Following an agreement with the United Nations Office for Project Services (UNOPS) and SHS Holdings, Ekiti State will join one of the largest affordable housing initiatives in the world as at least 50,000 affordable homes would be built over the next decade.
According to UNOPS, the affordable homes will feature renewable energy and disease preventative technology, including solar panel roofs, waste-to-energy technology and mosquito-repelling coatings.
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The non-profit organization also stated that the initiative is expected to create thousands of local jobs and drive economic growth among local industries.
Speaking on the initiative, Ekiti State Governor, Dr Kayode Fayemi, said:
We are very excited to partner with UNOPS and SHS to deliver affordable housing to the people of Ekiti State.
This is how our promise of developing Ekiti and improving the lives of the people can be achieved. This partnership has come at an important time, during the COVID-19 pandemic, which has reminded us of the need to deliver quality social infrastructure to the people.
On his part, the Assistant Secretary-General and Chief Executive of UNOPS Sustainable Infrastructure Impact Investments (S3I) initiative, Vitaly Vanshelboim, remarked:
We are very pleased to support this contribution to Nigeria’s national development priorities and in particular, to help meet the critical need for affordable housing, through innovative approaches to construction and mortgage financing.
UNOPS is strongly committed to helping find new ways to finance inclusive, resilient and sustainable development activities that generate positive social, economic and environmental impacts.
UNOPS and SHS will seek to mobilize resources from third-party investors to fund the initiative – which has an estimated gross development value (based on the sales value of completed homes) of up to $2 billion.
To date, UNOPS S3I initiative has committed to delivering at least a million homes in multiple countries spanning three continents, to be built over the next decade.
UNOPS and SHS will seek to mobilize resources from funding partners to support this initiative, which may eventually be worth up to $2 billion.
