By MKALA MWAGHESHA
The National Housing Corporation (NHC) has launched a one-year awareness campaign on the use of Expanded Polystyrene (EPS) technology, which reduces construction costs by up to 30 per cent and construction time by 50 per cent.
The campaign, which was launched in Kericho recently, will target county governments and groups undertaking mass housing projects. NHC Manufacturing Division’s General Manager Andrew Saisi said the technology would allow for speed and lower the cost of delivery, which will translate into more affordable housing units.
NHC established an EPS panel production factory in Mavoko, Machakos County. The factory is capable of producing 800 panels per day. The technology is set to see NHC grow business in the counties as it is holding talks with county governments to encourage its in construction of county offices, schools and hospitals.
“The technology is viable because it will reduce the cost of building, which will translate to low-cost of houses,” said Sam Manjau of Abec Real Estate. “The reviewing of the building code where there is no need to build with bricks has made technology, theoretically, be a better option.”
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Adoption of technology
Already, Kitui County is planning to use the technology for its planned housing projects. Various CDF units from Nyeri County have also deployed the technology to rapidly construct schools and police posts.
NHC is constructing 44 police staff quarters in Nairobi using the technology. The project is part of the Police Reform Programme, which aims at improving the welfare of security officers.
The new technology, however, is facing challenges, especially with the local perception that strong buildings are built using brick and mortar.
“The current low uptake of the new technology is attributed to inadequate industry information and the limited number of contractors and professionals able to develop EPS technology houses,” said Saisi. “This is being addressed through building the capacity of contractors and skills of practising and budding professionals, disseminating the new building code to the general public and approving authorities.”
“EPS technology is one of the best building technologies and has been used to entirely erect structures up to 20 storeys,” he said.
