The first fibreglass rebar facility in Saudi Arabia, IKK Mateenbar was recently opened. It will manufacture and supply corrosion-free fibreglass rebar for infrastructure projects in the kingdom, as well as the Middle East and North Africa region.

The facility, opened by Aramco’s Senior Vice President of Technical Services Ahmad Al-Sa’adi, was established under a memorandum of understanding signed in 2019 by New Zealand’s Pultron Composites, and its partner, Isam Khairy Kabbani Group (IKK), with Aramco.

Al-Sa’adi commented: “Aramco has been developing and deploying non-metallic solutions within its own operations for more than 20 years. The use of non-metallic, advanced polymer materials has significant potential in multiple sectors. Moreover, technologies such as GFRP rebar, which mitigate corrosion and minimise life cycle cost, have potential to be the real game-changers for the building and construction sector.”

Aramco was the first to deploy the innovative technology in the construction of its Jizan Flood Mitigation Channel, which is the world’s largest GFRP rebar project. n