Architects have expressed concern over the high cost of building materials, saying that it would be difficult for the execution of capital projects and other business ventures in the country.
The President, Nigerian Institute of Architects (NIA), Mobolaji Adeniyi made this known in Abuja, explaining, it is no longer news that Nigeria is currently undergoing difficult times and contractors are experiencing real economic hardship in delivering the projects as inflation rate increases from 28.92 per cent in December 2023 to 29.90 per cent in January 2024.
She said all these are compounding by an ever-rising exchange rate, which has remained above N1,000 to dollar despite the Federal Government’s intervention to stabilise the new pump price and high cost of living.
According to the NIA president, “of these challenges, most concerning to contractors in the construction industry is the current rapid increase in the prices of building materials, typified by the astronomical rise in the prices of cement that is in high demand.
“Within a period of three weeks, the price of a bag of cement has risen from N4,500 to N13,000 in some locations across the country, in some locations, the commodity is sold for as much as N15,000. This notwithstanding, cement consumed in Nigeria is produced locally.”
Noting that reinforcement has gone up above N1 million per tonne, Adeniyi predicted slow-down in construction activities within the next few months of the year.
She, therefore, expressed concern that it could further lead to malpractices by unscrupulous contractors and developers, meaning there will be more incidents of building collapse if statutory and professional oversight is not beefed up to checkmate it generally.
“It is demoralising to note that nails and other accessories for building construction are not manufactured in Nigeria. Good, the Federal Government is already engaging with the manufacturers with a view of stemming the rising prices. We look forward to resolutions.”
The president argued that the circumstances provide an unparalleled opportunity to review some of the age-old practices of excessive cement-dependent construction and practice that has been rightly undetermined by scientific thesis on sustainable architecture.
“We are calling on the government to revisit Presidential Executive Order 5, which was signed into law in 2018 for planning, execution of projects, promotion of Nigerian content in contracts and science, engineering and technology be dutifully implemented,” she concluded.
