Trenchless construction: Uses and potentials

Infrastructure projects in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) at federal and local levels have been continuously growing. This includes installation, inspection, repair, and replacement of water mains, sewer, storm water, power, and telecommunication networks. Traditionally, these tasks related to underground utilities involve open trenching construction methods resulting in expensive and disruptive operations, particularly in congested urban areas like Dubai and Abu Dhabi cities. To avoid this serious problem, contractors and local municipalities are using trenchless construction in their infrastructure projects. The development of trenchless methods has gained impetus in the construction industry in UAE due to increasing amounts of investment in underground infrastructures that are new, deteriorating, or under capacity. This paper presents the results of a questionnaire survey of trenchless construction methods used by municipalities and contractors in UAE. The survey provides an indication of current and expected future trends in the application of trenchless construction technologies including types of technologies employed and percentage of projects that employed trenchless technologies. The survey results indicate that trenchless technology is gaining increasing popularity among contractors and municipalities across UAE. The survey results also indicate that trenchless technology is gaining increasing popularity among municipal engineers across UAE. The survey also revealed current and likely future growth in utilizing trenchless construction methods and the average expenditures of municipalities in UAE for new construction and for rehabilitation.