‘Patronising local building companies will create jobs, others’

Areal estate expert has urged contractors, developers and land owners to patronise local manufacturing companies for job creation and growth of local industries to compete with their foreign counterparts.

The MD/CEO of Eko Development Company, Mr Olawale Opayinka, while admitting that sourcing for good local materials in building homes might be difficult, said it was possible.

Speaking with our correspondent during the unveiling of the three and fourbedroom at the 110 residential apartments in Azuri Towers at the Eko Atlantic City, Opayinka said both tiles and woods used in the projects were sourced from factories in Nigeria.

He said, “We use the best of local products and whatever is available locally, we get it as we pay for premium. Sometimes, these qualities are more than those imported.

“All our tiles are locally made in Sagamu. Our woods are from Ibadan and cement is obviously local. We also create employment. We have a lot of experts on our projects who guide the local manufacturing company on how to achieve the desired quality. For the tiles, we visit the factory to ensure the standards are with anything we can get from any other part of the world. If you want to get your materials locally, you must be able to do the work to ensure only quality materials come to your table.”

He further advised that in the use of local materials for building, their quality and value should speak for themselves.

Opayinka insisted that, “Developers should develop the real estate projects so much that their clients who are spending their hard-earned money will get the value for their money in terms of quality and attention to detail.”

He hinted that the official grand opening of the three Azuri Towers would be done in June, 2022, while the office tower would be opened for use in December, 2021.