Prime Highlights:

• Siam Cement Group (SCG) has built Thailand’s first 3D-printed pedestrian bridge over Bangkok’s historic Ong Ang Canal.
• SCG is also developing low-carbon cement from materials like wood, cutting carbon emissions by up to 20% per ton.

Key Facts:

• SCG, founded in 1913, earned $14.5 billion in 2024, making it Thailand’s largest building materials company and the 21st largest in Southeast Asia.
• The company previously built the world’s first 3D-printed medical center in Saraburi in 2023.

Background:

Thailand’s oldest cement company, Siam Cement Group (SCG), has built the country’s first 3D-printed pedestrian bridge over the Ong Ang Canal in Bangkok’s Chinatown. Once an important trade route in the 18th century, the canal became heavily polluted and was known as the city’s dirtiest. The new bridge is part of a government effort to restore and improve the historic waterway.

Surachai Nimlaor, head of SCG’s cement and green solutions operations, explained that 3D printing technology allows the company to reduce construction time while enabling innovative architectural designs. “With 3D printing, we can create structures with unique shapes that would be difficult to achieve with conventional construction methods,” he said in a January 20 interview.

SCG began using 3D printing in the early 2020s and built the world’s first 3D-printed medical center in 2023. Machines lay concrete layer by layer from a digital design, allowing buildings with unique shapes without using molds.

SCG’s idea comes at a time when Thailand has fewer construction workers because the population is getting older. Many projects now depend on workers from other countries, mainly Cambodia and Myanmar.

Despite the promise of 3D printing, Nimlaor notes that structures are currently limited to one or two storeys because taller buildings present material and stability challenges.

Besides 3D printing, SCG is making low-carbon cement from materials like wood, which can lower carbon emissions by up to 20% per ton. The company now exports this cement to the U.S. and Australia, where sustainability is important for developers. SCG plans to launch a new version that could reduce emissions by up to 40%, with long-term goals of cutting emissions by 90%.

“Business growth and sustainability must go together,” said Nimlaor, showing SCG’s focus on eco-friendly construction and responsible development.