Builders to use ready mix concrete if Bill becomes law

The Kenyan government is drafting a law that seeks to obligate builders to use ready mix concrete instead of conventional mix, in a move likely to rattle property developers.

The draft law by the Ministry of Land, Housing and Urban Development requires builders of houses with more than three floors to strictly use ready mix concrete supplied by cement makers to ensure quality works.

According to the ministry’s Buildings Inspectorate secretary Moses Nyakiongora, the regulations are aimed at reversing the trend where buildings have been collapsing due to the use of poorly mixed concrete and poor workmanship.

“Cement makers have labs to test the required standards for concrete, which will help address quality issues,” Mr Nyakiongora said, adding that no on-site mixing would be condoned once the law takes effect.

He said the draft law had received unanimous support from key industry players after recent research found that buildings have been collapsing across the country mainly due to the use of weak concrete mixture and sub-standard building materials.

READ: Precast Concrete Technology: Build a House in 8 Days

Pre-mixed concrete offers an alternative to buying raw materials – cement, sand and ballast – and bringing in workers to mix and pour.

With this solution, all you need is to prepare the foam work and to ask your supplier to deliver the concrete already pre-mixed on site.

Bamburi Cement, for example, manufactures ready mix concrete and delivers the same to construction sites by its fleet of concrete mixer trucks – thereby saving builders labour costs and time.

The firm, which is set to be one of the major beneficiaries of the draft regulations, has launched a mobile testing laboratory that will help builders using Bamburi products to ascertain quality of concrete.

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