Bangkok--17 Sep--PR&Associates
SHERA is ready to move towards for AEC. Before expanding its brand to Philippines market, SHERA has been exploring in several countries in ASEAN in which it has successfully received a positive feedback. Recently, SHERA has arranged the affordable housing project in Philippines.
Amid the Philippines' concerns for affordable housing, brought about by the destruction wreaked by super typhoon Yolanda and by the country's housing backlog, the need for the quick construction of comfortable and long-lasting homes for the average Filipino has never been more urgent.
To address this, The Mahaphant Group - one of Asia’s leading manufacturers of wood-substitute construction materials under brand SHERA - has proposed the use of fiber cement to fast-track projects. Fiber cement - which is made up of Portland cement, silica, water, and wood pulp - is an increasingly popular building material known for its sturdiness. Used in a variety of applications, such as roofing and walling, it lends itself to quick construction while providing cost-effectiveness and high-quality aesthetics.
“Fiber cement is one of very few building materials that provides benefits and values to both consumers and builders for small-to-large scale and simple-to-complicated installation of building constructions,” according to Veerasak Kittinanthakool, Vice President for Marketing of SHERA maker Thai Olympic Fibre-Cement Co., Ltd, during the recent Affordable Housing Conference in Makati City.
“Fibre cement products offer numerous housing solutions and advantages over other traditional materials. Completed housing made of fiber cement has the capacity to be affordable for all housing segments,” Veerasak said.
Highly sophisticated autoclave technology in the modern production methods has expanded the functionality of non-asbestos fiber-cement as being the sustainable and green building material for fast-track construction. Fiber cement products are highly durable, flexible, fire-proof, and water-, chemical corrosion- & insect-resistant. These qualities make it the ideal material for fast construction in areas with challenging weather and geographic conditions.
Further, by combining structural integrity with cost-effectiveness, fiber cement fits well with the National Housing Authority's (NHA) estimation of a demand for 10 million affordable housing units in the next 15 years to create quality homes for millions of Filipino families.
For instance, SHERA's fiber cement products were essential in the quick construction of schools in the Kashmir region in Pakistan after a 7.6 magnitude earthquake devastated the region in October 2005. Its fiber cement boards were also among those used in the Asian Development Bank’s (ADB) Earthquake Emergency Assistance Project to construct around 300 school buildings affected by the disaster in the same area. SHERA products have been widely used in mass and modern housing estates for example in the Netherlands, Iran, Iraq, Qatar, and Malaysia to Brunei.
“As the international leader in innovative Fiber Cement Solutions that enables the community to build efficiently and live beautifully and improves the standard of built-environment for the people worldwide, we at SHERA hope to use our experience and expertise to help Filipinos create affordable and resilient homes that answers their specific needs,” Veerasak said.