THE construction sector plays an important role in the economic development of the country.
Building and construction has been the largest industrial sector of Zambia comprising 27.5 per cent of the Growth Domestic Product (GDP) with a growth rate of 12 per cent in 2014.
The sector also offered excellent potential for wealth and job creation.
Due to its labour concentration, there is a low entry qualification for semi-skilled and unskilled manpower.
The sector in Zambia has in the recent past recorded massive growth due to the increase in development projects initiated by the Government and the private sector.
The Zambia real estate and construction sector grew by 9.5 and 9.1 per cent in 2013 and 2014, respectively.
Not only has the sector contributed to the country’s economic growth, it has also promoted the growth of other sectors such as logistics, wood, steel, cement and lime.
According to the Zambia Development Agency (ZDA), the country recorded US$3.3 billion in Foreign Direct Investments mainly in the construction sector in 2014.
The sector has in the recent past recorded massive growth in the development of modern infrastructure such as shopping malls, stadia, hospitals, schools and industries.
The country is soon expected to house the first-ever wholesale city, amusement park, shopping mall, five-star hotels and a shopping mall at Dollar Hill sight in Ndola.
This modern infrastructure, which is under construction at the cost of more than $50 million, will be the first of its kind in Zambia as well as in the region.
The growth of the cement and lime industry in the country also triggered growth in the sector in the country.
The Government is currently taking practical steps to modernise and construct international airports to transform Zambia into a regional hub for air traffic.
It is further expanding and upgrading the Kenneth Kaunda International Airport (KKIA) in Lusaka and will build a new international airport in Ndola, which is expected to be bigger and more modern than the current Simon Mwansa Kapwepwe facility.
Zambia has in the past one year witnessed the radical fall of cement prices by over K30 from the time Dangote Industries of Nigeria constructed an ultra-modern cement plant in Masaiti District on the Copperbelt.
A good number of Zambians are now meeting the expenses of building modern houses and structures as cement is now cheaper than before.
Not only that, the country has also seen increasing cement consumption due to the economic growth.
However, for the sector to continue growing there is need for players to explore and build economic infrastructure that can be used to develop the country.
Works and Supply Minister Yamfwa Mukanga said the existing infrastructure gaps in Zambia in all major economic sectors must serve as an incentive for Zambians to explore and build economic infrastructure that could be used to develop the country.
The minister said economic development rested on infrastructure and that it was not possible to attain economic development minus infrastructure.
Mr Mukanga made the remarks during the Valuation Chapter of Surveyors Institute of Zambia (SIZ) business meeting which was held in Lusaka recently under the theme ‘The importance of infrastructure to property market’.
He said infrastructure development was a critical parameter in the definition of a country’s economic and social development and that real estate professionals such as the SIZ had a key role to play in the initiation, conceptualisation, development and delivery of infrastructure.
“Infrastructure like mining plants and facilities, agricultural belts, industrial parks and road networks, among others, are the backbone of sustainable economic development. It is for this reason that Zambians should explore and build economic infrastructure that can be used to develop our country,” Mr Mukanga said.
Mr Mukanga advised that surveyors’ basic role was to bring facts from the environment and present the information in a manner that could enable effective implementation of infrastructure development.
SIZ chairperson Chisebwe Fumbeshi said infrastructure development would provide essential services that would drive the economic growth create employment and ensure productivity in the country.
Mr Fumbeshi said it was for this reason that the valuation surveyors took an active interest in reviewing the current and planned infrastructure projects within different markets of the country.
He said that rapid infrastructure development being experienced in Zambia was playing a critical role in establishing a significant influence on property development.
“Infrastructure developments in Energy, Communication as well as developments of airports, rail, roads, schools and hospitals will provide essential services that will drive economic growth, employment and productivity,” Mr Fumbeshi said.
Construction has indeed proved to be one of the sectors that can positively contribute to economic development of the country and create jobs for the local people.
Howeevr, for the sector to continue growing, players should be innovative and come up with infrastructure that would develop the country.
Players should also look at ways in which infrastructure, especially the transport sector, can be mordernised to meet with the current demand.