By
Engr. Olugbenga Olajubu
B.Eng.(IL); M.Eng. (IL), M.N.S.E; COREN
Reg.C.E.O. Lajub Nig.
Ltd
•
Civil engineering is a professional engineering discipline
that deals with the design, construction and maintenance of
the physical and naturally built environment, including
works such as bridges, roads, canals, dams and buildings.
Civil engineering is the oldest engineering discipline after
military engineering; it was defined to distinguish nonmilitary engineering from military engineering. It is
traditionally broken into several sub-disciplines including
environmental engineering, geotechnical engineering,
structural engineering, transportation engineering, water
resources engineering, materials engineering, coastal
engineering, surveying, and construction engineering. Civil
engineering takes place at all levels: in the public sector
from local governments through to federal levels, and in the
private sector from individual homeowners through to
corporate organizations.
•
•
Engineering has been an aspect of life since the beginnings of
human existence. Civil engineering might be considered properly
commencing between 4000 and 2000 BC in ancient Egypt and
Mesopotamia when humans started to abandon a nomadic
existence, thus causing a need for the construction of shelter.
During this time, transportation became increasingly important
leading to the development of the wheel and sailing.
The construction of Pyramids in Egypt (circa 2700-2500 BC) might
be considered the first instances of large structure constructions.
Other ancient historic civil engineering constructions include the
Parthenon by Iktinos in Ancient Greece (447-438 BC), the Appian
Way by Roman engineers (c. 312 BC), and the Great Wall of China
by General Meng T'ien under orders from Ch'in Emperor Shih
Huang Ti (c. 220 BC). The Romans developed civil structures
throughout their empire, including especially aqueducts,
harbours, bridges, dams and roads.
•
•
Until modern times, there was no clear distinction
between civil engineering and architecture, and the
term engineer and architect were mainly geographical
variations referring to the same person, often used
interchangeably. In the 18th century, the term civil
engineering began to be used to distinguish it from
military engineering.
Civil engineering today deals with bridges, roads,
buildings, railways, airports, seaports, water supply,
irrigation, dams, environmental sewer flood control,
transportation, telecommunications and traffic to
mention a few. In essence, civil engineering maybe
regarded as the profession that makes the world a
more agreeable and comfortable place to live.
•
The aim of this lecture is to examine the challenges
in civil engineering construction practices as it
operates in Nigeria. It is therefore essential to
understand what construction practice means.
Wikipedia describes construction as a process of
building or assembling of infrastructures like
buildings, roads, airports, and others earlier
mentioned. It involves planning and execution of
designs produced by architects, engineers and
other professionals like quantity surveyors. It is
not a single activity. It is multifaceted. The
knowledge and experience required for each
project vary; it depends on the size, location and
complexity of the project.
•
Construction practices in a developing country like Nigeria
differ significantly in important aspects from practices in
industrialized or developed countries. Even in Nigeria, the
greatest challenge facing professionals in the field is that the
practice of construction is not uniform. It varies with the
client, size or complexity of the project from the perspective
of the owners. In order words, construction practice is the
process of handling the whole project from conception to
completion. Construction practice cannot be limited to
actual construction. It involves design, approval and
planning which we refer to as “Pre Contract” then the
physical construction and maintenance, which we refer to as
“Post Contract”. For the purpose of this lecture, the
discussion will be limited to construction activities of the
following clients




Private individuals
Corporate organizations
Government (Local, State, Federal)
Universities
These constitute the highest percentage of
clients in Nigeria. The projects handled under
this category are mainly buildings of various
sizes, storm water drainage, access gates to
estates, petrol stations e.t.c. We also have a vast
majority of small building renovation projects
such as addition of a room or renovation of a
bathroom.
•
•
The Local Government Town Planning Authority is the
prescribed authority with jurisdiction over approval of
designs. A private individual contacts an architect or
draughtsman to put up the drawings and submit for
approval. The requirements for approval of new
developments are not stringent for residential
bungalows. For multistory buildings, a signed
structural drawing must be included with the
architectural drawings. Services drawings are not
considered important. Other developments like petrol
stations attract additional requirements, but there is no
uniformity. The omission of these details put the
projects in precarious situations because; the developer
or contractor will have to use his initiative and
experience where detailed drawings are not available.
•
In most cases, there is little or no planning. At this stage, there is
the need to consult a quantity surveyor, whose duty is to calculate
the overall cost of the project and advice the owner on material
and labour requirements for each stage of the project. Most private
individuals do not see the need for this stage. In most cases, these
types of construction works are residential bungalows for
personal use. The owner contracts a bricklayer or carpenter while
he and his family act as labourer, paymaster and design team for
the whole project. The absence of concrete financial planning is a
major challenge to both the homeowner and contractor. Most
times such projects are not completed in good time; some are
abandoned and sold later to a buyer who does not know the
quality of work done on the project. The cycle continues. In some
cases however for the very literate private house owner, a
professional is brought in on unofficial basis to advice on specific
areas when they run into problems or foresee a problem.
•
A variant of these group of individual property owners
who is desirous of embarking on complex multistory
buildings or special projects like hotels, petrol stations
go a little further by inviting a “contractor” who most
times are non professionals. The naturally intelligent
ones among these ‘’contractors” get by and complete
the project after a lot of hassles but at what cost and
anxiety
•
•
•
The role of the town planning authority ends with approval
of the development. In most cases, the inspection unit of the
planning authority only checks if there is an approved
drawing. Supervision and quality control is the
responsibility of the homeowner. The proliferation of nonprofessionals in the field is encouraged by private
developers. You can hardly separate an engineer from a
pseudo engineer.
The lack of control is responsible for incessant collapse of
buildings and fire outbreaks across the country. The only
improvement in recent times is in Lagos State of Nigeria
where the owner is compelled to name a qualified engineer
who is responsible for the quality of work done.
The advantage, which the private individuals enjoy in
handling projects without consulting a professional, is just a
personal belief that he has saved money. However, he
gained nothing.
•
The clients that fall under this category are banks,
insurance companies, multinational manufacturing
companies, oil companies, telecommunication giants
and others too numerous to mention. Construction
practices in corporate organizations are more
organized. The challenges here are not complex
because they have laid down procedures and
standards. These procedures vary for different
organizations. Development of infrastructure in many
organizations is precipitated on the need for
maintenance or expansion, which is conceived and
approved by the relevant authority within the
organization.
•
Corporate organizations employ the services of relevant
professionals in the design and planning of their
renovations or new developments. Although they seldom
advertise in the dailies for the services of these consultants.
The consultants approach these organizations for
registration in their fields of specialization. The
organizations appraise their resumes. Sometimes they invite
them for interviews. After the appraisal, if the organization
is convinced that they are competent, they will be registered
and called upon when the need arises. In some cases,
however some organizations invite consultants with proven
record of performance in their area of specialty. However, it
is worthy to note that, most corporate organisations are
interested in quality and competence of consultants.
•
Whenever these organizations embark on projects, a
team of consultants or in-house professionals is
assembled, comprising of the architect, structural
engineer, services engineer, quantity surveyor and any
other professional whose expertise is required in other
to achieve the set objectives optimally. The consultants
will set to work within the scope of their brief and in
compliance with peculiar specifications of the client.
The architect and engineers produce drawings while
the quantity surveyor produces the Bill of Quantities,
which includes the specifications of the clients.
•
•
•
•
•
Some very big organizations like oil companies
and banks have these professionals in the
establishment. In cases like these, for routine
projects they do not employ consultants.
Nevertheless, a complete set of comprehensive and
detailed contract documents is available for
consideration of the organization. Typical contract
documents are
Architectural Drawings
Structural Drawings
Services Drawings
Bill of Quantities (B.O.Q) / Bill of Engineering
Measurement (B.M.E)
•
At the end of this exercise, the client is in a position
to know the probable cost of the project as well as
the financial commitment required for each stage.
If the design is not within their budget, it is
possible at this stage to prune down the project, or
divide it into phases. Some organizations even go
as far as delaying the project until adequate funds
is available. The drawings produced are subject to
the approval of the Local Government Town
Planning Authority within which the new
development is located. The major challenge here
is that it is difficult for a new engineering outfit to
break into the system. The older generation of
consultants monopolizes these set of clients.
•
The procedure for award of contract is similar to that of
commissioning of consultants. The invitations of
contractors here is at the discretion of the company.
They do not place advertisement for this purpose in the
dailies. Contractors invited are from a data bank of
previously registered contractors or specialists in the
area under consideration. The tenders submitted by the
contractors are analysed by the consultants, while
recommendations are made to the client who awards
the contract to the most suitable contractor by their
standards. The challenges here for contractors are
similar to that of the consultants. Unless there is an
insider who is convinced about the competence of the
incoming contractor, it is difficult to get patronage
from this group of clients. It is not an all comers affair.
•
The contractor here is a professional and he is
expected to submit a programme of works
showing the beginning and completion of each
item of work. The process and progress of
work is monitored vigorously by the
consultants or in –house professionals. The
materials used are subjected to scrutiny for
compliance with specifications while the
method and skill of construction is monitored.
Concisely construction is practiced in the way
it should be. The details of this practice will be
discussed later.
•
In this category, we have the three tiers of
government namely, The Local Government, State
Government and Federal Government. The
challenges here are monumental. Construction
practice in these three tiers of government varies
and until very recently there is no transparency in
the system. Each arm of government operates a
convenient method of design, planning, award and
supervision of construction works in the three tiers
of government. However since the stability
brought by democracy there is a semblance of
order and control.
•
•
Each arm of government has departments or ministries
charged with handling new developments or renovations.
At the local government, level there is a Director of Works
who heads the Works Department. This department is
charged with the responsibility of producing working
drawings, bill of quantities or bill of engineering
measurement. They are also charged with advising the Local
Government Chairmen and the executive on the planning
and execution of the development. It is very rare for a local
government to employ the services of consultants for their
projects. The contract documents are prepared by the works
department where the various professionals required for
efficient delivery of such services are absent or not
employed. These documents are not detailed in most cases.
The quality and standard of the drawings depends largely
on the experience and competence of the Director of works.
•
The state ministry of works is responsible for
producing contract documents for the various states. In
some cases, other special ministries like “The Ministry
of Water Resources” exist in some states. These
ministries still rely on the ministry of works for inputs
into their projects. The procedure adopted in the past
does not follow any pattern. Sometimes consultants are
commissioned to produce drawings and other contract
documents while in some cases, the professionals in the
ministry produce these drawings and documents on
their own. However, in the last few years, there is an
improvement. ‘Due Process’ has been introduced. The
new Procurement Act of 2007 has given the guidelines
on design and award of contracts. Regrettably, not all
the states have complied with this directive.
•
In this new dispensation, when a project is
conceived, the state government advertises for
interested consultants who are registered with the
state to express their interest. These consultants
submit the relevant documents as advertised.
Their submission will be analyzed and a team of
consultants will be assembled. The procedure is
quite similar to the process discussed under
corporate organizations. The major difference is
that advertisements are placed in a national
newspaper for the state government contracts
while the corporate bodies do not advertise theirs.
•
Previously at the federal level, there was no
transparency. Each ministry fashions its procedure
to meet certain political and personal interest.
There is now an improvement in the system; the
procedure for the Federal Government contracts
now follows the procurement act of 2007 strictly.
Unlike the state government contracts, all contracts
are advertised. Consultants and contractors are
prequalified for each project while detailed
drawings and other tender documents are
produced. Geotechnical investigations are not
taking into consideration always.
•
At the local government level, there is no
prequalification of contractors. Once the tender
documents are ready, an advert is placed for
contractors who are registered with the particular
local government to pay the stipulated tender fees.
The only document available in most cases is a Bill
of Quantities, which is priced and submitted
within the stipulated time. The tender analysis and
consideration for award lies primarily with the
director of works and chairman of the local
government. Contract award is not transparent
despite the new procurement act. It is still subject
to political interest and patronage.
•
•
Contract award at the state or federal level is more tedious. A
contractor who is desirous of working for these two tiers of
government must register in a category of its choice. When the
contract documents are ready, an advert for
‘PREQUALIFICATION OF CONTRACTORS” is placed in at least
two (2) national newspapers. However, as stipulated by law, these
adverts must be placed in ‘The Construction Journal’. However, it
is only the Federal government that complies strictly with this
directive. Most state governments limit their adverts to the dailies
while some do not even advertise at all. The requirements for
prequalification are listed, while only prequalified contractors are
invited to pay for tender documents.
At the state level, some other considerations come to play before a
contractor is chosen. However, at the federal level, the lowest
tender received is automatically considered for award. There are
still some sharp practices in the industry but the situation is
improving.
•
•
A myriad of problems plague government contracts. At the
state level, the quality of the contract documents produced
reflects very strongly on the level of planning. These
qualities can be adjudged as just average for some states
while it is below average in most states. The wish of the
governor in most cases takes precedence over all other
considerations however technical. A good number of
contractors also are non-professionals, while the
bureaucracy on the part of government hinders the smooth
running of contracts.
It is important to note at this junction that the major
hindrance to planning on government projects is funding. It
is very unpredictable. If a project is not included in the
budget, it will not go beyond the design stage and if it is an
ongoing project, it will be abandoned.
•
•
At the Federal government level, there is a
deliberate attempt to improve on the performance
at the state level. The quality of contract
documents is higher while the planning is
improving daily. However, the effect of funding
and bureaucracy is still the same.
The quality of supervision is very high when
consultants are employed. However, whenever the
in house professionals are in charge of supervision,
their performance is tainted with bureaucracy.
This impact negatively on the project.
•
•
There are three categories of universities namely, private, state
and federal universities. Construction practice and its challenges
in most state universities compare favourably with the operations
of the owner states; it is therefore be unnecessary to discuss them
here. The pattern of administration in the private universities
varies considerably. Each private university has its own
peculiarities. Discussing them collectively will not be appropriate.
The emphasis here will be on Federal Universities.
The federal government is responsible for the new developments
or maintenance of structures on federal universities. However,
other agencies like Education Tax Fun (ETF), banks and other
donors contribute to physical development. Each university has a
governing council that oversees the affairs of the university on
behalf of the federal government.
•
•
•
•
•
Each University has a Physical Lanning Unit (P.P.U) under the
office of the Vice Chancellor. This unit as the name implies is
responsible for the development of new structures on the
campuses. While the works department is in charge of
maintenance of infrastructure
When the university is desirous of embarking on a new project,
the physical planning unit receives directives from the
administration. The unit will liaise with the users / department
who will benefit from the development to take inventory of their
requirements and peculiarities. At this stage, the university may
decide to employ the services of consultants or use their in – house
professionals for the design. There is no uniformity in the
operations of the universities in this regard. The various options
adopted are:
Some universities engage the services of consultants most of the
time and sparingly use in house professionals for their designs
Some university use only in house professionals
Some use combine in house professionals from the physical
planning unit and lecturers from relevant departments of the
university.
•
The good thing is that the quality of the contract documents is
always very high and detailed in most universities, but
geotechnical investigations are usually not carried out. Only a
handful of them use incomplete documents. After the completion
of the contract documents, most universities would have an idea
of the range of probable cost of the project before proceeding to
other stages. Planning is easier in the university system because
the academic environment dictates orderliness. The law
establishing them creates procedures for achieving their
objectives. Secondly, most of them have a master plan. The
academic area is distinct from the residential area. There are
further subdivisions to faculties and administrative areas. This
does not mean that the university system does not have its own
challenges. The peculiarities of the personalities of each
administrator have its own effects on the management of the
construction of infrastructures but the checks and balances of the
university system still makes it more conducive.
•
•
•
•
Until very recently, the governing council of each university is the body
that awards contracts. The idea of inviting contractors to tender for
projects through advertisement in the dailies was not common. However,
the method used in inviting contractors for tender and award vary for the
different universities. The only thing they share in common is that any
contractor desirous of being considered must register with the Federal
Ministry of Works and the university in the appropriate category. Some
of the methods employed are
Some universities place adverts on their notice boards within the physical
planning unit and the administrative block. This is common with the first
generation universities
Some universities go for selective tendering procedure. In this case, the
few contractors considered receive letters of invitation to tender.
The tenders collected are submitted to the office of the registrar after
pricing. The consultants will analyze these tenders and submit their
report to the physical planning unit for scrutiny. The reports of the
consultants and the physical planning unit are merely for technical
considerations. The management of each university will study the reports
and forward their decisions to the governing council.
•
•
•
•
In some institutions, only contractors that fall within a range of the
consultant’s estimates are given further considerations. While
some institutions still considers the tender of all the contractors
before a decision is taken.
The tender’s board, headed by the Chairman of the governing
council will consider the reports and award the contract to any
contractor of their choice.
In some universities however, the contractors are invited for
further interview and negotiations. Technical issues are discussed
with a view of getting an insight into the professional competence
of each contractor. It is however difficult to understand the
principles that guide their choice of contractor.
However, the method of planning and award of contract in the
university system has witnessed major changes. A few years ago,
“Due process” was introduced, and very recently, the
procurement act of 2007 has increased the transparency in the
award of contracts. All federal universities now operate a uniform
method in the planning and award of contracts.


It is the duty of the physical planning unit to ensure
that all projects are properly managed with or without
consultants. Most universities do not employ
consultants for resident supervision. Nevertheless, they
still give instructions on site anytime their attention is
required. The university appoints a clerk of works who
is responsible to the director of physical planning. His
duty is to ensure that the contractor adheres to
specifications and carries out the construction as
designed.
The contractor submits a programme of work in line
with his previous completion period during tendering.
The feasibility of the programme is discussed and
amendments are made without changing the period of
construction.
•
•
Building construction is the commonest in the university
system. We have occasional estate roads, dams or other
structures. Professionals are in charge of every aspect of the
construction. For a building project, the architect is the
leader of the team while the structural and service engineers
are available for their inputs. The quantity surveyor carries
out a valuation at the instance of the contractor. An
architects’ certificate is issued for every valuation and sent
to the physical planning unit for processing.
In cases where fund is available, these certificates are
honoured in reasonable time. The project is completed and
commissioned. However, some universities award contracts
on the projection of expected funds. These projects run into
difficulties because, without funding, the contracts get
abandoned. We have many of such projects in some
universities.
•
Quality control is very important to the university
system. All materials are inspected before the
contractor uses them. Periodic test on the strength
of concrete (Cube Test) are carried out. While the
specimen of reinforcement are subjected to tensile
strength test. Other materials for finishing are
inspected and approved. In addition, the
management of contracts in the universities does
not give room for a shoddy execution. There are
periodic site meetings, which addresses and
controls issues relating to quality of materials and
workmanship.
•
•
•
•
•
•
Post contract is the professional terminology used
for all activities carried out when actual
construction work starts. The challenges here are
too numerous and complicated because of the
financial implications and control of construction
personnel. Some of these are
Quality of construction materials
Source of equipments
Availability of qualified and competent workers
Proliferation of experienced artisans into the field
of engineering
Finance
•
•
•
The assemblage or mixing of different construction
materials is the art of construction. Therefore, it is
very important that these materials must conform
to specifications. However, it is very sad that
Nigeria is just a dumping ground for various
materials and equipments. There is no control on
the quality of locally produced or imported
materials. This factor affects the infrastructure
negatively on completion. Primary construction
materials, which are common to all construction
projects, are:
•
Cement is one of the commonest building
materials. Elephant and Dangote cement are
locally manufactured. They dominate the
market, while there are other brands. These
products are good but some unscrupulous
individuals adulterate and re-bag them. This
affects the setting time and overall strength of
concrete and mortar. In order to augment local
production, cement is imported. Experience
has shown that the strength these brands of
cement are not uniform. The initial setting time
vary considerably.
•
•
•
This is a major challenge because it is not possible to know
the manufacturers at the point of purchase. The size and
quality is a joint problem. Common sizes in the industry are
8, 10, 12, 16, 20, 25mm. However, these are sizes in name
only. 10mm rods has many varieties namely, 9mm, 9.5mm
or full 10mm. 12mm has 11mm, 11.5mm and full 12mm.
There are at least two or three varieties of each size. There is
further subdivision of local and imported reinforcement,
which cannot be verified.
Occasionally when samples of reinforcement were taken to
the laboratory for testing. The tensile strengths were found
to be lower than design strength.
Availability and cost are the major problem for structural
steel members. Structural engineering consultants are
constrained by the limited size and type of members
available in the market.
•
•
There are two types of aggregates; coarse aggregates
refer to granite chippings or gravel. While fine
aggregate is supposed to be river sand. Granite
chippings are manufactured mechanically and locally,
it should be free from dust, loam, silt, clay and other
impurities. The source of worry here is mainly
availability, we have occasional bad chippings, but it is
easy to detect. However, fine aggregate to be used for
mortar and concrete shall be clean, sharp natural pit or
river sand. River sand is very scarce. In upland states,
river dredging is uncommon. What is referred to as
river sand does not meet all the qualities of the sand
specified for construction works.
•
Other materials used for construction are,
aluminum roofing sheets, doors, mortise locks,
electrical cables and fittings, sanitary wares,
asphalt, paints e.t.c. We have various
manufactures for these materials, but the
quality of their products differs significantly.
Most of them are substandard because the
country does not have an efficient regulatory
body to enforce compliance with international
standards. The professional in the construction
industry is at the receiving end.
•
•
The big multinational companies do not seem to have any
problem in this regard. However, the bulk of other indigenous
contracting companies who do not need major equipments like
bulldozers, vibrating rollers, excavators for more than a few days
at a time face hardship in locating equipments in good working
condition. It is extremely difficult even if you have the money to
pay. Basic equipments like concrete mixers, concrete vibrators,
survey equipments, small lifting devices, cranes, vibrating rollers,
pavers and other equipments are common to all contracting firms.
Availability of spare parts and high cost of maintenance is the
only major challenge.
In addition to the above, Indigenous contracting companies are
not benefiting from latest developments that have taken place on
equipments worldwide. In developed countries, equipmentleasing companies complement these disadvantages in the
construction industry. But leasing outfits are not common in the
country. The fact that we are still placing concrete manually on
multi storey buildings is not good enough. Concrete pumps and
small lifting devices should be available at affordable prices.
•
•
These are two major problems in the construction
industry. Fluctuations are caused by increased in the
cost of materials while variations occur when a
contractor carries out additional works, which are not
included in the BOQ.
The price of materials fluctuates without notice or
reason. This becomes a major problem for the
contractor because most clients insist on nonfluctuating contracts despite the fact that we are all
aware that prices fluctuate. The time lag between
tendering and award of contract is not fixed. It is very
common for the prices of materials to have fluctuated
even before the project commences. The financial losses
incurred by contracting firms in this regard are a major
source of concern.
•
Corporate clients as earlier discussed pay
fluctuations and variations claims. It is extremely
difficult but not impossible for a contractor to
claim for fluctuation on state government and
federal government contracts. In the university
system, variation claims are paid, if it is properly
handled and approved by the consultants.
However, fluctuation claims are not entertained at
all. The combined effects of fluctuations and
variations in the construction industry can be
severe and detrimental to the overall completion of
projects.
•
•
The inadequacy of competent work force is another major
challenge in the industry. The quality of recent graduates is
declining. Training facilities are running short while
incessant strikes in our education system leads to poor
education. It is so bad that you cannot trust a trainee
engineer on a simple task. This factor indirectly encouraged
the proliferation of experienced artisans who pose as
engineers to unsuspecting clients and employers. The
problem caused by incompetent workforce is that expected
basic engineering knowhow is lacking.
For instance, an engineer on a road project is expected to
know that asphalt laid below the given temperature will
quicken deterioration of the road surface. He is also
expected to identify bad laterite for earthworks even before
laboratory tests.
•
•
•
Likewise, on a building project, an engineer should acquaint
himself with the use of basic tools like tape, builders’ plums,
squares, bricklayers range and a host of others. He is also
expected to know the setting time of concrete and
workability for various uses; he should be conversant with
lap lengths suitable for the various sizes of reinforcement.
An average engineer on any project is therefore expected to
have a reasonable understanding of the various
components: electrical and mechanical works. The
incompetence of the site engineer or supervising consultant
affects their employers negatively and the client generally
on the successful completion of the project.
The training of artisans has also dropped. Apprentice
artisans are not available. This has led to insufficient artisans
in all categories. While the volume of work available is
increasing daily, the numbers of artisans are decreasing.
•
•
•
The aim of any individual pursuing a carrier in civil
engineering is to be able to generate enough money to live
comfortably. The financial difficulties in the industry are so
staggering that achieving the objective is a mirage.
Bureaucracy by civil servants leads to delay in payment to
both the contractors and the consultants. This is common to
all tiers of government and university. Only corporate
organisations pay for services rendered as and when due.
Inadequate budgeting for ongoing projects is another
mitigating factor. To compound these problems, banks are
not willing to fund contractors because of bad loans.
The combined effect of all these factors on the industry
creates a crippling effect. This accounts for a high
percentage of abandoned projects.
•
•
In summary, the challenges facing the civil
engineering construction in Nigeria are many
ranging from: (a) modalities of achieving
contracting documents, (b) poor planning, (c)
lack of transparency in the award of contracts
(d) the presence of unqualified individuals
posing as professionals in the industry, (e)
inadequacy of finance (f) declining competence
of trained professionals and artisans.
•
•
•
•
•
However, these challenges can be alleviated:
Implementing the procurement act of year 2007 at
all levels of government and agencies involved in
infrastructural development
Improve budgeting and implementation
Reduction of bureaucracy in the planning and
implementation of new developments
Adopting the points and suggestions raised in the
communiqué issued at the end of the 2009 Annual
General Meeting of the Nigerian Institution of
Civil Engineers in Abuja which was published in
“The Punch Newspaper” of 17th November, 2009.
Some of these include;
•
•
•
*Improving and domesticating all codes and
standards of civil engineering with a need for
National civil engineering codes of practice.
*Organisations responsible for infrastructural
development should imbibe the culture of
training and retraining their personnel.
*Government should make geotechnical
investigations mandatory for all civil
engineering projects because it is a major
parameter in the failure of engineering
investigations.
Thank you for listening