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.

The new Djamaa El Djazair Mosque of Algiers is a huge construction project located in the eastern part of the capital city of Algeria. It will feature the world’s tallest minaret with a height of 265m. Further to this, the large complex will be able to accommodate as many as 120,000 worshippers.

For the main mosque’s building, Dextra supplied its Tension Bar Systems to China State Construction Engineering Corporation, the main contractor on this project. In total, those are more than 800 structural tension bar assemblies with diameters ranging from M16 to M56 which are being used for the cross-bracing of the roofing structure in the domed prayer room.

Each tension rod is painted in white to match the interior design of the mosque. Bracing discs (top left picture) add to the special architectonic finish of the structure.

For the building and minaret construction, Dextra also supplied its popular Bartec coupler solution, also available in Algeria through our network of distributors. consult our Paris office for more information.