Beautiful Estates, Poor Infrastructure

Housing estates are the usual forms of residential structures used in most towns and countries where estates are designed as an autonomous suburb, centred around a small commercial centre.

Most estates are usually designed to have a school, a hospital, a police post and to provide recreational space in the form of parks and gardens, among others.

Both government and private individuals develop estates and then sell or rent them out at subsidised rates to relieve citizens the burden of building houses at cut-throat prices.

However, mixed reactions have continued to trail the existence of some estate in Abuja. Some occupants  of   these  estates feel that most of the developers failed to deliver on the promises made to them before they rented or bought their apartments.

Findings revealed that people have contrary opinions as regards the state of the estate they live in. While some express satisfaction with the facilities, some felt that the houses fell short of their expectations moments after occupying the house.

Speaking, Joan Olayemi, who has been living in an estate along Kubwa Road in Abuja, said she has not had problems with the place since she moved into her apartment.

“This is my first year in this estate and so far I’ve not had any difficulty with the facilities in the house. The road network is very okay, the bathroom and toilet are in great condition and the water flows non-stop,” she said.

A resident of Prince and Princess Estate, who simply identified himself as Tosin, said,“I’ve been staying in this estate for a while now and I must tell you that the states of the roads are in a terrible condition. With the raining season coming in gradually, I wonder how we are going to cope. I can say that the water flows regularly and the security system recently improved.”

Reacting to the complaints, Ahmed Abubakar, an estate developer, gave reasons for the poor infrastructure in the estates thus: “Some estate developers fail to deliver on the promises made to their would-be tenants because of lack of finance to put the necessary finishing touches to the projects. Most times, they under estimate the cost and they end up cutting corners eventually. 

For some it is the lack of proper planning, while some just hurry with the work because of pressure from the tenants who want to move into the area.”

Also speaking, an employee of a construction company that deals in building estates, John David said  that they build the houses based on their customers.

“There are houses we built with all the basic amenities in place because we sometimes consider the area and know that they would be able to afford the cost, while there are some that we build to a certain level and then leave it for the buyer to furnish to his ideal taste but the roads are always in good condition,” he said.

He stated that they sometimes have problems with the Water Board who often times refuse to supply water to the estates, adding that most times they have to provide boreholes in the estate.