The construction industry in Zambia has maintained double-digit growth over the past six years making itself the highest growth industry in the country's economy, Zambia's National Council for Construction (NCC) has said.

The construction industry has recorded growth rates averaging 15 percent since 1999 from 227.6 billion kwacha (65 million U.S. dollars) to last year's 425.5 billion kwacha (150 million dollars), according to a recently released newsletter by NCC.

NCC Director Silvester Mashamba said the growth was mainly attributed to the government initiative of the Road Sector Investment Program (RoadSIP), a program supported by the World Bank.

"In percentage contributions to our gross domestic product (GDP) , the industry has increased its share from 9.4 percent in 1999 to 13.5 percent in 2005," Mashamba said.

Mashamba however expressed concern over the loss of confidence by the Zambian society including the government in local construction contractors as a result of their shoddy workmanship, poor supervision by consultants and frequent running away with clients' advance payment.

A large proportion of construction projects were awarded to foreign contractors and consultants, a trend that was leading to externalization of the country's foreign exchange, Mashamba said.

Source: Xinhua