Tamil Nadu - Chennai

China shows Chennai the way to cut construction cost

CHENNAI: China offers a way to cut construction cost in Chennai. From door and window frames, glazing materials, tiles, sanitary fittings to furniture, Chinese materials are now being used to finish and furnish apartments in the city and the suburbs.

Use of the imported products helps the builders save in the region of 20 to 30 per cent.

“If you have a viable volume, China is a good place to shop for building materials. It is the manufacturing hub of the world and offers good price and an impressive range of choice,” says Chitty Babu, Managing Director, Akshaya Homes. On an average, Akshaya imports about 10 to 15 tonnes of building materials every two months.

Ravichandran, Chairman, True Value Homes (TVH), regularly visits China.

“The manufacturing system is good and so is the quality. China offers a range that is not available locally,” he says. The TVH has an office in China to source building materials and procures about 10 large containers of building materials every three months.

Googoo China Holding Ltd, a Foshan-based building materials and furniture purchasing agent, has served dozens of clients from Chennai. “Some big clients from Chennai have purchased materials for more than 1 million yuan (US $146,000) and some have even bought 4 or 5 million yuan worth of materials,” says Wong, manager at Googoo.

India was ranked the 7th biggest overseas market last year on the list of tile manufacturers in southern China’s Foshan city.

Import of furniture from China began in 2000 and the first batch to the Indian market was from Lecong Town, Guangdong Province.

The average monthly export volume for Chinese furniture to India is about 1,000 containers. Among the furniture imported, about 60 to 70 per cent was sold to Delhi, Mumbai and Pune, while Bangalore, Hyderabad and Chennai bought the rest.

“The future of this trade will depend on how well the Chinese industry organises itself and certifies genuine manufacturers and traders,” says Mr.Chitty Babu. “Sourcing the right company is the key to securing quality products.

The Chinese government must get involved in certifying traders and manufacturers. This will facilitate quick and reliable sourcing of materials,” Mr. Ravichandran said.

The demand for Chinese materials has prompted the China National Building Material Group Corporation, a leading State-owned building material enterprise, to consider the possibility of establishing factories in India.

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