Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday laid the foundation stone of Light House projects (LHPs) under Global Housing Technology Challenge (GHTC) in six states including Tripura through video conference.
According to reports, the projects will be implemented in Indore, Rajkot, Chennai, Ranchi, Agartala and Lucknow.
Modi announced the winners under Affordable Sustainable Housing Accelerators – India (ASHA-India) and gave away annual awards for excellence in implementation of Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana – Urban (PMAY-U) Mission.
He also released a certification course on innovative construction technologies named NAVARITIH (New, Affordable, Validated, Research Innovation Technologies for Indian Housing).
Union minister Hardeep Singh Puri, chief ministers of Uttar Pradesh, Tripura, Jharkhand, Tamil Nadu, Gujarat, Andhra Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh were present on the occasion.
Speaking on the occasion, Prime Minister Modi said, “Today is the day to move forward with new energy, to prove new resolutions and today the country is getting new technology to build houses for the poor, middle class.”
He said, “The houses are called light house projects in technical language but these 6 projects are really like lighthouses showing a new direction to the housing sector in the country.
The PM cited these light house projects as an example of the approach of the present government, the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) said in a statement.
He said at one time housing schemes were not as much as the priority of the central government and did not go into the nuances and quality of home construction.
“Today, the country has chosen a different approach, adopting a different route and a better technology, to complete the projects faster,” Modi said.
He stressed the importance for the government ministries not to have large and sluggish structures, but to be fit like startups.
He expressed happiness on the active participation of more than 50 innovative construction companies from around the world. The PM said this global challenge has given us a scope to innovate and incubate with new technology.
The Prime Minister said, “In the next phase of the same process, the work of 6 light house projects at different sites is starting from today.
These light house projects will be made up of modern technology and innovative processes and reduce the construction time and make a more resilient, affordable and comfortable house for the poor.
He further explained that these light houses have innovations in construction technology.
For example, the project in Indore will not have brick and mortar walls, instead they will use the prefabricated Sandwich Panel system.
The lighthouses in Rajkot will be built using French technology and have monolithic concrete construction technology using tunnel and the house will be more capable of withstanding disasters.
He said houses are being built in Agartala with steel frames using New Zealand’s technology which can withstand major earthquake risk.
In Chennai, US and Finland technologies will use the Precast Concrete system, which will construct the house faster and cheaper.
In Ranchi, houses will be built using Germany’s 3D construction system. Each room will be made separately and then the entire structure will be added in the same way as Lego Blocks toys.