Precast concrete specialist AlRashid-Abetong, which has more than a thousand projects to its credit, is optimistic about prospects in the construction industry and expects the boom in the precast market to continue over the next few years.

In response to the anticipated surge in demand, the Saudi-Swedish manufacturer of precast concrete building systems opened one of the biggest hollowcore slabs factories of its kind in the Middle East during June last year. The facility has a capacity to produce of more than one million sq m per year of hollowcore slabs of various thicknesses and spans.
AlRashid-Abetong now has four factories, which are located in the Second Industrial City in Riyadh over an area of 440,000 sq m and are capable of producing more than 20,000 cu m per month of various types and sizes of precast concrete products.
“With business booming in all sectors in Saudi Arabia since 2000, there is now an unprecedented demand for precast concrete buildings to accommodate schools, universities, villas, shopping malls and centres, hotels and hospitals,” says Hayel Murad, assistant sales and marketing manager of the company.
Established in 1977, AlRashid-Abetong has grown considerably since its inception to encompass four large factories and a staff strength of 4,000 employees. Its head office is located in Riyadh and the company has two branch offices, one in Jeddah and the other in Al Khobar.
“We have built up a good reputation in Saudi Arabia. Our formula for success is simple: to provide our customers with high-quality precast concrete structures as well as the best prices and prompt service before, during and after the execution of the job,” says Murad.
He continues: “We are continuously developing new techniques to improve the quality and range of our precast concrete products in accordance with the prevalent international standards.”
One such innovation is a precast water tank system, which is currently being introduced in the kingdom. The system was developed by AlRashid-Abetong’s Swedish partner almost 25 years ago and has been recently improved to guarantee its water-tightness.
“More than 25,000 of such water tanks can be found across the globe. The system combines high-performance precast technology within a very short execution time at the site itself. The tanks that are available in a huge range of sizes up to 32,000 cu m can be used for any kind of liquid storage such as potable water and waste-water, among other applications,” he adds.
The company’s scope of work includes the design, manufacture, delivery and installation of the precast concrete elements including a full range of precast concrete building systems such as complete structural frames including columns, beams, slabs, internal and external walls and stairs, Swede Beam system for spans up to 40 m, hollowcore slabs in thicknesses of 150, 200, 250, 300, 320 and 380 mm, double-tee slabs for heights from 400 to 1,000 mm, form slabs for spans up to 10 m and water tanks-with capacities ranging from 350 to 32,000 cu m.
“AlRashid Abetong is composed of dedicated teams of professionals, fully qualified and knowledgeable in their fields of expertise and have gained a reputation for providing state of the art products and offering quality services. Our technical department never compromises on structural safety while our production department is constantly focused on improving the quality of our precast building products. At the installation sites, we mobilise human and material resources to complete our projects on time and never leave a project until we are fully satisfied with the works, which often surpasses even the client’s expectations. We are well-reputed for our high quality of products and services, as well as on-schedule completion of works and our excellent customer service,” adds Murad.
AlRashid-Abetong, which registered a turnover of more than SR400 million ($106.67 million) in 2007, is updated on the latest technologies in precast concrete by its Swedish partners. Its well-known Swede Beam system is popular in building construction “due to its many advantages that cannot be matched by any other system,” Murad says. “It has a span of up to 40 m to provide large column-free areas and because the concrete slab itself is guaranteed to be watertight, it does not need any further water proofing membrane and protection cover. The Swede Beam system is a patented procedure that comprises of heavily prestressed beams with standard shapes that are manufactured in the Riyadh factory with provisions for interacting with cast-in-place concrete slabs.”
Among its most prestigious projects is a mega development for the Saudi Ministry of Education, which involves the construction of hundreds of boys schools spread across the kingdom, where the scope of work includes the design, manufacture, transportation and installation of the precast concrete elements including boundary walls.
The company has the capacity and resources to undertake special turnkey projects from conception to implementation and has successfully completed projects like the first phase of Al Marai dairy plant in Al Kharj, Sara Vision headquarters and National Company for Cooperative Insurance car-park building in Riyadh.
AlRashid Abetong is currently engaged in the design, manufacture, delivery and erection of precast elements for:
• Al Othaim mall project for Al Othaim Company;
• Mall of Arabia at Jeddah with Haifa Al Jazeera Company as client;
• Al Noor Mall at Madinah, also for Haifa Al Jazeera Company;
• Rashid Tower at Riyadh for RTCC, which includes columns, beams, slabs and cladding panels, involving an area of 22,528 sq m;
• Khurais Residential and Recreational Complex, under a subcontract from Al Osais Contracting Company (columns, beams, slabs and cladding panels).
• Salem Bin Hamoud Mall in Jeddah for Salem Bin Hamoud Ghamdi (columns, beams, slabs and cladding panels), comprising an area of 62,962 sq m;
• Rabwa Plaza Building in Riyadh for Madaen Star Group (columns, beams, slabs and cladding panels) and
• Imam University’s building for women, where the main contractor is Al Fouzan (hollowcore slabs).
Other recently-completed projects where it has undertaken design, manufacture, delivery and erection of precast elements include the Al Rashid Mall extension project in Al Khobar, where the scope of work also included casting of the Swede Beam system; the Central Park Mall at Jeddah; Al Othaim Khurais Mall in Riyadh; the Madinah Mall at Madinah; a 400-bed maternity and paediatric hospital in Dammam involving an area of 17,286 sq m; Heraa Mall for Mahmood Saeed Collective Company in Jeddah comprising an area of 73,234 sq m and the Northern Region Cement Plant at Arar.