PROPERTY TRANSACTION GUIDE

'Panel Structures Cheaper Than Conventional Buildings'


Independent, Monday, 16th Feb 2009

Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Eco-Building System Nigeria Limited (EBS), Dr. Maduka Nwakwesi, in an interview with CORRESPONDENT Bamidele Ogunwusi, sheds some light on the innovative building technology, outlining its merits over conventional housing construction. Excerpts:

How, when did your firm embark on this initiative of panel building technology in the country?

I am a retired civil servant and I used to have passion for new things and also love to do things well. It was this desire that brought me in contact with the technology. The technology is very popular in the United States and other countries where little attention is given to construction of houses with blocks and heavy reinforcement. We have a patent for the technology from a company in San Diego in the United States of America. We also have a factory where we manufacture these panels in Awoyaya in Lagos

Do you think Nigeria is ripe for this kind of technology, considering the fact that we believe so much in the use of sandcrete blocks and concrete?

There is nothing that is happening anywhere in the world that should be alien to us in Nigeria. We do travel all over the world and see the way they build their houses. In fact, our company has been building panel houses in Lagos for some years now and I think we have built over 100 houses using the technology.

Which areas of Lagos can we see these houses you have built?

In Lekki Phase One we have about 60 houses and also at VGC.

Why are you so passionate about the technology?

We want to change the face of housing construction in the country. It is also an attempt by the company to take modern housing construction to the next level and also to construct houses that will reduce heavy cost of construction and maintenance. The technology may be the answer to the dream of some Nigerians, who are desirous of living in eco-friendly houses after constant complaints recorded daily in conventional concrete houses.

What are the advantages of panel homes over the conventional houses?

There are so many advantages that the technology has on the conventional houses. First, it saves the developer a lot of money while it also saves construction time. This is because workers do not spend more time at the site, and it saves the developer huge sums of money that could have been used to pay them. In conventional houses, workers stay for several months on site but with the technology that we are projecting; workers spend few weeks on site.

Another advantage of the technology is that houses built with the technology are bullet resistant and that the company has the capacity of erecting a completely bulletproof house if an intending occupant so wishes. If an armed robber should come here and he fires a bullet, it might bounce back because we use fiberglass in the wall.

What is a fiberglass?

Fiberglass is what is used to produce bulletproof vests.

Kindly expatiate on the bulletproof house.

I said bullet resistant because even if the bullet penetrates the first wall the armed robber is confronted with the second wall. Our houses are completely bullet resistant but we can make it bullet proof if a customer or an intending occupant wants it.

Are there other advantages?

Aside the security advantage of the technology on the conventional technology, our houses are lightweight because though the decking is the normal concrete decking it is however lighter with little reinforcement. When people get to know the materials we used in building these houses they may not build their houses differently. This is the best form of house for a place like Lagos because it has lightweight compared to the conventional concrete houses. Our houses are lightweight but tough. It will never be brought down by wind, earthquake and if flooding comes here, it can only carry the house as far as it can but the building will remain intact because it is on raft foundation.