A visit to any Pune industrial estate provides ample evidence of the growing popularity of pre-engineered buildings.
The last five years have seen a lot of new manufacturing units being set up in the Pune region, and a visit to any industrial estate in the city's vicinity provides ample evidence of the growing popularity of pre-engineered buildings (PEBs).
The steel structures, which are pre-fabricated on the basis of drawings and then merely assembled on site, lend themselves to a variety of applications like manufacturing units, warehouses, hangers, hypermarkets and commercial complexes, and even sugar and cement factories.
While the initial cost of building may be marginally higher than conventional construction techniques, the speed of execution of the project, leading to quicker turnaround time, and the low cost of maintenance are some of the reasons that the concept is fast gaining ground.
INDUSTRIAL LEADER
According to an expert in the construction sector, PEB is fast gaining status as the leader in this industry, and growing at an average rate of 15 per cent annually.
“The cost of a building is calculated on the basis of the amount of steel used. As a benchmark, it will be safe to say it works out to around Rs 100,000 per tonne of steel used,” he explains, adding that the weight of steel used in any project depends on the end use of the structure, and can range from 25-150 kg per square metre.
One of the major players in the PEB sector is a Saudi Arabia-based conglomerate that set up a subsidiary in Pune more than three years ago, since when an estimated 600 projects have been executed across the country. With the manufacture of around 35000 metric tonnes of PEBs last year, the company has achieved capacity utilisation and, according to an industry expert, has undertaken feasibility studies for a second unit.
RESIDENTIAL SECTOR
Though pre-engineering lends itself better to non-residential buildings, the concept is set to catch on even in the residential sector, says Mr Gautam Suri, Founder Director, Interarch Building Projects. The company has executed several industrial projects around the city, notable amongst these being plants of auto majors like Fiat, General Motors and M&M, and also built a hospital building in Lavasa.
“Residential segment is certainly a sunrise sector for PEBs,” Suri says. This segment of the industry is shifting to higher levels of pre-fab systems like doors, windows and floors, he points out.
Such construction is ideally suited for housing in remote areas and hilly terrains, where transporting traditional building material could present a logistical problem.
And not many are aware that it is possible to have the entire home pre-fab or pre-engineered, he says, adding that it is feasible to build homes up to four or five floors high in light steel. Group housing, residential accommodations in small towns and hills, farm houses, and even housing for slum development have scope for these types of structural solutions, he says.