Gulf Construction Online - Qanbar Dywidag on expansion path

Makkah & Madinah

Adel Gad ... optimistic of business prospects in Makkah and Madinah.

Qanbar Dywidag on expansion path

01 December 2004

Qanbar Dywidag Precast Concrete Company Limited (QDC) with its long experience in the precast industry, is keen on expanding in the Western Province with a view to serving the booming construction market of Makkah and Madinah, in the wake of the mega expansion plans under way in the holy cities.

“With the expansion plans for the Grand Mosque and massive construction projects being launched by the private sector, the construction market is huge in Makkah,” says Adel Gad, the general manager of the company. “These developments are being built to cater to the growing number of pilgrims that visit these holy cities and the increasing population of the region. The Jabal Omar project, for example, is like building a mini-city.
“As one of the leading manufacturers of precast concrete in Saudi Arabia, we believe that Qanbar Dywidag is well placed to participate and to be honoured in these projects, as we are competitive in terms of cost as well as our high quality.”
Established since 1981, QDC has pioneered the manufacture of several products in the region, he says. It has undertaken projects for several mosques in the Eastern Province and therefore can provide excellent designs based on Islamic architecture, which would be highly suited to the needs of the cities, he points out.
Spearheaded by its owner and CEO Mohammed Al Ansari, QDC is also developing new products that are targeted specifically for the Gulf region.
Other advantages of precast concrete are that it reduces dependence on large numbers of skilled workers on site and speeds up the construction process, according to Gad, who joined QDC a year ago, bringing with him 25 years of precast concrete experience gained in overseas markets including Europe.
Gad explains: “The construction industry is hard-pressed to find workers with the required experience and expertise, given the restrictions in recruiting manpower. By using precast concrete, contractors can reduce the numbers of workers they require on site and also reduce the overall project schedule, enabling early handover of the project. “Hollowcore and double tee slabs, for example, can be installed very easily and fast on site – some 250 to 300 sq m of these slabs can be insalled per day. There is no need for formwork or props and it enables other trades to go in and start their work on the floor below.”
This early handover of the projects, in turn, translates into benefits for the owners who can put their developments on the market much ahead of their competitors that have built using traditional in-situ construction techniques, says Gad.
In addition, hollow core is lighter than in-situ concrete and thus reduces the structural weight on the foundations.
QDC has numerous projects in hand including housing compounds, villas, mosques, malls, office buildings and hospitals. It is currently working on one of the largest malls in the Eastern Province – the Dammam Mall – which is in the finishing stages. For the project, QDC has supplied all the hollow-core slabs and external cladding panels, which have a high quality finish as it incorporates marble chips, he says.
The precast manufacturer is also close to completing work on a major housing complex in Al Khobar. The Al Ansari compound, which is due for completion within one month, is using QDC’s products in a big way – the 50 high-class villas, four apartment blocks and the various buildings on site, including the service buildings and recreation building, are built of QDC’s full building frame system, while the boundary wall is of precast concrete. The panels used for the buildings are of coloured concrete with a sandblasted finish.
“Our thermal-insulated precast concrete wall panels and cladding systems can help reduce electricity costs up to 40 per cent,” he says.
Apart from these developments, QDC has several other projects under way including: King Faisal University Campus in Al Hasa and Dammam; the 274-villa Sabic Housing Compound in Jubail; Al Dabbal Commercial Tower in Dammam and its housing compound; Arabian Drilling Company Complex, comprising of offices and residential units in Al Khobar; industrial facilities for Sabic affiliates; large private housing projects; and various shopping malls.
To keep pace with the growing demand in the region and in Saudi Arabia in particular, the company is planning an expansion of its precast factory and the production of glass reinforced concrete (GRC) products in the near future.
Located in the industrial city of Jubail, QDC has an annual production capacity of 180,000 cu m of various precast products. With its highly dedicated, qualified and skilled workforce, the company is growing year on year.
QDC is a partnership between Saudi businessman Shaikh Abdul Razzak Mohammed Qanbar Al Ansari and one of the largest West German general contractors and precast concrete manufacturer Dycherhoff and Widmann (Dywidag), QDC was bought over by Al Ansari Group in 2002. Since then, Dywidag has continued to provide technical support to the firm.
QDC provides a comprehensive range of products, serving as a one stop-shop for all precast and prestressed concrete requirement, right from standard precast concrete elements and products such as paving and interlocking tiles, manholes, seating, to external claddings panels, hollowcore slabs, double-tee slabs, and precast domes, prestressed long spans girders, wall frame, beams and columns frame and boundary walls.
Some of the company’s prominent customers include: Saudi Aramco, Saudi Electric Company (SCECO) Saudi Basic Industries Corporation (Sabic), Royal Commission for Jubail and Yanbu, Saudi Arabian National Guard, Ministry of Health, Ministry of Education and the Ministry of Defence.