Displaying items by tag: construction

UK: Civil engineering joint venture Balfour Beatty Vinci has poured 1Mm³ of concrete in its on-going erection of structures for West Midlands sections of the HS2 Birmingham-London railway. Aggregate Industries, Cemex UK and Tarmac all supplied concrete for the works. Aggregate Industries’ concrete features in the Delta Junction interchange between HS2’s lines to Birmingham, London and Interchange Station in Solihull, outside Birmingham. The junction includes 13 viaducts across the valleys of the River Cole and River Tame. Meanwhile, Cemex UK’s concrete features in structures in Birmingham and Staffordshire and Tarmac’s concrete in structures in Birmingham and Warwickshire.

Altogether, HS2 railway structures in the West Midlands will require 1.9Mm3 of concrete, over 50% that of the entire project total, over a 90km stretch. 11 ready-mix batching plants serve the stretch, two of which are semi-battery-powered. Balfour Beatty Vinci and its suppliers have also made use of electric concrete mixer trucks for deliveries. They crossed the 1Mm³ milestone while building the 165m-long, four-track Chattle Hill railway bridge over the A446 road in Delta Junction. The bridge will use 10,200m³ of concrete.

Malaysia: Meta Bright Group subsidiary Expogaya Group has won a contract for the supply of concrete to developer Megamas Jaya. Megamas Jaya will use the concrete in its 88 Avenue Kepayan mixed-purpose development in Kota Kinabalu, Sabah. The producer reported the value of the contract as US$13.4m.

Meta Bright Group’s executive director of corporate and strategic planning, Derek Phang, said "As the largest ready-mix concrete supplier in the region, we are proud to contribute to the infrastructure growth that is vital to Sabah’s continued economic expansion."

Algeria: China Railway Construction Corporation (CRCC) and Cosider Travaux Publics have commissioned a new concrete railway sleeper plant in Tindouf. The Global Times newspaper has reported that the plant will supply the upcoming 575km-long Western Algeria Railway Mining Line project. The railway will conform to local European-based standards, while incorporating Chinese heavy-haul systems and materials.

General manager Xu Huaxiang said "This sleeper factory is the first standardised concrete sleeper plant built by a Chinese company in the Sahara."

US: C-Crete Technologies has poured its granite-based cement-free concrete in its first construction application at the upcoming JPMorgan Chase headquarters at 270 Park Avenue, Manhattan. Ecology, Environment and Conservation News has reported that the concrete generates no net CO₂ emissions by sequestering atmospheric CO₂ in its curing process. The concrete conforms to ASTM International standards, with a compressive strength exceeding 5000psi. Other partners on the project included engineering firm Severud Associates Consulting Engineers and construction management firm AECOM Tishman.

C-Crete Technologies president Rouzbeh Savary said "We are thrilled to introduce our new granite-based concrete at such a prestigious and iconic location. The building at 270 Park Avenue is set to become a landmark not only for its architectural grandeur, but also for its sustainable construction practices."

Severud Associates Consulting Engineers senior associate Fortunato Orlando said "The performance of C-Crete for concrete on metal deck, topping slabs, pavements and landscape work, coupled with its eco-friendly attributes, makes it a revolutionary product for the future of the construction industry."

AECOM Tishman chief operating officer John Kovacs said "Just a few years ago, constructing devoid of Portland cement and CO₂ emissions would have seemed unimaginable. And yet today, we stand as the world's first, setting new thresholds of what's possible in sustainable construction. We thank all of our partners on this project and look forward to the day when CO₂ emission-free construction is not simply an idea or a new innovation, but the industry standard across every build."

Saudi Arabia: Ready-mix concrete producer Asas Al-Mohileb has secured a contract with the development company for the upcoming Neom new city in Tabuk Province. Asas Al-Mohileb will build a US$186m, 20,000m³/yr ready-mix concrete production complex at the Neom site, to supply concrete for the Line commercial and residential development in the city. The ‘high-tech’ complex will begin to produce concrete in November 2024. When fully operational in 2025, it will employ 500 people.

Construction of foundations for the Line is currently underway, with 1000 of an eventual 30,000 precast concrete piles already in place.

Asas Al-Mohileb CEO Sulaiman Al-Mohileb said “This partnership emphasises our firm commitment to advancing economic growth in the Kingdom by employing the latest technologies and innovative construction solutions. We are dedicated to adopting sustainable practices that align with the goals of Saudi Vision 2030, which focus on empowering the manufacturing sector and enhancing its role in driving the Kingdom’s broader development objectives.”

Neom CEO Nadhmi Al-Nasr said “The delivery of these concrete plants is another testament to the rapid progress happening at Neom. It also underscores the strength of the kingdom’s construction industry, and the critical role local partnerships play in delivering this transformational project efficiently and sustainably. We are proud to partner with local contractors and appreciate their contribution to Neom’s advancement across our portfolio of projects, fulfilling Neom's goal of becoming a hub for local industry leaders and entrepreneurs in support of Saudi Vision 2030.”

Kenya: The Daily Nation newspaper has reported the value of contracts of various concrete pole suppliers to utilities provider Kenya Power. Bett Company, a subsidiary of China-based Zhai Yan Quan and Yang Yi, holds contracts worth US$1.49m, Line Enterprises holds contracts worth US$1.35m and Rai Cement holds contracts worth US$920,000.

Kenya Power is in the process of expanding its power supply network using concrete poles, with financial backing from the EU, European Investment Bank, French Development Agency and Japan International Cooperation Agency.

US: The city council of Dublin, California, has enacted the Low-Carbon Concrete Code, requiring a given reduction in CO₂ emissions of all ready-mix concrete used in public and private construction projects. Independent News has reported that suitable alternatives to conventional concrete are locally available and offer cost parity, according to the city council.

France: Circular aggregates producer Néolithe has partnered with Hoffmann Green Cement Technologies and Groupe GCC to produce a fuel loading slab for a temporary bus depot in Marseille. The slab will be made of Hoffmann Green Cement Technologies’ H-UKR clinker-free cement and Néolithe’s mixed circular materials-based Anthropocite aggregates. The resulting slab will serve as a test for the use of H-UKR concrete in future Groupe GCC projects.

The partners say that a mix of H-UKR cement with 20% Anthropocite reduces CO₂ emissions by 63% compared to CEM II/A cement-based concrete produced using conventional aggregates, to 62kg CO₂eq/m³.

Groupe GCC executive vice-president Patrick Dubourg said "This project perfectly illustrates one of GCC's key priorities: implementing sustainable solutions. The work we've been doing for several years with Hoffmann Green Cement Technologies enables us to take tangible action in this direction, and the partnership with Néolithe enables us to take a further step in the direction of decarbonisation, an essential issue for construction.”

Laurence Hemerit, infrastructure director at customer Marseille Metropolitan Transport Authority (RTM), said "RTM found GCC's proposal very interesting in that it enabled us to carry out a large-scale, long-term comparative test to assess the qualities of low-carbon concrete. Our temporary bus storage site was therefore the ideal candidate for this experiment."

Saudi Arabia: Al Kifah Ready Mix & Blocks has updated the market on its achievements in the sustainable concrete space in Saudi Arabia. The producer’s mixes include slag-based aggregates, as well as natural pozzolans and CO₂ injected using equipment developed by Canada-based CarbonCure. Gulf Construction News has reported that the company's range of ultra-low CO₂ ConGreen concrete products and BloGreen concrete blocks have supported projects including the Aramco Stadium project in Al Khobar, Qiddiya amusement park in Riyadh and King Salman Global Maritime Industries Complex in Jubail.

General Manager Nigel Harries said "Al Kifah Ready Mix & Blocks’ products have been widely adopted in mega and giga projects across the kingdom and have proved their high performance, thus strengthening the company’s position in the Saudi market. Al Kifah’s green solutions have unique properties that facilitate tasks on the job site through their better workability and finishability. They can be considered an all-in-one solution, offering zero wastage, zero mobilisation time, lower emissions and a smart way for supplying concrete in remote areas."

US: Cemex USA has supplied 42,800t of its Vertua reduced-CO₂ concrete to property developer Tishman Speyer for Phase 1 of the Mission Rock mixed-use development in San Francisco, California. Vertua concrete offers enhanced sustainability for construction projects compared to conventional concrete through its reduced emissions, energy efficiency, use of recycled materials, water conservation and design optimisation. Phase 1 of the project involved the construction of foundations for two blocks of apartments and an office block. Contractor Webcor first broke ground on the project in 2020.

Cemex USA West Regional President Francisco Rivera said "We are excited to contribute to a forward-thinking project such as Mission Rock by delivering our eco-conscious building materials, advancing sustainability efforts in San Francisco.