Housing Deficit: NIA Develops Blueprint On Solution Strategies

As a way of meeting housing needs of lower class of Nigerian population as well as fast track housing delivery in the country, the Nigerian Institute of Architects (NIA) has developed a blueprints in partnership with each state government to meet the peculiar housing needs of each state government across the country.

 

As the the Institute also maintained that one of the best solution to the housing problem is involvement of private sector as leading driver in housing provision.

 

He noted the government could only intervene by strengthening the capacity of institution toward building an efficient local government market. 

 

The disclosure was made by the President of the NIA, Arc. Adibe Njokwu in Abuja while speaking on the efforts of the Institute in reducing housing deficit in the country.

 

He maintained that the NIA has already commenced aggressive campaign on this new initiative, meeting with the government as part of enlightenment programme toward ensuring the success of the innovation geared towards making  accessible to Nigerians.

 

The NIA President pointed out that the new Initiative was informed by the need to put new impetus in place for housing delivery and to create employment opportunities for youths.

 

While presenting the blueprint to journalists, Njokwu said the geometric growth of the major cities in the country and fast growth of other towns, the availability of housing raw materials in large quantities as well as the teeming population of employable in construction were conditions that favoured  mass housing development in Nigerian.

 

According to him, NIA has delivered various models such as architectural social housing, architectural commercial housing and public private partnership on which a successful partnership could build with the federal government.

 

Nwojku added that NIA is also promoting a new concept on mass housing with executing template based on the mass production to build the house rather than looking at the completed whole.

 

“This will create an architectural chain in the production process and open access to a vast array of small and medium enterprise (SME) funding at single digit interest rates for component fabrication that culminate in housing development.

 

“This will result in architectural component fabrication plants in every local government Area (LGA) in Nigeria; each council will be producing everything needed to complete a basic house. The basic raw material will be local elements occurring in great abundance in the LGA.

 

“When local building materials are commoditized more people can buy and sell and a lot more people can buy directly for residential purposes, he said adding that there are many components reducing housing costs one of which is availability of locally development materials.

 

“There are agencies responsible for that and they are doing well, the task is not only the task of Architects but all the professional group in the built environment. it is very long process and new leadership must be able to continue from where others stopped”.

 

The president NIA urged the federal government to collaborate with architects and other professionals in the built environment to fashion out strategies toward solving the huge housing shortfall in the country.

 

He pointed out that the institute making a housing action plan, a strategic framework outlines which the institute will develop with other professionals in the built environment.

 

“As an institute, the body is poised to make a difference by making significant contribution to the quest for affordable housing, he said. Their is we will do by proffering new architectural design ideology which will be useful.