Source: Huzhou Daily
Prefabricated construction and green building materials have become prominent topics within the building materials industry, the construction sector, and society at large in recent years. These areas also represent crucial directions for the industry’s future development. To advance prefabricated buildings, it is essential to drive a revolution in green building materials.
During the recent “Two Sessions,” Hu Xingwen, a representative of the People’s Congress of Huzhou City and a construction engineer at Zhejiang Zhongtian Construction Industrialization Co., Ltd., submitted a proposal focused on promoting and applying green building materials in construction industrialization, particularly prefabricated buildings. Drawing on the current state of China’s construction industry, Hu analyzed the reasons behind the slow progress of construction industrialization in Huzhou City and suggested relevant countermeasures.
According to Hu Xingwen, China’s construction industry remains labor-intensive, relying heavily on low labor costs and outsourcing management models. Compared to other industries and international counterparts, the sector faces challenges including excessive manual labor, low levels of industrialization, poor labor productivity, difficult working conditions, frequent quality and safety issues, high energy and resource consumption during construction, significant environmental pollution, and short building lifespans.
In response to these challenges, Huzhou City issued the “Implementation Opinions of the Huzhou Municipal People’s Government Office on Accelerating the Promotion of New Building Industrialization” last year, aiming to foster the green development of new buildings and to continue advancing building industrialization. However, large-scale adoption of building industrialization in Huzhou has yet to be realized. The proportion of new construction and renovation projects utilizing building industrialization technology remains low.
Hu Xingwen acknowledged that this situation stems partly from insufficient public awareness. Building industrialization is still in its early stages in Huzhou, with limited application and development of relevant technologies. There is a lack of clear understanding of the concept of building industrialization, and the standards system remains underdeveloped. Additionally, the relatively high construction costs associated with industrialized buildings—compared to traditional methods—have dampened developers’ enthusiasm and hindered the wider adoption of green building materials.
Another significant issue is the severe shortage of industrial technological support. There is an urgent need to enhance the construction industrialization technology for prefabricated structures, improve the comprehensive development and utilization of resources and energy, and strengthen overall capacity building in the sector.
To address these challenges, Hu Xingwen proposed using policy promotion and demonstration projects to guide the market. Emphasis should be placed on specific application projects, especially those funded or constructed by government departments—for example, public welfare construction projects, government-supported PPP projects, and EPC projects. Leveraging industrial technology in these projects could create demonstration effects and raise public awareness. Hu also called on supervisory departments to innovate and amend existing policies related to project oversight to better facilitate the adoption of new technologies.
Beyond demonstration efforts, Hu emphasized the need for effective guidance to advance construction industrialization. He recommended introducing certification standards and systems for green building materials, conducting energy efficiency audits, and developing product catalog standards for green building materials. Increasing financial support for leading demonstration enterprises would further encourage the development and application of green materials.
Moreover, Hu suggested establishing special funds dedicated to new building materials and the circular economy. These funds could provide subsidies to green building materials manufacturers and projects, support the demonstration and promotion of green building technologies and products, and assist in implementing major green building initiatives.
Social organizations such as professional societies and associations also play a vital role. Hu Xingwen proposed using these groups to create communication platforms for enterprises, facilitate the introduction of advanced construction industrialization technologies from both domestic and international sources, and help elevate the overall level of construction industrialization within the city.
Must log in before commenting!
Sign Up