Gulf Construction Online

UAE Focus

In brief

01 September 2014

Cofely Besix wins Aldar contract

COFELY Besix, a leading facilities management (FM) company, has won a three-year contract from Aldar Properties to execute the maintenance and operation of the Aldar headquarters building in Abu Dhabi.

The company will provide services, including MEP (mechanical, electrical and plumbing), cleaning, landscaping and irrigation, HV systems, FA and FF systems, CCTV/access control systems, BMU, BMS, pest control, elevators, as well as 24-hour helpdesk.

The Aldar headquarters provides 22 floors of commercial office space. The building has four levels of car parking with 1,184 parking spaces, as well as three external kiosks, two internal cafes, 21 lifts, a mixed and female gymnasium, and male and female prayer rooms.

The building was developed in accordance with the Leed (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) requirements of the US Green Building Council.

Nuclear plant services deal signed

LLOYDS Register Energy together with Lightbridge Corporation has won a major contract to provide construction oversight and related technical services for a new generation of nuclear power plant in the UAE.

The company will support the Federal Authority for Nuclear Regulation (FANR)’s internal inspection team for several years on a series of work packages designed around project management, construction inspection and oversight services. These include design verification, inspection plans, quality assurance, and vendor inspection during site construction, installation and commissioning.

“The work will be important in helping FANR continue its planning and preparation for the schedule commissioning of the UAE’s first nuclear power plant by 2017,” said Mamdouh El Shanawany, Lloyd’s Register Energy’s Nuclear vice-president.

Oberoi restarts Aldar project talks

INDIA’S Oberoi hotels group has restarted talks with Aldar to build two hotels in Abu Dhabi – seven years after originally signing a deal.

In 2007, Oberoi Hotels and Resorts signed a deal with the developer for luxury hotels in Aldar’s Yas Island and Al Raha Beach projects, said a report in the UAE’s The National newspaper.

“Both these projects were put on hold due to the worldwide financial meltdown. As the market is now more buoyant, we are re-engaging with Aldar to bring the Oberoi experience to the emirate,” said PRS Oberoi, the executive chairman of the Oberoi Group.

Oberoi has a property in Dubai’s Business Bay that opened in June last year. Its second hotel in the country, Oberoi Al Zorah, a beach resort, is expected to open in Ajman during the final quarter of next year. The 115-room hotel will be located in a mixed-use complex comprising an 18-hole golf course, luxury apartments and retail space.