The construction industry in developing countries: a strategy for development

This thesis analyses the place of construction in the national economy and its dynamic role in the process of economic growth and development. Construction is a key industry, the growth of which will stimulate growth in other sectors. It will also lead to reduced dependence, a more integrated economy and the supply of more basic needs for the population. The development of an efficient, indigenous construction industry should therefore be a major priority of developing countries. There are, however, considerable barriers to the development of productive forces in this industry, which stem from the divorce of design from production in the construction process and the use of a system of competitive tendering. Alternative proposals for overcoming such constraints are examined in the light of the concrete conditions existing in very poor countries today. It is concluded that governments will be required to adopt imaginative policies, and to assume an active role in the management of resources in the construction sector, if the problems are to be resolved. In Part Two, attempts by governments in Kenya and Tanzania to stimulate the development of a stronger indigenous construction sector are examined in some detail. Both attempts are found wanting. Policies adopted in Cuba, on the other hand, appear to have been more successful - although even here they have failed to solve the housing problem, and the successes seem to have brought some further problems in their wake. The possibility of the duplication of Cuban experience elsewhere in the third world is considered briefly in the final chapter.