The National Construction Authority (NCA) is set to use the mobile concrete laboratories of Bamburi Cement Limited which is a subsidiary of LafargeHolcim for onsite testing of materials so as to improve and boost safety methods in Kenya.
The two companies- NCA and Bamburi Cement signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) recently which partly stated that the mobile laboratories will facilitate in the efforts to professionalize the construction industry and this equally means that NCA can at any given time move the mobile laboratories and use them to determine the quality of materials as well as the mixing ratios.
Bamburi Cement Commercial Director, Mr. Geoffrey Ndugwa confirmed the news and said that the MOU agreement is as a result of the shared agenda of enhancing the quality standards in the construction industry.
“This agreement is borne out of our shared objectives of improving quality standards in the construction industry in Kenya, we will also offer technical advice on the use of the mobile concrete laboratories provided by Bamburi” said Mr. Ndugwa.
The agreement also states that the parties will also work hand in hand so as to bridge the skills gap in the building and construction industry by developing curriculum for training of construction site and contractors in Kenya. NCA plans to train and accredit 1,500,000 skilled construction workers in various trades in the construction industry.
“We will work together to develop artisans skills and professionalism by enhancing their curriculum and offering them formal training, and by this help to promote safe construction and job creation in the country,” said the NCA chief executive, Mr. Daniel Manduku.
This announcement comes after Kenya experienced a series of incidents of poorly constructed buildings and structures collapsing especially during the rainy seasons which led to loss of lives and property hence the testing of materials which will be an effort to lower such cases.
NCA is the construction industry regulator which registers all construction projects and license contractors, whether local or foreign. It charges a 0.5 per cent levy based on the value of the project, with the minimum threshold set at US$ 50,000.
