NEW CONSTRUCTION TECHNIQUES DEPLOYED BY SPARK ARE USED FOR THE FIRST TIME IN  SAUDI ARABIA

King Salman Energy Park (SPARK), the region’s only fully integrated energy hub, has received the “Innovation Project of the Year” award at the Construction Innovation Awards Middle East 2021. This mark of recognition reflects SPARK’s commitment to putting innovation at the heart of its sustainability agenda, with some of the construction technologies employed at SPARK being used for the first time ever in Saudi Arabia.

SPARK is working to provide a sustainable platform with world-class infrastructure and services for investors, with the first phase of its infrastructure development nearly complete. As the mega-project advances at full speed, the green construction techniques and advanced materials SPARK uses minimise environmental impact and deliver investor advantage by creating efficiencies and keeping operational costs lowered.

Commenting on the prize, President and CEO of SPARK, Saif Al Qahtani, said, “It is truly a business imperative for a mega project such as SPARK, which is set to help grow and diversify the Saudi economy by localizing the energy value chain in Saudi Arabia, to adopt innovative sustainable construction techniques. The prize we are so proud to collect reflects the fact that sustainability has been a core part of SPARK’s DNA from day one, starting with our aims of mitigating climate change and creating climate-friendly energy systems. By integrating sustainability into the community, we hope to inspire other industrial cities to follow our lead.”

Already recognised as the first industrial city in the world to obtain LEED Silver Certification, SPARK is also the first entity in the Kingdom and in the region to pioneer the use of multiple cutting-edge technologies, ensuring sustainability remains at the heart of its development. SPARK’s commitment to sustainable construction techniques, and its efficient usage of natural resources such as power and water in the overall city’s operations, reassures energy sector investors of all sizes that SPARK’s infrastructure is built to international standards and provides them with all they need to rapidly and efficiently commence operations at SPARK.

SPARK has become the first organization in Saudi Arabia to use Podzolic green concrete, a newly developed building material that uses local recycled materials as a partial replacement for cement. Additionally, in a first for the Middle East and Africa, SPARK has deployed Glass Fiber Reinforced Polymer Reinforcement Bars(GFRP) rebar as a non-metallic replacement for epoxy steel reinforcement in bridge decks, reducing the weight of the structure by 74%. SPARK’s administration building was designed and built using Conxtech structural steel technology. As the first commercial building in the MENA region to utilize this innovation, SPARK was able to cut down the time required to achieve the same product by 60%, resulting in less steel wastage.

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About King Salman Energy Park (SPARK)

King Salman Energy Park (SPARK) is a fully integrated industrial ecosystem. SPARK spans an area of 50 square kilometres and is being developed with a vision to become the leading gateway to the regional energy sector, providing a complete spectrum of solutions to support business growth in the Kingdom. SPARK is also the first and only industrial city in the world to achieve silver LEED certification.

SPARK offers infrastructure at international standards for global investors in the oil & gas, refining, petrochemical, power and water production and treatment industries.

Execution is planned over three phases; with the first phase being nearly complete, which consists of infrastructure, roads, utilities and real estate assets established across 14 square kilometres. This is in addition to a dedicated three-square kilometres dry port and logistics zone.

www.spark.sa

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