Current Trends in Construction in Nigeria Essay Example for Free

Current Trends in Construction in Nigeria Essay I work in a building and civil engineering Company, registered to conduct business in construction, real estate, civil, mechanical and electrical engineering works. Generally, housing and infrastructures are big matters in Nigeria, like it is with most developing economies in the world, and personally I believe Nigeria has the potential to be one of the biggest construction markets on this planet. While the world is still struggling to emerge from the global economic collapse, Nigeria’s construction industry is growing fast and is likely to grow astronomically over the next decade, according to forecasts made in a June 2010 reports by Global Construction Perspectives and Oxford Economics. These trends in every way have necessarily placed a demand on professionals in the construction industry, and in few cases where they are lacking quacks in the industry end up taking advantage, mostly this quacks are responsible for a reasonable amount of collapsed buildings and abandoned infrastructures. Estimates suggest that current growth in the Nigerian construction industry is greater than that of India. Indeed, the report found that â€Å"Nigeria’s population of approximately 154 million is urbanizing at one of the fastest rates in the world, but construction is currently only 3.2 per cent of the Gross Domestic Product. From 2009 to 2020, only Nigeria and India will enjoy higher growth rates than China in their construction output.† ( These trends are generally common around the world but focusing my attention to my present location, construction works are basically addressed as projects, thus there is a union between construction projects and projects management. In construction there is the demand to control and manage human resources, financial resources and even plants and machinery as the case may demand. But the gap between management structures of these resources remains a loop holes for wastage and inefficiency, grossly affecting the quality and standards of buildings and infrastructures. Most ambitions of the Nigeria government- such as creating much-needed housing, improving public services, developing its tourist sector, improving transport links, creating new jobs and eradicating poverty — can be linked to the construction sector and personally my little niche contribution to the construction industry in Nigeria and the world at large- though minute, is not so difficult to outline as I have worked on managing government funded projects which had to do with the development of ICT and Library for a community in the Niger- delta region of Nigeria, I have also worked for a group of foreign investors here in Nigeria where I rendered appropriate construction services aiding to set up and revamp retail stores in Nigeria for a South Africa brand. The outlook of trends for construction is an excellent one and this is having an expanding effect on the global community. â€Å"According to a study published by the Anderson Economic Group, an average of 1.2 million project management positions will need to be filled each year through 2016.† â€Å"The demand for project managers is definitely growing,† says Sheree Rulard, senior recruiting consultant for Beeline RPO, a workforce solutions firm with offices in the United States, United Kingdom and Canada† . (http://www.villanovau.com/project-manager-jobs/). The two main factors contributing to this increased need for project managers, they are: †¢ A shift in demographics (especially due to the rise in retirement-aged workers) †¢ Growth in global projects worldwide† ( http://www.villanovau.com/project-manager-jobs/) Particularly in Nigeria there is much of infrastructural works that are desperately needed. Roads, ports, bridges and airports etc the country’s archaic railway network, barely altered since colonial days, is also in great need of an upgrade. Roads, in particular, are a problem. Only the capital Abuja and, to a lesser extent, the coastal metropolis of Lagos, has a reasonable road network. Nationwide, road fatalities are one of the most common causes of death. The entire modules appeal to me personally but I foresee† planning and budgeting with risk† as a major module that will provide me insight in the field of construction and improve my personal skill with an adequate planning ability. Most times I spend more of my working hours on construction sites, reviewing and tracking work pace and work standards, where there is on a daily basis an average of about between 50-300 persons working depending on the size and stage of the project and a couple of times am at the office building.