The Building and Roads Research Institute of the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research, BRRI-CSIR gives an irresistible bait worthy of the catch.
This points to the housing sector where an intervention by the Institute makes things cheaper without a compromising on quality.
It highlights two products as indispensable to that goal. Bauxite waste and clay. When both are applied to physical construction with bricks, they uphold structures by preventing cracks in them.
The spatial scientists assert that ordinary clay used in moulding the traditional African pot could replace klinker cement by 25-30 per cent. Four years ago, between 6 and 7 million tonnes of klinker were part of Ghana’s annual imports.
The BRRI-CSIR has formulated its own cement with unique features. It is the pozzolana cement which is held to be effective against acidic groundwater. Saying 250 tonnes equals 5,000 bags of the special cement, the institute reckons an infusion of capital in the region of 5 million dollars could bring its Gomua Mprumaim plant to optimal production. The town is located in the Central region of Ghana.
The product is essential for climate change control as it is a low-carbon material with only 45 per cent of construction carbon dioxide emissions. The carbon content in normal cement is said to be high and this is associated with the Greenhouse effect.
Winnifred Prempew of the Commercialization Unit of the BRRI, says pozzolana still grants useful advantages if it is mixed with the regular cement. The inert product bears a lower unit cost in production and prices. She however sounded a caution which is the need to research into related factors as the raw material for pozzolana dwindles.