The Union Minister also says an estimated 3.65 crore jobs would be generated in the construction of such a number of houses

About 158 lakh tonnes of steel and 692 lakh tonnes of cement is required to construct 1.12 crore houses under the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana (Urban), says Urban Development Minister H.S Puri.

The Financial Express quoted him saying that enhanced use of steel in terminal buildings, pre-engineered structures leads to ease in work and speedy construction. “The value of steel used in construction of airport terminal buildings in the past three years is around Rs 570 crore. The value of steel expected to be used for construction of such buildings in next five years is close to Rs 1,095 crore,” Puri said. He noted that 1.07 crore houses have been sanctioned across 4,550 cities. About 67 lakh houses have been grounded and 35 lakh have been delivered, the report said.

Puri revealed that an estimated 3.65 crore jobs would be generated in construction of all sanctioned houses, and 1.65 crore jobs have already been generated. He also laid emphasis on the increased use of steel in urban transport. According to the report, the minister said that about 700 km of metro length is operational in 18 cities and about 900 km network is under construction in 27 cities. “The average kilometre requirement of steel in metro projects is about 13,000 tonne,” he said.

And in regards to aviation, Puri pointed out that steel is being used extensively in airport terminal buildings for roof structure and as support to glass facade, the report said.