The challenge of lack of affordable housing, especially in urban centres like the City of Kigali, continues to trouble authorities. This is made worse with many real estate developers targeting the high-end market ignoring low-income earners. This has meant that Rwandans that earn, say Rwf700,000 or less always find it hard to access decent affordable homes.

This magnitude of the problem could however soon change following the entry of a firm that provides prefabricated houses at a competitive cost.

The housing solution by American company, JS International Inc, is commonly known as lightweight steel frame housing, which is a form of pre-fabricated housing that has been around for over 10 years, David French, the firm’s international manager, says.

JS International is currently setting up shop in the Kigali Special Economic Zone (KSEZ) Gasabo District.

French says the company has so far injected $2 million (about Rwf1.5 billion) into the project since it started business last year. He says the firm has already started producing some house components at its KSEZ plant.

French explains that the American company deals in general construction, with a particular interest in apartments, high-end housing and affordable homes, adding that it plans to use Kigali as its base in East Africa.

With the City of Kigali population growing each year, the city needs to build about 31,000 units annually, and 344,068 units will be required by 2020, according to research done by the city in 2012.

JS' first projects

So with these statistics, how much can one individual real estate developer do? That remains to be seen. JS International has already started on some projects to build over 400 units for different clients around the city.

French says the firm has a project where it will build 118 units (triplexes and duplexes) for View Resort Estate under Paj Real Estate in Kicukiro District and 300 units for Karumenyi Village Estate in Rubirizi and Busanzu, still in Kicukiro. 

Alfred Karumenyi, the manager at Karumenyi Village Estate, a real estate agency, says the area lacks decent affordable houses, a challenge he hopes JS International will help solve. He explains that the project will have three-bedroom houses, with parking space for two cars and a small garden. It will also house shopping malls and schools.

Karumenyi says it takes about one month to construct a prefabricated house. The company says they will build 10 model houses to work as samples for people to check before buying units.

Cost concerns

French says the prefabricated homes will cost less than conventional houses, adding that they are easier to set up. This, he notes, is important for real estate investors who are always hoping to get a return on investment. He adds that the cost also depends on the design of the house and client’s specifications.  

French notes that some basic raw materials are presently being imported, while others are sourced locally. "We will source raw materials locally, but only those that meet standards,” says French.

He says the steel used to build these houses has to meet a certain specifications like size, thickness and quality.

Karumenyi notes that the cost of JS International homes varies, saying that if the site is flat and there is no need for excavating, the three-bed-roomed house will cost less than $60,000 or about Rwf43.8 million.

He explains that it costs less to build more houses due to ‘the nature of the business’.

Esther Mutamba, the Rwanda Housing Authority director general, says prefabricated houses are not common in the housing construction industry because they require expensive imported raw materials.

"In other countries, it cuts costs on housing when it’s prefabricated from within,” she explains.

Rwanda Housing Authority (RHA) is working on projects, where a house will cost buyers between Rwf15 million to Rwf30million, according to the authority.

The houses in Kanombe and Ndera are targeting low-and medium income earners and will have two to four bedrooms, according to RHA.

Challenges

According to Charles Haba, the managing director of Century Real Estate Dealers, such innovative housing solutions face the challenge of cost. He says contractors import a lot of materials, making it costly in terms of money and time. "So, it’s abandoned after some time,” he notes.

Haba says there is also a challenge of acceptance for new technology, but notes that this could be overcome as long as there’s a cost saved, whether in time or materials.

Bruno Rangira, the director for communication at the City of Kigali, says all alternative technologies should address the issues of costs, cultural acceptance, climate conditions, economic and environmental impacts, and sustainability to solve the current challenge of shortage of affordable housing.