FG tasks professionals on construction cost management

The Federal Government has urged quantity surveyors and other professionals to carry out effective and regular capacity building in construction and cost management in the country.

Senior government officials, who spoke at the 2023 yearly conference of Quantity Surveyors Registration Board of Nigeria (QSRBN) in Abuja, also called on them to pursue issues like proper planning and contract procurement.

Minister of Works and Housing, Babatunde Fashola, urged them to look into issues raised by the stakeholders, which will help the ministry to contribute to the remodeling of the surveying profession.

He said: “The essence of these will be to empower the QSRBN for more infrastructural development, especially, in carrying out construction projects as developers, as well as serve as a perfect platform for all professionals in the built sector.

Also, Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, Dr.Mohammed Abubakar, observed that this year’s assembly seeks to review the opportunities for the quantity surveyors and surveying services in the development of agriculture and rural life.

Abubakar said involving professional in appropriate aspects would help to manage the government finances. “This can be deployed in the area of farm settlement establishment, flood control and erosion projects,” he said.

The QSRBN President, Murtala Aliyu, said the board has been able to manage crisis such as underfunding, or no funding at all, which made them to resort to the works and housing ministry for assistance on projects and policies. 
 
Contributing, Yemisi Suswan of All Purpose Shelters Limited, said the programme intention is to address issues that can help professionals in service delivery, funding and execution of projects.

Suswan also explained, that those will make them have a better focus in terms of standard professionalism, which are acceptable globally, saying, key players should unite for the purpose of tackling matters that relate to the socio economic agenda.

“No construction project should take off without quantity surveyors because they are vital to check incessant building collapse in the country. When this is put in place, there will be no more abandoned projects,” she remarked.