Awareness of trenchless technologies in the UAE

The population of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) is growing and major cities are becoming increasingly crowded. Billions of dollars have been allocated to replace and maintain the existing infrastructure. This includes the installation, inspection, repair, and replacement of water supply, sewer, storm water, power, and telecommunication networks. Conventional open-trench methods to install new and rehabilitate existing utilities are expensive and lead to traffic disruption including road closures, traffic delays, detours resulting in noise and loss of access to homes and businesses, particularly in congested urban areas like Dubai and Abu Dhabi emirates. The UAE government is, therefore, looking at alternative methods for the installation, replacement, and maintenance of aging underground utilities. This paper will present the results of a questionnaire survey conducted among construction practitioners in the UAE representing municipalities, contractors, and design firms to elicit the current level of awareness of trenchless construction methods and their popularity as emerging technologies among construction practitioners across the country. Survey results provided an indication of the current and expected future trend in the application of trenchless technologies including the types currently employed. It also provided an idea on the percentage of projects that employed trenchless technologies or are willing to use these technologies in the future. A comparison of trenchless technology utilization now and in 2007 is also presented. The survey results revealed the current and potential future growth in utilizing trenchless methods and the expected average government expenditures for the construction of new utilities and the rehabilitation of existing ones.