“Architects Exhibition 2015” organized by the Sri Lanka Institute of Architects recently held at the BMICH brought the construction and related industries together to showcase their products and services. The Exhibition contained 270 stalls manned by 170 banners. 

Lafarge Mahaweli Cement who took part in the exhibition for the first time fashioned their stall after the affordable housing theme ‘Savi Piyasa’ already launched by the company.  The ‘Savi Piyasa’ initiative is part of Lafarge’s ‘Building Better Cities’ program, which has kicked off worldwide.   Lafarge Mahaweli officials manning their stall at the exhibition designed as a model of what an affordable house could look like, offered interested visitors detailed explanations on the benefits of being part of their initiative.

Commenting on the initiative, Charlotte Boutboul, Project Manager for Affordable Housing, Lafarge Mahaweli Cement said that the company wanted to make their expertise and knowledge in the architectural and construction field available to Sri Lankans who dreamed of owning their own home through the ‘Savi Piyasa’ programme.   “The objective of the program is to collaborate with our retailer network to innovate and improve the design and construction standards through technical and financial support.  Towards this goal we offer technical assistance including consultation by our chartered architect and quantity surveyor, architectural plans and Bills of Quantities, free of charge to individual home builders, based on their finances.  It is our intention to help families under this program, where they get to build their house at an affordable rate. Through this initiative we are engaging closely with our brand partners and respective banks to provide the best possible facilities to our customers, including drawings and BOQs. We have received 300 requests from prospective customers who wish to build their homes under our ‘Savi Piyasa’ programme and I think that is a great start.”

The project manager says that ‘Savi Piyasa’ whilst providing more Sri Lankans with the opportunity of owning their own homes would also uplift the country’s construction industry through the synergy created by the initiative.

Photo caption: An official from Lafarge Mahaweli explaining the benefits to a customer

About Lafarge Sri Lanka: Present in Sri Lanka since 1980 upon its acquisition of Marine Cement of Switzerland, Lafarge Sri Lanka is one of the major suppliers of cement for both construction & industrial applications under its leading brand “Mahaweli Marine Cement”. Lafarge Sri Lanka operates in Colombo with its silo station & bagging plant located within the port. The company is strongly committed towards uplifting Health & Safety standards in the construction industry. Lafarge Sri Lanka strives to continue & take into the future its heritage and reputation built on quality, trust and commitment and aims to build sustainable surroundings.

About Lafarge Group: A world leader in building materials, Lafarge employs 65,000 people in 62 countries, and posted sales of €15.2 billion in 2013. As a top-ranking player in its Cement, Aggregates and Concrete businesses, it contributes to the construction of cities around the world, through its innovative solutions providing them with more housing and making them more compact, more durable, more beautiful, and better connected. With the world’s leading building materials research facility, Lafarge places innovation at the heart of its priorities in order to contribute to more sustainable construction and to better serve architectural creativity.