Abstract
The conditions of suitable accommodation congruent to students’ academic pursuits are at their worst decline. Inadequate hostels for students in Nigerian Universities have been of great concern to Government and the University authorities. In the absence of public funds for infrastructure projects, the government’s attempt to attract the private sector in the provision of student housing has not recorded significant achievement. This study reports on the challenges faced by developers in adopting the Build Operate Transfer (BOT) model of project delivery with focus on public private partnerships (PPP) in Nigeria. The study found that developers perceive investment in student housing under BOT as worthy of investment. The study used a mixed method of data collection. One hundred and twenty questionnaires were administered to members of the Real Estate Developers Association of Nigeria, and interviews were conducted with the Nigerian Infrastructure Regulator commission (ICRC). The study found that Developers are willing to adopt BOT for Student Housing. The study concludes that lack of long term loans, time and cost intensiveness of a BOT project, high interest rate on loans, disinterest on the part of lending institution, and preference for traditional procurement route are the challenges faced by developers in adopting Build-Operate-Transfer for the provision of student housing.