Hong Kong firm Tiostone seeks to make 'eco-bricks' in Myanmar amid shortage
Tiostone is joining forces with property developer SPA Group to bring international standards of brick production to the developing nation
A shortage of building materials and antiquated construction methods in Yangon, Myanmar's largest city, have played a role in the skyrocketing rents in the city, says Hong Kong brick maker Dixon Chan.
"When I visited brick makers in Yangon recently, I found they either use home-made machines or German machines that are 30 or 40 years old," said Chan, director of Hong Kong-based "eco-brick" company Tiostone Environment. Tiostone has made eco-bricks in Hong Kong since 2005 by turning waste glass into bricks.
"It takes two to three weeks to build one floor of a construction site in Yangon compared with two to three days in Hong Kong," said Chan. Irregular bricks produced by current sub-standard production lines are one of the reasons for lengthy construction periods, said Chan, because brick layers were forced to spend more time aligning bricks with mortar.
The resulting prolonged construction periods meant it was taking a longer time to solve the country's shortage of flats, hotel rooms and offices, he added, and this contributed to the high rents in the city.
Spotting an opportunity, Tiostone last year teamed-up with local property developer SPA Group, formed by Chinese Myanmese real estate mogul Serge Pun, in a bid to bring international brick production standards to the nation.
Their HK$10 million factory in Yangon will start production early next year with a start-up capacity of 50,000 square metres of bricks a year.
Chan said he paid US$275 per night for the room he stayed in at the Parkroyal hotel in Yangon. Two years ago he paid less than US$100.