By Jude Michael
The Anambra State government has signed a public private partnership framework agreement (PPPFA) with Rainbow Heritage Project Service, owners of Golf Residence, Awka, and six real estate firms in a bold move to address the housing deficit in the state.
Mr Mark Okoye, managing director of the Anambra State Investment Promotion and Protection Agency (ANSIPPA), said he planned to deliver between 8,000 and 10,000 units of houses in the next three years.
He said the state government received 72 proposals since four months ago when it announced the investment window but only seven were certified to possess the competence, capacity and financial wherewithal to drive the project.
He said the firms were expected to deliver their various projects in three years and that no fewer than 1,600 direct jobs and 10,000 indirect jobs would be created.
One of the partnering firms, Rainbow Heritage Project Service, said it planned to create a new city within Awka, the capital territory, with apartments and state-of-the-art facilities.
Mr Oliver Biedema, group managing director of Rainbow Heritage Project Service, said the problem of housing deficit was a national issue and that the government’s initiative would address it in Anambra.
Biedema was in Anambra to change the real estate narrative of the state, having in mind its peculiar environment and erosion challenges.
He said his company would be working on a 110-hectre land with a projected minimum of 1,000 medium- and high-income apartments.
“It will be a functional estate with a golf course. It will provide an ambience that will make Anambra the best destination for tourists and businesses.
“The project will also impact hugely on the communities and support their economies,” he said.
Also speaking, Mr Tony Epele, managing director of Southern Metrics Projects Ltd, owners of Southern Premier Estate, said the estate would be provided with modern infrastructure, centralised sewage, potable water and fibre optics.
Epele said the 20-hectre estate would be segmented to accommodate different categories of income earners.
He however lamented the high cost of building materials and called on the federal government to grant concessions on some critical inputs in the sector, especially on imported materials.
Prof. Offonze Amucheazi, the commissioner of lands in Anambra, who was part of the agreement signing ceremony, assured that the state government would ensure there were no bureaucratic bottlenecks to impede the execution of the projects.
Amucheazi congratulated the successful companies and urged them to ensure they complied with every term of the agreements, adding that the government had taken care of the community-based issues that may arise.
