NAN-H-80
Construction
By Martha Agas
Jos, Feb. 7, 2017 (NAN) The Nigerian Building and Road Research Institute (NBRRI) says half of the country’s population will be reached with its affordable indigenous walling technology that will reduce construction cost by 30 per cent.
Mr Terver Tyosar, the institute’s North Central Zonal Coordinator, disclosed this in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Tuesday in Jos.
Tyosar said that the technology, which utilised 95 per cent laterite and five per cent cement for constructing stable walls, was based on indigenous materials existing in the local communities.
He said that the technology would not only reduce construction cost, it would also make housing, which was a necessity affordable to all.
The coordinator said that the new walling technology was eco-friendly, had a thermal quality, fire and bullet-proof resistant, among other qualities.
He said that it had been ascertained that laterite had no health hazards on humans unlike conventional cement, which was highly condensed with unhealthy components.
Tyosar said that a three-day capacity building workshop was ongoing for contractors drawn from three local government – Langtang North, Bokkos and Jos North of its project sites on the walling technology.
“We have drawn contractors from these areas because we want to bring the technology closer to the grassroots.
“At the end of these projects, the capacity building will have multiplier effects on the community such that those trained will replicate the production and use of the technology.
“The projects in these councils include construction of a skill acquisition centre, block of class rooms in Langtang, a modern housing unit in Bokkos and an office complex with a construction library in Jos North,’’ he said.
NAN reports that NBRRI’s major target in 2017 is to organise training and retraining for artisans on the use of indigenous materials for its walling technology.
The training is to bridge the skill gaps impeding the quality of construction works in the country. (NAN)
MAA/COF/GY
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Edited by Oluyinka Fadare/Grace Yussuf