UAE-based Arkan Building Material Company said it has started construction of the Dh100 million ($27.2 million) dry mortar plant at Al Mafraq in Abu Dhabi for the production of pre-mixed mortars.

A leading provider of integrated building products and construction materials in the UAE, Arkan said the project, called Arkan Dry Mortar, will have a production capacity of 1,000 tonnes per day.

The establishment of Arkan Dry Mortar is in line with Arkan’s ongoing capacity expansion programme within the dry mortar products category.

The new facility, spread over an area of more than 57,000 sq m, will be Arkan’s first dry mortar plant in the UAE. Construction work at the site has started, and the unit is scheduled to be fully operational in the fourth quarter of 2011.

“The new Arkan facility is a sound investment that demonstrates how the company, with the support of its shareholders and the Abu Dhabi Government, continues to meet the evolving growth requirements of the regional construction industry by providing integrated solutions of the highest quality and at the most competitive prices,” said Saeed Al Mutawa Al Dhaheri, Vice President – Projects, Arkan.

“As today’s announcement demonstrates, Arkan is committed to innovation and leadership in the field of building materials. With projects such as Arkan Dry Mortar, we are increasing capacity and ensuring the right product mix to serve the needs of the region for the coming decades,” Al Dhaheri remarked.

“Arkan Dry Mortar will have the capability to produce a wide range of customised dry mortar products from its state-of-the-art manufacturing facility, offering the most cost-effective solutions to the building construction industry in the UAE and wider region,” he said.

“Dry mortar provides superior quality and ease of application, and we are certain that demand will continue to increase over the coming years.”

The product range of Arkan Dry Mortar includes machine applied plasters/renders, tile mortars, masonry mortars, and floor screeds, among others. Facilities at the upcoming Arkan plant include silo/tanker filling, bag filling, palletizing and automatic shrink wrapping.

'Dry mortars are a blend of inorganic binders, mineral aggregates and additives, which are homogeneously mixed in the factory in a high-efficiency mixer and transported to the job site in dry form in bags or silos,' Al Dhaheri explained.

A specified amount of potable water is mixed with the dry mortar just before its application, providing time-saving and ease of application, he added.-TradeArabia News Service