The Minister of Housing and Urban Development, Ahmed Dangiwa, an architect, has revealed plans to model Nigeria’s social housing model on Algeria’s successful programme.
The minister who engaged with Mohamed Tarek Belaribi, Minister of Housing, Urban Planning, and the City, Algeria, at the Sheraton Hotel in Algiers, said he was determined to address Nigeria’s housing problems.
According to a statement by the Deputy Director Press of the ministry, Salisu Badamasi, both ministers engaged in a fruitful discussion on sharing expertise and knowledge on social housing programmes.
The meeting was on the sidelines of the 2023 Extraordinary General Meeting (EGM) of Shelter, which was held from October 3 to 6.
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Dangiwa reiterated Nigeria’s commitment to addressing its housing challenges under the Renewed Hope Agenda of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu.
Dangiwa said there were plans to rapidly increase Nigeria’s housing stock annually and create new cities across the country.
He also mentioned government’s plan to establish a National Social Housing Fund (NSHF) to cater for the housing needs of no income and low-income Nigerians, and expressed eagerness to learn from Algeria’s successful social housing model.
Algerian housing minister, Belaribi, while acknowledging the pivotal role housing plays in Algeria, highlighted the country’s remarkable progress, producing and distributing 1,160,000 housing units in 2020 and 400,000 units in 2022.
Belaribi expressed readiness for collaboration by organising meetings with key officials and offering Algeria’s expertise in various fields.
