Al Shirawi ensures watertightness
01 June 2003
Al Shirawi Contracting Company has established a track record of accepting challenges and emerging successful - and one such latest project is the Knowledge Village located near Dubai Media City and part of Tecom ((Dubai Technology, Electronic Commerce and Media Free Zone), according to S Sekhar, general manager.
"Al Basti and Muktha, the main contractor on the project, embarked on this project on a very tight schedule and the task of waterproofing the substructure involving approximately 2,200 pile heads and laying of 52,000 sq m of membrane in less than three months was daunting, to say the least," he comments.
Al Shirawi took up the challenge in the peak of summer, starting work in mid-July. Premierflex 2000, an SBS membrane from Bitumat-Saudi Arabia was chosen as it was best suited for the site conditions and work had to proceed day and night and even on holidays to achieve the target, Sekhar points out.
Besides ensuring that the job was completed on a fast track, the company also undertook strict quality inspections on site to satisfy its own ISO standards and those of the main contractor and consultants.
By mid-October, Al Shirawi had completed a substantial part of its contract to enable the main contractor Al Basti and Muktha to proceed with its work to meet the tight schedule.
"Having completed the project, Al Shirawi Contracting Company is proud and satisfied to have been associated with such a prestigious, fast-track project in Dubai and looks forward to carry out many more such challenging jobs, drawing on the experience gained in projects such as the recently-completed Al Aqah Beach Resort as well as the Knowledge Village."
Al Shirawi has been in the waterproofing business for the past 20 years, working on most of the prestigious buildings in and around Dubai, including the Dubai Airport Terminal 1 building, Airport Hotel, Sahara Shopping Centre, in addition to the Al Aqah Beach Resort. The company has also carried out waterproofing of more than one million sq m of roof area for GHQ camps in Al Falah and Sweihan.
The company's expertise in waterproofing is based on the quality of products from Bitumat, trained applicators, close quality checks at various stages of implementation, supervision and timely completion.
Al Shirawi has been associated with Bitumat-Saudi Arabia offering its entire range of waterproofing membranes over almost two decades.
Bitumat is one of the largest manufacturers of waterproofing membranes in the world and its products have been used in many prestigious projects worldwide, including Australia, New Zealand, China, Malaysia, Sri Lanka, India, all over the Middle East, Eastern Europe and South America.
In the UAE, Al Shirawi and Bitumat complement each other well, as potential customers want a quality product supplied and applied by a trusted name locally.
Over the years, the company has developed specialist waterproofing systems for basement waterproofing including pile head treatment, wet areas and balconies, concrete and metal deck roofs.
The system offered to the customer is thoroughly evaluated at the tender stage based on factors such as the level of water table at site, proximity to the sea, depth of basement and type of roof finish, to ensure a watertight system at a commercially viable price.
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