(openPR) - The King Fahd Causeway is a 25-kilometer long and 23-meter wide marine, four-lane road connecting Saudi Arabia and Bahrain, supposed to support road traffic and significantly reduce travel time between the two kingdoms.

Since constructing a causeway with these dimensions and situating it in a harsh environment of the Middle East presented a big challenge due to the high risk of early damages to the concrete, the project owner looked for a reliable third-party inspection, verification, and testing company.

SGS Intron was awarded a contract to provide complex third-party consultancy services due to its first-rate experience and competence in projects of this kind.

SGS Intron supplied a wide range of third-party consultancy services before and during the construction of the King Fahd Causeway, with the aim to assess the expected service life of the concrete and coating to build a solid construction as well as performs comprehensive monitoring of the service life after the construction completion. As a world’s leading provider of inspection, testing, certification, and verification services, with over 35 years of unrivaled experience in investigating structural damage, SGS Intron assessed the expected service life of the concrete and coating by providing a wide portfolio of Service Life Prediction services, including durability tests on materials, modeling service life, risk assessment, and selection of materials.

Based on its extensive expertise and know-how in the construction sector, SGS Intron carried out various analyses of the building materials in order to select the most appropriate ones for the harsh climate of the Arabian Gulf. Moreover, SGS Intron’s highly skilled experts performed comprehensive laboratory experiments to establish performance of the materials before and during the construction of the causeway, as well as monitored the service life by conducting analyses of cores drilled from test piles. With its complex Service Life Prediction services, SGS supported the project owner in achieving the required service life, making the right decisions during the design and execution to ensure that the project could perform its primary function during its lifespan and avoiding premature failures and their costs, as well as predicting the maintenance cost of the King Fahd Causeway throughout its lifespan.

SGS Intron has several years of experience in assessing the expected service life of the concrete and coating and monitoring the service life of the building materials. With SGS Intron’s help, the King Fahd Causeway was constructed in accordance with all national and international quality and performance requirements to the full satisfaction of the client.

About SGS INTRON

On January 15, 2010, SGS Group acquired INTRON Holding BV to realize an important step in the further diversification of its Industrial Services activities in the Netherlands. The acquisition provided SGS with a solid footing in the building materials industry and strengthened its presence in the EU market. For INTRON, the takeover forms an important step in its international development with the help of the SGS worldwide network. The joint service portfolio represents supplementary added value to customers.

About SGS Intron Services for Construction Industry

SGS Intron provides a fully comprehensive program of services for the construction industry, including, but not limited to, Construction Materials Testing, Building Inspection and Certification, Coating Inspection and Failure Analysis, Construction Supervision, Non-Destructive Testing, and Design Verification. Moreover, SGS Intron offers Health, Safety and Environment Management, and Risk Management, as well as Project Management and Supply Chain Services.

SGS is the world’s leading inspection, verification, testing and certification company. SGS is recognized as the global benchmark for quality and integrity. With more than 67,000 employees, SGS operates a network of over 1,250 offices and laboratories around the world.

SGS Industrial Services
Robert Haverkort

SGS INTRON Certificatie B.V.
Venusstraat 2, 4105 JH Culemborg
PO Box 267, 4100 AG Culemborg
The Netherlands

t: +31 464 204 236
Email: industrial.pr@sgs.com
Website: www.sgs.com/industrial