Cement manufacturers in Nigeria have expressed displeasure over the new government policy on the product, saying it will lead to increase in the price and shortage of the production.
They are also claiming that the restriction placed on the usage of 32.5 grade of cement was an indirect ban on the product, which they say was not acceptable to them, arguing that the use of 32.5 grade of cement was not responsible for the incessant collapse of buildings as being witnessed in the country.
The Standards Organisation of Nigeria (SON), had recently announced a new policy on cement which restricted the use of the 32.5 and urged manufacturers to begin production of the high-grade 42.5MPA.
Director General of SON, Dr. Joseph Odumodu said his organisation intends to enforce restriction in the use of the 32.5 low-grade, stressing that the continued production of 32.5 low-grade was for profiteering.
Manufacturers’ arguments
Stakeholders in the cement sub sector have severally argued that incessant building collapse was not a result of the quality of cement used, saying the restriction was an indirect ban on the product, a situation they said is not acceptable to them.
According to the Managing Director/CEO, Lafarge WAPCO, Joe Hudson the 32.5 grade was not the cause of building collapse in Nigeria, adding that the grade is the best multipurpose cement used in many counties for many years.
“The new policy of the government to restrict the 32.5 grade will affect the investment on cement. There will be a big impact on the capacity because it will reduce the production of cement. The policy is capable of causing confusion.
“The 32.5 grade has served and still serving manufacturers, builders and corporate organisations well. The greatest buildings in Nigeria like the Cocoa House, the NITEL building and other skyscrapers were constructed using this particular brand of cement. They are still standing and being used,” he argued.
Coming to the grassroots level, this is the brand used in constructing most residential buildings which have stood the test of time, he added.
“A lot of Nigerians grew up to know Elephant Cement, our flagship product, which is 32.5 and has been used for several constructions.
“We are the first cement actor in the country to rally support for addressing the root causes of building collapse, starting in 2010 with the first building collapse national discourse.
“The second edition was held in April 2014, with all key stakeholders in attendance and the contributions at these sessions, which are key to achieving the zero building collapse objective, have been made public via a published communiqué,” he said. Continuing, he said “rather than laying the blame of building collapse at the doorstep of the so called inferior quality of 32.5 grade of cement, Hudson said Standard Organisation of Nigeria (SON), should focus on how to implement the building code of 2006, cement application, use of unqualified engineers among others.”
Claims by the SON that the 32.5 grade was being produced for profiteering, he regretted, were not only untrue, but unfair.
Managing Director, Ashaka Cement, Leonard Palka said the recent directive by the SON was unprofessional and capable of killing the industry.
He said the restriction on the 32.5 was not acceptable.
“We have been in this business for more than 40 years, and for someone to now come and tell us that 32.5 is of less grade is unprofessional. The claim that the grade is been ban in some countries or that it is the cause of cement collapse is absurd.
“We had engaged the regulatory authorities severally since the misinformation on cement quality in Nigeria began to be peddled because of our desire to present the facts that will ensure that informed decisions are taken in the overall interest of Nigerians,” he said.
Limiting the use of the 32.5 grade of cement, he continued, would eliminate consumers’ choices, producers’ capacities and ultimately lead to increase in cement price across the country.
Palka said there should be a level playing field for all stakeholders in the industry to operate freely in the country.
Arguing in the same vein, Managing Director, United Cement Company of Nigeria Limited, UNICEM, Olivier Lenoire, said it was not fair to say that cement was the cause of building collapse, because the issue on ground was more of competition and not technical.
He said 90 per cent of cement produced by his company for many years was 32.5 and there had never been an incident associated with the products.
“I have experience of more than 40 years in the cement industry and I find this claim to be unprofessional. There should be different cement grades for different applications,” he said.
Meanwhile, Group Managing Director and Chief Executive of Dangote Cement, Devakumar Edwin, said his company started producing the high-grade 42.5R cement since 2006, and pledged commitment to make every necessary investment to ensure product quality, consistent with the prevailing regulatory standards.
Causes of collapse
According to a report of an independent survey carried out by Renaissance Capital, a investment banking group, poor construction practices, the most common of which is the adding of water to improve workability of the concrete, results in increased settlement of the mix. It also causes an increase in the drying shrinkage, and reduced strength. This, the company added, “is the underlying cause of collapsing buildings: inappropriate mixes and/or excessive extension, both as a result of ignorance and possibly fraudulent intent on the part of builders.
“We do not believe that 32.5N cement in itself is the cause of collapsing buildings, and do not expect the restriction in its manufacture and use to address the underlying problem without creating further problems. Low strength rated cement is not of its own a cause of collapsing buildings and its elimination will not necessarily result in better quality buildings, in our view. The only impact we see is higher cost of cement production which will inevitably be passed onto the end user in the form of higher cement prices, and lower availability of cement,” the report stated.
Hudson said causes of building collapse as identified at a public discourse recently organised by his company included the use of unqualified workmen in building construction, non-adherence to building codes, sharp practices by some contractors, natural disasters and sabotage.
The Nigerian Society of Engineers, NSE, also dismissed as misleading, erroneous and fallacious the attribution of cement grade as the prime causative factor for the incessant collapse of buildings in the country.
According to the NSE, the misappropriation or inappropriate application of cement in the production of concrete can be a plausible cause of building collapse, but not the grade of the product.
President of NSE, Ademola Olorunfemi, while outlining what could be the general causes of building collapse said it could include design flaws, ageing, materials’ fatigue, extreme operational and environmental conditions, accidents, terrorist attacks and natural hazards.
“A cursory look at the array of causes of building collapse peculiar to Nigeria will reveal that only two of the 15 causes are overtly or covertly related to the usage of construction materials. Now, a visit to the scene of any collapsed building will reveal rubbles of concrete structural elements and not cement of whatever grade. We will like to state unequivocally that it is misleading, erroneous and fallacious to assert that cement grade is a prime causative factor in the incessant collapse of buildings in Nigeria when, in fact, there is no experimental basis for such an assertion,” he said.
SON’s review
SON Director General, Dr. Joseph Odumodu, while raising a technical committee to address the claims and counter claims of various stakeholders over the quality of cement in the market, said the move became necessary because the issues in contention were technical in nature and needed to be addressed by experts and stakeholders from various segments of the construction industry and the society. He said members of the committee were well-informed technical people from professional bodies, the academia, civil society organisations, trade unions, cement manufacturing companies and journalists, among others.
Odumodu explained that the approach was necessary to involve all stakeholders in ascertaining the quality of cement in the market as a step to guarding against the spate of building collapses in the country.
He said the challenge of building collapse was not what SON could tackle alone considering the multiple sectors involved in the construction industry.
New cement standard
The new standard for cement, which was announced by the DG of SON, Dr, Joseph Odumodu, based on the approval by its supervisor- the Minister of Industry, Trade and Investment, Olusegun Aganga, and which would soon be enforced after a short grace period to enable all manufacturers in the country comply is tagged: ‘NlS 444-1:2014.’
It automatically becomes the new composition and conformity criteria for cement in the country, and stipulates that: “The highest grade, CEM I 52.5R and 52.5N, which could be simply referred to as the 52.5 cement grade, would now be used for the construction of bridges.
“The second highest grade which is the CEM II 42.5R, 42.5N or simply called the 42.5 grade, would be used for casting of columns, beams, slabs and for block moulding.
“The last cement grade referred to as CEM I & II 32.5R, 32.5N or simply called the 32.5 cement grade would be used only for plastering of buildings.”
Implications of new rule
The report by Renaissance Capital noted that the key implication on manufacturers is that they will need to increase the amount of clinker in their product, and blend in a lot less additives. The purer clinker, it continued, would need to be milled even finer than before, implying higher fuel electricity costs than previously, which it said would clearly put those manufacturers close to full capacity utilisation at greater risk, as it would negatively impact on available volumes. Higher electricity tariffs become more relevant in this scenario as well.
On whether this measure would solve the problem of collapsing buildings, the report said, “Not really, in our view. Nothing stops builders from buying the 52.5N and blending/extending it on site. Remember as well that the larger construction companies already buy in OPC and batch blend to engineer specifications on the site. We also believe the bigger problem associated with collapsing buildings remains inaccurate or inappropriate mix, an education issue that cannot be resolved by eliminating 32.5N.”
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