In a first in Oman, 3D printed building set up in Duqm

Muscat: A building using 3D printing technology has been erected for the first time in the Sultanate of Oman in the Special Economic Zone at Duqm.

This technology saves time and the building does not need concrete columns during the construction of the structure. The 3D printing technology is based on converting the cement material of this technology into an integrated structure using an automatic printer.

Ahmed bin Ali Akaak, the CEO in charge of the Special Economic Zone at Duqm, said, "The use of the commercial unit with its accessories established with 3D printing technology is the first in the Sultanate of Oman. He added that the economic zone supports this trend to generalise the experience in many other facilities and sectors.

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Saif bin Nasser al Busaidi, Director of the Projects Department at the Oman Special Economic Zone Development Company in Duqm, said that the construction works of the commercial unit using 3D printing technology with its attachments were completed on an area of 101 square metres, and a residential unit is being prepared. Another building with its annexes of 72 square metres in the fishermen’s village is within the scope of the project’s work, adding that the construction process was completed in record time compared to traditional methods.

Al Busaidi pointed out that engineers from the Public Authority for Special Economic Zones and Free Zones designed the building and a team of Omani youth from the German University of Technology implemented the project using 3D printing techniques.