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The hydraform building concept is a system that allows the erection of structures using limited mortar because the bricks used on  this system have interlocking grooves.
Astra Building Centre launched the building concept in the country in 2009.

In an interview, Astra managing director Mr Jabulani Nkomo said despite the demo-houses constructed in Bulawayo there have not been any takers of the hydraform building concept.
In 2010, the building stockist constructed a demonstration house of the building concept in Emganwini high-density suburb in Bulawayo at a site donated by the local authority.

The house was donated to a needy family.
“Nothing much has changed since the launch of the building concept because of the current liquidity crisis in the economy. Interest from various stakeholders to buy the concept is there but the major hold-up is the liquidity crunch in the economy.”

Astra is an agent for a South African-based firm called Hydraform in the country and also sells equipment used in producing bricks for the building concept.
Mr Nkomo said they had done quite a number of quotations for different stakeholders interested in building structures using the hydraform concept but these were yet to be converted into actual sales.

“Zimbabwe’s construction industry is poised for enormous growth considering the housing backlog in the country. Bulawayo alone has a housing backlog exceeding 100 000 units and this shows that the construction sector has a huge potential considering that for the past 10 or 15 years there has not been much happening in terms of house and office construction,” he said.

Asked about penetrating regional markets such as Botswana and Zambia, he said: “The challenge that we have is that we are agents of hydraform products in the country and we do not have the capacity to go that far because we are limited by finance.

“And also if you want to sell the product outside, the foreign market wants to know what you have done in your own country     and besides Hydraform has got other agents in these regional countries.”

He said his company had also engaged the Ministry of Youth Development, Indigenisation and Empowerment to consider empowering the    youths by investing in the hydraform building system to integrate skills acquisition and technology transfer in vocational centres.