Two years after the official inauguration in July 2017, the new Presidential Residence of Uzbekistan’s President, Shavkhat Mirziyoev, needed comprehensive repairs due to subterranean water damage. In September 2019, the Penetron System was successfully – and quickly – applied to ensure a permanent solution.
Uzbekistan is a landlocked country in Central Asia that lies east of the Caspian Sea and north of Afghanistan. It is a country with a rich and diverse cultural heritage due to its strategic location on the historic Silk Road. Central Asia’s most populous country (33 million inhabitants) is slightly larger than California and has abundant natural resources, such as gold, copper, and uranium, as well as gas and oil. It is also a major producer and exporter of cotton.
In 2016, Shavkhat Mirziyoev, then the new President of Uzbekistan, converted the previous presidential residence -- known as the White Palace – into a museum and began work on a new presidential residence.
Garden Thrives While the Basement Leaks
Officially opened on July 24, 2017, Mirziyoev’s palatial mansion was built on the shores of the Chirchik River in the village of Baytqorqon, outside the Uzbek capital of Tashkent. The new residence is a complex of buildings that cover several acres of land. This entire area has been transformed into a lush, verdant landscape that is watered with an automated irrigation system. However, due to the regular watering of the gardens, the basement structures of the residential buildings began to leak water.
“To find a permanent solution to stop the leaks, the Uzbek Presidential Administration turned to the specialists of Universal Plast Montaj Engineering, a local Penetron partner,” adds Igor Chernogolov, President of Penetron Russia. “PENETRON, a surface-applied, integral crystalline waterproofing material, was specified to repair the basement structures of Mirzoyev’s new residence.”
Saving Time with a Topical Application
Once applied as a slurry to the inside walls of the basement structures, PENETRONpenetrates into the cracks, micro-cracks and capillary tracts of the concrete. The active ingredients react with concrete minerals to form insoluble crystals, which fill in cracks, pores and voids and prevent water from penetrating into the concrete matrix, even under hydrostatic pressure. The application of the Penetron integral crystalline solution turned out to be a time saving solution, too. There was no need to dig a trench around the perimeter of the building to repair the below-grade concrete walls; all the repairs were done from the negative side (inside) of the basement structure.
“Because our integral waterproofing solution improves concrete durability and reduces permeability, the added protection helps eliminate a number of potential issues that can seriously compromise and deteriorate any concrete structure,” explains Igor Chernogolov. “The durability of the Presidential Residence is now assured.”
Green above, leaks below: The Penetron System was applied to the concrete basement structures of the new Uzbekistani Presidential Palace to seal leaks stemming from the garden’s irrigation system.
