Prefabricated construction to aid India’s 2022 vision of housing for all

With the influx of AI, IOT, Block Chain and Virtual Reality, the industry has evidently become more streamlined. However, timely delivery of homes and shortage of homes are two key challenges that continue to slow down the pace of growth for the overall industry in India. 

For years together, real estate industry in India has been constantly challenged by delay in the deadlines of project delivery due to various reasons. Timely delivery of projects besides assuring the handing over of home also gives freedom from rental owners for the buyers. Now imagine a marketplace, wherein a buyer could walk in and choose the house and get it assembled on a plot? Enter prefabricated construction technology which helps builders deliver projects on time and tackle manpower shortage in the industry. 

Prefabricated construction technology is the process of manufacturing various components of a building or house in factory and transporting to the construction site for assembling as per design. Besides enabling faster pace of construction, prefabricated construction technology has several advantages like durability, less labour force and cost efficiency.  The modern wonders, Sydney Opera House and Dubai’s landmark Burj Khalifa are both constructed using prefabricated technique and stands as a global testimony for quality and durability. With strong structural strength, prefabricated construction enables structures to withstand earthquakes, which is highly recommended for a seismic-sensitive Indian landscape. The usage of high quality elements and having been produced in controlled factory environment, the concrete panels last longer. Prefab construction also provides solution to a pertinent problem of dumping construction material on site and moving of heavy vehicles in the city as the structures are fabricated in factories and are simply assembled on site. This also reduces the manual labour to 40% both at factory and construction site.

Although prefabricated construction technology is still at a nascent stage in India, there is an increasing awareness among developers. With the ‘Government’s housing for all by 2022’ vision, which requires fast construction of 30 million low-cost-houses and 98 smart cities, prefab construction will get the much needed leverage and boost. India is in grave need for more homes and one of the reasons for shortage of homes is the time taken to construct homes. According to the Ministry of Housing and Urban Poverty Alleviation, National Buildings Organisation reports that there is shortage of 26.53 million houses in 2002. Prefabricated construction will help remove the shortage of homes in the country while promising durability and cost effectiveness. 

With the current market share of precasting industry in India standing at a meagre 2%, the realty industry faces a set of roadblocks for sooner adaptation. An immediate challenge is the lack of skilled talent in the industry with the knowledge of prefabricated technology which makes the realty sector think twice before taking a step into the prefab world. Other core issues like lack of standardisation, contractual issues and taxation will also remain a major roadblock for the technology to spread its wings in the industry.  From a home buyer point of view, the limited or no scope for customisation in housing projects is also a major roadblock for builder to readily adopt this technique of construction.