Going Green in Dubai
Green Cement Factory LLC (GCF), a subsidiary of Hong Kong-based Shun Shing Group, commenced commercial operations of its greenfield slag grinding plant in March 2021. The new 1Mta state-of-the-art facility is based in the Dubai Industrial City, UAE, and supplies the domestic construction sector with premium sustainable products.
The UAE construction sector consumes around 12Mta of cementitious materials, equivalent to over 1t per capita of the population, reflecting a dynamic construction sector with activity concentrated in the emirate of Dubai.
A decade ago, seeking to ensure high construction standards while aiming to achieve as low a carbon footprint as possible, the government of Dubai revised its building code to favour concrete mixes with high levels of ground granulated blastfurnace slag (GGBS). Under the revised Dubai Building Code, substructures are required to use blended cement with a minimum of 66 per cent GGBS component, while superstructures are required to incorporate 34 per cent GGBS.