Nigeria’s construction industry currently worth around $69bn
Nigeria’s construction industry is currently worth around $69bn and employs 5 percent of its 180 million population.
This was disclosed by the president Nigerian Institute of Building, Bldr. Tijani B. Shu’aibu at the AfricaBuild Lagos exhibition.
Speaking at the fair with the theme adding value to the modernisation of the Nigerian building industry, Bldr. Shu’aibu explained that AfricaBuild Lagos is the ideal entry point to the 7th most populous country in the world representing construction machinery and technology, building equipment, toolbuilding materials and interior finishing materials.
The event is an excellent opportunity to interact with professionals.
Being Africa’s largest economy, Nigeria is also expected to become one of the world’s top 20 economies by 2050, he said.
The president Nigerian Institute of Building disclosed further that the overall Nigerian imports increased from $32bn in 2009 to $55bn in 2014.
He stated that, “with imports of construction equipment and building material machines worth $537mn in 2014 Nigeria ranks among the top 4 African importers of these technologies, together with South Africa, Algeria and Egypt.”
Speaking also, the deputy director, Ministry of Works and Infrastructure, Lagos State, who represented the commissioner of works and infrastructure, Engr. Ganiyu Johnson
maintained that the evolution of the Built Environment cannot be separated from that of building materials and available technologies.
She implored the participants present to take advantage of networking that the medium offers the professionals in the industry to access not just the products, but also buyers and suppliers.
Mrs Omokore emphasised that, “I will use this opportunity to charge the professionals in the built environment to see how a forum like this could help ameliorate the menace of collapse buildings which is traceable to poor quality and inappropriate use of building materials amongst other factors.
Also it is at a forum like this that professionals in the building industry can discuss and offer solutions to issues of reduction in prices of building materials to enable us have value for money in the industry.”
In her remarks, Mrs Bernadette Gierlinger – Austrian Vice Minister for Foreign Economic Policy and European Integration stated that Nigeria is Austria’s biggest trading partner in West Africa.
According to her, Austria’s trade has been continuously increasing till 2014. Besides the increase of bilateral trade AfricaBuild shall also lead to new cooperation, targeting third markets by benefiting from the hub function of both Nigeria and Austria.
She stated that AfricaBuild offers Austrian companies the outstanding opportunity to present their products and expertise.
“Austria is one of the world’s leading countries in the areas of renewable energy, sustainable construction and building technology”, Gierlinger said.
In his comments, Mr Michel Arrion, head of delegation and Ambassador of the European Union to Nigeria and ECOWAS applauded the organisers of the exhibition, for bringing together the impressive number of companies, particular EU companies.
He noted that the “EU and its Ambassadors are always interested in promoting the EU business as a whole. So it is important for the EU companies to look at Nigeria to do business – not only to export to Nigeria but also to invest.”
So we know how the market works here in Nigeria. It is a big market with many opportunities, he said.
This was just as the German Consul General in Lagos, Mr Ingo Herbert stressed that it is important to diversify Nigeria’s economy by creating growth, more production and more investments.
He added that organising such an exhibition is one point that helps Nigeria now.
Herbert said the organisers made the right choice as the citiy of Lagos alone would count as the 4th largest economy in Africa
In the same vein, the director general, FOCI-Federation of Construction Industry of Nigeria Mrs Olubunmi Adekoje, emphasised that with over 60 years of construction experience in Nigeria, FOCI has become a reference point for sustained excellence in the construction industry.
She explained that interaction with member companies has resulted in the maintenance of sound practices, respect for ethics and stability.
In her words, “there are challenges for us right now in Nigeria for the construction industry – but there is also a chance for us. It is a chance to look the other way.”
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