According to a report in Al-Madinah newspaper recently, they said nearly 70 percent of buildings situated in districts with the presence of groundwater are on the verge of collapse. The warning came at a time when a number of building owners urged the authorities to take urgent measures to protect their residential buildings from the dangers posed by ground water.
Municipal officials have said several projects are in the cards to bring down the level of ground water. Most of these projects are concentrated in regions east of the Haramain Expressway. Procedures are under way to implement these projects.
Abdullah Ridwan, chairman of the National Committee for Contractors at the Council of Saudi Chambers of Commerce and Industry, underlined the need for adding insulation materials in concrete and iron mixing while constructing foundations.
Engineering consultant Nabeel Abbas, who is the president of the committee in charge of issues pertaining to engineers at the Jeddah Chamber of Commerce and Industry, warned against the partial or total collapse of buildings. He called on building owners to seek the support of engineering offices to construct buildings that fulfill required standards and specifications.
“More than 80 percent of buildings are being constructed without adequate measures,” he said. “This will eventually lead to weakening of the foundations and a threat of collapse within 10 years from the date of construction."
Meanwhile, consultant civil engineer Adel Rawzi, who is also acting chairman of the arbitration wing at the Saudi Engineering Society, said more than 80 percent of private buildings lack appropriate engineering standards for dealing with underground water.
“This results in shortening the lifespan of buildings from 80 years to 25 years. Sixty-five percent of buildings will not make it to a typical building lifespan,” Rawzi, said, while attributing the problem to the incompetent engineers.
Abdul Rahman Al-Sayidi said the ground water has already done a lot of damage to building foundations in Al-Nakheel district in east Jeddah.
Echoing the same feeling, Saeed Al-Asmari, owner of a residential building at Al-Haramain township in north Jeddah, said groundwater has penetrated the low level of the residential buildings.
“This prompted me to take swift action to drain the water,” Saeed Al-Asmari said.
Safar Al-Maliki, an investor in residential buildings, drew attention to the huge losses caused by groundwater to their buildings.
“We are forced to erect barriers with huge rocks and pillars costing more than SR200,000 to prevent our buildings from collapsing,” he added.
