Engage professional surveyors to reduce infrastructure cost-NIQS

The Nigerian Institute of Quantity Surveyors, (NIQS) has described the non-involvement of professional surveyors in the development of infrastructure as a major reason for poor cost management in the delivery of projects across the country.

NIQS President, Abba Tor, made this relevation at a press conference in Abuja ahead of the institute’s 2020 Annual General Meeting, (AGM) where it would unveil its new brand identity.

Tor stated that the engagement of quantity surveyors in all infrastructure projects was key to optimise the utilisation of scarce resources in every building project.

“This is because there is definitely a correlation between effective utilisation of scarce resources in the cost element. Clients are interested in looking at the cost dimension of a project as well as the quality,” NIQS president said.

He explained that while there existed other critical elements to look out for when handling infrastructure projects, only a professional would efficiently manage these components for successful delivery.

“So give us the opportunity to advise and guide you properly on costing and cost management of your projects. That comes in handy and is among the key factors that ensure successful project delivery,” he added.

Tor lamented that the role of the quantity surveyor in the construction industry as the professional construction cost manager and the unique value addition capability was sometimes overlooked, stressing that some of the reasons can be attributed to low level of visibility of the profession when compared to other allied professions in the industry.

He pointed out that overlooking this input has negative effects ranging from costs overrun, challenges in procurement and mismatch between assumed project resourcing and actual requirements.

Speaking on rebranding the institute, Tor narrated that 50 years after the NIQS came into existence, major changes in the political, social, and technological environments had tremendous impact on the institute and quantity surveying profession in general.

He added that the NIQS embarked on the rebranding process in order to properly position the institute within the context of domestic and global changes to ensure it remained relevant to the society.