Gulf Construction Online - Paschal wins major government project

Kuwait

Paschal panels in use for the new headquarters.

Paschal wins major government project

01 December 2001

Paschal systems have made a dramatic entry into the Kuwait market with the formwork having been selected for use on a major government project, according to the German manufacturer's main Middle East branch and stockist.

''Al Bab Al Kuwaiti General Trading and Contracting Establishment, the subcontractor for civil works, is using Paschal modular panels for the construction of the new headquarters for the Public Authority for Industry,'' says Ali Al Aswad, civil engineer with the Bahrain-based Paschal Concrete Forms Company.

The main contractor is Al Ghanim International and the consultant is Al Dowailah Consultants.

The project, being built at a cost of KD6.3 million ($22 million) has five storeys and three basement levels, offering a total built-up space of 57,600 sq m.

The project is due for completion by mid-2003.

Work is currently under way on the second basement level, with the lowest level having already been completed. Work on the lowest basement level involved construction of 360 linear m of walls, 2.8 m in height, 150 columns and eight shafts.

Aswad estimates that the Paschal formwork system has helped reduce the construction time for the lower basement by 30 per cent and he expects this to have risen to 40 per cent in the construction of the second basement level as the workers become increasingly more accustomed to using the system.

Mohammed Al Azmi, managing director of Al Bab, says he witnessed the versatility of the Paschal formwork system first hand when he visited bauma 2001 in March this year. The international trade fair for construction machinery, building materials machines and equipment was held in Munich, Germany, last April.

Commenting on why his company made the decision to purchase Paschal systems, he says: "Besides the quality of the system, Paschal has given us all the technical support and backing we require. The company organised a demonstration of the system on the site and also held a training session for our workforce to enable them to use the system with confidence."

As a first-time user of the system, Mohamed Jawad, the project engineer, he encountered no difficulties with the system as his labourers were required to use only a keybolt and hammer when erecting the system.

"The consultant accepted the first sample we concreted using the system and commented on the high quality of the finishing," he continues.

"The results we have achieved with the system have been excellent and we recommend consultants and construction engineers to visit the site to witness the quality afforded by the system,'' he adds.

Aswad points out that everyone on site - including the contractors team and the consulting engineers - was surprised with ease and speed of installation of the Paschal system. The modular panels can be used to shape virtually any dimensions or angles, he says.

"They are very strong and durable and can be reused hundreds of times because of the quality of the steel frames and of the Finnish birch plywood surfaces,'' says Aswad.

Other advantages of the system are that it affords easy and quick erection, is low on maintenance costs and is time-saving, he points out.

Paschal Concrete Forms began exploring the Kuwait market in July this year and Al Bab Al Kuwait was its first client. Al Bab will soon be using its Paschal formwork systems for the construction of its new project, the Civil Service Bureau building, work on which is due to start next March.

''Paschal Concrete Forms offers technical back-up with site visits and shop-drawings and can easily incorporate any design changes required for a structure," Aswad says.

Buoyed by the quick acceptance the system has received in Kuwait, Paschal is looking forward to offer its formwork for all the upcoming projects in the country.