The Minister for Mines and Steel Development, Olamilekan Adegbite, has urged major cement manufacturers in the country to come together and work towards reducing the price of cement.
Adegbite made the submission during a webinar, moderated by the Managing Director of BusinessDay Newspaper, Ogho Okiti, for thought leaders in the construction industry on Wednesday.
He called for the amendment of the procurement law for building and construction in Nigeria, to emphasise safety, compliance, and the adoption of standards in the industry.
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The National Association of Block Moulders of Nigeria had in recent months been calling on the government to wade into the issue of cement prices as their members were no longer producing due to the rise in the price of the product.
The President of NABMON, Adesegun Banjoko, expressed fear that the members might produce substandard blocks, just in an attempt to break even and remain in business.
According to him, the block moulders cannot survive in business with the current price of cement.
The Director-General, Standard Organisation of Nigeria, Farouk Salim, lamented that for 10 years, the SON had not been involved in the inspection of materials entering into the country through the ports and terminals.
He added that the agency needed all the support to carry out its mandate of guaranteeing standard materials for building and construction in Nigeria.
The Chairman of Cement Manufacturers Association of Nigeria, Joseph Makoju, said effective monitoring was critical to mitigating the risks of collapsed buildings.
He reminded stakeholders that between 2007 and 2020, the incidence of collapsed buildings in Nigeria increased by 20 per cent.
On his part, the President of Nigerian Institute of Structural Engineers, Kehinde Osifala, said some of the challenges in the construction industry to included identification of real engineers; educating the public on the role of a structural engineer; and inadequate manpower, corruption.
The Head, Sustainable Construction, Lafarge Holcim, Michael Scharpf, hinted on the need for integrating sustainability into building and construction.
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