Fresh hope for mass housing as govt, builders endorse Vitapur’s new building method
Nigerians today have cause to hope for mass housing as a new building method which holds promise for cheaper and faster housing construction has been endorsed for use by the Oyo State government and the Lagos State Chapter of the Nigerian Institute of Builders (NIOB).
The new building method, which is a pre-fabricated method of construction, is a technology initiated and promoted by Vitapur Nigeria Limited, a subsidiary of Vitafoam Nigeria Plc which was put to use in the construction of two pre-fabricated buildings donated to Government College, Ibadan recently by the company as part of its Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR).
Speaking at the commissioning of the two buildings, Abiola Ajimobi, the state governor, described the gesture as a strategic way by Vitafoam Group to take care of one of the basic needs of the people.
Ajimobi, who was represented at the event by the Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Education, Aderonke Makanjuola, explained that CSR was the hallmark of sacrifice that any organisation could make in giving back to the society that had done well for them.
Recommending the new building method to everyone, he said, “I would like to say a big thank you to the board, management and staff of the Vitafoam Group for donating these buildings constructed along with full furniture such as sofas, kitchen cabinets, ward robes mattresses and pillows supplied by other Vitafoam subsidiaries to complement the buildings.”
In what also amounted to an endorsement by all builders, the NIOB Lagos State chapter chairman, Ashimiyu Bashir, stressed that pre-fabricated buildings were of interest to all builders worldwide.
Musa Rabiu Kwankwanso, former governor of Kano State, also commended Vitapur for the innovative new building method, hoping that it would be an option to the Federal Government in its efforts to address housing deficit in the country.
In his keynote address, the managing director, Vitafoam Group, Taiwo Adeniyi explained that Vitapur had blazed the trail by acquiring a new state-of-the-art sandwich panel production line which could produce a maximum length of 14.7metres with varying thickness, the first of its kind in West Africa.
“Vitapur Sandwich panels can be used for constructing pre-fabricated structures, cold rooms, equipment shelters, quick shelter development, office partitioning, shopping malls, drop temp ceilings etc”, he said.
He listed the benefits of rigid insulation board, saying, “Vitapur Polyurethane Rigid Insulation boards comes in various facings depending on intended application. These boards can be used as wall, floor and roof insulation. For new buildings, boards are usually used over the purlin before the roofing sheets while Vitapur spray foam application is preferred for existing roofs.”
Adeniyi who described Vitafoam as an integrated system said that all its subsidiaries were contributing effectively to the innovative products, adding that “the inherent adaptability and durability of Vitapur’s prefabricated building units’ means that we can develop buildings to fulfill the needs of even the most demanding or obscure applications, thereby creating functional buildings that are time and cost efficient, durable, adaptable and sustainable.”
In his welcome address, Vitafoam chairman, Dele Makanjuola, explained that the project was borne out of the Corporate Social Responsibility that Vitafoam was known for and also to showcase another arm of the company’s business.
Makanjuola noted that the company’s foam products were faster, easier and more efficient to mass housing construction in Nigeria. Saying that it has also proved that mass housing for the country could be achieved faster, cheaper and with more effective and efficient means.
He emphasized the uniqueness of prefabricated building in the area of insulation and stated that Vitapur had gone commercial in the production of panels for constructing pre-fabricated buildings.
“We are the one building all shopping malls all over the federation. Pre-fabricated buildings are light weight and are in vogue in America and many other countries. We are already operating at commercial level and we are willing to partner with the governments to make housing available to all Nigerians”, he said.