New Telegraph

Builders seek revival of Nigeria’s steel industry

Unsustainable

Nigeria is a net importer of steel with negative trade balance of $1.27 billion in 2018

 

 

Professional builders under the auspices of the Nigerian institute of building (NIOB) have called on the Federal Government to revive the nation’s steel industry for the production of standard iron materials. Such production, the institute said, should include steel inputs such as reinforcement and steel formworks for construction.

 

Speaking with New Telegraph, NIOB’s President, Mr Kunle Awobodu, said the call to the federal authorities had become imperative in order to rejuvenate Ajaokuta Steel Company, tap into the nation’s abundant iron ore, encourage mass and affordable production of steel in the country. Currently, he bemoaned rising cost of iron rods in the country, saying it gave room for reduction in the number of steel to be used in the construction site.

 

Such practice by developers or contractors, he said, was one of the reasons for incessant collapse of  buildings. He also pointed out that the few iron rods or reinforcement bars being manufactured in Ikorodu, Lagos and other areas were products of billet and scraps. Nigeria is a net importer of steel with negative trade balance of $1.27 billion in 2018 according to a report by the International Trade Center (ITC).

 

The report came in the wake of shortage of billet, which affected the capacity of steel companies in Nigeria to produce. It was also gathered from industry players that the inability of the iron making sections of the Premium Steel Plant (formerly Delta Steel Company) to function and the non-completion of Ajaokuta Steel Company have left the National Iron Ore Mining Company (NIOMCO), the only beneficiation facility in the country, inactive since 2008 Rising from a national workshop, which was held virtually, professional builders in the country made some useful resolutions centered on building production and structural stability.

 

New Telegraph recalled that the country had witnessed about 10 cases of building collapse in the first half of 2020, with attendant loss of lives and valuable. Some of the causes of building collapse in Nigeria include faulty foundation, sub standard building materials, shoddy workmanship and procurement processes, use of quacks and lack of supervision by qualified proffesionals, among others.

 

However, participants at NIOB forum, which comprised eminent personalities, intending builders, engineers, built environment professionals, technocrats, policy makers and political actors, addressed critical knowledge and practice areas in foundation design and construction, structural analysis and design of buildings, software application in the design of building structural system.

 

Others include structural failure in buildings, design of concrete mix and field applications, builders and formwork design in building construction, and detailing of structural elements in buildings, including practical experience sharing on building projects.

 

They called for more synergy among structural engineers and builders who are saddled with the responsibility of building stability, adding that increased collaboration among built environment professionals would engender better society. The stakeholders reiterated that registered builders were professionals empowered by training and law to manage building production processes in Nigeria “and thus need to remain abreast of fundamental principles of mechanics, other principles of science and technology and their applications.”

 

Chairman of the Council of Registered Builders of Nigeria (CORBON), Professor Kabir Bala, who is also the Vice Chancellor of Ahmadu Bello University, noted that the issue of building collapse in Nigeria had continued to be a concern for builders and other professionals, underscoring the need to continue to update knowledge in order to fully maintain best practices.

 

Awobodu said the forum was one of the Institute’s practical and proactive steps towards addressing the unwarranted and embarrassing menace of building collapse in Nigeria. Past President of the Nigerian Institution of Structural Engineers, Dr Victor Oyenuga, called for the Nigerian Annex to the Eurocode for structural design.

 

He also called on academic and research institutions to investigate the engineering properties of local stones in Nigeria especially in the South Eastern states, saying it would be useful to guide design of concrete mixes and corresponding construction. Past National Vice President of the Australian Institute of Building and an advisory board member of the South African Council for the Project and Construction Management Professions (SACPCMP),

 

Graham Teede, engaged the audience with various types of foundation and approaches to handling them. He indicated need and readiness for further collaboration between the Australian Institute of Building and the NIOB for greater efficiency and improved performance in the Nigerian building industry.

 

Associate Professor in the Department of Construction Economics and Management, University of Capetown, Dr.Abimbola Windapo, who cited examples from South Africa, called for mandatory use construction methodology, prepared by professional builders, for the management of building construction process.

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