Minister Kania urges industrialists on locally sourced rawmaterials

The state minister for Urban Development Obiga Kania has urged construction material manufacturers in the country to opt for locally sourced materials as this will enable them in a short time span to reach a wider section of the population with durable materials which are affordable.

“Uganda’s durable housing stock available for our common people is still very low both in the urban and rural areas. In the rural areas, the population needs affordable but environmentally friendly and durable units. These challenges in the rural and urban areas need to be addressed urgently in view of the rapid urbanization of our country at the rate of 5.2 per cent annually,” he said.

Kania said this during an event organized by roofing manufacturers Uganda Baati to unveil their latest product on the market, stone-coated roof tiles named Lifestile for which he was told the tiles are coated with an extremely strong stone material imported from Italy.

“I encourage Uganda Baati and other practitioners in the building industry to come up with more qualitative innovations using more of our local materials. I think we can find even stronger stones and other materials in Uganda to make such products,” said Kania.

He however commended the addition of this new product on the market as it provides opportunities for genuine qualitative competition of building materials through our population and he is optimistic that such competition will offer a wide variety for the population to choose from and in turn, make the products cheaper and affordable across the market leading to improved accommodation status of the people.

Macklean Kukundakwe the marketing manager of Uganda Baati said the tiles are a very high-performance product made with aluminum and zinc coating of 150 grams per square metre which gives them longer-lasting life and are designed to replicate the look and feel of natural stone while offering the benefits of modern steel technology. 

“These tiles are lightweight and won’t weigh down on someone’s structure, weather resistant and can withstand all extreme weather conditions from heavy rains, winds and direct sunlight with ultraviolet properties making them unable to fade. The tiles are also safe for rainwater with no residues wearing from them and environmentally friendly right from the way we manufacture them,” Kukundakwe said.

Such roof tiles were initially imported from either South Korea or New Zealand but the company commissioned a new plant last year which is now manufacturing them after an investment of close to $ 4 million (Shs 15 billion).

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