The Chief Executive Officer of Hall 7, Mr. Olayinka Braimoh has said the current land reforms by the Federal Capital Territory Administration (FCTA) would protect investments in the housing sector in the nation’s capital.
Braimoh disclosed this on Saturday during the unveiling of The Cape Estate in Apo district, Abuja, adding that the land reform would also curb the activities of land traders masquerading as estate developers.
Speaking on the recent cases of demolished estates in Abuja, Braimoh pointed out that those involved did not follow the process, adding that the current land reforms would address the problem.
According to him, When you talk about demolition cases, it is because they don’t follow the processes. There are laid down processes and I’m sure we’ve all seen the reforms that are taking place with the current land reforms in the FCT, which is a welcome development. I think that will take care of that, address the issue of demolitions and all of that.”
Braimoh explained that“The Cape Estate”, which happened to be the company’s new project, would redefine the housing sector in Abuja.
He stated: “What we’re doing is a complete development. We are doing direct development. I know there are some that are trading in lands. They are land traders. They are not real estate developers.
“The Cape by Hall 7 is a concept development that we put together for those that are looking for that comfort, that kind of environment for investment with peace of mind. That is what we’re doing.
“And you can see we have a stream, which is why we actually call it The Cape. We develop, we design our recreation around the stream right there. We’ve done Brookshaw, we’ve done Imperial Vista, we’ve done the Bridge Garnet, the Bridge Peridot. This is our latest project, and you can be certain that this will be better than anything we’ve done in the last decade.
“What we are doing right now is only infrastructure. So our focus is to just finish our infrastructure 100 per cent. I mean, the storm line, the sewer line, the water supply reticulation sleeve, fiber — both low and extra low voltage sleeves will run across and then the asphalt roads, walkways, recreation park. All of these are going to be completed first, before we even talk about raising any building within the perimeters,” Braimoh said.
Asked if the investment would help to reduce the housing deficit in Nigeria, especially for those at the lower class, Brimoh explained that social housing is the responsibility of the government to cater for the lower class.
He noted: “Today, I doubt if anybody’s doing social housing. It’s because of devaluation and inflation. So it becomes very difficult for any developer to engage in social housing.
“So we do development in various categories to address the housing deficit. I mean, for every unit of property developed, you are addressing the deficit, isn’t it? It’s minus.
“So, we can say that developers have, to some extent, helped in addressing the housing deficit. We are solving a major social problem. We are solving this problem as developers, because all that the government needs to do is to create an enabling environment for our businesses to thrive, and then we’ll create jobs.”
On affordability, he said, “Affordability is a relative term. So what is affordable for me, may be different from what is affordable for someone else. So I think when it comes to housing, it is a function of your income level.”
Also, Team Lead, Investment Advisory, The Cape By Hall 7, Udodirim Nyam revealed that the estate would contain 371 units of houses.