Saudi Arabia and United Arab Emirates (UAE) For example, desert is spread in countries but despite this they have to buy sand from abroad. These countries are importing sand from China, Australia and Belgium. Buying sand from desert countries may seem strange but there is a good reason for it. and what is that? That is construction.
Actually, projects worth billions of dollars are going on in both these countries. Saudi Arabia is working on projects worth billions of dollars under Vision-2030. There itself, UAE Tall buildings are being built in. Now to make them, a special kind of sand is required, which is not found in the desert.
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Why is desert sand useless??
Now the question arises that when there is a desert spread over thousands of kilometers, why is there a need to ask for sand from outside?? Is the desert sand of no use??
In fact, desert sand is usually worn away by the wind over thousands of years. Its grains become round and smooth. Like marbles. Whereas, construction requires rough sand which comes from river, lake or sea.
Now to prepare concrete, three things are required – cement, water and sand. Concrete contains only 35-40 percent sand. Therefore no sand is useful in this. For this, rough sand is required, so that strong and durable concrete can be prepared.
Whatever buildings are built or any infrastructure is created across the world, only rough sand is required for it.
Investigative journalist Vince Beiser in his book ‘The World in a Grain‘ It is written in ‘Making concrete from desert sand is like trying to build a castle from marbles.‘
United Nations Environment Program (UNEP)UNEPAccording to ), 50 billion tons of sand is consumed every year worldwide.
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saudi-UAE Why does one need sand??
Saudi Arabia and UAE For example, even though there is desert in Gulf countries, the demand for sand is increasing rapidly here. These countries are buying sand from countries like Australia, China and Belgium. Despite being a desert in Gulf countries, its sand is of no use in the construction sector.
For example, the world’s tallest building is Burj Khalifa in Dubai. To build it, 39 thousand tonnes of steel, 1.03 lakh square meter glass and 33 crore liters of concrete were used. It was filled with so much concrete that it could fill 132 Olympic-sized swimming pools. Now, to prepare so much concrete, sand was imported from Australia.
Saudi Arabia is working on Vision-2030. Its objective is to reduce the dependence on oil in the Saudi economy. For this, Saudi is also building a future city like Neom. It is estimated that 500 billion dollars will be spent on this. There will be tall buildings and the most modern infrastructure ever. To prepare all this, sand is required.
similarly UAE Skyscrapers are also being built in India. For these also the sand comes from outside. UAE Apart from construction, sand is also required in the production of glass. Other than this UAE Is also building artificial islands like Palm Jumeirah. The United Nations estimates that 18.65 crore cubic meters of sand has been used for this.
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australia’s best sand!
Australia is the second largest trader of sand in the world. Sand is imported from Australia for construction all over the world.
OEC According to the World, in 2023, Australia had exported sand worth more than $270 million. The biggest among its buyers is Saudi Arabia. In 2023, Saudi Arabia had purchased sand worth $1.40 lakh.
Sand coming from Australia is used in mega infrastructure projects. Neom of Saudi Arabia, The demand for sand has also increased due to projects like The Red Sea Project and Kiddiya.
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This is also a matter of concern!
The demand for sand is continuously increasing in Gulf countries like Saudi Arabia. The United Nations has expressed concern about this. The United Nations says the world ‘sand crisis‘ Is facing.
The United Nations says that excessive sand is being extracted for construction purposes, which is causing harm to the environment. Erosion is taking place in rivers, ponds and seas, which is also threatening biodiversity.
Now some countries are investing in M-sand, which is made by crushing rocks. Apart from this, recycled waste is also being used. Saudi Arabia is also working on these options but there is no policy yet to reduce sand import.
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