India's first state-of-the-art 3D post office opens in Bengaluru

Bengaluru: Union Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw on Friday inaugurated India's first 3D-printed post office building in Bengaluru.

The 3D-printed post office building at Cambridge Layout in the city with a built-up area of 1,021 square feet will be functional following the inauguration, a Department of Posts official said.

According to the postal officials, the construction of this post office building was carried out by construction company Larsen & Toubro Limited while IIT Madras provided technical guidance.

After the inauguration, Vaishnaw, who holds the Railways, Communications, Electronics and IT portfolios, said: "The spirit of development, the spirit of developing our own technology, the spirit of doing something which was considered impossible in the earlier times. That's the defining feature of these times."

Speaking about the unique building, Vaishnaw said this new construction technology was carried out through 3D-concrete printing technology, which is a fully automated building construction technology wherein a robotic printer deposits the concrete layer-by-layer as per the approved design and special grade concrete that hardens quickly is used to ensure bonding between the layers to print the structure.

India's first 3D-printed post office in Bengaluru was inaugurated by minister @AshwiniVaishnaw today. Built in 45 days by L&T. Company says 3D concrete printing has the potential to significantly speeden construction and enhance overall build quality. pic.twitter.com/rcAJ5qWYmq

— Vasudha Venugopal (@Vasudha156) August 18, 2023

The entire construction activity was completed in a period of 45 days as compared to about six to eight months taken by the conventional method.

Cost and time savings make 3D-concrete printing technology a viable alternative to conventional building practices.

"Having a 3D-printed concrete building constructed on site is a great initiative. This is a technology demonstrator. IIT Madras has done fabulous work on this. When this technology will become mainstream, we will see more such initiatives on taking this technology forward," Vaishnaw told reporters.

He also added that nobody had ever thought that India would be developing its own 4G and 5G technology. "Nobody ever thought that India would manufacture its complex telecom equipment."