Local contractors have today committed to work closely with professional associations in the built environment to develop a 5-year capacity building program in the areas of construction management and access to finance.
The program is aimed at boosting local contractors’ competitiveness by sharing best practices for managing construction projects and enlightening them on project financing mechanisms available to help build their capacity to take on large projects.
Speaking during a seminar with local contractors, Nashon Okowa, Chairman of Association of Construction Managers of Kenya said, “The construction industry in Kenya is booming with many infrastructure projects under implementation. However, many local contractors don’t have the required capacity to compete with international contractors in delivering large scale projects.”
“We need to improve the interaction between professional associations and contractors’ associations, so we can share best practice and address the challenges local contractors face” added Nashon.
The initiative will bring together all construction sector stakeholders with an objective of achieving, more local content in large scale infrastructure projects, improving revenue turnover for local contractors and growing registration of local contractors by the NCA in categories 2 and 3.
Speaking at the same event, Douglas Ochong, Chair of the Construction Project Management Chapter at AAK said, “We would like to see the market gaining confidence in local contractors and them competing favorably with the international players in terms of time, cost and the ability to deliver”.
The initiative is championed by the Architectural Association of Kenya (AAK), Association of Construction Managers of Kenya (ACMK) and the Kenya Federation of Master Builders (KFMB) in conjunction with other professional and contractor associations.
“There has been little attention given to the capacity building of local contractors despite the challenges they face. The different players in the construction industry haven’t been collaborating in the past and we want to change this so that local contractors can excel”, said Eng. Maurice Owiti, Chairman of KFMB.
“If we are to realize the vision of affordable housing (BIG 4 Agenda) and other national infrastructural goals, the capacity of local contractors must be improved” added Eng. Owiti.