Infrastructure Maintenance Management for State University Campuses in South East Nigeria

University campus infrastructure in South East Nigeria, including roads, buildings, and utilities, is progressively deteriorating due to inadequate maintenance planning, insufficient funding, and poorly managed campus facilities departments. This study develops a professional infrastructure maintenance management framework for state university campuses in South East Nigeria, using three universities in Enugu, Anambra, and Imo States as case studies. A professional assessment methodology integrating facility condition assessment and maintenance management systems theory was adopted. Campus infrastructure condition was assessed for buildings, roads, drainage, water supply, and electrical systems using a structured condition grading instrument applied to 120 infrastructure assets across the three campuses. Maintenance management system documentation and budget data were reviewed. Interviews with 20 campus works officers and university administrators provided organisational context. Results indicate that 62 percent of assessed campus assets are in Poor or Very Poor condition, with building roofing and internal finishes showing the highest deterioration rates. Maintenance budget allocations average 0.4 percent of campus replacement asset value, far below the recommended 2 to 4 percent annual maintenance investment. Reactive maintenance accounts for 87 percent of maintenance activity. The study proposes a Campus Infrastructure Maintenance Management Framework incorporating asset registers, planned preventive maintenance schedules, condition-based priority maintenance, and a rolling five-year capital works programme, with a recommended minimum maintenance budget of 1.5 percent of replacement asset value annually.

Keywords: infrastructure maintenance, university campus, facility management, South East Nigeria, asset management