BITEC, Bangkok International Trade & Exhibition Centre, is a large exhibition venue locast East of Bangkok in the Bang Na district.

Dextra was involved in the Phase II expansion of the exhibition center, taking place between 2014 and 2016. The expansion project added 3 exhibition halls, more than 32,000 sqm of exhibiting space under a ceiling height of 25 meters.

Dextra worked together with contractor Italian-Thai to engineer and supply long tension bar systemsthat will support the roof structure above the BITEC new exhibition halls.

In total, Dextra delivered 298 assemblies in various diameters, each composed of multiple bars connected with couplers and turnbuckles and anchored to the structure with fork ends, with total assembly lengths in several cases exceeding 50 meters long (average 33 meters).

Delivery took place end of 2015 and installation was completed by mid-2016. Bangkokians can still easily admire the Tension Bars roofing structure when stopping at BTS Bearing station, or driving up the Bang Na Trat highway.

For such large structures, Tension Bars offer a number of advantages compared to other “tensioning” solutions: lower elongation under loads, lower post tensioning forces required, better resistance to corrosion, reduced long terms relaxation and reduced maintenance and surveillance costs.

Moreover, they are easily to install thanks to their fork ends and offer a very aesthetic roofing structure.