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Ex-NBA star hailed for introducing new building technique as he unveils Ugandan site
Feng while at ground breaking ceremony of his Mutungo project
Former NBA start Luol Deng has received praise from Ugandan authorities for introducing precast concrete walls in the development of real estate projects.
The complements were made at the ground-breaking ceremony of Baaj Apartments in Mutungo Kampala, that is being funded and developed by D3N9, a construction company that is owned by Deng.
The project seeks to establish 20 housing units in a four storey structure in a period of six months.
Speaking at the ground breaking ceremony of the Baaj apartment in Mutungo, a Kampala suburb, the Director Housing at the Ministry of Housing and Urban Development Dave Khyangayanga welcomed the L-con precast system to be used by D3N9 Construction Company to put up 20 housing units.
Kayangayanga
Kayangayanga says this technology that uses L-shaped precast concrete to construct building structures not only saves time, building materials and money but also protects the environment and guarantees longevity of the building.
The 20 housing units featuring 2 and 3 bedrooms with unique finishing are expected to be up within a period of 6 months.
“It’s time to apply superior building systems that will utilize precast concrete technology. Of course this kind of technology is very critical especially when it comes to efficiency in time and cost management for the developer and the economy because in most cases the time taken to build is usually what pushes the cost,” Khyayangaya said.
D3N9 Construction Company has a separate site in Namanve industrial park where the “L” shaped Concrete is cast and just carried to the building site only to be reinforced with steel to build a structure.
According to the technology, the precast concrete is made with all the electric conduits, door and window provisions are taken care of.
Uganda has a housing deficit of approximately 2.1 million units, coupled with an annual population growth rate of 3.4%, and a 5.6% urbanization rate.
Khayangaya said that Uganda’s population is soon hitting the 50 million mark in the next few years and therefore the demand for decent and affordable housing units will be required to accommodate the bigger population.
Kayangayanga appealed to D3N9 Construction Company and other real estate agencies to take advantage of a conducive regulatory framework to scale up their investment in real estate to swiftly address the need of houses ahead of the country’s population explosion.
Presiding over the groundbreaking ceremony, the Minister for the Elderly and Persons with Disabilities Sarah Kanyike challenged real estate developers to always consider having packages that take care of the vulnerable population in society as they go on with their businesses.
Minister Sarah Kanyike
Kanyike reminded the proprietor, Luol Deng, that many people with disabilities and the elderly need to be taken care of in such projects to access affordable decent houses.
“I humbly request that in your next project please widen your scope and also target the vulnerable persons with the modest housing which can be accessed at an affordable cost, let’s also look at these people; the vulnerable, the disabled, the elderly so that they can also get housing at affordable cost, this will reduce the wide disparities in housing status amongst the population,” Kanyike said.
The multi-billion shilling housing project is targeting low income earners in and around Kampala as well as creating a conducive living environment for ordinary Ugandans.
Kampala alone has a housing deficit of over 50,000 units yet the population keeps on growing every day which has led to the growing of slums in the area.
Deng pledged to construct more low cost housing units in the country with the view to addressing the housing deficit the country is facing.
Kayangayanga
“What makes this so unique is, when we were trying to bring this here and south Sudan and Africa generally…. is when you look at L-con technology we cannot turn down anyone as long as the time and everything makes sense, this means we can build from homes-the smallest House you could think of to the biggest building you can think of, so we can talk and negotiate we won’t turn down anyone so long as it makes sense,” Deng said.
Deng believes that with quality housing units even Africans in the diaspora will find it comfortable to settle in when they make a decision to come back home since the lifestyle they could be accustomed to, would be taken care of. He adds this would subsequently attract more investments in the continent by fellow Africans.
Khayangayanga also revealed that in order to address the housing conditions of the low and middle income earners, the Ministry of Housing is promoting the establishment of housing cooperatives so as to enable the cooperators access decent housing through concerted saving efforts and technical guidance.
Luol Ajou Deng is a South Sudanese British former professional basketball player. He was a two-time NBA All-Star and was named to the NBA All-Defensive Second Team in 2012. Born in South Sudan, Deng fled the country with his family as a child, eventually settling in the United Kingdom.
Deng played for Chicago Bulls, a once NBA powerhouse in the United States.
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