LAGOS TO REDEVELOP IKOTA HOUSING ESTATE.

            In furtherance of its determination to reduce the three million housing deficit in the State, the Lagos State Government has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Ativa Riley Investment Limited, a subsidiary of Multipurpose Infrastructural Development Company Limited, for the redevelopment of the Ikota Housing Estate.

The Commissioner for Housing, Prince Gbolahan Lawal, who signed the MoU on behalf of the State Government said that the agreement will see the construction of 500 housing units comprising of 200 units two bedroom flats, 200 units three bedroom maisonette flats and 100 units of four bedroom semi-detached apartments with complementary infrastructure that include: perimeter fencing, roads/pedestrian walkways, concrete drainage, car parks, water and sewage reticulation, aeration facilities, lift station, ground and overhead water treatment plant etc.

Speaking at the signing ceremony, Lawal stated that the redevelopment is in line with the present administration’s Lagos Affordable Public Housing (LAPH) initiative aimed at bridging the housing deficit by entering into Joint Venture Arrangements (JVA) with private investors.

He said the State Government’s contribution to the JVA is the Land, while the private investors will contribute funding and technical expertise, adding that the State had earlier in June 2017 signed a JVA in respect of the site at Ijora Badia with Messrs Brains and Hammers Nigeria Limited.

According to him, “This is the second in the series of JVAs under the Lagos Affordable Public Housing Initiative. This MoU is in respect of the redevelopment of the Ikota Housing Estate in Eti-Osa Local Government Area of Lagos State which was initially developed by the State Government in 1988/89 on a parcel of land measuring approximately Fifty-One (51) Hectares.”

“The State Government, in furtherance of its development and urbanisation programme and commitment to constructing 20,000 housing units in the next four years, is desirous of redeveloping the Estate into modern housing units”, Lawal stated.

The Commissioner added that the 500 housing units would provide shelter for about 3,000 Lagosians, stressing that once the estate is completed, part of the housing units would be integrated into the Rent-To-Own scheme of the government.In his remarks, the Chief Executive Officer of Multipurpose Infrastructural Development Company Limited, Mr. Emmanuel Obire said the first phase of the project would be delivered in 18 months.