Products supplied by a.b.e.® were extensively used for the repair and provision of three important community structures in Malawi.
a.b.e.® is part of the Chryso Southern Africa Group.
Trevor Enerson, a.b.e.® Development Manager: Exports, says a.b.e.® products were used for the upgrading and rehabilitation of Blantyre Water Board’s three portable water reservoirs; and for the rehabilitation of grain silos of the National Food Reserve Agency’s Kanengo Silo Project in Lilongwe. Products supplied by a.b.e.®, as well as its holding company, Chryso® SA, were used for the Lilongwe Water Board’s new Water Treatment Plant.
For the repair of the Lilongwe Water Treatment Plant, carried out by leading Malawi building and civil engineering contractors, the SAWA Group, a.b.e.® supplied duraflex® flexible cementitious waterproofing slurry for the internal application to the Plant’s silt tanks and water clarifiers. a.b.e.®’s dura®sil SH silane siloxane water repellant treatment was used as external coating of the water reservoir to reduce the ingress of chloride irons and carbonation attack.
Other a.b.e.® products used for the 18-month long Lilongwe Water Treatment Plant project included dura®joint PVC Waterstop for the joints; as well as a.b.e.®‘s precision non-shrink cementitious grouting, dura®grout, to provide full bearing support for the plant and machinery installations. Chryso®Cure acrylic emulsion was used to aid curing and reduce the incidence of shrinkage cracks while promoting full strength development. Furthermore, Chryso®Plast Omega 122 water reducing super-plasticiser was used by the contractors to obtain high performance concrete with a low water-cement ratio.
Enerson says for the construction and isolation joints that formed part of the upgrading of the Blantyre Water Board’s three new reservoirs, a.b.e.® supplied dura®joint PVC Waterstop, and dura®kol G HM along with epidermix 326 epoxy primer as joint sealants. For the reservoirs’ internal walls and floors, a.b.e.®’s duraflex® was used as waterproofing slurry. The external walls and roofs were treated with a.b.e.®’s dura®rep FC, dura®cote WB primer and dura®cote WB aliphatic acrylic coating to provide an attractive durable and UV-stable protective coating to the off-shutter concrete surfaces. Finally, a.b.e.®’s epidermix 344 wet-to-dry epoxy compound was used in conjunction with a.b.e.® dura®grout for the grouting and sealing of tie bar holes in the walls.
Offshore Construction India and Fargo Ltd of Malawi were the two main contractors on the Blantyre Water Board project.
The third completed Malawian construction project for which a.b.e.® supplied products was for the rehabilitation of the grain silos of the National Food Reserve Agency’s Kanengo Project in Lilongwe. The repair and upgrade was carried out by the country’s respected civil engineering contractors, Plem Construction who used a.b.e® silocoat – an elastomeric cementitious waterproofing coating that cures to form an impermeable membrane – and also a.b.e.®’s duraflex® waterproofing slurry for this project.
Enerson says the successful completion of the three large-scaled construction projects outside South Africa’s borders testify to a.b.e.® and Chryso® SA’s growing influence and operations in sub-Saharan Africa. “These are all projects that provide essential community benefits and the successful application of the Chryso Southern Africa Group’s products, plus the assistance and advice we could provide to the Malawian contractors and professional teams, augur well for the future of the Chryso® Group’s export operations into Africa,” he adds.