In a bid to keep pace with the surging demand for precast concrete in the fast-growing construction sector, Qanbar Dywidag Precast Concrete Company (QDC) has recently embarked on a series of expansion programmes that are designed to strengthen its position in the regional market.

“To meet the demand of our top-quality precast concrete products, we are setting up a new precast factory – close to our existing facilities in Jubail Industrial City – which is expected to start production by July this year. This follows the investments we made in various upgrades at our facilities last year,” says Mohammed Al Ansari, director/CEO of the leading Saudi precast manufacturer. “We are also keenly focusing on technological enhancements that will help improve the high quality of our precast concrete products.”
QDC celebrates its silver jubilee this year as one of the leading manufacturers and suppliers of precast concrete in the Saudi construction sector. The company has been witnessing a tremendous growth over the last couple of years, thanks to the launch of an increasing number of infrastructure projects and stronger market conditions in the GCC region, he says.
“We currently hold a large share of the Saudi domestic market, catering to demand all over the kingdom. Though our main market remains the Eastern Province and Central Region, we have also supplied to projects in Abha and Yanbu.
“While we exceeded our target last year, our output is up by 25 per cent this year to meet increased demand both in the private and the public construction sectors, especially with the ongoing Saudi Aramco and Saudi Basic Industries Corporation (Sabic) expansion projects. We have secured a considerable volume of business, in addition to completing all spillover works from last year.
“Both private and public sector clients in Saudi Arabia are now realising the long-term benefits of using precast concrete for the construction of various projects ranging from apartment buildings, mosques and schools to showrooms and shopping malls,” he continues.
“With precast being one of the most trusted and preferred means of construction today because of its high factory-controlled quality, the demand for these products is very high. The precast concrete industry offers many advantages to the construction sector. By outsourcing work to precast manufacturers, contractors can derive several benefits such as time and overall cost savings, reduce congestion on sites, and also gain access to a controlled production
environment. Precast is virtually maintenance-free, available in a wide range of finishes and helps speed up site construction work, leading to the timely completion of projects and early return on investments,” he adds.
Commenting on the market, Al Ansari says: “Saudi Arabia is among the largest construction markets in the Middle East. It has a rapidly growing population and the highest national income. The numerous ongoing as well as planned projects in the kingdom, including several infrastructure, oil and gas and expansion plans of some of the region’s largest petrochemical companies which are based in Saudi Arabia, have created a huge demand for precast concrete.”
Al Ansari anticipates that this demand could rise even further in the near future with several infrastructure and industrial development projects currently being implemented or in the pipeline in Saudi Arabia and the GCC. Mega projects in the public sector include a large number of new schools, hospitals, industrial cities as well as power generation and water treatment plants. The private sector has also become a dominant force in the Saudi construction industry and is investing heavily in offices, hotels, shopping malls and housing units, he says.
As a specialised precast concrete manufacturer, QDC’s scope of work includes the design, manufacture, delivery and installation of precast and prestressed concrete components that comply with high international quality standards and American PCI/ACI or BS standards. It provides a comprehensive range of products such as precast concrete elements, hollowcore slabs, paving and
interlocks tiles, manholes and seating as well as external claddings panels, double-tee slabs, and precast domes, prestressed long-span girders, wall frames, beams and column frames and boundary walls.
“We are also involved in various construction project teams as suppliers or subcontractors that produce, deliver and erect precast components, taking active part in the ongoing project by providing value engineering to ensure faster construction, better quality and lower costs,” he adds.
“Our production facilities at Jubail can produce double our current output of precast and prestressed components in various external finishes such as sandblasted, washed aggregates and different form-liner finishes.”

Project portfolio
Since its inception, QDC has played a key role in major projects for both the private and the government sectors, including hospitals, schools, mosques, shopping malls, supermarkets, multi-storey car-parks and offices, apartment buildings, showroom, villas, pipe racks, power plant and cooling towers, and boundary walls, among others.
Some of its prestigious clients include Saudi Aramco, Saudi Arabian National Guard (SANG), Royal Commission of Jubail and Yanbu, Saudi Electricity Company (SEC), Sabic and the ministries of health, education and defence.
Some of the striking projects that QDC has been involved in recently include:
• Bait Al-Umar villa project being developed by Al Suwaidi Real Estate in Al Khobar and Dammam. Here, QDC is close to completing supply and erection of full building systems for phase III, using pigmented concrete along with unusual architectural features, for three types of two-storey villas;
• A pipe rack project in Khursaniyah for Saudi Aramco, where QDC is presently involved in the production of columns and beams of high specifications for the development;
• King Faisal University campus in Hasa; and
• Al Shatee shopping mall in Dammam.
Its current order book also includes housing complex with hundreds of villas for Sabic in Jubail; Al Dabbal residential complex in Al Khobar; industrial facilities for Sabic affiliates; Hawiyah NGL (natural gas liquids) recovery plant; industrial support facilities at Khursaniyah; Prince Mohammed bin Fahd University; and some large private housing projects.
Among projects it has just completed is the prestigious 50 villas, four apartment blocks and recreation facilities for Al Ansari residential compound in Al Khobar and Jubail Beach Resort for Zamil Group in Jubail, where it supplied and erected full building systems for 57 two-storey villas units and 14 four-storey apartment buildings featuring arches, decorative claddings and other architectural features.
Some of the other landmark projects that QDC has executed and completed in the past include:
• King Fahd International Airport in Dhahran;
• Sabic headquarters in Riyadh;
• King Abdullah Military City for SANG in Hofuf;
• College of Agriculture for the King Faisal University in Hofuf;
• Bachelors camp in Haradh in the Eastern Province for Saudi Aramco;
• Ghazlan power plant project, which involved the supply and erection of special sandwich cladding panels;
• King Abdulaziz Science and Technology Centre, where QDC created unusual architectural features at the complex using claddings panels; and
• Janadriyah Equestrian Club near Riyadh, which called for the supply of the full-frame system for the race-day stables, mosque, columns and cladding for the grandstand.
Commenting on the company’s plans for the coming year, Al Ansari says: “QDC is now focusing on specific geographic regions in the Western Province, especially Makkah and Madinah where the construction market is booming with various expansion plans of both the private and the public sector under way.
The company also intends to introduce new products. Investing in high technology as part of the company policy is also on the agenda along with investments on various upgrades and technological developments in the manufacture of precast concrete products.
“With the construction sector flourishing in Saudi Arabia as well as the entire Middle East, the future looks good for the precast concrete industry,” Al Ansari adds.
QDC was formed in 1981 as a partnership between one of the leading businessmen in the Eastern Province, Sheikh Abdul Razzak Mohammed Qanbar Al Ansari and one of the largest West German general contractors and precast concrete manufacturer Dycherhoff and Widmann. Sheikh Abdul Razzak became the sole owner of QDC in 2002, after which Dywidag has continued to offer technical support. Staffed by 1,500 employees, QDC has sales offices in Jubail, Dammam and Riyadh.