PVC to become a solution to housing crisis in Venezuela

12-Jul-05

Venezuela is considered to have been suffering from a severe housing shortage. Therefore many companies in Venezuela have come together to plan the building of new homes with plastic walls in the coming years. This is deemed possible by a major expansion of the country's petrochemical industry likely to raise output levels to about 25 million tons by 2012. At least 100,000 new homes are estimated to be build annually by the government as a means of tackling the housing shortage facing Venezuela at an estimate 1.6 million units. If cost were to come down by/to 30%, will it not provide a boon for the housing industry? The solution lies in concrete- filled, polyvinyl chloride (PVC)-covered walls used to build houses. This material is highly resistant to the effects of extreme weather and ageing, offers excellent insulation properties against both heat and cold. Three people can easily assemble the house in just one week. The price of each would be around $11,600, which is considered one third less expensive than other materials conventionally used. With the expansion of El Tablazo, 60,000 tons of the 120,000 tons of PVC currently produced every year could be devoted to the production of materials for 30,000 houses. Venezuela has the required raw material to produce PVC at an extremely low cost. Natural gas costs us $1.20 per 1,000 cubic feet, which is 20% of its price in North America.