Developers and construction companies coming under increasing pressure from soaring building costs in the UAE are looking to new technologies available to cut cement usage and make big savings on concrete.
In June, the UAE Ministry of Economy fixed the cost of cement at US$80 (AED295) per tonne. However, construction firms are still faced with the ever rising cost of cement with some recent reports suggesting distributors are charging 15% higher than the government cap, around US$95 – $US100 per tonne.
Warning that construction firms not keeping up to speed with technology will fall behind in the market, UK-based ready-mix concrete specialists Hydronix will give a show debut at the Big 5, ahead of its market release next year, to its new Hydro-Probe Orbiter – which cuts pre-cast concrete production time considerably.
“Usually, a ready-mix concrete producer will over-cement to compensate for water in the fine aggregates that was not taken into account when calculating the water cement ratio,” said David Serra, international sales manager, Hydronix. “Our moisture measurement eliminates this problem. Customers report pay back periods in a matter of months.”
“The rising costs of materials are making developers, contractors and producers more aware of their processes and procedures, and this will in turn increase cost-effectiveness in our industry. The industry can sometimes be quite slow in adopting new technologies, but as costs increase, the differences between those who keep up with the latest technology, and those who don’t, will grow” he said.