Lack of commitment by professionals in the construction sector may frustrate the take-off of the proposed Construction Development Bank (CDB).

A former President of the Nigeria institution of Estate Surveyors & Valuers (NIESV), Mr Charles Adebiyi, said that although players in the sector expect the realisation of the specialised bank to cater for the peculiar needs in the sector, they were not willing to commit their funds to it. He regretted that it had become a problem to raise the required money to license the bank because many of them were not ready to surrender part of the capital.

“This is why the idea, mooted five years ago, is still in the pipeline. With the reforms in the banking sector, it is not a big issue to set up banks, but to get the kind of money required is a big job. The major issue is how to muster the required capital to float it, unless outside agencies or local investors have sufficient confidence in the professionals to provide the capital,” he said.

The real estate consultant maintained that without the intervention of foreign agencies, the Construction Development Bank would remain a dream. He lamented that Nigerian investors would rather prefer to speculate in the foreign exchange market and make quick gains than invest in CDB.

“The fact is that the Construction Bank, as a specialised bank, will not be making profit at the initial stage, unless the CBN allows it to do businesses that can generate revenues quickly,” he said.

Adebiyi reiterated that the Construction Bank would provide loans for real estate and infrastructure development with loans and other forms of funding assistance geared to professionals.