The Nation Newspaper

Category: Building & Properties

  • BUA mulls investment in Rwandan mining sector

    BUA Group is looking at the Rwandan and regional mining sector for viable opportunities, its Executive Chairman Abdul Samad Rabiu has said.

    According to Rwandan’s leading newspaper, The New Times, Rabiu stated that with the growth of the company in West Africa, there were considerations to expand into other parts of the continent, especially in the advent of increased integration and growth of business opportunities.

    He said this had spurred his interest to study Rwanda and other East African countries to exploit investment opportunities.

    He said his interest in the mining sector is to ensure sustainable and valuable practices that create more value in the continent as opposed to exporting raw materials.

    He noted that over 76 per cent of mining operations in Africa are by western firms which often do little to work with local communities or process them from the continent.

    This, he said, had seen more value retained abroad as opposed to Africa where the minerals are extracted.

    The BUA chief said he was spurred by the will to see Africa retain her resources and creating wealth for her people unlike what is happening now where the continent is exploited by foreigners who give nothing in return.

    He argued that it is only Africans that could develop Africa, insisting that no foreigner could love Africa more than herself.

    He reiterated that this is the only way the continent can best provide better quality jobs; play a role in industrialisation, as well as improve the quality of life on the continent.

    “We are definitely looking at expanding. Rwanda is a good ground for investment. They have worked hard to have a strong economic growth, good leadership, and strong infrastructure base. There is so much opportunity here, mining is a big opportunity. There are lots of resources and opportunities in the region. There ought to be sustainable mining practices on the continent,” Rabiu added.

  • LCCI praises Buhari for declining assent to NHF Bill

    The Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCCI) has hailed President Muhammadu Buhari for not signing the National Housing Fund (NHF) Bill.

    The chamber said the bill would have caused more problems for citizens.

    LCCI Director-General Muda Yusuf gave the commendation in an interview with The Nation in Lagos.

    President Buhari, had on April 2, declined assent to the National Housing Fund Bill alongside seven others passed by the National Assembly.

    Yusuf said the bill would have increased cost of building materials thus widening the country’s infrastructural deficit, led to increase in cost of doing business and inflict hardship on workers.

    He said  what the government should do was to evolve a mechanism that would reduce the cost of building materials to enable more Nigerians become empowered to construct buildings.

    “The government should be more concerned on how to bring down the cost of steel, cement and make land easily accessible and affordable, and also promote the use of local materials for construction,” he said.

    He urged the Nigerian Building and Road Research Institute (NBRRI) to evolve more innovative alternative and sustainable building materials for housing development.

    The LCCI chief said the use of local building materials would reduce the cost of construction, boost productivity in the building industry, and reduce environmental impact.

    Yusuf urged the research institute to publicise and commercialise its prototypes for more acceptability by Nigerians and to bridge the nation’s housing deficits

  • Building collapse: SON to regulate building materials

    The Standards Organisation of Nigeria (SON) has begun moves to check incessant buildings collapse  across the country by regulating weights and measurements of building materials.

    Its Director-General, Osita Aboloma, stated this at a workshop in Abuja on the importance of metrology for quality assurance of products, services and industrial development.

    He said some buildings collapsed because the measurements and weights of building materials used for it were not up to standard.

    According to him, when you have the wrong measurement, things would go wrong. He explained that sometimes builders under-use rods or blocks. ‘’But when these are accurate, you are sure of what you are doing,” he said.

    Read also: Fire razes building in Kano

    Aboloma, who was represented by SON’s Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Coordinator, Mr. Gambo Dimka, said architects, engineers and related professionals in the built environment, must ensure that the measurements given were what they used.

    “If the architect says you should use four-by-five windows, don’t go to a quack who will construct less than what the architect specified,” he advised.

    “The SON Act No.14 of 2015 covers all aspects of metrology to ensure the protection of business, safety, wealth and every other aspect of Nigerians’ lives,” he said.

  • Nations call for global treaty on ocean plastic pollution

    Nordic governments have become the first in the world to call for a global treaty to tackle the plastic crisis in our oceans.

    The landmark declaration was made at a gathering of the environment ministers of Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway and Sweden at the Nordic Council in Reykjavik.

    The announcement comes after world leaders failed to agree to meaningful policy decisions on the issue at the United Nations Environment Assembly in Nairobi last month.

    “This milestone declaration by Nordic governments should serve as inspiration for others. Plastic pollution in our oceans is a crisis that requires concerted action from world governments – a global treaty is the only viable way to address the eight million tonnes of plastic being dumped into the oceans every year,” said Director- General of World Wild Fund International (WWF), Marco Lambertini.

    WWF is an international non- governmental organisation founded in 1961 in Switzerland. Its mission is to stop the degradation of our planet’s natural environment, and build a future in which humans live in harmony with nature calling for a binding treaty that would establish national targets and transparent reporting mechanisms that extend to companies.

    In addition, any treaty should provide for financial and technical support for low income countries to scale up their waste management capacity.

    Having invested well over US$1 billion in more than 12,000 conservation initiatives since 1985 alone, WWF is working to bring a balance between our demands on our world, and the variety of life that lives alongside us.

  • ‘We ‘ll deliver on state infrastructure master plan’

    The incoming administration in Lagos State to be led by Mr. Babajide Sanwo-Olu    has pledged to make use of the existing state infrastructure master plan.

    The state’s Deputy Governor-elect, Dr. Obafemi Hamzat, made the disclosure while addressing Obafemi Awolowo University Muslim Graduates’ Association (UNIFEMGA), Lagos chapter in Lagos.

    It was at the association’s 19th edition of her public lecture/luncheon, where Hamzat was the guest speaker.

    Hamzat, whose lecture generated series of responses from the audience, spoke on: Human Development, Energy and Enabling Infrastructure – Imperatives for Sustainable Economic Growth and Inclusive National Development.

    While Mr. Kolawole Ayanwale, Chief Executive Officer, Centrespread Advertising Limited chaired the occasion, Alhaji Abubakar Suleiman, Alhaji Abdulkabir and Mr. Ayodeji Balogun, Country Manager, AFEX Nigeria Limited were the panelists at the event.

    Hamzat, whose lecture was spiced with live stories of his experiences both in private and public services over the years, said their administration, would tackle traffic management and transportation, health and environment as well as education and technology.

    Also, he said  there are plans towards making Lagos a 21st century economy, boost entertainment, tourism, sport sector as well as  boost the state’s security architecture.

    To achieve all these, Hamzat said, there was need for solid foundation, which he gave as infrastructure.

    The Deputy Governor-elect added that the in-coming administration  would not be able to achieve any of their goals without concrete infrastructure, assuring that they would build on existing plans.

    “Accordingly, as far as infrastructure expansion is concerned, there is already a Lagos Master plan in place. I was part of the State Exco, when it was implemented by Governor Bola Ahmed Tinubu, and also as Commissioner of Works and Infrastructure under Babatunde Fashola.

    “In the Babajide Sanwo-Olu administration’s commitment to a Greater Lagos, we will not need to reinvent the wheel but rather just build on the good work of our predecessors.”

    Hamzat added: “It is a blueprint that has demonstrably worked when you note, for example, that the Lagos State Government has created over half a million jobs in the state through infrastructure development and renewal alone.”

    He said Lagos infrastructure growth is strategic and not happenstance; adding that, Nigeria would definitely become a global economic player, and with the massive economic activities with natural endowments in the state, Lagos State is key to that growth.

    However, Hamzat said the path to having a safer and greater Lagos was not only dependent on the government alone, saying the citizens have much role to play.

    “The only thing that I will add in closing is to proffer an old maxim of mine: good governance does not begin and end with good government.  If we can all agree that we want to live in a greater Lagos, then each and every single one of us has his or her own part to play.

    “We need to make a collective decision to be the change that we want.  We cannot move to the next level without taking that first step.  We cannot seek a greater Lagos when we choose to be less than great in our own personal lives.”

    He assured:  “Our administration will make that commitment to a better life and we ask all well-meaning Nigerians to join us on this exciting journey.”

    Earlier, UNIFEMGA chairman, Goke Adeyemi explained that the group chose the theme of the lecture to address the huge deficits in the areas of human development, energy and enabling infrastructure in Nigeria.

    He added that that, there was no gainsaying the fact that investing in sustainable and enabling infrastructure was key to tackling the three central challenges facing the Nigerian communities.

  • Fourth Nigeria Build Expo holds in June

    The 4th International Construction, Building Materials & Technologies is  holding from the 27th-29th June 27 to 29 at Landmark Centre,  Lagos.

    The fourth in the series and organised by Elan Expo, is a one-stop shop for building and construction materials  and a meeting point for  professionals in the sector with international manufacturer’s and operators in the sector. Last year’s expo and the third in the series is reputed to have facilitated the inflow of $500 billion worth of investment into the country by first quarter of the year.

    Nigeria has large youth population with relatively cheap labour for both skilled and unskilled and is a toast of manufacturers globally who   see the country as that of choice as a result of the large market size and annual growth. It holds 43 per cent of all projects in the total project value in Africa,operators

    said.

    The General Manager, ELAN EXPO, Mr. Suer AY, speaking with The Nation said: “Nigeria Build Expo is more than a trade show for my organisation. The expo has been successfully organised in the last three years and promised that  this year will be bigger and better as there will be an added advantage for participants and visitors with an international summit that will look at the peculiarities of the nation as a whole and built environment sector in particular’’

    He revealed that  the expo is supported by local professional associations such as the Council for the Regulation of Engineering in Nigeria, (COREN), Association of Professional Women Engineers of Nigeria, (APWEN), Association for Consulting Engineering in Nigeria (ACEN) and the  Nigeria Chapter of ASHRAE (American Society of Heating and Air-Conditioning Engineers).

    Others are: the Nigerian Institute of Building, (NIOB) Nigeria Institution of Civil Engineers, (NICE) Nigerian-American Chamber of Commerce, Nigeria Society of Engineers, African Association of Interior Designers, Nigerian Institute of Architects and Nigerian Institute of Town Planners.

  • Nigeria discovers high quality platinum in Niger

    Minister of State for Mines and Steel Development Abubakar Bawa Bwari said the federal Government has discovered high-quality platinum group elements in Kuchiko village in Niger State.

    He announced this at the groundbreaking ceremony of AG Vision Mining site in Suleja Local Government Area of the state.

    Bwari said that the large mineral deposit was discovered at Kuchiko village in Suleja.

    He added that the quality of the discovery was higher than that of South Africa regarded as the highest deposit of the mineral in the world.

    He said: “A preliminary report by the company shows high deposit of minerals we are looking for. From what we have seen, the results are quite encouraging. The platinum group they have seen so far, the quality is higher than that of South Africa. And they are world largest producer of platinum group metal. That goes to show that Nigeria is highly endowed with this mineral. But what we are looking for now is the commercial viability of the mineral,’’ he said.

    He said the discovery was made by AG Vision Mining and awarded the exploration project in 2018.

    He said government voted N15 billion for exploration of minerals in Nigeria to generate detailed geoscience data of quality and quantity of available minerals in the country.

    He said the project was aimed at addressing one of the key challenges in the development of the solid minerals sector, which was the absence of bankable mineral data.

    Read also: IMF cautions Nigeria against borrowing from China

    According to him, ‘’no investor will take us seriously if we are unable to provide the kind of accurate, verifiable data that speaks about both the quality of mineral we have in Nigeria.

    ‘’This project is the biggest exploration activity of its kind ever embarked upon by the ministry’’, he added.

    According to him, the project is domiciled in the Nigerian Geological Survey Agency (NGSA) and it is being supervised by the MMSD, it is also funded through the Natural Resources Fund.

    The N15billion was drawn from the Natural Resource Development Fund to the ministry as intervention fund to focus on exploration which is the heart of mining.

    He said that the project was designed to be executed and funded in phases, from the desktop studies, geological mapping among others.

    The Permanent Secretary of the ministry, Dr Abubakar Mua’zu, in his remarks, said  the project was timely as it would attract more mining investors into the country.

    Director-General, Nigeria Geological Survey Agency (NGSA) Dr Abdulrazak Garba said the project was initiated to bridge the gap between exploration data and mining development. He explained that the project was also designed to know locations of minerals such as gold, lead and zinc, silver, copper, tantalite among others in Nigeria.

    Managing-Director, AG Vision Mining, Mr Fadi Ghazale said the event was another landmark in the roadmap towards development of Nigeria’s solid minerals industry. According to him, AG Vision Mining is currently exploring in many states, such as Niger, Ogun and Oyo states.

  • Abuja show to tackle housing sector challenges, says convener

    The Abuja International Housing Show (AIHS) 13th edition would feature Chief Executive Officers (CEOs) forum to tackle several challenges in the housing sector.

    Managing Director, FESADEB Media Group and the AIHS convener, Mr Festus Adebayo in a statement, said the forum would feature 200 CEO’s in the real estate, mortgage housing finance, construction companies and professional institutions and also focus on macro-economic and sociopolitical environment and impact of real estate market.

    According to him, the forum is a gathering of high profile professionals who are founders and business owners that will give opportunity to present and discuss challenges facing their respective organisations and the way forward.

    Read also: Abuja carnival to gulp N82.109m, says Lai Mohammed

    He also stated that the forum would  provide avenue for meeting counterparts from every part of the country and outside Nigeria, on networking business relations.

    He maintained that it would provide an exceptional opportunity to enhance company growth potential, and make privileged contact with financial institutions and investors.

  • Lagos NIOB seeks inclusion in MDAs, others

    There is need for the government to involve more builders in its Ministries, Departments and Agencies’ (MDAs) projects, Nigerian Institute of Builders (NIOB), the Lagos State chapter, has said.

    It stated this at the end of a workshop, with the theme, ‘’Enhancing the performance of builders in Lagos State Civil Service on Code of Practice and Ethics.’’

    In a communiqué by its Chairman, Mr Adelaja Adekanmbi, the body said the need for builders to be involved in construction is legal.

    He regretted that the Council of Registered Builders of Nigeria (CORBON) was not well represented in the management of agencies, such as the Lagos State Building Control Agency (LASBCA), which it accused of not enforcing the law that builders should manage the construction of buildings.

    He argued that except there is a change of attitude, there will never be effective building control in the state.

    The NIOB chief frowned at the various versions of Form C in circulation, saying that the original version still exists.

    Adekanmbi called for the restoration of the original Form C.

    He said the form carries the government and LASBCA’s colour logo with unique identity number. Underscoring the importance of Form C, he explained that the document was signed by professionals.

    On how to ensure that sanity in the sector, he maintained that quality building production management in MDAs, building production management documents should be listed among the requirements for building control and certification as contained in the relevant section of the National Building Code (NBC).

    The communiqué read in part: “It should be noted that the National Building Code provides minimum requirements. States and sub-national entities can go beyond these minimum requirements where they so desire. Lagos State with its development potential and challenges cannot afford to operate below minimum. For efficient successions, there should be regular recruitment and deployment of builders to various MDAs to fill positions of builders at various cadres.

    The nomenclature of a ‘building officer’ cadre should be changed to ‘builder’ cadre to reflect positions of Builder II, Builder I, Senior Builder, Principal Builder, Assistant Chief Builder and Chief Builder accordingly to portray the professional builders’ status as against the present nomenclature of “Building Officer”, he added.

  • Operators to deliver mixed-use luxury estate in Lekki

    SOME  operators in the real estate sector are to deliver a mixed-use development in the Lekki area of Lagos.

    The upscale estate, known as Ostia Island, is man-made reclaimed, and is expected to redefine luxury.

    According to the developers, the estate seeks to provide 100 hectares in line with the Lekki  Master Plan.

    Senior Partner, Samson Agbato Consulting, consultants to the project, Samson Agbato, said it would be a live, work and play community on completion.

    He said: “Ostia Island is a site and services project. We are trying to create an environment to live, work and play with a renewable and sustainable energy.

    “We want to create an atmosphere that is pure for the people who are living there. We understand global warming and pollution and a lot of other things that are wrong with the environment. So, Ostia Island is going to be designed to be conscious about these things; the water people drink and air they breathe in. We are channelling these into real estate development to ensure that people who live there remain healthy.”

    He said though the island would be developed on 100 hectares, but that the promoters were seeking investors in about 10 hectares.

    “We have commercial, residential area and recreational area. So, there is a lot investors can do with the land they buy. An investor can build anything they want as long it complies with the planning and building code; every investors must also conform to the plan of the island, especially the renewable energy. There is provision for instalmental payment,” he said.

    According to him, Ostia Island will be a residential and business development area with facilities  to make it a community. These include a mall, police station, medical, educational, recreational facilities, religious houses, and a jetty.

    On the objectives of the estate, Agbato said it would provide more reclaimed land for sustainable development.