Low Cost Housing in Addis Ababa

ADDIS ABABA UNIVERSITY
Faculty of Technology (South)

Department of Construction Technology and Management
LOW COST HOUSING IN ADDIS ABABA:

A Study Focusing on the Main Cost Reducing Mechanisms
(Thesis submitted In Partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of
Bachelor of Science (B.Sc.) in construction technology and management)
Advisors:
Imam Mahmoud (Ato)
Wubshiet Jekale (Dr. Ing.)
Prepared by:
Dagnachew Tsegaye
Solomon G/Hiwot
Tewelde Kifle
July 2006
ADDIS ABABA UNIVERSITY
Faculty of Technology (South)
Department of Construction Technology and Management
APPROVED BY BOARD MEMBERS

Advisors:
_____________________ _______________________
Imam Mahmoud (Ato) Wubshiet Jekale (Dr. Ing.)
Examiners:
_____________________ _______________________
_____________________ _______________________
Chairperson
_____________________
_____________________
II
ACKNOWLEDGMENT
We would like to acknowledge our advisors Imam Mahmoud (Ato) and

Wubishet Jekale (Dr.Ing.) for their constructive comment and great
support for the successful accomplishment of the research work.
Also, we would like to thank professionals working for GTZ-IS, Addis

Ababa Housing Development Project Office (AAHDPO), Nifas silk-lafto
sub city Administration, MH-Engineering and different architectural
firms who have contributed so much in the research by providing the
necessary and appropriate information, documents and willingness for
the interview.
Lastly, but not least we would like to thank our families who have been
with us, for their continuous encouragement and financial assistance.
III
Low Cost Housing In Addis Ababa: a study focusing on the main cost reducing mechanisms
TABLE OF CONTENT
1.INTRODUCTION ....................................................................................................... 6
1.1. BACKGROUND .................................................................................................... 6
1.2. PROBLEM STATEMENT ....................................................................................... 7
1.3. METHODOLOGY ................................................................................................. 7
1.4. OBJECTIVE ......................................................................................................... 8
1.5. SCOPE ................................................................................................................. 8
1.6. STRUCTURE OF THE RESEARCH ....................................................................... 9
2. CONTEXTUAL FRAMEWORK OF ADDIS ABABA HOUSING......... 10
2.1. EMERGING HOUSING NEEDS........................................................................... 10
2.2. HOUSING IN ADDIS ABABA ............................................................................. 11
2.3. AFFORDABILITY OF HOUSING .......................................................................... 13
2.3.2. Measuring Affordability............................................................................ 14
2.4. LOW-COST HOUSING AND THE SIGNIFICANCE ............................................... 16
2.4.1. Financing of LCH for low income group of people.................................. 17
2.4.2. Existing LCH Financing System In Addis Ababa ..................................... 17
3. CONCEPTUAL REVIEW ............................................................................... 20
3.1. CONSTRUCTION TECHNOLOGY ........................................................................ 21
3.1.2. The design as a component of construction technology ........................... 22
3.1.3. Prefabrication technology and manufacturing......................................... 27
3.2. CONSTRUCTION MANAGEMENT ...................................................................... 37
3.2.1. Overview of construction project management ........................................ 37
3.2.1. Stake Holders Management ...................................................................... 38
3.2.2. Resource Management.............................................................................. 41
3.2.3. Process Management ................................................................................ 42
Prepared by: Dagnachew Tsegaye, Solomon G/hiwot and Tewelde Kifle 3

3.2.4. Phased construction system-..................................................................... 43
3.2.5. Waste Reduction System ........................................................................... 44
3.2.6. Manufacturing and Assembly Construction System ................................. 44
3.2.7. Procurement.............................................................................................. 45
4. METHODOLOGY............................................................................................. 46
4.1. METHOD OF THE STUDY.................................................................................. 46
4.2. RESEARCH INSTRUMENT ................................................................................. 46
4.3. DATA COLLECTION TECHNIQUES ................................................................... 47
4.4. DATA ANALYSIS................................................................................................ 48
5. ANALYSIS, DISCUSSION AND RESULTS ............................................. 49
5.1. PLANNING AND DESIGN ASPECT...................................................................... 49
5.2. PREFABRICATION TECHNOLOGY ..................................................................... 53
5.3. STAKEHOLDERS ................................................................................................. 56
5.4. RESOURCE ....................................................................................................... 60
5.5. PROCESS .......................................................................................................... 61
5.6. PHASED CONSTRUCTION SYSTEM AND WASTE REDUCTION TECHNIQUES ... 62
5.7. PROCUREMENT ........................................................................................ 66
6. CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS ....................................... 67
6.1. CONCLUSIONS .................................................................................................. 67
6.2. RECOMMENDATIONS ....................................................................................... 68
7. APPENDIX......................................................................................................... 69
7.1. REFERENCES ...................................................................................................... 69
7.2. SEMI-STRUCTURED QUESTIONS FOR INTERVIEW ............................................... 70
7.3. RESEARCH PROPOSAL ........................................................................................ 74

TABLE OF FIGURES
FIG. 1 SLUM AREAS IN PART OF THE CITY ........................................................................... 11
FIG. 2 DILAPIDATED HOUSES .............................................................................................. 13
FIG. 3 BUILDINGS FROM LCH PROJECTS ............................................................................. 17
FIG. 4 SINGLE STACK PLUMBING SYSTEM ........................................................................... 26
FIG.5 MOULDS FOR PRE CAST STONE BLOCK MASONRY ....................................................... 33
FIG.6 PRECAST BEAMS, SLAB FILLER AND WALL HCB ...................................................... 34
FIG. 7 PRECAST BEAMS ...................................................................................................... 54
FIG. 8 ................................................................................................................................. 55
A) LAID PRECAST BEAMS AND SLAB HCB ....................................................................... 55
B) ELECTRICAL INSTALLATION, PLUMBING AND SLAB REINFORCEMENT BARS IN BOTH
DIRECTIONS ................................................................................................................ 55
C) HALF CAST-IN-SITU BEAM .......................................................................................... 55
D) SUPPORT POSTS FOR PRECAST BEAMS ........................................................................ 55
FIG. 9 MASS PRODUCTION IN ACTION.................................................................................. 61
FIG. 10 EXCESS WASTAGE OF HCB AND CARELESSNESS IN HANDLING .............................. 64
FIG. 11 HCB WITH ONE SIDE CLOSED ................................................................................. 65

CHAPTER – 1
1. INTRODUCTION
1.1. Background
"Cities without slum" is one of the Millennium Goals, which countries

all over the world including Ethiopia have promised to implement in
terms of improving the living environment and standard of life of citizens.
"Housing" has been universally accepted as the second, most important
essential human need after food. [19] Housing plays a very important
role in human life and human society. Housing has tremendous social
and economic impact on the living environment of the world. It has an
influence on health, education, economy, environment, and political and
social life of any society.
In Addis Ababa, there is a considerable housing and associated land

management problem. This arises mainly from growth of population,
high cost of construction, scarcity of construction materials, lack of
knowledge in construction techniques, shortage of fund for large-scale
housing program etc. This shortage of housing resulted in people living
in overcrowded houses or dilapidated structures under unhygienic
conditions, lacking basic urban services (safe drinking water and
sewerage system) and informal settlements with a growing number of
shacks.
The construction by conventional method is very slow considering the

speed of our growing requirement for houses. In order to expeditiously
build large number of houses to wipe out the shortage of housing which
the city of Addis Ababa is facing, it is becoming necessary to increase the
speed of housing construction. Technologically, prefabrication provides a
very quick and economical method of building houses on mass scale
continuously over a period of time. Adoption of prefabrication can be
considered to be of advantage in view of mass housing, speed and
economy, disciplined use of scarce materials, better quality, cost
reduction, industrialization, quicker turnover and continuous
employment etc. so, the building industry needs to be developed and

promotion of prefabrication is required for economical, time and material
saving and mass-scale house production.
To alleviate the housing problems, the City Government of Addis Ababa

with the collaboration of GTZ and MH-Engineering has launched a large-
scale housing program to improve housing shortage in the city. The
program is based on low cost housing system introducing a cost-efficient
and environmentally friendly construction technology that can result in
considerable cost reduction.
It is with this frame the researchers of this paper found it necessary to

study the low cost house projects and attempted to investigate the cost
reducing mechanisms with respect to the technology applied and the
construction management used.
1.2. Problem statement
Low Cost Housing program is being widely implemented in different parts

of the city. The program is planned and designed with the aim to reduce
the per square meter cost of the building. However, there are arguments
on LCH projects being implemented whether it addresses cost or not. In
this regard, we found it important to identify and address the main
cost reducing systems for LCH projects and investigate the local practice.
Therefore, the major objective of this proposed research is to address
issues on cost related to low cost housing and contribute knowledge.
1.3. Methodology
The research methodology is designed in a way that it enables to collect
adequate information to answer the following core research questions.
• What are the cost reducing mechanisms considered in the low cost
housing projects?
• What are the effects of the technology and management aspects of
LCH projects in cost reduction?

Interview process was used as a research instrument to collect data. The

information obtained from respondents was analyzed and the
summarized results are discussed. Finally, we prepared conclusions
based on the discussion results and gave recommendations.
1.4. Objective
Based on the LCH projects built and being implemented in the Addis
Ababa, the study focuses on the technological considerations and the
management aspect for cost reduction in order to
• Assess the concepts and principles of low cost housing
• Investigate the local practice within the framework of construction
technology and construction management
• Give recommendations
1.5. Scope
The research will cover only the low cost house projects
implemented in Addis Ababa and it focuses on the technology
applied and management approaches used in the Low Cost
Housing projects.
The research is delimited to the general study in Addis Ababa.

Relevant data’s are acquired from verbal reports, either oral or
written and before one can begin interpretations he/she is limited
to the data which people are able and willing to report in the first
place.
During our investigation, the research is limited to get
information from a few respondents, because of time constraint.
Therefore, the investigation relied on those respondents that are
highly involved.

1.6. Structure of the research

In the following topics, this thesis is grouped under five
chapters to elaborate selected topics.
In chapter two, the contextual framework of the study is dealt. It

addresses the housing scarcity and the associated economical
problems in Addis Ababa.
In chapter three, the conceptual review is seen in two aspects,

construction technology and construction management. The
construction technology aspect comprises the design component,
prefabrication and manufacturing. In the construction
management aspect stakeholders, resources and process
management is reviewed. Additionally waste reduction system
and manufacturing and assembly system are elaborated.
The methodology applied in this research work is explained in

chapter four.
Chapter five discusses the analysis of the results obtained from
conducting the research.
The final chapter explains the conclusions and recommendations

of the findings.
In the end the interview questions used for the research and the
result of the interviews are found in the appendix

CHAPTER –2-
2. CONTEXTUAL FRAMEWORK OF ADDIS ABABA HOUSING
2.1. Emerging housing needs
Housing is one of the basic needs for living. Proper housing is an

important need for every human being. However, the type of
accommodation largely depends on the economic development of the
country. In Ethiopia, housing inadequacies and backlog have been
increasing mainly due to galloping increase in population; growth of
cities, and other social and economical factors, which include in the price
of building materials and labor. [1]
Housing now a days has become one of the complex problems of our
times and unless urgent measure are taken both at the regional and
national levels to mitigate the housing problem, it will assume crisis
proportional with adverse consequences on the process of economic and
social development. [1]
Most of the existing cities of the country are growing in size and the
pattern of rural-urban migration or urban-urban migration shows a
distinct tendency for rural migrants and migrants from small towns to
move to large cities. [4]
In comparison, urban households have better materials with access to

basic amenities but more than half of the urban households live in
rented houses. The majority of them are sheltered in just one or two
room houses. The population is increasing than the number of shelters
to the housing stock and the housing gap widens with every passing
year. The number of tenants is greater than the number of housing
stock, which widens the housing gap. [8]
Under the heavy backlog of houses and with the present rate of

construction, the gap between housing needs and rates of construction

will further widen and the shortage will be more acute. The factors that
have been quantitavily responsible for such acute housing condition are:
1. Influx of large masses of population into urban areas
2. Low economic capacity of bulk of urban households to pay
for even minimum shelter.
3. Inadequacy of public resources to meet the needs
4. Increasing cost of buildings (construction cost)
5. High rate of population growth Inadequate addition to the
existing housing stock
6. Inability of the residents to construct buildings due to lack
of financial. [4]
2.2. Housing in Addis Ababa
The city of Addis Ababa continues to experience the development of

unplanned settlement and horizontal expansion more rapidly than ever
before. The biggest challenges of the city are deteriorated living
environment, disordered land management, unplanned urban
development, absence of effective promotional and regulatory
frameworks, inadequate basic infrastructure and unbalanced population
growth. [9]
FIG. 1 SLUM AREAS IN PART OF THE CITY

The statistics of housing shortage in major cities of the country is very

high. Among the problems observed in Addis Ababa city government one
and foremost problem is, for instance, the shortage of housing. The city
of Addis Ababa is expected to have 4,000,000 residents of which
3,000,000 are people who are living in over crowded, old and dilapidated
houses. The residents of the city have no access to basic services; and
also since it is a city where environmental hygiene is not properly
maintained, the majority of the people are encountering serious health
hazard. [20]
The housing problem in Addis Ababa is more acute in quantitative terms.

The total housing stock is 370,000. Out of this 120,000 houses are used
for trade and businesses while the remaining 250,000 are used for
residential purposes. The housing demand of the estimated city is 3.3
million people with an average family size of six persons is 550, 000. This
indicates that there is a deficit of 300,000 houses in the city. This does
not include the housing shortage as a result of population increase. [9]
As per the track record of the city Government, about 5,000 units were
constructed over the previous decades with in 10 years period (1994-
2003 G.C) involving both public and private contractors. [20] This is very
far bellowing the very high housing demand of the city. There is a
housing backlog which is estimated at 300,000 housing units heightened
and exasperated by increase in rate of the new household formation and
related housing demand estimated at 40,000 housing per year. [19]
The housing situation in Addis Ababa becomes even worse when the
quality and the conditions of the houses are considered. Many are
crowded, dilapidated, substandard and make shifts with very poor or no
sanitation facilities and with unhealthy environment altogether. [9]
The dismal lack of basic infrastructure and living quarters, calls for
resettlement of the dwellers by constructing of new affordable houses
that make it possible for low and middle-income inhabitants of the city,
to acquire shelters in a healthy environment. [9]
FIG. 2 DILAPIDATED HOUSES
Following the provisional administration of the Addis Ababa city in 2003,

the housing problem in the city has been given a special attention by
launching a large-scale housing program with the objective of reducing
housing deficiencies substantially. This is the Addis Ababa grand
housing program. The program is to develop housing complete with
infrastructure that is affordable, especially to low and middle-income
groups. [9]
2.3. Affordability of housing
The term “affordable housing” has a number of connotations and

definitions. Some regard it simply as housing for low-income people.
Others interpret “affordable housing” as any form of directly or indirectly
subsidized dwelling. The formal definition, however, refers to the share of
a household’s income that is spent on lodging. [21] An expenditure of a
household’s gross annual income on mortgage principle, interest, taxes,
and utilities has become a recognized measure of how much people
should spend on rented or owned adequate and safe housing. Housing is,
therefore, affordable when households with income at or below the city,
community, or state median income spend no more than some percent of

their gross annual income on shelter. Along with societal and economic
changes, the growing need to house a segment of the population
affordably has accelerated in recent decades.
Affordability involves a relationship between housing cost, which

includes mortgage payments, rent, property taxes, and utilities, and
household income. In particular, it refers to the ability of homeowners or
potential homeowners to make payments on a home. Access refers to the
ability of potential homeowners to obtain financing for a home. It is
largely determined by lending practices set by the lender’s conventions
and affected by the availability of financing interest rates, down payment
requirements, and other borrowing terms and conditions. The
affordability gap is another important term that is commonly used. It
is defined as the difference between the amounts a household can afford
to pay as a percentage of income and the actual rent or mortgage
payment needed. [21]
2.3.2. Measuring Affordability
The economic concerns of a would-be homebuyer are considered when

housing affordability is calculated. The underlying principle of such a
process is that buyers should not oblige themselves beyond their ability
to live up to their financial commitment. Since most home buying is done
with funds loaned by lenders, the rules or conditions of such loans are
set by them. Lenders are likely to request that two principles be
respected. The first principle is that a homebuyer pays to the home’s
seller some percent of the value of the property upon purchase. This
amount, known as a down payment, can be reduced as part of
government assistance programs
The second principle relates to the monthly amounts that a buyer will
have to pay to return the loan, which is known as a mortgage. The
monthly mortgage payment should not exceed a limit set by a lender,
which in most cases is some percent of the household’s annual income
and is referred to as the “gross debt service ratio” (GDSR). Once
exceeded, overpayment to the home expenses portion of the family

budget will have to come from other monetary allocations of the
household priorities, which is clearly undesirable.
Making sure that buyers will keep up with loan payments is, therefore, a
priority of the lender. In calculating the house expenses, the lender will
commonly include the estimated monthly property taxes, utility costs,
and the monthly mortgage payment.
The size of the mortgage will be a function of the mortgage payment

factor, which will depend on the length of time, known as the
amortization period, through which the homebuyer wishes to repay the
mortgage. Repaying the mortgage faster will require larger monthly
amounts, whereas stretching the payments over a longer period of time
will place a lighter burden on the family.
Many, even among the middle-income group cannot afford to build a

house despite liberal government loans because of increased costs of
materials and construction. Developing countries need to accord high
priority to housing and despite the sever constraints of resources; ways
and means have to be devised to tackle the housing problems. So,
emphasis is given to low- cost housing to alleviate the housing shortage.
Low Cost Housing is the result of or the solutions or the overall
combination of the following:
Problems
¾ Mainly poverty
¾ Limited available finance
¾ Resource scarcity as a result for optimum utilization
¾ Low-income of the people
Solutions
¾ Upgrading of slum areas and urban development
¾ Improving economy and creating market centers………… [5]

2.4. Low-cost housing and the significance
The term low-cost housing has many conceptions and it would be

appropriate to clarify the meaning of this popular terminology. Low- cost
housing means housing at low cost for all section of the population. [2]
Others define it as low-cost housing means that from the given physical
resources of funds, materials, land, and skills one should able to build
the maximum number of houses of good quality at affordable cost i.e.
building houses at lower cost as compared to the prevailing cost level. [1]
It is some times felt that what is really intended by low-cost housing is

cost reduction in housing others view it as cost-effective housing. [1]
Therefore, through the low- cost housing programs it easier to achieve
cost-effective housing for the existing housing shortage particularly for
the low-income families so that to the extent possible, housing is brought
with in their reach. Low-cost housing should not mean low quality
housing although the quality and cost go together. The total cost of
housing taking into consideration the initial capital cost for the housing
construction and also the recurring cost of maintenance and repair over
a period of its economic service life, should be determined during
planning and designing and the most cost effective housing should be
adopted. [1] If it is so, it is unquestionable that cost-efficient housing
program is the timely solution for the drastically growing housing
demand of the society in the city.
Speaking about The low cost housing concept, it is not new to Ethiopia.
It has been practiced some decades before. In the old times houses were
not constructed in mass as what is being done now and it was not a
multi storey building, too. Moreover, the cost reduction mechanism was
from minimal space utilization and avoiding formwork but others were
the same as the conventional way of construction.

FIG. 3 BUILDINGS FROM LCH PROJECTS
2.4.1.Financing of LCH for low income group of people
Building a house whether it is costly or a cheaper one invariably requires

finance. This source may be one’s own, in case of resourceful person but
for a low-income people self-financing is a great problem and extremely
difficult. Credit facilities for helping low income people are either meager
or entirely absent. Financing institutions have such intricate and
complex necessary conditions and formalities that these only help a
handful of rich people and the low-income people are deprived of this
benefit of external sources of credit and finance. [5]
2.4.2. Existing LCH Financing System In Addis Ababa
The area of financing adjustment, as identified by the Addis Ababa city

government finance & economics bureau are:
A. Foreign contribution: the main source of financing of the low-cost
housing project in the city is expected to be from foreign long-term
loans and the establishment of a housing fund where the return on
the initial financing will lead to a sustainable revolving fund.

B. Local contribution: the local contribution or matching fund is

obtained from the city government’s own financial sources. Such
as
a) Revenue from land lease: the city government is not using all of
the revenue from land lease to finance low-cost housing but
some part of it; and the rest is shared among other public
development projects to cover site development. However, the
city government is trying to get as high revenue as possible from
land lease by increasing advance payment of land lease to about
20percent and by increasing the average price of land lease to
approximately 1000 birr per meter sqr.
b) Direct sales or down payment of the houses to be built and
transferred to potential buyers where the money is to be put in
to a revolving fund scheme. This is actually limited to potential
owners who can afford this venture and to the scale of
commercial units.
c) Replacement process: a private property owner that shares
common compound with the kebelle houses, if the owner
intends to develop the whole area, the owner has to build a
replacement for these houses or has to pay an equivalent sum
to the city government. Therefore, the replacement process can
be easily link to the kebelle houses reconstruction project.
d) Other alternatives like
• Infrastructure providers particularly EEPCO and ETC covers
infrastructure development costs or defers their payment s for
at least 1-3 years.
• Effectively utilize VAT and import duty exemptions as provided
in the low of the country.
• Use systems that reduce costs in procurement (bulk purchase,
procure locale materials)
• Improve the productivity of construction works

Future possibilities:
e) Involvement of private real estate developers, who get access to
land for residential development and mixing, can build a
percentage of Low-cost houses while using the remaining land
for their own profit-making investment
f) The option of soliciting fund from bank loan, grant, involvement
of local ‘Edirs’ community association with funds, and private
sector while requiring detail assessment that may not mature
with in the project planned time span is yet under
consideration. [19]

CHAPTER THREE
3. CONCEPTUAL REVIEW
Regardless of the economic condition of the developing country
attempting to meet its national housing needs, it is evident that in the
selection of housing schemes, the questions of economy remain the
primary consideration because construction of houses requires
considerable investment of capital. [5] As a result, there is a great need
to reduce building cost with the help of optimum utilization of building
materials that are scarce and costly. Speed in construction is also to be
brought about so that construction is completed in a short time as
possible and the houses are ready for early occupation with relatively
less cost. [1]
The conceptual review with respect to cost saving mechanisms is
addressed from two aspects, namely construction technology aspect
and construction management aspect. Besides these two construction
aspects are interrelated, a good management skill helps not only to
retain the cost saving mechanisms considered during the design phase
but also to attain additional cost saving techniques. However, if the
project is not well managed it may cost additional amount and may
become more expensive than the conventional construction method.
What we want to say is that though the cost reduction techniques are
interrelated, greater attention should be given to the construction
management that encompasses the inception till completion of the
project.

3.1. Construction technology
Construction technology refers to the construction methodology,

construction materials and equipment required during construction
process. [12] However, in relation to the low cost housing concept the
following two parts are considered:
1. Design concepts
2. Prefabrication technology; and
Both the design concept and prefabrication technology refer to material

selection, which is appropriate to the intended purpose of the building,
construction methodology. That is; how to construct the designed
building and assemble the prefabrication-building units by specifying it
with respect to the material selected, and the type of equipment required
for execution of the designed building starting from site clearance to
completion. In general, the implication of the construction technology to
the low cost housing project is very wide and important.
The construction technology has grown rapidly after the II world war.
During that time, so many infrastructures were destroyed. So there was
a great need to build a large number of houses in a shorter period of
time. As a result, some degree of industrialization was necessary to
increase housing productivity and respond to the high numerical need
for housing and this housing demand resulted in the low cost housing
technology. [5]
The general guidelines for the selection of appropriate housing

technology are:
1. Make the maximum use of local resources, both material and
human
2. Expand the use of local skills and improve existing methods
3. Avoid depending on complex infrastructure for implementation
4. Be flexible to encompass as wide a sector of the population as
possible

5. Be capable of accepting production fluctuation without disastrous

economic results
6. Minimize wastage of resources
7. Pre-planning, efficient management, organization and execution of
works
8. Continuous research and development work………………… [1]
9. Emphasizing standardization, which have functional adequacy as
the primary purpose.
10. The use of dimensional and modular coordination in the
building…………[3]
Most of the developing countries all over the world share the problem of
poverty, large population growth and acute housing shortage. The
formidable challenge of providing housing to masses at affordable cost
is a colossal task which most of the governments in these countries are
hardly in a position to cope with. Meager economic resources of such
countries necessitate adopting appropriate construction technology that
could lead to economy as well as speed in construction. [2]
3.1.2.The design as a component of construction technology

Cost reduction aspects by use of construction technology start at the
design and planning phase as material, and to some extent construction
techniques are determined during design phase. Here below the design
phase is elaborated with the intention of outlining the design aspects
required in achieving low cost construction using the construction
technology.
As a discipline the five basic components of design are functional

requirement, economy, aesthetics, ecological requirement (environment)
and construction methodology. However, the importance of these
requirements differs according to project types (purpose of the project),
financial capability, climatic condition, culture and religion of a
community. For monumental buildings, for instance, aesthetics is the
major emphasis. On the other hand, more emphasis is given on
functional requirement and economy for public works projects. [12]
Therefore, the design component in the case of low cost housing gives
priority to the cost of construction and functions than the others
because the beneficiaries are expected to be from the low and middle-
income groups who are struggling to build shelter.
However, technological considerations and solutions cannot be the sole

criteria for tackling the housing problem. They should be related to and
adaptable to the economic and social conditions of the country. This
means the design and construction of low-cost housing should be
appropriate in the economic and social conditions prevailing in a
country. [1]
Moreover, the contractor or experienced construction professionals

should be able to contribute to the design process in matters relating to
construction practice, which especially may further reduce cost of the
project. And the design team should be willing to receive, analyze and
subsequently act on such recommendations. Thus there should be a
mechanism during the planning/design process where these parties can
collaborate. The paramount aim of these parties should be to achieve a
building that will serve the tenants in a relatively better way and which
will represent good value for money with in the limitation of time and
finance available. [7]
Cost reduction mechanisms during planning and design

stages
a) Planning - Reduction in high cost of urban land

The cost of land and its development to provide essential housing
services and other infrastructure facilities has grown irrespective to the
income of low and middle-income groups and now accounts for
substantial cost of housing construction. It has become necessary,
therefore, to device ways and means of effecting saving in the use of land
and cost of its development by resorting to economic physical planning
for housing development. [1]

Multi-storied housing development is being increasingly adapted to

effect saving in cost of land as well as cost of infrastructure
services. There is substantial increase in net residential densities and
consequent saving in plot areas in multi-storied housing [1]. However,
intensive use of land and densification has a side effect because it
increases densities of utilities like sewer lines, tell and electric cables …if
the density of buildings is not kept proportional. The problem with
densification is not only in densification of utilities but also in the social
effect of having to live in very dense surroundings where most spaces
need to be shared. This is known to have produced ghettos and slums in
many high-density housing projects in Europe and America. [22]
b) Adoption of a number of innovative design concepts,
Due attention should be given to the spatial design in any housing

projects. The size and shape of the building have bearing on cost of
construction. Irregular shapes require more design as well as
construction efforts in resource and time hence will result in greater cost
of construction. [2] In addition, whatever new construction technology is
adapted it should not require highly skilled personnel and should be
simple to understand and construct. However, care should be taken with
structural parts not to compromise structural requirements in order to
make the technology simple. [9]
Some of the costs reducing techniques considered in LCH projects are:

i. Use of abundantly available construction materials [9] and
avoiding expensive construction materials especially finishing
materials like marble, aluminum, frame, and electrical and
sanitary appliances hence replace them by relatively cheaper
ones. [12]
ii. Standardization (modularization) or grid system
Standardization is a pre-requisite for adoption of system of building

methods and use of prefabricated building components. Standard sizes
of rooms, roofing, doors, windows, and so on enable mass production of

the required standard sizes. [1] And thus achieving speed in
manufacturing of prefabricated elements and construction/ assembly of
the elements on site. It also requires minimum machinery for production,
as elements are few standard types. This facilitates to reduce
construction costs and make the construction simple. [6]
Time is cost hence completion time of a project should be reduced as

much as possible. The grid system of construction is reasonably
important to save time and minimize wastage. However, it requires
precision during implementation. More importantly, grid system of
construction helps to attain economy of scale. [1]
iii. Dimensional co-ordination (modular co-ordination)
Modular co-ordination of dimensions means organizing the

dimensions in a building so as to reduce variety of sizes to which
components need to be, and enable them to be used together at the
building site with out much modification. [2] Some of the items, which
require dimensional coordination, are: doors and windows openings
and components, grid width and room height etc. The internationally
accepted modules for adoption in building construction are:
• A basic module of 10cm (1M)
• Multi-module of multiples of 30cm (3M)……… [2]
The adoption of standardization and modular co-ordination leads to

appreciable saving in construction time, labor, reduction of wastage,
easy interchangeability of parts, and mass production, simplification
of type designs, and also resulted in economical space utilization. [1]
It should also be noted that too much standardization has a negative

side: namely in the limitation of design possibilities, and depressing
neighborhoods of repetitive housing typologies. However, a balance
between these two sides can be achieved keeping in mind that target

is achieving low cost housing. As a whole, standardization and

modular co-ordination saves cost of construction. [22]
iv.Optimization in the use of space while designing such

as using the minimum essential floor area and lower
ceiling height as appropriate for the context reduces
cost of construction. [2]
v.Using single stack system of plumbing to reduce cost

of plumbing and using PVC pipes for cold water supply
to replace GI pipes, which are costly. [2]
FIG. 4 SINGLE STACK PLUMBING SYSTEM
In the conventional system of drainage for building two separate pipes

are provided, one for the solid which takes discharge from the water
closet, urinals, etc. and the other for the discharge from baths, sinks and
washbasins, etc. besides, a vent pipe is also fitted with both the pipes to
prevent breakage of seal of the traps of different applications. The single
stack system of plumbing (see the fig. Above), which replaces the above
system, is essentially a one pipe system in which the wastes from

kitchen, bath, etc, and solid waste from toilets is carried out of the
building in a single stack.
The ventilation is also completely omitted and the service stack itself
serves the purpose of a ventilation pipe. It embodies the merits of the
conventional two-pipe system and the modern one pipe system. The use
of this system effects in saving the quantity of pipes and fittings and also
gives a cost saving in plumbing work.
vi. Using Common steel staircase to serve more than two dwelling units in
multi storeyed construction to reduce area for vertical circulation and
cost of stairs. [2]
vii. Typification of designs

Typification of building designs provides a means by which greater
degrees of repetition of all parts and products can be applied in design
and production. It helps to reduce the size and number of components
required. It permits streaming of assembly operations and simplifies
them. [1] I.e. it helps to attain economy of scale very quickly.
3.1.3.Prefabrication technology and manufacturing

Prefabrication and manufacturing is a major component of achieving cost
reduction in construction. Prefabrication refers to building components,
which are partially or fully fabricated in housing factories and
subsequently transported to the construction site where only erection
and assembly works are undertaken. [1]
For low cost housing program, adoption of prefabricated building

techniques offers many merits. This should be suitably weighed in the
context of country’s resources with regard to materials, manpower,
financial capabilities and requirements of housing policies and program
[3]. Hence, this technique is essential to meet the increasing demand of
housing in developing countries. However, because of the considerable
initial capital investment, prefabrication of the whole building parts is
not a sound proposal in majority of the developing countries. For
ensuring speed and economy in construction, the practical solution to

the problem to meet housing requirements will go into partial

prefabrication. This technology employs the use of prefabricated
building components of optimum size and weight, which could be
fabricated at construction sites or in small industrial production units.
[2]
However, there are cost reducing construction technologies other than

prefabrication. These includes the use of construction materials that
are less costly by minimizing or avoiding cement and reinforcement bars,
using construction techniques that save material such as less formwork,
or that there is no need to wait for concrete curing time. For example,
using reinforcement in hollow concrete blocks avoid formwork
requirement, using metal windowsills to avoid concrete etc. [22]
Standardization in the field of building should be extended, to prevent

financial losses and misguided projects. Taking economy and speed in
construction as the guiding consideration, partial-prefabrication could be
taken advantage of, progressively leading to prefabrication to a greater
extent. [3]
Partial-prefabricated elements do not need to use special and

complicated building equipments, lifting mechanism and transportation,
electricity and fuel, skilled labor and trained engineers. [3]
It is noticeable that adoption of pre-cast systems may not turn out to be

an economical preposition for individual housing. Since it involves
additional expenditure on account of necessary accessories and the
infrastructure facilities required for the prefab system, it is recommended
for large-scale housing projects. [2]
Cost reduction from Pre-fabricated system

Advantages of the technology are related to cost saving by allowing
parallel work progress, attaining economy of scale, saves material stock
area on site, using semi-skilled man power for assembly etc. Due to the
adoption of prefab systems, the pace of construction is increased. Hence
productivity is increased and cost will be reduced.
Manufacturing
The basic components of a building that can be prefabricated are the

wall and slab elements. Note that components such as pitched roof
elements, windows, are mostly pre fabricated. However more
innovative ways of prefabrication still exist. Here below are elaborated
some useful examples of wall and floor prefabricated elements.
i. Economical walling
Wall is one of the important structural elements in a building and
housing construction that account a considerable cost of construction
of civil works. though there are different types of economical walling
some are discussed because of its low cost potential or availability as
follows:
a) Concrete hollow blocks (HCB)

Different types and sizes of hollow concrete blocks for wall
construction can be produced. The most common type of a HCB is the
one with two openings. Sometimes it may be produced with poor
quality. However, with the same mix ratio, it is possible to increase
the compressive strength by using different mold types with increased
number of openings. As test results show HCB with three openings
acquired a greater compressive strength than with two openings. This
is because as the number of openings increases the contact area also
increases hence have greater bearing capacity. Additionally, making
one side of the HCB closed results in reduction of mortar wastage and
increase productivity.

b) Hydraform
The Hydraform building system is recently introduced wall unit. This
system complies with the South Africa national building regulations
and satisfies the requirements for structural performance, rainwater
penetration, fire protection, thermal performance and durability.
Hydraform has many benefits for the user including:
1 Cost saving because freely available subsoil is the main raw
material; the blocks do not require costly burning: transportation
costs are minimized since block production takes place on site;
unskilled labor can be trained in both blocking and building with
Hydraform blocks.
2 Mortar is largely eliminated in substructure walls because the
interlocking blocks are dry-stacked except in the ring beam and high
gables.
3 Speed of construction is valuable feature of the system, which is
much faster than other building methods.
4 Thermal protection Hydraform blocks have high thermal capacity
(the ability to absorb and hold heat). Prof. John Morris of the Faculty of
building and surveying at the University of the Witwatersrand,
Johannesburg states: “…. Hydraform blocks are three times as efficient
as concrete and almost twice as efficient as fired clay bricks…in terms of
the thermal insulation they offer.”
5 Environmentally friendliness is a major feature of the Hydraform
system; blocks are produced under high compression from subsoil, with
out the need for fuel-wood used to burn bricks.
6 High strength has been demonstrated in Hydraform systems,
showing that these have considerably higher impact strength than those
constructed from concrete blocks.
7 Attractive, face-brick finishes are achieved with Hydraform blocks
in a variety of natural colors derived from the soil found at individual
sites. The interior walls may be plastered, painted or sealed.
8 Simplicity characterizes the Hydraform building system. Both the
production of blocks and the erection of walls using the Hydraform
blocks are simple; relatively unskilled labor can be used to carry out both
processes, operating under Hydraform-trained supervision. [11]
Agro stone
The china Agro stone technology which uses mainly agricultural raw
materials as filler (70-75percent), mineral raw material as binders and
bond accelerators and fiber glass as reinforcement can be used as a
construction component in the LCH projects. The agricultural raw
materials can be from different sources, serving as fillers, and are
responsible for the lightness of the products. The binders, which are
being used, are MgO and MgCi2. There is a possibility to replace the
agricultural raw material by a mineral raw material. The selected
material, however, has to be cheap, light and easily available. Further
more, local mineral products can also replace the binding elements
partly or totally. However, to get cheap but better quality with local
materials an intensive experiment shall be made. [10]
Benefits of agro stone

The availability of different alternatives building materials coupled with
self-sufficiency in construction raw materials are the key factors for the
availability of construction projects. The agro stone partition boards have
the following main advantages as compared to the traditional HCB and
firebrick.
¾ The widely available lightweight mineral fillers and agricultural
wastes are the main input raw materials as a result it reduces the
dependency on cement and cement products.
¾ Unlike bricks and HCB the partition boards don’t require
plastering for finishing surfaces
¾ The surface area is very large (1.5m2) when compared with
brick/block. In other words it requires 20 HCB to cover similar
area of partition boards. This makes it easy to cover large area in
short period of time, that inurn reduce time required for
construction.
¾ The product is lightweight, easy to fix, water, fire and shock
resistant, sound proof.
¾ Since the weight of the material is small, the load of the super
structure is reduced. This implies that the cost of substructure

construction can be reduced.
¾ The agro stone products don’t require much water during
construction. Therefore, the water used for construction can be
saved suggesting a shift from wet to dry construction technology.
¾ The structure of the agro stone products are firm, different paints
can be sprayed and coated with very good decorative effect.
¾ These products can be cut, sawn, nailed, and drilled without
deformation and can be conveniently constructed
¾ The agro stone production utilizes agricultural wastes as the main
input and it is an environmentally friendly technology to be used
by the developing countries
Comparison of the cost of construction of one square meter of partition

wall using HCB and agro stone products indicate that the cost of current
construction technology is significantly high as compared to the agro
stone technology. Moreover, the agro stone technology reduces the time
required for the construction of houses. [10].
d) Stone blocks
The precast-stone masonry unit is a new type of wall element. It is an

improvement over the traditional stone masonry block that can be easily
produced at a factory or at site with semi-skilled workers without any
special equipment. The blocks are cast either individual steel moulds of
fixed type or split type or gang moulds of six blocks (see the fig. Bellow).
These moulds are made of 4mm thick M.S sheet and are welded from
outside so that the internal edges are sharp and free from welding flux.
A smooth level and hard surface is required for casting the blocks. The
casting platform may consist of 30mm thick 1:3:6 cement concrete
finished smooth with neat cement. To get a stone texture on the outer
face of blocks, they are cast so that the bottom faces during casting
forms the exposed face when laid down. The blocks are ease in handling.

The stone masonry blocks are made of large size stone pieces bonded
together with lean cement-concrete mix of 1:5:8 (cement: sand: stone
aggregate of 10mm and less). The stone pieces used are as large as can
be accommodated in the mould. These can be from 5-26cm in size and
obtained either from quarry or breaking the river boulders. This will
result in a good flat stone-texture.
FIG.5 MOULDS FOR PRE CAST STONE BLOCK MASONRY
These blocks are used both for load bearing as well as non-load bearing
walls it can also be used for pavements. The thickness of the wall
depends upon the load coming over it. Though it requires further
experimental projects in local context, based on the experiment made
and experience developed in India, this construction system provides a
significant economic value against the conventional method of
construction, via, random rubble masonry. [2]

ii. Economical Flooring
Filler slab
The basic concept behind use of filler slab is to remove substantial
portion of concrete below the neutral axis, which does not contribute to
the tensile strength of the slab. Various types of filler slab can be used,
such as coconut shell; HCB slab etc. use of filler slab contributes to the
economy the construction compared to the conventional RCC slab.
Such slab is comparatively lighter in weight, and has increased
insulation properties because of voids between the tiles. [2]
FIG.6 PRECAST BEAMS, SLAB FILLER AND WALL HCB
The slab-HCB can be used in two different ways, the conventional one
and the one being practiced in LCH projects. Some of the differences are
listed below
1 The conventional one uses a ribbed beam, which is cast-in-situ, to

hold back the slab-HCB by a force of friction. Whereas the in the

LCH uses a partially pre-casted beam to hold the slab-HCB in its

position by the help of an about 2cm protruded portion of the
block.
2 The conventional one requires a huge amount of form work to
support the slab-HCB not only till the concrete is casted but also
the concrete and the block attains the frictional force which is the
only one responsible to hold the slab-HCB in position and it
requires about 28 days to dismantled it. Whereas the one being
practiced in LCH projects requires few eucalyptus trees to keep in
position the pre cast beams but no other formworks. This
technique of construction saves cost of formwork and labor,
enables parallel work progress. For example, plastering of ceilings
and walls can be made even during casting of the slab concrete.
General remarks:
The following general remarks on the prefabricated roofing, flooring and
walling systems have to be considered for ensuring their satisfactory
performance:
¾ The planning of the building; It is very important that the building

plan should be prepared keeping uniform span for the prefab
components. By doing so, pre cast units of only one size will be
required in size as it will not only reduce the number of sizes of
mould during production process but also helps to attain economy
of scale in the construction process, i.e. increases productivity and
efficiency. Building planned on cross wall system is well suited for
adoption of pre cast units.
The moulds for pre cast may be manufactured with good quality
timber or steel. Steel moulds can be used for a large number of
castings and will be economical in the long run. Good quality
mould may be used for 30-40 casting operations.
¾ The pre cast units can be designed by common methods of
structural design adopting ultimate load method or limit state
method as per the codal provisions of relevant Ethiopian
standards. Both ordinary mild steel or high strength deformed bars
may be used for reinforcement.

¾ Precast units should be adequately cured before they are used in
the building. Handling methods should be given particular
attention to avoid breakage and damages to the finished surface.
Joints are the most critical parts in prefabrication. Their efficiency
decides the success or failure of the system. Moreover, the joints of
prefabricated elements tend to develop shrinkage cracks. It is,
therefore, imperative to take adequate precaution to ensure water
tightness of joints and structural integrity of the precast elements.
As a precautionary measure, precast elements are required to be
transversely connected with reinforcing bars to avoid opening of
joints. To over come the problems of differential shrinkage between
the precast element and cast-in-situ concrete in joints, use of non-
shrinking cement grouts and sealants is a positive solution, and
contributes to the satisfactory performance of joints.
¾ All openings should be pre-planned and provided for in the moulds
so that chipping on breaking of the precast units is completely
avoided. Fan hooks; electrical conduits, etc. should be embedded
in the in-situ concrete.
¾ Since prefab elements specially precast roofing systems are
vulnerable to earth quack, suitable strengthening measures should
be adopted for design and construction of prefabricated buildings
in earth quack prone areas………… [2]
Even though some basic and more appropriate examples are discussed
here, numerous low cost materials and techniques are practiced in
different parts of the world depending on the materials available, climatic
conditions, skill level of the work force. Moreover, continuous
modifications are going on in construction sites to adapt specific
situations. Therefore continuous adaptation to the specific context based
on the guidelines for achieving low cost construction should always be
given attention. The technology in general should be thought of
beginning at the planning and design stage and requires integration with
the construction management to achieve low cost.

3.2. Construction Management

3.2.1.Overview of construction project management
Construction Project Management: is the planning, organization,

monitoring and control of all aspects of a project and motivation of all
involved to achieve project objectives safely and within a defined time,
cost and performance. [18].
The needs for effective Construction management are greater where projects
are interdependent particularly those competing for the same resources.
Hence Sound construction project management is essential for projects to
be delivered to the agreed quality, within budget and on time. The element
of cost in the process of construction is related to so many interrelated
parameters that control or change in one aspect of the process may result
in imbalance in other areas and eventually lead to a more dislocated,
possibly a more costly product.
Construction project management encompasses the following

components
I. Major components
• Process management
• Resource management
• Stakeholders management
II. Supportive components

• Procurement and contract management
• Health and safety
• Performance management
III.Integrative and alignment components

• Facility management
• Uncertainty management
• Change management …………[14.]

Construction Project Management
Major Supportive Integrative and

alignment
• Proce • Procurement contract mgt • Facility mgt
ss • Health and • Uncertainty
• Resou safety • Change mgt
rce • Performance
• Stakeholders mgt
With respect to low cost housing, the major components i.e.

stakeholders, resource, process managements, and from the
supportive components procurement management of construction
project management are discussed here bellow.
3.2.1.Stake Holders Management
Stakeholders can be defined as either individuals or units or the

organization itself for which they claim a stake in the project such that
they get benefit from or affected by the whole processes of the project and
its deliverables.
Stakeholders’ relationships management is meant that attitudes,

objectives and self serving interests of individuals, groups or
organizations who have stakes in the project are reflected in their
relationships to affect the success of the project. As a result, projects
need to manage such relationships in order to ensure their successful
completions [14] Weak and untrustworthy relationships among
stakeholders have been one of the major factors for low project
performances. This has been found related to the perception of these
stakeholders practiced during their involvement in the project
management processes. Integrated interventions and participation of
stake holders is an important factor to mobilize resources, increase

community capacities and empower low income groups and the creation
of enabling environment, processes and institutions to improve the
capacity of the poor to meet their housing needs.
The type of delivery system determines the contractual relation ship

among stakeholders. Delivery system is the way Project Owners together
with Project Regulators and Financiers determine the assignment of
responsibilities to Project Stakeholders along the Construction Process.
[15]. Out of the many delivery methods, the construction management
consultancy and specialized contracting are discussed below.
a) Construction Management Consultancy / Contracting System:
As an implementing agency is a form of construction management under

which the construction manager acts as an agent of, and advisor to, the
owner. The owner enters in to multiple trade contracts with the trade
contractors and suppliers .the construction manager is retained on a fee
for service basis and acts on the owners behalf in managing and
coordinating the trade contracts in the best interests of the owners. The
owner retains all of the contracting risk inherent in each of the trade
contracts .it essentially involves the owner acting as its own general
contractor, with the assistance of a construction manager. [17]
This system is well known and used in the construction industry of the
developed countries. An Implementing Agency, which represents the
Employer undertaking the following functions:
• Managing the overall processes of the LCH projects on behalf of the
client;
• Entering agreements with specialized consultants and contractors;
• Facilitating procurement of construction materials in bulk;
• Making payments after overall supervisory and regulatory roles;
and
• Capacity Building objectives at different levels and for different
stakeholders of the construction industry. [12]

B) Specialized (Labor Based) Contracting System:
Specialized Contracting System is a system that adopted execution of

construction works by different contractors, which are qualified for
their specialties and are small in their nature. The client or the main
contractor can employ these sub-contractors for their labor supply
only. [12] Items such as doors, windows, roofing, steel stairs, etc are
sub-contracted directly to producers as a result it reduces cost by
cutting out mark up profit and overhead cost which comes from main
work contractor with out added value. However, the coordinating role
of the main contractor should be taken care of in the process. [9]
Some of the advantages of specialized contracting system are:

• Better Quality of Products due to the involvement of companies
with their core competencies,
• Facilitate specialization by trade (capacity building)
• Developing uses of Sub Contracting or Outsourcing systems. [12]
The other advantages of this system are considerable time saving due to
parallel working of the different specialized tasks and the development of
MSME enterprises. Besides, it promotes the use of construction
management consultancy that brings knowledge and information to play
its role for better innovation with regard to further cost savings in the
construction works phase. [12]
However, this system has a major consequence towards an extensive and

high requirement of management capability and resources. Besides, the
saving in overhead from the system can be considerably consumed by
the Implementation Agency services. [12]

3.2.2.Resource Management
Projects encompass a variety of inputs, which call for multi-disciplinary

action in an integrated manner. For all construction projects, specifically
LCH projects, to be efficiently operating and be successful the elements
or the resources should be well known, planned and made available. [15]
The resources for which to look into are the following;
• Human Resources / Labor or Workmen
• Financial Resources / Fund
• Information Resources
• Physical Resources such as Materials, Equipment and Other
Assets
• Services and Management………………[15]
Project Resources Management can generally possess two major

processes: Project Resources Definition and Its Change Monitoring. The
project resources definition is aimed at developing a written resources
requirement statement as a basis for future project decisions following
subdivided project deliverables during Project scope definition. The
Change Monitoring Process is a gauge to scan the major deliverables or
outputs of the project and carryout change management. [15]
Efficient and effective management of mainly physical resources, human

resources and services results in significant cost savings. There are
different areas of resource management which has a significant
advantage on cost saving
Cost reduction mechanisms during resource utilization
As resources constitute major component of the construction cost, its

optimum utilization is essential. Therefore, the following cost reduction
techniques are considered.
¾ Avoiding expensive construction materials especially finishing
materials like marble, aluminum, frame, electrical and sanitary
appliances hence replace them by relatively cheaper ones. [12]

¾ Utilization of skilled and semiskilled with in a group of crews [9]

¾ Cement lime composite mortar for masonry and plastering to effect
saving in consumption of cement [2]
¾ Taking resources to modern construction management practice
such as PERT (program evaluation and review technique) and CPM
(critical path method) could lead to avoidance of time and cost
overruns by increasing the efficiency of management. [2]
3.2.3.Process Management
Construction projects as it posses its unique characteristics from other

projects, its project cycle exhibited contextual phases. For instance [16]
defined the construction process as all processes that guides towards or
is a presupposition for the planned construction works. This means that
the construction process as a concept covers sub processes having
different characteristics. These sub processes can be grouped under
three major classifications: Core processes, Administrative processes and
Public regulatory processes. These processes are termed Project
Processes.
Construction process management plays a great role on the performance

and cost of a project, and it s significance is high in the case of low cost
housing. The use of different systems facilitates the construction process
management.
i. The construction process
The construction industry is often considered to be complex and unique.

No other has similar characteristics. [13] Some of the features, which
make it unique, are:
a) The labor force within the construction industry is often
considered as nomadic in nature, employs not only moving from
site to site but also from employer to employer
b) Sites are often situated many kilometers from head offices
and/or regional centers of organizations

c) Construction suffers from a lack of repetition and

standardization of designs and components
d) The industry is deemed to be labor intensive, the cost of labor
often represents over 50% of the total cost of a building [13].
The above features create many problems that no one individual can
overcome. The construction industry is essentially a team industry, each
person involved in the process becoming an important member of the
construction team. [13]
ii. Labor-intensive construction process

Labor-intensive manual methods of construction for production,
handling, transportation and laying of prefabricated elements, which
reduces cost because cost of labor is relatively cheap. Moreover,
production technique of prefab components is organized on an assembly
line basis, insuring economy, speed, and productivity. Adequate quality
control is affected at various stages. In this manner, the work operation
become repetitive, leading to higher skills, greater speed in building,
better quality of work, and lesser cost of construction due to economy of
scale. [2]
3.2.4.Phased construction system-

One of the different approaches or definitions to this system implies that
the building construction will be completed to a stage that the housing
can be considered habitable for use with the possibility that the
remaining works can be executed in subsequent phases. [12] The major
advantages of this system is that
• The required physical facilities can be made available in mass
• The scarce financial resources can be efficiently used to
minimize housing problems
• It contributes to the enhancement of the human development
index of a nation……………[12]

By using a phase construction system you can use and allocate your
physical resources properly hence increase labor efficiency and reduce
wastage of resources. [2]
3.2.5. Waste Reduction System

It is obvious that a project with a less wastage in its construction
progress will save more money than others. The cost-efficient housing
projects, moreover, need more care in their waste management system
than all other projects. Because it is needed to be as low cost as possible.
- Some of the waste reduction methods are
• Improving construction methods and process down to each trade level
• Enhancing the efficiency of human resources using the principle of
cooperative training
• Application of grid based design method relatively reduces material
required and practicing dimensional coordination avoids wastage by
using the prefabricated building materials fully.
• Use of closed HCB at top that brings economized use of wall materials
and its components, and considerable minimization of mortar
wastage………[12]
• Considerable reduction in the use of formwork for slab construction
using prefabricated concrete blocks that span on the prefabricated
beam. This method also saves time and promotes environmentally
friendly construction system……… [9]
3.2.6.Manufacturing and Assembly Construction System

The use of this system has a great role on construction process
management. It is a normal practice in the developed world, which is
strongly associated with the developments of industrialization and
standardization systems to the construction industry. They are very
useful and are fast interventions for massification of buildings in order to
minimize scarcities of physical infrastructures such as for social services,
public offices, etc. This system promotes the development of industrial
plants where parts can be produced in a manufacturing industry for

assembly on site. Prefabricated structural and other building

components are common practice that enhances working style of the
construction on site practices. Besides, this provides the opportunity to
build the capacity of smaller contractors by using specialized contracting
and / or sub contracting systems. [12]
This system is used to prefabricate structural elements for beams and

parts of slabs; building elements for doors and windows; sanitary
components such as Gutter and down pipes etc. This system has
brought considerable time saving during construction because
prefabrication can be made in parallel and by different specialized
contracts that makes the system different from the conventional
practices. For instance, the contractor often orders or does the
prefabrication of doors and windows only after the place is ready for prior
measurement. The considerable lack of operational finance also
contributes for sequential approach to construction in the case of
conventional constructions. [12]
3.2.7. Procurement
Procurement is a process used to select the lowest competitive and
qualified bidder for procuring services or works or goods from potential
competitors based on reasonable relevant criteria. [15] An effective and
efficient procurement method ensures the acquisition of quality, with the
right cost or price, and on time arrangement. Direct contracting and
negotiation with nominated contractors by the client for execution of the
work on time and fixed price bases can reduce costs related to
procurement.
In mass housing program the Procurement of the most frequently

purchased construction materials should be centrally organized so as to
maximize bulk-buying power, fully utilize negotiation expertise and
ensure the value for money is obtained.

CHAPTER –4-
4. METHODOLOGY
This research is conducted to contribute knowledge by investigating
the main question, “What are the main factors that reduce cost in the
LCH projects?”
The research design is based on “Case Study Research Methodology”

using both primary and secondary data. This design in general places
more emphasis on the analysis of a limited number of events or
conditions and their interrelations. The research strategy is known to
perform two main functions: conceptualizing an operational plan and
ensuring the validity and reliability of this operational plan to
research questions [14]
Data sources include primary and secondary data’s. Primary data will
be obtained from interviews with the clients of the
project/contractors/consultants involved in running/managing the
housing projects and other stakeholders in the construction of
physical facilities. Secondary data will be obtained by thoroughly
studying and investigating documents obtained from organizations
involved in the LCH projects.
4.1. Method of the study
Qualitative methods have been applied in the study. The Scope of this
survey encompasses those participants (parties) who are involved in
the design, construction and management of the LCH projects.
4.2. Research instrument
Interview Method will be used as research techniques/instruments to

gather data from the respondents in the research sample. The
interviews conducted face to face were used to gather data from
professionals with an in-depth knowledge about the issues in
question.

Open-ended semi-Structured questions were prepared for interviewing

purpose. Formal and informal discussions are made with key
respondents. The interview question is prepared as applicable as
possible to the respondents.
4.3. Data Collection Techniques
Limited number of persons was selected for the interview from

different stakeholders. The involvement of the respondents varies
according to the stakeholder they represent. Respondent
Characteristics is composed of various professionals working for the
AAHDPO, GTZ-IS, the sub city administrations, consultants or
contractors.
The interview process is largely determined by the quality of the

information obtained and the extent of respondents’ involvement in
the LCH projects. 14 semi-structured questions were prepared as
guidance for respondents, which are relevant for the thesis work. The
number of questions asked and the way in which they are asked are
limited based on the time constraint and the relative importance.
During the interview, every effort was made to minimize the potential
for respondents may misunderstand questions by explaining our
intention. Also the possibility of miss record or misunderstanding
respondents’ answer was eliminated by asking and checking with
other respondents’ information. We focused on the quality of
information rather than the quantity.
No response may occur when an individual is unable to complete the

interview or to answer specific questions due to limited involvement
in the situation.

4.4. Data Analysis
In the interview several questions are asked in a manner where the

respondent could state whatever they wished, rather than having to
choose from defined response categories. Open-ended questions allow
very specific items to be stated, but can lead to long and complex
responses. To classify the open-ended responses, categories were
developed and the responses were assigned to the most appropriate
category.
Placing limits on the number of items classified prevents the
overrepresentation of one respondent’s viewpoints.
Summarized analytical review is made for the discussion-based

interview. Only key questions that are believed to include other
questions are analyzed with respect to the research purpose. Related
questions are merged to one group for discussion.
Finally, the data’s gathered from semi-structured interviews

conducted with key informants will be analyzed. Then the results
compared with literature to see if they agree or not will be discussed.

CHAPTER –5-
5. ANALYSIS, DISCUSSION AND RESULTS
A total of ten interviews were conducted with respondents. Respondents

depending on the extent of their involvement did not answer all
questions. Among the respondents, two of them are involved during the
design phase and eight are working in the implementation of LCH
projects.
5.1. Planning and design aspect
The participants during the planning phase of the low cost housing
project, according to our interviewees, were the client i.e. the Addis
Ababa housing development project office (AAHDPO), architects and
engineers of different professions from the implementing agency i.e. the
former GTZ-LCH/IS, quantity surveyors and cost estimators.
DESIGN AND PLANNING

relative weight
PERCENT 12.5 12.5 12.5 12.5 12.5 0 12.5 12.5
0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100%
Intensive use of land and densification during planning

Extensive use of abundantly available local materials
Optimal space and volume utilization
Application of modular or grid system
Dimensional coordination
Single stack plumbing system instead of double,
PVC pipes instead of GI pipes for cold water supply
Common steel stair case than concrete
Falling into cut than to fill for substructure works
Chart No. 1
From planning point of view the cost reducing mechanisms being
practiced in the low cost housing projects, as you can see from chart

No.1, are all except single stack plumbing system and PVC pipes
instead of GI pipes for cold water supply. Intensive use of land implies
constructing buildings vertically by increasing the storey number to
save a considerable cost of land, facilities like telephone lines, electrical
wires, sewer pipes and cost of infrastructures like road, school and
health centers. However, such buildings increase densities of the
facilities. Therefore, constructing high-rise building is an arguing issue.
In case of the density of high-rise buildings, this issue becomes more
intense as there is a preference for which types of buildings to
construct as high-rise building. The density of high rise office buildings
usually is higher than that of apartments because apartments require
additional open spaces for play ground, court yard, washing and drying
of closes and so on.
Though comparatively planning of the LCH is better than the slums in so

many aspects like aesthetics, density, its long run planning does not
sound good if only these types of buildings are continued to be
constructed all over the sub cities. This will have a negative impact on
town planning as a result of monotonic. The density of the buildings of
which we visited varies. This is because no local standards are officially
set which defines the minimum size of functional rooms density of
buildings densities. What is being practiced so far is either adapting
foreign standards, which are more focused on comfort, or using once
experience to determine the size of functional rooms number of blocks
and locate them with in the limited area of the site.
The design team for the pilot project and the next sites called ’10 sites’,
according to our interviewees, was required to prepare on time housing
designs which are cost consistent with the city plan and are cost
saving. Moreover, the following principles were pursued during
preparation of the design of the low cost housing.
• Adoption of mixed settlements i.e. the settlements to be designed
should integrate residential houses and commercial centers, the
settlement as well should encompass a community settlements

where residents with different income levels live together.

• Establishment of settlements with adequate community facilities
typically communal cooking, slaughtering places, washing places
and stores.
As both of our interviewees mentioned it, the design team selected almost
all of the construction materials to be domestic. However, these materials
are also being used in the conventional method of construction. Hence
no direct cost is being saved from material selection but cost is saved
indirectly. According to our interviewees, for instance, in the pilot and
some other project a class-B hollow concrete block that is a load bearing
masonry unit is used. As a result, the load from super structures is not
only bear by the beams but also by the HCB. Hence the beam and
column dimensions are not the same as in the case of the conventional
one but relatively lesser. This implies that amount of concrete required is
less than the normal consequently cost of concrete is reduced. This
makes the project cost relatively less. Similarly cost from not only
concrete slab construction but also from form works is saved due to the
use of slab HCB which is placed on the top of pre cast beams laid over a
few logs of eucalyptus trees. These cost reductions are an indirect result
of material selection.
As the types of elements to be prefabricated increases, cost of

construction also increases. Hence according to the interviewees, to save
cost they used grid system keeping the numbers of modules as small as
possible. Accordingly they used two types of pre cast moulds for slab
beams and the outer edge beams, two types of wall HCB moulds of
10*20*40 and 20*20*40 cm and only one type of slab HCB mould. As a
result the building types designed are limited to five block types (type A-
type E) each of which has typical floor type except these buildings, which
are nearer to streets, whose ground floor is used for commercial purpose.
In other countries especially developed ones, there is a standard of

space per person but according to the information we obtained, no
standard for space utilization is available as a result they used to fix the

space per person based on their experience. What they said is that they
used an average area for each functional rooms but an average mean
differ from one to another
To minimize cost of constructions, according to our interviewees, the

design team designed the clear room height to be 2.52m. But what they
did to determine the clear room height and the span between the grids is
that they take in to consideration the HCB dimensions so that to reduce
wastage of materials therefore to save cost. The plumbing system applied
in the Gerji pilot project was a single stack plumbing system but in the
rest it is a double stack system, which is similar to the conventional
method of construction. And the plumbing units they used are PVC for
storm water and wastewater, and GI pipes for cold water supply. Fitting
optimization by using direct and short distance to reduce pipe cost and
fittings. However, the plumbing system would have been relatively less
costly if they had used the single stack system in the projects being
carried out.
According to our interviewees’ opinion, the design of the low cost housing
project is made with a great care so that dimensional coordination is
practiced. The modules are designed to use full lengths of the re-bars;
width and height of walls are defined so that full of the HCB masonry
units are used, the doors and windows are also designed in a similar
way.
In addition to the above cost reduction considerations during designing,

the building rests on cut surface rather than fill. This is preferred to
minimize cost of back fill and minimize the difficulty of compaction
during rainy season due to raise in moisture content, which is more
serious in case of Addis Ababa, where there is heavy rain fall with longer
duration
These all design considerations helps to make the construction simple

and minimize wastage during prefabrication and manufacturing, and
implementation. However, though the design team uses grid system,
makes dimensional coordination, and select abundantly available local

material it will not help if not practiced with a good management skill
during the construction process. Therefore, the cost minimized will be
effective if good construction management skill is practiced.
5.2. Prefabrication technology
According to the interviewees, they use pre cast beam as a

prefabricated building component, which is partially casted in order to
reduce cost of loading, unloading and transportation. Moreover, being
partially prefabricated helps easy assembly system that can be placed
manually hence avoid need of equipments.
This partially casted beam is placed on partially cast-in-situ beams,
which is monolithic to the columns. It is also supported at 1.5m from
each of the cast –in-situ beams and at the center by a horizontally
running eucalyptus logs. A vertical logs in turn supports the
horizontal ones. After the partially pre cast beams are placed at a
center-to-center distance of 62.5cm the slab HCB is placed on it.
ADVANTAGES OF PREFABRICATION
RELATIVE ADVANTAGE
1 20 20 20 20 20
0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100%
Reduce overall construction time

Requires less supporting systems
Requires Less moulds types
Requires semi-skilled labor for assembly
Saves cost of construction through economy of scale
Chart No.3

As you can see from the chart above, No formwork is required to

support the slab HCB but the 2cm protrude part of the slab HCB
keeps it in position. Right After the slab HCB is placed on position,
the electrical cables, sanitary units are executed in parallel, and then
slab re-bars in both directions, and column re-bars are placed. Then
after, the 6cm concrete floor slab is casted monolithically with the
partially cast-in situ beams and pre cast beam.
According to chart No.3, the ribbed slab system in LCH projects has
advantages related to cost. It reduces a considerable amount of
concrete because as mentioned earlier, only 6cm thick slab floor is
casted. And a few form works to support the cast-in-situ beams and
the pre cast beams is needed. This technology allows parallel work
progress, which saves considerable time and cost.
FIG. 7 PRECAST BEAMS

a) b)
c) d)
FIG. 8
a) LAID PRECAST BEAMS AND SLAB HCB
b) ELECTRICAL INSTALLATION, PLUMBING AND SLAB REINFORCEMENT BARS IN
BOTH DIRECTIONS
c) HALF CAST-IN-SITU BEAM
d) SUPPORT POSTS FOR PRECAST BEAMS

5.3. Stakeholders
With the objective of completing the project within cost targeted to

reduce the overall building cost, the various stakeholders have different
roles in the project implementation.
As LCH projects are widely constructed in various locations of the city,

we have found two types of stakeholders’ relationship, which differs
according to the site and location with slight difference in the
stakeholders’ involvement.
These are Projects implemented by GTZ-IS and AAHDPO/Sub-cities
MAJOR STAKEHOLDERS
Client AAHDPO AAHDPO
Implementing agency SUB-CITY GTZ IS
External MGM MH
consultant/supervisor ENGINEERING
Others Subcontractors Subcontractors
3 stakeholders 4 stakeholders
IN V O L V E D S T A K E H O L D E R S
M a in s u b c o n tra c to r 0 35 30 35
INVOLVEMENT
C o n s u lta n t 0 50 50 0
Im p le m e n tin g a g e n c y 0 50 50 0
C lie n t 100 0
0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100%
AAHD O G T Z -IS S u b -c itie s /A A D H O M H -E n g in e e rin g
MGM N o ri-L a Awash G -6 a n d a b o ve
Chart No.4
In the LCH projects being practiced in the city, there are four main
contractual stakeholders, which is different from the conventional system
(usually three). The use of implementing agency is a new system of
delivery, which may result in confusions among the stakeholders.
Therefore the system seems to take more time for the parties to get used
of it. For instance, there is interference on tasks between the
implementing agency and the consultant on quality control and
supervision works executed by subcontractors. As a result contradicting
order or decisions may be given. Joint site visit have brought a positive
role as confusion resolution system. However, as all of the interviewees
confirmed, there has to be a clear job description, which defines the roles
and responsibility of each stakeholder to avoid such confusions and
conflicts as a result of work or task interference.
The LCH project is divided into different major construction activities

suitable for sub contracting as indicated in the chart No.5 below. So far
the whole project is not given for one contractor. This promotes job
creation and specialization in the construction sector. As a result, many
stakeholders are involved in subcontracting works either as a specialized
subcontracting for execution of structural works or labor based
subcontracting.
SUBCO NTRACTED W O RKS

relative weight
PER C ENT 9 9 9 9 9 9 9 9 9 9 9
0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100%

Structural works
Block masonry works
Sanitary works
Electrical installation
Finishing works
Plastering
Tiling toilet wall
Painting
RHS rafters and purlins production and roofing
Manufacturing and fixing of Doors and windows including glazing
Including glazing
Laying of precast beam and slab HCB
Site work
Chart No.5
However, since each of the subcontracted works is interdependent, the

project success depends on the overall efficiency of the stakeholders. As
indicated in chart No.6 below, Sub-contracting has such advantages.
A D V . O F S U B C O N T R A C T IN G
relative
1 2 1 2 1 2 1 1 6 2 1
0 % 2 0 % 4 0 % 6 0 % 8 0 % 1 0 0 %
R e d u c e lo a d o f m a n a g e m e n t o n th e m a in c o n t r a c t o r s id e
S a v e o v e r a ll c o n s tr u c tio n tim e
M in im iz e o v e rh e a d c o s t
P r o v id e b e t t e r q u a lit y o f w o rk
P r o v id e a n o p p o r tu n ity f o r c a p a c it y b u ild in g a n d
S p e c ia liz a tio n b y tra d e
Chart No. 6
However, it requires extensive and high management capacity because it
may result in delays and finger pointing when problem occur. Therefore,
in order to alleviate and keep the progress of the work additional
manpower and hence additional management cost is required. However,
to reduce such a conflict and keep the concept of LCH what they are
doing, as most of the interviewees replied, is they give some of the related
work items to a single subcontractor. Therefore, the management load in
the implementing agency to control and organize the different work items
is minimized.
According to chart No.7 below on specialized subcontracting, most of the

construction activities are given on labor based contracting system for
those of small contractors. Moreover, the manufacturing and fixing of
works such as doors and windows, steel stair case, wall and slab HCB
production, electrical and plumbing works etc. are subcontracted with
relatively small profits to the micro and small enterprises which are
organized by AAHDPO. This type of subcontracting Saves time in its part
because manufacturing is started right after project commencement.

Hence allows parallel work progress like starting to fixing doors and
windows on the ground floor right after the first floor slab is casted with
out waiting to the remaining floors to be finished.
SUBCONTRACTORS / SUPPLIERS
Steel stair production and

0 100
fixation
Execute painting works 0 60 40 0

relative weight
Door and window

0 70 0 30
production and fixation
Supply wall and slab HCB 0 100 0
Supply precast beams 50 50 0
0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100%
P.B.P.P Enterprise Micro and small enterprise
Kadisco paintings factory Kazma steel factory
Chart No 7
Subcontracting of interdependent activities to different subcontractors requires effective
coordination than the others. The structural contractor to cast concrete in slab is needed
to wait not only till wall HCB is finished but also laying of precast beams and slab HCB,
installation of sanitary and electrical utilities are finished. Subcontracting activities,
which require the same resource, will result also in resource conflict. As a result,
efficiency of one subcontractor is affected by the performance of the other.
Chart No. 8
W HO CO NSTRUCT FALSE W O RK
relative weight
PERCENT 20 10 10 60
0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100%
T h e c lie n t M a in c o n tra c to r (im p le m e n tin g a g e n t)

M a in (s tru c tu ra l) S u b c o n tra c to rs S u b c o n tra c to rs
M ic ro a n d s m a ll e n te rp ris e s N o t w e ll d e fin e d th e re s p o n s ib ility

Subcontracting interrelated work items, which require scaffolding or false work to

different contractors, as shown above in chart No. 8 has resulted in conflict among the
subcontractors who took the interrelated work items, and between the implementing
agency and the subcontractors. This all is a result of undefined responsibilities in the
agreement. While subcontracting a well-defined bill of quantity stating the
responsibilities should be prepared. Otherwise the implementing agency has to bear the
additional cost incurred for such false works.
5.4. Resource
According to the chart below, it has been a common practice to see

resource conflict since the LCH project is launched. As a result projects
are being delayed significantly. The LCH concept, however, is highly
dependent on time i.e. the project become less costly if completed as
early as possible by increasing the productivity of crews at least keeping
market price of construction materials stable.
Chart No. 9
M E T H O D T O A V O ID R E S O U R C E C O N F L IC T
RELATIVE WEIGHT
90 10
0% 20% 40% 60% 80 100

%
P roper planning and
h d li
B orrow ing of m aterials from one contractor to another w ith in the site and
diff in tcase of late
sites
d li
As indicated in chart No. 10, the main cause of resource conflicts among
the LCH projects is ambitious planning of the Addis Ababa city

government. That is, the city government has planned and started to
implement a very huge number of houses at a time irrespective to the
market supply.
C A U S E S O F M A T E R IA L S H O R T A G E
PER CEN T 30 10 30 30
0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100%
M a rk e t s c a rc it y L a t e d e live ry P ric e e s c a la t io n O ve r p la n n in g
Chart No. 10
Such a plan resulted in a market scarcity and price escalation. This
market problem is beyond the contractors’ capacity as they said, hence
the client that is the Addis Ababa housing development project office is
facilitating to get top priorities for these of scarce materials like cement.
5.5. Process
During the construction process, as most of the respondents replied,

they execute works in parallel which allows to do so and produces
construction materials like precast beam, wall and slab HCB, and
construction items like doors and windows, steel stair, lattice purlin and
rafters in mass.
FIG. 9 MASS PRODUCTION IN ACTION

Besides to controlling the productivity each of the crews daily based on

the productivity standard, the following are some of the incentive
methods
• Provide overtime work for these of workers who does well
• Provide contracts of small works
• The workers compute by them selves in order to survive
• Most of the workers employed are semiskilled; hence it serves for
them as a capacity building (training center) therefore in order not
to loose it they works as much effort as they can.
• They assume as a guarantee being an employee of such an
organization, which has many projects in the city.
Though the above cost reductions are being practiced in the construction
process according to our respondents, the compo mortar that reduces
dependency on cement is not familiarized. However, this technique of
construction not only reduces cost but also reduces dependency on the
timely scarce material i.e. cements.
5.6. Phased construction system and waste reduction

techniques
The advantages of the phased construction system, as indicated in chart No. 11, are
discussed with respect to the construction works process and overall project life.
The most advantages of phased construction system during the

construction process as explained by our interviewees are:
• Has less site management cost that is less site overhead cost.
• Allows re-using of construction materials like scaffolding and pre
cast beam supports.
• Minimizes conflicts among resources due to limited supply of wall
and slab HCB, precast beams.
• Keep balancing of manpower resources by shifting workers from
one phase to the other.

PHASED CONSTRUCTION SYSTEM
PERCENT 20 20 20 20 20
0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100%
Has less management cost
Allow recycling of construction materials
Minimize conflicts among resource
Helps to Keep balance of resources
Helps to minimize cost of construction hence allow low income-groups to get reach of the
price
Chart No. 11
Considering the project life, a building, which is habitable in the first
phase, is constructed. And then the inhabitants will finish the remaining
works like painting the interior parts, fixing the internal doors, and the
like, of the building according to their income in the second phase. As a
result, phased construction system allows the low and middle-income
groups to afford the housing price.
One of the main cost reduction techniques in LCH projects is the waste
reduction system. A good design can reduce Wastes considering
dimensional coordination and grid system of designing. However, these
considerations are effected if precision is attained during the
construction process. As the chart below shows, recycling of HCB is not
practiced except at the pilot project. According to most of our
respondents, attaining precision is a little bit difficult. This is because,
firstly there is production error in materials like precast beams and wall
HCB. Secondly, lack of perfection in the skilled manpower, which
requires additional training.
Some of the sources of wastage are:
• Semi skilled manpower, hence fail to attain precision
• Carelessness in handling, and transporting of HCB being the sites
so wide

• Delivery of less Quality HCB

• Delivery of fresh HCB that is not well cured due to high demand
etc.
WASTE REDUCTION SYSTEM
PERCENT 35 35 5 25
0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100%
Recycling for form works
Recycling for pre-cast beam
Recycling for wall and slab HCB
Combination and coordination of design and bar schedule to reduce wastage of re-bars
Re-using Concrete and mortar
Chart No. 12
Wastage of materials is more in case of labor based contracting as they
replied. This is because the subcontractors are not sensitive to the
materials rather to the out put. Hence care should be taken. The
subcontracting party should be responsible not only to the progress but
also to the waste, which is more than the allowed one. Hence it has to be
penalized for.
FIG. 10 EXCESS WASTAGE OF HCB AND CARELESSNESS IN HANDLING

As indicated in the chart above, there is a recycling mechanism only for

formworks and reinforcement bars. Wastes of re-bars are reused based
on the bar schedule made at the planning stage. However, the material
with a significant wastage i.e. the HCB is not recycled. Rather it creates
problems as it takes space for piling till it is damped. Recycling of HCB
was only practiced in the Gerji pilot project, which were produced on the
site. This had an advantage on waste reduction mechanisms that would
be incurred due to loading, transportation and unloading. The recycling
requires a little amount of additional cement to re-mould and the
recycled blocks were with a better quality. As most of the interviewees
responded, recycling is difficult because in the first place materials are
supplied by producers or a stakeholder. Secondly, the production site is
located far from the construction site.
Re-using of mortar is not practiced. But to reduce the mortar wastage

and increase productivity of masons, they used closed HCB at one end as
shown below.
FIG. 11 HCB WITH ONE SIDE CLOSED

5.7. Procurement
The main cost reduction mechanism practiced from procurement, as

indicated in chart No. 13 below, is bulk purchase of construction
materials like cement, HCB, re-bars, and electrical and sanitary
materials e.t.c, and negotiated tendering procedures based on fixed price.
Such procurement minimizes cost of tendering and saves time. Bulk
purchase reduces cost that would be incurred due to material quality,
unethical practices and market problem. Materials purchased for LCH
projects are subsidized by the government in the form of duty or VAT free
provisions. This provision helps the low-income groups to afford the
construction cost.
METHOD OF PROCUREMENT
PERCENT 33.3 33.3 33.3
0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100%
Bulk purchase fixed price tendering for purchase VAT or duty free
Chart No. 13

CHAPTER –6-
6. CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS
6.1. Conclusions
The following Conclusions are drawn out from the study:
• The technology requires revisions with respect to material

selection, plumbing system, though it addresses cost reduction
• The phased construction system created an opportunity for
minimizing resource conflicts in case of material scarcity.
Moreover, it provides an opportunity for low and middle-income
groups to afford the housing price.
• The construction management consultancy service is important for
applying cost reducing mechanisms. However, as it is a new
concept to our country, most of the stakeholders are not aware of
the system. Moreover, there is lack of clear understanding of the
roles and responsibilities of stakeholders.
• The LCH-MH technology is designed considering dimensional
coordination and grid system. These systems are considered to
save considerable cost by minimizing wastage but require high
precision. However, due to lack of awareness for precision or
carelessness considerable amount of materials are being wasted.
This will incur additional cost.
• The city government is more concerned in producing large number
of houses each year. This ambitious plan directly creates scarcity
of materials and indirectly delays the construction. It also results
in loose control of production and construction works as a result of
huge number of blocks in a site.
• Materials, in case of a labor based contracting, are supplied
regardless of the wastage amount. As result, the subcontractors
are less sensitive to wastage and care only about their out puts.
This is because no enforcing statement is set, which persuade the
subcontractor to limit the amount of wastage.
• There is no recycling mechanism for slab and wall HCB that takes
the highest amount of waste in the LCH projects. It is not only the

waste what it matter but also the space which is occupied till it is
damped.
6.2. Recommendations
• Establishment of a research center which can play a commendable
role in transfer of low cost housing technology, develop new
construction techniques and provide training and professional
development in the country.
• Low productivity, increased cost, long building cycles, and poor
quality are the main challenges of mass housing. Therefore, Strict
monitoring of works especially on the productivity is essential.
• In LCH projects time is the main factor for cost reduction. As a
result, modern construction management for time shall be
practiced. i.e. either of the critical path method (CPM) or project
evaluation review technique (PERT) than chart because these types
of planning helps to identify the critical activities and therefore give
more focus.
• A centralized recycling site should be established taking the
experience and advantages obtained on the Gerji pilot project.
• Roles of the stakeholders should be clearly stated to alleviate
conflicts hence create smooth relationships.
• The designs shall be revised based on the construction feed back,
material selection, and to reduce monotony.
• Professionals shall perform quality assurance and there shall be
on site production. This will facilitate monitoring, recycling of
materials and reduce transportation cost.

7. APPENDIX
7.1. References
1. G.C Mathur, Low cost housing in developing countries, India,

1993
2. A.K.LAL.Hand Book Of Low Cost Housing, 1995
3. I.B.Sinha, A Solution To The Problem Of Low Income Group
Housing In Developing Countries By The Use Of Prefabricated
System, Proceedings Of IAHS International Conference, university
of petroleum and minerals, Saudi Arabia, 1978
4. Mittal, Ved Vrakash, Low Cost Housing System –The Urban Poor,
Proceedings Of IAHS International Conference, university of
petroleum and minerals, Saudi Arabia, 1978
5. Muhammad Kaysaar Hussain, Economics Of Low Income Housing,
Proceedings Of IAHS International Conference, university of
6. Satterskinder & Maqadder, Squatter settlements –a functional
view, Proceedings Of IAHS International Conference, university of
7. Case study made by AAHDPO
8. Central Statistics Agency: population and housing census of Addis
Ababa, Addis Ababa, 1994 G.C
9. Butterfly publishing’s, Construction ahead magazine, Addis
Ababa, sep-oct, 2005
10. Brusher on agrostone
11. www.hydraform.com
12. Wubishet Jekale (Dr. Ing.), paper on ‘What is this LCH-MH
approach to construction?’, 2004
13. K.K Chitkara,Construction project management ,Newdelhi,2003
14. Wubishet Jekale Mengesha (Dr. Ing): Performances for Public
Construction Projects in Developing Countries, Federal Road and
Educational Building Projects in Ethiopia. Norwegian University of
Science and Technology, Norway, 2004
15. Wubishet Jekale Mengesha (Dr. Ing), a procurement management
hand out, 2005/6
16. SIB 3010 compendinium [10],referred in Dr.Wubshet hand out
17. Alberta infrastructure, construction management, Manual of
Alberta infrastructure funded building projects April 10, 2001
18. N.J.Smith, Engineering project management, uk, 1998
19. Ababa housing development project office, project profile On Low
Cost Housing, Addis Ababa , may 2004
20. Ababa housing development project office, a study conducted
around the utilization of condominium building by those of the
residents at Gergi model housing, Addis Ababa, augest 2005
21. http://www.metropolis.org.marfin Raifelhuber.pdf
22. OTHERS non published information (Ato Imam)
23. LCH GTZ-MH, Technical manual, volume 2, Addis Ababa, April
2005

7.2. Semi-Structured Questions For Interview
Stake Holder And Relationship
1. Identify the major stakeholders involved and their role in LCH

projects to achieve its intended purpose?
o Client
o Implementing agencies
o Consultant
o Contractor and sub contractors
o If others please specify
Planning And Design
2. The main objective of affordable housing is const saving. As a

result, what cost reducing techniques do you use in the following
cases
o Planning-
• Intensive use of land and densification
o Designing-
• Material type selection (extensive use of domestic
products)
• Space utilization
• Lower ceiling height to lower cost of construction
• Dimensional coordination (optimization)
• Modular or grid concepts
• Plumbing system (single stack instead of double, PVC
pipes for cold water supply instead of GI pipes)
• Common staircase (reduce area, cost, steel stair than
concrete)
• If others please specify

Procurement
3. What systems do you use to reduce costs in procurement of

materials?
• Bulk purchase
Construction Methods
4. What cost minimizing systems do you use during the construction

process?
• Mass production
• Use of composite mortar (cement and lime) for masonry and
plastering
• Parallel work and assembly system
• Improving the productivity of construction works
5. How do you explain the advantages of phased construction

systems on LCH projects?
6. The LCH system being practiced in our country is a partial

prefabrication system. If it is so, for which of the construction
activities do you use manufacturing and assembly construction
systems (like prefabricated beams, HCB, gutter and down pipes)?
And how do you explain the major advantages coming from using
manufacturing and assembly system?
Management System
7. Which one of the major activities is given for the subcontractors?

• Masonry work • Roofing
• Sanitary work • Doors and windows
• Electrical installation • Laying of precast beams
• Finishing works and slab HCB
And how do you explain the major advantages using sub-contracting

systems on LCH projects?
8. One of the advantages of sub-contracting by parts is the cost saved

in overhead from specialized contracting. However, this system
requires extensive and high management capacity, which may cost
more than the saved money from using this system. Then how do
you manage and compensate this conflict?
9. In construction waste cannot be avoided totally. But it can be

minimized, what waste management techniques do you apply in
your construction projects?
o If there are excess wastages than expected in HCB,

reinforcement-bar, cement mortar, concrete mixed and so on,
what measures or remedial do you take? Specially, is there a
waste recycling mechanism you apply or practice?
10. Although, the LCH-MH technology is providing a cost saving

benefit, what mechanisms or modifications should be taken to
optimize the technique for further cost reduction.
11. Usually in construction projects there are conflicts among

resources, stakeholders and so on.
• The conflict among the stakeholders, can be managed or
controlled but cannot be avoided. Then, how do you manage
this conflict?
• During the implementation of the LCH projects usually resource
conflict arises. Then, what are the causes and how do you
manage this conflict?
Prepared by: Dagnachew Tsegaye, Solomon G/hiwot and Tewelde Kifle

72
12. In the implementation of LCH projects, the construction process

is divided into a number of activities suitable for contracting and
sub contracting. In construction there are supplementary activities
(false work- scaffolding, temporary houses etc), which are
necessary for the efficiency and successful completion of the
project, but do not fall in any specific activity and are not rated in
the bill of quantities. In this case, who is responsible for the work
of supplementary activities and what arrangement for payment is
made?
• client
• Main contractor
• Sub contractor
• Micro small and medium enterprises
(MSMEs)
• If other, please specify
13. In LCH projects what types of the materials does the client
supply?
• Cement • Sanitary utilities
• Reinforcement bar • If others, please specify
• Aggregate
• Roofing sheet
14. The construction process, there are parallel activities performed

side-by-side, with the benefit of time saving there by reducing cost.
But this benefit could be lost, if materials are not delivered on
time. If it is So, What are the causes for shortage of materials?
• Market scarcity
• Late delivery
• Price escalation
• If others, please specify
And what are their consequences?

73
7.3. Research proposal
Addis Ababa University

Technology Faculty Southern Campus
Department of construction Technology and Management
2005/06
Thesis Proposal
(B.Sc.)
Project Advisors
___________________ ___________________
Signature signature
___________________ ___________________
Date Date
Imam Mahmoud (Ato) Woubishet Jekale (Dr.Ing.)
Prepared by: Dagnachew Tsegaye

Solomon Gebrehiwot
Tewelde Kifle
74
NAME Dagnachew Tsegaye

Solomon Gebrehiwot
Tewelde Kifle
FACULITY: Technology south (under graduate program)
MAJOR: Construction Technology and Management
ADVISORS: Imam Mahmoud (Ato)
Wubshiet Jekale (Dr.Ing.)
TITLE: Cost efficient construction techniques and local practice: focusing on the
cost reducing mechanisms
INTRODUCTION
Housing plays a very important role in human life and human society. Housing
has tremendous social and economic impact on the living environment of the
world. It has direct and immediate influence on health, education, economy,
environment, and political and social life of any society.
Despite claims of rise in the standard of living of the people in the developing
countries like Ethiopia, in recent years housing to masses at affordable cost has
remained a distant dream. There are several factors contributing to these
phenomena like high cost of construction, scarcity of construction materials, lack
of knowledge in construction techniques, unavailability of adequate land for
undertaking mass housing program, shortage of fund for large scale housing
program etc.
In our country there is a considerable housing problem and associated

availability of suitable land for construction. This arises mainly from growth of
population. This shortage of housing resulted the people to live in overcrowded
houses or dilapidated structures under unhygienic conditions, lacking basic
urban services (safe drinking water and sewerage system) and informal
settlements with a growing number of shacks.
The increasing cost of construction by conventional method is very slow

considering the speed of our growing requirement for houses. In order to
expeditiously build large number of houses to wipe out the shortage of housing
which our country is facing, it is becoming necessary to increase the speed of
building. Technologically, prefabrication provides a very quick and economical
method of building houses on mass scale continuously over a period of time.
Adoption of prefabrication can be considered to be of advantage in view of mass
housing, speed and economy, disciplined use of scarce materials, better quality,

75
cost reduction, industrialization, type housing, quicker turnover and continuous

employment etc. so, the building industry needs to be developed and promotion
of prefabrication is required for economical, time and material saving and
aesthetically mass-scale house production.
In our country cost efficient construction techniques has been started in recent
years. The GTZ-LCH project, in collaboration with MH Engineering has
introduced a cost-efficient and environmentally friendly construction technology.
Initially it was started in Mekele and implemented on large scale in Addis Ababa
and Dire Dawa. These days such techniques are widely spreading all over the
country.
SCOPE
• Our research focuses on the main cost reducing mechanisms applied in
LCH projects in Addis Ababa.
AIM
• To investigate factors that affect cost in low cost housing projects.
OBJECTIVES
• Assessing the concepts and principles of low cost housing construction
techniques
• To investigate the local LCH practice with respect to cost reducing mechanisms
• To make conclusions and recommendations
METHODOLOGY:
• Extensive Literature Review (desk study)
• Case study of sites in Addis Ababa
• Interviews
• Analyzing and discussing the information obtained
INFORMATION SOURCES
MH-Engineering
GTZ-LCH
Addis Ababa Housing Agency
Professionals Involved in LCH projects

76
ACTION PLAN:
The total available time for the whole work before submission of the final thesis is
eight (8) weeks.
Activity
No Duration Commencement Completion
1 Preparing thesis 1 weeks May18 May 29
proposal and
submission
2 Literature review 3 weeks and May 30 June 22
3days
3 Group meeting 3 times a week
4 Meeting advisor Once every
week
5 Case study and 2 weeks June 23 July 8
interview
6 Analyzing information 6 days July 9 July 15
7 Writing draft 1 week July 16 July 23
8 Restructuring final draft 4 days July 24 July 28
9 Short-form for 1 day July 29 July 29
presentation
10 Submission of final 1 day July 30 July 30
thesis
11 final presentation
REQUIRED RESOURCES
No Expense item Amount (birr)
1 Travel 400.00
2 Telephone Card 100.00
Financial expenses
3 Photo Copy 175.00
4 Print 200.00
5 CD 30.00
6 Stationary materials 100.00
7 Miscellaneous 100.00
8 Contingency (10%) 110.00
1215.00
REFERENCES
1. G.C Mathur, Low cost housing in developing countries, 1993
2. Dakhil, Ural & Tewfik, Housing problems in developing countries, Volume 2, 1987
3. GTZ/ LCH, Technical manual, volume 2,Addis Ababa

4. Butterfly publishing’s, Construction ahead magazine, Addis Ababa sep-oct, 2005

77

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Low Cost Housing in Addis Ababa

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ADDIS ABABA UNIVERSITY

Faculty of Technology (South)

LOW COST HOUSING IN ADDIS ABABA:

(Thesis submitted In Partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of

Bachelor of Science (B.Sc.) in construction technology and management)

APPROVED BY BOARD MEMBERS

Imam Mahmoud (Ato) Wubshiet Jekale (Dr. Ing.)

We would like to acknowledge our advisors Imam Mahmoud (Ato) and

Also, we would like to thank professionals working for GTZ-IS, Addis

1.1. BACKGROUND .................................................................................................... 6

1.2. PROBLEM STATEMENT ....................................................................................... 7

1.3. METHODOLOGY ................................................................................................. 7

1.4. OBJECTIVE ......................................................................................................... 8

1.5. SCOPE ................................................................................................................. 8

1.6. STRUCTURE OF THE RESEARCH ....................................................................... 9

2. CONTEXTUAL FRAMEWORK OF ADDIS ABABA HOUSING......... 10

2.1. EMERGING HOUSING NEEDS........................................................................... 10

2.2. HOUSING IN ADDIS ABABA ............................................................................. 11

2.3. AFFORDABILITY OF HOUSING .......................................................................... 13

2.3.2. Measuring Affordability............................................................................ 14

2.4. LOW-COST HOUSING AND THE SIGNIFICANCE ............................................... 16

2.4.1. Financing of LCH for low income group of people.................................. 17

2.4.2. Existing LCH Financing System In Addis Ababa ..................................... 17

3. CONCEPTUAL REVIEW ............................................................................... 20

3.1. CONSTRUCTION TECHNOLOGY ........................................................................ 21

3.1.2. The design as a component of construction technology ........................... 22

3.1.3. Prefabrication technology and manufacturing......................................... 27

3.2. CONSTRUCTION MANAGEMENT ...................................................................... 37

3.2.1. Overview of construction project management ........................................ 37

3.2.1. Stake Holders Management ...................................................................... 38

3.2.2. Resource Management.............................................................................. 41

3.2.3. Process Management ................................................................................ 42

Prepared by: Dagnachew Tsegaye, Solomon G/hiwot and Tewelde Kifle 3

3.2.5. Waste Reduction System ........................................................................... 44

3.2.6. Manufacturing and Assembly Construction System ................................. 44

4.1. METHOD OF THE STUDY.................................................................................. 46

4.2. RESEARCH INSTRUMENT ................................................................................. 46

4.3. DATA COLLECTION TECHNIQUES ................................................................... 47

4.4. DATA ANALYSIS................................................................................................ 48

5. ANALYSIS, DISCUSSION AND RESULTS ............................................. 49

5.1. PLANNING AND DESIGN ASPECT...................................................................... 49

5.2. PREFABRICATION TECHNOLOGY ..................................................................... 53

5.3. STAKEHOLDERS ................................................................................................. 56

5.4. RESOURCE ....................................................................................................... 60

5.5. PROCESS .......................................................................................................... 61

5.6. PHASED CONSTRUCTION SYSTEM AND WASTE REDUCTION TECHNIQUES ... 62

5.7. PROCUREMENT ........................................................................................ 66

6. CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS ....................................... 67

6.1. CONCLUSIONS .................................................................................................. 67

6.2. RECOMMENDATIONS ....................................................................................... 68

7.1. REFERENCES ...................................................................................................... 69

7.2. SEMI-STRUCTURED QUESTIONS FOR INTERVIEW ............................................... 70

7.3. RESEARCH PROPOSAL ........................................................................................ 74

Prepared by: Dagnachew Tsegaye, Solomon G/hiwot and Tewelde Kifle 4

FIG. 1 SLUM AREAS IN PART OF THE CITY ........................................................................... 11

FIG. 2 DILAPIDATED HOUSES .............................................................................................. 13

FIG. 3 BUILDINGS FROM LCH PROJECTS ............................................................................. 17

FIG. 4 SINGLE STACK PLUMBING SYSTEM ........................................................................... 26

FIG.5 MOULDS FOR PRE CAST STONE BLOCK MASONRY ....................................................... 33

FIG.6 PRECAST BEAMS, SLAB FILLER AND WALL HCB ...................................................... 34

FIG. 7 PRECAST BEAMS ...................................................................................................... 54

A) LAID PRECAST BEAMS AND SLAB HCB ....................................................................... 55

B) ELECTRICAL INSTALLATION, PLUMBING AND SLAB REINFORCEMENT BARS IN BOTH