Imo State government has signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with an indigenous firm, Contemporary Architecture Ltd, for the construction of 5,000 housing units comprising 1,000 houses in its first phase.
The commissioner for budget, economic planning and statistics, Dr C.C. Osuala, said the first phase of the project would commence with the execution of 1,000 housing units while the target of 5,000 is expected to be achieved in the near future.
Osuala who disclosed this to newsmen in his office stressed that the state government would provide land for the project and also broker a cordial and amicable relationship that would facilitate the acquisition of some hectares of land for the takeoff of the project around the Otamiri River in Owerri, the state capital.
The commissioner commended the firm for keying into the government’s mantra of Rehabilitation, Reconstruction and Recovery, even as he expressed optimism that the project when completed, would provide affordable houses for indigenes of the state, assuring that the state government is working assiduously to attract other ventures to the state.
The managing director of Contemporary Architecture Ltd, Fitzgerald Umah, said the firm is already in collaboration with a United States-based Energy Power Company and Manufacturers of Hydro Energy Equipment, Ocean Renewable Power Company to ensure steady power supply in the proposed Housing Estate under the Nigeria Otamiri River ORPC Project.
Umah said the company which is coming to handle power projects in Africa and Nigeria for the first time is expected to extend its coverage of electricity supply to the state secretariat, markets and communities along the river area where the project would be sited.
This, he explained, is not only to ensure sustainable power supply in the areas but also to address the issue of incessant and epileptic power supply which has become a perennial challenge to the nation.
