FG seals $80m Abuja housing scheme deal

The Federal Ministry of Lands, Housing and Urban Development has signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with a Dubai-based private developer, Signature Value Homes Limited, for the development of affordable mass housing scheme in Abuja worth over $80 million.
The Public Private Partnership (PPP) project, coming under Contractors Finance Initiative of the Ministry, is billed to start in January 2015 with the first phase of 300 units expected to be delivered in six months. The project, to occupy 20 hectares of land situated at Gwagwalada, is proposed as a mixed development comprising of one bedroom, two bedroom and three bedroom flats on ground plus three upper level floors. At the signing ceremony, Minister of Lands, Housing and Urban Development, Mrs. Akon Eyakenyi, noted that the company submitted an unsolicited proposal of intent and made a technical presentation to the Ministry in November and the PPP Unit carried out due diligence before it was given the go-ahead for the project. “The company is technically capable and has the financial capacity to undertake the project if given the opportunity. PPP is the vehicle through which the Ministry builds mass housing.
The Ministry provides land and developers build according to agreed specifications. Messrs Signature Value Homes Limited is a mass housing project developer entity that specializes in providing holistic solutions for integrated community development. The company presented a profile of successful execution of projects in India and Sub- Sahara African Countries and is also engaged in mass housing development with the Niger State government. “The Field Headquarters in Abuja was contacted and has confirmed that the said land on which the company proposes to develop the houses, infrastructure and facilities is free and unencumbered. The PPP Unit considered the proposal as a viable project and highly recommended it for implementation.
This however necessitated the Minister’s approval for partnership with the company,” she stated. The minister remarked that the housing ministry is effectively utilising the lands allocated to it by FCT.