Dar Al Arkan partners with Cobod to launch 3DCP technology in KSA
Technology offers a number of benefits including lower manpower requirements, time savings and enhanced onsite safety
Developer Dar Al Arkan in collaboration with Danish robotic 3D construction printer company Construction of Buildings on Demand (Cobod), has introduced 3D construction printing (3DCP) technology in Saudi Arabia. The move is billed as a regional first and is expected to help accelerate construction work, while enhancing safety and reducing wastage and errors.
According to a statement from Dar Al Arkan, the technology is enabling it to spearhead the transition of the industry towards advanced and sustainable building practices, while complementing the goals of Saudi Vision 2030 to support economic diversification and digitisation.
Unlike traditional home-building methods, 3DCP cuts the construction time by more than half, is more flexible and requires less manpower, since it takes only three workers to build one house. This also contributes to decreased Lost Time Injury, creating a safer workplace. Additionally, less concrete is needed to complete a building, making the technology more sustainable and a viable solution for a low-carbon construction industry of the future, the statement explained.
For consumers, the combination of these advantages ensures lower costs and more affordability compared to traditional construction. As 3DCP increases the accuracy of construction, there will be less repairs and rework too, helping save long-term costs and adding to the value of the property, stated the developer.
“Our goal is to develop the Kingdom’s real estate sector by integrating the latest trends and technologies, drawn from global best practices to enhance our industry locally and deliver on the objectives of Vision 2030 at many levels. The introduction of 3D construction printing will revolutionise our approach to construction and enable us to focus on greater flexibility of design, strengthen productivity and achieve higher cost efficiency. This will raise the industry standards, achieve excellence and position the Kingdom as a leader in this sector, while making us highly competitive in 3DCP technology,” said Dar Al Arkan vice chairman Ziad El Chaar.
Dar Al Arkan said the technology was very important in insulation and reduces electricity bills. A combination of reduced waste of construction materials, less need for repair or rework and low on-site LTI incidents will enable highly cost-efficient project management than traditional construction, it stated.
The first 3D printed house would be ready by Q4 2021 and will be located in the Shams Ar Riyadh project, the developed pointed out.
Cobod founder & GM Henrik Lund-Nielsen added, “Saudi Arabia represents the largest potential market in the Middle East for our disruptive 3D construction technology and many large end customers in the Kingdom have been eagerly awaiting, that the technology became available via an established local company. Therefore, it has been very important for us to team up with the right Saudi partner for the deployment of our technology. We are very pleased with the fact, that such an important and influential company as Dar Al Arkan have chosen to partner with us.”
He concluded, “We look forward to working with them and to assist them with assuring the success of the 3DCP technology in the Kingdom.”
