INSHAA Precast, a specialist in the design, manufacture and erection of precast concrete elements, has been gaining strength and securing a number of projects in the Eastern Province since it began operations three years ago.

The Al Khobar-based company has boosted its project portfolio considerably over the past few months. Its latest orders involve the design, manufacture and erection of hollowcore slabs for two multi-storey car-park buildings for the King Fahad University of Petroleum and Minerals (KFUPM) and Honeywell Office Park, both in Dhahran, according to Zubair Ahmad Nisar, the company’s sales and marketing manager.

“For the KFUPM project, we are supplying very long spans – 17 m long – of hollowcore slabs,” he says, adding that the order is due for completion in one year.

Other ongoing projects include 22 villas in Al Khobar, an exhibition hall in Saihat, Masjid Al Noor and an automart complex, both in Dammam, a mosque and a multi-function centre, both for the Royal Commission of Jubail and Yanbu in Jubail, and a residential and commercial building in Al Hasa.

The firm has boosted its production capacity on the back of increasing demands for its products, says Nisar. “We started off with the production of hollowcore slabs and we have now added another production line for precast concrete wall panels, columns, beams and stairs,” he says. “The company is well equipped to produce all precast elements of high quality.”

Inshaa Precast’s factory, located on the Dammam-Riyadh highway near Al Fursan district, covers a total area of 60,000 sq m. Equipped with state-of-the-art machinery, a fully-computerised concrete batching plant and concrete delivery system, it has the capacity to produce 500,000 sq m of hollowcore slabs per year and more than 40,000 cu m of architectural and structural wall panels, columns, beams, boundary walls and stairs.

Its production facilities include tensioning machines, extruders and slab-cutting machines. The concrete is produced in-house in accordance with international standards to ensure the quality of the finished product. Hollowcore slabs are manufactured in thicknesses of 150, 200, 265, 320, 400 and 500 mm and spans of up to 20 m.

Commenting on the advantages of using its precast elements, Nisar says: “It is well known that hollowcore slabs can be used to build cost-effective and efficient flooring and roofing systems. The slabs provide several benefits in terms of load-bearing capacity, span range and deflection control.

“In addition, by connecting the slabs with joint reinforcements, floors can be built like a diaphragm, distributing lateral forces for extra stability. The slabs also have excellent sound insulative and fire-resistant characteristics, while their ease and speed of erection minimise construction time on site, enabling other works to follow faster.”

Precast slabs with long spans offer the benefits of wider and flexible open spaces with fewer columns and beams, says Nisar, citing a project the company undertook at the Al Kaltham private residential compound in Rakkah, Al Khobar, where a two-storey reception hall was built using hollowcore slabs that were 16 m long and 500 mm thick.

The project was designed and supervised by Al Safi Consultant Office architect Magdy Abdul Rahman.

Other recent projects undertaken by Inshaa Precast include housing schemes for the Royal Commission of Jubail and Yanbu, the King Fahad Specialist Hospital in Dammam, a municipality office building in Aziziyah, Al Khobar, mosques, and several residential and commercial buildings.

With its trained crew and experienced supervisors, Inshaa Precast also ensures that installation is done to required specifications, he adds. Nisar sees continued demand and growth for precast concrete, given its wide scope of use and advantages as a building material.

“Precast concrete is ideally suited for all kinds of structures including residential, commercial, industrial and educational buildings, housing compounds, apartments, multi-storey car-parks and bridges,” he says.

“Precast concrete offers the advantages of high quality since it is produced in a factory-controlled environment, fast construction under all weather conditions, with no shuttering or formwork required, and cost savings in terms of time, material and labour. Also, after construction, precast concrete is durable and easy to maintain,” he concludes.