The Federal Government has commenced breaking ground for the construction of 1, 250 housing units across four states in Northern Nigeria.

The Minister of Housing and Urban Development, Mr. Ahmed Dangiwa, made the disclosure at the groundbreaking ceremony of 250 housing units under the Renewed Hope Estate of President Bola Tinubu, on Wednesday in Katsina.

“In total, we are breaking ground for 1, 250 housing units across four states in Northern Nigeria.

“After here, we will be in Kano to do the same groundbreaking for 500 housing units, 250 units in Yobe, and another 250 units in Gombe,” he said.

Dangiwa said that Renewed Hope Estate in Katsina comprised 50 units of 1-bedroom semi-detached bungalows, 150 units of 2-bedroom semi-detached bungalows, and 50 units of 3-bedroom semi-detached bungalows.

“We have designed these housing units in a way that makes it easy and affordable for people to take off.

“We have used organic designs to allow for future expansion as the income of beneficiaries increases.

“What this means is that the 1-bedroom can be expanded to 2 bedrooms and a 2-bedroom expandable to 3 bedrooms as the owner’s financial situation improves or he grows in service,” he said.

The minister said the government had already awarded contracts for 3, 500 housing units in thirteen states.

That, he said, has demonstrated the government commitment to rolling out these developments nationwide.

“States not covered under the 2023 Supplementary Budget, will be included in the 2024 Budget,” Dangiwa said.

The minister urged the governments yet to provide land for these projects to do so promptly.

He said that the project was awarded to the Messrs K-4 Engineering Ltd, WindLand Engineering and Properties Ltd, Real Phenomenon Integral Services Ltd and Saltine Engineering Services Ltd.

The minister tasked the state developers to ensure that their building is according to specifications, and deliver a quality job, as substandard work would not be tolerated.

“We also want to have this work finished within the next three months so that we can begin the process of off take for Katsina indigenes,” Dangwa said.

He revealed that the government had created different options to enable everyone who has a source of income and livelihood to own the homes when they are completed.

“These include single-digit mortgage loans with up to 30-year terms provided by the Federal Mortgage Bank of Nigeria, Rent-to-Own schemes, and Outright Purchase options for those who can afford to pay upfront,” Dangiwa said.

The minister revealed that Tinubu had launched the Renewed Hope Cities and Estates project, with a 3,112-housing unit project in Karsana, Abuja, earlier this year.

“Under Phase One, we plan to deliver a total of 50, 000 housing units across Nigeria.

“The cities will have between 500- 1, 000 housing units per site in one location in each of the six geopolitical zones in the country and the FCT.

“While the estates will have 250 units per site in the remaining 30 states,” he said.

According to him, each housing unit is expected to create an average of 25 direct and indirect jobs, translating to approximately 6, 250 jobs for the 250 units here in Katsina alone.

In his remarks, Gov.Dikko Radda, commended the Federal Government for initiating the project, which he said, would go a long way in creating jobs to people in the country.

He assured that his administration was ready to support the Federal Government to provide shelter to the citizens and rebuild the future for all Nigerians.

The representative of the contractors, Mustapha Ibrahim, assured that the Renewed Hope Estate would meet the highest standard of quality and design.

He also promised to finish the work within the three a month time-frame.(NAN)