Edo State Governor, Mr. Godwin Obaseki, has said that his administration has embarked on the development of elite housing for Edo people in the Diaspora to integrate them in the growth and development of the State.
Obaseki said this in Benin City, during the commissioning of the 68-unit housing estate developed by the federal government in Benin City, under the phase one (1 ) of the National Housing Programme.
According to the Governor, “Just as we are looking at the low income affordable housing, we are also looking at elite housing, housing at the other end and we are converting some of the lands in the Government Reservation Area (GRA) to encourage developers to develop housing that would compare with anything else that you can get in the world, particularly for the benefit of our brothers and sisters in the Diaspora who want to come home and own houses commensurate with the type they live in abroad.”
He added: “We are building houses, we have made land available in the GRA and we hope that within the next two years, we would put nothing less than 250 apartments in the market for this audience.”
The elite housing project the Governor explained is part of a mix of housing projects (affordable and high-end) embarked upon by his administration to cater to the housing needs of all classes of people in the State and in the Diaspora.
The first phase of Emotan Gardens, a 70-hectare affordable housing scheme in Benin City, Obaseki said was successful and assured developers that Edo State can adequately supply over 70 per cent of the building materials needed for any kind of housing project.
Speaking on his administration’s commitment to solving the over 20 million housing deficit in the country, he said: “For us in Edo, we are very committed to housing. We have as we speak about four projects which we are working on.
“One is the Emotan Gardens on almost 70 hectares where we are building 1,600 homes. We have finished the first phase which has been quite successful.”
He advised developers to take advantage of the building materials market in the State as “almost 70 percent of what you require to build and complete a house is made in Edo State.”
“We have two major cement companies in our State. We have lots of quarries, a lot of contractors who are in the business of sharp sand. We have companies that manufacture ceramic tiles and bathroom fittings.
“Edo State is one of the best places for the manufacturing of doors in this country. Edo State holds the largest flagship glass company in the country today. We have the largest medium and high-density fiber board manufacturing companies in West Africa in the State”, he added.
