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According to the Nigerian Building and Road Research Institute, over ninety percent of the materials used in the construction of buildings and roads in Nigeria are imported.Infomation Guide Nigeria
It regarded this as unsustainable, noting that it has negatively harmed the country’s economy and increased the demand for scarce foreign currency.
At a press conference organised by the Abuja Chamber of Commerce and Industry in advance of this month’s Real Estate and Construction Expo 2022, Okuo Leonard, Head, Building Materials Section, NIBRRI, stated that efforts must be made to reduce the high imports of construction materials on behalf of the institute.
“We import over 90 per cent of what we use for road construction and for buildings. Must we go out to get all these things we need?,” he stated.
Leonard added, “All we need is to prepare a conducive platform for indigenous industrialists and investors to come in and harness what we have. We can produce most of these things, use them here and export others.
“Look at the doors we are using, we import them, while we have timber which people export illegally. They will develop the timber there, produce those doors and bring them to Nigeria and sell to us as value added products.”
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“So it is time to look at making use of what we have, locating the deposits, conduct research and develop or produce most of the things we need when it comes to building and road construction.”
He stated that NIBRRI was willing to cooperate with any organisation, including the ACCI, so long as the campaign’s objective was to promote sustainability in the construction industry.
Johnson Anene, chairman of the Real Estate and Construction Expo 2022, stated that the purpose of the event was to highlight the housing, construction, and environment sectors in Nigeria.
He stated that RECON 2022 was designed to accommodate the economic interests of participants and improve the economic development of Nigeria through private and public housing and infrastructure projects.
Shelter Aid Limited, West Africa Ceramics Ltd (Royal Ceramics), and Abuja Chamber of Commerce and Industry, with the assistance of Real Estate Developers Association of Nigeria, organise RECON 2022.
Other partners include the Federation of West African Chambers of Commerce and Industry, the Nigerian Association of Chambers of Commerce, Industry, Mines, and Agriculture, and a large number of government and private sector organisations.Jamb Result
“The expo is open to real estate developers, investors, mortgage bankers, building materials suppliers, professionals and practitioners in real and construction industry, the diplomatic communities, trade unions, among others,” Anene stated.