Lower costs than is possible with traditional building techniques have resulted in the Hydraform building system frequently being used for social housing projects.

A typical example of this sort of project began in the Angolan fi shing village Equimina in 2012. The village was selected by the government of Benguela Province as a pilot programme to establish if it is possible to build low cost housing on a small budget without compromising quality.

The Equimina development consists of 66 units intended to replace the shacks that people of the area had occupied until then. Each home was built to a design template specifying three bedrooms, a bathroom, kitchen and living area over an area of 104m2.

The initial project time was specifi ed as six months. However, alterations to the project plan along with the time needed to recruit and train a local work force extended this by around six weeks. At its productive peak, the site employed almost 100 people, 70% of whom were from the local community.

The local government has declared itself satisfied with the result of the pilot programme and intends to use Hydraform technology for most of the 1 240 houses it needs to build in the province.