Stories by YINKA KOLAWOLE,
with agency report

Lagos State government has adopted the use of dry construction technology for the building of the proposed 1008 units Ijora Badia housing project. The system is being used as a test-run in a bid to promote efficiency and cost effectiveness in the state’s quest for mass housing delivery.

The dry construction technology is based on minimal usage of water and sand, focusing on reinforced concrete, boards and metallic structures that are assembled as prefabricated houses. The finished works include assembled partitions, suspended ceilings and raised floor systems.

Governor Babatunde Fashola said during a visit to the project site, at Ijora, that the new method of construction adopted for the project ensures that work was ongoing despite the absence of work equipment at the site.

Fashola noted that there are numerous benefits from the technologically driven approach. “Traditionally, it takes about one person a day or more to lay about 100 blocks.

With this system, you can do a thousand blocks a day, so, you would see that you are gaining 10 times more efficiency. Over time, we will now write a manual hopefully from them about a Nigerian developed system for efficient, cost effective saving mass housing delivery,” he said.

The governor also used the occasion to assure former occupants that over N200 million has been approved for their resettlement, calling on those involved to contact the office of the Attorney General of the State who is in charge of the disbursement of the funds.

Prof. Olumide Olusanya, one of the promoters of the technology, speaking on the new building technology, noted: “Some 20 years ago, when roads were being built, they used to mix the cement, the concrete and the form work in the middle of the road.

Today, the construction technology has changed. The drain is constructed off site, they bring the mechanical shovels, excavate, put the drains in and your road is almost half done. It is the same way we have approached this housing project.”

Fashola said Lagos State is keen on using locally developed technology to tackle the housing shortage in the state, adding that skilled professionals are involved in the project. “We have top intellectuals like professors, architects and others who have designed the system.

“Yes, there is not a lot of work going on on site here, but there is a lot of work going on off-site. The form work which the Professor was explaining to us that makes four blocks in one vibration sequence instead of one block, the form work that makes the block with the conduit already laid inside the blocks so that the electrical fittings and the conduit pipes can be installed at the time that the blocks is being laid are all being prepared off-site.

It means a lot of time would be gained in addition to efficiency, leading to more cost effective houses as materials are being used optimally while the quality is not being compromised.

So, in the next few months as they’ve explained, the first buildings will be on this site but the work is being done mentally and technologically off-site so that when they deploy everything goes on smoothly,” Fashola stated stated.