Nigeria eyes China Hyway EPC+F deal for 10,000 homes
Nigeria's government is reviewing a proposal from China Hyway Group to finance and build 10,000 homes, a test of its reliance on private capital to close a 17 million-unit housing deficit.
The Federal Ministry of Housing and Urban Development is evaluating a plan by China Hyway Group Limited to construct 10,000 housing units across Nigeria’s six geopolitical zones within 30 months. Minister of Housing and Urban Development Engr. Muttaqha Rabe Darma has ordered a committee of ministry directors to review the proposal and map out next steps. The Chinese firm’s delegation was led by Chief Engineer Lewis Chima.
The project hinges on an Engineering, Procurement, Construction and Financing (EPC+F) model, which would place the burden of project funding on the developer rather than the Nigerian state. China Hyway intends to use prefabricated construction to compress delivery timelines and lower building costs. Chima said this integrated framework leverages international financing to improve quality and mitigate project risk.
Securing private capital is critical for Abuja. Nigeria requires roughly 550,000 new housing units annually, a build rate that demands an estimated N5.5 trillion in yearly spending over the next decade, according to former Housing Minister Musa Dangiwa. The government has acknowledged it cannot fund this alone, leaning heavily on public-private partnerships under President Bola Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda.
The cost of that private capital is already reflected in the market. Government-funded one-bedroom apartments under the Renewed Hope Estates Programme sell for between N8 million and N9 million. Comparable units developed through public-private partnerships under the Renewed Hope Cities Programme are priced at about N22 million, illustrating the premium buyers pay when state subsidies are removed.
Darma indicated the government is prepared to facilitate the China Hyway deal by providing land. “Our mandate is to ensure that more Nigerians have access to affordable and decent housing. We are therefore ready and willing to provide land in Abuja, across the states and in local government areas, subject to due process and the fulfilment of all statutory requirements,” he said.
“This proposal is encouraging because it aligns with the Renewed Hope Housing Programme and our determination to reduce the nation’s housing deficit,” Darma added. If approved, the China Hyway project would join other state-backed initiatives, including a 3,000-unit rent-to-own pilot managed by the Federal Mortgage Bank of Nigeria. The proposal remains under review, with no final implementation approval granted yet.
