CAIRO: If cheaper building techniques based on a new scientific approach are used in construction, costs would be cut down by 10 percent for each square meter, Housing Minister Ahmed El Maghrabi said at a conference last week. "We build 300,000 units annually over an area of 40 million square meters. But if we manage to reduce LE 100 from the cost of building each square meter, thus saving LE 4 billion annually, we will be able to build one million units over the next six years, the minister told the attendees of the inaugural session of the "Economic Challenges Towards Low Cost Construction conference. Organized by the Housing and Building National Research Center (HBRC) and sponsored by the Ministry of Housing, Utilities and Urban Development, the conference was held last week in an effort to bring down construction costs. The price increase in construction materials, namely steel and cement, is taking its toll on the real estate market, leading to skyrocketing prices and a the further exacerbation of the housing crisis. There's a worldwide trend of resorting to cheaper alternative materials. Measures adopted by Asian and South American countries to contain the crisis are prompting other countries to follow in their footsteps. The conference, aimed at revolutionizing housing policies, brought together a large number of construction officials from the public and private sectors as well as heads of many contracting companies, architects and other experts in the field. The subject of the conference is creating an ambitious plan laid down by the government to set up 500,000 residential units. Orascom's Omar El Haytami noted that low-cost construction doesn't necessarily mean the units would be only sold to people with lower incomes. "Low cost isn't intended for one category or class of people, said El Haytami. The conference discussed 17 research papers that mainly focused on three topics: The economic dimension of architectural designs; the traditional bearing walls as one cost-reducing alternative; and the evaluation of modern construction methods. "The economic dimension is important, director of HBRC Mostafa El Demerdash told reporters. He explained that the ministry can't subsidize residential units in compounds built by the private sector or even put a price cap, due to the rising costs of construction. However, he stressed that discussions at the conference are aimed at finding common ground between buyers and sellers. "Affordability for all remains the biggest problem, said El Haytami. However El Demerdash underlined the importance of the cooperation of the public and private sectors as well as the national societies in addressing the problem. "That can't be done unless we reconsider housing related laws side by side with the policies which have over the years molded construction work to result in raising the cost, he noted. "The experience of Toshki has proven that many local construction materials could be used to meet environmental requirements and bring down cost as well, he explained. Comprehensive studies are scheduled to be conducted to assess alternative construction material, to better familiarize experts with the traditions and customs of each province and to adopt the most convenient of solutions from an economic viewpoint. From a construction viewpoint, the traditional bearing wall technique that dates back to Ancient Egypt, was suggested as one material-saving alternative to replace concrete that consumes steel and cement. Bearing walls are used to carry the weight resting on it, as opposed to columns, and the material used to construct it is usually bricks. On the other hand, with the suggested method being only applicable to four-storey buildings, some experts were skeptical. Bearing walls, they explained, might not necessarily succeed in reducing costs in a country opting for tall buildings. Domes and vaults are also good alternatives. However, they have to comply with construction codes and quality requirements and take into consideration the climate conditions of the area in question. Domes are generally made without steel and are ideal for one-storey buildings, also boosting the use of bearing walls. Dr Mohamed El Demerdash, senior assistant to the housing minister, explained that the ministry selects the system according to the location, nature and function of the building. The quantity of steel, bricks or cement are then determined according to the selected system. "Environmental factors and the local availability of the materials in question should also be taken into consideration. We shouldn't undermine the labor factor, we must ensure we are making use of the skilled workers specializing in each system, said El Demerdash. "Since our goal is to reduce cost we can sometimes combine two or three systems from a wide range that varies from traditional to prefabs. "For example, setting up factories to manufacture some of the materials as opposed to shaping them on the sites would ensure quality. In other cases using prefabs would reduce cost and reduce the reliance on skilled labor, he explained. El Demerdash pointed out that the development seen by industrial technology during the last two decades resulted in new less expensive materials that can be used to shun the ill-effects of the traditional ones. "Rust-resistant carbonic fibers that are 10 times more solid than steel and foamy materials can be added to the concrete mix to make it lighter, is a significant example, he explained. A seminar that will take place in December 2008 will shed light on using new types of cement.
