Quantity surveyors task selves on transparency in construction projects

Worried about the lack of transparency in construction projects, especially in procurement costs, Nigerian Institute of Quantity Surveyors (NIQS) has charged its members to pursue transparency in construction projects in the country.

The institute believes that, as professionals, quantity surveyors have a special role to play, adding that members should make 2013 a watershed, a turning point in their contribution to national economic development.

Agele Alufohai, NIQS president, who stated this at the investiture of the newly inaugurated chairman as well as Senate members of the NIQS, FCT chapter, urged surveyors to join developed and emerging economies and make the engagement of cost management professionals in procurement a routine.

“If surveyors’ aspirations of national transformation is to be anything more than a dream, they need to impress it on the political and bureaucratic managers of our economy and specifically, of infrastructure projects,” he said.

In a related development, Alufohai noted that the provision of more basic infrastructure such as roads, bridges and ports would generate thousands of jobs, making existing economic activities more efficient and capable of attracting more investment into the economy. He stated this at the 43rd annual conference of the Nigerian Institution of Estate Surveyors and Valuers (NIESV) in Benin City, the Edo State capital.