Performance Analysis of Locally Available Materials in Rwanda Construction Industry

Rwanda’s population has been increasing and according to official sources, it is expected to double by 2050. With that increase, the population will need different facilities for living comfort, as that is one of the key priorities of the government. Among other aspects, there is a growing high need in comfortable and affordable housing as well as other basic infrastructure like schools, hospitals, roads, etc. In order to make those infrastructures not only available but also sustainable, the application of local construction materials has been considered as one of sustainable solutions. However, it is worth to note that not all local materials are adequate, and they need to be checked against materials selection criteria. The purpose of this study is to analyse the key sustainability potentials of identified materials in local construction industry. Musanze district was selected as a case study due to the abundant presence of local construction materials that could be used by different regions of the country. During this study the field exploration, discussions with local leaders and professionals as well as laboratory experiments, were performed. It was concluded that local construction materials had a good quality and therefore should play a great role in implementation of different infrastructure, if their selection is conducted considering construction materials quality requirements. Other studies related to performance improvement through manufacturing, recycling processes or other ways are encouraged, so that their application can be extended to more important structures.