The Chief Executive Officer, Hontar Projects, Deji Fasunwon, a property company, has appealed to government to streamline the number of agencies giving approval for building construction aside reducing the cost of permits.

Speaking during a dinner to mark Hontar Projects fifth anniversary, Fasunwon said the company does not embark on any project without requisite approvals but it has been battling with consistent increase in approval fees.

“You go to apply for approval today the rate is usually not the cost it was the last time and not the next time, it kept increasing each time. If government can look at this cost, it will help a lot. That is outside the multiplicity of agencies under the same government, we can just streamline and remove the bureaucratic bottleneck, it will help us a lot and make life easier for everybody.”

According to him, the inflation rate has been negatively impacting construction cost, as earnings and purchasing power are not matching the way the inflation is moving. “So it is making access to housing difficult. One of the things government can do is to provide long term funding for home acquisition. In a situation where we have interest rate of over 20 to 30 per cent, it makes it very difficult to acquire houses. We cannot talk about low cost housing in Nigeria today if it is not government funded or supported.”

Commenting on the company’s journey five years after, he said it has been a mixed bag of excitement, fears, opportunities, challenges but more about creating values for customers. “There are a lot of challenges around housing in Nigeria, but we came into the space to change the narrative, knowing that one of the things people want in life is shelter.

“I got into the space and enjoy seeing smile on the faces of people when they are handed their house keys which gives me joy and fulfillment too.”

Fasunwon disclosed that within five years, the company has delivered five projects both on mainland and island. “One of the selling points is that we deliver on time, pay attention to quality and we allow people to journey with us as we construct.”

One of the company’s client, Managing Director, Harvestfield Industries Limited, Mr. Martins Awofisayo, urged off-plan subscribers to be on the lookout for defrauders when patronising developers. “Having burnt my fingers in the past, I have monitored Hontar Projects for a long time and I can attest to their credibility in delivering projects on schedule timeline,” he said.