SAUDI Readymix has successfully completed the concrete pour on the 4.5-m-deep raft foundations of Saudi Arabia’s prestigious Capital Market Authority (CMA) tower in Riyadh ahead of schedule. The foundations have required a deep excavation of over 30 m and over 4,000 tonnes of steel reinforcements.

Saudi Readymix supplied 11,500 cu m of readymix concrete in a steady flow of mobile truck mixers arriving on site at an average of one every 90 seconds to complete the continuous pour into the foundation of the tower at the King Abdullah Financial District, in one-and-a-half days.

The company executed this task by utilising seven of its factories located in different areas of Riyadh, including its on-site factory at the King Abdullah Financial District project site. About 150 truck mixers were mobilised to handle the pouring. Although the estimated time to execute the task was 42 hours, it was completed smoothly and in only 36 hours.
“This was one of the most challenging jobs that we have handled at Saudi Readymix where we supplied all the required amount of concrete pouring in one continuous pour,” said Khalid Baghdadi, the managing director of Saudi Readymix.
“To be frank, the volume of the pour was not the issue, we had poured similar foundations in the past; the challenge was the complexity of the concrete mix and the special materials that had to be used, let alone the need to use large quantities of ice to deliver concrete at very low temperatures.

“This wouldn’t have been achieved without the hard work, commitment, cooperation and dedication of all the involved stakeholders, namely the CMA team, Saudi Binladin Group and Al Omraniah & Associates, who worked around the clock and provided all the needed support for the execution process,” Baghdadi said.

The pour was executed by the Saudi Binladin Group (SBG) under the direct management of Cyril Sweett. The CMA tower is the tallest tower in Saudi Arabia currently under construction and this was the single largest concrete pour recorded in the history of the kingdom.

Cyril Sweett project director Des Pike says the concrete pour was a significant logistical feat in itself. “This is a great achievement for all parties involved who worked around the clock to ensure its success,” he said.

The CMA tower is the focal project of the King Abdullah Financial District and when completed will rise 385 m above ground level. It is designed by renowned American architect HOK  and leading consulting firm Omrania & Associates.