Firms prepare for boom as cheap homes project gets up

A host of Kenyan building material manufacturers are stepping up expansion of their factories to handle an expected surge in demand from the State-backed Affordable Housing Programme that seeks to deliver 500,000 new homes in five years.

Wood-based panel products maker PG Bison has, for example, acquired new automated machines for an undisclosed amount of money to help expand its production capacity for the local market.

Its managing director Hitesh Mediratta says the first machine will arrive from Germany this month, with the second one expected at their Nairobi’s Industrial Area plant in March.

“The government’s housing programme promises to allocate small and medium enterprises contracts to carry out specific tasks within the residential developments,” he said.

“That model fits our strategy as our products will be fitted within homes and offices by SMEs employing about 600 trained artisans,” he added.

Mr Mediratta was speaking to journalists during the official opening of the company’s upgraded showroom in Nairobi last month.

Steel and tiles maker Space and Style is on its part making plans to meet an expected surge in demand for roofing materials in the country.

READ: Kenya lines up incentives for builders of low cost houses

The company has announced plans to build a Sh1.5 billion factory in Ruiru, Kiambu County, as it seeks to slash its steel and tiles imports and raise production to 60 per cent.

“We are launching the factory early next year as Space and Style positions itself to increase local production and reduce our tiles and steel imports,” founder and chief executive Winnie Ngumi said in an interview.

READ: Big hurdles stand in way of Kenya’s low cost housing scheme

Space and Style says the new factory, which is being funded through bank loans and shareholder equity, will hire expatriates from South Korea, New Zealand and Egypt to transfer skills and tech knowledge to the local staff who will operate on their own by mid-2020.

“At the onset we will contract expatriates to support the local staff in terms of skill and technology transfer. We expect them to work on their own in 18 months,” Mrs Ngumi said.

The government is this year expected to launch the much-awaited affordable housing scheme, which is expected to raise the demand for building materials such as sand, cement, and roofing tiles as property investors rush to bridge the widening housing supply gap that currently stands nearly two million housing units.

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