TTM, a KBW Investments portfolio company, has been awarded the exclusive contract to design and implement post-tensioning technology for C09 Lusail Marina located in Lusail City, Qatar.

The TTM contract, valued at QR1 million ($274,000) is a part of the overall QR110 million ($30.1 million) investment made by Al Wefaq Engineering into the new development.

Commencement of project redesign by six TTM professionals began in July, with an expected six-month duration targeting a December completion date.

“The C09 Lusail Marina project was initially designed with the conventional method of reinforced concrete (RC) slabs. TTM proposed that introducing post-tensioning would result in developer cost-savings, together with a much more efficient timeline of execution,” explained Sameel Hamza, chief operations officer, TTM.

“TTM was awarded the jobsite based on the significant financial and technical benefits of implementing the post-tensioning method into the structure’s design. A post-tension system poses benefits for all parties involved both in the immediate term, such as the reduction of labour required onsite, and in the long-term, as slabs are designed crack-free thereby helping to enable waterproofing.”

With an average cost reduction of 25 per cent per jobsite, post-tensioning is replacing RC slabs in buildings across many of the new developments in the Gulf state. Seeking to implement higher building standards and simultaneously looking to reduce construction timelines by using early formwork stripping and reduced backpropping - ultimately leading to a quicker construction cycle - Qatar’s developers are increasingly adopting post-tensioning technology over traditional methods.

As opposed to steel-laden RC slab beam installation, which takes up unnecessary building space and takes 50 per cent longer to build, post-tensioning utilises flexible steel wiring that allows for an increase in floor space and reduces floor height.

“All TTM strands are produced at the TTM factory in Milan, Italy. The only post-tensioning company in the world that produces steel wire in-house, TTM’s value proposition of our technology begins at the material stage. Contractors and developers using TTM are able to confidently implement our technology armed with the knowledge that a full track record of material sourcing exists, and it is all created to work optimally together for the best possible end product,” continued Hamza.

According to Al Wefaq, the C09 Lusail Marina jobsite is planned to have a total built-up area of 25,900 sq m, and is scheduled for completion date in Q2 2017. A proposed smart city development by Lusail Real Estate Development Company (LREDC) includes 19 multipurpose residential, mixed-use, entertainment, and commercial districts.  – TradeArabia News Service