A Turkish investor is seeking to partner with the Government and the private sector to provide decent, low-cost housing units across East Africa.
Elsek-Elsek Construction Limited Housing, which has set base in Kenya, is coming up with a new technology that would ensure that houses are made affordable and available in quality short time.
The firm is spearheading a new technology that uses prefabricated building techniques using fibre cement and galvanised steel.
Backed by experienced staff and modernised machinery at its main factory, the firm is taking advantage of the larger East African Community market and has made inroads in Rwanda. http://www.standardmedia.co.ke/images/tuesday/buscap180111_01.jpgOne of the model houses built by the Turkish firm in Mombasa. Elsek-Elsek Construction Limited is now eyeing the regional market in a bid to boost its presence. [PHOTO: PHILIP MWAKIO / STANDARD]

"We are eyeing the larger East African market and hope to make a mark by providing decent and affordable housing for the masses,’’ Osman said.
MODEL HOUSE
The new technology uses walls made of fibre cement boards which are bullet proof upto 9 mm and fire proof up to 800 degrees Celsius.
The walls are made of cement, stone and glue chemical for strength and windows are double glass or glazing for high insulation.
Already several clients have been lining up at the company’s Miritini factory and headquarter offices in Mombasa County to place orders for prefabricated houses.
A model house put up for demonstrational purposes at the Mamba Discotheque in the upmarket Nyali area has proved to be popular with hundreds of clients.
Elsek Group of Companies Chief Executive officer, Osman Erdinc Elsek says that the new technology of constructing low cost housing is at very affordable cost requiring very elementary skills.
"Time of construction using this technology is very short. The technology utilises unwelded galvanised steel structures that act as framework upon which covering fabric are made of fibre cement,’’ Osman said.
The firm has rolled out an ambitious programme that will see potential house owners acquire two or three-bedroomed houses on mortage fully financed by the firm. Among the firm’s corporate clients are Presbyterian University of East Africa put up in 1988.
New agreement
Elsek also constructed the terminal building for Siginon Freight Company at Changamwe using the prefabrication technology.
In Rwanda where the company has opened an office to service its growing clientele, the company has signed an agreement to construct Rwanda’s premier Tourism University College in Kigali. And in efforts geared towards tapping potential in the region, the Turkish firm has won a tender to put up the Spanish Consulate in Southern Sudan.
http://www.standardmedia.co.ke/business/InsidePage.php?id=2000026945&cid=14&story=Turkish%20investor%20in%20new%20housing%20plan

It seems from their website that they already find partner
http://www.elsekconstruction.com/
http://i.imgur.com/TIM8q.jpg

http://www.standardmedia.co.ke/InsidePage.php?id=2000047189&cid=470

Rigid building laws that prohibit the use of alternative materials are partly to blame for the rapid rise in building costs, locking out the poor from home ownership. But with the entry of options such as steel engineered buildings and a revision of the Building Code, this is set to change, writes ALLAN OLINGO.

Even though the Building Code has for years not recognised steel structures as fit for permanent residential units, Kenyans may now embrace it as an alternative to the traditional construction methods.

This is after a partnership between Equity Bank and Mabati Rolling Mills (MRM) introduced micro-mortgages that can enable an individual to own a home for as little as Sh195,000.

According to the joint partnership, individuals and entrepreneurs with a monthly income of at least Sh20,000 can now access the micro-mortgage product designed to facilitate low-cost housing units using steel structures manufactured by MRM.

This financing agreement formally kicked off the advent of micro-mortgages access, which is expected to transform the mortgage-financing sub-sector while addressing the low-cost housing units’ deficit.

Speaking during the signing of a memorandum of understanding between the two firms, Equity Bank Group Managing Director James Mwangi disclosed that the partnership would accord low-income earners affordable micro-mortgage credit facilities from as low as Sh48,000 to finance building construction elements with the cheapest housing option costing about Sh195,000.

According to Francis Gichuhi, an architect, the introduction of steel engineered structures will solve the housing crisis.

Elsek Group of Companies Chief Executive Officer Osman Erdinc Elsek says the new technology of constructing low-cost housing is affordable and requires elementary skills.

In an earlier interview, Osman told The Standard that the steel houses take a short time to construct, hence saving time and labour cost.

"The technology utilises unwelded galvanised steel structures that act as a framework upon which covering fabric made of fibre cement is placed," said Osman.

Gichuhi concurs: "With the rising costs in construction, this is the way to go. One will save on cement, ballast, stones, timber and labour."

According to the partnership, MRM will supply ready-made steel houses that will retail at Sh80,000 and Sh160,000 for two and four-room houses respectively.

However, if one opts to buy a steel structure, they can complete the walls with iron sheets, wood, bricks or mud.

"The models can be custom-made for clients depending on their tastes and preferences," said Kaushik Shah Safal, MRM’s Chief Executive Officer for the Horn of Africa.

The company is optimistic that the pricing will help it penetrate the low-end of the market, which investors seeking quick returns have shunned.

Space Frame Technologies project manager Joaquim Obwaku says this technology is viable as it reduces the building time and costs while at the same time ensuring high quality housing.

Obwaku adds that the cost depends on the spaces and finishes a client wishes to have. On average, the cost of a high-end house is between Sh32,000 to Sh34,000 per square metre for maisonettes as compared to Sh45,000 per square metre for ordinary houses.

"We do not have standard buildings plans, but we tailor-make quotations as per the client’s drawings and design. The client brings his or her drawing and we put it in our system, which generates the quantity of steel required and thereafter, we do a standard bill of quantities with the exact details of all items incorporated in the building," he says.

Obwaku says, using their system, the construction period is reduced by 60 per cent or more of the normal construction time, depending on the complexity of the building.

He notes that steel is environmentally friendly because it has no threat to forests and structures are durable and so strong that they can withstand natural disasters such as earthquakes.

"The heavy galvanised structures have a lifespan of around 165 years," says Obwaku.

Says Gichuhi: "I have tried for several years to introduce the prefabricated housing solutions to Kenya mainly through the use of steel panels."

In their partnership, MRM and Equity Bank promised to scale up a behavioural change campaign to encourage a switch from timber-based roofing and building beams to the adoption of more environmentally sustainable steel option with the ultimate benefit being forest conservation.

Gichuhi, however, says one drawback to this technology is that the security situation in Kenya is bad and potential customers feel psychologically unsafe in a house made of steel panels.

"Kenyans are used to living in stone houses with steel doors and windows and as long as the security situation remains the same, people will shun panel housing unless it is situated in a gated community," says Gichuhi.

Another setback is the high cost of on imports.

"The steel panels are cheap in China but the moment they land in Kenya, the import duty of ten per cent, the 16 per cent value added tax and the 25 per cent charged by the Kenya Bureau of Standards push up the costs considerably. This is also coupled with the high rail or road transportation costs from Mombasa to Nairobi."

Scepticism

Gichuhi says by the time the steel imports get to Nairobi, the cost is almost the similar to that of a stone house, making many shy away from importing them.

The only downside to the houses in the micro-mortgages project is their insulation. Unlike the normal steel houses, these ones are not buffered with foam that insulates the frames, meaning they can overheat or be very cold.

"I believe the micro-mortgage houses targeted at solving the immediate housing crisis will use light frames, but they might lack the luxury of thermal regulation," notes Gichuhi.

Kenya currently needs about 150,000 to 200,000 houses a year, but the Government and private developers build and average of 40,000 units annually

MRM chairman Manu Chandaria says with the support of Equity Bank, they now hope to start reducing the housing deficit by facilitating the constructions of at least 5,000 units annually.

These affordable housing units can be residential homes or outbuildings in urban areas, townships and municipalities and are not limited in size, design or even price.

http://i.imgur.com/TIM8q.jpg

It''s a good initiative and project. Most of the current project always leave out the low incomers who are even more by the numbers. It''s a good way to reduce shanty housing normally used by the low income earners.

They have just finished building the Kikambala Housing Estate in Kilifi.

Pictures guys pictures

This is what I was talking about in another thread.Why has the building code not been changed,why are not no other alternatives to cosntructing a house.More of these companuies and building alternatives need to be introduced in Kenya and you will see cement and stone prices go down, and with them housing costs.
Kenya seems to be making all the right steps in the right directions, I just hope its not too much too soon.