Plastic pipes in modern infrastructure

The Middle East and North Africa region (MENA) grew considerably last year.The market suffered a major setback as huge infrastructure investments were paused or shelved but commendable performances have been registered in the past several months. According to latest statistics, GCC production of polyethylene and polypropylene resins will grow to 31 million tonnes by 2015 as the region aims to become the primary source of petrochemicals and plastics products in the world.

The region’s population continues to grow, stimulating the demand for construction and infrastructure – and hence the demand for pipes. KPMG's Global Infrastructure Practice released the Infrastructure 100 World Cities Edition which included some of Middle Eastern projects as well. Projects including social housing, hospitals, universities, waste management facilities, and a metro rail system from within the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Qatar and Bahrain all appeared in the list. The Middle East is leading by investing heavily in innovative infrastructure projects to create major cosmopolitan cities that are striking a balance with the needs of the population, economy and most important, the environment.

According to Global Industry Analysts, Inc, (GIA), the world’s plastic pipes market is projected to reach 7.6 billion metres by 2017. Heavy infrastructure investments, increase in construction activity and new product development with applicative areas are further expected to stimulate growth. The report suggests that as plastics perform efficiently in utility water systems, cable protection, under-floor heating, and other similar applications, opportunities in these segments are increasing and are expected to prove worthy for plastic pipes in the future. Polyvinyl chloride (PVC) is expected to maintain a strong hold in the plastic pipes market as it appears useful in small diameter applications such as agriculture-grade pipes, potable water distribution pipes and sanitary sewers. High-density polyethylene (HDPE) pipe category demonstrates high growth prospects amongst plastic pipe resin categories as they incur less installation costs and can also be modified according to the application areas.

According to the market research on plastic pipes, Europe and United States remain the largest markets for plastic pipes but the Middle East and Africa are expected to show high growth, following an increasing demand for plastic pipes in construction, telecommunications, and natural gas distribution systems.

Preferred in major projects
The GCC is seeing an increase in infrastructure and civic projects. At present the main projects are likely to be the large scale sewerage projects for which the PP gravity pipes are in demand. There are also a number of industrial projects particularly in the refining field that are being appraised right now for the use of pressure polyethylene PE. Opportunities in the nuclear energy sector throughout out the GCC and elsewhere are also particularly dominant whereas residential projects – which are always a target for plastic pipes – are expected to pick pace from the recent dip.

So what major trends exist in the plastic pipes sector? “Uptake of PE and PP is accelerating as more raw materials become available locally. PE pressure pipes are now available up to 2000mm diameter. More specialised uses in the oil and gas industry are spurring as liners are also becoming a standard solution to internal corrosion of carbon steel pipes. Large diameter PP non pressure pipes are now available up to 3400 mm which is a huge step forward. These pipes have already been used in major offshore projects,” said Robert Lawrence, Managing Director, Gulf Plastic Pipes Academy (GPPA).

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