Chateau Royal Real Estate Limited has called for government and private sector partnerships to build more cities in a bid to curb housing challenges.
The Managing Director of Chateau-Royal Real Estate Limited, Oluwatobi Osonuga, said this while speaking about the firm’s property Pearlwort Estate. “Pearlwort Estate is an investor’s delight. It is a city set on a hill with a beautiful view from up top. Its topography is flat and suitable to hold any structure. It is located in Epe “the new smart city”. Where the air is clean and breathable. The streets are lit with streetlights and sanitary with no refuse dumps. He noted that the estate would be equipped with security, perimeter fencing, electricity, good drainage, water, and recreational centers. He added that 500 Square meters is currently on a promo for N1.5 million and will revert to its actual price of sold for 2.5 million after the promo.
On housing challenges in Nigeria, he said, “Currently, we have over 10 million people living in Lagos and a good number of those persons do not have roofs over their heads. The government alone cannot build 10 million houses so there is a need for public/private sector partnerships” to curb this menace, he said.
He explained that while there is a need to build more homes, there is also a need to build more cities in other to decentralize some locations “I would like to see the government put mechanisms in place to reclaim land and as well open up new cities and communities through the drive of infrastructure and developments such that there will be no need for someone who lives in Epe, for instance, to drive hours to his or her job in Victoria Island. He opined that the new cities should be able to support life, businesses, basic amenities and industries as this will in turn decentralize overcrowded areas.” He said.
He also added that the major problem confronting real estate in Nigeria is the Land Use Act. He opined that it is high time the government reviewed the act to ensure its functionality in modern-day Nigeria. However, “In the interim, the Lagos State Government should look into removing the bottlenecks that make it difficult to purchase land as well as regularize titles. He said that as a developer in Lagos, you have to deal with “Omonile” and the state government agencies. This makes it extremely expensive to build as you would have spent most of your resources paying off Omoniles before filing for title with the government authorities.” He added that the State Government should also implement, and ensure access to land and housing finance so that developers and individuals can get loans at single-digit interest rates or no interest at all.
