The Chief Executive Officer, Sungold Group Ltd., Abuja, Mr Amarachi Iwuanyanwu, has announced the completion of its first set of 350 Solar powered Energy Estate in Gwarinpa in Abuja.
According to him, the set of buildings are part of the over 4,000 being planned for the FCT Abuja and on completion will be first of its kind in Nigeria.
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He said that builders in Nigeria should ensure that they think outside the box in order to meet the housing needs of the people while stressing the need for critical infrastructure like power in some housing estates, saying that most elegant buildings remain an “uncompleted project” as owners still need to continually source for energy to make their homes comfortable.
He also noted that housing costs are inflated when additional costs such as use of generators are factored in. These are also responsible for environmental pollution, creating a necessity for developers to seek permanent solution.
This, he said, informed the idea behind smart homes that will incorporate inbuilt sources of power not dependent on external energy supply. So far, Mr. Iwuanyanwu says that the concept has been receiving overwhelming feedback from clients who are intrigued by the prospects of being worry-free as far as power outage is concerned.
According to experts in the housing sector, Nigeria is in deficit of over 17m housing for its 170m citizens, whereas China with its 1.3Bn populations has a surplus of 70m unoccupied houses.
Meanwhile, the Minister of State for Power, Works and Housing, Mustapha Shehuri, has assured that the present administration is determined to bridge the housing deficit confronting the nation.
He said this at the inauguration of a housing estate initiated by the Federal Mortgage Bank under public/private partnership agreement earlier on this year.
