Innovative Dome house builder seeks investor
A dome house built in Pottuvil by Mr. Duncan Wickramasinghe
Selling an idea, even one that is environment-friendly, low-cost and time-saving, is hard. Just ask Duncan Wickramasinghe, an inventor who has been trying doggedly for many years to get his Dome House project off the ground.
The idea: Build low-cost, eco-friendly, disaster-resistant houses which can be put up in two to three weeks. The cost of each house ranges from Rs. 550,000 for a one bedroom, 350 square feet house to Rs. 4.2 million for a two-storey, four-bedroom, 1,300 sq. ft house.
Low-cost and quick, so what is the problem? “I need a grant, loan or an investor to come in and back me. I need an initial sum of 10 million rupees to build a mould to construct the Dome House,” explains Mr. Wickramasinghe.
Herein lies the problem for the 69-year-old inventor. Investors are willing to back him, but they want up to 75 per cent equity in his company. Convincing banks to get a loan, or convincing the government to give him a grant to build his Dome houses has also hit a brick wall.
Fate has also been unkind to the Mattakuliya resident. A former partnership with Sripathi Sooriyaarachchi ended when the Gampaha district parliamentarian was killed in a car crash in February 2008. The moulds used at the time was not under the control of Mr. Wickramasinghe and have since rusted with dis-use. Many years ago, former President Ranasinghe Premadasa had also expressed interest, but he too was cut down in the prime of his life by the LTTE.
Mr. Wickramasinghe has to start all over again, but is finding it hard to get the financial support to kick-start the project.
“I have spoken to many investors but they all want a majority share of my company. I have a partnership with my two children, but all these outsiders want 60 to 75 per cent of the stake. How can I do that,” laments Mr. Wickramasinghe.
“I’m willing to give a 10 per cent stake for an initial investment of Rs. 10 million. I guarantee the ROI will be under 24 months, and that it will give a return of Rs. 2 million per month,” he adds.
In 1980, on a visit to Indonesia, Mr. Wickramasinghe went on a sightseeing trip to see a volcanic mountain. In the far-distance, he noted there were “several bubble-like houses” being built. Enquiries revealed that these were low-cost houses which would be disaster-proof to earthquakes and volcanoes.
“I was on a scholarship to Indonesia and my studies finished in the morning. In the afternoon I was free, so I went to this project and asked if I could work there. That is how I learned about building Dome houses and got the idea to do the same in my own country,” Mr. Wickramasinghe revealed.
Soon after he returned in 1982, he built his first Dome house, a boarding for 20 Singaporean engineers who were building the Karapitiya Hospital in Galle. Today it is a Bank of Ceylon branch.
A recent You Tube exposure has generated massive interest from the public with more than 220,000 people inquiring if he can build Dome houses for them. Each house comes with a 50-year guarantee and uses no timber or asbestos. Doors and windows are made from fibre glass, the design patented by Mr. Wickramasinghe.
“Each house requires only seven to 10 days to put up. We save between eight to 12 trees every time we build a house, use only 1/16th of river sand and 3/16th of rock stone used to build a conventional house. In addition, these Dome houses are disaster-resistant and can withstand wild elephant attacks,” Mr. Wickramasinghe pointed out.
Projections made by Mr. Wickramasinghe show that there is a potential to attract an order base of Rs. 700 billion. “We have over 72 per cent of our population in the low- and middle-income earner group, and almost one-third of them have their own piece of land. I have been getting, almost on a daily basis calls from women working in West Asia asking if I can build a house for them.”
The main attraction is it is cheap and is built quickly. A 500 sq. ft house will cost Rs. 550,000; 750 sq. ft/1.3 million; 850 sq. ft/2.3 million; 1,300 sq. ft/4.2 million.
“The average cost of building a Dome house (across all categories) comes to around two million rupees. I have got 300 orders which means around 600 million rupees. If I take a 50 per cent advance – some people are willing to pay the whole amount up-front – this will mean 300 million rupees. For this to materialise, I will need a number of moulds and around 40 million rupees. But right now, all I’m asking is for 10 million rupees so that I can get started,” Mr. Wickramasinghe said.
In January this year, the Ministry of Housing sent a letter to all Provincial Councils (signed by Secretary Bernard Wasantha) giving priority to Dome Houses as it was “eco-friendly, save forestry, rock stone, river sand, abstains from the use of asbestos and can withstand natural disasters”.
Mr. Wickramasinghe adds: “The letter said all the engineering institutions in the country have given approval, and since the houses were affordable and due to speed in construction, it serves the community who needs housing.”
But to-date, even armed with this letter, Mr. Wickramasinghe has been unable to unearth an investor.
| “Not enough,” says Wickramasinghe | |
| The government has come up short in supporting the low-cost Dome housing plan offered by Duncan Wickramasinghe with the Sri Lanka Inventors Commission (SLIC) unable to meet the financial requirements needed to kick-start the project. “I was offered two million rupees by the Sri Lanka Inventors Commission which is not enough to even make one mould,” Mr Wickramasinghe revealed this week. On Wednesday, the inventor had met SLIC Commissioner, Prof. Rangika Halwatura, at his office in Borella. Hopes of getting a grant of Rs. 10 million to begin his project was dashed. The SLIC functions under the purview of the Ministry of Science, Technology and Research. At an inventors’ conference held at the Sri Lanka Foundation Institute on May 19, Minister Sujeewa Senasinghe, had asked participants how they could market their inventions. “Most inventors have a problem trying to sell their idea, which is hardly the case for Dome houses. You just have to go to YouTube to see the demand. It is unfortunate that the government cannot give me a (proper) helping hand,” Mr. Wickramasinghe said. |