The Minister of Housing, Irene Moreiradefended the government policy of promoting wood construction compared to traditional systems and exemplified with an initiative implemented in Rivera where shorter delivery times and cost per square meter were achieved. He also targeted a law approved during the Broad Front administration and modified in 2020 by the Executive Power.
The minister was the speaker this Wednesday at the lunch organized by the Association of Marketing Directors (ADM) and there she reviewed the first two years of the portfolio.
A part of his dissertation was devoted to the construction of wooden houses. She indicated that despite being a system that has been used for centuries (he mentioned Japan, Sweden and Norway as examples) it is still considered non-traditional. She stated that 95% of wood production is exportedwithout any added value. “Despite the exports that can be made, it is a more than valid option to build homes. The government’s commitment is to promote the use of wood and give added value to this material,” Moreira said.
However, the hierarch commented that many times another type of construction is chosen. “The Uruguayan likes to play; he likes brick“, summarized. But he countered that in several areas of the country there are high-end wooden houses. “Then why not add wood construction as an option for social housing,” she considered.
To strengthen this initiative, in July of this year the Ministry of Housing presented a project to promote the construction of social housing with wood. Within that plan presented, high-rise building in Montevideo was included by the National Housing Agency (ANV).
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wood construction
As an example, he mentioned a project of Mevir in conjunction with the Government of Rivera that was developed last year. It was a pilot plan for sustainable housing that began in August and ended in December. “Within four months, plan participants were entering their homes,” he noted. Regarding the plan, he added that the execution time had an improvement of 50% (it was built in half the time of an initiative of another type) and also a reduction of 43% in the value per square meter built.
In another part of his presentation, he had recalled that at the beginning of his term as head of the ministry, the cost of a square meter of social housing ranged between US$2,200 and US$2,400. Therefore, he valued the price reduction obtained in Rivera’s pilot plan. He also recalled that after the good results obtained, similar initiatives were transferred to the town of Las Flores (in the same department) and to Estación Cuaró, in Artigas.
The previous law
In April 2020, the Executive Branch introduced modifications to Law 18,795 on promoted housing (low-income housing). In his presentation, Moreira referred to that regulation. “Here there was a promoted housing law. A good law, but unfortunately it did not reach the people. It was on the coast, ”he criticized. He stated that 79% of the projects are located in Montevideo, 7% in Canelones, another 7% in Maldonado and the remaining 7% in other areas of the country. He added that in nine departments there is not a single project of these characteristics.
