The Federal Government has presented its $125 million Renewed Hope Housing Public-Private Partnership (PPP) model to African countries, with several nations expressing interest in adopting aspects of Nigeria’s approach to housing delivery.

The model was presented by the Director-General of the Infrastructure Concession Regulatory Commission, Dr Jobson Oseodion Ewalefoh, at the Second Forum for Public-Private Partnership Units in Africa in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.

The forum, held at the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa, brought together delegations from 36 countries and was jointly organised by the UN Economic Commission for Africa, the African Development Bank and the African Legal Support Facility.

How the housing model works

Under the arrangement, the Federal Government is using policy commitments and targeted financing to reduce the risks associated with private-sector housing investment rather than directly funding construction.

The government guaranteed a market for the houses by designating middle-income federal civil servants as prospective buyers. It also committed to providing access roads to semi-urban housing sites.

About $19 million in single-digit-interest financing was unlocked through the Federal Mortgage Bank of Nigeria, while another $20 million in concessionary loans was made available through the Family Homes Fund.

In addition, buyers are expected to benefit from lower mortgage rates through the approximately $112 million MOFI Real Estate Investment Fund.

The government and developers also negotiated sale prices to keep the homes affordable, while a one-unit-per-buyer limit was introduced to discourage speculation.

$125m private investment

According to the presentation, the structure has helped reduce the effective cost of the housing project by about 30 per cent.

The project, whose construction cost is currently estimated at $125 million, is being unlocked through roughly $39 million in concessionary financing, alongside private-sector investment.

The model therefore allows the government to support housing delivery without directly financing the construction of the homes.

The Federal Government said the interest shown by other African countries demonstrates the potential for PPPs to address housing and other social-sector infrastructure challenges across the continent.

The approach is also consistent with Nigeria’s broader push to use PPPs to attract private capital into infrastructure, as government funding alone remains insufficient to meet the country’s development needs.