SWEDISH AMBASSADOR, ECHOSTONE REITERATE PARTNERSHIP ON PROVISION OF AFFORDABLE HOUSING

L-R: Deputy Head of Mission, Sweden Embassy, Ms Fanny Nylander; Director of EchoStone Nigeria, Sammy Adigun and Ambassador of Sweden to Nigeria, Mr H.E. Carl Michael Gräns, after inspecting a prototype of the Echostone two-bedroom bungalow, at the Government Technical College, Agidingbi, Lagos

As Federal Government and most of States including the Federal Capital Territory, battle with the huge housing deficit in the country, Swedish Ambassador to Nigeria, H.E Carl Michael Gräns has reiterated Sweden continuous partnership with EchoStone Nigeria, in providing affordable housing solution to Nigerians.

Speaking with newsmen after inspecting a prototype of the EchoStone two-bedroom bungalow, at the Government Technical College, Agidingbi, Lagos, Michael Gräns expressed amazement at EchoStone’s deployment of innovation and modern technology in constructing a unit of houses in 14 days.

The Ambassador, who was accompanied by Deputy Head of Mission, Sweden Embassy, Ms Fanny Nylander, during the visit, commended the Nigerian firm for introducing and making available a cheap,and eco-friendly houses for the people in such a short time.

He affirmed Swedish support to Nigeria in tackling the nation’s high housing shortfall, noting that he met recently with some Swedish companies on discussions around funding support all gear towards addressing the housing gap in the country.

“If you have a good project, you would have to find a solution in financing these projects; it could be direct investments, which is what we are looking into. There are different state institutions in Sweden that could help with financing guarantees, in order to make these kinds of projects go real,” Ambassador Michael Gräns explained.

It would be recalled that the Managing Director/CEO, Federal Mortgage Bank of Nigeria (FMBN), Ahmed Musa Dangiwa had put the country’s housing deficit at 22 million units; and the bulk of that is in urban areas — Lagos, Port Harcourt and Abuja.

To bridge this gap, Mr. Sammy Adigun, Director of EchoStone Nigeria, said his company is working assiduously on this.

Adigun said the vision of his company is to solve affordable housing problems by delivering to low-income earners, houses which comes with full infrastructure and built with modern technology that makes it sturdier.

He assured that EchoStone would meet the housing needs of Lagos residents and Nigeria at large with the support of all the relevant stakeholders, without compromising the quality which would last not less than 100 years.

Meanwhile, efforts to address three million housing deficit in Lagos has begun to yield positive results, as the Lagos State Government and EchoStone Nigeria are now ready to deliver the first Joint Venture (JV) housing scheme under the administration of the Executive Governor, Babajide Sanwo-Olu.

The collaboration, which is targeted at providing 100,000 homes in five years in Lagos, started with the construction of 2,000 housing units in three Local Government Areas of the State —Idale in Badagry; Ayobo in Alimosho LGA and Imota in Ikorodu LGA.

Echostone Nigeria has, however, concluded the construction of the 252 units of two-bedroom bungalows in Idale Badagry LGA of the state, and now ready for commissioning in March, as part of its ongoing projects to drive mass housing delivery in the state.

Speaking on EchoStone model of building, Adigun said the company is building the first Green estate in Badagry, Lagos and it would be commissioned in March.

He said “owning our building is cheaper at the long run because it would save you 40 per cent carbon footprint, which is your water saving, energy saving, heating or cooling saving. Because the houses are 7 degrees cooler inside, for instance, if your outdoor is 25 degrees and your room is 18 degrees, you might not even need air-conditioning and you would be okay with a fan. So, those savings are what create a sustainable environment.”

While pointing out some challenges such as home ownership in this part of the world, Adigun explained that is why the firm is partnering with countries across the world.

“For instance, salaries are poor, and to own home such as this, you need to earn up to N180,000 a month, after which the N9 million home —cost of the 2-bedroom eco-friendly bungalow— could be provided for you. But those who earn N180,000, sometimes, have other competing demands, that most time make it difficult to allow N60,000 deduction from their salaries,” EchoStone boss said.

He added, “Our research and market studies have shown that affordability is the main challenge, and that is why we are working with developed nations in Europe, America and in the Middle East to actually bring in capital to solve this homeownership problem. In fact, the major challenge is how to buy and not how to build.”

Adigun said the use of modern technology will assist greatly in reducing housing shortfalls.

“The impact will be great, because, with the modern technology used in building those houses, EchoStone can deliver 50,000 homes a year, and half a million houses in 10 years. And for a city like Lagos that is growing very-very fast, it can really make an impact, and it is already spreading to other states, such as Kaduna State, which I think is very promising,” he said.