FG Advances Public -Private Partnerships to Drive Housing and Urban Development - Dangiwa
* says partnering Shelter Afrique Development Bank to Deliver 5,000 Affordable Housing Units
Minister of Housing and Urban Development, Arc Ahmed Musa Dangiwa, has disclosed that the Ministry is intensifying efforts to harness Public-Private Partnerships (PPPs) as a key strategy for addressing critical housing and urban development challenges in Nigeria.
He made this known at the Renewed Hope Housing Public Private Partnership Summit held at Shehu Yar'adua Centre, Abuja on Monday,17th March, 2025.
The theme for the Summit is “Leveraging PPPs to Deliver Renewed Hope Agenda for Housing AND Urban Development."
The Minister noted that the vision to convene industry leaders, housing institutions, policymakers, and stakeholders to deliberate on leveraging Public-Private Partnerships (PPPs) to advance the Renewed Hope Agenda of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu for housing and urban development was both timely and transformative
Arc. Musa Dangiwa also affirmed the ministry's commitment and determination to break the cycle of inaction and deliver tangible results in the housing sector, adding in line with the Renewed Hope Agenda, the Ministry is spearheading transformative initiatives to enhance urban renewal, optimize federal assets, and improve land administration through Public Private Partnership.
He bemoaned that the Nigeria is battling with inadequate housing supply to meet the demands of a rapidly growing population and the prevalence of substandard housing where over 70% of Nigeria's 43 million housing units do not meet the basic standards of habitability, safety, sanitation, accessibility, and infrastructure as outlined by the United Nations and the World Health Organization (WHO).
Arc Dangiwa also revealed that aside collaborating with National Population Commission, the ministry has established an Industry -Wide Team to develop a National Housing Data Infrastructure in order to have credible housing data.
However, Federal Government is working with an estimated housing deficit of over 20 million units and bridging the gap would mean delivering 500,000 housing units annually over the next decade, at an average cost of N10 million per unit, meaning it would require over N5 trillion annually (approximately $6.25 billion) to achieve that.
"This scale of investment necessitates a collaborative strategy involving both the government and the private sector," He said.
Accordingly, the Public Private Partnerships (PPPs) is a key part of the ministry’s efforts to ensure that it conceive and implement large scale affordable housing and urban development interventions as well as create
significant impact nationwide to complement budgetary allocations.
The Minister noted that under a PPP framework arrangement, the Federal Government is working to deliver 100,000 Units with a Consortium of Developers, informing,under the phase one of the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU), the ministry would deliver seven (7) Renewed Hope Cities targeting the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Lagos, Kano, Maiduguri, Enugu, Port Harcourt, and Nasarawa with effective demand for housing.
Arc Dangiwa also informed that in a broader effort to enhance urban renewal and slum upgrade programs, the Ministry is strengthening collaborations with multilateral institutions, particularly UN-Habitat emphasising the recent
presidential approval for Nigeria's $500,000 annual subscription to UN- Habitat marks a significant step toward large -scale urban interventions.
To further facilitate urban development discourse and networking among stakeholders, he revealed that the ministry is planning Nigeria's first National Urban Forum in alignment with New Urban Agenda.
On Federal assets nationwide, the Minister said that the Ministry is exploring innovative PPP models to optimize underutilized federal assets, including dilapidated properties and prime land, hinting plans are underway for the possible establishment of a Housing and Urban Development Special Purpose Investment Vehicle (SPIV) to transform these assets into revenue-generating projects that will fund affordable and social housing.
He said that over the nineteen months, the Ministry has aggressively pursued PPP-driven solutions, but the scale of the challenge remains vast. As such, the Ministry is calling on technically and financially capable partners to collaborate in delivering the Renewed Hope Agenda.
"We need more PPPs to drive these ambitious projects. If you have value to add to our work,you can be assured of a willing and committed partner in us," Arc Dangiwa stated.
Also, the Minister signed a landmark housing development partnership agreement with Shelter Afrique Development Bank (ShafDB) to accelerate the delivery of affordable housing across the country.
"The agreement is historic because this is the first time the Federal Government, through the Ministry , is directly collaborating with ShafDB to access developer financing for affordable housing," the Minister remarked.
He explained that the first phase of the partnership will deliver 5,000 housing units, with plans for nationwide expansion, noting the agreement underscores governments commitment to making homeownership more accessible to Nigerians.
The Minister also said ShafDB will support in providing technical advisory services, including comprehensive assessment of Nigeria's housing market using its innovative VIRAL model. He explained the model will lead to the development of country housing deficit reduction strategy paper and three PPP transaction models for affordable housing and urban renewal projects.
He added that the bank will also give assistance in identifying strategic private sector partners, structuring market- attractive PPP transactions , and raising fund for housing and urban development initiatives, noting capacity building programs in form of training, workshops, and policy development exercise will be conducted to enhance the ministry's capabilities.
Meanwhile, the Minister has called on the management of Infrastructure Concession Regulation Commission ( ICRC )to modify the it guidelines on PPP to accommodate the "unique characteristics and challenges" of housing development.
He said, "Housing development often requires different financial mechanisms, shorter timelines, and a focus on affordability and social impact, making the current ICRC guidelines less than ideal without further modifications."
Arc Dangiwa outlined the areas the ministry has issues with ICRC to include; focus on large scale infrastructure, financial model incompatibility, target market and affordability,land acquisition and regulatory challenges amongst others, expressing optimism that working with the new management of the Commission, all the problems will be resolved to enable the ministry speed up its PPP projects.
Earlier in his goodwill message, the Chairman Senate Committee on Housing and Urban Development, Senator Aminu Waziri Tambuwal, reaffirmed the unwavering dedication of the Committee to supporting progressive policies and legislative framework that fosters sustainable housing development, adding that creating an enabling environment for PPP’s to thrive required robust legal and regulatory frameworks.
“We stand ready to collaborate with all stakeholders to facilitate this objectives”, he said.
Senator Tambuwal assured that the legislative efforts of the Committee would remain focused on ensuring transparency, streamlining processes and eliminating bureaucratic bottlenecks that hinder private sector investments in housing.
On his part while giving his welcome remarks, the convener of the Renewed Hope Housing Summit, Dr. Olayemi Rotimi Shodimu, informed that the summit which is the first National Open dialog on Public Private Partnership in Nigeria’s housing sector, aims to foster collaboration between public and private stakeholders in the sector.
He said it marked a significant milestone in addressing Nigeria's housing deficit estimated at 17 to 28 million units, and promoting sustainable urban development.
Dr. Shodimu further informed that the summit aims to increase awareness of PPP models, identify innovative financing options, and develop comprehensive policy recommendations.
Also in his opening remarks, the Permanent Secretary Ministry of Housing and Urban Development, Dr. Shuaib Belgore, stated that the summit was a testament to the government's commitment to fostering partnerships that will harness the strengths of both Public and Private sectors, to meet the growing demand for affordable housing.
He expressed confident that the collaboration between the two sectors would play a transformative role in addressing the challenges facing the housing sector.
In her presentation of the PPP strategy and framework for Housing and Urban Development, the Head Public Private Partnership (PPP) of the Ministry, Arc. Abimbola Asein, brought the participants up to speed with the vision and mission of the Ministry.
To achieve the vision, she outlined some strategic objectives to include; Increasing Affordable Housing Supply, Enhancing Urban Infrastructure, Fostering Innovation and Sustainability, Ensuring Inclusivity and Equity, among others.
Arc. Asein mentioned key programs and initiatives that would help translate the strategic objectives into action, flagship programs such as the Renewed Hope Cities and Estates Programme which targets the delivery of 200,000 affordable housing units by 2030, and the National Urban Renewal and Slum Upgrade Programme, aiming to develop 50 urban and slum upgrade projects by 2030.
Accordingly, Arc. Asein listed some key elements of the PPP framework to include Policy and Regulatory Reforms, Strengthening of Institutional Structures, and more.
Highlight of the event was the signing of memorandum between the Housing Ministry and the Shelter Afrique Development Bank, as well as the presentation of a milestone award by the Real House Communication LTD, to the Honourable Minister for the giant strides so far achieved in the Ministry.
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