Industrialization can boost Minha Casa, Minha Vida – 04/28/2023 – Market

House built in 30 days. Three-block condominium ready in four months. Industrialized construction reduces construction time, cost and waste and is seen by specialists as one of the ways to face the housing deficit in Brazil —estimated today at 6 million homes. The technique, however, comes up against the current tax system.

In the off-site model, as construction carried out outside the construction site is known, the properties leave the factory practically ready, with electrical and hydraulic systems installed. Depending on the project, the level of industrialization can reach 85%. In these cases, bathroom and kitchen fixtures are still installed at the factory.

From there, panels and modules are taken to the construction site, where they will be assembled by a lean team — around five people. In a matter of hours, houses, hospitals and schools appear on the ground.

“We managed to deliver a hospital with more than 1,500 m² in 35 days. There were 100 beds initially prepared for emergency care in the pandemic”, says Ronaldo Passeri, CEO of Tecverde.

In another project, a state school in Piraquara (PR) was revitalized and gained new classrooms during the year-end recess. A project that would have taken at least a year was completed in 45 days.

The construction company also has a development of 136 units of Minha Casa, Minha Vida planned and completed during 2020 on its curriculum. And, last year, it launched a house project for the same public, with a format that speeds up the assembly line and allows the delivery of real estate in one day.

In addition to speed, another great differential of off-site projects is the economy. The cost of a project manufactured using this model can be 15% lower than a masonry construction, already considering the reduction of indirect costs at the construction site.

For specialists, making civil construction cheaper would increase the number of housing projects, mainly for Minha Casa, Minha Vida. Upon its resumption, the federal government’s housing program intends to reach two million families by December 2026, offering a maximum subsidy of R$ 170,000 for new properties.

“Building in a factory is cheaper than on site and does not lose quality at all”, says Luiz França, president of Abrainc (Brazilian Association of Real Estate Developers).

By not using mortar, the off-site model is characterized as dry construction. Therefore, it allows for a significant reduction in water usage compared to masonry.

The panels are developed in a controlled environment, without the impact of sun and rain, enabling a more accurate budget and reducing the generation of waste to practically zero.

“Industrialization is the only way to make a product cheaper with quality that will increase in value over the financing period. It is the right way to develop a sustainable housing project”, says Eduardo Gorayeb, director at Tego Frame Construção e Inovação.

“Production has to be faster and greater than population growth. With the shortage of labor in civil construction, the problem will only tend to get worse. To re-edit the result of the first Minha Casa Minha Vida, the scenario would have to be all industrialized”, says the engineer, responsible for InovaHouse, a dry construction franchisor.

The major barrier to increasing the level of industrialization in civil construction is in the financial system, according to the sector.

“In Brazil, taxes make off-site construction unfeasible. Entrepreneurs are unable to develop economically viable projects, which is why we no longer see off-site projects”, says França.

“Developers are always looking for efficiency gains to achieve greater scale. If the tax issue is resolved, new technologies may emerge.”

When the property is built at the factory, the legislation understands that the materials are being sold — and for this reason, off-site companies are charged. There are also the traditional taxes on masonry construction, the IPI (Tax on Industrialized Products) and the ICMS (Tax on Circulation of Goods and Services).

Laura Marcellini, technical director of Abramat (Brazilian Association of Construction Materials Industry), says that there is a lack of tax equality with conventional systems, and that financing and contracting models should also be adjusted for the spread of industrialized construction.

“We have many technologies already available in the Brazilian market, but it is necessary to overcome these barriers in the regulatory environment”, he says.

Regarding financing, the difficulty is in paying for the work, which is shorter in duration. “The system finances 80% of the construction value and gives two years to amortize the remaining 20%. If the work is completed in 30 days, [o construtor] would have to have that 20% in a month. The system needs to finance 100% of the value, as it does with a car”, says Gorayeb.

Abramat, in partnership with other civil construction entities, defended the Ministry of Economy for the expansion of industrialized construction. In a document handed over to the ministry, the sector states that “industrialization was the only solution to meet bold deadlines for the works of recent sports events and urban needs in the country”.

“The biggest problem with the housing deficit is the way of construction. Some cities say they cannot use certain land because of characteristics and location. Building with steel and parts, as if it were Lego, we only need land that is not very bumpy”, says Felipe Ventura, CEO of Opus Construções Modulares.

He says that the company will build on a large scale, starting in May, houses of up to 54 m² and three bedrooms, to be sold in the finishing phase for up to R$ 200,000. The project was not approved to enter Minha Casa, Minha Vida. “Developers come after us. Support is essential to approve new construction methods”, says Ventura.

The Minister of Cities, Jader Barbalho Filho, tells the Sheet that the off-site construction model is on the federal government’s radar for the new Minha Casa, Minha Vida. But the priority is to revive the process of the housing program.

“Many companies that operate in the North and Northeast regions stopped building for four years. So many left the sector. At this first moment, [o foco] is to launch the FAR [Fundo de Arrendamento Residencial], the traditional model. Next, we are going to work on the rural area and then we are going to use these models to establish criteria. All this is being studied”, says the minister.

By resuming Minha Casa, Minha Vida, the federal government reestablished the first income range (up to R$ 2,640 per month) and is seeking partnerships with states and municipalities to accelerate the delivery of at least 170,000 residential properties that are undergoing works advanced.

A Sheet showed that the new Minha Casa, Minha Vida inherits a liability of 130.5 thousand houses whose works are delayed or paralyzed.