Managing The Housing Supply Process’s Failure in Ethiopia's Urban Transition Process: The 3d Construction Printing Tecnology Enabling Gap in Addis Ababa
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Date
2025-06-01
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Addis Ababa University
Abstract
Addis Ababa, as the political and economic heart of Ethiopia, is undergoing a rapid urban transition characterized by increasing rural-to-urban migration and growing demand for housing. However, the city continues to face a critical failure in managing its housing supply process one largely attributed to a significant technology gap in the planning, execution, and governance mechanisms.This research is aimed at investigation of the construction technologies used in the housing supply system in Ethiopia and the extent to which the 3D construction printing technology is enabled to reduce the systems gaps. Urban housing supply failure is a global phenomenon which has affected close to 1billion people across the world. One of the instruments by which efforts are made to manage the failure is the application of improved construction technologies such as the robotic 3D construction printing technologies that use 3D printing as a core method to fabricate buildings or construction components. The literature indicates that the technology has the advantage of reducing construction cost and time and increasing design flexibility. Based on current growth rate the Ethiopian population is expected to double in the next 30 years and cross 210 million by 2060 indicating that the country will be in an ever more increasing pressure in the supply of affordable housing and in improving housing construction technologies. A case study approach of interview, extensive document review, and study of the existing construction technologies is done. In addition, review of the literature in order to investigate the preconditions for the transfer of the 3D construction printing technology is conducted.
Key Words: 3D construction, Construction technology, Housing supply, Urban Housing