The housing deficit in the country now stands at about 700,000 units and this the Ghana Investment Promotion Centre (GIPC) is poised to entice investors into that sector to bridge the gap. According to the Chief Executive Officer of the centre, Mr George Aboagye, the country was open to investors in that area to build more affordable houses for the people, particularly those in the public sector. He said as an incentive to entice investors, the Government was open to nego¬tiate favourable terms with the investors. "We are that flexible in that sector and we allow them to come in and negotiate their terms, but which, of course, should be in tan¬dem with the country's laws," he said Speaking in an interview, Mr Aboagye said it was the strategy of the Government to ensure that investors in that sector were able to build houses that could give true meaning of the word 'affordability'. It is common to hear companies in the real estate sector out-dooring packages they term affordable, but which many workers in the informal sector are unable to purchase. Today, on the market, two-bedroom apartments are priced at not less than $35,000 and the cedi to dollar disparity has made it even more expensive. Mr Aboagye said it was against this background that the council was negotiating with some investors from Asia to see how best they could hit the market to negotiate to have the houses they intended to put up afford¬able. He said the deficit, in terms of cost, was about US$7 billion and it would require committed investors to be able to take advantage of the flexible terms and the conducive environment to invest. The Government was already in the process of completing about 5,000 housing units at Kpone and Borteman in Accra, parts of Kumasi in the Ashanti Region, Western and Northern regions. Reports indicate that some funds had been secured and it was expected that the first phase would be completed by the end of the second quarter of the year while the second and third phases progressed. Mr Aboagye also made mention of the anticipated demand for houses by the second quarter of the year as a result of the oil and gas find. Ghana is expected to start production of oil before the end of the year, and this is expected to attract a lot of ancillary jobs which will require houses for staff of those going to do business in the country. Mr Abaogye said so many guest houses and hotels had been converted into homes for longer lease by some foreigners in the Western Region and the demand would grow shortly. He also mentioned the hospitality industry which would also see a boom in business and indicated that these made it necessary for the Government to ensure that the necessary efforts were put in place to get things moving in the real estate and hospitality industry. Mr Aboagye said there had been some visits to Iran and other Asian countries that had all proven positive, and expressed hope that things would work out for them to come and invest. He said public private partnership was necessary to get the sector moving and the Government was prepared to ensure that those who invested in real estate got what was necessary to secure their investment while serving the interest of the ordinary people. Source: Daily Graphic