United Bank Limited (UBL) is one of the largest names in the banking industry of Pakistan and is primarily engaged in commercial banking and related services.
United Bank Limited (UBL) moved its headquarters to a twin skyscraper in the heart of Karachi’s financial hub, I. I. Chundrigar Road. The construction of the new building started in May 2011 and was completed in early 2016.
Project Requirements
The project entailed the following high requirements that needed to be fulfilled in order to achieve the desired outcome:
- Fair face concrete
- High strength columns 10,000 Psi
- Up to 180 minutes slump retention
Proposed Solution
The project was overall quite challenging as the height of the new building was more compared to the width of the building. The ready-mix site was far away from the project site and due to the high traffic and congested areas on the route, the slump retention was kept at more than 180 minutes. Moreover, high strength columns were needed, unlike the regular columns in day to day projects, which was causing quite a hurdle. Apart from ensuring high strength columns, it was highly essential to keep the concrete workable for pouring and pump transportation.
There were many trials and testings performed, including pouring, using different chemicals products, however G2002 of Vertex chemicals proved to be a perfect solution. It was used in all the columns and even the already casted concrete columns that were broken and needed to be re-casted.