Platinum standard green building system for Nigeria Demand for good quality housing is high in Nigeria, and supply still cannot meet the demand. Therefore, the building sector offers good commercial opportunities for property development especially for the growing middle class. But on the other hand, the sector is faced with shortages and high cost of building materials, especially cement. Also, building skills are low. This results in high property prices combined with low quality.The PSI project is proposed by a Dutch machine builder, a Dutch manufacturer of Light Steel Frames and a Nigerian property development and building company. The consortium proposes to set up a joint venture in Lagos, near Victoria Island, and to introduce the Light Steel Frame (LSF) casco building concept which has the advantage of a much better control of building quality, lower building cost (much lower need for cement) and a much shorter time of building. This building technology is mostly used in America, Australia and New Zealand. The joint venture will offer new full-time employment for 61 persons and the operators can produce sufficient profiles (with the size of 87 or 150 mm width) for the construction of floors, walls and the roofs for four separate houses of about 100 m? each, within a daily production shift of 8 hours. The final product has the "KOMO keur". These components would require about 5 days to be integrated into semi-finished building walls and roofs with electrical fittings, insulation, inside wall cladding and outside wall cladding. Such a casco would need to be finished and furnished according to the taste and requirements of the buyer. It would require about three weeks for the houses to be assembled at the building site and completed with the appropriate finishing.The introduction of the LSF building technology will strengthen the Nigerian building sector with a new building alternative, which is especially targeting the growing Nigerian middle class. The Project partners hope the example will be successful and replicated by other construction companies across Nigeria and that property developers and architects will succeed in developing LSF housing projects for the other classes as well.Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR)The building system is supposed to be an environmentally friendly alternative: it is 100% recyclable and the production process creates lower pollution than conventional alternatives. An Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) is required for securing a building permit. The output of the factory will have the KOMO certificate and partners have indicated they will present additional internationally accepted certification which will attest to the quality standard and environmental friendliness of their building system.Partners already have a written CSR policy which is the basis of the joint venture's CSR policy. Partners aim to comply with the OECD guidelines for multinational enterprises and the ILO declaration on fundamental principles and rights at work.Workers will be paid 15% to 20% more than the average in industry.Impact•	Employment and working conditionsSee Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR).•	Innovation / Transfer of knowledgeThis technology enables builders to build much more efficient than in the traditional "wet" way with the use of cement. This system guarantees a certain dimensional quality and is entirely based on dry construction in a factory, a controlled environment. The product will also be KOMO certified and such a certification and guarantee of quality, for a building product is not known in Nigeria. Also, Design and Manufacture are to a certain extent, linked and when the design has been made, with the aid of design software included in the project, not much skill is required to produce the right profiles. All this is so far totally unknown in Nigeria.•	Chain effectsNigeria's production capacity for goods is low considering the market size. Also, the quality level of services is low. The project partners strive to source from local companies and to enhance the local suppliers' ability to meet their needs where possible although initially they don't expect local manufacturers and service suppliers can meet their desired quality standards. It is expected the project will ultimately have a positive impact on the efficiency and professionalism in the sector.Products that can probably be sourced locally are: steel coils, wooden beams, thermal insulation, waterproof materials, gypsum boards, corrugated roofing materials, cladding boards; OSB, Eternit, windows (including frames), electrical fittings, plumbing materials, nails, screws etc.The local clients, looking for affordable housing, will benefit from:1. a better building quality, resulting in a higher quality of living;2. lower building prices;3. shorter delivery time.•	Impact on the sectorThe exposure to an alternative building system, offering more efficiency, quality and professionalism, may on the longer term increase the growth of home ownership in Nigeria. Others may be encouraged to participate in the housing supply chain. It can be argued that a higher quality level will increase the confidence level of the housing demand market and the banks, which will lead to a significant growth in Nigeria's mortgage industry.The partners will organise a demonstration event for policy makers and future partners.•	EnvironmentThe environment benefits, especially when compared to the damage resulting from conventional building methods using cement bricks.There is no typical risk identified.•	Position of womenThe project partners acknowledge that it would be in the best interest of this project to further consolidate the position of women and have indicated that they will seek to work with women in the supply chain and within their organisation. At least 20% of the newly created jobs in the joint venture concerns employment for women. To establish a factory in Lagos Nigeria for the production of Light Steel Frame building elements which can annually produce at least 45,000 m2 wall panels, 36,000 m2 roof panels and 30,000 m2 floor panels.