The Danish company Fibertex Nonwovens, from Aalborg, has been chosen as the supplier of its Formtex CPF liner for one of the largest bridge projects in the world. The company is supplying a total of 1,500,000 m2 Formtex for use in the casting of both bridge pillars and bridge spans of the 36 km Sheikh Jaber Al-Ahmad Al-Sabah Causeway in Kuwait.

Formtex is used for the casting of the actual concrete elements. The Formtex CPF Liner drains water from the structures and thereby reduces the water/cement (w/c) ratio of the concrete. The result is a smooth and even surface of the concrete elements without blowholes. This ensures a strong concrete surface that is able to withstand impacts from sand and salt water, the company explains.

Bridge project

The 36 km long concrete bridge is being constructed across the bay between Kuwait City and the Subiyah region. The bridge connects Kuwait City and the new Madinat al-Hareer (Silk City), a US$ 100 billion urban development project which, among other things, will accommodate the 1,001-metre tall Burj Mubarak al Kabir and the international Bubiyan seaport.

The project comprises onshore facilities, a 27-km causeway, as well as a beautiful elevated bridge with a 200-m wide and 23 m tall passage – a total of 36 km. When finished, the bridge will reduce the distance between Kuwait City and the Subiyah region from 104 to 36 km.

Aggressive environment

Salt water, high temperatures and increased CO2 levels in the air accelerate the breakdown of the concrete structures significantly. Innovative solutions are therefore needed to ensure that the reinforced concrete has a service life of more than 120 years, as requested by the project owner.

The project is carried out as a Design-Build-Operate (DBO) project, where the contractor must pay the maintenance costs for a part of the operating period. Therefore, there has been special focus on finding a solution that is financially sustainable throughout the entire lifetime of the bridge.

"We're very pleased that some of the world's leading contractors and advisers have chosen Formtex due to the high quality, flexibility and mouldability of the Formtex CPF Liner. This means that the concrete achieves the best durability, while at the same time minimising maintenance," said Michael Møller, Product Manager at Fibertex Nonwovens.

Consultancy and training services

"We've spent a lot of time in Kuwait consulting, testing and not least training the contractor in the application of Formtex in practice. Documented results and the high service level have proved that Formtex is the best solution in direct competition with other solutions and other suppliers," said Mikael Møller. He emphasises that Fibertex Nonwovens qualified Formtex for a construction project as large as the bridge in Kuwait on the basis of numerous reference projects and solid documentation.

"Without a doubt Formtex was chosen for the project because it proved its ability to ensures prime concrete quality in the various laboratory tests carried out prior to construction. In addition, Fibertex Nonwovens is known to supply products of high and uniform quality which we can document in an efficient quality assurance system," said Mikael Møller.

The long-term building project involves a wide range of collaboration partners, including SYSTRA, AECOM, Dar Al-Handasah Consultants, SSH and T.Y. Lin International with Hyundai Engineering & Construction as the main contractor.

www.fibertex.com