MANAGING LOW COST & INNOVATIVE HOUSING TECHNOLOGIES -Press Release

Ahmedabad, 22^nd August, 2004

Kumari Selja Minister of State (Independent Charge), Ministry of Urban Employment & Poverty Alleviation, Government of India assured the developing countries, assistance and cooperation for transfer of low-cost, innovative, waste based building materials and disaster resistant technologies and techniques. The Minister said this while inaugurating a six day International Seminar and Exhibition on “MANAGING LOW COST & INNOVATIVE HOUSING TECHNOLOGIES”, in Ahmedabad, India, organised by United Nations Industrial Development Organization-International Centre for Advancement of Manufacturing Technology (UNIDO-ICAMT), Building Materials & Technology Promotion Council (BMTPC), Housing and Urban Development Corporation Limited (HUDCO) and Entrepreneurship Development Institute (EDI).

The Minister in her inaugural address commended the role played by organizations like BMTPC & HUDCO in promoting South-South technology transfer in the areas of low-cost housing and manufacturing technologies. Building Materials & Technology Promotion Council (BMTPC) has done pioneering work in the areas of cost-effective, innovative building materials and technology and has developed and promoted 32 types of machines for manufacturing of waste based building materials and components. About 1000 such machines are in operation in different building centers and technology demonstration centers within the country, while 140 machines have been exported to countries like Tanzania, Uganda, Trinidad and Tobago, Afghanistan and Venezuela.

In the area of disaster management, BMTPC’s landmark contribution is its publications: Vulnerability Atlas of India and Landslide Hazard Zonation Atlas of India. These immensely help authorities in earthquake prone areas in their planning and preparedness to minimize the impact of the earthquake.

The Minister expressed the hope that such International events help in building capacities and capabilities of technical and managerial personnel to accelerate the diffusion and delivery of new technologies and innovations. She also emphasized on the usefulness of such events in professional networking and enhanced investment and trade in the new building materials and technology sector.

In his address to the delegates to appraise them “About the Seminar, the Director General, BMTPC, Sh. D. B. N. Rao said that the Seminar is attended by more than 30 delegates from countries like Bhutan, Sri Lanka, Vietnam, Cambodia, Myanmar, Venezuela, Laos D.P.R., Sudan, Cuba and China. The participants are senior level technocrats, policy makers and professionals from R & D/Academic Institutions, Enterprises and Govt. Departments of Housing, Industry and Infrastructure. The presentations by eminent experts will not only highlight the various developments in the field of low cost and innovative housing technologies but also encompass quality, training, standardisation and certification aspects, in addition to Social and Environmental aspects. The series of country presentations will highlight the status of the low cost technologies in their respective countries.

Earlier, in the day the Minister inaugurated an exhibition which showcases different technologies based on agro industrial wastes for the construction sector. The exhibition is open to the public at the EDI campus from 22-27^th August, 2004. Technical officers of the Building Materials & Technology Promotion Council (BMTPC) will be available to answer the queries of general public on the usefulness of low-cost housing technologies.