肯尼亚住宅缺口带来建材需求

对发展中国家和发达国家而言，建筑材料和建筑业的发展是人民优化居住环境的关键。本土建材和建筑业的发展潜力仍有待开发，对发展中国家而言尤其如此，因为本土企业无论规模大小，通常都需要资金支持。同时，发展中国家在建筑建材方面也缺乏必要的先进技术，尽管这一行业对其国家发展而言尤为重要，但相关投入仍然不足。

肯尼亚建材商机

肯尼亚就是这样一个非洲发展中国家。建筑业是肯尼亚经济的主要支柱之一，2007年，肯尼亚的建筑业增长了8.6%，约占其国内生产总值的6%。建筑业也是肯尼亚吸引外商投资的主要行业之一。

根据今年年初德勤发布的建筑业行业趋势报告显示，肯尼亚的建筑工程数量已经连续四年位居东非首位，从2017年的23个增加到2018年的41个，增幅达78%，2018年的工程总额达382亿美元。建筑项目主要集中在房地产、能源和交通运输领域。据政府人员透露，肯尼亚预计在交通运输工程领域投入数十亿美元，或将建成东非物流中心。

与此同时，肯尼亚的城市人口迅速增长，对住房构成极大挑战。目前大部分城市居民生活在非正式住区，即贫民窟。面对每年25万套的住房赤字，肯尼亚积极探索更加经济实惠的新型建筑技术，希望藉此弥补住房缺口。

同时，肯尼亚政府已制定了详细的低成本住房战略，投放一批价格低至50万先令的住房，此举或将彻底改变当地住房短缺的现状。而肯尼亚竭力应对住房赤字这一举措表明，建材需求日益增加，建筑业发展潜力激增。

政府计划与行动

肯尼亚交通、基础设施、住房和城市发展部部长詹姆斯·马查里亚表示，为了落实这一战略，政府会向私人投资者提供土地，而这些投资者则利用各种建筑技术和大规模建设，为居民提供“真正负担得起的住房”。马查里亚部长提到，多年来，肯尼亚建筑研究中心不断研发建筑工艺术与技术，如经济实惠的原材料、高效的建造技术，环保的建筑材料与工艺，满足行业需求。

去年年初，肯尼亚启动了建筑研究中心战略计划（2017-2022），旨在加快落实肯尼亚政府提出“四大议程”之一的经济适用住房愿景。这一战略计划在全球、区域和国家发展议程指引下，大力推动肯尼亚的经济适用住房议程的落实。

在全球领域，这些议程包括：由世界可持续发展工商理事会提出的《愿景2050》，旨在让全球90亿人安居于净零能耗的智能建筑；2016年10月在联合国人居三大会上通过的《新城市议程》，肯尼亚是签署国之一；在《联合国气候变化框架公约》第21届缔约方大会上通过的《巴黎协定》（COP 21），确认建筑、建造和交通运输业在适应和缓解气候变化进程中发挥重要作用；2015年9月，联合国通过的可持续发展目标（SDGs），涉及对可持续能源使用、推动创新、建设包容、安全、有风险抵御能力和可持续的城市及人类住区、确保可持续消费和生产模式、应对气候变化及其影响等方面。

在区域发展方面，根据非洲《2063年议程》，肯尼亚希望通过研究和创新，实现包容性增长和可持续发展，而东非共同体呼吁通过各国联合设立研究中心，共同研发高新技术。

而针对肯尼亚国内的发展议程，马查里亚部长接受《中国投资》采访时表示，“《2010年肯尼亚宪法》第43(1)(b)条规定了适足住房权和合理卫生标准；GDP增长可以改善数以百万计人民的生活水平，肯尼亚《2030年愿景》强调技术研发对本国GDP增长的重要性。

随着去年《建筑研究中心战略计划（2017-2022）》的启动，肯尼亚建筑研究中心将引导国内建筑业进行可持续发展研究。”

应对挑战

肯尼亚港务局最近发布的报告表明，由于住房需求高涨，肯尼亚建筑业持续发展，建材进口数据每周都在增长。报告显示，建筑业钢材进口达59866吨，水泥熟料进口达53562吨。钢材和水泥熟料这两大类重要建筑材料是传统货运站的主要进口产品，仅在7月份的第三个星期，货物吞吐量就达到了153007吨。水泥熟料是水泥生产的关键材料，而肯尼亚水泥熟料则依赖进口。

建筑与房地产行业的投资热潮带动之下，建筑业蒸蒸日上，在此背景下，肯尼亚全国对水泥和钢材的需求也在稳步上升。

但是，肯尼亚的建筑业如今面临诸多挑战，包括频繁使用不合格的材料，采购流程长，项目完工率低，技术匮乏等。尽管这些问题显而易见，但肯尼亚政府计划到2022年建成50万套住房，同时，考虑到开发商每年至少会建造400套房屋，政府决定削减这些企业的税收。

值得一提的是，房地产业是肯尼亚GDP的第六大引擎，2017年估值达到55亿美元。同年，肯尼亚房地产行业增长率为6.1%。但是，肯尼亚房地产业也面临一些挑战：如，融资渠道不足，土地成本和基础设施开发成本高昂。但是，肯尼亚政府已采取一系列举措，如实现土地和住房部数字化办公，取消土地查册费，将经济适用住房计划纳入肯尼亚四大议程等，给予开发商的激励措施也将包括：开发配套基础设施，如道路、电力、水、医疗设施和学校等。这些措施将大大促进房地产业未来的发展。

致力研发新型建材

去年，世界银行敦促肯尼亚采取切实措施，鼓励房地产开发商将重点转移到低收入者真正负担得起的经济适用房上。与此同时，有消息称，在过去17年里，肯尼亚的房价上涨了10倍，迫使大部分肯尼亚人只能居住在非正式住区。

体面住房的短缺困扰着许多肯尼亚人，尤其是占城市人口70%的低收入家庭。而研发适应气候变化、低成本的建筑材料是提供更多经济适用房的方式之一。自20世纪70年代以来，肯尼亚一直在致力于开发这种建筑材料。

尽管迄今为止肯尼亚相关机构已经做了大量工作，但公众仍没有完全认同这种建筑材料。由于这种低成本的新型建筑材料在生产和使用规模上仍远远比不上相对昂贵的传统建筑材料，因此，住房短缺现象仍然有增无减。新技术，新材料的运用将在政府建造经济适用房方面逐渐发挥关键作用。

在肯尼亚，一种以聚苯乙烯为主要材料的新型房屋的兴起为大多数低收入人群带来福音。这种采用聚苯乙烯的建筑技术相对较新，逐步在肯尼亚快速扩张的房地产行业中获得一席之地。聚苯乙烯是一种轻质泡沫塑料，它是石油精炼的副产品，由微小球形颗粒组成，其中大约98%是空气。建造房屋时，把聚苯乙烯泡沫填充在两块钢板之间，拼接成功后喷上水泥支撑和加固，形成墙体。

泡沫中的微小气泡可以让聚苯乙烯房屋比木材或混凝土建成的房屋更能控制室内温度。由于空气的导热效率低，所以当室外温度高时，屋内仍可保持凉爽，反之亦然。

肯尼亚政府承诺到2020年建造50万套经济适用房，相信新型建筑材料将得到充分利用。目前，乌胡鲁·肯雅塔政府积极创造良好的营商环境，旨在吸引更多外国投资者投资房地产业。

中国企业开发肯尼亚建材市场

房地产业是肯尼亚增长最快的行业之一，中国企业目前正积极参与其中。

肯尼亚房地产业市场规模超过35亿美元，主要由当地企业主导，少数来自欧洲企业，但随着中国企业的加入，这一市场将日趋多元化。

中国企业通过多种方式进入肯尼亚的房地产业。第一，中国企业正大量投资内罗毕郊区的住房项目，为购房者提供多种选择；第二，相对于其他市场而言，中国企业以相当优惠的价格销售这些住房；第三，中国企业提供的抵押贷款是肯尼亚最优惠的；第四，中国企业制造和销售的建筑材料来自中国，受到肯尼亚的青睐。

这些建筑材料包括墙板、瓷砖、玻璃和门。分析人士指出，中国企业进入肯尼亚房地产行业，正造福于需要住房的当地人。

2017年，中国企业中国武夷实业股份有限公司在肯尼亚建造了一座建筑工业化工厂，该工厂在2018年6月竣工。新工厂建于阿西河镇，负责制造预制材料，再出售给肯尼亚的其他建筑公司。

这家工厂建在阿西河镇，占地30英亩，近邻蒙巴萨公路。工厂由一家预制材料厂、一个仓库、产品展示区和品种丰富的建材超市组成，为肯尼亚提供高效的一站式建材服务。建材超市内商品包括石料、瓷砖、浴室用具、建筑电器配件、灯具和厨房家具等。此外，预制材料包括实心墙板、空心板、墙面夹芯板、电梯升降机井、外墙板、楼板和基桩。

这家中国公司是跨国企业，建筑工业化工厂由当地子公司中国武夷肯尼亚建筑工业化有限公司建造。公司还同两家德国技术服务供应商开展合作，艾巴维（Ebawe Anlagetechnik）为混凝土的预制生产提供设备，内梅切克司（Nemetschek）负责为房屋设计提供软件支持。

目前，另一家中国企业，特福（TWYFORD）（肯尼亚）陶瓷厂每天生产6万平方米的瓷砖，占当地市场份额的70%以上，是东非最大的瓷砖生产商。

⬆在肯尼亚的中国武夷肯尼亚建筑工业化研发生产基地，一名工人在现代化生产线上工作（新华社 陈诚摄）

英文版

Kenya’s Housing Shortfall Breeds Business Opportunities for Building Materials

By VICTOR ONYANGO  Journalist with Nation Media Group (Daily Nation) KENYA

The development in the building materials and construction industry is an essential component of human settlements development at the local and national levels in both developing and developed countries.

The development of an indigenous building materials and construction industry is still an untapped resource especially in developing countries, where genuinely  local firms small or large are often in need of assistance. Similarly the necessary supportive research in building and building materials in these countries is inadequate and does not provide sufficient input for the purposes of the development of this 'important industry in developing countries.

Kenya is one such developing country in Africa where building and construction is one of the major sector of the economy. Its construction sector expanded by 8.6 percent and contributed approximately 6 percent to the country’s Gross Domestic Product  in 2017. It is also one of the major sectors attracting foreign investors to the country

According to Deloitte’s construction trends report released early this year, Kenya has remained the leading country with the highest number of projects in East Africa for four consecutive years, with projects increasing by 78 percent from 23 projects in 2017 to 41 projects worth $38.2 billion in 2018. The major construction projects are in real estate, energy and power, and transport, sources within the government also reveal that the government is spending billions of dollars on transport projects as the country is expected to become the logistics hub of East Africa.

This happens as urban population in Kenya is rapidly growing posing a major challenge in housing that has seen majority of urban inhabitants reside in informal settlement commonly known as slums. With a deficit of 250,000 thousand housing units per annum, new cheaper building technology in Kenya are expected to turn around construction industry.

The Kenyan government has laid out an elaborate low-cost housing strategy that is likely to revolutionize the local real estate sector by bringing into the market some new residential houses for as little as Sh500,000. With the country trying to deal with its 2 million housing deficits, this means that construction industry is growing as well as need for building materials.

In order to make this a success, according to Transport, Urban Infrastructure and Housing Cabinet Secretary James Macharia, the State  provides land to private investors who will then take advantage of various building technologies and economies of scale to deliver “truly affordable” homes for citizens.

According to CS Macharia, the center is noted that over the years, the institution has evolved and delved into building research services to cater for the needs of the industry including realization of affordable materials ,efficient construction technologies and environmentally-friendly building materials and techniques.

Kenya launched Building Research Centre Strategic Plan (2017-2022) early last year with the aim of streamlining its affordable housing vision as President Uhuru Kenyatta try to implement the Big Four Agenda.

The Strategic Plan 2017 – 2022 was mandated to significantly steer the implementation of Kenya's affordable housing agenda in relation to the Global, Regional and National commitments, including: Agenda 2050 (World Business Council for Sustainable Development) which envisions a world of 9 Billion people living well in smarter buildings with net-zero energy usage; The New Urban Agenda adopted in Quito in October 2016 which Kenya is a signatory of; The Paris Agreement (COP 21) which recognizes the crucial role the building, construction and transport sectors play in climate change mitigation and adaptation processes; The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) on sustainable energy use, innovative processes, safe and resilient cities, consumption patterns, climate change mitigation and adaptation.

Within the Region, Agenda 2063 on the Africa, Kenya want to aspires towards inclusive growth and sustainable development that is informed by research and innovation, whereas the East African Community propagates for joint establishment and support of scientific and technological research through development of centres of excellence.

"Right here in our Nation, The Constitution of Kenya 2010 Article 43(1)(b) provides for the right to adequate housing and reasonable standards of sanitation; and The Kenya Vision 2030 underscores the significance of Research to the Country’s GDP with the capacity to change the lives of millions of Kenyans for the better. With the launch of the Strategic Plan last year, Kenya Building Research Centre should steer building research geared towards sustainable development," Mr Macharia told China Investment Magazine.

Due to high demand of housing, Kenya Ports Authority (KPA) report unveiled recently points at a strengthening construction sector in the region, with import figures of the materials going up each week.

"The sector imported 59,866 metric tons of steel and 53,562 tons of cement clinker,’’ the report read in part.

It further reckons that the two key construction materials – steel and clinker – were the leading imports in the conventional cargo terminal. The terminal handled 153,007 tons of cargo in the third week of July alone. Kenya depends on import for clinker, a key ingredient foe cement manufacturing.

⬆Kenya Real Estate Fair（photo by Wang Ying News Agency）

Against the backdrop of booming construction industry boosted by heavy investment in infrastructure and real estate, demand for cement and steel has been on a steady rise across the region.

However, challenges to this Kenya’s construction sector include: the frequent use of substandard materials, long procurement procedures, low project completion rates, and low technological knowledge. Despite these apparent challenges, continuous growth is expected in the sector as the Kenyan government plans to build 500,000 houses by 2022, and also to reduce corporate tax for developers who construct at least 400 units per year.

It is important to note that Kenya’s real estate sector is the 6th largest contributor to Kenya’s GDP, and was valued at $5.5 billion in 2017. The sector expanded by 6.1percent in 2017 compared to 8.8 percent in 2016, and this slowed growth rate is due to the elections and reduced credit supply (as a result of capped interest rates).

Some of the challenges faced by Kenya’s real estate sector include inadequate sources of funding, high land costs, and infrastructure development costs. However, government initiatives such as digitization of the land ministry, removal of land search fees, and inclusion of affordable housing as part of the country's Big Four Agenda is likely to boost real estate development over the next few years.

Incentives to developers will also include development of support infrastructure such as access roads, electricity, water, health facilities and schools.

Last year, the World Bank urged Kenya to come up with tangible incentives that motivate property developers to shift focus to truly affordable houses that can be acquired by low income earners.

This came amid revelations that house prices in the country had recorded a ten-fold rise in the past seventeen years pushing a majority of Kenyans into informal settlements.

The shortage of decent housing is a problem that many Kenyans, especially the low income households who comprise more than 70 percent of residents in the urban areas, are confronted with. The research into and development of appropriate building materials that are climatically adaptable, socially acceptable and relatively cheaper to produce is one of the ways in which provision of more housing at prices that are affordable to the majority of those who need it can be realised. Efforts in Kenya in the development of appropriate building materials have been going on since the 1970s.

Despite a considerable amount of work done so far, the dissemination of these materials to the general public and to those who need better housing at reasonable costs has not been very successful. Appropriate building materials are not being produced and utilised on a scale comparable to that of the relatively more expensive conventional building materials with the result that the housing shortage continues unabated.

Thanks to new technology which is slowly taking the centre stage in the issue of government building the required houses.

Emergence of polystyrene houses in Kenya is doing good to a majority with low incomes. This relatively new construction technology, using polystyrene, is gaining a foothold in Kenya’s fast-expanding housing sector. The panels for building are made of a light cellular plastic, a by-product of oil refining, which consists of mini spherical particles containing about 98 percent air.

To make houses, polystyrene foam is sandwiched between two slabs of steel wire mesh. Once these have been joined together, they are sprayed with cement to support and strengthen the walls.

The tiny air bubbles trapped in the foam mean polystyrene houses can control climatic conditions better than buildings made of timber or concrete. Because air is a poor conductor of heat, the house stays cool when external temperatures are high and warm when it is cold outside.

Despite the fact that the aspect of building materials have not been fully utilized in Kenya in the awake of government's commitment to build 500,000 affordable houses by 2022, the enabling environment set by President Uhuru Kenyatta's administration has started attracting foreign investors in this sector.

And now, Chinese firms are actively participating in Kenya's real estate sector, which is among the fastest growing sectors in the East African nation.

The over $3.5 billion industry had been mainly dominated by local firms and a few from Europe. However, with Chinese companies' involvement, the market is becoming diversified.

The Chinese firms have entered the industry in several ways. First, they are massively investing in housing projects on the outskirts of Nairobi, providing buyers with various choices. Second, the houses are being sold at fairly affordable prices compared to others in the market. Third, they are offering some of the cheapest mortgages in the East African nation and fourth, the companies are manufacturing and selling building materials sourced from their home country, which Kenyans are embracing.

These materials include wall panels, tiles, glasses and doors. Analysts noted that Chinese firms' entrance into the real estate sector is coming with a lot of gains for Kenyans seeking to own homes.

In 2017, a housing materials plant worth $ 98.7million  was set to be constructed in Kenya by a Chinese firm- China Wu Yi and was  completed in June last year.

The new plant w developed in Athi River and manufactures precast materials that are expected to be sold to other construction firms in the region.

The new housing material plant  sits on a 30 acre piece of land in Athi River, off Mombasa Road and constitutes of a pre-cast element plant, a warehouse, display area and a construction material supermarket which  pioneers different materials from China, efficiently making it a one-stop shop for building materials in the country. The supermarket is expected to stock stones, ceramic tiles, bathroom appliances, construction electrical fittings, lamps and kitchen furniture among other things.

On the other hand, pre-casts consists of solid wall panels, hollow core slabs, sandwich wall panels, lift shafts, facade panels, staircases and foundation piles.

The Chinese firm which is a multinational company is constructing the factory through its locally incorporated subsidiary China Wu Yi Precast (Kenya) Company Limited.

It has further partnered with two German technology services providers namely, Ebawe Anlagetechnik to assist in the supply of equipment for the concrete pre-casts production and Nemetschek to provide the software for the design of the housing parts.

Another Chinese firm called Twyford ceramics currently produce 60000 square meter tiles per day covering 70 percent local market share hence the biggest tile producer in Eastern Africa.