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Saudi Arabia and Qatar present specific challenges for piling and foundation contractors. CW takes a look at issue such as soil conditions and construction challenges
One of the latest players in the competitive piling and foundation sector is RIC Middle East. “Having experience in earthworks and soil improvement in the UAE, RIC Middle East identified a need to provide a scalable and cost-effective means of soil improvement,” said director Domenico Venuti.
The inherent flexibility of this method allows related construction trades to follow closely, thereby speeding up the entire construction process. This has a significant impact on the total overall project cost. Rapid impact compaction (RIC) functions by ‘pushing’ a patented-design footing into the ground in order to achieve effective compaction.
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“Currently 9t and 12t drop weights are available, with manufacturers researching larger 16t drop weights,” explained Venuti. “This method also uses shorter drop heights, but higher repetitions, of a falling weight to achieve compaction.
“The main benefits compared to traditional methods are faster mobilisation, effective soil improvement inclusive of high silt content and compaction on slopes,” says Venuti.
While this is a relatively new technology in the Middle East, it has been applied with resounding success in North America and Europe. “The RIC method improves soil stiffness in gravels, sands and silty conditions. We have also had a good degree of success in improving localised clay/silt materials within sands.”
Despite the problems perceived by local contractors, the sector remains attractive to international players looking to establish a foothold in the Middle East. One such company is Uretek UK, which sees “great potential for our products in the Middle East and is actively targeting the region,” said marketing manager Cora Bengolea.
“Uretek UK is continuing to do well during the economic downturn, and has actually achieved its highest monthly turnover during this period. The downturn has affected new construction more than the remedial sector.
“It may have actually benefitted Uretek in that there is an increased tendency to try to conserve buildings rather than rebuild something new, added Bengolea. Uretek is not involved in new construction, which is the sector hit worst by the downturn.
“Our PowerPiles are designed for ground improvement and remedial repairs. We are continuing to grow, albeit at a slightly slower rate than before. We were already looking to expand into the Middle East market before the recent recession,” noted Bengolea. Now is obviously the ideal opportunity to do so.
“The particular challenges presented by the sandy soil conditions in the Middle East fit in neatly with the benefits provided by our system, which is ideal for granular soils. This is why we are targeting the area, as we believe we have a lot of advantages to offer those countries in helping them solve the particular problems they are encountering in their remedial building, road and airport sectors,” said Bengolea.
“Uretek systems are fast, clean and reliable. There are no excavations and therefore less risk attached. It is possible to put forward very cost-effective proposals due to the saving in time and labour costs.
One of the major benefits of appeal to clients is that their business operations can usually continue during a Uretek repair, and this represents a huge cost-saving for them.” Where chemical companies and others supplying finishing products can see steady sales as buildings near completion, even in Dubai, those undertaking the initial site preparation and piling need a steady stream of new projects.
Smaller margins, and a limited growth in the knowledge of this specialist area among clients and consultants, create a tough market for those in the sector. Some have expanded from piling work needed on towers to also focusing on bridge work, which creates additional challenges along with new revenue streams.
“There is an added challenge of doing foundation work for bridges as you are doing just a few piles under each column and then you have to move to the next,” said Eng. Ramazan, technical manager at Zetas Foundation in Dubai.
“So there is a big mobilisation challenge where you have to keep moving every two to three days; also this is more difficult if you are working on a highway. There is often a big distance between the columns. So this means that you are not as efficient.”
Ramazan added that there are many piling contractors in the UAE looking for work, and clients will often pick the lowest price offering regardless of the level of certification. Those that rent equipment often undertake jobs at a loss to get some use out of their machines.
Both RIC and Zetas state they have offices in Qatar to add to their UAE bases, but neither has seen the real boom in new projects expected in the country. Matraji said there is a Catch-22 situation in Saudi Arabia, where a lot of major projects are taking place at the moment, where companies often need a fixed local address to gain work despite the usual prerequisite of local work before expenditure on a new office.
Despite huge construction activity in the capital, Riyadh – including a 50-tower financial district – the hard rock bed underfoot means that traditional piling techniques are largely redundant. Iconic structures such as the Faisaliah Tower and the Kingdom Centre did not require piles – and neither does the CMA Tower, the tallest building in the city when complete.
One company that has succeeded in Saudi Arabia is Kasktas Arabia. The Saudi arm of the Turkey-based Kasktas, the company has been active in Jeddah since 1981, opening an office two years later. The company has already benefited from the burgeoning tower projects along the city’s Corniche, with decent income deriving from the vital dewatering services required on shallow land. Lamar Tower and Al Jawharah Tower are two current projects that have employed Kasktas’s services.
“Along the Corniche, not far down, is coral, and there are pockets of water collected,” said GM Serkan Demirel. “This makes dewatering a vital issue. If you look at the old towers near the coast, there have no basements; people were too scared to make them. The Lamar Tower is perhaps the first project that really ‘broke ground’ in this way.”
Demirel seems to have had greater success with clients broadening their perspectives about foundation work and engaging in new ideas. This is likely due to the huge commercial potential of tower building in the traditionally low-level Jeddah, which must use the best foundation and dewatering systems. Though the company’s main base is in the city, it also carries out projects in Makkah and Madinah, as well as in the northern industrial cities such as Dammam and Yanbu.
“We have not seen a lot of new, ongoing projects, but we have noticed in the tendering documents that clients are not just including piling, but also that the designers have taken lessons from us, and are including the dewatering issue. This is something that in the past needed to be explained, though people understand more now.” He said that this growing awareness has meant clients are setting aside a greater budget for foundation work.
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