By Kingsley Adegboye

Built environment professionals last week, decried the delay in processing building plans approval by the Lagos State Ministry of Physical Planning and Urban Development. They described the delay as the  greatest obstacle to urban development in the state.

The professionals who brainstormed at the just concluded 2013 edition of Lagos Architects’ Forum maintained that delays in approving building plans have adversely affected the delivery of projects to clients.

The Chairman, Practice Committee of the Nigerian Institute of architects, Arc.David  Majekodunmi, an architect and  NIA, Lagos who moderated the  “Roundtable on Global Best Practices in Planning and Building Approval Processes’’ session posited that the delay in processing building plans and charges demanded by the state government have slowed down development of built environment in the state.

Narrating a personal sordid experience with the approving Ministry, Majekodunmi said it took him about two years to process a  building plan. He further alleged that the charges demanded by the ministry are usually higher than the cost of a plot of land in some cases. Buttressing this allegation,  Majekodunmi said one of his clients who owns a property on Awolowo Road, Ikoyi, was charged N2 million for processing his building plan.

According to him,  in some cases, the property in question could be an inheritance from the family which cost might not be up to the charges being demanded by the planning authorities in the state. He therefore called on the state government to put in place a process whereby approval of building plans is fast tracked for timely delivery of building projects.ouseouse

Corroborating Majokunmi’s views, the former boss of Post Army Housing project, Brigadier-General Tunde Reis (rtd), stressed the need to look at the real estate sub-sector of the economy and fashion a way to speedy up processes of building plans approval by the appropriate planning authorities.

This measure, he said, will bring about the desired urbanization. He added that delay in processing building plans approval is a clog in the wheel of progress for real estate sector. “We need to speedy up the process of building plans approval in order to build up capacity’’, Gen. Reis said.

Also decrying the delay in processing building plans approval, Arc. Femi Shodunke  who is the immediate past vice chairman, NIA, Lagos,  said it took him three years to process a particular building plan from Lagos State Ministry of Physical Planning and Urban Development. He pointed out that this long process is frustrating to architects and their clients. He therefore called for a process where building plans approval is not delayed unduly.

After listening to the barrage of criticisms,  the Lagos State Commissioner for Physical Planning and Urban Development, Mr. Toyin Ayinde, said his Ministry will soon  commence pre-screening of architectural drawings to facilitate early delivery of building plans approval. Similarly,  efforts are on top gear by state to adopt the e-processing of building plans.

Ayinde, a Town Planner who said approval processes have been improved upon since he assumed duties as the Commissioner, further told the gathering of built environment professionals that he made possible it for a 15-storey building to get approval in three month. In the same vein, another 14-storey building whose documents he is currently working on, will also get its building plans approved within three months.

He attributed the delays to discrepancies and insufficient information  submitted by applicants. According to him once the documentation is correct and necessary charges paid, the approval will be given on time.

He explained that a situation whereby a complete drawing of building project is rejected means that the applicant will have to start all over again. This will be however avoided with the pre-screening of drawings which will be done with skeletal drawings.

Giving reasons for the exorbitant charges for obtaining approvals, he noted that it is through these charges the state government can meet up with the enormous challenges of infrastructure development.