Lafarge Africa Plc, a sub-Saharan Africa building solutions provider, and Shelter Afrique, a Pan-African housing and development institution, have signed a Memorandum of Understanding for the purpose of facilitating access to affordable housing for low income earners in Nigeria.
The agreement which will commence with the development of identified sites at the Federal Capital Territory Abuja will be for an initial period of four years. Under the terms of the MOU, the areas of cooperation between the two organisations include provision of assistance to define the best construction technologies for use in affordable housing and micro-finance projects as well as supply of cement and concrete products for projects.
Mr. Guillaume Roux, Group MD/CEO, Lafarge Africa Plc, said at the signing ceremony that “this is in furtherance of Lafarge’s objective of complementing government’s efforts to boost national development through improved infrastructure, industrialisation and economic growth. Our commitment to bring more housing and better solutions to contribute to building better cities in Nigeria will be enhanced with the implementation of this agreement, which represents a new major step in our affordable housing program.”
Mr. James Mugerwa, Managing Director, Shelter Afrique, at the occasion commented that “we once again show that we are always keen on building strong partnerships and finding efficient ways to deliver affordable housing, which is a shared vision we have with Lafarge. It also shows our joint commitment to Nigeria, a very important market for affordable housing and a key player in the region.”
Lafarge has developed an affordable housing programme to address today’s needs for decent and sustainable housing for all. Lafarge brings its expertise to offer affordable housing solutions to populations with low purchasing power. Since 2013, the program has provided access to decent housing for 250,000 people in 18 countries. Lafarge’s objective is to facilitate access to affordable and sustainable housing for two million people by 2020.
In Nigeria, Lafarge started its affordable housing program tagged “Ile Irorun” in October 2013. So far, over 6000 people have been impacted by the scheme through more than 1,000 constructions, with each beneficiary having an average of 6 members in their family.
