Estate developers groan as bag of cement sells for N15,000
By Tunde Opalana
Estate developers have called on the Federal Government to intervene in the skyrocketing price of cement which now sells for N15,000 per 50kg bag in many parts of the country.
Making the call at the weekend, the President of Real Estate Developers’ Association of Nigeria (REDAN), Dr. Aliyu Wamakko said the unstable surge in the price of cement constitutes a threat to infrastructural development in the country.
Stating that high cement prices could widen the existing housing deficit in the country, Wamakko said it could also kill the construction industry.
Wamakko noted the increased budget allocations of N1.32 trillion to critical infrastructure sector, representing five percent of the Federal Government’s 2024 budget could be in jeopardy.
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He decried the soaring prices of the commodity despite the announcement of price slash by BUA Cement Plc in October 2023.
Wamakko said, “On Sunday, October 1, 2023, the management of BUA Cement announced a slash of the ex-factory price of a bag of cement by 36 percent to N3,500 from N5,500, promising to review the price upon completion of their new plants, which are expected to increase their production volumes to 17 million metric tonnes per annum.
“The BUA Group’s chairman, Abdul-Samad Rabiu, had told President Bola Tinubu that his company was increasing its production capacity by inaugurating two new cement plants at the end of 2023 or early 2024 to enable it to flood the nation’s markets with the product.
“We are begging the Federal Government through the Minister of Housing and Urban Development, Ach. Dangiwa Musa to urgently call a stakeholders meeting as he has promised to do within two weeks, else construction in our various sites may be put on hold because of the raising increases in the cement price.
The REDAN President said increase in prices of building materials is compounding the woes of the housing sector.
“We want the Federal Government to initiate policies that could ameliorate challenges, especially those fostered by exchange rate to boost supply and accessibility to affordable housing
“And again, in active construction sites in Lagos, Ogun, Port Harcourt, Kano, Abuja, Anambra, and Oyo states, the high price of essential materials is impacting project schedules, thereby slowing down construction activities. Many are abandoning sites waiting for better days. A developer, who had expended N50 million to construct a building last November, would end up spending about N100 million for the same type of project due to inflation.”
“We want to appreciate the Minister of Housing and Urban Development, Ach. Musa Dangiwa who has already decried the astronomical rise in the price of cement and other building materials across the country. We urge him to quickly find a lasting solution to this situation.
A market survey conducted on Friday in Gwarimpa, Area 10, Kubwa, Lugbe and Dawaki showed that a 50kg bag of Dangote cement is N10,000 and BUA cement stood at N15,000.
A retailer in Gwarimpa, Yinka Adebayo, said that the price of Dangote cement is N10,000 while that of BUA is N15,000.
He said he sold a bag of cement for N6,000 in January 2023.
“We sell Dangote cement at N10,000 per bag, and BUA is N15,000. Unfortunately, it will surprise you that I sold the same bag of cement, N5,500 to N6000 only last month,” he said.
