High Commodities Prices Affecting Construction Industry, Surveyors Cry Out

The Nigerian Institute of Quantity Surveyors (NIQS) has said that the increase in prices of commodities is affecting the construction industry in Nigeria.

According to NIQS, every player in the industry is crying, adding that they must come together to find a solution.

To this end, NIQS said it is training its members to adapt with the present realities.

Speaking at a workshop in Abuja, the deputy president of NIQS, Kene Nzekwe, said they are seeking for modern ways of boosting the capacities of surveyors, as the prevailing dynamics in the construction industry necessitated the training.

“The prices of commodities all over the world have gone up and that has a direct impact on the construction industry and players in this sector, including contractors, clients and, of course, those of us who are like arbiters, need to upscale our capacities,” Nzekwe said.

Speaking further, Nzekwe disclosed that “The Nigerian Institute of Quantity Surveyors, in our effort to continue to upscale the capacity of our members, decided to put this workshop together on construction claims.

“This is because before now, we carried a survey among our members on what area would they want us to upscale their capacity and this is one of the areas they indicated interest.

“The prices of commodities all over the world have gone up and that has a direct impact on the construction industry and players in this sector, including contractors, clients and, of course, those of us who are like arbiters, need to upscale our capacities.”

Nzekwe added, “This is to ensure that at the end of the day, anyone who suffers damage by way of claims, can get some kind of compensation when all the issues are put on the table. That is what this workshop intends to achieve.”

He said the workshop would make members of the NIPR have confidence in rendering quality advice to both clients and contractors on issues that had to do with construction claims.

“Now it is important to state that construction claims vary depending on the project size and contents of the contract. It is not fixed but depends on the nature of the contract and details in the contract document,” he stated.

The NIQR official added, “Now, the inflation in Nigeria has affected a lot of things and contracts and claims in the construction sector are not excluded.”