'Providing affordable housing to 70% population a challenge'

High-rise buildings increased FSI will play a major role in solving the problem of affordable housing, leading Indian architect Hafeez Contractor said.

"The challenge before the construction industry was to provide affordable housing to 70% of the population of the country who did not have their own housing. High-rise buildings increased FSI will play a major role in solving the problem and also preserve land for agriculture," Contractor said at the inauguration of the Constro 2012 in Pune.

The country's biggest international exhibition on construction machinery, materials, methods and projects -Constro 2012 organised by Pune Construction Engineering Research Foundation (PCERF).

The demands for space in the offices sector apart from housing is also on the rise and new townships of the scale of Chicago city will have to be built every year, Contractor said in a statement in Mumbai.

Affordable housing means that houses should be available to people at the amount of their three years annual salary, because Sunday's property rates are just going beyond common man's reach.

Contractor also praised the role of PCERF and the Constro exhibition for promoting futuristic technologies and cost effective construction solutions for the industry.

Naren Kothari, Chairman of Constro 2012, said that latest technology of precast slabs and columns, door automation -industrial and residential and green power technology are some of the major highlights of the exhibition.

Apart from home grown construction technologies, we also have technologies and products from China, Japan, Italy, Germany, France & Singapore which will be on display.