The Federal Government plans to hold a Housing and Construction Summit/Fair in the first quarter of next year as part of efforts to find solutions to problems identified in the implementation of the Goodluck Jonathan administration’s new mass housing scheme.

Coordinating Minister for the Economy and Minister of Finance, Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, disclosed this today while speaking at the Housing Stakeholders Pre-Summit Workshop on

“Enabling Land, Finance and Concession for Affordable Housing Delivery” held at Transcorp Hilton Hotel, Abuja

“There will be more opportunities for this kind of interaction as we work collectively towards our common goal of affordable housing delivery for all Nigerians,” she said, adding: “This workshop is a prelude to an even bigger Housing and Construction Summit and Fair being planned for Q1 2015 where you will be invited to evaluate progress made so far from here, as well as being given the opportunity to exhibit what the sector players have on offer. I invite you all to be a part of this event next year.”

The minister assured of the present administration’s commitment towards addressing the massive housing deficit estimated at between 17 and 23 million units.

She, however, stressed that “unlocking the full potentials of the housing sector requires the commitment and persistence of all the stakeholders in both private and public sectors.”

President Jonathan flagged off the new scheme on January 16 this year with the launch of the Nigeria Mortgage Re-finance Company (NMRC).

NMRC is supported through a World Bank/IDA credit of $250 million at zero interest, 40-year period and 10 years grace, and 0.7% commitment charge, to be disbursed in 6 tranches as Tier 2 capital. NMRC has also so far raised N7.05 billion shareholders capital. It will also raise funds in the capital market through the periodic issuance of Federal Government-guaranteed bonds to the tune of N50 billion to institutional investors, with the overall target of $5 billion in bond issuances in the medium term.

In August, the Federal Ministry of Finance launched the 10,000 Affordable Housing Mortgage Finance Scheme. The scheme is aimed at young working or self-employed Nigerians of up to 40 years old desirous of owning a home costing N20 million and below. They were asked to apply to be pre-qualified for a mortgage for affordable housing via a dedicated online portal. The call for 10,000 was oversubscribed by six times, resulting in a total of 66,402 applications from across the country.

•Photo shows Okonjo-Iweala.

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