Why rising cost of building materials, others may hike housing deficit — VP, Chamber of Commerce and Industry

The Vice President of Abuja Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Dr  Somadina Anene, has warned that high cost of building materials, cumbersome land administration system, the high-interest rate on loans could increase housing deficit in Nigeria.

Anene made this known while interacting with journalists on the forthcoming Real Estate and Construction Expo tagged ‘RECON EXPO 2021’, noting that investing in real estate is critical to revamping the economy.

According to him, if all hands are not on deck to address Nigeria’s spiralling housing deficit, it may shoot up to 25 million from the 17 million it was four years ago by the end of 2021.

He admonished that investment in real estate will not only provide jobs for the unemployed but drastically reduced crime rate.

He said that the economy can be revamped by encouraging more investments in the real estate and construction industry.

“We know that infrastructure is key to economic development in the sense that it will drive economic growth, it will provide more jobs, it will even reduce crime and social vices in any economy. So, that is why we have taken that as the theme for this year.

“This is the 5th edition of this exhibition. The exhibition started in 2016 and we are now witnessing the 5th edition. It is all about promoting economic growth in the country through greater investments in real estate and infrastructure.

“Why are we talking about real estate? It’s because we know that housing is one of the basic needs of man, it’s only next to food and clothing. And why did we chose real estate instead of just saying housing? It’s because we are also concerned about the economic welfare, not just the social welfare, of Nigerians, their economic growth,” Anene explained.

Meanwhile, the Minister of Works and Housing Babatunde Fashola had earlier faulted the claim that Nigeria has 17 million housing deficit, stating that the 17 million housing deficit being quoted was grossly over-bloated.