PREFABRICATED CONSTRUCTION OF RESIDENTIAL BUILDINGS TOWARDS CIRCULAR ECONOMY IN KAZAKHSTAN

Abstract

Modular construction (MC) is becoming a suitable alternative to traditional construction due to its sustainable features that align with the circular economy principles. The faster construction process, reduced amount of waste, reduced resource consumption, etc. have attracted the attention of many countries to pursue and adopt this way of construction. However, many developing countries still struggle to cope with this aim, and Kazakhstan is not an exception. This thesis aims to identify and evaluate the potential drivers, challenges, and implementation strategies for modular construction adoption in Kazakhstan. It also analyzes the alignment of MC with the main circular economy principles. Based on the research findings, the study seeks to identify the relationships between the driving forces, challenges, and strategies to develop future recommendations for stakeholders for MC adoption. Qualitative research methods were used to gather the opinions of professionals via a questionnaire survey. Descriptive statistics were applied to verify the validity and reliability of the results, and PLS-SEM analysis was performed to highlight the latent relationships between the constructs. As a result, the most significant drivers, challenges, strategies, and circular economy factors associated with the MC were found and these contributed to the existing literature. The results have shown that there is a crucial need to raise the awareness of stakeholders and other relevant parties about the features and methods of MC. On the other hand, the research findings indicate that the knowledge of professionals about circular economy and its principles is very low, which implies that increasing general awareness is one of the key strategies to develop CE in Kazakhstan. Additionally, certain recommendations for the adoption of MC in Kazakhstan have been prepared based on the findings and results of the analysis. Considering some limitations of the study, recommendations for future research directions were also suggested.