Kingdom Tower Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Kingdom Tower - Essay Example At the same time, concrete technology to be applied, the designs for the structure have much to be admired. Construction of the Kingdom Tower has both social and political implications in the region as well as the world. Saudi Gazette (web) states that the enormous structure is to consume 80,000 tons of steel, 500,000m ³ concrete, covering construction area of 530,000m ², incurring a total cost of US $ 1.23 billion. This implies that the project will have great impact on the social, environmental and political spheres. Socially, the project will create employment in the region, for example; Advanced Construction Technology Services (ACTS) is the consulting organization responsible for quality control for the project and offers job employment to 100 experts (Gizmodo web). This will be accompanied by cross-cutting issues in construction such as labor related issues, tourism attraction site, as well as environmental impact assessment. One of the political factors driving the construction is that the Saudis want to be the best in the West and Asian continents. The project is undertaken near the coast, a harsh environment for concrete structures. However, there are new innovations in concrete technology. These areas of innovation are worth implementation for the building. There is need to prolong the service life for reinforcement used for the structure since vast resources have been invested. Use of corrosion-inhibiting admixtures, epoxycoated steel reinforcement, of cathodic protection, and application of protective coating on the surface of the concrete are some of the new innovations in concrete technology that can be applied (Mehta pp.