Background and objectives:

In the past decade, the Government of Chad has made numerous efforts to improve urban development and housing conditions, including: the preparation of Urban Development Plans for N’Djamena and several secondary cities; the formulation and adoption of the National Housing Strategy in 1998/99 and; the formulation of the National Poverty Reduction Strategy in 2002. In line with the official declaration in 2003 to provide all citizens with a decent home, this project reflected the government’s willingness to utilize a significant part of the country’s oil revenues to improve the living and housing conditions of the poor. The main objective was to help the government improve housing and living conditions for urban populations and to contribute to achieving Millennium Development Goals.

Activities:
The main activities included:

• Producing 960 serviced plots and the construction of houses in N’Djamena and Doba.
• Improving housing conditions of 23,000 slum dwellers in N’Djamena by providing access to land, water and sanitation.
• Creating micro-credit facilities for housing construction and shelter improvement.
• Capacity building through staff reinforcement and training at central and local government institutions, NGOs and CBOs.
• Revising and updating urban planning and housing-related legislation and introducing new institutional mechanisms such as the PROVITHAS (provider of serviced plots) and the FPHS (provider of housing financing credits).
• Establishing a priority list for urgent urban investments.
• Preparation of a project document for a second phase

Results:
The following results were achieved:

• Site identified for the project; 100 houses constructed and Madjorio slum upgrading programme implemented;
• Consulting firms selected for feasibility studies related to the sites and design of houses.
• Construction enterprise selected for developing serviced plots; 1000 plots developed in the site of Patte d’Oie.
• Sensitisation and slum dwellers identification of Madjorio done by a local NGO;
• Proposal for PROVITHAS and FPHS submitted for approval;
• Outdated legal framework and laws related to land and urban planning reviewed, updated and submitted to government for endorsement;
• Staff from central and municipal administration trained.
• National workshop on urban development held in N’Djamena.
• Feasibility study for development and services programmes and for houses for Doba site completed.
• Project document for Phase 2 approved.