several other states including Abia, Anambra, Ebonyi, Imo, Cross River, Sokoto, Kaduna, Zamfara, Katsina, Borno, and Yobe, are also working towards kick-starting the project in their states in the next phase.

• The programme has 1-, 2-, and 3-bedroom units that will be sold at low prices. The 1-bedroom unit will cost as little as between N1.8miliion to N2million, while financial assistance would be available for Nigerians to pay the mortgage.

• To achieve the low-price points being targeted, a model design has been produced for the 1- and 2-bedroom houses against which a sample house has been built to demonstrate the costings.

• The form of financial assistance that will be made available to Nigerians include mortgage loans at low interest rates.

• Financing will be arranged through the designation of a Homes Warehousing Agent that will purchase the completed homes from the developers. Individual buyers will then purchase homes from these Home’ Warehousing Agents.

• Family Homes Fund Limited (FHFL) has mobilized cooperatives and other such organised groups across the country as the main offtakers for the homes.

• For instance, FHFL recently met with 93 Cooperative Leaders from the 6 geographical zones, under the aegis of the Co-Operatives Federation of Nigeria.

• A Housing Portal that allows all interested parties in the scheme to get more information on the programme and express their interest in it will be launched on the 16th of December. Possible interested parties include individuals and organized groups interested in home ownership under the scheme, as well as delivery partners including developers, young professionals in the building industry, suppliers, and manufacturers.

• Focusing on job creation under the social housing project, jobs will be created from the need for the local production of building materials and housing inputs such as doors, windows, hinges, frames, cement, paints, etc. For instance, about 1.5m doors would be needed, 1.8m windows, 7.8m hinges amongst other input needs.

• Building sites will also function like factories for the manufacturing of these house inputs to increase local production of building materials and save costs on the importation of building products.

• The social housing project will also employ both the services of established developers and young small-medium scale professional contractors (architects, engineers, quantity surveyors, accountants, etc). These groups will in turn employ the needed artisans.