APPRAISING BUILDING MATERIALS DEVELOPMENT BY SMALL SCALE INDUSTRIES FOR HOUSING DELIVERY IN NIGERIA

The production of building materials in Nigeria has over the years been dominated by large scale industrial concerns. These establishments thrived in the 1970s and 1980s when government industrialization policy was hinged on import substitution. They relied considerably on the importation of raw materials, machinery, and technology. The downturn in the economy of the nation with the consequential high costs of imported raw materials and spare parts of machinery has brought down their production fa r below their installed capacities. This, among other related factors, has resulted in gross inadequacy of building materials and very high costs of available ones. The avenue to redress the situation, this paper asserts, is the development of small scale building materials industries employing modified and simplified technology, and sourcing their raw materials locally. The basic objectives underlying the development of these industries are the increase in the supply of conventional and alternative local b uilding materials, the development of indigenous entrepreneurial talents and skills, and the creation of employment opportunities. The paper examines the development of these industries, especially in rural areas, in the bid to revivify the housing industr y in Nigeria. This is in view of the fact that building materials constitute a major part in housing delivery and therefore their availability and affordability are imperatives for housing developmen