Title: Economics of low-cost housing

Authors: Asheri M. Mwidege; Hieronimi A. Mboya

Addresses: Mbeya University of Science and Technology, P.O. Box 131, Mbeya, Tanzania ' Mbeya University of Science and Technology, P.O. Box 131, Mbeya, Tanzania

Abstract: Owning a home called one's own is the ultimate dream of everyone. Unaffordable house costs are associated with increased market prices of ordinary Portland cement. The economic effects of low-cost housing using blended Portland cement with duo pozzolan without compromising the key properties of cement were investigated. Pre-experimental design and snowball sampling of 112 cement brand dealers and analysis were employed. The driving force was to conserve the key properties while reducing the cost of Portland cement. It was advantageous to use P-N/RHA 10/20% optimum with Portland cement in ternary materials. The replacement of conventional cement with 10% to 40% of rice husk ash lowered the expected market prices of both brands in comparison to FACF and FACC. Findings showed that RHA is the best for replacement with OPC. It is therefore concluded that RHA should be used in replacement with OPC due to its level limits of 10%-40%.

Keywords: low-cost housing; affordable house; blended Portland cement; pre-experimental; snowball; rice husk ash; RHA; OPC; FACC; FACF; expected market prices; expected savings; income level.

DOI: 10.1504/IJBIR.2025.150765

International Journal of Business Innovation and Research, 2025 Vol.38 No.4, pp.460 - 470

Received: 10 Mar 2022
Accepted: 23 Oct 2022
Published online: 23 Dec 2025 *

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