Dubai: A new record could be in the making in the UAE’s construction sector for the longest continuous pouring of concrete — taking up all of 42 hours — at a project site in Dubai. In all, more than 20,000 cubic metres of concrete was deployed with 600 workers undertaking the job in three shifts.
This was done as part of the Dh450 million contract for Geepas Tower being developed by Western International in Al Barsha. Gulf Asia Contracting (GAC), part of the RP Group, undertook the concrete pouring.
GAC was supported in the concrete delivery by Unibeton Ready Mix, which supplied more than 300 transit mixers that made more than 2,500 trips from three plants to deliver the concrete required. The raft for the building was so big that it saves the piling cost and time.
“In consultation with the owners and partners, we decided to use concrete for its convenience in casting heavily reinforced sections and for complex shapes of formwork,” said Sreekanth Ramachandran, Manager — Projects at GAC. “With a built-up area of 1.5 million square feet, the Geepas Tower is another of the major undertakings by GAC in the UAE.”
GAC has a sizeable portfolio in the UAE, including projects such a nine-tower cluster in Ajman and the Ajman Corniche Residences. It also won the contract for a five-star hotel in Dubai Marina to be operated by Crowne Plaza. Another contract was for RP Heights, a tower featuring 268 luxury apartments.
GAC is also carrying out projects for Adnoc and recently was awarded two major petrol stations of Adnoc Distribution on a new road connecting Abu Dhabi to Dubai.
