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FG approves new cement standards

By on April 17, 2014

In a bid to check the spate of building collapse in the country, the Federal Government has approved new standards for the cement industry.

The Minister of Industry, Trade and Investment, Mr. Olusegun Aganga, disclosed this on Tuesday in Abuja while speaking at the second Lafarge National Dialogue Series.

The conference, with the theme: ‘Building collapse: An assessment of building practices in Nigeria and the imperative for sustainable construction’, was attended by stakeholders in the building construction industry.

Aganga said with the review of the standards in the cement industry, Nigerians would not have to bother about the building construction-related hazards.

The minister did not provide details of the standards, but said the nation had arrived at a turning point for greater development.

He added that the government was leaving no stone unturned in its efforts at establishing quality standards in the country.

Aganga said, “The heightened consciousness of quality and standards is indeed a timely paradigm shift in the economy. As instrument of positive change, we are responding appropriately to the incidences and occurrences as they arise, while working assiduously to prevent others from ever occurring.

“Reviewed standards for the cement industry will soon be published as these have received the approval of the council. No more shall we witness the worrisome spate of building construction-related hazards.”

Represented by the Permanent Secretary in the ministry, Ambassador Abdulkadir Musa, the minister said the challenge that building collapse was imposing on the nation in terms of increased cost of construction and project delivery time as well as the number of lives lost was a source of concern to the government.

Also speaking at the event, the Executive Vice-President and Country Chief Executive, Lafarge Group, Mr. Guillaume Roux, said the company would provide solutions to support urbanisation and the growing population of the country.

He said the company’s commitment to the well being of its customers culminated in the innovation towards re-awakening of the industry on the need to tackle the menace of building collapse.

Roux said the National Building Code, which came into force in 2006, needed not only be accepted by all stakeholders, but should also be fully implemented.

He said, “People should be held accountable and properly sanctioned for any incidence of building collapse, just as the government needs to set in motion necessary legislation to compensate victims.

“The quest for the establishment of a construction industry commission as an umbrella regulatory body of various professional bodies in the instruction sector should also be given due consideration by the government.”

He said the theme of the conference was carefully chosen in order to clear the air on the ongoing debate about cement quality and building collapse in the country.

The Lafarge boss said professionals were unanimous on the assertion that building collapse was as a result of poor application of materials and building practices, adding that cement quality was not in any way responsible for the menace.

The Director-General, Nigeria Building and Road Research Institute, Prof. Danladi Matawal, called on stakeholders to step up the level of supervision in order to curb the problem of building collapse.

For instance, he said with improved supervision of the construction process, the government had been able to reduce the menace in Lagos by 50 per cent.

In Abuja, the DG said no incident of building collapse was recorded in 2013.

 

 

[Punch]