The Minister of Housing and Urban Development, Arc. Ahmed Dangiwa, has said the federal government has concluded plans to set up building materials manufacturing hubs in each of the geopolitical zones of the country.
Dangiwa, who made the revelation in Abuja on Thursday at a press conference to mark his one year in office, said the move is to tackle the rising cost of imported building materials caused by the floating of the naira.
“As we speak, we have concluded plans to establish building material manufacturing hubs in the six geopolitical zones and I am happy to announce that we have two investors who have indicated interest and then we move to the ICRC for partnership.
“The essence of the hubs is to ensure that all building materials are manufactured locally to create jobs and also reduce the cost of building materials and houses in the country,” he said.
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Speaking on some of the efforts of the ministry under his leadership, Dangiwa said, “We plan to do groundbreaking for 2,000 housing units of Renewed Hope Cities in Lagos and 1,500 housing units in Kano next month.
“We have also done groundbreaking of 6,612 housing units across 13 locations nationwide and construction is ongoing at all these project sites and the homes are expected to be completed within three months.”
Dangiwa also announced that the ministry has entered into a partnership with Shelter Afrique, a pan-African housing development finance institution, to construct 5,000 housing units across the country.