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Kenya bans use of twisted steel bars in construction

Wednesday November 23 2016

Kenya has banned the manufacture, importation and use of twisted steel bars in construction starting next year over safety concerns, following in the footsteps of other East African nations.

Regulator Kenya Bureau of Standards (Kebs) said Tuesday that following consultations with local manufacturers it had been agreed that only ribbed bars will be manufactured and sold in Kenya.

“Arising from a meeting recently held between Kebs management and representatives of the steel industry and the Kenya Association of Manufacturers, it was resolved that as from April 1, 2017, only ribbed bars shall be manufactured and offered for sale in the country,” said Kebs managing director Charles Ongwae.

“It has been noted that Kenya is the only country in the region that still allows the manufacture and use of twisted steel bars for reinforcement of concrete.”

The April 1 date is meant to allow players in the sector to clear up their stocks. The Kenyan construction sector will be required to use ribbed or deformed steel bars which experts say provide reinforced concrete more strength.

The bars have projections or ribs on their surface to provide better anchoring to concrete.

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Mr Ongwae warned all players in the construction sector, including the general public, manufacturers, importers and hardware stores to comply noting that the relevant Kenya standard for ribbed bars is KS ISO 6935-2:2007.

Collapsed buildings

The ban arises from new engineering studies which have raised concern over the structural properties of twisted bars, which are common at construction sites.

In civil engineering structures, it is common to use steel bars inside concrete to create reinforced concrete structures such as beams, columns and flooring.

The use of twisted bars is said to have started around the middle of the 20th century but by the 1980s and early 1990s most developed nations had ditched the material for deformed bars.

In May last year, Uganda outlawed the sale and importation of the bars. Kenya has in the recent past experienced a string of collapsed buildings linked to the use of substandard materials including water pipes.

In August, Kebs banned use of unmarked polypropylene and other water pipes in the market in favour of marked ones.

Kenya’s construction sector has in recent years witnessed a boom, thanks to a fast expanding middle class with desire to own homes and increased infrastructure spend by the government and private firms.

According to the Economic Survey 2016, the construction sector expanded by 13.6 per cent in 2015 compared to a growth of 13.1 per cent in 2014.

A number of buildings have in the past collapsed, attributed to poor piping or use of poor quality bars.

The latest accident, whose source is yet to be determine, occurred in Kisii where a 10-storey building collapsed killing about 10 people. Most of the previous accidents, which resulted in fatalities, happened in Nairobi.

This story was first published in the Business Daily.

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