Pre-fabricated steel structures are gaining popularity in cities as corporate houses prefer these types on grounds of safety and convenience, according to people involved in the construction sector.
They say these types of buildings require short time to install and can better resist natural disasters like earthquakes.
Demand for the construction of power plants, bridges, and manufacturing units such as pharmaceuticals is rising, driven by the availability of locally produced steel and technology.
The annual demand for prefabricated steel products for the industrial sector is estimated at Tk 30 billion, according to the Steel Building Manufacturers' Association of Bangladesh (SBMA).
The association data showed pre-fabricated steel structure in the industrial sector has been growing at more than 15 per cent year-on-year basis since 2001. And local companies meet around 85-90 per cent of raw materials.
The pre-fabricated steel structure factories are now mainly located in Dhaka, Gazipur, Narayanganj, Comilla, Chittagong, Manik-ganj, Savar, Bogra, Narsingdi and Sirajgonj.
More than 70 companies are now involved in such business, but some 22 companies are members of the association and about 10 companies including PEB Steel Alliance Ltd, Buildtrade Engineering Ltd, Sarker Steel Ltd and Bangladesh Building Systems Ltd holding 70 per cent share of the sector.
"The demand for pre-fabricated steel structures is rising in the country as it provides safety and needs lower lead time for building," Newaz Khan, chairman and chief executive officer of the PEB Steel Alliance Ltd, told the FE.
He said pre-fabricated steel structure is now being used in factories, multi-storied buildings, power plants and bridges.
Mr Khan said if the owners break a steel building after 50 years, they will be able to get four times the value as the pre-fabricated steel price is increasing, which is unthinkable for conventional buildings.
He said to build a 50-60 thousand square feet concrete, technically known as reinforced cement concrete, building, it needs more than one year, while a steel building can be made in only two months.
Engineer Iftekhar Hossain, assistant manager of the Buildtrade Engineering Limited, a leading pre-fabricated steel structure constriction company, said Bangladesh has huge potential in steel structure infrastructure as per capita steel consumption is still very low compared with global standards.
He said "We have completed more than 600 projects since establishment of manufacturing plant in Bangladesh, which ranges from 5,000 sft warehouse to 18,5000 sft".
Mr Hossain said "We have now taken a few new high-rise buildings of big corporate houses like Square Pharma, Beximco Group, Shanta Group, and Rangs Group".
He said they believe that Buildtrade is the only Bangladeshi Company having necessary set up and expertise to provide a complete solution for industrial, commercial and residential steel buildings.
He said the company is capable of building pre-fabricated high rises and also capable of building flyovers and bridges as they are committed to maintaining high standard and quality work ensuring world class workmanship.
Engineer Manojit Barua, an official of Sarker Steel Ltd, said the construction cost of such a building is Tk 2,000 to Tk 2,200 square foot, which is 20-30 per cent higher than a conventional building.
He said his company has so far completed around 300 projects and now their 25 projects under construction.
Shahidullah Azim, vice president of Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA) said "We have been turning to pre-fabricated steel structures to build manufacturing units".
He said a number of entrepreneurs are importing necessary raw materials for building steel structure factories.
The SBMA said setting up of such pre-fabricated steel structures began in Bangladesh in 1985. Initially, the structures and components were being imported and in 2001, local entrepreneurs first took the initiative to set up steel buildings locally.
Dr. Mehedi Ahmed Ansary, professor of Department of Civil Engineering at Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology (BUET) told the FE "Steel buildings are being popular, due in part to cost efficiency".
He said the range of application has expanded with improved materials, products and design capabilities with the availability of computer-aided design software.
He said that steel building can be as safe as a concrete building, if proper design is maintained.
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Lower lead time lures cos to go for steel structures
Shah Alam Nur | Published: March 13, 2015 00:00:00 | Updated: March 12, 2015 22:25:17
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