AL Kobaisi Group, a veteran in the construction of quality homes in Bahrain, has come up with an innovative solution to address the housing shortage in the country while offering an affordable and quality system.

The brainchild of Abdulla Essa Al Kobaisi, managing director of Al Kobaisi Group, the patented system has been developed with the support of Nuspl, a leading precast equipment manufacturer from Germany.
The company claims to be well aware of the housing requirements of the country and has developed the system to meet the rising demand from citizens faced with the dilemma of expensive homes and a meagre budget.
Al Kobaisi Group, a fully-owned Bahraini company established in 1972, has worked as the main contractor on a number of housing projects of the Ministry of Housing in Jidhafs, Busaiteen and Hamad Town. It has also undertaken such projects as a private developer, having been responsible for the development of an 84-villa project in Arad, and a group of villas in Janusan, Busaiteen and Sanad.
Its housing solution promises to “provide occupants with adequate space, physical security, structural safety, weather protection, lighting and ventilation – all this at a cost that is affordable”, according to Abdulla.
The solution applies a precise construction method into a prefabrication construction system, which combines the conventional technique of masonry construction using concrete blocks with modern technologies, resulting in a system where almost all components of the building are prefabricated.
Elaborating on the reason for adopting a system based on the traditional forms of construction, he says: “The most common construction technique for houses is to build up a skeleton of reinforced columns and beams, put masonry as an infill in-between and cover the floors with slabs. For decades this has been an efficient way in the building business and it still is, partially. While a number of options are offered worldwide to reduce the cost of housing, nothing is more widely accepted and proven than the conventional masonry method. However, in times of rising energy costs, climate change, higher demands on quality, that traditional way has to be adjusted to meet the needs of the present and, ideally, of the future. Al Kobaisi has essentially made this ‘adjustment’ by developing its building system.”
Currently, houses are being built using precast elements such as hollowcore slabs and are completed with in-situ construction. With Al Kobaisi’s prefabricated houses, the walls and floor slabs are produced in a factory.
Comparing conventional construction with prefabrication techniques, Abdulla says that with conventional construction bricks or blocks are assembled one by one into a large unit manually on site, after-treatment is difficult under hot climatic conditions and the working conditions are arduous under the heat, with blowing sand and wind. This technique requires complex and time-consuming formwork, high usage of manpower and time, and results in considerable waste and broken materials, he says.
With prefabrication, industrial production is under climate-controlled conditions and hence there is more control on quality being highly mechanised, workers are more specialised and enjoy good working conditions. The products receive good after-treatment, which involve the use of a curing chamber. The system allows the use of cast-in items for connections and the fabrication of standardised elements.
“Hence, Al Kobaisi’s patented system offers several advantages including high efficiency; consistent quality through production quality management and, possibly, external monitoring; less energy consumption; less financing costs; fast erection; savings potential in the equipment that is used at the site; and less wastage. In addition, as the shrinkage process is finished, there is reduced risk of cracks developing in the building,” Abdulla points out.
“Al Kobaisi provides all that is required to erect an affordable house – including the method, materials, experience, expertise, and above all, it knows what customers need, which is the key to the success of a project. We understand that the demand for houses in Bahrain is not for ‘high-end’ housing – but quality homes at a reasonable cost,” he adds.
Supporting the production of these prefabricated homes is the extensive network of companies under the Al Kobaisi umbrella that makes it virtually self-sufficient.
Abdulla elaborates: “Al Kobaisi Group can provide 80 per cent of the structural materials needed for building construction. It has its own readymix concrete factories in two different locations – Hidd and Sitra – to respond to the needs of its customers wherever they may be located without delay in delivery time. It has its block factory providing various thickness and block types. It has its own precast factory, which will start serving Bahrain’s market very soon. It has its own sand and aggregate washing plant, which meets in-house demand as well as supplies to customers.”
The company also has its aluminium and glass fabrication factory, making aluminum doors and windows for the group’s projects and as well those of other contractors in Bahrain.
It has construction and maintenance as well as electrical contracting divisions and a carpentry and joinery workshop. It is also an agent for a renowned marble and ceramic tiles factory from the UAE and sanitary fittings and ironmongery manufacturers from China.
“All these activities are independent from each other and are working as individual profit centres having their own list of clientele,” he adds.