The contributions of foreign construction companies towards capacity building of indigenous construction companies in the Nigerian construction industry

Abstract

Premised on the problem of continued influx of major foreign construction companies into Nigeria, this study investigated how the foreign construction companies can work with the domestic construction companies to enable capacity building. The three specific objectives of the research included: investigating the level of impact of the different factors affecting the project delivery capacity of the indigenous construction companies in Nigeria; investigating the level of importance of the different forms of contribution made by foreign construction companies to the capacity building of indigenous construction companies in Nigeria; and investigating the strategies for the foreign companies to work with the indigenous companies for capacity building. Data were collected from construction professionals drawn predominantly from the northern part of Nigeria using mailed semi-structured questionnaires. 88 questionnaires were returned and analysed. The results provided insights into the challenges faced by the indigenous construction companies, contributions made by the foreign construction companies, and strategies for capacity building of the local construction companies and the industry as a whole. The findings from this study explored possible strategies that could be implemented to enable the foreign and indigenous firms to work together to enhance the capacity of indigenous construction companies in Nigeria. The study also clarified the level of importance of different forms of contribution made by foreign construction companies to the capacity of indigenous construction companies.