Federal Mortgage Bank of Nigeria is financing the development of 272 housing units in Abuja to the tune of ₦1.83bn under the National Housing Fund scheme, which is designed to provide affordable shelter for Nigerian masses.

The housing estate called Cooperative City Gardens at Sabon Lugbe, Abuja, is being developed by El-Salem Nigeria Limited, a private estate developer.

The Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer, FMBN, Mr. Gimba Kumo, confirmed that the first tranche (₦746,011,682.32) of the facility has been disbursed to El-Salem at the inauguration of the first phase of the project in Abuja on Friday by the Minister of Lands, Housing and Urban Development, Ms. Ammal Pepple. The first tranche of the loan was disbursed just in April this year.

The housing project consists of 70 units of 2-bedroom semi-detached bungalows, 112 units of 3-bedroom semi-detached bungalows and 90 units of 3-bedroom fully detached bungalows.

Kumo commended the efforts of El-Salem Nigeria Limited in delivering the first phase of the project, noting that housing projects like that complemented the determination of the Federal Government to provide decent and affordable houses to all Nigerians.

The FMBN managing director reassured contributors to the NHF scheme that the El-Salem housing project was yet another proof that the NHF scheme was working. “FMBN is willing to provide affordable mortgage loans to interested contributors to purchase houses such as these that we are financing in every part of the country,” he said.

Pepple, who cut the tape declaring the estate open for habitation, lauded the achievements of the FMBN and the developer for working assiduously to deliver affordable shelter to Nigerians.

Under the NHF Scheme which started in 1992, the FMBN has been able to collect ₦73.64bn from contributors as at July, 2011, while ₦72.4bn has been disbursed for housing finance also as at July this year. There is a total approval of N140.3bn housing loans since inception of NHF. The relatively low disbursement level is largely due to the inadequacy of available funds to meet the teeming housing needs of Nigerians. Nonetheless, the Bank has financed not less than 57,794 housing units within the period.

Nigeria needs about ₦56tn to remedy the nation’s housing deficit of 16 million housing units.

View more property news from Nigeria.