Lagos government says it has sought collaboration with World Bank for rapid delivery of technology-driven and affordable mass housing schemes in the state.

This is contained in a statement issued by Spokesperson of the state Ministry of Housing, Mrs. Adeola Salako, on Sunday in Lagos.

Salako quoted the Commissioner for Housing, Mr. Moruf Akinderu-Fatai, as seeking the support during the visit of a team, led by Dr. Fuad Malkawi, Senior Urban Development Specialist and Spatial Planning Community of Practice Leader of World Bank.

Akinderu-Fatai called for partnership with the bank to ensure that the vision of housing for all in Lagos Mega City was attained.

“Uninhibited migration to Lagos from other states of the federation as well as some nations in the West Coast has made the issue of housing provision very critical.

“Given the littoral nature of the state, enormous support is required in the area of housing development,” he said.

The commissioner said that the state needed to build thousands of houses to absorb the influx of people, hence the need for help in the area of innovative technology that could make housing development faster and safer.

“The required intervention in housing development now is new technology that can make for speedy delivery without any compromise on quality and safety,” he said.

He added that vertical development of homes to capture peculiarities of the state with scarce land could be optimized in order to adequately bridge the housing gap.

Akinderu-Fatai noted that collaborative efforts could address the challenges posed by climate change, using technology to reduce the likely impact of the factors on designing homes for the future.

He also called for the bank’s support in sourcing cheap funds that could help increase the number of homes, with convenient mortgage for end-users, particularly low income earners.

Responding, Dr. Fuad Malkawi expressed World Bank’s willingness to partner with the state in developing and implementing strategies for urban renewal in Nigeria.

He said that issues related to housing could not be treated without reference to efficient transportation system, waste disposal and energy supply.

According to him, the bank’s main focus is to help in setting priorities and ensuring that developmental projects achieved their desired impact on people’s lives.

Earlier, the Permanent Secretary of the ministry, Mr. Kamar Olowoshago, sought help for capacity development for middle-level professionals and artisans in the state.

Olowoshago said that use of indigenous workforce would reduce cost and enhance the economic development of the state.

He called for assistance in the area of digitalized monitoring of ongoing schemes to ensure speedy completion and delivery of the ongoing projects.

Present at the meeting were management staffers of the ministry and the Urban Development Consultant to the World Bank, Dr. Banke Abejirin.