Following the completion of the first phase housing project known as Greenwich Gardens through a Public-Private Partnership initiative, the Chairman, Agboyi-Ketu Local council, Dele Oshinowo has explained that the scheme represents the drive to upscale grassroots development and provide fresh perspectives of making life better for the people.
He stated that the philosophy behind government in the grassroots is to tilt administration’s workings and focus to be in sync with the Sustainable Development Goal 11, which provides room for inclusive and sustainable urban development to addressing housing deficit in communities, as well as provide conducive environment that will make housing affordable and accessible to majority of the citizenry.
According to him, the council’s objective is to substantially reduce the housing deficit through partnering with the private sector to deliver a significant number of housing units that are affordable, safe and decent to Lagosians.
“The entire structures on this estate were completed using 100 per cent local content, with the added benefit of creating direct and indirect jobs for residents and citizens of our communities, because our administration understands the importance of stimulating our local economy,” the council boss said.
The housing estate comprises 101 apartments; 66 units of two- bedroom Flats, 14 Units of three-bedroom semi-detached house and one unit of four-bedroom detached house, 20 Units of three-bedroom terraces, and 65 residential plots (site and service scheme). With this project, Agboyi-Ketu LCDA is the first LCDA in Lagos State to embark on a housing project and site and services scheme through PPP model.
Other projects embarked by the council include Sterling Heights(106 Housing units), Raymond Estates (64 Housing units), the Recreational Centre being constructed in Agboyi, as well as WeLift ICT Hub, which is being built to greatly enhance and develop the ICT skills of people in the council.
The Managing Director, Biufort Homes Limited, Olalekan Aboderin, whose firm partnered with the council in Greenwich Gardens, stated that notwithstanding the accessibility of the location, the project was daunting given the array of challenges posed by the project site and market perception.
“On the other hand, to say the obvious, the project has contributed to transforming the environment. What used to be a dreaded axis is now seen as an area for living with a sense of comfort and security. Law-abiding citizens of Lagos State can now pass through the area at any reasonable hours of the day without any fear of insecurity. Greenwich Gardens can then be referred to as a transformation scheme,” he said.
Aboderin explained that the two-bedroom flats, as proposed, are delivered as completed units with internal finishing, duplexes and the detached house were however planned to be delivered to the subscribers at a semi-finished state.
The state of completion for delivery is therefore without any internal finishing like tiling, building furniture and fittings. This, apart from payment modality, makes one of the strategies of making the units affordable to subscribers and leaving them with the choice of their finishing.
Source: The Guardian
