By HELEN ZULU –
THE National Council for Construction (NCC) has started the process of producing its first construction sector outlook report.
The NCC has also warned that construction activities though beneficial to the country could contribute to damaging the integrity of the environment and compromising the needs of the future generations if not handled in a coordinated manner.
NCC acting executive director Francis Mwape said the NCC was commencing the process of producing its first construction sector outlook report intended to provide key information on the state of the construction sector in its current status.
Mr Mwape said the report was also intended to identify some of the key drivers and pressures the sector faced.
“It is important to note that environmental degradation threatens economic efficiency in the use of scarce development resources and social equity in the distribution of development benefits and posts.
It is for this reason that the NCC is commencing the process of producing its first construction sector outlook report,” he said.
He said during a stakeholder consultative meeting for the construction sector outlook report in Lusaka that the construction sector continued to grow at a steady rate of 17.5 per cent annually.
The NCC continued to record an increase in the number of registered contractors and those coming through the construction school for capacity building sessions indicating that there was demand in the nation for construction related goods and services.
He said infrastructure represented those types of capital goods that served the activities of many industries including paved roads, railroads, communication networks, financial systems and energy supplies.