The Future of BIM Technologies in Africa: Prospects and Challenges

The construction industry is undergoing a radical change as project owners are demanding for more project visibility at lower cost and better risk management; this has increased the use of new technologies in project implementations. The concept of information islands has remained a major challenge in construction projects where the existing management systems have restrained the sharing of information on the building life cycle and also cooperation among contracting parties. The global call for the use of building information modeling (BIM) is to improve the quality characteristics of the construction industry’s outputs and create potential impact on the industry. The upgrading from the use of 2D CAD systems to 3D BIM technologies has dramatically increased project efficiency and affordability among the large architecture, engineering and construction (AEC) firms. The chapter investigates on the prospects and possible challenges confronting the upgrade to BIM technologies in the two leading African economies namely; Nigeria and South Africa. The research approach is based on comprehensive literature scan and case studies. The findings reveal the key challenges to adopting BIM in both countries, the paper also recommends the way forward.

Keywords: BIM technologies, Construction industry, Nigeria, South Africa, 2D.