In continuation of the report Manufactur3D published in August 2022, about the construction of a 3D printed post office at Cambridge Layout in Halasuru, the work has commenced and has made substantial progress.
Larsen & Toubro, one of India’s largest construction companies, is building the post office with the help of COBOD‘s BOD2 construction 3D printer.
India’s First 3D Printed Post Office
Bengaluru will soon be home to India’s first 3D printed post office. One of the city’s residents took photos of the construction site and shared them on Twitter.
According to S Rajendra Kumar, chief postmaster-general of the Karnataka circle, “The Ulsoor Bazaar post office is being relocated to Cambridge Layout with the aim of reducing the cost. The 1,100 sq. ft. building is expected to cost 30-40 per cent less than conventional buildings because of the technological intervention. The post office is being built at a cost of Rs 23 lakh.”
According to statement given by Kumar to Indian Express, “Primarily, we are looking at building post offices with low-cost construction options using 3D printing technology. We feel this is the technology for the future, which may trigger interest in low-cost housing, which is our secondary interest. While the basic structure is expected to be finished in 15 days, the construction of the whole building will take about a month. However, we have not asked the builders to rush the construction so that they come out with the desirable output.”
The state postal department is also considering building post offices in 400 locations where postal services are currently unavailable. “We are gaining experience with the current project using 3D printing technology. I will submit a report to the headquarters and later we will come out with a standard output. We may go for the construction of other post office buildings based on the report,” added Kumar.
The department has also hired a technical expert from IIT-Madras to supervise the building’s construction. With this Kumar concluded by saying, “I think technological interventions in the postal department can help trigger the Startup ecosystem to come up with such projects.”
