sector – 9japroperty

Key Constraints Facing The Housing Sector In Nigeria

9japroperty — Fri, 25 Nov 2016 13:52:18 +0000

An analysis of the existing housing situation has revealed that there are several constraints facing the housing sector in Nigeria. These key constraints have been responsible for the imbalance in housing demand and supply. This article takes a critical look at the issues undermining the housing sector in Nigeria.

There are many issues hindering socio-economic development in Nigeria, one of such is the below-par performance of the housing sector in the country. It has become common knowledge that the country suffers from a housing deficit of over 17 million units. What are the factors responsible for the staggering figures?

Some of the critical issues which will need careful consideration and prioritisation in the formulation of a national housing policy are:

1. Unavailability of land for housing

The relatively small size of the land resource base coupled with its historical and current pattern of ownership presents a serious constraint to housing. At every focus group discussion held in the various communities, the high price of land was identiﬁed as one of the major constraint to housing production. Therefore, land availability problem appears to be critical and deserving of special consideration.

In particular, the various policy makers will need to address the challenge of improving the supply of affordable housing given a small ﬁnite land resource base. Consistent with the draft Land Use Policy, speciﬁc strategies and action plans relating to government’s acquisition of available lands within communities will need to be examined in order to create housing land banks and consequentially focus on the needs of their residents. The acquisition of lands within communities for residential purposes should also be viewed within the sociological context of maintaining the community’s cultural base

2. High cost of infrastructure

Another deterrent to housing production by both the private and public sectors is the high investment cost of land infrastructure, particularly where the development is distant from existing infrastructure. The developer fully bears the high investment cost of provision of water and road infrastructure to a new site, without future beneﬁts for connections made off these infrastructures to other sites by other individuals or developers. This high cost of infrastructure signiﬁcantly inﬂuences the ﬁnal price of the serviced land and ultimately, the cost of housing to the consumer.

Therefore, there is a need to ﬁrstly re-examine the high initial cost of land infrastructure, and secondly to develop a common approach for the provision of utilities to housing developments. The cost of infrastructure accounts for about 25–30 % of housing expenditures. It is a main factor in the delivery of inexpensive housing. Authority has ignored this area and developers now deliver same, thus increasing the cost of houses. This is obvious in many gated residential communities across the populace, where the contractor provides autonomous electrical energy, water treatment plant, sewage plants, access roads to the estate, etc.

3. Increasing rural-urban migration

Rural–urban drift has not only placed a signiﬁcant strain on the supply of housing, but has also resulted in severe trafﬁc management problems. Indeed, the expressed demand for multi-family (apartment) housing in major cities is signiﬁcant. At the macroeconomic level, a major challenge is the need to promote economic development policies that will reduce the rate of urbanisation by providing more employment opportunities in rural areas.

4. Inadequate ﬁnance mechanisms for low-income housing

While a review of the housing credit sector indicates a reasonable supply of ﬁnancial institutions, access by low-income households appears to be limited. In particular, households with poor income are usually excluded from the formal credit sector. This is partly due to inﬂexible eligibility criteria for borrowing which involve steady income streams and land security.

Due to this, appropriate mechanisms for ﬁnancing low-income households must be leveraged, with particular emphasis on more realistic eligibility criteria and lower interest rates.

Additionally, the institutional mechanism for administering low-interest ﬁnance to low-income households should be revisited. Given the fact that housing is one of the key basic human rights, attention is required with respect to the housing needs of the most vulnerable. While some housing assistance is provided through the government housing incentives, the mechanism for accessing these incentives remains largely unstructured. As a result, the beneﬁts could be unintentionally diverted to higher-income groups.

It is important that clear incentive regimes be developed to speciﬁcally target low-income households. In that regard, there is a need for strategies and action plans to gather information on the socio-economic characteristics and geographic distribution of the poorest income quintile.

5. Cumbersome regulatory approval process

The lengthy and complicated regulatory approval process hinders efﬁciency within the housing delivery system. While certain measures instituted by the government are necessary, they tend to lengthen the regulatory process for obtaining planning approvals for land sub-division. In particular, the extensive delay caused by government referral agencies with respect to planning approvals has serious cost implications for private developers and ultimately, adversely affects in the ﬁnal price to housing consumers.

6. Inadequacy of housing information system

The deﬁciency of information, which has also been expressed on several previous occasions, is cause for deep concern since the formulation of any successful housing policy must be based on a reliable housing information system. Therefore, it is essential that ﬁnancial and human resources be allocated to facilitate the development of a comprehensive, accessible up-to-date and transparent database on the housing market. Moreover, a database with qualitative and quantitative information on housing will also serve to measure the performance of the National Housing Policy (NHP) against established targets.

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Grenadines Homes boosts real estate sector with N6b The Coral hotel apartments

9japroperty — Mon, 07 Nov 2016 11:20:57 +0000

Despite the construction freeze that accompanied the bursting of the bubble, the nation’s real estate market, especially in Lagos may have begun to peak, with property investors’ and developers’ renewed confidence in the economy.

A new report last week hinted that the property sector has clearly been affected by the unprecedented economic malaise, hampered by rising interest rates (now at 14per cent), global economic instability, soaring inflation and a weak as well as redundancies beyond the oil sector and reduction in property transaction volumes.

But senior officials of Messrs Grenadines Homes are upbeat about the Nigerian commercial property sector, despite analysts’ expectations that the market will remain sluggish. They say the current economic climate is providing opportunities for developers and investors.

The Lagos-based firm is preparing to start construction on its premiere facility early 2017, a high-rise structure combining features of an apartment complex and a hotel in the heart of Victoria Island.Billed by its developers as Lagos’s most luxurious multi- development, The Coral will be a two-twin tower building, set to rise in the Water Corporation Drive, Off Ligali Ayorinde Street. It is flanked by Trinity House Church to the right and Atlantic Resort to the left.

In housing projects, the real estate development company has dozens more in various stages of development and dedicated to reinventing the concept of home ownership in Nigeria.

“We create homes that are at the forefront of cutting edge architecture and its homes represent luxury and high class that suit varying tastes and preferences,” according to the company’s General Manager, Sales and Marketing, Francisca Dyegh.

Specifically, The Coral is a stunning, thoughtfully designed, high specification and beachfront apartments. The proposed 17-floor luxury finished edifice comprises 112 units of two bedroom hotel apartments, sitting on a land size of about 5,000sqm and built up area of about 15,876 square meters.

Each unit has two bedrooms (en-suite), a spacious living room, a dinning section, guest toilet, a box room/ store, spacious lobby, kitchen and a maid room. Every unit has two parking lots.

She explained that the architects have created a development, which connects with its surroundings, offering views across the city landscape and the Atlantic Ocean.

“The Coral is a discrete yet tasteful design, using shading and site specific environmental design, the spaces with-in the building feels light and airy with plenty of natural sunlight, without creating an uncomfortable environment during the hottest months of the year.

“The 17-floor tower is carefully rested on a podium, which is a delight to behold. The three-floor podium is suitable for private gatherings or just lounging with family and friends. It contains a pool deck, a swimming pool, a garden, skylight, a lounge, gym and a kitchen.

The apartments come in two types. In the type A, the unit has a total area of 144sqm, terrace 34sqm; contains family living room, dining section, bedrooms, kitchen, and box room and guest toilet. All bedrooms are en-suite.

The type B consists of a total area of 146 sqm, terrace 21sqm and contains family living room, dining section, bedrooms, kitchen, box room and guest toilet. All bedrooms are also en-suite. But has a maid room in addition to other rooms. All the units range from N76 million.

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Financing Nigeria’s Booming Real Estate Sector

9japroperty — Mon, 08 Aug 2016 09:34:30 +0000

In the year 2013, Ernst& Young projected, Sub Sahara Africa Foreign Direct Investment projects in the real estate, hospitality and construction sector increased by 63 percent, making the real estate sector the fifth most attractive in terms of investment and returns to investors.Also in the same year, FDI into Nigeria was $7.3 billion and projected to increase to $9.6 billion by 2015. The Nigerian Investment Promotion Commission estimates that Nigeria needs investment of $100 billion over the next 6 years for projects including roads, electricity, oil and gas, railways and housing.

As these funds flow into country and especially into infrastructure, there’s an increasingshift towards real estate investment. Consequently, the real estate sector is primed and ready to take advantage of these changes and, more than ever before, the Nigerian Government is rapidly appreciating the role real estate development plays in the growth of the economy. This sector has evolved and recorded tremendous growth despite the Naira devaluation, fall in oil prices and decline in the stock market. The reason is simple; shelter remains one of man’s basic and most important needs.

To a large extent, the real estate sector continues to drive the Nigerian economy because the benefits arising from the growth of this industry births other opportunities such as an increasing demand for labour which is a bold attempt at bridging the unemployment gap, investment potentials, guaranteed returns on investment amongst other things.

Despite this laudable development, the industry and its stakeholders still face huge challenges owing largely to huge capital investment required, inadequate resources and the age-old question of financing. These challenges are commonplace with stakeholders such as developers and even consumers. The average Nigerian desires to own a house (bought or built) but perceives it more as a life-long aspiration than an achievable goal in the short-term.

Although, mortgage financing in Nigeria is not a new tale, a large percentage of individuals prefer to obtain loans from local commercial banks for real estate projects. This clearly points to a huge awareness gap on the benefits derived from credible mortgage financing homes. These benefits include Mortgages, project finance facilities andattractive interest rates on loans and deposit products.

With a rapidly growing investment portfolio in Nigeria’s mortgage and real estate industry, Safetrust Mortgage Bank stands out as Nigeria’s foremost mortgage institution having over 23 years experience in the industry, with a broad client portfolio who have enjoyed access to financing and are today, homeowners and custodians of investment properties.

Some of her services include;Access to traditional housing finance or mortgage by middle or low-income earners, Short term financing to pay rent, as well as other deposit products suited to meet the mortgage financing and investment needs for individuals and corporate organizations.

Safetrust brings you an opportunity to own a home today by investing in its newly built real estate properties and affords you a chance to finance your real estate projects. Fill the form hereto get started.

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8 Steps to Successfully Invest in the Real Estate Sector in Nigeria

9japroperty — Wed, 18 Nov 2015 08:23:09 +0000

They say if something is expensive but worth it, you will find a way to get it. And property in regard to land and buildings is one thing that is worth your investment in the long term.

By 2011, only 37% of Nigerians were house owners. This gap can be bridged by providing relevant and timely information to potential investors and to the general public. Additionally, there is a need to break down the barriers to investing in the sector by simplifying the process. That said, consider these 8 steps as you go about putting your hard earned money in the property market.
1. Research

If you are interested in the property market, there are great platforms to find information you need, including the mass media, online and around you. Talk to locals. Visit Google and relevant Nigerian property sites. Create Google alerts for search terms. This way, you will always be in the loop. You have to understand it before you can get into it. It is important to note that Real Estate information in Nigeria is scarce and thus requires effort on your part, whether you are in the country or abroad.
2. Decide on the specific property market

Depending on your goals, pick a sector that will benefit you more. It could be office, industrial property, retail centres or residential units. For instance, if you want speedy returns, investing in the residential market may not be for you. According to a developer in this BusinessDay article, a shopping mall in Nigeria is sold off before it is even complete while residential units take several years to actually sell out.
3. Identify booming real estate markets

They may not be booming now but owing to infrastructure development and ease of access to central business districts, that may be changing soon. Where a highway is constructed, it eases traffic and the working class tends to move in that direction, making it a worthy cause to build high-rises to rent out to them.
What does this mean? If you have identified residential real estate as your interest, you need to target the middle class. Nearly half of the middle class in Nigeria (people earning an average monthly income of N80,000–N100,000) are purchasing goods or planning to do so to improve their lives as years go by. This indicates a significant consumer boom.
4. Decide on where and how you will get finances

Depending on where you are in life, the source of financing may vary. It could be from friends and family or financial institutions. You could also have the money yourself. When you approach the bank or institution, make sure you know what you are doing. Your plan has to be viable enough to make them give you the money. As stated here last time, the Nigerian government secured a $300 million loan from the World Bank to establish Nigerian Mortgage Refinance Company (NMRC) at the beginning of 2014. Hopefully its effect in terms of liquidity and bank lending is being felt now. You could benefit.
Remember that property in the better parts of Lagos and similar upscale urban areas is as expensive as in some Western markets.
5. Get the details right

Be careful not to enter into deals with untrustworthy people. Talk to industry experts, a lawyer and make sure you get everything ironed out right from the federal government requirements down to the owner’s issues. It is another known fact that property scammers run amok in our big cities; pretending to sell houses whose owners are away, complete with fake title deeds. Beware. Get the advice of relevant professionals such as surveyors who will check out the property and advise you accordingly.
When you get down to the construction, enlist the services of architects and service engineers. Do not do things hurriedly only to incur unnecessary costs. The Knight Frank head in Africa was quoted saying that a building in Nigeria that is about 5 years old will look like a building that is 15 years older in Europe.
If you are a foreign investor at corporate level, the best thing is normally to partner with locals like Actis.
6. Know the Law

You have the right to own property as a Nigerian. All the same, the 1978 Land Use Act gives state governments authority over land within their borders. They in turn avail it to you after an intricate and bureaucratic process. You will then receive a certificate of occupancy to actually use the land i.e. sell it or develop it. Your right can also be denied if you are living in a place that is not your area of origin, which can be very subjective at the very least and can create ethnic tension.
7. Look to the future

There may not be basic infrastructure where your property of interest is currently at, but if it is in the line of the ever expanding urban areas, you can never go wrong. A few years down the line, you may sell it at millions over and above what you buy it for. Do not be too short-sighted.
8. Online Marketing

You cannot afford to ignore the Internet in this day and age. Whether it is having a website or maintaining a social media presence, the Web is one of the affordable ways to get traffic to your venture once it hits the ground running. If you want to attract buyers or sellers, online marketing could be your way to achieve this.

Mistakes can be made in the real estate market in Nigeria as in anywhere else and that is why one needs to practise patience and wise resolve. Remember, Nigeria is a developing market with great potential in sight.

The post 8 Steps to Successfully Invest in the Real Estate Sector in Nigeria appeared first on 9japroperty.

8 Steps to Successfully Invest in the Real Estate Sector in Nigeria

9japroperty — Fri, 04 Sep 2015 09:51:38 +0000

They say if something is expensive but worth it, you will find a way to get it. And property in regard to land and buildings is one thing that is worth your investment in the long term.

1. Research
If you are interested in the property market, there are great platforms to find information you need, including the mass media, online and around you. Talk to locals. Visit Google and relevant Nigerian property sites. Create Google alerts for search terms. This way, you will always be in the loop. You have to understand it before you can get into it. It is important to note that Real Estate information in Nigeria is scarce and thus requires effort on your part, whether you are in the country or abroad.

2. Decide on the specific property market
Depending on your goals, pick a sector that will benefit you more. It could be office, industrial property, retail centres or residential units. For instance, if you want speedy returns, investing in the residential market may not be for you. According to a developer in this BusinessDay article, a shopping mall in Nigeria is sold off before it is even complete while residential units take several years to actually sell out.

3. Identify booming real estate markets
They may not be booming now but owing to infrastructure development and ease of access to central business districts, that may be changing soon. Where a highway is constructed, it eases traffic and the working class tends to move in that direction, making it a worthy cause to build high-rises to rent out to them.
What does this mean? If you have identified residential real estate as your interest, you need to target the middle class. Nearly half of the middle class in Nigeria (people earning an average monthly income of N80,000–N100,000) are purchasing goods or planning to do so to improve their lives as years go by. This indicates a significant consumer boom.

4. Decide on where and how you will get finances
Depending on where you are in life, the source of financing may vary. It could be from friends and family or financial institutions. You could also have the money yourself. When you approach the bank or institution, make sure you know what you are doing. Your plan has to be viable enough to make them give you the money. As stated here last time, the Nigerian government secured a $300 million loan from the World Bank to establish Nigerian Mortgage Refinance Company (NMRC) at the beginning of 2014. Hopefully its effect in terms of liquidity and bank lending is being felt now. You could benefit.
Remember that property in the better parts of Lagos and similar upscale urban areas is as expensive as in some Western markets.

5. Get the details right
Be careful not to enter into deals with untrustworthy people. Talk to industry experts, a lawyer and make sure you get everything ironed out right from the federal government requirements down to the owner’s issues. It is another known fact that property scammers run amok in our big cities; pretending to sell houses whose owners are away, complete with fake title deeds. Beware. Get the advice of relevant professionals such as surveyors who will check out the property and advise you accordingly.
When you get down to the construction, enlist the services of architects and service engineers. Do not do things hurriedly only to incur unnecessary costs. The Knight Frank head in Africa was quoted saying that a building in Nigeria that is about 5 years old will look like a building that is 15 years older in Europe.
If you are a foreign investor at corporate level, the best thing is normally to partner with locals like Actis.

6. Know the Law
You have the right to own property as a Nigerian. All the same, the 1978 Land Use Act gives state governments authority over land within their borders. They in turn avail it to you after an intricate and bureaucratic process. You will then receive a certificate of occupancy to actually use the land i.e. sell it or develop it. Your right can also be denied if you are living in a place that is not your area of origin, which can be very subjective at the very least and can create ethnic tension.

7. Look to the future
There may not be basic infrastructure where your property of interest is currently at, but if it is in the line of the ever expanding urban areas, you can never go wrong. A few years down the line, you may sell it at millions over and above what you buy it for. Do not be too short-sighted.

8. Online Marketing
You cannot afford to ignore the Internet in this day and age. Whether it is having a website or maintaining a social media presence, the Web is one of the affordable ways to get traffic to your venture once it hits the ground running. If you want to attract buyers or sellers, online marketing could be your way to achieve this.

The post 8 Steps to Successfully Invest in the Real Estate Sector in Nigeria appeared first on 9japroperty.

Nigeria’s housing sector filled with uncertainties – Afolayan

9japroperty — Mon, 03 Aug 2015 08:33:20 +0000

Chief Olabode Afolayan is the immediate past President of the Real Estate Developers Association of Nigeria. In this interview with MAUREEN IHUA-MADUENYI, he advises the government to create a legal framework to accelerate land-related transactions

How is the current depreciation of the naira impacting real estate development?

In the last couple of months, it has been so terrible that business is becoming almost impossible and we have come to realise now that the cost of not doing anything is far cheaper and better than the cost of doing something. The cost of not doing anything is just to keep up with your running costs, but the cost of doing business is so unpredictable and difficult that it is higher than the cost of not doing anything.

These days, anything you do keeps changing and our projections are always changing. Recently, we got a job with a client to put up three-bedroom flats, six in a block and 18 blocks in total. We got it about five months ago, signed the contract and moved to site; but right now, the cost of the project, that is our own contract value together with the profit as of the time we signed the contract, is almost 70 per cent of the real cost. On daily basis, you see changes in the cost of building materials, even the locally sourced ones.

Even the saw millers are coming to complain about the cost of replacing their equipment. Developers are seriously affected because 90 per cent of construction-related materials are imported either in form of equipment or finished goods. Most of the doors in the market now are Chinese products; how do you fix that? The only thing that is close to certain now is the cost of labour and it also keeps changing because artisans now look at the value of a contract and bill you. In those days, you pay N500 to fix a China door; now, they charge as much as N2,000.

In the light of current economic realities, what should Nigerians expect from real estate developers?

As it stands today, people should see the prices of property as uncertain because what is happening is not giving anyone any direction other than uncertainty. As it stands now, it is almost getting beyond the reach of the average man. The middle class is almost completely eroded now, because not all of them can afford what is on ground. Even the so-called rent-to-own that is being introduced as a way of mortgage, how many people can afford it? How many people can afford to rent a decent one-bedroom apartment?

A one-bedroom apartment in Abuja, for instance, costs between N800,000 and N1m. Averagely, you are paying between N80,000 and N100,000 per month from your salary for a room; so, what is your salary? It shows that even a director in a ministry may not be able to rent a decent one-room apartment because he may not earn up to N200,000 or N300,000 a month; so, how can he meet up?

Property in Nigeria has been described as one of the most expensive in the world, even before the naira fluctuation. Why is this so?

One of the problems is the cost of land; all the factors of production are expensive, but most of them are tied to land. To get land far away in a remote village is even expensive. Titling is another problem because a land without a title is as good as nothing. To get title for your land is a big problem; the cost is very high and by the time you add all these, the final product goes up.

You also talk about infrastructure; no land in the country is in a way that you get good infrastructural development, which makes up a location. A plot of land in Lekki or any choice place in Lagos, for instance, will be a lot more expensive than in Mowe simply because of the infrastructure. By the time you spread this on the land and move to the cost of capital and how to raise funds for development, everything goes so high.

No bank gives loans on single digit interest; some give as much as 30 per cent. The other aspect is material; look at the cost of cement; we are in the raining season when we experience low construction activities but the price of cement is high. How about iron rod? Everything that has to do with building is so very high.

With the current state of the economy, is the country still in line for the predicted growth potential in the real estate sector?

The irony is that from time to time, there will be challenges; what makes the difference is the ability to live up to them and translate them into opportunities. For us, we are not losing out because we have come to see it as an opportunity. What we need to do, for those of us in the construction business, now that imported materials are getting out of reach, is to develop our own made in Nigeria materials. That is locally sourced materials that will give us affordable homes and stand the test of time.

A lot of focus has been on the challenges of the sector, what are its prospects?

The biggest prospect is our population. We have over 170 million people in Nigeria and everyone desires a home. Apart from the population, the demand is so high, meaning that if we can push a lot of products into the market, houses that are affordable will have a lot of prospects. The real estate sector in Nigeria still has prospects; once the products are affordable, they will be taken. The only thing now is for us to sit back and look at what the market needs.

What should investors look out for when investing in the real estate sector?

The basic thing is to identify the needs of the people and their means. Marry their needs to their means and get products that they will find affordable and useful. For instance, if I go to a village where we have primary and secondary school teachers, all I need to do is to identify them and offer them one to two-bedroom apartments and see what they can pay. What they can pay should be able provide the products.

Investors should always be careful about a potential market by clearly defining needs and means. The fact that you are married with children and need a three-bedroom apartment does not mean it must be provided; you should be able to afford it. That is why we are excited about the developments in the mortgage sub-sector in the past few months, the recapitalisation of the primary mortgage banks and the creation of the Nigeria Mortgage Refinance Company, which will provide liquidity for the sector.

It means anyone who has income overtime can apply for mortgage with which they can own a home.

As a developer, what are you expectations from the current government in terms of housing policies?

What I want this government to do is to see how they can make land more available and affordable. They should look at the process of land acquisition and titling; we don’t need to change the law, amending the law is also not enough, there should be the political will to enforce it. The government should encourage the provision and development of affordable homes by making land available on the basis of public-private partnership to reduce cost and turnaround time.

Government should also begin to provide guarantee to encourage employers to provide corporate guarantee for their employees. This will drive mortgage so that as soon as houses are provided, there will be enough transaction.

Finally, the government should create a legal framework to accelerate land-related transactions, including mortgages; this will make transactions a bit more liquid just like the way we do with selling cars, for instance. Land transactions should be easy so that people can invest their money in housing and tie their investments in real estate and convert them to liquid cash anytime they wish.

PUNCH.

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Govt, private sector should jointly train construction artisans —Asnani

9japroperty — Mon, 15 Jun 2015 09:09:36 +0000

Naresh Asnani is the chief executive officer, Emel, a building materials company. In this interview with MAUREEN IHUA-MADUENYI, he says Nigerian artisans should be encouraged to have pride in their jobs

How has it been doing business in Nigeria?

For me, Nigeria is what I know, Nigeria is what I love; I love doing business in Nigeria. I was born in Nigeria; I grew up here and my entire career, apart from the time I worked in America, has been in Nigeria. I love it here so much that I spend a lot of time away from my family in the United Kingdom. I love the business, I love the people and I love the opportunity, and I want Emel to make a difference in the kind of products and services we provide in the country and the way we treat people, both directly and indirectly.

Having spent some time in Nigeria, I am sure you are aware of the problems the construction industry is facing with regard to artisans. What is your view about this?

I think that it is all about neglected careers and a neglected category of people; they haven’t really been able to get training; they are treated as mere workers and that is one of the problems we are trying to address, especially when it comes to roofing.

We have brought in the world leading expert in roofing by the name of Robb, who has been to Nigeria three times and he is going to be coming every two to three months. He is training artisans on technical installation and what happens when you install wrongly. It is not only about correct installation; it is about what is important and what impact it will have when you do things correctly or wrongly, and it is a combination of giving them technical skills and also a sense of pride.

We are working on making them take pride in what they do; if artisans are confident, the work they do can make a difference whether now or in two years or 50 years without a leak; and beyond your job, this is very important. From our level, we are working on recognising the importance of the artisans and helping to train them and instil a sense of pride and importance in them both physically and emotionally.

How do you think the government and other stakeholders in the private sector can come in to help too?

I will like to see everyone do the same thing that we are doing; it is a combination of making people feel important about their jobs and making them feel a sense of pride in their jobs, and it is about training them and giving them the right skills.

This is something that every stakeholder in the private sector should be doing with the people they work with on construction, roofing, plumbing or masonry projects. Whatever it is, we should all engage them. We also look forward to the government guiding us; you know it is easier for people to do things when they have some indication from the government as to why they should do it.

We are creating employment, which is a big message for today’s government to create more employment for the skills set and the government should also look for ways to support us and how they can encourage us to do this more often. I think the government should engage in talks with the private sector on what they want done and how they can help. There is a need for exchange of ideas and roundtable discussions.

Considering the kind of weather in Nigeria, how well do you think imported roofing sheets such as Tilcor that you distribute can work here?

Our roofing tiles are made to withstand all kinds of weather conditions, be it extreme heat, humidity, wind or snow, it is the same thing. For us, we have extreme heat, heavy rains and sometimes we have strong winds just like it is in Lagos. When properly installed, these stone-coated steel roofing sheets can last for 50 years.

Our product has maybe two or three years warrantee like others in its class but we have durability and the protection will last longer whether in rain or heat; it is protected from extreme conditions. Aesthetically, it also looks fairly attractive than some other kinds of roofing.

Tilcor is from New Zealand and New Zealand also has extreme heat and rains; so, they actually test their products themselves and that is why theirs is one of the best stone-coated roofing tiles in the world. They conduct over 15 tests, including freezing and extreme heat, for example. So, these tests are done to see that the product can last and it can certainly withstand the heat of Nigeria and the occasional storms that we have. It is also made from strong raw materials.

So, what kind of roofing do you consider appropriate for Nigeria?

There is nothing like inappropriate roofing at the end of the day; there are different levels of durability and weather protectiveness. Stone-coated is among the highest. Of course, there are many other roofing sheets, which can be more economical depending on people’s budget. It is not a one size fits everybody; it depends on your pocket and how much durability and protection you want.

There are many options available in the market but it also depends on what you are building. If it is a house, stone-coated is the best option, but if you are building a warehouse for instance, you probably need aluminium sheets for that.

Does poor roofing play any role in building collapse?

I don’t think so; I am not an expert but by my knowledge, roofing cannot lead to a building collapse. Building collapse has to do with poor foundation but what poor roof installation does is that it leads to leakages during the life cycle of the property, which can lead to damage and maybe people suffering within their homes.

The importance of the roof is also like the ‘gele,’ so, it is important to put a good one in place because if there are issues with your roof, it is very inconvenient to reroof while you are inside the building. It means that you have to leave the house while the roof is done again; that is why it is important to go for durable products that can last for 50 years at least.

You are going to pass your roof to your next generation and it is always good to pass a good legacy. The roof may not lead to building collapse but it is an extremely important element when you are building your house to get a properly installed roof so that your family is also protected.

The number of local manufacturers of roofing tiles in the country is growing and so is the clamour for incentives to boost the local industry. As an importer, how do you cope with competition, especially now that some stone-coated roofing tiles are already very popular in the country?

To the best of my knowledge, local manufacturers are making long-span roofing sheets and not stone-coated; I am not 100 per cent sure but I think all the stone-coated roofs in the country are being imported. But we are setting up a factory in Nigeria; we are just waiting to see what policies the new government is coming up with to protect industries and the structures that will be put in place. We are happy to set up an industry provided that it is not in a way that people can replicate the products and sell; it doesn’t make sense.

In our current scenario, the raw materials that we are sourcing are very high quality and we also have to see how our partners can provide the same high quality to the Nigerian market. For instance, steel coils, which form the base of the tiles and the natural stones that we coat the tiles with are 100 per cent natural stones. Those are sourced from New Zealand and we have to see how we can source them locally before we begin manufacturing so that the raw materials are not compromised simply because we are manufacturing locally.

Currently, we are importing but we are also contributing to local content development through the training of the artisans to make them knowledgeable about the product and install according to world standard. We are raising their skills set to compare with roofers in any other part of the world. We have trained over 600 artisans; so, we are contributing to local content and local content development in the country.

How do you get the artisans to train?

We have an open training where all the people interested can come in. Our plan is to have Tilcor-trained artisans but not employed by us; they are freelancers. We are open to train as many as come forward and there are no requirements, you just have to be someone interested in developing yourself and take pride in what you are going to learn. We are also open to working with the government.

What is your assessment of the roofing industry in the country?

I think with the amount of construction that is happening and is going to happen in Nigeria, there are huge opportunities for all the roofing companies; there is a market for many kinds of roofing, a wonderful huge market opportunity for everyone. All I will just say to everyone is to get their products and installation right. It is an important job, make sure that your products and installation are of high quality.

PUNCH.

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Housing sector on track for growth ? Stakeholders

Oyinkansola Shote — Mon, 05 Jan 2015 14:36:35 +0000

In making projections for the New Year, stakeholders are of the opinion that some of the steps taken in 2014 will boost the growth of the housing and construction sector in 2015, MAUREEN IHUA-MADUENYI writes

Some of the problems plaguing the building and construction industry were largely identified in the year 2014, which was described as eventful by stakeholders.

According to them, identification of the problems will serve as the basis for policy making and implementation this year.

The President, Nigerian Society of Engineers, Mr. Ademola Olorunfemi, said,

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