Launch of LC3 technology in Malawi: A Momentous Day
for Green Construction Movement
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The launch event for the LC3
Malawi, at the Crossroads Auditorium, Lilongwe, on March 15, 2022
Malawi,
a landlocked country in south-eastern Africa, has the highest
urbanisation rate in the world at 6.3% annually (UN-Habitat 2010). Thus,
the country faces a very high demand for new housing in urban areas. It
is estimated that approximately 21,000 new units are needed every year
for the next 10 years to meet its urban housing demand (Habitat for
Humanity Malawi, n.d.). Thus, demand for cement, cement products, and
burnt clay bricks will continue to grow.
Most of the building
materials used for the construction of infrastructure and housing are
produced locally by the informal sector, where limited knowledge and
financial capacities result in unsustainable and environmentally harmful
production methods. This affects the quality of the building material
produced in the informal sector. It fluctuates widely and is mostly
sub-standard as compared to Malawian regulations. The negative effects
on construction using these materials are already noticeable today; for
example, high breakage rates and up to 45% losses during transport,
inconsistent sizes of bricks/blocks, unreliable compressive strength of
the walling material, and risk of structural failure. Inconsistent sizes
of the bricks/blocks used lead to high mortar and plaster consumption
and increased construction costs. These effects will be even greater in
the future, when more and more multi-storey buildings will come up and
the risk of structural failure will pose a serious threat to the
population.
In the absence of large industries in the power or manufacturing sector,
the cement and building material sector is one of the largest
contributors to the emissions in the country. No definite figures are
available in public domain, and thus, projection cannot be made at this
point. An estimate projects a figure of 0.80 million tonnes of CO2
from the cement sector (assuming a production of 1 million tonne) and
3.1 million tonne from the brick sector.
To reduce the
environmental impact of the building material sector, the Malawian
government gazetted in May 2018 the ‘Sustainable Building Material Act,
2018’ that directs building developers and contractors to use
sustainable building materials for all public, institutional, and
commercial construction projects. However, no restrictions on the
building material sector itself were deemed possible, as any legislation
targeted towards the building material sector directly was considered
politically difficult. On the one hand, it was because of the dependency
of people in the low-income bracket on jobs in the sector and on the
other, due to existence of a huge housing demand and subsequent reliance
of people on the building materials. Furthermore, the informal setting
of the sector makes any enforcement of legislation quite challenging.
Hence, there is no legal obligation for building material producers such
as Lafarge to produce only environment-friendly building materials.
Against this background,
the LC3 technology has the potential to boost local and
greener production of cement and accelerate Malawi’s independence from
imports. The launch of the technology in Malawi this year attracted the
highest support to gain momentum in bringing together different
stakeholders to work closely.
This innovative method of
cement production will be piloted countrywide in Malawi in collaboration
with all cement producers in the public–private partnership mode under
the Promotion of an Environmentally Friendly Building Material Sector in
Malawi (PEFCoM).
Rt. Hon. Dr. Saulos Klaus
Chilima, Vice President of the Republic of Malawi, launched the LC3
technology at the Crossroads Auditorium in Lilongwe, on March 15, 2022.
Honourable Ministers from the Cabinet such as those of trade, industry
and commerce, mining, transport, and public works shared their remarks
on the occasion. Other eminent guests present were Sylvia Giannakis,
Honorary Consul General of Switzerland and Knut Gummert, Deputy Head of
Development Cooperation in the Germany Embassy to Malawi.
Dr. Chilima said, “The
project was a timely intervention in the government’s quest to support
creation of enterprises in the construction sector through reduced costs
as well as to help create hundreds of jobs.”
“These partnerships are
not only commendable but also progressive because they provide us with
cement and building solutions. These projects will reduce the negative
environmental impact and instead allow us to substitute resources scarce
in Malawi with other raw materials in abundant supply and readily
available in the country,” he said.
The environment-friendly
project also resonates with Malawi’s aspirations to promote green growth
in the face of worsening climate change by reducing emissions. The
project will be funded by the German Federal Ministry for Economic
Cooperation and Development (BMZ) and implemented through GIZ in
association with TARA, India.
In his remarks, Knut
Gummert pledged Germany’s support for the successful implementation of
the project. He said, “The project could make Malawi a world leader in
environment-friendly cement production.”
Further, Mark Katsonga
Phiri, Minister of Trade and Industry said, “This is a game-changer and
an outstanding project/initiative for economic recovery and
transformation. Pollution mostly comes from industries, but I am
delighted that this technology reduces greenhouse gas emissions for the
cement industry. It fits very well with the expectations of our
government. This launch brings hope to the nation. Cement production
will help import substitution or eliminate imports. It also addresses
problems faced by the small and medium enterprises. The ministry will be
happy and obliged to provide all the help required for the project’s
success.”
Jacob Hara, Minister of
Transport and Public Works in his address remarked, “Since the invention
of cement, today is a momentous day for Malawi and the green
construction movement. Thanks to GIZ and TARA for working tirelessly to
bring this technology to our shores. We have always needed cement, and
hence we couldn't do anything earlier about the GHG emissions.
Therefore, today we are empowered through LC3. With Malawi
leading the way for Africa and the world, it is exciting because usually
Malawi has never been the first to pioneer a technology. It dramatically
complements the job creation agenda and environment-friendly products
mandated by the Malawian government. The LC3 composition and
chemistry will help increase the production. It adds value to the use of
locally available materials in Malawi. However, it will be interesting
to know some results of LC3 in terms of durability and
long-term performance.”
Dr. Albert Mbwala,
Minister of Mining noted, “Malawi is endowed with various raw materials
in abundant quantity. The kaolinitic clay required for the production of
LC3 is estimated to be over 50 million tonnes, and other raw
materials such as limestone and gypsum are also available. We have
enough minerals to ensure the project is successful. Mineral resources
and their exploitation have significantly contributed to Malawi’s GDP.
This project promoting the sustainable usage of raw materials for the
cement industry is a welcome development. My ministry will work
alongside the project team to ensure the project’s success that
will yield great benefits for the nation.”
Peter Schramm, Head of Building
Materials, MIERA, GIZ, delivered the opening remarks, highlighting the
significance and the potential of LC3. Dr. Soumen Maity,
Chief Technology Officer, TARA, presented the technical aspects of the
technology in the Malawian context. He then made a symbolic gift of a
sample of LC3 to the Vice President.
Dr. Stephen Chalimba, Deputy Director
of Testing, Malawi Bureau of Standards, highlighted the importance of
developing a coherent standard for the new cement to establish the
production of the same by the industry.
Also, in attendance were top management
representatives from Malawian cement manufacturers including Cement
Products Limited, Mangochi.
The event concluded with a
commemorative group photograph of the project team with the Vice
President and the Ministers of the Cabinet.
The project’s success will ensure that
cement is affordable and accessible for all and contribute to the vision
of Malawi 2063 to become an inclusively wealthy and self-reliant nation.
The organisers of the
event were:
-
GIZ Malawi under the aegis of
Development Cooperation in the Germany
-
Technology and Action for Rural
Advancement (TARA), which provides the technical expertise in LC3.
TARA is leading the LC3 Technology dissemination across
Africa and other countries. The supporting partners to TARA are Ecole
Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne in Switzerland, Central University
“Marta Abreu” de Las Villas (Cuba), the Indian Institute of Technology
Delhi, and Indian Institute of Technology Madras
-
The Malawi Bureau of Standards, which
will lead the development of an LC3 cement standard, and
ensure the high quality of the cement produced
-
The Malawi Department of Geological
Survey, which will provide vital information on the raw material and
ensure the sustainable usage of Malawian resources
References:
-
Habitat for
Humanity. N.d. The housing need in Malawi. Accessed on 29 April, 2022
at https://www.habitat.org/where-we-build/malawi
-
UN-Habitat.
2011. Un-Habitat Annual Report 2010. Accessed on 26 April, 2022 at
https://unhabitat.org/un-habitat-annual-report-2010
Debojyoti Basuroy
dbasuroy@devalt.org
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