Bangladesh must switch to hollow blocks to reduce pollution
Says Concord Group Managing Director Shahriar Kamal
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Clay bricks cost Tk 12 per piece. A hollow block, which is four times larger than a clay brick, is priced at Tk 50.
This price difference suggests a competitive edge for clay bricks in the construction market.
But the true cost of traditional bricks extends far beyond their purchase price.
Overlooked factors include Dhaka's frequent ranking as one of the world's most polluted cities. This severe air pollution, largely caused by brick kilns, is responsible for a tragically shortened lifespan for many people.
"This cannot continue," said Shahriar Kamal, managing director of the construction conglomerate Concord Group, in an interview with The Daily Star. "To reduce pollution, we need to switch to green alternatives as soon as possible."
Kamal's firm has been producing concrete and hollow blocks since 1998.
They built the 17-acre Lake City Concord township in Dhaka entirely without using a single clay brick. This township comprises 14 buildings, each rising to 16 storeys.
Given the longstanding reliance on clay bricks in the local construction sector, questions naturally arise regarding the feasibility, cost-effectiveness, and urgency of transitioning to hollow blocks.
Traditional brick kilns extract clay by stripping topsoil from fertile lands, resulting in an annual loss of around 1 percent of the country's arable land.
This practice not only devastates agricultural productivity but also involves the burning of vast amounts of coal and wood, releasing harmful particulates and greenhouse gases into the atmosphere.
"The process is unsustainable," said Kamal. "As construction demand increases each year, the environmental toll intensifies."
In contrast, hollow blocks are manufactured using a more sustainable approach. They are produced with materials such as fly ash, cement, and other industrial by-products. This process does not require burning, as the blocks are simply dried.
According to Kamal, hollow blocks are lighter but have superior strength. Therefore, they are suitable for construction in earthquake-prone regions like Bangladesh.
"Buildings constructed with hollow blocks are much lighter than those built with traditional bricks," he explained. "This reduced weight offers an advantage during earthquakes, minimising the risk of collapse and subsequent casualties."
According to the Managing Director of Concord Group, although hollow blocks offer many advantages, the adoption rate of eco-friendly bricks remains low. Only 5-8 percent of bricks currently in use are eco-friendly.
For the slow shift, he said a lack of awareness among builders, insufficient training for construction workers in the use of these blocks, and a strong entrenched preference for traditional bricks are responsible.
"Many workers are not familiar with how to work with these blocks," said Kamal. "For example, traditional bricks require soaking before use, whereas hollow blocks are installed dry."
"We arranged training for the workers several times," he said, "but this effort needs to be scaled up with government support to ensure nationwide adoption."
Kamal acknowledged that cost is another barrier to the widespread adoption of eco-friendly bricks.
"While eco-friendly bricks may have a slightly higher initial cost compared to traditional bricks, they offer long-term savings," he commented. "Proper planning and mindful design can reduce overall construction costs by about 15 percent."
In 2020, the government announced a policy to replace traditional bricks with eco-friendly blocks in all public projects. This policy aimed to achieve a 10 percent adoption rate in fiscal year (FY) 2019-20, with a gradual phasing out of clay bricks by FY25.
However, slack monitoring and enforcement have hindered progress towards these ambitious goals.
"Implementation is key," Kamal stressed. "We need strong inter-ministerial coordination, led by the Ministry of Environment, to oversee the implementation of these policies. Regulatory bodies like Rajdhani Unnayan Kartripakkha (Rajuk) must also play a crucial role by enforcing these targets in private-sector construction projects."
He pointed to successful examples from countries like China and India, where the adoption of eco-friendly bricks has been accelerated through a combination of financial incentives, strict enforcement of environmental regulations, and comprehensive public awareness campaigns.
Kamal said their facilities have the capacity to manufacture 200,000 eco-friendly bricks, blocks, and tiles every eight hours. But, without enough demand, they cannot operate at full capacity.
He called for a range of policy measures to stimulate demand, including financial incentives for manufacturers of eco-friendly building materials and penalties on polluting industries to ensure accountability.
"The polluters must pay," he commented.
"This isn't just about bricks," he said. "It's about rethinking how we build our cities and protect our people. Change is difficult, but it is necessary — and it begins with each of us."
Currently, the size of the traditional brick industry is around Tk 9,000 crore, while the concrete block market is only at Tk 200 crore.
Bangladesh produces an estimated 2,300 crore bricks annually. Concrete blocks currently account for a relatively small share of this market, constituting roughly 6-7 percent of the total.
There are 164 registered factories producing concrete blocks, with an annual production capacity of 214 crore blocks. However, considering the unregistered factories, the total number is more than 250.
Kamal said the concrete block market is projected to capture up to 50 percent of the market share by 2030, due mainly to government policies and a steadily increasing demand for sustainable building materials.
He said large-scale factories have heavily invested in automated production units, often imported from China, with typical investments ranging from Tk 30-Tk 50 crore. Mid-sized factories have also invested in modernising their production lines, with typical investments ranging from Tk 5-Tk 6 crore.
Major industry players, including Concord, Mir Group, BTI, and Meghna, currently collectively control nearly 20 percent of the hollow block market.
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