2.3. Costs
The costs of MMC should be comparable with the prevailing methods of construction in Iran.
Higher costs of MMC products are a major barrier to broader applications of MMC in both Iran
and the UK. The average cost of MMC in the UK is currently 8-15% more than traditional methods
(CABE 2004) and it has been estimated that such materials and products could be up to four times
more expensive in Iran than in other countries (ICC 2005). Nevertheless, some examples in the UK,
such as Design for Manufacture (DfM) 60K house competition in 2005, prove that MMC can produce affordable, high quality, sustainable houses (English Partnerships 2006; HCA 2010).
Transportation distances are also one of the barriers towards broader application of MMC in the
UK since well-established factories are situated in the north of England while the demand is in the
south (Bagenholm et al. 2001). This is also an important issue in Iran since Iran is a vast country and
transportation can considerably increase the costs. Recent increases on fuel costs in both Iran and
the UK make this issue more important. MMC factories should therefore be located around the
areas where the current and future demands are concentrated. It is vital to avoid unnecessarily
long transport of materials/products, which increase costs and CO2 emissions of MMC.
Meanwhile, construction material and labour costs are much less in Iran than in the UK; however,
inflation is much higher (average of 21.5% in