Building technology deficit affecting industry growth, say operators

Stakeholders in the construction industry have identified the poor adoption of modern technologies by professionals as one of the factors contributing to stifling the sector’s growth.

According to them, about 75 per cent of professionals in the industry are behind in technology adoption.

Speaking at the 4th edition of Big 5 Construct Nigeria, hosted by DMG in Lagos recently, a project manager at ENCON Sharon Engineering Services, Enianu Eniafe, called on professionals to address the existing knowledge gap within the industry.

He said, “In our adoption of technology, even with the workforce, we are 75 per cent below the scale, meaning Nigeria is far behind in adopting recent technologies. Building Information Modelling has been in existence since 2014 or before that, but up until now, we have not yet adopted it in Nigeria.

“And that has caused a lot of clashes during construction. A lot of rework and more spending. If we can just harness our resources (human and technology), we will be able to scale much higher at a faster rate than other countries can imagine.”

Similarly, the Executive Secretary of the Association of Housing Corporation of Nigeria, Toye Eniola, said technology was revolutionising the building sector of other climes but Nigeria was still adopting manual methods, which was inhibiting the growth of the sector.

He said, “The issues in the construction sector can be regulated by technology but the government is not ready to make it work because of the corruption plaguing the sector and has become the bane of the problem.”

Meanwhile, the Group Chief Executive Officer of Pecksgrey Group, Dr Oluremi Olukoya, stressed the need for professionals in the built industry to embrace technology.

He said, “Construction businesses need to leverage technology by bringing in consultants in this regard. These businesses should engage consultants to help leverage technology in their constructions.

“Hence, not only should they embrace new technologies, but also bring in experts who can teach and assist with the deployment of such technologies.”

The Executive Vice President of DMG Events, Ben Greenish, said because Nigeria’s population was predicted to double in the next 50 years, a huge opportunity for the construction industry.

Greenish said, “The population is forecast to double in the next 50 years. If you think of urban living and how it is going to be transformed in our lifetime, I think I am right in saying that 80 per cent of the African population will live in cities by 2080, which is an astonishing figure. The opportunity in the Nigerian market for construction is massive.

“Equally, it is a really important market for Nigeria because construction brings jobs, it brings education and wealth. So, you have a population of over 200 million, which is an enormous number and that’s very youthful.

“So, not only do they need buildings to go to school in, they need an industry that will employ them afterwards. I think construction on so many parts is such an important player for any country as a key driver of jobs and economic growth.”

On her part, the Portfolio Director at DMG, Mehtap Gürsoy, said, “We welcomed 150 exhibitors to the show. They are here from 20 different countries.

“The Nigerian construction industry is growing, and it is valued at 128bn at the moment and with a growth rate of 2.4 per cent yearly. All of these statistics make the event crucial to creating a platform for international companies to come into the country to create business collaboration.”