Although the Federal Government has proposed building materials manufacturing hubs, fiscal incentives, and stronger local content policies to revive the sector, experts warned that without stable energy, effective monitoring, and urgent delivery, Nigeria risks perpetuating a cycle of high costs, low housing output, and widening inequality, CHINEDUM UWAEGBULAM reports.

Nigeria’s housing crisis, already with a deficit of more than 28 million homes, is spiraling into deeper distress as the country’s building materials industry collapses under the weight of energy shortages, forex scarcity, and competition from cheap imports.

Once envisioned as the bedrock of housing delivery, the domestic manufacturing sector is now crumbling, driving up construction costs, stalling projects, and worsening an affordability crisis that is locking millions of families out of home ownership.

Across cities like Lagos, Abuja, and Port Harcourt, the effects are visible in both construction sites and household budgets. The price of a bag of cement has nearly doubled from N5,500 in 2023 to over N10,000 in 2025, while iron rods that once cost N2,000 now sell for nearly N18,000.

These sharp increases are not just symptoms of inflation but a reflection of the collapse of local production, which has left Nigeria dangerously dependent on imports and exposed it to global market shocks.

For developers, the consequences are immediate. Projects are stalling midstream as budgets balloon, while private builders cut corners with substandard materials. For renters, the outcome is harsher as households now spend up to 60 per cent of their income on rent, deepening urban poverty and widening inequality.

A history of struggling industries
The steel industry, expected to anchor Nigeria’s construction economy, lies in disrepair. The once-celebrated Ajaokuta Steel Mill, envisioned as West Africa’s largest industrial project, remains largely idle, operating at less than five per cent capacity.

Smaller rolling mills across the country have shut down due to high energy costs, leaving Nigeria almost entirely dependent on imported reinforcement bars, roofing sheets, and structural frames.

The collapse extends beyond steel. Ceramics factories in Kogi, Ogun, and Plateau once produced tiles, sanitary ware, and fittings for the local market. Today, most have shut their doors due to unreliable gas supply, poor infrastructure, and competition from cheap Chinese imports. Industry estimates suggest that over 80 per cent of ceramic tiles in Nigeria are now imported.

Float glass plants in Rivers and Ogun that once served the construction and automotive industries operate only sporadically, while aluminium sheet producers rely almost entirely on imported coils. Rather than functioning as manufacturers, many now act merely as finishers, passing higher costs down to builders and homeowners.

Cement is the one material Nigeria still produces at scale. Industry giants like Dangote, BUA, and Lafarge have kept production alive and even expanded capacity. Yet even cement has not escaped the pressures of high energy costs, expensive haulage, and a weakening naira. Prices have reached historic highs, further undermining affordability.

Nigeria’s paint industry presents a mixed picture. Companies like CAP Plc, Berger Paints, and Prestige still operate, but with nearly 90 per cent of raw materials like resins and titanium dioxide imported, many smaller players have gone under.

Some paint makers are substituting imported inputs with local kaolin, chalk, and agricultural derivatives to cut costs. These efforts remain small relative to Nigeria’s vast housing needs, but they point to a survival instinct in the face of industrial decline.

Under timber and wood, Nigeria’s forests could provide a lifeline, but the timber industry is weakened by illegal logging, poor processing facilities, and a lack of investment in value-added products like plywood and engineered wood. Many furniture makers now import boards and finishing materials from Ghana, China, and Europe.

In the face of collapse, innovation is bubbling at the margins. Developers are turning to compressed earth blocks, interlocking bricks, and fly-ash blocks, which use less cement and can be locally sourced.

Small-scale entrepreneurs are recycling plastics into roofing tiles, paving blocks, and boards, creating a niche market in affordable and eco-friendly construction.

The impact of the collapse is most visible in the rental market. In Lagos suburbs like Ikotun, Egbeda, and Ipaja, the cost of a two-bedroom flat that sold for N15 million in 2023 now goes for N30–35 million. Rents have doubled, with one-bedroom apartments in Lekki-Ajah climbing to N2.2 million per year.

With housing delivery at less than 100,000 units yearly, against a demand of 700,000 units per year, Nigeria’s housing deficit has swelled into a social emergency.

Recognising that housing cannot be delivered without affordable materials, the Federal Government has announced a suite of initiatives to resuscitate local production. Central to this is the creation of Building Materials Manufacturing Hubs in all six geopolitical zones: Sagamu (Southwest), Aba (Southeast), Warri/Asaba (South-South), Ajaokuta (North Central), Kano (Northwest), and Gombe (Northeast).

The hubs will function as industrial parks, offering shared infrastructure, energy access, vocational training, and logistics support, while clustering manufacturers for economies of scale. Government officials say this will cut production costs, reduce dependence on imports, and stimulate affordable housing delivery.

To accelerate rollout, the hubs may be located within existing Free Trade Zones, where tax holidays, duty waivers, and easier access to land can attract investors. Fiscal incentives, including tax breaks, subsidised loans, and duty waivers for machinery, are also part of the package.

Beyond infrastructure, the government has pledged to boost skills training for construction workers, strengthen local content policies by prioritising Nigerian-made materials in public projects, and establish a central oversight committee with state governments, unions, and universities.

The Guardian learnt that some manufacturers are already adapting, paint producers are sourcing more raw materials locally, while glass firms are invoicing in naira to shield themselves from forex shocks. Local sourcing in manufacturing grew from 52 per cent in 2023 to 57 per cent in 2024, showing tentative progress.

While stakeholders welcome these initiatives, many warned they must move beyond policy announcements. “What we need is delivery, not declarations,” said Dennis Okafor, a housing policy expert. “If the hubs take root, they could transform housing. But without stable energy, incentives, and strong monitoring, we risk repeating the cycle of abandoned promises.”

According to experts, the collapse of Nigeria’s building materials producers is not a distant industrial problem; it is the beating heart of the housing crisis. Every bag of overpriced cement, every abandoned project, every unsafe building is a reminder of an economy that failed to sustain its own backbone industries.

They noted that the government revival efforts, such as building materials hubs, fiscal incentives, and local sourcing policies, offer hope, but their success depends on prompt delivery, energy stability, and strong oversight. Until these measures take root, Nigeria will remain trapped in a cycle of high costs, unsafe housing, and deepening inequality.

The Executive Director, Paints Manufacturers Association of Nigeria (PMA), Mr Jude Maduka, told The Guardian that challenges facing the industry are high taxation, high cost of raw materials, and other inputs, diesel and haulage costs, as well as high exchange rates and borrowing cost.

According to him, 80 per cent of the raw materials used in producing paints are imported, adding that the Raw Materials Resource and Development Council (RMRDC) has embarked on research on raw materials development in the country. He revealed that through the efforts of the council, calcium carbonate used in paint production, which used to be imported, is now locally produced.

He said some problems have remained despite their appeal for government intervention. This dependency exposes the sector to forex volatility. “Whenever the naira slides, the cost of paint products shoots through the roof, and developers are forced to revise costs or halt projects,” Maduka said. “If you borrow at the current rate from the banks, you will be working for the banks.”

Industry association weighs in
The President of the Building Materials Producers Association of Nigeria (BUMPAN), Mr Abdulhakeem Huthman, identified forex scarcity, high energy costs, poor infrastructure, and multiple taxation as persistent barriers crippling the sector. “High energy costs alone make it almost impossible for our members to remain profitable or competitive,” he said.

Huthman told The Guardian that members of the association, spanning producers of steel, ceramics, glass, paints, and timber, are grappling with erratic government policies, security concerns, and currency volatility in addition to rising costs.

He linked the collapse of local building materials production directly to Nigeria’s housing affordability crisis, now estimated at over 28 million units in deficit. According to him, supply chain disruptions, price hikes, and reduced construction activities have triggered ripple effects across the economy, including job losses, declining government revenues, and shrinking investment.

Although the Federal Government has announced plans for building materials manufacturing hubs across the six geopolitical zones, Huthman insisted that policy reforms and concrete incentives are urgently needed. “Government should support local producers by offering tax breaks and subsidies to ease costs and promote growth; prioritise infrastructure projects; reduce import duties on raw materials and machinery; promote training and apprenticeship for workers; and introduce a special import levy on imported finished components such as sanitary ware, doors, windows, and ceramic tiles,” he said.

Even if government reforms succeed, industry watchers argued that public attitudes must change. Nigerians’ preference for imported materials has sidelined abundant local resources. Former BUMPAN president, Rufus Akinrolabu, highlights laterite bricks as an example: “With a little cement, we can make durable, cost-effective laterite bricks. If the building is roofed properly and plastered, it can last for decades. But many Nigerians dismiss this as archaic because they want modern, imported finishes.”

Technology, however, has improved brick production, making such materials more viable than before. Akinrolabu insists that embracing local solutions is essential: “Necessity should be our mother of invention. We cannot solve a 28-million-unit deficit by importing everything.”

Akinrolabu, who is the Managing Director, Bolyn Constructions Company Limited, said many Nigerians prefer to show off by spending heavily on imported building components rather than using locally available building materials and technology.