In a fast developing country like Bangladesh, many people aspire to own an apartment in the heart of the city. The yearning for a place where we feel safe, secure, and loved is embedded in all of us. This cherished dream remains unfulfilled for many due to a variety of reasons such as financial insolvency or lacking the right resources to find an affordable home.
What is low-cost housing?
With the advent of innovative building technologies and use of unconventional building materials, low-cost housing in Bangladesh is at a nascent stage in the real estate sector. However, its scope is vast; it can contribute to the overall socioeconomic development of the country and the betterment of individual families. Now let’s delve into the definition of low-cost housing and clarify some of the misconceptions held against it.
Low-cost housing refers to safe, sustainable, and quality structures built through innovative building technology, which reduces the cost of construction, thereby lowering the apartment price.
Low-cost housing is not only for the low-income demographics
Contrary to the popular belief that it only serves the low-income demographics, low-cost housing provides housing solution to all sections of the population. The purpose of low-cost housing is to ensure anyone can fulfill his or her dream of homeownership.
Low-cost doesn’t mean low quality
Many of you may already have raised your eyebrows at the word “low-cost” as we are all guilty of assuming that if something costs low then it must be inherently of low quality. However, low-cost housing only reduces the cost factor and does not diminish the product quality in any way.
Low -cost doesn’t mean less secure
A home is more than just a place to live in. When buying a home, you are likely to think of the comfort and security it will provide. Moreover, in a country like Bangladesh, which is frequently hit by natural disasters like earthquakes and floods, it is only natural to worry that a low-cost home might be less secure. However, the low-cost housing also takes into account your safety and uses durable materials that are resistant to these natural calamities.
How is the reduction in cost achieved?
Low-cost housing uses various methods to bring down the construction cost. Some of these can be:
Using innovative building materials like concrete hollow blocks instead of traditional burnt bricks
Construction work using concrete hollow blocks speeds up construction, reduces labor hours and mortar consumption, thereby, giving you around 20% savings. Moreover, constructions made from concrete hollow blocks weigh lighter and thus, are more resistant to earthquake jolts.
Using locally manufactured building materials
If the building materials used in the construction of buildings are manufactured locally, it can reduce the construction cost substantially since the production cost of these materials is lower. But of course, care has to be taken to ensure that the materials are meticulously inspected to maintain the quality.
Construction cost can be reduced in several other ways, but it will vary depending on the nature and functionality of the building, expert construction management practices, and so on. A low-cost housing with high quality can be achieved through the collaborative teamwork of the design and construction teams.
With an aim to provide sustainable and environment-friendly building materials, building technology and ideas ltd. (bti) has recently launched bti building products, which has its own manufacturing plant of concrete hollow blocks. These concrete hollow blocks are now used in all projects of bti.
Apart from this, bti also has product segmentation to cater to different echelons of the society and provides loan facilities, insurance coverage, etc. for payment flexibility. With so many options, you can now easily fulfill your lifelong dream of homeownership.
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