wiredInUSA January 2020

Rebar to resist corrosion

Efforts to get fiber underway

Image: Pultron Composites Saudi Aramco has signed an agreement with New Zealand-based Pultron Composites and its subsidiary company, Mateenbar in Dubai. Mateenbar is a manufacturer of glass fiber-reinforced polymer (GFRP) rebar. The product is corrosion-free and lightweight, and is said toprovidea longer lifespan andminimal life cycle costs when compared to traditional steel rebar. Saudi Aramco believes GFRP rebar is qualified to replace around 10 percent of its total steel demand, and has specified GFRP rebar be included in its engineering standards for reinforced concrete structures in corrosion-risk and aggressive environments. The agreement with Pultron aligns with Saudi Aramco’s approach to managing corrosion in Saudi Arabia and throughout the Middle East. Mateenbar is the principal supplier of GFRP rebar in the 21km-long Jizan flood mitigation channel in Saudi Arabia -— the largest project in the world to be entirely reinforced using GFRP rebar. Mateenbar was also used as reinforcement for the Grand Paris Metro tunnel, the Burj Al Arab, and the F1 race track in Abu Dhabi.

Israel’s communications ministry is prepared to ease demands on Bezeq Israel Telecom to rescue its plans for a nationwide fiber optic network. Bezeq, Israel’s main fixed-line operator, has said it is unable to shoulder the costs of laying fiber optics to some rural areas, stalling plans for a national network in a country that views itself as a center for technology development. Under the new proposals, instead of requiring Bezeq to build a fiber optic network across the whole country, the regulator will allow the company to choose its network areas. In regions where Bezeq does not build a network, smaller rivals will be able to bid for the business; a fund using cash raised from the revenues of telecom firms would support the rollout in those places. The ministry hopes that the regulations will encourage “a wide and nationwide deployment of an advanced communications infrastructure that will enable a variety of consumer products and contribute to Israel’s economy”.

31

wiredInUSA January 2020