Nigeria's construction industry is facing serious challenges. The price of a 50-kilogram bag of cement has soared from 7500 naira in the fourth quarter of 2025 to 15000 naira 11500 today, an increase of more than 50%. This sudden price surge has triggered a strong shock throughout the construction industry, resulting in many projects under construction being delayed or even suspended. The domino effect
of the overall rise in
construction costs is that cement is not the only building material to rise in price. Oba Akintoye Adoye, chairman of the Nigerian Real Estate Developers Association, pointed out that in the past quarter, cement prices have risen by more than 30%, steel prices have soared by 20%, sand and gravel prices have risen by 25%, and timber and granite prices have also risen to varying degrees. These increases are due to multiple factors such as global market trends, logistics and transportation difficulties, and the surge in local demand. For developers, this means all-round cost pressure-cement, as the most critical building material, occupies an important proportion in the total cost of housing construction, and its price fluctuation directly affects the cost structure of the whole project. The vicious circle
of the deepening
housing crisis Adoye warned that the rising cost of building materials was having a series of knock-on effects. Developers are facing serious financial pressure and have to postpone the delivery of projects, reduce the scale of development, or even suspend or abandon the original plan. Given that Nigeria is already facing a huge housing shortage, any factor that pushes up the cost of building a house will make the dream of ordinary people to buy a house more remote. What is more worrying is that when the cost exceeds the scope of affordability, some builders may take risks to use inferior materials, which ultimately endangers the quality and safety of buildings. Professor Olugbenga Nubi, director of the Center for Housing and Environmental Sustainability at the University of
Lagos, stressed that the construction industry is an important pillar of Nigeria's economy and contributes significantly to GDP growth and employment. In 2024, the industry surpassed the oil industry for the first time and became a new engine of economic growth. In the context of increasing global economic uncertainty, this growth momentum is particularly valuable and must not be easily lost. However, the current across-the-board rise in building materials prices is threatening this hard-won achievement.
The industry called on the government to intervene
urgently in the face of the crisis. Adoye and Professor Nubi jointly called on the Federal Department of Housing and Urban Development and relevant government agencies to intervene urgently and convene stakeholders in the building materials value chain to discuss ways to stabilize the prices of key building materials such as cement. At the same time, they urged cement manufacturers and other industry participants to actively cooperate with the government to ensure the stable development of the housing industry through constructive dialogue and collaboration, so that ordinary Nigerians can afford housing. The two experts pointed out that only through policy support, multi-party cooperation and rational consultation can practical solutions be found to protect the future of housing development in Nigeria.
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