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The local UCC Holding, in partnership with the Public Works Authority (Ashghal), has commenced the printing phase of the 3D Printed Schools Project.

The initiative involves building two public schools, each spanning 20,000 square metres.

UCC Holding has described it as the world’s largest construction project using 3D printing technology – reportedly 40 times bigger than the largest 3D-printed building constructed to date.

The schools are part of the second package of the Qatar Schools Development Programme, delivered under a public-private partnership model, which includes 14 schools in total.

The two schools are being designed as two-storey buildings on plots measuring 100 metres by 100 metres each.

To achieve this scale, UCC Holding engaged COBOD, a 3D construction printing company based in Denmark, to supply two customised BODXL printers.

Each printer measures 50 metres in length, 30 metres in width and 15 metres in height, approximately the size of a Boeing 737 hangar.

After completing preparation, which included site development, equipment assembly and operational simulations, printing operations have now officially begun.

UCC Holding has put together a 3D construction team comprising architects, civil engineers, material scientists and printer technicians.

Over the past eight months, this team has conducted more than 100 full-scale test prints using a BOD2 printer at a dedicated trial site in Doha.

In May 2025, the team completed training alongside COBOD engineers. The training covered printer operation, print sequencing, structural layering strategies and live quality control.

The schools’ design is inspired by Qatar’s natural desert formations, with curved walls resembling sand dunes.

The schools are expected to be completed by the end of 2025.

Earlier this year, Ashghal began construction of the Qatar Sidra Academy project in Education City, which will accommodate nearly 1,800 students.

READ THE JUNE 2025 MEED BUSINESS REVIEW – click here to view PDF

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Distributed to senior decision-makers in the region and around the world, the June 2025 edition of MEED Business Review includes: