The Nigerian Society of Engineers (NSE) says it will unveil alternative methods of construction that will be cheaper and durable.
NSE’s National Chairman, Mr Adem Ekpo-Bassey announced this on Wednesday in Abuja, when he addressed newsmen on the essence of its International Conference and Annual General Meeting tagged Unity 2017.
The theme of the 2-day conference is “Civil Infrastructure Development in a Challenging Economy.’’
He said that the society had to constitute committees to research and come up with low cost method of construction as Nigeria wriggled out of recession.
According to him, high cost of construction materials militate against infrastructural development; hence the need to research on the way forward.
“We choose the theme because we are just coming out of recession and infrastructural development is key to national development.
“We have to research to make sure that construction goes on in the midst of economic challenges.
“We are in a challenging economy and we have researched on how to engage less expensive material,’’ he said.
On his part, Mr Yakubu Garba, Chairman, Planning Committee, said that the society had come up with an alternative which could use smaller quantity of cement.
He said that the society had also come up with the recycling of asphalt instead of using new one.
Garba said that NSE would collaborate with the Council for the Regulation of Engineering in Nigeria (COREN) in checking building collapse.
“Most building projects do not engage engineers; we will seek for laws that would keep unqualified people out of building projects.
“Our finding shows that 80 to 85 per cent of building collapse in Nigeria is due to the involvement of qualified professionals.
“Nigerians need to be sensitised on this; whoever is embarking on a construction project should look for a professional, ‘’ he said.
He said that the comprehensive recommendation for cheaper construction would be unveiled at the conference.(NAN)
