By Chris Ochayi

MINISTER of Lands,Housing and Urban Development, Ms Amal Pepple has reiterated that affordable housing is  paramount in the transformation agenda of President Goodluck Jonathan administration, going by the importance of shelter to individuals and the nation.

Ms. Pepple who stated this while commissioning 106 housing units at the weekend at Crown Court Estate, constructed by Crown Realities Plc in Mabushi area of Abuja, said the desire of the present administration is to abridge the current 17 million housing deficit facing the nation.

She expressed satisfaction with the developers, stating that this is what a home should look like. The estate with 106 housing units of detached and semi-detached houses as well as luxury condominiums with first class finishes and facilities on three hectares of land,  is a first step in the move by the company to build more houses in the Federal Capital territory.

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She said, “We want to concentrate on providing houses for low income earners especially those in the informal sector and we believe that even if it is for them it shouldn’t be of low quality”.

The Managing Director, Crown Realties, Mr. Darl Uzu, said the estate is their way of registering presence in the property market in the FCT and tackling housing shortage in the country.

“The estate is safe for residents as the company had gone an extra mile, presently securing life and property has become a major problem in most urban centres in the world. The estate has its own independent power project with three synchronized generators of 600KVA capacity each; elaborate waterworks with 550,000-litre fibre storage tank with a treatment plant, an overhead fibre tank,  laundry mart and shopping complex.

“The recreational area has the club house that features the swimming pool, changing room and gymnasium. There are also fire hydrants and extinguishers in strategic locations within the estate in addition to a telephone exchange that is connected to every apartment with Internet facilities, as well as pre-installed DSTV connections”, Crown Realties boss said.

Uzu explained that the company opted for pre-installed air conditioners in all the apartments so that the beauty of the estate would not be destroyed by individual installation of air conditioning units.

The chairman of Crown Realities, Chief Ferdinand Alabraba, in his remarks said that their developments are always futuristic, and the company had taken its standard a notch higher to development of the estate.

He added that it is the first in the Federal Capital Territory, and that they have plans to embark on more projects in the FCT.