Gulf Construction Online

UAE Focus

Update

01 December 2011

Etihad Rail to launch Phase Two
ETIHAD Rail will launch the second phase of its $11-billion project very soon with contracts to be awarded by the third quarter of next year.

The second stage will connect the Abu Dhabi rail network to Jebel Ali in Dubai as well as links to the borders of Saudi Arabia and Oman.

'We will start the contracting process in the next few weeks, seek expressions of interest and the contracts (award) by second quarter or third quarter of 2012,' Richard Bowker said last month at a Meed conference in the UAE capital.

Bowker said 'no final decision' has been taken on the financing for the project.

When the project is completed in 2017, there will be a 1,200-km freight and passenger rail network built across the UAE’s seven emirates, starting with a route linking the gas fields of Shah and Habshan to Ruwais.

Elite Residence ... towering up.

Residential tower topped out
TAMEER Holding Investment said its 91-storey Elite Residence in Dubai has reached its final height of 381 m, placing it amongst the world’s tallest towers.

The developer recently completed the roof structure and mast which has revealed the final appearance of this prominent tower. With all major plant and equipment in position, the tower crane has now been removed. The focus for the site team now will be to complete the internal finishes as the $462-million project progresses through the final stages.

The tower provides a mixture of spacious one- and two-bedroom apartments, and three-and four-bedroom penthouses, with a total of 697 apartments.

DSI’s revenues on the rise
Drake & Scull International (DSI), a regional market leader in the integrated design, engineering and construction sector, registered a 77-per-cent year-on-year net margin growth during the third quarter.

The Dubai-based company said quarterly revenue almost doubled from Dh432 million ($117.6 million) last year to Dh847 million ($230.5 million), while net income rose to Dh60 million ($16.3 million) from Dh34 million ($9.25 million) last year.

CEO Khaldoun Tabari said revenues for the first nine months totalling Dh2.23 billion ($607.24 million) have already exceeded the total revenues of fiscal 2010 which reached Dh1.85 billion ($503.77 million).

District coolers urged to merge
THE UAE’s district cooling companies should follow the trend of merger and acquisitions popular among the Emirati banks, in order to benefit from consolidation and economies of scale, said an industry expert.

This strategic step will lead to cost savings, maximisation of branch network performance as well as help in realising profit efficiency in the long run for banks, said Ahmad Bin Shafar, the CEO of Emirates Central Cooling Systems Corporation (Empower), a major player in the Middle East district cooling sector.

Bin Shafar also called upon regional and local banks to enhance their funding to the district cooling industry, which is considered one of the safest industries in terms of risks and return on investment.

He said that if banks show reluctance to invest in this sector they are losing a precious opportunity to invest in a promising and safe utility industry.

Hospital structure complete
MUBADALA Healthcare, a unit of Abu Dhabi’s government-owned Mubadala Development Company, has announced the structural completion of the Cleveland Clinic on Sowwah Island.

The Abu Dhabi hospital will be a bespoke extension of the US Cleveland Clinic for the region. The 364-bed facility will be organised into the five institutes of digestive disease, eye, heart and vascular, neurological, and respiratory and critical care, to offer an advanced range of tertiary/quaternary medical services.

The next phase of construction will see the transition of the 409,234-sq-m structure through various complex MEP (mechanical, electrical and plumbing) installations and a multifaceted façade system.

The medical facility, being built by main contractor Sixco-Samsung, is due for completion and hand-over in the second quarter of 2013. Aldar Properties is the project’s development manager.

Rentals firm celebrates success
GLOBAL offshore accommodation specialist HB Rentals says it was won key contracts following the opening of its first Middle East office in the UAE a year ago.

HB Rentals, which serves the oil and gas industry, recently commissioned a project for Abu Dhabi’s Gulf Marine Services (GMS) under which it provided 10 eight-man accommodation modules and two recreation rooms along with stairways and walkways for the GMS vessel Endeavour.

HB Rentals provided full site installation support, including hook-up and commissioning of the complex on board the vessel, located at Abu Dhabi Port.

Another GMS contract win secured the supply of eight three-man accommodation units on the Kudeta lift boat, located offshore Abu Dhabi. The third success involved the provision of eight offshore accommodation units to the Khwalah vessel also in Abu Dhabi.

Raytheon flies high in Dubai
RAYTHEON’S next-generation air traffic management (ATM) system AutoTrac III (AT3), which is being installed at Dubai World Central’s Al Maktoum International Airport, is scheduled to become operational next year.

'The system provides a high-performance, cost-effective solution for the world’s rapidly growing air traffic demands. It contains some of the most advanced surveillance and flight data processing systems available today,' said Stephen DuMont, director of International ATM for Raytheon Network Centric Systems.

Raytheon’s AT3 system will provide air traffic control automation for the Dubai terminal airspace and provide approach control services for Al Maktoum International, Dubai International, Sharjah International, and Al Minhad Airbase.

Elster to supply meters to Sewa
SHARJAH Electricity and Water Authority (Sewa) has selected US-headquartered Elster to supply more than 30,000 V100 water meters in the UAE.

The V100 volumetric water meter is available in a range of sizes from 15 mm to 40 mm and provides optimum accuracy and performance. Delivering long-life, low-maintenance and tamper-proof operation, the V100 performs in accordance with international ISO 4064 standards, said Gary Vincent, regional general manager for Elster’s water metering business.

Sewa supplies electricity, water and natural gas to over 300,000 customers in the emirate of Sharjah.

Al Futtaim signs MEP contract
AL Futtaim Engineering of the UAE has signed a multi-million-dirham contract with Sharjah’s Department of Public Works (DPW) to undertake MEP (mechanical, electrical and plumbing) maintenance of 116 buildings, 11 museums and prominent mosques in Sharjah and the Northern Emirates. As part of the contract, Al Futtaim Engineering will also undertake the training of DPW staff on the projects.

Mott MacDonald eyes expansion
MOTT MacDonald held its latest round of group board meetings in the UAE capital last month, demonstrating the importance of the Abu Dhabi market to its Dh6 billion ($1.6 billion) global business.

It was the first time this meeting has been held outside its worldwide headquarters in the UK. Mott MacDonald’s UAE offices serve as the headquarters for its multi-sector operations across the Middle East and South Asia region.

The group board’s visit – led by chairman Keith Howells, managing director Richard Williams and strategic development director Kevin Stovell – emphasised the group’s focus on expanding its current business across the UAE, Oman, Yemen, Bahrain, Qatar, Iraq, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and Jordan.