Bhutan’s local brick manufacturers are urging the government to mandate the use of Bhutan Standards Bureau (BSB) certified bricks in all construction projects. This, they say is to improve the domestic brick manufacturing industry and promote quality construction practices in the country. The preference for imported clay bricks over locally manufactured bricks has raised concerns over the sustenance of local brick manufacturers.
Currently, out of the 109 brick manufacturers in the country, 11 are certified by the Bhutan Standards Bureau.
Meanwhile, according to the bureau, apart from the five autoclaved aerated concrete or AAC bricks that are currently imported, none of the red clay bricks brought into the country are BSB certified.
For brick manufacturers like Melissa Kezang, the import of such non-BSB-certified clay bricks has been affecting her business.
She is adamant about the government making it mandatory for all bricks used for construction to be BSB certified.
“We are hoping that our government will be able to certify more local brick manufacturing units. This way, it will give confidence to the public that there is a sufficient supply of good quality products across the country, which seems to be one of the concerns of contractors and engineers. Also, we are looking for the government to allow only brand-certified building materials to be imported into the country. If all the building materials, even the ones imported are brand certified, it will ensure our constructions are of quality,” said Melissa Kezang, Chief Executive Officer of Bhutan Concrete Bricks.
However, when BBS talked to some of the contractors, most of them said that they still prefer imported red clay bricks, citing their availability and durability.
Moreover, some contractors say that some government constructions specify red clay bricks for construction.
Some contractors even suggested promoting local production of red clay bricks to harness the country’s abundant raw materials for manufacturing bricks.
“I have not faced any issues working with either the imported or the local bricks. But if I were to build a good quality structure or a building, I would prefer red clay bricks. Moreover, I think it would be great if people here could produce red clay bricks because we have the raw materials,” said Tashi Rabgay, a contractor.
Meanwhile, brick manufacturers like Melissa Kezang believe that the preference for red clay bricks over locally produced cement bricks could be because of misperception.
“One of the prevailing beliefs I have run across is that “we have used red clay bricks for decades, why change?” While decades ago, red clay bricks, stones and rammed earth were basically the only building materials available to build with. But we are in the 21st century now. There are much better and new technologies and building materials to build with. And one of them is concrete bricks.”
During the recent Monthly Friday Meet with the Prime Minister, local manufacturers and contractors voiced concerns regarding the capacity of local manufacturers to meet the growing domestic market.
Gyam Dendup, another brick manufacturer, who recently had to close one of his brick manufacturing factories, said that the number of manufacturers is more than capable of meeting the current demand for bricks.
“In 2022, Bhutan imported around 40 million bricks from India. I have seen that just 29 local manufacturers can produce around 29 million bricks in a year. And if all the brick manufacturers start producing bricks, we would be able to produce at least 100 million bricks in a year.”
The Ministry of Commerce, Industry and Employment, along with relevant government stakeholders held a meeting with the brick manufacturers and contractors to discuss on the matter today.
The Department of Industry said that the suggestions put up during the meeting by the stakeholders would be looked into to come up with solutions.
Karma Samten Wangda
Edited by Kipchu
