Piling contractors see reduced profits
Piling contractors in the UAE said profits have drastically reduced despite an increase in the number of projects in the past two years.
An increase in the cost of construction materials coupled with large investments in machinery and sand developers unwilling to share the burden, have all contributed to reduced profits, said piling contractors and experts from the industry during the first day's session of the three-day Piling and Foundation Forum held in Dubai.
Mark Newton, Director of Operations, Dutch Foundation said the industry is, however, facing new challenges with a serious shortage of liquidity.
Reacting to a changing construction environment in the region, he said: "After 2007, the margin reduced drastically despite an increase in the number of projects. The situation has now changed and today the major issue we are facing is a shortage of cash. Developers are hesitant to award new contracts and are preferring to wait and watch."
Dutch Foundation has currently enough jobs to last until January next year. "We have been hesitant to take up new projects before January. Every one is waiting to find out how things will take shape," he said.
Kamiran Ibrahim, Regional Geotechnical Director, Hyder Consulting, who spoke about the effectiveness of piled raft foundations for tall towers in Dubai, said the Burj Dubai had provided with several interesting experiences valuable for future developments.
Based on Burj Dubai design, it was suggested the safety factor for pile design can be re-evaluated or reduced. Burj Dubai has a design safety factor of 2.5 times. "Based on the ongoing analysis, safety factor for the piling design can be reduced to a factor of two," said Ibrahim. Another point of discussion was the green alternatives that can be introduced in the sector.
Roff Katzenbach, Director of the Institute and Laboratory of Geotechnics, Technical University Darmstadt, speaking about design and construction of energy piles for Co2 reduction, emphasised on seasonal thermal storage and simulation of geothermal systems and provided case studies in Europe where it has been possible to reduce Co2 emissions.
Anil Cherian, Technical Manager at Strainstall Middle East, however, expressed scepticism over the immediate implementation of such measures in the region. According to him, the type of practice is not applicable in the near future in the fast-growing construction sector in the GCC. "We need to conduct more studies and research to check the feasibility of such measures," he said.
Other issues discussed include deep foundations and piling specifics for the region; exploring the behaviour of piles in calcareous soils and methods for soil improvements; instrumentation in foundation and geo-tech design; the importance of proper ground investigations as a key towards risk mitigation and optimised piling for high-rise towers.