The federal government says plans are in the pipeline to make housing more accessible to millions of Nigerians.
As part of the plans, the Nigerian government plans to set up building materials manufacturing hubs in each of the six geo-political zones of the country to reduce input costs.
Besides costs of land and funds, building materials, whose prices have hit the roofs in recent times on account of inflation, constitute a significant percentage of construction costs, thereby jerking up house prices and putting them beyond the reach of many.
Read Also: MOFI Launches Series 2 Of N100bn Real Estate Investment Fund To Bridge Housing Gap
To underscore the seriousness attached to this plan, government says there will be series of fiscal incentives to support it, including tax reductions for local manufacturers, customs duty waivers for importing machinery and raw materials, grants and subsidies to scale up production, access to low-interest financing, and Public-Private Partnerships (PPP) to drive innovation.
Ahmed Dangiwa, Minister of Housing and Urban Development, who disclosed this plan and the incentives, added that the manufacturing hubs would be strategically located within existing trade zones to take advantage of tax incentives, reduce regulatory bottlenecks, and enhance market access.
The minister spoke at a high-level stakeholders’ engagement in Lagos recently with the theme, ‘Actualizing the Renewed Hope Agenda for Housing and Urban Development: Examining Strategies, Identifying Opportunities to Boost Scale and Impact.’
Read Also: FEC Approves N31.66bn To Build Access Road To Karsana Housing Project In Abuja
It gathered key players from the housing sector to deliberate on strategies for boosting local production and reducing construction costs.
Dangiwa assured that the hubs would significantly lower the cost of building materials and would ultimately improve housing affordability.
“Boosting local production and implementing strategic fiscal incentives will not only cut construction costs but also make housing more accessible to millions of Nigerians,” he said.
