CTSR’s Precast Concrete System Holds Promise for Mass Housing

The precast concrete being assembled at the factory site in Abuja

A new building technology making its way into Nigeria’s construction industry is offering yet another bait to mass housing developers, with a concept that claims the ability to enhance efficiency by 70 times compared to traditional construction methods.
At a precast factory, which will cover over the 100,000 square metres‎ of land, situated close to the Abuja Train Station in Idu Industrial Area of the territory, a demonstration project has commenced and, if the expectation of the promoters are anything to go by, the new technology will support the efforts of the Federal Government in reducing the huge housing deficit in the country estimated at over 17 million.

Behind the German technology in Nigeria, is one of the nation’s leading real estate developer and construction firm, CTSR Group Limited. The company plans to set up its second factory along the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway in the second quarter of the year.

A precast concrete is a construction product produced by casting concrete in a reusable mould‎ or form, which is then cured in a controlled environment, and transported to the construction site and lifted into place.
The President of CTSR Group, Mrs. Funke Otti, who confirmed the development after a meeting with the stakeholders in the industry, said the factory would provide integrated solutions of precast concrete construction for residential and commercial buildings, public and industrial facilities and infrastructure for over 20 years.



Otti said: “CTSR Group is the Nigerian sole partner of Broad Homes, the multinational automated precast concrete production, building and Construction Company headquartered in China.

“‎The group is in business to deliver total precast design-build systems for many applications—from mixed-use to industrial, institutional to power generation. ‎It intends to provide affordable housing to residents of the FCT and Nigerians across the country through the use of automated precast concrete technology.

“The technology provides factory made sustainable buildings, including reinforced concrete pre-casting, which is more efficient and durable energy-saving technology. The technology is of a higher quality having gone through standard manufacturing and assembly processes and cost effective.”

Otti told The Guardian that the main prototypes have been set up at the factory in 14 days – four days for the main structure while interiors and finishing takes about one week.
“To deliver durable, standardised, consistent quality homes, we must apply technology. Precast concrete is one of the suitable technology that can address housing shortage. We can offer buildings at 25 per cent less the cost of conventional construction,” she said.

According to the CTSR boss, the Abuja precast factory will consist of production ‎plants, batching plant for concrete mixing, reinforcement plant and administrative block, among others.



Source: Theguardian