The Bhutanese Leading the way.
The National Housing Development Corporation (NHDC) is exploring the possibility of using alternative housing materials such as prefabricated building components or stabilized mud blocks to afford cheaper accommodation to middle and low-income people.
The corporation plans to implement this project in far-flung districts or urban centres in Bhutan where accessibility is difficult or the cost of construction for conventional materials is high.
This plan is being initiated to cut down on the soaring costs of transporting construction materials to such places and to basically reduce the cost of construction and the timetaken to complete the construction.
Places like Lhuentse, Dagana and Gasa were among the places in dire need of housing and where such constructions are best suited. Prefab components constitute structural steel frames, cement board walls and ceiling and CGI sheet on steel roof truss which will be manufactured at the factory while theother, stabilized mud block comprises load-bearing stabilized mud block as wall, ceiling of ply board or cement board and CGI sheet on steel or timber roof truss which will be manufactured at the construction site.
According to NHDC, the estimates will be difficult to ascertain at the moment because currently, it is just looking at the economic viability of the construction using either of the two materials.
“Our engineers are working on it right now and we will be able to provide the definite information only upon the completion of our design and estimates,” said the General Manager of Designing and Planning, NHDC, Rinchen.
Rinchen said some of the benefits of using locally available materials were to generate employment and to cut down on overall cost of construction.
Just be hollow blocks machine and install in the site of construction and use it conveniently to construct atleast 5 stories… I manufacture hollow bricks machine,,, so govt can contact me….. I sold many to malaysia, indonesia..
But govt wont do otherwise the trucks they (ministers) buy to give on hire on loan will be useless without transportation of construction materials from india to bhutan
well well well, once again NHDC comes to the rescue of all nonsense. they only harvest timber to sustain themselves and when pinched by the Govt. they come up into looking into the matter. i feel all is rigged and nothing can come up from them, for they dont have any qualified staff in the first place. all the best anyways. and as for the truck thingy, i think yangzom should now start a tshogpa for truck hires to relieve herself from the hire pressure.