Find alternatives to steel, developers told
The Star 25/11/2004

MIRI: The Housing and Local Government Ministry has called on housing developers nationwide to look into ways to reduce the heavy dependency on steel and steel-related products in the construction of residential homes.

The price of steel has escalated recently and there is worry that construction costs may also rise and this may translate into higher house prices.

The ministry's National Housing Department is now working with developers to study whether there are cheaper alternative raw materials or alloys which could be used.

Department Deputy Director-General II Rosly Zainal said there might be alternatives that are as solid and could last as long as steel or even better.

''We need to reduce the costs of construction without compromising quality and design.

''There are modern techniques we could use to manufacture lighter material that could be of higher quality than steel,'' he said after the launch of a three-day national conference on affordable housing here.

Rosly said providing affordable houses for the people was of utmost priority for the Government.

He said the availability of raw materials has fluctuated, resulting in unstable supply and prices.

''Although basic building materials such as cement and steel are classified as controlled items, the supply has fluctuated from time to time, resulting in price volatility.

The Malaysian Human Settlement and Urban Research Institute is currently conducting research programmes to introduce alternative building materials for the construction industry, Rosly added.