Affordable new tile
Property Reporter

THE cost of roofing, which had shot through the roof in recent years, may come down by nearly 50 percent following the approval of a new low-cost roofing tile by the Standards Association of Zimbabwe (SAZ).
In a landmark development, the SAZ recently gave its thumbs-up to the Scientific and Industrial Research and Development Centre (SIRDC), commercialised last year, to promote the new roofing material, aptly named Micro-concrete Roofing (MCR).
MCR complied with stringent SAZ requirements in terms of length and width, transverse strength, permeability, water absorption, bearing strength of nib and apparent density.
Analysts said while the number of MCR tiles per square metre would not differ much with the existing product range, it was the price that would make the new product popular.
For instance, a plain MCR tile costs $3 600, almost half the average industry price of $6 200.
The new product is a response to calls by both the construction industry, which was suffering loss of business, and individulas who could no longer afford to build homes because of relentless cost increases.
A SIRDC official said the process used in the production of MCR tiles involved a low-cost technology that had been successfully tried and tested in several countries over many years.
“As part of its national mandate, SIRDC has introduced this high-quality, low-cost technology to Zimbabwe in order to mitigate the high cost of similar products that are found on the market and thus make housing affordable to the majority of the home seekers.”
The MCR is the first product to be launched by the centre after the commercialisation exercise started last year.
SIRDC is Zimbabwe’s technology centre whose mandate is to assist with the industrialisation of the country. It is a research and development conglomerate boasting 10 institutes whose work programmes span almost all sectors of Zimbabwe’s economy