THE Women Association of Quantity Surveyors of Nigeria (WAQSN) on Wednesday advised the three tiers of government and individuals to engage the services of certified quantity surveyors to avert excessive cost of projects.

The Chairperson of the association, Mrs Aderonke Oyelami, gave the advice in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Lagos.

Oyelami reiterated that quantity surveyors were the professionals recognised and saddled with the responsibility of dealing with all cost-related and procurement-related issues of construction projects.

Oyelami said that most projects yet to be completed or abandoned were due to the fact that government or the contractor did not engage the services of a quantity surveyor.

“A quantity surveyor stands as the mediator between the project client and the contractor who has the requisite knowledge to proffer expertise advice on cost issues.

“They do not inflate construction costs; rather, they evaluate the costs to ensure its conformity with the expected procurement expenses to be made.

“The quantity surveyor ensures excessive expenses are avoided because they assess the costs and proffer expert advice on best cost-effective approach to follow.

“They do not collude with contractors/engineers to increase cost of construction as alleged by those who do not understand the job description of a quantity surveyor,” she said. (NAN)

– Aug. 15, 2018 @ 14:28 GMT |