By Ben Adoga
In the wake of massive removal of illegal structures in the FCT, the Administration has taken steps to provide affordable housing for represents.
A press statement issued by Tony Odey, press secretary to FCTA permanent secretary he assured that: “In a bid to provide residents of the Federal Capital Territory, FCT and Nigerians at large, the FCT Administration 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 statement noted that the permanent secretary made the revelation over the weekend when he visited Sunrise Estate Development in Asokoro, Abuja.
Among other initiatives, the FCT Administration is working on 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, in another initiative called the FCT Land Swap initiative, the private sector and Nigerian citizens of all categories would be provided access to land encased in the essential urban infrastructure to build their homes.
The initiatives, according to the permanent secretary, will spare owners of the various houses huge sums on maintenance by urging estate developers to incorporate local contents in terms of the building materials which will be used for construction.
He, thereafter, charged the FCT Department of Development Control to be alive to its responsibility by ensuring that all estate developers in the territory abide strictly with the approved development plan.
Earlier, the executive director of Sunrise Estate Development Limited, Mr. Jack Farah revealed that construction work on Phase 2 of Sunrise Estate which is essentially mass housing will soon commence and will be completed within the next one year.
Farah, who assured FCT residents that the Phase 2 of the estate will address their housing needs, urged them to take advantage of the programme.
The Sunrise Estate siits on a large expanse of land totalling over 600 hectares.