Delta Govt Completes 162 Housing Projects
Housing
By Oghenekevwe Laba
Since the inception of the James Ibori administration in Delta State, the state government has not relented in meeting its responsibilities to the people.
In the past five years, the Governor, Chief James Onanefe Ibori, was focused on creating conducive living and working conditions for the people in the state.
In his bid to make the vision of mass housing a reality in the state, lots of residential and public building projects have been embarked upon by the state Ministry of Housing.
To achieve its ambition, the administration, on coming into office, embarked on the construction of 623 housing projects, out of which 162 of the projects have so far been completed. The projects are grouped into residential buildings, public buildings and maintenance.
Speaking to THISDAY recently, the Commissioner for Housing, Honourable Love Ojakovo, said on inception , the state government embarked on the building of low and medium housing schemes in the oil producing areas so as to enable them benefit from the huge wealth accruing to the nation from the exploration and exploitation of petroleum resources from their area.
"The scheme involves the construction of over 400 one-bedroom, two-bedroom and three-bedroom residential units in well laid out estates. These estates are provided with electricity, water, high quality roads and perimeter fencing.
When completed, government intends to sell the buildings at 50 per cent discount to the indigenes through the local government councils.
Construction work on the housing schemes located in Warri, Koko, Oghara, Aboh, Ughelli, Otu-Jeremi, Uzere, Oleh and Kwale, is in progress. It is worthy of note that the housing scheme project at Agbarho has been completed and commissioned", Ojakovo told THISDAY.
He explained that the housing scheme of New Commissioners and Special Advisers Quarters, comprising 17 units of duplexes and five bungalows, each with boys quarters, have been completed and allocated as residential quarters to commissioners and special advisers, adding that the government has also provided potable drinking water by putting in place two bore holes, two 5,000 gallons overhead water tanks and one 36,000 gallon surface tank, as well as five hydrant points.
"The government conceived the idea of making generality of the civil servants in the state to live in a conducive and descent environment and relatively cheap accommodation in Asaba. In this regard, contract for the construction of 108 units of two-bedroom bungalows have been awarded to various contractors. The houses have been completed and were recently commissioned in Asaba, the state capital.
"A lot of civil servants on salary grade levels 07 to 12 are proud beneficiaries of this project", Ojakovo stated, adding that construction of housing projects in the Legislators' Village, comprising 32 units of duplex with boys-quarters, is nearing completion.
He further explained that in order to ameliorate accommodation problem of those serving in the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) scheme, in the state, the state government has decided to embarked upon the construction of chains of Corpers' Lodge in Asaba, Warri and Ughelli.
The Corpers Lodge in Edjeba, Warri, according to Ojakovo, the first to be completed, consists of two wings of 10 rooms with toilets, bathrooms and kitchen in each wing, adding that work on the one in Ughelli is at 70 per cent completion stage, while the one in Asaba is yet to start.
Ojakovo said that the state government, through the Delta Development and Property Authority (DDPA), with a loan from Standard Trust Bank, has also embarked on a housing project consisting of two estates located in both Asaba and Jeddo, adding that 180 residential units have been completed, commissioned and sold out.
As for the structures for the judiciary, Ojakovo stated that contracts for the construction of High Courts, Magistrate Courts, Customary Courts, Judges quarters and fencing have been awarded across the state . He also said that judges quarters in Owa-Oyibo, Obiaruku, Oghara, Issele-Ukwu, High Court Oghara and Magistrate court Agbarho are completed while others are at various stages of completion.
He equally stated that the complexes of the Presidential Lounge, Governor's Lounge, Banquet Hall, ADC'S Quarters, guest chalets and offices for the governor's aides are presently under construction with some of the buildings at roofing stage.
Projects like that of the Government House Press Centre, Asaba; Government Office Annex, Warri; Secretariat Complex Annex, Asaba; Ministry of Works and Transport Annex, Asaba; and Office for State Archives and Records, among others, are under construction, with many of them at the completion stage.
Ojakovo stressed that not withstanding the state involvement in the construction of the aforementioned projects, the state still have to build structures that were the exclusive preserve of the Federal Government ,adding that the three Nigerian Television Authority (NTA) stations in the state, hostel for the Federal Government College, Ibussa, Police headquarters and numerous structures which are Federal Government projects were constructed by the state government.
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