Domestic Steel and cement industry is set to get a major body as 158 lakh Metric Tonne steel and 692 lakh Metric Tonne cement is likely to be consumed in construction of all the houses sanctioned under Prime Minister Awas Yojna (Urban) (PMAYU).
Addressing a webinar on Atma Nirbhar Bharat: Fostering Steel Usage in Housing & Construction and Aviation Sector, Mr Hardeep Singh Puri, MoS (I/C) ministry for Housing and Urban Affairs (HUA) and MoCA, said that nearly 84 lakh MT steel and 370 lakh MT cement has already been consumed in houses grounded/completed so far.
He added that an estimated 3.65 crore jobs would be generated in construction of all sanctioned houses of which about 1.65 crore jobs would have already been generated in construction of houses grounded so far.
As far as usage of steel in urban transport is concerned, presently about 700 km metro is operational in 18 cities and about 900 km network is under construction in 27 cities.The average per KM requirement of steel in metro projects is about 13,000 Metric Tonnes.
Highlighting usage of steel in the aviation sector, Mr Puri said that Steel is being used extensively in Airport Terminal buildings for roof structure and as support to glass façade. He informed that the value of steel is expected to be used for construction of Airport Terminal Buildings in the next 5 years – Rs 1,905 cr (approx). He further said that in the next five years 15 new Terminal buildings are planned at a cost of Rs. 15,000 Cr. requiring large quantities of steel.
Speaking about the impact on environment, the minister said that PM had stressed on the need to use new, alternative and faster construction strategies and technologies which are disaster resilient and environment friendly where the carbon footprint is minimal
He said that MoHUA will collaborate to promote it across the states. He added that the Ministry has already launched a global challenge -Global Housing Technology Challenge (GHTC) to promote and propagate such new technologies.