The Federal Government has urged the Nigerian Institute of Quantity Surveyors (NIQS) to embrace an integrated cost management system when undertaking construction projects of varying sizes and complexity.
The government has also emphasized the importance of the institute staying abreast of technological advancements and evolving to meet the changing dynamics of time.
Senate President, Godswill Akpabio, who gave the advice while opening the 30th Biennial Conference /General Meeting of the institute in Abuja, themed: ‘Integrated Cost Management Solutions for Sustainable Infrastructure Projects Delivery: A Key to National Economic Development’, urged them to emulate construction companies using computer aided software and Artificial Intelligence for cost estimates and control.
Akpabio observed that infrastructure development is the basis of all developments and cannot be discussed without the cost managers, hence, the need for the institute to periodically upscale skills of its members to optimise their proficiencies.
He noted that successful execution of infrastructure projects is essential for national economic development, adding that the challenge of efficient cost management has for long been prevalent in the industry.
The Senate president argued that for integrated cost management to be effective, there are some moral demands, stressing that integrated cost management is based on discipline and principle, saying, “where these values are unavailable, then cost maximisation in project delivery becomes a ruse.”
Akpabio, who was represented by the Chairman, Senate Committee on Works, Senator Barinada Mpigi, stated that where the attributes of discipline and principle are lacking, infrastructure deficit is difficult to tame.
The government also urged the institute to appreciate the dynamics of time and innovate to keep abreast with changes and trends foisted by technology.
Senate President, Godswill Akpabio, who gave the advice while opening the 30th Biennial Conference /General Meeting of the institute in Abuja, themed: ‘Integrated Cost Management Solutions for Sustainable Infrastructure Projects Delivery: A Key to National Economic Development’, urged them to emulate construction companies using computer aided software and Artificial Intelligence for cost estimates and control.
Akpabio observed that infrastructure development is the basis of all developments and cannot be discussed without the cost managers, hence, the need for the institute to periodically upscale skills of its members to optimise their proficiencies.
He noted that successful execution of infrastructure projects is essential for national economic development, adding that the challenge of efficient cost management has for long been prevalent in the industry.
The Senate president argued that for integrated cost management to be effective, there are some moral demands, stressing that integrated cost management is based on discipline and principle, saying, “where these values are unavailable, then cost maximisation in project delivery becomes a ruse.”
Akpabio, who was represented by the Chairman, Senate Committee on Works, Senator Barinada Mpigi, stated that where the attributes of discipline and principle are lacking, infrastructure deficit is difficult to tame.
He said: “That is why a conference on integrated cost management solutions, which also acknowledges sustainable infrastructure projects delivery is apt because the concept of sustainable infrastructure systems is planned, designed, constructed, operated and marshaled to ensure economic, as well as financial, social, environmental and institutional sustainability.”
Earlier, the outgoing NIQS President, Mr. Olayemi Shonubi, called for creation of a special fund that will warehouse funds for infrastructural projects to ensure that projects are adequately funded and completed as at when due.
Shonubi, who lamented that quantity surveyors are not used in the cost management of infrastructural projects, said, “If you don’t have quantity surveyors in places where decisions are taken, projects will have over bloated figures.”
He called for a holistic review of the management of resources deployed in building infrastructure, stressing that the NIQS wants to ensure that people get value for money invested in infrastructure.
The keynote speaker and Vice Chancellor, Leeds Trinity University, Prof Charles Egbu, noted that about $3 trillion in investment is needed over the next 30 years to plug the infrastructure deficit in the country.
Egbu, who was past president, Chartered Institute of Building, United Kingdom, observed that failure of projects and escalation of costs in projects happens in many climes due to lack of real project definition, stressing that projects are supposed to be out rightly defined from start by setting clear objectives.
Egbu stated that the NIQS can contribute to the sustainable infrastructure projects that the country deserves. “Cost management solutions that quantity surveyors should offer should be one that meets the needs of the clients and should be done within a sustainable environment,” he said.
He urged policy makers to bring the NIQS to the decision-making table as no project can succeed without true cost management, professionalism, integrity and transparency.
Source: The Guardian
