Nigeria, Algeria initiate sustainable plans on social housing

By Mashe Umaru Gwamna

Nigeria and Algeria have initiated plans towards ensuring efficiency and sustainable impact on social housing.
Nigeria’s Minister of Housing and Urban Development, Arc. Ahmed Dangiwa, made the disclosure while meeting with Minister of Housing, Urban Planning, and the City, Algeria, Mohamed Belaribi, in Algiers recently.
This was contained in a statement signed and issued by Deputy Director Press , Salisu Badamasi, saying that the ministers engaged in a fruitful discussion which centered around sharing expertise and knowledge on social housing programs.
In his remarks, Arc. Dangiwa underscored Nigeria’s commitment to addressing its housing challenges under the Renewed Hope Agenda of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu,
He revealed plans to rapidly increase Nigeria’s housing stock annually and create new cities across the country.
He also mentioned the government’s plans to establish a National Social Housing Fund (NSHF) to cater to the housing needs of No income and low-income Nigerians and expressed eagerness to learn from Algeria’s successful social housing model.
Meanwhile, Algerian Housing Minister, Belaribi acknowledged the pivotal role housing plays in Algeria, highlighted Algeria’s remarkable progress, producing and distributing 1,160,000 housing units in 2020 and 400,000 units in 2022.
Minister Belaribi expressed readiness for collaboration, organizing meetings with key officials and offering Algeria’s expertise in various fields, emphasizing the importance of establishing a formal agreement between the two ministries and proposed a comprehensive framework for joint efforts.
Regarding social housing formulas, Belaribi outlined diverse approaches, including delivering units without any upfront payment, a rent-to-own scheme managed by the Agency of Amelioration and Development of Housing (AADH), and tailoring housing sizes based on income and family size.
He also discussed the innovative National Bank on Housing, allowing subscribers to save for homeownership, thereby reducing the government’s financial burden.