NBRRI wants permanent ban on importation of construction materials

The Nigerian Building and Road Research Institute (NBRRI) has called on the federal government to ban importation of construction materials into the country as Nigeria has what it takes to produce materials for the industry.

The director-general of the NBRRI, Prof Samson Duna, made the call in Abuja yesterday during the presentation of the 2023 scorecard of the agency

Duna said banning importation of foreign construction materials would promote use of indigenous materials in Nigeria.

“The NBRRI has so far unlocked the area of road research and building; and we have come up with one of the best laboratories to measure soil, concrete, steel and everything that has to do with construction materials. And we in Nigeria have the market.

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“As such, the federal government should either ban the importation of construction materials or impose high taxes on them so that people will be discouraged to patronise them and look inwards, thereby encouraging investors to develop indigenous products,” he said.

He said the NBRRI had projects in almost all the 774 local governments areas, adding that it’s research outputs include compressed and stabilised earth blocks and pozzolana, which is an alternative to cement and bamboo. He said there was need for a policy to ensure that all primary schools in Nigeria are constructed with compressed hard blocks.