Major Opportunities in Nigerian Construction Industry

This is my 3rd publication on Lamudi -Nigeria’s largest online property marketplace. We were recently enlisted as one of their columnist and in this post, I talked about Major Opportunities in Nigerian Construction Industry.

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Major Opportunities in Nigerian Construction Industry

Last year the Nigerian economy was declared the largest African economy. This is coming after Nigeria re-based its GDP from 1990 to 2010 resulting in an 89% increase in the estimated size of the economy surpassing South Africa.

The result of the exercise revealed a more diversified economy than previously thought and there are prospects in Nigeria for a sustained growth driven by an improved performance of key non-oil sectors such as: Agriculture, Information and Communication Technology, Trade and Services.

A major industry that will benefit from the performance of these non-oil sectors is the construction industry.

Why do I say so?

The construction industry is considered by some economists as a leading driver of economic development in a country. This is basically due to the fact that almost all other sectors of the economy in one way or another depend solely on the products and services of the construction industry in order to carry out their operations.

Unfortunately its contribution to the Nigerian GDP and employment of labour is still very low compared to what is obtainable from other developed Nations. But these will soon rise because of the recent focus of government to investments on infrastructural developments which are currently attracting foreign investors with the attendant benefit of increase in construction activities.

The following are pointers to the fact that the construction industry is receiving a major boost.

1. Massive demands for buildings across all sectors of the economy.
2. Recent focus on infrastructural development by federal and state governments.
3. The adoption of privatization and commercialization as instruments of federal government policy.
4. The tightening of regulations relating to how business is done in Nigeria.

Despite these pointers there are still major challenges bedeviling the construction industries such as;

• Shortage of skilled man power
• Difficulties in the procurement of plants and equipment
• Inadequate capital for execution of projects
• Lack of training and development institute that can help to sharpen the skills and ability of construction workers.

With all the constraints, the Nigerian Construction industry still has the capacity of becoming the largest construction markets in the world.

According to forecast made by Global Construction Perspective and Oxford Economics “from 2009 to 2020, only Nigeria and India will enjoy higher growth rates than China (who is no 1 in the world) in their construction output.”

Therefore enormous career opportunities exist in the construction industry.

Major Developments in the Nigerian Economy that offer Career Opportunities

The following developments and projects can prove the opportunities in the construction industry in Nigeria;

1. Middle class expansion: There is a gradual middle class population expansion in Nigeria and these expansions demands a significant amount of construction work especially in the residential sectors.
2. Foreign Direct Investments: The gradual increase of foreign investors demands an increase in construction activities on areas such as; infrastructures provisions, residential apartments, company and office spaces, industries etc.
3. New Housing Policies: The recent introduction of housing policies will definitely boost construction activities in the country and also provide a lot of constructions sub jobs for workers and builders.
4. Lagos Mega City: For some time Lagos has witnessed large scale infrastructural investment as a result of the Mega city project and this is bound to increase with the planned;

• Construction of a light rail system in the city to facilitate transportation.
• Construction of 10,000 flats in Lekki Peninsula.
• Expansion of the Lagos-Badagry Expressway into an eight-lane expressway, which will help with trans-west African transportation.
• Construction of an Eco Atlantic City on the waterfront. Etc. Some states that have a lot of economic and commercial activities has started to make the areas a mega cities and this venture will definitely boost a lot of construction activities.

5. Abuja Technology Village: This is a project that is currently being planned in the outskirts of the city of Abuja. The village will serve as a hub for most information technology, pharmaceutical, biotechnology related businesses and research in Nigeria, like the Silicon Valley is to the US. The development consists of several buildings, bridges and roads designed to provide a world class city that fosters collaboration among the inhabitants of the village.

6. Nigerian Railway Expansion Projects: There are ongoing railway expansion projects in Nigeria. The expansion of the rail infrastructure promises to create a significant amount of work to many Nigerians and further help the development of the economy

Do you know any more construction or development projects in Nigeria that offer good opportunities? What are your ideas on the construction industry in Nigeria, share with us on the comment boxes below.