Sterling Bank Plc has urged architects in the country to design buildings that are affordable for low-income earners which will make the bank to collaborate with them.

The Executive Director, Corporate and Investment, Sterling Bank, Mr Yemi Odubiyi, said this at the closing ceremony of the Lagos Architects Forum 2019 with the theme, ‘Architectural regeneration 2, The Lagos response.’

Odubiyi, who was a guest speaker at the event, said, “We are willing to support the housing sector but will only partner with you as long as you continue to create affordable housing designs.

“Our immediate focus is housing units that are less than N4m and can even be lower over time. The challenge we are throwing at you is to design buildings that are affordable which we can finance at scale.”

The executive director observed that the bank’s presence at the architects’ forum was not by chance because it had always been keen on finding a solution to the country’s affordable housing problem.

He disclosed that Sterling Alternative Finance was well positioned to lessen the country’s housing deficit.

The Commissioner for Housing, Lagos State, Gbolahan Lawal, who represented the Lagos State Governor, Akinwumi Ambode, advised members of the Nigerian Institute of Architects, Lagos chapter, and all stakeholders present to give priority to the design and development of affordable housing.

Lawal stated that location was primary in making housing affordable.

He said, “So, in your design, you should always consider where you are going to locate the houses. In the Ministry of Housing, we have done a lot in this wise. The BRT buses that we have today, from Ikorodu to Marina, are related to affordable housing. That is what we are promoting at the Ministry of Housing and I want you to factor that into your plans for creating affordable housing projects in Lagos State.”