Gulf Construction Online - YTong will set up $27m factory

Regional News

YTong will set up $27m factory

01 December 2001

One of Europe's leading building materials maker, YTong, is setting up a Dh100 million ($27 million) factory in Abu Dhabi in association with local promoters, a report said.

The factory is to be built in Abu Dhabi's Mussafah Industrial Area to manufacture autoclaved aerated concrete (AAC) blocks and panels which are said to provide enormous savings in energy costs.

Construction work will start in early 2002.

YTong Emirates, promoted by the newly set up Bina Group, led by Shaikh Nahyan bin Hamdan Al Nahyan, has secured certification from the General Industries Corporation, the Gulf News reported.

The factory will have an output of 160,000 cu m per year rising to 270,000 cu m from the second year. Some 70 per cent of the production will be panels and 30 per cent blocks.

"It is a strategic material for the future because buildings constructed with such material can save 50 per cent in terms of air-conditioning costs. The material used for producing panels and blocks protects the building from heat," said Bina Group general manager Saud Abdul Karim.

YTong Germany and YTong Turkey will be involved in the construction of the factory. Production will start in the latter half of 2003 with the raw material to be imported from Turkey.

The construction material provides heat insulation, is non-flammable and light in weight. It also speed up construction by some 50-70 per cent, as there will be no curing time, he said.