The Lagos State Governor, Babajide Sanwo-Olu, has said that investments in the real estate in the country have continued to be on the increase.
Speaking at the 5th West Africa Property Investment Summit in Lagos, the governor, who was represented by the Commissioner for Housing, Moruf Akinderu- Fatai, said that increased urbanisation resulting from rural urban migration which led to significant rise in demand for property, both for residential and business purposes, has tickled economic activities in the country.
He also said that the bright prospect for the real estate investment resulting from the projection indicating rapid population growth rate also helped the economic activities. “For instance, it has been projected that by 2025, Nigeria’s population would have increased by 100 per cent. For Lagos State, about 12 million would be added to the current population of 22 million by 2050. While Lagos State accounts for over 20 per cent of the national population, it occupies about 0.4 per cent of the total national geographical area. This situation is even complicated by the fact that about 20 per cent of the land area is made up of lagoon and oceans. With this statistics, Lagos State will continue to be a major hub for real estate business,”he said.
In the words of the panelists, Odunayo Ojo, Chief Executive Officer, Alaro City, “the major challenge of real estate in Nigeria is poor infrastructure in the satellite towns in the outskirts of the cities. He said even though his firm partners government in the provision of infrastructure, not many other firms do the same. According to him, ordinarily, government should provide the infrastructure.
“In our development project that spans Kenya, Zambia, Ghana, Nigeria and one other country in Africa, we have all that you need to have in a city, like schools, worship centres, playgrounds, markets and any other services you may want. We have been pressing on the ease of doing business in Nigeria”.
He added that cooperative way of tackling this problem would be a better strategy.
According to the Managing Director of FilmoRealty, Luqman Edu, 60 per cent of the amount spent in real estate comes during maintenance. “The operation efficiency, maintenance culture, how to get data and how to analyse data have remained a great challenge and a lot of people lack the understanding. This is where technology comes in. The technology will help in generating the data, tells you what you put in and what you get out after you have finished your project,” he said.
The West Africa Property Investment Summit is a high-calibre two-day real estate focused conference. Leveraging a global network and strategic local partners; the forum provides an unmatched platform for discussion and deal-making for 450 delegates representing over 250 companies from investors, developers, operators, property experts, practitioners, the public sector and more.
The summit focuses on overcoming current obstacles in the West African Property Market while uncovering the market opportunities across Nigeria and Ghana. The conference will offer insights, thought-leadership and solution-focused tools ultimately driving further development and investment in the local and regional real estate market.
Source: sunnewsonline
