Gulf Construction Online

UAE Focus

Silicon Park ... to use nine Potain cranes.

In brief

01 July 2017

Potain cranes for big Dubai project

NFT, one of the world’s top suppliers of tower cranes, has supplied nine units of Potain MCT 205 for Silicon Park, a major new tech-focused development in Dubai.

NFT is a long-time business partner of Potain, a major brand from Manitowoc Company. Eight of the advanced MCT 205 topless cranes along with an MC 205 B top-slewing model were delivered to China State Construction Engineering Corporation, the main contractor for the development.

Spanning 150,000 sq m, Silicon Park will be a mixed-use development and also a free trade zone with a focus on technical businesses. The project is the brainchild of developer Dubai Silicon Oasis Authority.

Patchi breaks ground on factory

Patchi, a leading luxury chocolatier in the UAE and the Middle East, said it has started work on its new manufacturing unit in Dubai Industrial Park.

Integrating high construction and sustainability standards in line with Leed (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) guidelines, the 122,000-sq-ft facility will include production zones, training centre for chocolate professionals, service areas and management offices, when completed in end-2018.

UK safety body comes to Dubai

Niceic, the British training and safety body for electrical contractors, is set to open its regional office in Dubai in a bid to help GCC authorities tackle the high incidence of building fires caused by electrical faults.

Niceic is the electrical contracting industry’s independent voluntary regulatory body for electrical installation safety throughout the UK.

Its expansion of services comes after the introduction of Dubai’s new fire code in January, which mandates third-party independent inspections, strict accountability and a number of fines for non-compliance or a breach of standards.

Over 26,000 buildings under way

There are currently 26,653 buildings under construction, including 16,870 developer’s villas, 1,238 multi-storey buildings, 770 general buildings, 737 industrial buildings and 6,111 private villas, the Gulf News reported, citing a senior official of Dubai Municipality (DM).

Layali Al Mulla, the director of DM’s buildings department, said that in the first quarter, the number of buildings under the municipality’s supervision surged to 110,000, out of which 26,653 buildings are under construction. Al Mulla pointed out that 3,360 buildings have been completed from the beginning of this year until the end of March.

$272m residential project on cards

The UAE government is set to develop a Dh1-billion ($272 million) residential complex under its Sheikh Zayed Housing Programme for citizens over a sprawling 1.3-million-sq-m area in the northern emirate of Sharjah.

The designs of the Al Sayouh ‘16’ residential complex, which features 36 two-bedroom, 46 three-bedroom and 730 four bed-room units, were recently unveiled by Sheikh Zayed Housing Programme, said the state news agency Wam.

The project is due for completion by 2020-end.

Duqm port ... the free zone has attracted $11-billion in investments.

Sofitel Dubai Wafi ... 501 guestrooms.

Sofitel to open mega property

Luxury hospitality brand Sofitel has unveiled plans to open its largest property in the Middle East with development partner MKM Commercial Holdings.

Expected to open in early 2019, Sofitel Dubai Wafi will join the luxury brand’s growing portfolio of 14 hotels and 4,400 rooms in operation and under development in the Middle East.

Sofitel Dubai Wafi will feature 501 luxury guestrooms, inclusive of 86 suites, ranging in size from 55 sq m to 625 sq m, in addition to 97 studio, one-, two- and three-bedroom serviced residences to be operated on an extended-stay basis.