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Archive -Seychelles

New drilling, micro-piling technology in Seychelles |05 May 2016

Drivers and pedestrians passing through Castor Road in Victoria everyday have certainly noticed some busy but non-conventional operations on a construction site along this busy road.

Known as the micro-piling system, UCPS (United Concrete Product Seychelles) has brought this new foundation technique to Seychelles and has invested in special drilling and piling equipment to meet the needs of construction contractors, project managers and civil engineering specialists.

Jean Luc Robert, manager of this new division of UCPS created in December 2014, explained in his words the reasons why on this particular project and in Seychelles in general, this foundation technique is necessary and will form part of the potential technical solution for ambitious building projects now and in the future.

“Most of the potential building sites in Victoria had already been used for new developments. It’s not a secret to say that, nowadays and in the near future, most of the new projects will either be located on the reclaimed islands or on the mountain slopes around Victoria. And in both cases, the foundation solutions can be a nightmare for civil engineers, building contractors and project managers,” he said.

Mr Robert added that if the piling contractors have been able to offer solutions for new developments like bridges, quays and high rise buildings on reclaimed islands around Victoria and in town, there are so many ambitious projects that cannot go ahead due to their difficult access, with the sloppy topographical aspect of Mahe.

“With the micro-piling technique, we make the impossible become possible, technically and cost effective,” he adds.

To make this project achievable, UCPS has also brought on board a civil engineering partner. Michel Savy of ATOM Engineering, who has previously worked on heavy civil and geotechnical engineering works in Seychelles, was approached. ATOM Engineering agreed to team up with UCPS for the design, the technical implementation and follow-up of this project.

“When I was approached by Gregory Albert, the general manger of UCPS, I knew I had a partner,” comments Mr Savy. “It was a natural avenue for ATOM Engineering to venture into, given the nature of projects we’ve previously undertaken. I could also sense the value that this technology would bring to Seychelles in terms of giving people choices when planning their developments,” Mr Savy added.

“Many projects in Seychelles were put on the back burner due to issues such as vibrations in densely urbanised areas, poor soils and difficult access for the equipment required to install deep foundations where required,” affirmed Mr Lo Pinto, JFAlbert’s Group PR & Communications manager.

“This foundation technique is cost effective and allows for relatively high loads to be handled with virtually no risk of damaging adjacent buildings during installation. Developers will therefore have a safe and economic solution when it comes to their respective projects,” he concluded.

 

Contributed by JFAlbert Group of Companies

 

 

 

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