Uploaded on 2017-05-19 by Anushree Rajhans

The picture shows a construction site for a residential building. After visiting various construction sites in Abu Dhabi, I have realized that not only the construction materials but sometimes also the architectural firms which designed it are not local. To begin with, sand which is used quite a lot in any construction is imported in UAE despite there being a abundance of it naturally here. According to a UN report, in 2014 the UAE imported $456 million worth of sand, stone and gravel. Wind-formed desert sand, which is what the emirates’ is, has a high salt content and is too smooth to be used in construction. As a result most of the exponential growth that Abu Dhabi has seen has been dependent on imported sand. In fact, UAE’s most famous building was born out of foreign sand. Australian company NT Pre-Stressing provided a sand-based fast-setting concrete that went into building the Burj Khalifa. The sand is usually imported from Britain, Germany and other European nations.