Don't Miss


Home   >   Housing   >   FG to support Lagos in housing, infrastructure

FG to support Lagos in housing, infrastructure

By on November 2, 2014

The Federal Government is willing to help the Lagos State Government in managing its population through the development of housing and relevant infrastructure.

President Goodluck Jonathan stated this at the opening ceremony of the 45th annual conference of the Nigerian Institute of Town Planners in Lagos. The conference has as its theme: ‘Management of cities in developing economy: Issues, challenges and opportunities’.

Jonathan, who was represented by the Minister for Lands, Housing and Urban Development, Mrs. Akon Eyakenyi, said the Federal Government had programmes lined up to help contain population explosion in Lagos.

He said, “When there is development, people tend to move there. The government is coming up with diverse projects in the state. We have given out the development of FESTAC Phase two housing project on concession, which will help the surge in population.

“There are also affordable houses done by the Federal Government; we are not overlooking the population explosion in Lagos; we are doing everything possible to back up the state government to develop the housing sector to accommodate the population.”

According to the President, with the current trend of urbanisation, the country’s population is on the threshold of becoming predominantly urban.

He said in the near future, there would be more than 800 urban settlements, including Lagos, with about 15 million people, and 10 other millionaire cities as well as many other intermediate cities.

“It is estimated that by 2050, about 60 per cent of sub-Saharan Africa will be urban, with Nigeria dominating the scene,” he said.

The President said despite the growth, it had become worrisome that cities in the country were not contributing much to economic growth.

“The contribution of our cities to economic growth is embarrassingly low compared to other developed and emerging countries,” Jonathan added.

He urged stakeholders in the built environment, especially town planners, to help in the revitalisation of the housing and urban development sector.

“There is no doubt that careful management of cities and the physical manifestation of urbanisation provide a strong springboard for sustaining and up-scaling national economic growth trends,” he said.

The National President, NITP, Chief Steve Onu, said over the years, there had been calls for proper planning of human settlements in the country.

“Human settlement has been emerging sporadically, leaving our administrators helplessly in search of ways of navigating through the challenges that these settlements impose on them,” he added.

 

[Punch]

One Comment

  1. Padron47

    November 2, 2014 at 1:15 pm

    Good development. There are huge opportunities in Nigeria’s real estate sector. http://www.naijainvestgateway.com