The president of the Building Collapse Prevention Group, BCPG, Kunle Awobodu, on Friday urged the federal government to offset over N600 billion being owed major construction companies in the country.

Awobodu who spoke in Lagos, in setting agenda for the Minister of Power, Works and Housing, Babatunde Fashola, suggested areas he should focus on.

Fashola and Mustapha Shehuri were on Wednesday appointed the minister and minister of state respectively in the new Power, Works and Housing ministry.

According to Awobodu, major construction companies have since lost hope in working for government because of the huge debts owed them.

“The minister has a huge challenge in terms of huge decaying infrastructure and debts owed contractors,” he stated, noting that “most of the government buildings are in sorry state.”

Awobodu said that offsetting some of the debts owed contractors would help them to put themselves together for the job of resuscitating the decayed infrastructure.

He said that most of the major construction companies had sacked majority of their staff and needed.

He also pointed at decaying roads infrastructure across the country as one of the major challenges the ministers would face.

“The Lagos-Ibadan-Ore Expressway, Port Harcourt-Enugu-Ontisha Expressway and Oshogbo-Bida Expressway are in need of serious rehabilitation,” he observed.

Awobodu said that the minister should also address the many problems facing housing development to make housing affordable for the people.

According to him, the shortage of houses in the country is huge and requires proactive measures to tackle.