The Impact Of Maintenance Of Buildings And Infrastructural Facilities To The National Economy (a Case Study Of Shell Camp Housing Estate, Owerri, Imo State, Nigeria)

The aim of this research work is to discover how maintenance of buildings and infrastructures can be effected, effectively to help increase the workers output thus increasing labour efficiency and increasing the income of the nation leading to increased income per capita of the populace.

The objectives of this research work are as follows:

In emphasis, this project will show the need for proper maintenance schemes for buildings and infrastructures, that will help reduce maintenance cost, minimize loss of use, improve safety conditions, improve aesthetic values and improve appearance of buildings thereby reduces the cases of collapse of structures and the inherent dangers to life and investment. 

Over the years, there has been increasing abandonment of building projects and infrastructural facilities which has led to the dilapidation, degradation and deterioration of these building structures within the Nigerian contemporary urban metropolis.

Recently there has been a lot of research investigations and analysis of which points unshakeable to the fact that certain features such as client’s perception, cost of maintenance works, unskilled maintenance technicians, inflation rates, effect of taxation on building owners, Government policies, inability to prepare and follow maintenance schedules are direct causes of neglect which leads to dilapidations and deterioration of building structures (onibokun 1997). There are also the remote causes of lack maintenance such as force majeur, cultural problems, state of the economy, the receding global economic meltdown, lack of time and general illiteracy of the occupants of the building or structure and users of the facilities.

However there has also been growth in the significance of building maintenance as a proportion of the output of the construction industry which takes place against a backdrop of mounting pressure on new build activity and a growing awareness of the need to manage the condition of the nation’s building and infrastructure more effectively (chanter 2007).

Though, it is still the case that such maintenance activity takes place in a context that does not create a fully integrated approach to managing building performance and thus the full potential of many buildings and infrastructures are never wholly realized.

Basically in virtually all the towns and city centers within the Nigerian, buildings and infrastructural facilities are gradually and systematically decaying, dilapidating and deteriorating with reduced or no degree of maintenance programme and activity.

From a normal visual perception in the urban metropolis, it can be noted that majority of the

are deteriorated and badly in need of maintenance. The lack of maintenance of these buildings and infrastructures negatively affects the populace which thus affects the output of the working class, capacity of the populace is thus lost, time value for achievement of goals and objectives minimized , it also causes all forms of ill-health and psychological effects thereby reducing the economic growth of the nation.

All three spheres of government, together with the state owned enterprise (SOEs), manage major portfolios of immovable infrastructural assets. While there is much emphasis on delivery of infrastructure, delivery does not in fact end with the commissioning of the infrastructural asset. Once the infrastructure has been commissioned, various activities must be carried out which are necessary to ensure that it continues to perform- such as the allocation of necessary budgets and the retention of appropriate staff to maintain the operation of the assets.

“Delivery” needs to be universally understood as embracing not just constructing the infrastructure, but the appropriate operation and maintenance thereafter for the whole design life of the asset.

There are so many problems associated with the maintenance of buildings and infrastructural facilities on the economy. One of the serious problems if finance; government financing as regards to maintenance of buildings (both public and private) is minimal. The grant towards maintenance of infrastructural facilities is on its lowest ebb. Most buildings and infrastructures have been neglected by subsequent tenures of government while the private sectors; the individual property owners have little or nothing to contribute towards effective maintenance of their buildings, so long as the buildings affords the owner annual income he could not care less for the maintenance and so long the interior of the building is conducive for the occupants they could not care for outward appearance or other necessary maintenance activity. Another problem to effective maintenance of the built environment in Nigeria is corruption. Certain governments which have the welfare of the populace at heart will foster a well finance programme to cater for the maintenance of certain facilities such as road networks bore hole systems, bridge construction, elevation of the power grid for alleviation of suffering and eventual welfare of the populace but certain corrupted officials will channel these funds for personal aggrandizement. Another serious impediment to maintenance in Nigeria is the state of the economy, according to the united research on profitability index as regards to income per capita of nations of the world; Nigeria is rated as fifth poorest country (UN 2010), which implies that the average Nigerian lives below one dollar per day. As a result of this economic hardship residents and citizens has little or nothing to contribute in terms of effective maintenance of their abode thus leading to neglected effects visualized in our cities and metropolis.

Also certain buildings in Nigerian cities were constructed during the pre-colonial era therefore most of these buildings are aged due to wear and tear, weathering and climatic factors over the years thus resulting in dilapidated nature which might not respond positively to modern day maintenance day techniques, the reason for this assertion being 51% repair – replacement strategy, such buildings, the cost of their repairs might equal over 50% cost of new construction.

Buildings and infrastructural decay also stems from poor workmanship and poor supervision (Amobi 2003), most of these defects arises from the fact that the skill employed during the production of these buildings are defective, the supervisory most at times is minimal or left in the hands of unskilled foremen thus creating a chasm which will be filled by unprofessional ethics thus resulting in failure in the life of the structure which will eventually be translated to the overall life span of the building/structure.

This study aims to identify the shortcomings which militate against the effective maintenance of buildings and infrastructures. Therefore there is need for effective maintenance of all these buildings and infrastructures and also identify the external factors militating against effective maintenance of building and infrastructural facilities to perform its functional requirement.