Brickmakers in the crosshairs

Buildings more than nine storeys high will have to use at least 30 per cent of non-fired construction materials from 2011, according to a Prime Minister’s decision.

This is envisioned in a 10-year development strategy for the sector approved by Prime Minister recently.

The strategy targets the gradual replacement of clay-fired bricks with non-fired bricks in construction works to 20-25 per cent by 2015 and 30-40 per cent by 2020.

The production and use of three kinds of non-fired construction materials – cement bricks, light bricks and other bricks including laterite bricks and bricks made of waste from construction works and silicate – will be increased over the coming years.

The development and use of non-fired construction materials will help save agricultural land and fuel as well as reduce the discharge of harmful smoke into the environment. They are also considered more sustainable and environmentally friendly.

To achieve the sector’s targets, the Government will offer preferential policies on corporate income tax, import tax for equipment and materials used in producing non-fired products and other incentives for producers.

The construction materials market is growing strongly in Viet Nam alongside rapid urbanisation, but it is still to catch up with an important global trend.

More than 90 per cent of the construction materials used in the country, including bricks and tiles, are fired in kilns, while 70 to 80 per cent of the world’s market is made up of non-fired products.

More and more countries, especially developed nations, are turning to non-fired construction materials that are made without using soil and discharging harmful smoke.

In developed countries, the rate of using fired materials is estimated at around 20 per cent and the materials are mainly used for decoration purposes.

In Viet Nam, fired materials, mainly bricks and tiles, are made from clay that is believed to be good soil for agriculture. This means that the more soil is taken for making clay-fired bricks and tiles, the narrower the land for growing crops.

In addition, fired materials are always baked in kilns that discharge lots of smoke into the environment. A recent survey by the Viet Nam Institute for Building Materials (VIBM) shows that there are around 1,000 facilities producing non-fired bricks in the country with total capacity of two billion bricks annually, around 9 per cent of the total number of masonry bricks used in construction works — VNS

Tags: Vietnam contruction, Vietnam contruction materials