The President of Nigeria Institute of Building (NIOB), Kenneth Nduka, has called on the Federal Government to establish a construction development bank to finance operators in property industry.
Nduka made the call, while speaking with journalists, on Friday in Lagos.
He said that the call became necessary, because lack of fund was a great challenge to operators in the industry.
According to him, poor growth of the industry was due to inability of the operators to access funds from conventional projects.
He pointed out that there was a need for government to boost the financial capacity of the operators to enable the industry contribute meaningfully to the country’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP).
He said that the government could achieve this by partnering multinationals, because government alone could not meet the housing needs of Nigerians.
“It is, therefore, paramount for government to partner with private operators to fashion out strategies to grow the industry.
“The bank will serve as a last resort and will help developers to finance long-term housing projects,” he said.
The NIOB president said it was abnormal to finance long-term projects with short-term funding from conventional banks.
He said this had hindered the development of the property sector in Nigeria.
