Masdar City, the property development arm of the Masdar Initiative, has entered into a unique partnership with Al Falah Ready Mix, to develop low carbon concrete.

The project will supply two million cubic meters of concrete required to build the initial phases of Masdar City.

Masdar, a wholly owned subsidiary of Mubadala Development Company (Mubadala), is a multifaceted initiative that includes the development of Masdar City, the world's first carbon neutral, zero-waste city fully powered by renewable energy.

With concrete being a core material used in the construction of Masdar City, the development of low embodied carbon concrete is essential to ensure the city achieves its ambitious sustainability targets. Cement is one of the main ingredients in concrete, and is the second most consumed commodity in the world after water. Cement production is responsible for around five per cent of the world’s carbon dioxide emissions according to the World Business Council of Sustainable Developments, said a statement.

Al Falah Ready Mix will work with Masdar to reduce the amount of cement used in the specially designed concrete mixes, and therefore reduce the embodied carbon by more than 30 per cent while meeting all the durability criteria set by Masdar City. A special scheme will be put in place to offset the remaining carbon embodied in the concrete used to build Masdar City.

“This partnership is an excellent example of how Masdar City is working with local companies to drive innovation in Abu Dhabi’s sustainable development sector,” said Dr Sultan Al Jaber, Masdar CEO. “With Al Falah, we are creating a new product that will set a benchmark for sustainability globally. This is an exciting partnership for Masdar City and Abu Dhabi, and we hope to see this standard of sustainability adopted throughout the region and around the world.”

The Al Falah Ready Mix partnership also includes a comprehensive research and development program to develop global standards for low CO2 concrete. This will encompass research and testing at Masdar City site as well as a research partnership with the Masdar Institute of Science and Technology for the advancement of sustainable concrete technologies.

Al Falah Ready Mix was chosen on the basis of its adoption of rigorous sustainability criteria for designing, producing, transporting and placing concrete. This expertise is integral in meeting the challenging requirements for producing concrete with the lowest possible carbon footprint in a project of this scale, said the statement.

“It gives us great pride to be associated with the Masdar Initiative and Masdar City; the most ambitious sustainable development in the world today,” said Zayed Falah Bin Jarra, chairman of Al Falah Ready Mix.

“This is a pioneering partnership in many aspects – from the scale of the project, to the technologies we will be utilising to achieve Masdar’s high sustainability targets. Low carbon concrete is a relatively new concept in the construction industry, and it is vital that we continue to explore and invest in new technologies that will help minimize the industry’s impact on the environment.”

Construction of Masdar City officially commenced with a formal ground-breaking ceremony on February 9, 2008. The city will be constructed over six phases and is due to be completed by 2016. –TradeArabia News Service

kirstin.mckellar@edelman.com, m.kharroubi@asdaa.com, dm@alfalahreadymix.com