Authorities in Mexico City will begin erecting new, earthquake-resistant houses within two weeks.
Mayor Miguel Ángel Mancera announced yesterday that the 35 to 45-square-meter buildings, which can be erected in just two days, are intended for rural areas of the city. Construction will begin soon on 80 in Santa Rosa Xochiac in the borough of Álvaro Obregón, where 100 homes are required.
The houses, designed to last 80 years, will be built from wood and galvanized steel and will come with a living room, dining room, kitchen, bathroom and two bedrooms.
Three different home designs were created by architects and engineers from the National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM), Anáhuac University, the National Polytechnic Institute (IPN) and the the Institute of Technology and Higher Studies of Monterrey (ITESM).
One of the designs can be enlarged to up to three stories.
The city administration expects to build 150 of the homes in Álvaro Obregón in the first stage of the project.
Mancera said they might also be built in the boroughs of Xochimilco, Tláhuac, Cuajimalpa and Iztapalapa.
Prices vary from 250,000 to 280,000 pesos (US $13,700 to $15,400), which the city government will pay in full through a fund that will draw on resources from the city and the borough, private enterprise, civil society and the federal natural disaster relief fund.
To obtain a house, homeowners need to have a structural damage certificate issued by the local Civil Protection office. Through a follow-up socioeconomic study, homeowners will be able to obtain discounts on the purchase of furniture.
Source: Mexico News Daily