Gulf Construction Online

UAE Focus

Update

01 February 2016

UAE plans major road projects

The UAE’s Ministry of Public Works is studying a proposal to lay a new road parallel to the Emirates Road, connecting the Northern Emirates to Abu Dhabi and Dubai, said a report.

The ministry is also planning to build a bridge on Emirates Road to ease traffic between Dubai and Sharjah, reported the Arabic daily Al Khaleej.

Also, there is a plan to expand the Emirates Road to seven lanes from three in Sharjah and six in Dubai, it stated.

Aldar awards luxury villa contract

Abu Dhabi’s Aldar Properties has awarded a Dh2-billion ($544.5 million) contract to Dubai’s Arabtec to build 1,017 luxury villas in the UAE capital.

The villas are expected to be handed over to owners at the end of 2017, Aldar said.

Arabtec’s largest shareholder is Abu Dhabi state fund Aabar.

Danube Home opens flagship store

Danube Home, a one-stop retail destination for complete home solutions, has opened its first bespoke store, which is located on Sheikh Zayed Road in Dubai.

The 60,000-sq-ft flagship store showcases the complete product line of the company. Danube Home provides customised solutions across various categories: sofas, chandeliers, home decorations, dinner ware, glassware, bedding, mixers, bathroom accessories, saunas, balcony sets, rattan furniture, gazebos, kids play range, kitchens, electrical and hardware products.

Danube Group director Adel Sajan said: “The icing on the cake is free of cost design visualisation and 3D renderings, which can be done for all the customers in record time, by a team of qualified interior designers across showrooms.”

Cooling plant launched at airport

Abu Dhabi Airports has launched one of the country’s biggest district cooling plants at the Midfield Terminal Building (MTB) at Abu Dhabi International Airport. With a total capacity of 55,000 tons of refrigeration, the district cooling plant will provide air-conditioning for the MTB through 18 chillers and two thermal energy storage tanks.

Imdaad’s Hamdan contract renewed

Dubai Sports Council has renewed its contract with the UAE-based Imdaad for provision of comprehensive facilities management (FM) services to the Hamdan Sports Complex in Dubai, which has a seating capacity of 15,000 spectators. Under the contract, Imdaad will provide hard FM and waste management to the complex for the next two years.

Ahec to reach out to new markets

The American Hardwood Export Council (Ahec) plans to launch collaborations, seminars, workshops and sustainable design initiatives across the Middle East and North Africa (Mena) to open up new market opportunities for American hardwoods in 2016.

Roderick Wiles, Ahec director for Africa, Middle East, South Asia and Oceania, said the major elements of Ahec’s campaign will involve both established and emerging markets in the Mena region.

The Mena design market is expected to grow by about six per cent annually to reach $147.5 billion by 2019, according to the Mena Design Outlook report.

With this in mind, Ahec remains committed to its involvement with the major design events in the region such as the Commercial Interior Design Awards, Dubai Design Week, Design Ras Al Khor (DRAK), and Downtown Design, amongst others.

In terms of the timber trade, key activities for the year include Ahec’s participation at Furnex in Cairo (Egypt), Timber in Construction Expo (Yapi Ahsap Fuari) in Istanbul (Turkey) and the Dubai WoodShow.

Louvre handover likely in mid-2016

Construction work at the Louvre Abu Dhabi museum is progressing well and is on track for likely handover by the first half of this year, according to a senior official.

The project has reached an advanced stage with the completed dome’s ‘rain of light’ effect, as envisioned by Louvre Abu Dhabi’s architect Jean Nouvel, and the installation work of 30,000 sq m of natural stone paving, said Ali Majed Al Mansoori, the chairman of Tourism Development & Investment Company’s (TDIC).

Louvre Abu Dhabi’s construction was awarded to an Arabtec-led joint venture with Constructora San Jose and Oger Abu Dhabi in 2013.

Teaching hospital in Ajman planned

Dubai-based Thumbay Group said it is planning to set up a state-of-the-art teaching hospital in Ajman within the next 15 months.

It said the purpose-built 400-bed smart facility will be the biggest private academic hospital in the region. It will be located within the Gulf Medical University campus in Al Jurf.

The four-storey hospital, featuring 120 clinics, is expected to be completed between 2017 and 2018, and will be constructed over an area of 3,20,000 sq ft.

The hospital will use advanced robotics in pharmacy, lab and surgical procedures, a first-of-its-kind in the region, in addition to quaternary care facilities, said the company.

Thumbay Moideen, the founder president of Thumbay Group, also revealed plans to open 15 more hospitals in the next five years.