The National Housing Corporation plans to construct at least 50 houses in each county, starting with police quarters, in the coming financial year.
The houses will be built using the cheaper Expanded Polystyrene (EPS) technology which uses soft boards and wiremesh to make floor, wall and roof panels.
The panels act as a substitute for building stones and timber, guaranteeing better quality finished products that have thermal insulation and are environmentally friendly.
It is estimated that a two bed-room unit built with the technology would cost Sh700,000 before finishing, about half of the cost when using bricks and timber.
The panels are made at a Sh1 billion factory that NHC has constructed in Mavoko to step up its delivery of affordable housing in line with its social mandate.
National Treasury Secretary Henry Rotich allocated NHC Sh1.2 billion for the construction of the more than 2,000 housing units in this years budget.
He also directed the Kenya Revenue Authority to identify landlords by mapping residential areas, setting the stage for taxation of income from residential, commercial and industrial buildings.
He also allocated Sh1.2 billion for construction of 1,500 house for health care workers and for improving service delivery in hospitals to create convenience in times of emergency.
Source: Business Daily
You will find that you have social resistance with this type of building material as is the case in South Africa – African do the knock test when they walk into a room – if it does not sound solid it is a "no go".
I do the same too. Its a hard sale for someone investing in building a home to do so using presumably 'temporary' materials.
I hope it will not be like the roof truss fabricating & research facility operated by NHC in the past.
polystyrene is not a green material its carbon footprint is very high making it a bad choice of material in my opinion there are better choice of materials one can use i.e straw bale material which is carbon neutral and serves a better purpose or adobe blocks which our ancestors used to make houses that technology should be developed rather than seeking ecological filth that is not been recycled. we can do better.
Boss tell em its so sad Kenyans are being taken for a ride man and i am involved in this too.
kweli umesoma