To increase its investment portfolio as well as giving more empowerment to the nation’s citizenry, an insurance firm, Mutual Benefits Assurance Plc, has commenced construction work on a residential estate development valued at ₦3 billion.

The estate, located within Costain area of Mainland Local Government Area of Lagos State, a suburb lying on the fringes of Surulere/Mainland Local Government borders of Lagos State, will be christened as Mutual Alpha Courts when completed.  Owned by Mutual Benefits Assurance Plc, the project is being handled by its subsidiary, Mutual Homes & Properties Limited.

Mutual Alpha Courts development occupies 27 plots of land, and apportioned four bedroom apartments on two floors with an additional two-bedroom apartment on the ground floor as service quarters or income generator if leased to a tenant.  Overall, the estate will provide 20 blocks of 60 units.

At the sod-turning event last week, the Site Manager, Mr. Soye Olatunji said the site places prospective occupants in a vantage position, with easy access to main arterial axis roads to the Island and the state capital, Ikeja, via Funsho Williams Avenue/Eko Bridge and Third Mainland Bridge. The project highlights flexible subscription payment plan, mortgage available on 60 per cent of sales prices at nine per cent interest rate for 10 years tenor and that the project is positioned as an investment vehicle.

According to him, the terraced apartments consist of three units in a block, each with a spiral service stair at the rear, adding that the spatial arrangement encourages healthy social interaction amongst residents with services well positioned away from the buildings. Also of attraction to the development is the proposed construction of completely new drainage systems, power supply lines and a host of other utilities assuring residents of the most modern, most effective and efficient utility service delivery systems.

Managing Director, Mutual Benefits Homes & Property Limited, Mr. Olujide Ojo, said that affordable housing was far from the reach of the low and medium income group in Nigeria, especially Lagos and Abuja is to state the obvious in spite of all the efforts of investors in Nigeria estate development and construction industry.

He added that: “Our primary aim is to make ownership of a home in Nigeria easy, affordable and accessible for all.  We will use this platform to begin a social re-engineering geared towards a better and greater Nigerian society.”

Group Managing Director of the company, Mr. Akin Ogunbiyi said that the insurance firm set up its subsidiary to explore the emerging opportunities in the Nigerian estate development and housing market, adding that Mutual Homes and Property was irrevocably committed to this cause considering that majority of the Nigeria populace falls within the medium and low income market, that constitutes the major group without ready access to housing.

He further said that the company’s conviction had led it to research into alternative building materials. “Our conviction has spurred us to funding extensive research into the development of alternative building materials and methods with a view to delivery cheaper and more efficient housing to such Nigerians."

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Source: The Guardian