Low cost technology redefines Kenya’s construction industry
A new low cost technology is revolutionizing the Kenyan construction industry as builders seek to lower construction costs. Industry players say the prefabricated technology has lowered the overall cost of construction, reduced the time taken to build a house and hence opened doors for more affordable housing.
Turkish based Elsek Construction has been the master mind of introducing modern and low cost building technology to East and central Africa, having constructed several houses and institution facilities for the last few years it has been operation.
The contracted factory has a monthly production capacity of 40,000 square meters of light steel construction technology and 1,000 pieces in containers with the factory in Miritini manufacturing in a 70,000 square metres closed area. It has more than 400 qualified workers.
Elsek says the factory owns a structured robot machinery line which is the world’s latest technology product and which uses high quality galvanized construction steel produced by unwedded construction technology. The company is also using bolts and nuts at the joints of the construction, made of high qualityST-52 steel.
The company says that they do manufacture using the latest technology and are still aiming to make more investment day in order to give the best services to their clients.
The property developer says the way out to the high housing status in the country is through the increased usage of light steel construction materials. This they say is a technique where large units of a building are produced in a factory and assembled ready-made at the building site and the technique permits the speedy erection of very large structures.
Already the Architectural Association of Kenya, Kenya Bureau of Standards, Municipal Councils of Nairobi and Mombasa have all approved the techniques as fit for permanent structures. The company has assured its clients that the firm builds will continue building houses using light steel structures and fiber cement for strength and that they only take a maximum of 60 days to complete the houses giving the customers an ample time to shift to their new houses.
The rigid building laws have been blamed for the low uptake of alternative materials which has as a result led to the rapid rise in building costs locking out the poor from home ownership.
The firm’s presence and construction model has caused a lot ripples in the construction industry with the local developers feeling the heat.
Already, several companies have expressed interest in building technology by supplying prefab homes to low and middle income Kenyans.
Mortgage lender Housing Finance and roofing materials maker Mabati Rolling Mills have also expressed their interest in entering the prefab housing market.
Housing Finance recently said it was focusing on using pre-fabricated technology to lower house construction costs.
The pre-fabricated panel materials are made of fibre cement and galvanised steel and are imported from countries such as United States, China and Turkey.
