Gulf Construction Online

Qatar

Barwa Commercial Avenue ... close to completion.

Business belt

01 March 2013

CONSTRUCTION work on the QR7-billion ($1.92 billion) Barwa Commercial Avenue is close to completion with the first components of the massive development now being handed over to tenants for their fit-out.

The iconic mixed-use development stretches over an impressive 8.5 km strip in Doha, making it one of the longest single project developments in the world.

According to its developer Barwa, the project was developed to provide a catalyst for development in the relatively underdeveloped south of Doha and aims to bring high-quality accommodation for businesses, individuals and retailers into an area that was previously associated with industry.

“Barwa Commercial Avenue is closely aligned with the Qatar National Vision 2030 and is a direct response to the future needs of the Qatari market,” says Saad Al Dosari, chairman of Barwa Commercial Avenue.

Poised to become the capital’s ultimate retail and residential destination, the development is currently in the midst of testing and commissioning works. The district cooling and potable water systems are now operational for the whole development with power due to be connected in the coming weeks.

“Currently, the whole development is energised on generators to allow for testing and commissioning and to enable tenants to have access to the units for fit-out works,” says a spokesman for Barwa.

The development spreads along a 8.5-km strip on Al Muntazah Street and comprises five distinctly different yet easily identifiable architectural zones – Jeera, Safwa, Joud Mall, Arkan and Sayer – in the Ain Khaled district between the Mesaimeer roundabout and the industrial area. Careful use of colours on the streetlighting and street furniture provides each zone with a clear identity.

The QR6.5-billion ($1.785 billion) construction contract for the entire Barwa Commercial Avenue was awarded to Hochtief Middle East (HTSME) in 2009 and is expected to be completed this year. Aecom is the design and supervision consultant, with other key players including QPM, the project management consultant, and Tanween, development management consultant.

The buildings comprising conventional reinforced concrete structures sit on a reinforced concrete raft foundation. The well-insulated façades of the buildings feature double glazing, aluminium panels and granite.

Barwa Commercial Avenue ... 8.5-km strip with five distinct zones.

Commenting on the challenges of the project, the spokesman says: “The greatest challenge in terms of construction was the huge scale of the project and the fact that there were an enormous number of work-fronts being executed in parallel.

“The greatest technical challenge was to fit all of the buildings, basements, parking, services, soak ways, etc into a site that is only 65 m across and 8,500 m in length. This long strip development allowed for all the buildings to be built in parallel, which put a great strain on the Qatar construction market in terms of materials and manpower.

“The corridors on either side of the buildings, under the parking, are literally packed with services and to install all of these in such a tight cross-section was a challenge.”

Up to 20,000 workers were employed and this required a massive logistical operation to move manpower and materials to the project in a timely manner.

Facilities

The mixed-use development offers over 908,000 sq m of state-of-the-art facilities, a mix of residential, commercial, and retail offerings, and an advanced infrastructure network. It will comprise 260,000 sq m of retail spaces (640 retail stores); 540 residential units ranging from one to three bedrooms in size; more than 200,000 sq m of office space (730 officers across all five zones); and 12,000 parking spaces.

Supporting retail facilities such as food-courts, grocery stores, pharmacies, and other essential amenities will serve those who live and work in the community. In addition, Barwa Commercial Avenue will position itself as a major retail destination for the broader region, featuring impressive shopping malls with a wide retail mix of local and international brands, and specialised retail, food and beverage, and entertainment venues.

The heart of Barwa Commercial Avenue is a full-scale shopping mall in the centre of the development called Joud Mall, designated as Zone Three. It has a built-up area of 137,000 sq m, 84,000 sq m of which is leasable. The zone features 118 retail units which comprise fashion outlets and restaurants, a medical centre, business centre, 82 serviced apartments, and 40 offices. Joud Mall has finishes of an exceptionally high standard and features groundbreaking facade animation technology and a variety of innovative interior lighting technologies.

The largest zone is Sayer (Zone Five) with a built-up area of 277,000 sq m (172,000 sq m leasable), which is dedicated to general trading outlets offering automotive essentials, accessories, and building materials, amongst other items. The key anchor tenant in this zone will be Dragon Mart, Qatar’s first Chinese product market.

Other zones include:

• Jeera (Zone One), which offers a leasable area of 109,000 sq m of a total built-up area of 187,000 sq m. The zone is designed to serve as a community hub, providing a retail mix that caters to essential needs such as healthcare as well as food and beverage. It will also have 460 residential apartments providing a mix of one, two, and three high-quality bedroom units;

• Safwa (Zone Two), with a built-up area of 171,000 sq m (104,000 sq m leasable), which is dedicated to furniture and home décor retail outlets; and

Mixed-use ... over 908,000 sq m of state-of-the-art facilities.

• Arkan (Zone Four), which has a built-up area of 136,000 sq m (84,000 sq m leasable), dedicated to medium and large-scale home improvement retail stores, selling appliances, tools, hardware, flooring, and paint.

Barwa Commercial Avenue is served by a centralised district cooling system that will provide energy-efficient cooling throughout as well as state-of-the-art building management and security systems that will be controlled from a single centralised operations centre. This will also enable the developer to provide facility management of the highest standard and allow tenants to enjoy a smooth and trouble-free occupancy.

Barwa Commercial Avenue has already secured leasing agreements with a number of major local, regional and international businesses, which apart from Dragon Mart include Qatar International Islamic Bank (QIIB), 30 high-quality furniture outlets, automotive groups such as Al Muftah, and almost 25 building materials suppliers. Additionally, almost 50 memorandums of understanding (MoU) have also been signed with a number of leading companies.

Barwa is one of Qatar’s leading real estate and investment companies established in 2005 with the mission of contributing to the sustainable growth of Qatar by investing in businesses, services and expertise. Its flagship projects include Barwa Financial District, Barwa Commercial Avenue, Barwa Al Sadd, Barwa Village, Barwa Al Khor, Masaken Al Sailiyah and Musaimeer. Supporting these projects are specialised centres of excellence providing project management, development management and asset management services.