By Samuel Oyadongha

Trans-Atlantic Mortgages Limited, a primary mortgage institution (PMI), said it had concluded plan to provide 500,000 low cost housing units for civil servants in Bayelsa State.

Chairman, Trans-Atlantic Mortgage Limited, Dr. Ephraim Fagba Faloughi Spiff, disclosed this at the 3rdAnnual General Meetings (AGM) in Yenagoa. He said that the company has secured N2 billion from the Federal Mortgage Bank of Nigeria (FMBN)for Bayelsa State to provide soft housing units for the indigenes, adding that the company has also secured another N3 million for Akwa Ibom state to facilitate its housing projects in the region.

The chairman said the company’s profitability level would be considerably improved upon during the coming years as its majors in mortgage banking, residential estates development and money market operations.

Describing the state government as a major shareholder in the company, Faloughi Spiff said the company is partnering with a Chinese firm to provide solar power electricity in all the houses built by the company. He said the 500,000 housing units is basically for civil servants in the state as the maximum value of each house is targeted at N5m.

He noted that there is nowhere in the country where houses are built for N2million unless they are makeshift houses. He noted that delay in approval of loans and government bureaucratic bottlenecks are the major challenges in its operations.

Earlier, Managing Director of the company, Mr. Preye Ogriki said the company facilitates the provision of soft housing scheme for the average civil servants in the region. He said the company is impacting positively in the lives of Bayelsans through its promotions and raffle draws to make Bayelsans own houses, adding that flats would be won by lucky winners during the promotion. He said the company had gotten mass support from the state government since its operations and hopes to reward the people through the raffle draws and promotions.