Gulf Construction Online - Business shapes up well for Paschal

Bahrain Review

Paschal modular formwork employed on a Dubai project.

Business shapes up well for Paschal

01 January 2013

It has been business as usual for Bahrain-based Paschal Concrete Forms Company despite the current political scenario in Bahrain, where its efficient formwork systems continue to help shape a diverse range of projects in the country, right from luxury villas, hotels, malls and hospitals to factory facilities and sewage treatment plants.

Its modular formwork systems are currently being used to speed up construction of at least two towers that are now distinct on the horizon at the prestigious Bahrain Bay, a prime waterfront development in the heart of Manama. These include the Wyndham Grand Manama and the Al Baraka Group (ABG) towers.

For the Wyndham Grand Manama – housed in the Cooperation Investment House (CIH) tower – Paschal systems helped the contractor on the project Ahmed Qaed Contractors tackle the challenges faced in the construction of the four-level basement which was excavated to a depth of 17 m.

“So for the first time in Bahrain, Paschal supplied its modular formwork with special supporting jacks for casting 4-m-deep lift pit and 260 m of single-side retaining walls for each basement. In addition, Paschal formwork was used for the construction of core walls, columns, lift shafts, shear wall and ramp,” says Amir Delghandi, the general director of Paschal Concrete Forms, the regional office of Germany-based Paschal Werk.

The CIH tower at Bahrain Bay has currently reached the 29th level.

Meanwhile, work on the ABG tower has been completed where Arabtec-Musawi hired Paschal’s formwork systems including single side formwork with supporting jacks for construction of the basement retaining walls and columns of the tower.

The Wyndham Grand Manama ... first in Bahrain to use Paschal's modular formwork with special supporting jacks.

Another leading contractor Almoayyed Contracting is now using Paschal systems in the construction of pile caps for the new Muharraq Mall being developed by Seef Mall Properties opposite Arad Fort. The BD18.7-million ($49.6 million) project, which is scheduled to open by the third quarter of 2014, will have a total leasable area of 30,000 sq m spread over two levels and on-grade parking.

Also in Muharraq, Paschal formwork systems are being used in the construction of a major sewage treatment plant (STP) and sewer conveyance system, by two contractors working on the project: GP Zachariades and Poullaides Construction Company. The bulk of the work is being carried out by GP Zachariades, which used the modular formwork for the construction reinforced concrete (RC) walls of various structures. Poullaides Construction is currently using Paschal systems for the construction of RC walls, columns and beams on the project.

Poullaides Construction is also using these systems in the construction of columns of the 4,000-sq-m Eagle Eye manufacturing facility and warehouse in Bahrain International Investment Park in Hidd.

Paschal modular formwork systems are also being used in the construction of yet another waste water treatment facility in Tubli. The plant’s secondary waste water treatment is being upgraded with Bluewater Bio International’s proprietary Hybacs treatment process, which will treat the excessive load, allowing the existing plant to return to operation within its original design parameters. The project is designed to dramatically improve the environment and ecology in the Tubli Bay area. Atlas Transport, Contracting and Mechanical Services is using Paschal formwork for the construction of the aeration tank partition wall, which has a height of 3.5 m; and the Hybacs sludge pumping station, which has a 3.75 m RC wall of the secondary treatment plant.

Among other projects, work has just started on a multi-storey residential building in Juffair, where the contractor Kooheji Contractors will use Paschal’s modular system for the construction of columns and core walls of the tower. Meanwhile, at the Royal Maternity hospital in Riffa, the company’s system with polygonal filler posts are being used for the construction of the 4.75-m-high basement retaining walls that have a slight curvature. Paschal formwork is also being used in the construction of two luxury villa projects at Amwaj islands.

Paschal provides world-class formwork products and services to civil contractors for the construction of concrete structures involving any degree of complexity.

Paschal-Werk G Maier, founded in 1964, is an international company specialising in concrete shuttering, propping systems and formwork engineering software. The group, with 47 years of experience in this sector, is represented in more than 60 countries where it provides comprehensive services in the field of concrete building, from development to production of rugged, heavy-duty shuttering and reinforcement solutions including global marketing and dependable customer service.

Paschal’s product range comprises systems for modern wall and ceiling formworks, special shuttering, climbing formwork and scaffolding decks, load-bearing scaffolds and propping.

Paschal stepped into the Bahrain market in 1983 when it made the first ever delivery of its formwork to the country. Following this order, Paschal Werk served several other prestigious projects in Bahrain and neighbouring countries. Due to the growing demand for formwork in the region, Paschal Concrete Forms was established in 1998 in Bahrain, followed by branch offices in Dubai and later in Abu Dhabi, which serve the local market directly.

Paschal Concrete Forms moved into its purpose-built premises in June 2010 at the Bahrain International Investment Park (BIIP) in Hidd. This facility, which covers an area of 5,600 sq m, was built to enable the company to meet demand for formwork in Bahrain and provide an enhanced service to customers in the region.