In a bid to address its housing deficit
of over two million, the Lagos State Government has introduced a new technology
which ensures construction of a bungalow within 48 hours.
Mr
Gbolahan Lawal, the Commissioner for Housing, said the technology was already
being used in its housing estates at Idale in Badagry and Imota in Ikorodu to
achieve the government’s target of delivering 2,000 houses.
“We
want to see how to go into the manufacturing of homes, we make it seamless and
produce about 100 units in a month.
“We
have three companies, one is already at site; it is going to take 48 hours to
put up a bungalow.
“They
have the equipment and we have signed agreement with them. They are to produce
2,000 housing units and already they are in Idale in Badagry, from Idale they
will move to Imota,’’ he told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Sunday.
Lawal
explained that some workers were also being trained in the technology and
process of the construction.
The
commissioner said that the housing sector had the capacity to create several
jobs and generate demands for products and accessories needed in homes and,
therefore, should be given priority attention.
According
to him, investment in the housing sector usually have a multiplier effect on
the economy.
Lawal
added that various gadgets and accessories like tiles, electronics, water and
electricity meters, mattresses, TV subscription and even various jobs like that
of artisans are tied to construction of houses.
“Government
at all levels should pay more attention to housing. The consumption aspect of
housing is very important as it contributes greatly to the Gross Domestic
Product (GDP) of the nation.’’
On
the use of cheaper building materials, the commissioner said the ministry had
experimented with the use of materials like clay some years back but that
availability and speed of delivery was the reason it dropped the initiative.
He
explained that the state government was at the moment not exploring the use of
bamboo, clay and wood to deliver cheap houses because the materials are not
available in commercial quantities.
Lawal
disclosed that a new housing policy aimed at tackling the state’s housing
deficit had been drafted.
“It
is taking us more than 14 months to design the housing policy.
“That
policy will be like a framework, like what we are going to be following and it
is not going to be like a knee jack response,’’ he told NAN, describing the
policy as a template or roadmap that will regulate the operations of the
ministry.
The
commissioner said Lagos State was the first to create a full-fledged ministry
of housing in 1999 during the administration of ex-Gov. Bola Tinubu because of
the importance it accorded shelter for the people, adding that Abia recently
followed suit.
- NAN
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