Samuda Construction manufacturing PHC piles for the first time in country
The company has invested $8.2 million in its factory located on 4-acre of land in BSMSN
Samuda Construction Limited, a concern of TK Group, has started commercial production of Precast High-Performance Concrete (PHC) piles for the first time in the country.
As of now, this high-strength pile, largely used in the base construction of large structures, is being imported from China and Malaysia to meet the country's growing demand.
Samuda is manufacturing the piles at its factory in the Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujib Shilpa Nagar (BSMSN) and selling the product in the domestic market.
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PHC pile, a prestressed concrete tube with a circular hollow section, is used in multi-storied buildings, the construction of large bridges, the construction of jetties in deep-sea ports and river erosion prevention.
The demand for this high-performance construction pile is rising with the development of infrastructure in the country.
The company has already invested $8.2 million in its factory located on 4-acre of land in BSMSN.
Mustafizur Rahman, director of TK Group, said, "The PHC piles market has seen tremendous growth in the last few years. Around 10 million running metres of the piles are being sold per year. Our production size is 1.5 million running metres per year."
Generally, piling work is not required for the construction of two or three-storey buildings but it is necessary for constructing high-rise buildings.
Without piling or a deep foundation, the load of the structures cannot be distributed and transferred from the surface to deep down the earth and the PHC piles are used for supporting the load.
Mustafizur Rahman said reinforced iron cages were used for retaining bridges and multi-storey buildings some 10 years ago but ready-made PHC piles are available now. Its use is increasing every day because it ensures sustainable infrastructures with reduced costs and hassle."
"We make the design and manufacture it accordingly. Currently, we are producing 400 pieces of piles in different sizes [9, 10 and 12-metre] per day."
"We have sold 2,500 pieces of piles to some companies including China Road and Bridge Corporation, a global construction company which is also working on some big projects in Bangladesh. Besides, we are using our products to build our own infrastructure," the TK Group director added.
PHC piles were first invented in Japan in the 1970s as a means to provide a solid base for building structures in a rapidly growing and earthquake-prone country.
Since then, these rigid piles have been used widely in developed countries such as the USA, Germany, Italy, Korea, Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, Indonesia, and Vietnam. It played a key role in the rapid development of China and Southeast Asia.
PHC piles are hollow, precast and prestressed concrete piles, in sizes generally ranging from 300 to 1200mm outside diameter. However, the dimension of the spun pile is generally used according to the Japan Industrial Standard (JIS).
Bangladesh Economic Zones Authority (Beza) has set a target of 100 economic zones by 2030.
Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujib Shilpa Nagar, one of the largest economic zones in South Asia, is being constructed in an area of 30,000 acres of land in Mirsarai and Sitakunda upazilas of Chattogram and Sonagazi upazila of Feni. Many large industrial groups including the TK Group established factories in this Shilpa Nagar.
