Andhra Pradesh Tests 3D Concrete Printing at Settlement Scale for Rural Housing
Rural Development Today | 5 October 2026 | Development Connects
Andhra Pradesh has become the site of a significant rural-housing technology experiment with the launch of a 177-house 3D concrete-printing pilot under PMAY-G. The project is being implemented at Burripalem and Obulnayudupalem in Guntur district at an estimated cost of about ₹14 crore.
At the same programme, the first instalment for 3 lakh PMAY-G 2.0 houses involving ₹3,600 crore was released for Andhra Pradesh. The pilot moves 3D concrete printing beyond a single demonstration building into a settlement-scale rural-housing test. The method uses digitally controlled machinery to place construction material layer by layer.
Government statements project faster construction, lower costs and increased durability, but these remain propositions to be tested rather than outcomes already established. The pilot can generate comparable data on unit cost, machine utilisation, material use, skilled-labour requirement, construction duration, structural quality, thermal performance and maintenance.
For rural housing, geography is another variable: technologies that work efficiently on a concentrated site may perform differently where houses are dispersed. If evaluated systematically, the 177-house pilot can provide evidence on where 3D concrete printing has practical value and where conventional construction remains more appropriate.
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