By Lehlohonolo Lehana.
Human Settlements Minister Thembi Simelane has announced that the upcoming Innovative Building Technologies (IBT) Summit, will help state’s response to housing shortages, unsafe dwellings and disaster-related displacement.
The two-day summit, scheduled to take place from 3 to 4 February 2026, at Nasrec Expo Centre in Johannesburg.
The summit will be held, under the theme ‘Mainstreaming Innovative Building Technologies for Sustainable Human Settlements’, which will provide a national platform for government, industry and civil society to explore and assess scalable construction solutions that support the delivery of dignified housing and the eradication of the more than 4 700 informal settlements and mud house settlements across the country.
“The summit will be a national platform dedicated to advancing and showcasing innovative, sustainable and scalable construction solutions that support the delivery of dignified houses, the eradication of informal settlements and mud houses. It will also strengthen our capacity to respond to housing emergencies stemming from disasters,” Simelane said.
The summit forms part of broader strategic interventions aimed at addressing South Africa’s persistent housing challenges, including backlogs, the continued prevalence of informal settlements and the vulnerability of mud houses in rural and disaster-prone provinces.
Simelane stated that extreme weather events, including floods and droughts, regularly displaced communities and damaged housing infrastructure, as well as schools, hospitals, clinics and roads.
Rapid urbanisation and population growth would also require new approaches to housing delivery that were faster, safer and more cost-effective, environment-friendly and climate resilient, she explained.
The summit seeks to identify solutions to these problems that can be deployed at scale, bringing together government spheres, industry leaders, developers, investors, professionals in the built environment and research institutions.
A key focus of the summit would be role of IBTs in accelerating housing delivery while maintaining quality, safety and regulatory compliance. Simelane emphasised that the department’s Eric Molobi Housing Innovation Hub had been testing technologies including modular and prefabricated construction systems, alternative and locally produced building materials, climate-resilient designs, green energy solutions and smart construction methods that reduced construction time and costs.
“The continued existence of mud houses, particularly in rural provinces, remains a critical concern.
These structures are often highly vulnerable to extreme weather conditions, including heavy rains and flooding, posing serious risks to the safety and wellbeing of occupants.
Through the summit, the DHS aims to promote IBTs that offer durable, affordable alternatives that can be rolled out rapidly, while supporting local manufacturing, skills development and ultimately us participating in the second priority of the seventh administration, which is ensuring that we create jobs,” Simelane said.
The summit would also address the on-site upgrading of informal settlements, seeking alternatives for communities that had settled in areas unsuitable for formal housing or where relocation was difficult. Simelane explained that government aimed to reduce congestion, introduce permanent housing solutions and improve the quality of human settlements without displacing residents unnecessarily.
She said summit attendance had been confirmed by 505 delegates so far from 43 departments, with 30 exhibitors presenting IBT solutions. Simelane said the DHS expected the summit to transition from discussion to actionable projects, ensuring that allocations for IBT projects were budgeted at the start of the next financial year.