Zambia:Investors have pledged US$4b towards housing infrastructure in Zambia.The investors are seeking partnership with the government in the housing infrastructure development sector.
Minister for Housing and Infrastructure Development Ronald Chitotela said Amer International Group, a Chinese company had pledged to invest a total of $3 billion, while Magcor Zambia Holdings Limited, which is ran by people from the United States (US), had promised to dish out $1 billion to help the Government of Zambia fill the national housing deficit.
The minister said in an interview recently that the Government had started a programme to alleviate the national housing shortage, which is currently at 1.5 million, through the Public Private Partnership (PPP) mode.
In that regard, the National Housing Authority (NHA) has been mandated as the vehicle to steer the ‘urban renewal policy’ forward to be rolled out countrywide beginning this year.
“In the quest to address the national housing deficit, we have devised the urban renewal policy where we will work with the private sector to build houses for our people.
“We have received numerous offers from the private sector, among them, Amer International of China, which has offered a capital investment of $3 billion, while Magcor of the Americans is putting $1 billion on the table,” Mr Chitotela said.
The minister said citizens would be given an opportunity to buy the houses at an affordable rate, and that it was the desire of the Government to see both public and private sector employees owning a house by the time of retirement.
