New forming systems launched to tackle housing demand

Despite the recent downturn in Dubai, the MENA region still has a large demand for housing construction.

This demand is being fuelled by both the rapid expansion of the expatriate population in the region as well as increased demand among the domestic population as the number of family members per household declines. In Saudi Arabia alone it is estimated that over 1.5 Million new housing units will need to be constructed by 2013.

For the construction industry to keep up with this demand, as well as keep costs under control in the current economic environment, new methods of construction will need to be introduced. Traditional methods such as block construction will most definitely need to give way to faster, more economical techniques such as cast in situ monolithic construction. This type of construction not only offers a more durable product but also better quality at lower cost, to the end user.

Aluma Systems, a leading worldwide supplier of formwork systems, has developed a new all aluminum panel system specifically targeting this market sector. Aluma EasySet® is a unique light weight and cost effective modular formwork system. The system is well suited to the needs of the region as it can be used in virtually any housing application, from single villas to mid-rise and high-rise, where reinforced cast in situ concrete is the chosen method of construction. This new system also readily responds to such persistent jobsite challenges such as limited crane time since the system’s lightweight construction allows it to be quickly and easily maneuvered from set-up to set-up manually without the need for any special tools or skills required for the labour. Finally, the system’s all aluminum construction furthermore provides the contractor a system which can be re-used hundreds of times with minimum maintenance and care.