THE application of precast technology is all set to revolutionise the construction of residential towers in India. In fact, this could well be the future of ultra-rapid mechanised construction.
This is especially after L&T recently demonstrated the immense utility of the precast technology in its Mission 96 – that is by constructing a 12-storey residential tower containing 96 flats in just 96 days!
The tower, constructed in Navi Mumbai, is part of an initiative by the City and Industrial Development Corporation of Maharashtra (CIDCO) to build housing for the people with low-income. In all, CIDCO is building some 23,432 residences at Bamandongri, Kharkopar and Taloja in Navi Mumbai and the 96 flats are among them. This project is under Package-IV of the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana.
The magnitude of the project was large, covering a built-up area of 64,000 sq ft. It involved production and installation of 1,985 precast elements of the superstructure, along with architectural finishes, mechanical, electrical and plumbing works. The large concrete panels used owe their superior quality to the controlled production in a factory environment.
B&F Fast, a special unit of the Buildings & Factories arm of L&T, commenced the construction work
on 4 April and hit its first milestone of 12 floors in 36 days. That’s an unprecedented 3-day floor construction cycle as compared to the industry norm of 8-12 days a floor.
The precast construction made it possible to initiate internal finishing works in 10 days – as soon as the third floor was completed. And that’s how L&T, on 9 July, homed in the ambitious target of constructing 96 flats in 96 days.
According to Mr M V Satish (Whole-time Director & Sr EVP – Buildings at L&T), apart from the precast construction technology, the project team also leveraged digital technology to achieve the rapid-pace construction. “We adopted the ‘concrete maturity’ method to monitor the development of concrete strength in real time using digital meters and monitored progress using ‘digital twin’ approach with a Building Information Model developed for
the project,” he says.
CIDCO authorities are overjoyed with the feat that L&T achieved in the project. “Great to see the record-making process by L&T. This will pave the way for the use of such technologies and excellent shopfloor management in the future,” the Jt MD of CIDCO, Mr Ashwin Mudgal, said at an event held to showcase the completed tower.
The feat has also earned appreciation from famed architect Mr Hafeez Contractor. “L&T, which pioneered aluminum formwork construction in the country and changed the face of the residential sector, has been instrumental in driving precast technology to further achieve material sustainability and speedy construction”.
L&T’s focus on prefabricated pre-finished volumetric construction would help meet India’s growing demand for housing, he added. Prior to this, in March this year, L&T had constructed a 7-storey Flight Control System Integration Centre for the DRDO in Bengaluru. Time is money. Thus, every minute saved is money earned, especially if the job in question has an economic aspect.
