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‘Quantity surveyors key to Africa’s development’

Africa’s quantity surveyors face a challenge to help governments realise beneficial costs in construction so as to improve lives of the continent’s population.

President of Africa Association of Quantity Surveyors (AAQS), Michael Frimpong, told the body’s three-day conference in Mangochi at the weekend that quantity surveyors are vital in effectively bringing down costs of vital facilities such as roads and houses.

Officially opening the meeting, Minister of Lands Housing and Urban Development Yunus Mussa challenged AAQS and the Surveyors Institute of Malawi (SIM) to assist government in developing effective and financially sound policies.

Mussa said infrastructure development is one of nine priority areas guiding government development, noting that financial expertise would help government achieve value for money.

Chairperson of the Quantity Surveyors chapter of the SIM, Fred Chiweza, asked government to incorporate surveyors more, such as in road projects, to complement civil engineers.

The meeting, the first in Malawi, pooled together architects, quantity surveyors and engineers from Nigeria, Ghana, Kenya, South Africa, Namibia, Zambia under the theme ‘Sustainable Construction Cost Management Through Innovative Management.’

Speakers explored the theme from viewpoints such as financial viability, risk management, ethical and professional conduct, international joint ventures, public private partnerships, building information modeling and role of solar energy in sustainable construction.

The meeting also awarded local long serving professionals.

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