Lagos – Mr Lewis Ladipo, Chairman, Nigerian Institute of Architects (NIA) Lagos Branch, on Monday decried the poor relationship that exists between the local real estate operators and their foreign counterparts.
Ladipo told the News Agency of Nigeria. (NAN) in Lagos that there was little or no cooperation between the local and foreign operators in the building/construction industry.
He said that the foreign construction companies had failed to obey the building/construction laws and codes that regulate their existence and operations in Nigeria.
According to him, the building laws and codes provide that any foreign construction company coming into the country must be identified with a local company before it can operate.
He said that the law also stated that local construction companies should be the major executors of the project and should outline the modalities for executing the project being handled in the country.
“This implies that no foreign construction company can come into Nigeria to operate wholly on its own.
“It must collaborate with a local company who is supposed to be the partner in any project the foreign company wants to execute.
“This is because the local operator knew the environment, the citizens and their needs better than the strangers
“Unfortunately, government, organisations and private individuals feel that the foreign contractors are more capable than the local ones and continue to award contracts to them,” he said.
Ladipo said Nigeria had capable professionals in the building industry who were even better than the foreigners, adding that the they only needed financial empowerment to be proficient in their services delivery.
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“What makes foreign operators and contractors seeming to be better is because they have the financial capacity to secure all the expensive machinery needed.
“If local operators can be empowered and enabling environment provided it will boost their performance,” he said
Ladipo urged the government and the public to always ensure that they engage certified local professionals in all their building and construction works for better result. (NAN)