Specialists advocate construction board to avert building collapse

Project and cost management specialist, Mr Ogundare Oluwatomi, has called on the Federal and state governments to facilitate the establishment of the Construction Industry Development Board (CIDB), which will draft a standard building contract for residential buildings in Nigeria.

He also said considering the high cost of funds and the risk of project abandonment, construction projects should not be encouraged to start without providing proof of funds, adding that it wouldalso make bankers sit up and honour whatever funding arrangements made.

Oluwatomi made the call at a seminar, entitled: “Cost and procurement considerations in preventing building collapse” organised by Amuwo Odofin Cell of Building Collapse Prevention Guild (BCPG) in Lagos. He said about 70 per cent of direct causes of building collapses could have possibly been prevented by effective procurement management.

He argued that the CIDB could draft as advisory to the industry and the government, procurement guidelines for the design and construction of multi-storey residential developments.

Theseguidelines, he noted, would serve as a framework for selecting competent designers and contractors, thereby mitigating various design and construction risks associated with such buildings.

He explained that CIDB could work with different professional associations to promote the uptake of green building concepts towards decarbonising building industry, promote private sector commitment, adopt decarbonisation technology, and develop a transition taxonomy.

According to him, there should be a mandatory national register of all developers in the country, as it is in other climes. He said introducing the register would enhance transparency and accountability within the industry.

He lamented that current punitive methods seemed to be more directed at structural engineers and clients. Apart from revoking the land title, he said possibility of blacklisting contractors and theirdirectors should be considered.