The Ghana Real Estate Developers Association (GREDA) says the commercial contract between government and industry players to provide 20,000 housing units annually for the next 20 years has reached advanced stage.

President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo in May 2019 challenged GREDA to provide at least 20,000 housing units per annum to help reduce the growing housing deficit which is estimated to be about two million housing units.

In a meeting between GREDA and the President at Flagstaff House, where the association asked the president for incentives to facilitate the construction of 5,000 affordable housing units, President Akufo-Addo said nothing short of 20,000 units per annum will be acceptable, considering the current deficit of two million housing units.

In an interview with Joy Business, Executive Secretary of GREDA, Samuel Amegayibor, said although the process has delayed, it is optimistic government will prioritize the housing projects in its second term.

“Late the last year, we got a response that the matter [construction of housing units] has been limited to the sector minister and so we were engaged at the ministry and we began discussions”.

“And I’m happy to say that, that discussion led to signing a commercial contract. And we hope that His Excellency [President Akufo-Addo} new term, as early as possible will offer us a grounding on which to build on”, he emphasized.

“So we are not going to go back to the old processes of going back and forth. We have gotten to a point where a commercial contract has been signed and we can build on that”, he noted”.