Over 30% of New Buildings in China Constructed with Prefabricated Components... Expected to Stabilize Real Estate Market
Market for High-Efficiency Building Materials like Gypsum Board, Windows, and Insulating Glass to Expand
[Asia Economy Beijing=Special Correspondent Jo Young-shin] China has unveiled a blueprint to construct more than 30% of new buildings as prefabricated structures during the 14th Five-Year Plan period (2021?2025).
State-run Xinhua News Agency cited the "14th Five-Year Construction Industry Development Plan" announced by China's Ministry of Housing and Urban-Rural Development (MoHURD), reporting on the 3rd that the Chinese government is actively fostering the prefabricated construction industry.
Prefabricated buildings (including housing) refer to structures where floors, wall panels, stairs, balconies, windows, and doors are manufactured in factories and then transported to construction sites for assembly. They are broadly categorized into concrete structures, steel frame structures, and wooden structures. Building houses or buildings prefabricatedly can improve energy efficiency and shorten construction periods. Additionally, it can reduce the use of fossil fuels such as coal, which are used to produce bricks and other materials.
Along with this, because standardized designs and standardized materials are used, there is the advantage of supplying many houses in a short time.
Prefabricated buildings are expected to be mainly constructed in rural areas and also supplied to cities with many migrant workers (nonggongmin). Since migrant workers are the biggest obstacle to the Chinese government's poverty eradication and common prosperity goals, the prefabricated building industry in China is expected to gain momentum.
The Chinese MoHURD also announced that it will actively promote the robotization of prefabricated building construction by applying information technology (IT). Through this, it added that it aims to achieve industrialization of construction by 2035 and develop it into a core competitiveness of China's construction industry.
Chinese media such as Fenghuawang forecast that prefabricated buildings will become a major construction industry in China, noting that they reduce carbon emissions compared to conventional buildings. Fenghuawang reported that as of 2020, the area of newly started prefabricated buildings in Hainan Province was 630 million square meters, a 50.7% increase compared to 2019. It also reported that this year, more than 60% of new buildings in Hainan Province will be constructed as prefabricated buildings.
With the Chinese government expanding prefabricated building construction, demand for high-efficiency building materials such as gypsum board, plastic windows, and insulated glass is expected to grow further.
It is also expected to contribute to improving the structure of existing Chinese construction companies (contractors) and stabilizing the real estate market. Existing Chinese construction companies earned large profits from sales projects after receiving large-scale land supplies from local governments. When apartments and other housing are built prefabricatedly, construction costs inevitably become transparent, which is expected to influence the stabilization of real estate prices.
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