Infrastructure security related Construction costs: case studies of Commercial buildings in Minna and Abuja, Nigeria

Abstract

This paper views threats to infrastructure security (vandalism, fire outbreaks, armed robbery and terrorism) as contrasting sharply with the reality that the empirical relationship between infrastructure facility characteristics and costs implications of security concerns have not been established. Private individuals express their security concerns through the provision of built-in security components such as burglar proofing, perimeter fencing, guard huts and external floodlighting in their houses. The aim of this paper is to establish the exact proportion of building costs devoted to the security of commercial buildings, and derive the line that best fits the relationship. The paper employs a survey approach, by utilizing a data collection proforma to capture eighteen (18) different variables comprising physical characteristics as well as costs of erecting the various elements of the buildings. Conclusions were reached that costs of built-in security varies between 0.5% and 3.0% of the total cost of the building, and that total floor area and areas of access and ventilation openings individually explain only between 3.0% and 5.15% of the variations in the costs of built-in security of commercial buildings. The paper recommends that specific levels of expenditure on passive security, expressed as a proportion of the total cost of the building should be included as a prerequisite for the approval of building plans under the National Building Code.