– Joint venture in cooperation with SAHIF (South African Housing & Infrastructure Fund)
– First 3D printed houses in South Africa
– Offering affordable housing by reducing the housing shortage
Dutch technology provider CyBe Construction and the South African Housing & Infrastructure Fund (SAHIF) are working together on a Joint Venture in South Africa.
Joint Venture
CyBe Construction, one of the market leaders in offering 3D concrete printers, joins forces with SAHIF to reduce the housing shortage in South Africa. The joint venture will share knowledge and experience to build faster and cheaper. The partnership came about after the University of Johannesburg recently received CyBe’s mobile 3D concrete printer and, during on-site training, a complete house rolled out of the printer in five training days. Due to the great need in South Africa for cheaper housing within a shorter period of time, adequate housing can be created by means of 3D concrete printing.
This is in response to Goal 11 of the Social Development Goals of the United Nations, which focuses on the supply of affordable housing. The goal is to provide access to adequate, safe and affordable housing and basic services for everyone by 2030 and upgrade slums The first objective is to print the first fifty homes in a township south of Johannesburg. After this, follow-up projects will be acquired for further up-scaling.
Innovative construction method leads to more jobs
In order to guarantee quality, the two parties are joining forces to train new employees for CyBe Construction SA. New jobs are created and people are trained to become CyBe-qualified workers. In this way, knowledge and experience can be transferred to ensure the necessary skills.
Housing shortage
South Africa is currently facing an acute housing crisis. This shortage is mainly felt by low-income families living in slums. Low incomes and the lack of land have drastically exacerbated the problem. According to Statistics South Africa’s 2019 General Household Survey (Starts SA), almost 13% of the 59 million population lived in shacks, locally called informal settlements. Currently, an estimated 2.5 million affordable homes are needed to solve the shortage, with this number increasing every day.
Solution for affordable housing
As this figure is increasing day by day, it is an enormous challenge for traditional building methods to reduce this considerably high housing shortage. As a result, alternative construction methods are being sought in order to realise sustainable housing. In order to speed up the overall construction process and increase productivity, 3D concrete printing is the most suitable solution. This fairly new, technique is one of the largest innovative methods offered by the construction sector.
Experience in the construction industry
Founder and CEO of CyBe Construction, Berry Hendriks, knows better than anyone how traditional construction works. Hendriks has been part of the Dutch construction industry for a long time. His family started in 1922 and still runs a construction company in the Netherlands. Hendriks’ knowledge and experience in the construction sector have created a unique Hendriks’ knowledge and experience in the construction sector has created a unique perspective which has made him realise that the construction process can be made more efficient. Where traditional building solutions are complex and time-consuming, 3D printing offers solutions to develop complex shapes. Automating construction processes to save costs and time in the construction of various projects and products.
CyBe is active worldwide with the sale of 3D concrete printers, in the Netherlands the company is the main contractor. Besides offering 3D concrete printers, CyBe also offers its own software (Chysel and Artysan), materials (CyBe Mortar), Design & Engineering and its own learning platform (CyBe Lybrary). This makes it possible to offer solutions to simplify complex construction processes and to work together more efficiently around 3Dcp, with the major benefits of faster and more sustainable construction production. Through CyBe Mortar, it has been possible to create a 32% CO2 reduction. Compared to other mortars, CyBe Mortar is hard within 3 minutes and at structural strength in just one hour. In addition, the material is produced locally, which significantly reduces transport costs. This allows for a fast and efficient printing process, reduced costs and sustainable results.
SAHIF
ABT SA is an investment vehicle of the South African Housing & Infrastructure Fund (SAHIF) focused on the development and application of sustainable materials and innovative technologies in the construction sector.
SAHIF’s initial entry into the affordable housing market was in response to the observed socio-economic development needs in the Real Estate sector of South Africa. A market gap was identified which is catalytic to the value chain of affordable housing delivery, social infrastructure, commercial and Fibre connectivity through a 22% shareholding in Metro Fibre Networx to provide internet connectivity to the previously undeveloped areas and SAHIF’s developments.
At our core is to unlock the resultant opportunities in these areas, from the delivery of serviced stands. SAHIF recognise the long-run impact of investing in opportunities that can spur additional economic development and is focused on being an organisation that generates positive social outcomes as it generates returns.
What We Do
SAHIF acquires vacant and unused land near the centres of towns and cities for conversion into zoned and serviced stands, to enhance the speedy delivery of serviced stands to middle and lower-income earning households to build their own homes close to places of work, education, healthcare, public transport and other amenities.