Kolkata: Tata Iron and Steel Company is planning to collaborate with the Godrej group to export newly conceptualised steel houses to Afghanistan under the international humanitarian aid programme.

If the deal matures, Tisco will be able to secure an export order for galvanised steel sheets which will be used to build around 5,000 steel houses in the war ravaged country. The deal will generate close to 
Rs 45 crores worth of business for the rural marketing division of Tisco. Afghanistan is in the process of building one million housing units under the aid programme.

“Godrej officials had initial rounds of talks with us. They have expressed interest in sourcing the steel houses conceptualised by us. According to them, steel houses are the right answer to Afghanistan’s housing crisis considering factors like cost and logistics,” Tisco head of rural marketing Mr A.K. Prasad told The Asian Age.

“We hope the deal is likely to mature within the next two months. We are also looking at collaboration with Godrej as they can be one of our fabricators which will create a win-win situation for both of us,” he added.

The engineers of the Godrej group are thinking of adopting a different technique for building the houses. Modular insulators made of materials other than cement are being considered for building the units. This, according to Mr Prasad, would not be a problem as non-cement based insulator panels are readily available in the market.

Tisco introduced the concept of steel houses in January this year in order to increase the consumption of galvanised steel in the domestic market. It has already identified states like Orissa, Assam, Tripura, Sikkim, and Goa where it is now trying to promote the new dwelling concept.

The company is primarily targeting the rural market where it hopes to replace traditional building materials like, clay, straw and mud and clay tiles.

The sector has large business opportunities for steel companies as the total shortage of housing units in the country is 19.4 million.