By HELEN ZULU-
THE construction industry plays an integral part in the development of any economy.
In Zambia,  the construction sector has been recording steady growth, mainly due to the building of residential housing, investments in the mines, road construction and other civil works.
However, the sector has not been spared from various challenges such as the depreciation of the Kwacha which has impacted negatively on the construction industry.
The output of the construction industry, be it public, commercial, homes and other infrastructure such as roads, harbours and sea defences, has a major impact on the ability to maintain a sustainable economic overall and has a major impact on the environment.
Constructing, maintaining and using buildings for homes and employment have a great impact on the environment, which is why sustainability in the construction industry is becoming increasingly important.
Former Commerce, Trade and Industry minister, Felix Mutati, observed that the depreciation of the Kwacha against the major foreign currencies has affected the construction industry which relies very much on imported materials.
Mr Mutati said this has resulted in the volumes of employment in the construction industry being negatively affected.
He said Government should initiate new mechanisms of revenue collection and ensure there is compression of expenditure if the Kwacha is to regain its strength.
Mr Mutati stated that there is also need to minimise the deficit to allow the private sector to have better access to the financial sector.
He said if such measures can be put in place, the country’s economy  could be headed for greater heights by 2015.
There will be a sharp increase in the contribution of the construction sector to the country’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) if it performs well  this year.
This can be evidenced by the move Lafarge Group Zambia has made to launch two new products.
The launch of Roadcem and Wallcrete by Lafarge is a major milestone for the company and the construction sector as a whole.
The addition of the two products brings to five the Lafarge cement portfolio, making the company the only one in the construction sector with such a diverse product range.
The need for application of specific products has become very important in Zambian market and we continue to see how sophisticated the construction sector is evolving.
Copperbelt University (CBU) senior business lecturer Dr Lubinda Haabazoka said there was need to monitor how foreign investors use their revenue to ensure effective taxation.
‘‘We foresee a sharp increase in the contribution of the construction sector to GDP due to the fact that even monies have been allocated in this year’s Budget for the construction of the headquarters and other
supporting infrastructure for the new districts that have been created.
The advantage of whatever is happening is that much of the contracts are being given to the locals so these monies won’t move out of the country,’’ Dr Haabazoka said.
He said all the developments in the construction sector would inevitably lead to a positive trickle-down effect into other sectors of the economy.
‘‘Our contractors not only do construction works but they also have other businesses so the construction sector is also going to trigger other sectors to grow, especially retail and sub-sector in the construction industry, which is housing, so we are going to benefit a lot,’’ he said.
Many sustainable construction methods contribute to social and economic sustainability.
For example, a well designed building is a usable building that people can, and want to inhabit  which, in itself, helps to sustain communities.
Good building designs also helps to create financial sustainability by reducing energy costs at all stages of construction, and minimising vulnerability to shortages of fossil fuels.
Transport, Works, Supply and Ccommunication Minister Yamfwa Mukanga said there was need for production of quality building materials if the country’s infrastructure is to stand the test of time.
Mr Mukanga said as the government continued to implement a series of infrastructure development projects such as schools and various road projects, it was imperative to use quality and cost-effective building and construction solutions.
‘‘As you may be aware, Government continues to implement a series of infrastructure development projects such as universities, schools across the country, the Link Zambia 8000, Lusaka 400 and Pave Zambia 2000, all need quality products,’’ Mr Mukanga said.
He urged contractors in the country to make use of innovative cement products to meet the new modern building needs.
Infrastructure serves a central delivery mechanism in achieving sustainable economic development and in the generation of quality social-economic development in the country.
Infrastructure still remains a major challenge to growth, economic diversification and human development in Zambia.
Lafarge Group executive vice-president-innovation Gerard Kuperfarb said Lafarge research centre remained the world’s research facility in building materials and construction solutions.
High construction activities are expected to be sustained this year mainly in roads, construction of housing estate among others.
Lafarge Zambia chief executive officer Emmanuel Rigaux said ‘‘The need for application of specific products has become very important in our market and we will continue to see how sophisticated the construction sector is evolving.’’
Based on the strategic importance of the construction sector in the development of any nation, in particular the road sector, there is need to ensure that there is in place a sustainable contracting
capacity to carry out construction works.
However, this is not the case in Zambia, as local contractors have a marginal market share.
There is enormous potential in Zambia for job-creation and alleviation of poverty through employment of small contractors and the application of Labour Based Technology.
There continues to be a number of programmes and substantial investment in the road sector, which require the necessary capacity to undertake works.
Despite this potential, the absence of a fair and transparent registration scheme has been identified as one of the barriers that inhibits the effective participation and growth of contractors in the Zambian construction industry.
The current situation allows bogus and what is termed ‘briefcase contractors’ to access opportunities at the detriment of the trained and bona fide contractors.
Further, there is no fair and free competition as sometimes works are invited for which all contractors, be it small, medium and large can participate.
Limited growth for the local contractors is also attributed to a number of reasons among them being the absence of a registration scheme where they can be regulated and  access development as well as training initiatives.