• Buyers, sellers groan over surge in the price of building materials

By Henry Umahi and Sunday Ani

The 2012 national housing policy promised to give Nigerians “real mass housing, which the country has been dreaming of.” It also featured the concept of social housing, whereby government would provide housing for all, including the “poorest of the poor.”

But government was just blowing hot air, as it were. The content and character of the country’s housing policies, over the years, have turned out to be not worth more than the paper bearing them. Indeed, the nation’s housing deficit has continued to escalate, as millions of Nigerian citizens cannot afford decent houses. According to a 2014 national survey, 31 per cent of Nigerians (adults) live in their personal houses, which they built, inherited or bought.

It takes uncommon courage to commence or complete a building project in Nigeria these days. This is because the prices of building materials are soaring like the eagle in the sky. In fact, over the years, the cost of building houses has risen astronomically.

Putting the matter in perspective, Mazi Chimezie Obasi, a dealer in building accessories based in Lagos, lamented that the cost of materials is digging deep holes in the pockets of the people.

His words: “At the moment, the prices of building materials are quite high. For instance, about six months ago, a bag of cement sold for less than N2,000 but all of a sudden it skyrocketed to N2,400 per bag in Lagos. It was attributed to the weak national currency but even with the appreciation in the exchange rate, the price is still the same. Rods are also expensive now, depending on size. The price has increased by about 20 per cent. Blocks have also increased in price from N150 to N180 and N200, for nine inches, while six inches jumped from N120 to N150 each. Roofing sheets are not spared from the increment. Late last year, Metro tiles sold for N2,800 per square metre but now it is sold for N3,200 per square metre. The cost of long-span aluminium roofing sheet has also appreciated, depending on the specification. The POP we use for ceiling was equally affected, the price has increased by 20 per cent. Sand has also increased by about 20 per cent. Twenty tons is sold for N45,000 now; it used to be N38,000 a few months ago.”

On the effect, Obasi noted that, “The rising cost of building materials has reduced the rate at which structures are erected. Again, a building that should have been completed within six months, for instance, may now take a longer time. Some civil servants used to add one or two things to their building projects at the end of every month but now it takes them three months to gather anything reasonable to add to their structures.

“It is also affecting workers on construction sites, ranging from engineers to labourers. This is because the rate at which they get work has reduced drastically. Some of the workers from Republic of Benin and Togo have gone back home because there is nothing going on at most building sites.”              

Daily Sun investigation revealed that the prices of most building materials have been on the increase over the years, particularly in the last two years. Consider this: When former President Olusegun Obasanjo assumed office in 1999, a bag of cement was sold at N500 per bag. Despite various policies and interventions, if any, the price of cement has continued to rise.

Traders have traced the sudden jump in the prices of building materials to the advent of the President Muhammadu administration. They lamented that, as soon as the current administration came on board, the cost of building materials shot up by over 100 per cent.

Cement

It is the same story all over the country. Since 2015, the price of cement has climbed from N1,400 to between N2,500 and N3,000, depending on the location and quality. A bag of cement costs between N2,550 and N2,600 in Calabar, Cross River State, while it costs N2,800 in Aba, Abia State. In Port Harcourt, it is sold at between N2,700 and N3,000, depending on the quality. One can buy a bag for between N2,700 and N2,800 in Jalingo, Taraba State, while it is sold at between N2,800 and N2,850 in Abuja. 

A visit to the Odun-Ade building material market in Lagos showed that the price of mainly imported building materials from China and other countries have skyrocketed over the last two years due to the continued fall in the value of the naira against the dollar.

Doors 

When Daily Sun’s reporter met Mr. Stanley Benedict, who sold doors at the Odu-Ade market, he said that the products were much cheaper in 2015 because the value of naira had not crashed. He said: “The lowest price of doors from China in 2015 was N14,500 but, due to the high cost of dollars, that same door now is N30,000. Those that were sold at N70,000 in 2015 are now sold at N120,000, he said.”

He also said that doors from Turkey that cost N50,000 in 2015 are today sold at the rate of N80,000 per unit.

Mr. Collins Ugwuona on his part related the trend in such items as ceiling, tiles, water closets (WC) and roofing sheets in the last two years. Explaining that the three types of ceiling sheets sold in the market were PVC, POP and suspended ceiling sheets, he disclosed that a bundle of made-in-China PVC was sold at N4,800 in 2015 while locally-manufactured ones were sold at N8,500. Today, the same made-in-China PVC costs N7,000 while the Nigerian-made PVC costs N18,000.

Also, a suspended ceiling sheet was priced at N1,050 per square metre in 2015 but today, it goes for N2,300.

Checks also showed that a square metre of roofing sheet pegged at between N1,500 and N1,600 in 2015 now costs N2,400.

A square metre of tiled roofing sheet pegged at N2,100 in 2015 is being sold for N3,200 today.

Water closets

Investigations in various markets also showed that a mini-set closed-couple WC that cost N12,500 in 12015 is now priced at N23,500, while a mini-set hanging WC that cost N8,500 in 20115 now goes for N17,200 now.

Tiles

The story at the tile section of the market was not any better. There were floor and wall tiles, mainly imported from China and Spain. The imported tiles were more expensive than the ones made in Nigeria.

Checks revealed that a set of 60x60cm tiles from China was sold at N1,850 in 2015 but is selling for N3,400 currently. The same goes for a 40x40cm tiles from China, which in 2015 was sold for N900 but now costs N1,600. And a set of 30x30cm Chinese-made tiles, N800 in 20115, now costs N1,400.

Related News

In the case of wall tiles, a pack of 30x60cm tiles from China, which was sold for N1,400 in 2015, is today selling for N2,100. Also, 25x40cm wall tiles from China, N800 in 2015, now has a price tag of  N1,400. While a 20x30cm pack of Chinese-made wall tiles, which was sold at N650 in 2015, has gone up to N1,200.

It is the same story with tiles from Spain. While a set of 60x60cm floor tiles was priced at N2,200 in 2015, the same type and quantity of tiles is selling for N4,500 now.

In 2015, 45x45cm tiles from Spain used to cost N1,700 but the price is now N3,900.

Wall tiles from Spain equally saw a jump in price as 20x60cm wall tiles, which sold for N1,650 in 2015, now cost N3,000. A pack of 25x50cm wall tiles from Spain, sold for N1,650 in 2015, today costs N2,600.

Tiles produced locally have also recorded an upward swing in price in the last two years. A pack of 40x40cm floor tiles sold at N780 in 2015 goes for N1,200 today. Similarly, a 30x30cm pack of Nigerian floor tiles was N700 in 2015 but, today, it is N1,200. The 20x30cm variant of tiles, which was sold for N650 in 2015 is now selling for N1200 in Lagos.

Tiles

In Enugu, a carton of wall tiles, which was sold for N1,350 in 2015 now sells for N1,950. The same thing applies to floor tiles, where a carton was sold for N1,900 in 2015, but now sells for N2,600.

Also, a gallon of Top gum that sold in 2015 for N2,500, now costs N4,000. The only exception was a bucket of tile gum, where price has remained the same at N1,300.

A dealer at Kenyatta Market, Uwani, Enugu, Mr. Marius Ezema, while decrying the rising cost of building materials in the last two years, said: “We were enjoying bumper sales in 2015. During that time, a trailerload of cement containing 600 bags or 900 bags, depending on the truck’s size, would not last up to a week in my shop before it was sold out. But now, you would be praying to exhaust your stock before the cement spoils. Building materials business now requires huge capital, yet the turnover is very poor.

“A lorryload of iron rod used to cost about N1.9 million, but now it costs above N3 million, depending on the size.”

Another dealer at the Timber Market, Nike Lake Road, Enugu, bemoaned the adverse effects of the high cost of building materials on dealers. He said that he used to have three shops but was forced to rent out one and is on the verge of renting out another one due to the development.

According to him, shop owners have kept reviewing rents upwards even as prices of materials have continued to skyrocket with persistent poor sales.

Wood

Checks at the wood market in Lagos showed that the price of wood has been a bit stable. According to a wood seller in the Alakija area of Lagos, Mr. Wahab Demola, there is not much increase between 2015 and today. He said that price of wood only increases during the rainy season because vehicles find it difficult to access the forest, where the timber is sourced, but once the dry season sets in, such price increase normally drops.

He gave an instance with a 2x6cm plank, which was sold for N1,000 in 2015 and is still being sold for between N1,150 and N1,200 today. A similar trend played out with the 2x4cm plank sold for N750 in 2015 and now going for between N800 and N850.

Iron rods

Iron rod seller, Janmiu Lawal, informed our reporter that there has been a great difference between the price of rods in the last two years.

He remarked that a ton of 16mm iron rod was sold for N80,000 in 2015 but today, it is sold for N185,000. A ton of 12mm rods, which was sold for N85,000 in 2015, now costs N185,000. Also, a ton of 10mm rods, sold for N110,000 in 2015, now costs N190,000, just as a ton of 8mm rods, which cost N90,000 in 2015, is toady being sold for N140,000.

A length of 12mm iron rod sold for N1,040 in Enugu in 2015 is now  N2,100; 10mm, sold for N830, now costs N1,700. Also a length of 16mm rod, which was N1,850 in 2015, is now selling at N3,800, while a length of 8mm rod, N620 in 2015, now sells at N1,250. A roll of binding wire was N4,500 in 2015 but it is now selling at N8,500.

Paints

The price of paints has equally gone up in the last two years. A paint seller in Lagos, Mr. Sola Wahab, informed our reporter that the type and quality of paint determines the price.

Checks revealed that emulsion paints that sold for between N800 and N1,000 in 2015 are now  between N1,100 and N3,000 per gallon.

In 2015, 20 litres of emulsion paint was sold at between N2,700 and N8,700 but today it costs between N4,000 and N14,000. In the same vein, 20 litres of textcoat that was N9,500 in 2015 is now N16,500.

For gloss paint, which is produced only in small gallons, the staggering price hike saw to one gallon going from between N2,800 and N4,800 in 2015 to between N4,700 and N6,500.

A stakeholder who pleaded anonymous said that, if nothing is done, unscrupulous builders might resort to cutting corners by using inadequate and inferior materials.

“What this means is that more building collapse is imminent,” he said.