Business News of Friday, 24 January 2025
Source: www.mynigeria.com
The price of cement has increased due to a number of causes, including increased demand and supply chain interruptions.
According to a recent survey, the average retail price of a 50kg bag of the product sells for N10,000 across Lagos state.
This is a great increase compared to October last year, when the Financial Derivatives Company Limited reported that the average price of a 50kg bag of cement fell to N7,500.
The increase has put a great deal of strain on homeowners and real estate developers, which has resulted in an alarming trend of buildings going unoccupied while some builders are seeking alternatives.
Anthony Onyekwe from Anambra state showed a simpler way of producing bricks for home construction.
He stated that Nigeria's growing cement prices forced individuals to start looking at other home construction methods.
However, in light of the rising cost of cement, the man offered an alternate technique for making bricks without cement.
The video of the man combining sand to create local bricks sparked a range of opinions, some of which questioned its durability.
In another post on X, @chude_ , in a video, showed how to build a house without using cement. Speaking about the growing price of cement needed to construct homes, a builder, Ikenna Okonkwo, stated that individuals find ways to survive in difficult times.
He told Daily Sun: “I am using clay to mold brick blocks and I also found out it was the same clay that my fathers and forefathers used that gave the Oyibo people the idea of developing cement.
“Oyibo people did not start using cement until they left Africa. They were using wood, bamboo and ropes. They learnt the molding type from Africa and maximized the use thereafter.
“I made bricks using the local mud and mixed sand with water and molded the local bricks without any cement. This makes possible the dream of lowering construction costs for prospective builders to own their homes with little income in their pockets. Going by this, homeownership that has become a nightmare going by the consistent increase in the price of cement by producers would now be a thing of the past.
"Investigations revealed that operators under the Cement Manufacturers Association of Nigeria (CMAN) have raised prices of brands by over N10, 200 per bag. This has increased retail prices from N13, 000 to N14, 200 or more in Lagos and Southwest region. In Southeast and Abuja, prices have shot up to N15, 500 or higher.”