Metro & Castle Plans to Build 500 Homes in 5 Years

Bennett Oghifo

A real estate development firm, Metro & Castle Homes, an arm of Abdul Metro Group, has said it plans to build 500 housing units in the next five years.

The Managing Director of Abdul Metro Group, Adekunle Abdul, stated this during a chat with the media in Lagos, recently.

Abdul said the company had a similar projection in 2019 to build 300 homes but was only able to build  240 units because they had a delay in 2020 that was caused by COVID.

“We said our first five years was 300 housing units. That has been the slogan for all these years. And as at that time, we delivered 240 units because we had a delay in 2020 because of COVID.”

He said that plan was from “2019 to 2024. Now, 2025 to 2030 our next five year projection, we are anticipating to deliver 500 housing units, which we have started already, and 10% is being delivered. As I speak, we are rounding off now. So we have about 415 housing units to go.”

Abdul said his company is a community development brand. “We build communities. And what I mean by community is we do everything that the community needs to function effectively, building from sporting outfits to retail outlets to residential construction to facility management. Whatever you can think of that a community needs to survive, we do it, and if we don’t do it directly, we will engage partners that we feel are up to the task and have a good reputation to come into the environment to do the session.” 

He said, “We’ve expanded our scope out of this current community now to engage a few government bodies on giving us some kind of JV opportunity to work with them now that we have the proof of concept on ground, we are no more going there with our mouths to say we can do it. “We’re going there to tell them to come and see what we’ve done. And many of them are appreciating our handwork, so we’re very close to executing with some government bodies already on giving us parcels of land to build more communities.

“The company also has retail developments, which are large supermarket outlets for the community to benefit from. The current community established three of those ones and one warehouse and a bakery, and we believe that is more than enough to serve the community that we are in now, which is the reason why we’re exploring other communities and moving out of this environment to start our new community and the sports center. We are about to start the sports center for the community next month. Actually, the land is just behind us. You will see about 8,000 square meters of land. We’re about to start the community. It’s going to have a football pitch, a basketball pitch. It’s going to have a tennis court.

“Also, it’s going to have a small recreational hangout center there, and a car park. This is also to serve the community that we’re in. We had one before, but it became too small. It was just a football pitch. We pulled it down after two years because the community was getting too big for that pitch, and that’s why, from 1200 square meters, we’re now moving to an 8000 square meters capacity recreational center.” 

He said they will start that project next month and that it’s a joint venture between them and another company.

He said, “We have a very great facility management team on ground. We’ve grown from a staff of eight to a staff of 148 last time I checked in five years, and our facility team is doing a great job in maintaining all the Metro estates within this community.”

He said another venture of his company is to train people to become realtors, condemning the present situation where people just wake up and call themselves realtors.

He blamed these overnight realtors for the widespread fraud in the industry.

“Anybody can just wake up, call himself a realtor and start selling land, even agricultural land, as if it’s meant for housing. 

“We’ve seen too many people fall victim to scams because the agents do not know zoning regulations or land use classifications.”

To combat this, he said, Metro & Castle is launching a training and certification programme for realtors, targeting both industry newcomers and veterans. It will take place in their 150-capacity training facility within their estate, and the programme will offer instruction on regulatory compliance, land documentation, agency ethics, and interactions with Lagos State’s 15+ regulatory bodies.

He said, “Realtors must be licensed, examined, and trained, just like in advanced economies. If you’re found complicit in fraudulent transactions, your licence should be revoked.” 

This Metro & Castle’s initiative, he said said is not a profit-driven venture, and that the training would be modestly priced or even free in some cases, as part of the company’s corporate social responsibility (CSR).

He said, “Housing demand is enormous because of our population. Real estate will always be in business,” adding that the company has gained customers’ confidence in a sector plagued by fraud and unfinished projects, because they only begin to sell homes after roofing is completed.

According to him, “It’s a reputation thing. Once your brand is messed up in this business, you’re finished. We try to ensure our houses are completed or at least roofed before we start selling. We’ve never been sued since we started operations.” 

He said to help reduce dependence on forex, his company supports Nigeria’s industrialisation drive by sourcing materials like doors, taps, paints, and electrical fittings locally. 

He said, “Aside from cookers and ovens, we manufacture or source almost everything else locally. That’s deliberate. It creates jobs, supports local factories, and lowers cost volatility.”

He lauded the Federal Ministry of Finance Incorporated (MOFI) for the Real Estate Investment Fund (MREIF). 

Launched by the federal government in 2024, MREIF is designed to attract long-term capital into the housing and real estate sector, providing a bridge between government assets and private developers.

“With the MOFI Real Estate Fund, the government has given housing a new lifeline. It now becomes possible for developers to access loans at single-digit interest rates, which reduces the pressure of cutting corners and helps with proper planning. Most developers previously borrowed at 28 percent, 30 percent, and there’s no way housing can be affordable under such conditions,” Abdul said.

The fund, according to him, is not just about capital injection; it is also an enabler for planning, delivery, and trust in an industry plagued by fraudulent players and poor regulatory enforcement.

Housing construction, Abdul said, can become a major employment driver in the country, as long as the government continues to create an enabling environment for developers.

He urged prospective home buyers to be wary of offers that seem too good to be true, and to always visit the land physically or send a verified representative.

He said, “The problem is not land. Nigeria has land. The problem is planning, fraud, and access to finance. If MOFI’s fund is properly monitored and implementation bottlenecks are removed, we will see an explosion of affordable housing and jobs across the country.”