Infrastructural development is needed to drive real estate growth in Nigeria
ESV Adunola Adeniyi Joshua
Bridging the huge infrastructural gap in Nigerian cities will be one of the strategic ways of leap-frogging the overall economic growth and development that will positively impact all sectors of the Nigerian economy, including the all-important real estate sector.
All over the world, there is a strong relationship between infrastructural development and real estate development. The former is a driving force for the latter, and investors in the real estate space rely on this nexus before they commit their money to the opportunities that abound in real estate.
Infrastructure plays a very important role in achieving housing and other real estate needs. Every developer, whether institutional or private, aims to develop their properties in areas with already existing infrastructure. Though these choice areas may be expensive, they remain the best places to invest in for-profit maximization, among other reasons. In most Nigerian cities like Lagos, Abuja and Port-Harcourt, it takes only economically displaced people to live in areas lacking basic amenities that make life worth living and enjoyable.
For real estate development to be massive, pervasive, affordable, and all-encompassing, the government at all levels must embark on even infrastructural development, especially in satellite towns of Nigerian cities. Robust infrastructural development is a catalyst for affordable housing growth and development. Road and electricity infrastructures are top on the list of amenities that can cause a remote area to develop very quickly and become a value-creating city.
The current infrastructural development in Nigeria should match the surge in urbanization and the growing Nigerian population. A growing demographic without the basic amenities to support it will amount to non-utilization of resources. In a recent statement credited to MSL Properties, “The role of infrastructure in the context of integration is transformative, through enhancing change of resources into outputs or enhancing trade by removing barriers. Therefore, an improvement in a country’s infrastructure is one of the key factors affecting the long-term growth of such a country. The linkages between infrastructure and economic growth are varied and complex. Infrastructure does not only affect production and consumption directly, it also creates many direct and indirect externalities
The federal, state, and local governments should be forward-thinking and proactive in the provision of basic infrastructures like roads, electricity, sanitation, security, and water supply. These are glaring factors that enhance property development, make the area very livable, and automatically attract more investors. This development will in turn contribute to the general real estate space in Nigeria. There is a need for the government and even the organized private sector to quickly address the issue of infrastructural gaps in Nigeria.
ESV Adunola Adeniyi Joshua is a registered and practicing Estate Surveyor and Valuer
