3 benefits of building with shipping (trailer) containers in Kenya.

shipping container fabrication

We are all familiar with container stalls around our major cities and towns. Popular examples are the One Acre Fund merchant shops and the famous shipping container getaway home in Kajiado. 

About 82% of all commercial and residential properties are constructed with brick and mortar. However, the high cost of inflation and the high demand in the real estate market is denying ordinary Kenyans a chance to own or lease conventional brick-and-mortar properties.

Affordable building and construction technologies have been a popular topic in the country in the last several years because the government has been keen on implementing affordable housing initiatives for its citizens.

One of the few exciting technologies that have penetrated the construction market is the use of shipping containers to construct residential and commercial projects. 

Shipping containers are readily available as a building material

Kenya is the trade gateway to greater Eastern Africa and many internationally traded goods are shipped and delivered using shipping containers (also sometimes called trailer containers.) This means that as a material for construction, Kenya (and East Africa in general) is uniquely advantaged to unitize the readily available shipping containers for construction.

Mauru Containers Limited has been championing the shipping containers revolution in Kenya for the past ten years as an alternative to conventional brick and mortar. As we celebrate our anniversary, here are some of the benefits our clients have experienced by having their projects constructed with shipping containers.

Building with shipping containers is relatively affordable.

When doing a cost analysis for constructing a project with shipping containers versus using brick and mortar, using shipping containers is significantly more economical. 

In Kenya, it may set you back anywhere between 2.8 million and 7 million shillings depending on location, land rates, and the project manager, to construct a 3-bedroom family home. Most of the cost will be attributed to permits, creating the foundation for the house, payment of workers, and finishing.

Comparatively, shipping container structures are still considered by the Kenyan government as temporary structures. They are not met with the-sometimes-impossible legal scrutiny of brick-and-mortar structures. 

So fewer permits, if any, are required. Shipping container structures have almost zero foundation costs. However, the site where the structure has to rest on has to be leveled for proper installation. But, for the most part, this process is inexpensive and can be completed in a few hours. 

A standard 3-bedroom shipping container home requires about half the number of construction workers. These are skilled workers and they deal with welding, insulation, and tiling. Shipping container structures are modular. This means the foundation, structural support, and roofing are part of the container itself. 

As a client, you will just choose your design and the desired finishing of your project. Very little is done to manipulate the structural integrity of the shipping container unless the project requested by the client is complex and might require additional support. 

Putting all this into context, a 3-bedroom shipping container family home is definitely more affordable. At Mauru Containers Limited, it will cost about 1.8 million shillings on the low end and prices can go up to 5 million shillings depending on the client’s project request. 

Our clients can typically save anywhere between eight hundred thousand and 1.8 million shillings per project.

But (and this is a particularly strong but) kindly be advised that land rates and ownership of land have not been factored in the computation of these numbers. All our clients own or have rights of usage to the land where their structures are installed.

Building with shipping containers takes less time

In principle, shipping container structures are constructed by first placing several containers together in a design requested by a client. Interior and exterior fabrication is done, and finally the finishing. 

Time-consuming construction practices like laying the foundation and cement curing almost don’t apply when constructing with shipping containers. This dramatically cuts down the time for constructing using shipping containers. 

At Mauru Containers Limited, it will take about 3 weeks from project inception and design to handing over the project to the client for a standard 3-bedroom family home. Smaller projects like one-bedroom houses and stalls take a maximum of a week.

Shipping containers are reusable and portable

Just like a traditional brick-and-mortar home, shipping container homes also last a lifetime. However, shipping container construction edges out brick and mortar in its lifetime reusability. 

Shipping containers can be recycled into new projects almost infinitely. We have clients who had offsite shipping container offices and requested a redesign or a change in their structures to completely new projects like absolution blocks or container stalls. 

Commercial units like container stalls call easily be joined to create bigger stalls or even fabricated to become container malls

shipping container mall in kenya

Shipping container structures are also easy to move around. All structures can be fragmented back to individual shipping containers and trucked away to another desired location. Similarly, as per a client’s request, some projects are constructed in our yard in Pipeline, Nairobi, then transported to the desired location.

Of course, there are other benefits to constructing with shipping containers, but these are usually further down the list for our East African clients. They include:

• Customization options are only limited by the client’s imagination.

• Shipping containers are environmentally friendly.

• General ease of construction.

• Lifetime usability - the ability to withstand corrosion and tough weather conditions. A properly fabricated shipping container structure is rust-resistant and leak-proof.

Well, are you now convinced about doing a construction project with shipping containers? Do need some general creative ideas? If the answer is ‘yes’ and ‘yes’ read our blog post on some creative ways Kenyans utilize shipping containers. Don’t hesitate to contact them when you are ready or have any questions or inquiries.

Mauru Containers Limited is the leading container fabrication company in Kenya (and East Africa) They sell, hire and fabricate shipping containers to our client's desires. Their workshop is located in Pipeline, Nairobi.


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