By JUDITH NAMUTOWE –
THE Zambia Development Agency (ZDA) needs US$1 billion for the construction of housing units to meet the current 1.3 million housing deficit in the country.
ZDA director enterprise and development Mukula Makasa said the Government would need a billion dollar on the capital markets  to cover the current 1.3 million housing deficit that has been created
by the high growth population rate in the country.
Making a presentation at the two-day First National Bank (FNB) and Zambia International Property (ZIP) Expo on developing business linkages for green affordable housing, Mr Makasa said the market which has been created, represents a billion dollars per annum.
He noted that the housing demand in Zambia had been created due to the high growth in the population rate, which he said was growing at about 4.5 per cent per annum.
“Now when you look at that, we will need almost 1.3 million houses by 2025. So we can see that the rate at which the population is growing is lower than the supply of housing units on the market place,” Mr Makasa said.
This Mr Makasa said, means that Government would have to build houses constantly to meet the 1.3 million housing deficit for the next 19 years as the deficit is likely to go up to 2030.
He noted that about three billion people across the world live without housing at the moment and that this is about 40 per cent of the global population.
The FNB and ZIP Expo and conference, opened in Lusaka yesterday to showcase the country’s property market.
The two-day Expo whose theme is ‘Get on the Property Ladder’ and being organised by Smart Homes International, has drawn participants from the real estate and other sectors of the economy.
The Expo would provide a platform for developers, suppliers, transporters, banks, financiers, government agencies, real estate agents as well as building contractors to demonstrate their wares, unveil new products and allow consumers to compare everything under one roof.
On the conference part of the event, the statement said it was designed to provide informational and educational material to the public on the latest developments of the property market in Zambia and how to participate as investors and owners.