Gulf Construction Online

UAE Focus

Update

01 September 2005

$700m funds raised for Atlantis
Dubai: Istithmar and Kerzner International have signed a $700 million financing agreement with a consortium of banks to raise funds for the Atlantis, The Palm project.

The project, valued at $1.2 billion, will be financed through the $700 million loan facility and $500 million of equity. The equity investment will be subscribed by the sponsors and third party investors.
Construction is scheduled to commence later this year and completion of the project is expected by mid 2008. Atlantis, The Palm will include two hotels totalling approximately 2,000 rooms, conference and meeting facilities and the largest aquatic theme park in the region.

Madinat Al Arab first phase sold out
Dubai: The first phase of Madinat Al Arab, the planned urban downtown at the heart of Dubai Waterfront, has been completely sold out for Dh13 billion ($3.54 billion) in five days, Nakheel officials said.
The project, adjoining Palm Jebel Ali, is the last remaining natural waterfront in Dubai and is set to create a quality of sophisticated lifestyle unmatched in the world. The sale of the project to a select invited group of private property and investment institutions, broke all previous sales records in the UAE’s property market.

Alcatel wins Dubai Metro deal
Umm Al Quwain: Alcatel has won a contract valued at approximately $250 million by Mitsubishi Heavy Industries (MHI) to supply, integrate and deploy its proven driverless train control and telecommunication systems for the Dubai Metro.
The Dubai Rapid Link (DURL) consortium is headed by MHI, which is in charge of the light rail transit project being implemented by the Dubai Municipality.
Dubai Municipality’s requirement is to move passengers efficiently and reliably with advanced, yet proven, train control technology, and to ensure real-time communication to passengers in stations and on-board.

HOK to design Dubai Studio City
Dubai: US-based HOK (Hellmuth, Obata and Kassabaum) has won the contract to design the master plan for the Dh400 million ($109 million) Dubai Studio City (DSC).
HOK is a global provider of planning, design and delivery solutions for buildings and communities.
A team from HOK will work closely with the Dubai Studio City team to translate the vision for the city into a blueprint for its film, broadcast and music production industry cluster. The first phase of the City, to be ready next year, will cover about 20 per cent of the total area of 22 million sq ft.

Al Gurg to coat Dubai Flower Centre
Doha: Al Gurg Leigh’s Paints (AGLP), the decorative and heavy-duty coatings manufacturer of the Easa Saleh Al Gurg Group, has won a Dh1 million ($272,260) contract to supply high performance coatings for the new Dubai Flower Centre (DFC) at Dubai International Airport.
Philip Mathew, general manager, Al Gurg Leigh’s Paints, said: “Leigh’s paint was used to protect DFC’s steel structure measuring approximately 75,000 sq m. Consultants selected Leigh’s Fast Track, Epigrip Epoxy range to ensure maintenance free corrosion protection and fire proofing compatibility”.
The paint’s quick drying time and ease of application would mean that the project can be completed in just over three months. The use of Epigrip Epoxy coatings also means the structure won’t need re-application for another 10 years, he said.
“Leigh’s Paints has over 135 years’ experience in protection and decoration. We are committed to exceeding our customer’s expectations through innovative products and our expert technical support,” added Mathew.
The DFC structure built by Cleveland Bridge Engineering and Al Habtoor Engineering now stands cladded and is currently being fire proofed with Leigh’s Firetex range of products.

UAE mulls workers city
Dubai: A new proposal is under consideration to create a Workers City to accommodate labourers.
However, the city would be different from standard labour accommodation, said Mohammad Al Ali, secretary to Dr Ali Bin Abdullah Al Ka’abi, Minister of Labour and Social Affairs.
He said that the city would provide better housing and other amenities.

HP launches new printer range
Dubai: HP has recently launched the Designjet 70 and the Designjet 90, part of the flexible range of HP Designjet printers targeted at architectural and engineering companies, requiring both precise line drawings and colour-rich and accurate renders.
Cost-effective to operate, the Designjet is well suited to everyday CAD and business printing offering superior speed, vivid colours and a wide range of media sizes up to A2+, said Ernest Azzam, business development manager, large format printing, imaging and printing group, HP Middle East.
“The demand for wide printing is rising, as architectural, engineering and design firms want to remain competitive and meet the needs of their customers. Both products offer an irresistible combination of affordability and efficiency with impressive results allowing companies to cut costs and streamline their operations,” he says.

Abu Dhabi to build new tunnels
Abu Dhabi: The emirate will build three tunnels along the Al Salam Street at a cost of Dh621 million ($169 million) to ease traffic flow.
The project will take four years to complete. Extending about 1,100 m, the first tunnel, which starts from the Mina Street-Salaam Street Intersection and passes underneath Hamdan-Zayed 1st Streets’ crossroad, is the longest of all three tunnels.
Each tunnel will be built to the world’s highest engineering standards and will have three lanes on each side. The other two tunnels spanning 740 m will pass beneath intersections of Al Falah Street and Hazza bin Zayed Street and the length of the low roads is 650 m.

Palm Deira connects to mainland
Dubai: Nakheel has announced that the reclaimed land on its prestigious The Palm, Deira project has been connected to mainland Dubai.
Last month Nakheel revealed that 50 million cu m of sand has been reclaimed on The Palm, Deira – which amounted to more than 55 per cent of the total material used to create The Palm, Jumeirah, another development.
Further progress has been made, with more land reclaimed, including the area which joins the island to the shoreline of Dubai. For the first time, land vehicles will be able to travel on to the island, thus expediting the construction process. Access to the island will be on a stretch of reclaimed land close to Al Hamriya Port.

Drake & Scull lands $11m deal
Dubai: Mechanical and electrical engineering contractor Drake and Scull International has won a Dh40 million ($11 million) contract at Indigo Tower.
Located between the fifth and sixth interchanges on Shaikh Zayed Road, the project – part of the Jumeirah Lake Towers Development – is coming up near the Emirates Golf Club.

Al Aweer road plans two more lanes
Dubai: Al Aweer Road will now have two more lanes added on each side to ease the increasing flow of traffic in the area.
The Dh60.3 million ($16.42 million) project will involve the expansion of the road from the current two lanes each way to four lanes on a 12-km stretch from Interchange No 52 on the Emirates Road to Al Aweer Roundabout.
The work also involves road signs and street lighting. The landfill project at Warsan will cost Dh7.87 million and will complement a waste recycling factory in the same area.
The Al Aweer road expansion will be completed by October 2006 and the landfill project is expected to be finished by next February.

Dodsal wins $100m contract
Dubai: Nakheel has awarded Dodsal, a Dubai-based engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) firm a Dh365 million ($100 million) residential buildings contract for Gardens’ Discovery Mesoamerican project.
The Mesoamerican project comprises 26 multi-storey residential buildings with a total built-up area of 1.86 million sq ft.
The project is located behind the Gardens between the 5th and 6th Interchanges on Shaikh Zayed Road. It is to be completed in three phases within 18 months. This contract brings Dodsal’s order book to more than Dh3.67 billion with additional orders of over Dh3 billion expected by third quarter of 2006.

Techno Park provides land to Trox
Dubai: Dubai Techno Park has agreed to provide Trox UK with the required land for setting up a Dh37 million ($10 million) Middle East Technology Centre.
The 15,000 sq m facility will be the 12th design and manufacturing centre worldwide for the Trox Group. Trox UK has had a branch office in Dubai for more than 30 years, supplying products to major clients including the Emirates Towers, Burj Al Arab and the new Emirates Palace Hotel.
The centre will collaborate with key regional clients to create, design, test and manufacture system and product solutions.
The new facility will offer services like application engineering, testing, demonstration, customer and operator training, system commissioning and manufacturing.

Dubai gets pedestrian-only street
Doha: Dubai’s first pedestrian-only street will be ready in two months to provide a place for shoppers, traders and tourists to unwind in the busy central business district of Deira.
The yet-unnamed street, among the busiest in Deira, has been closed to traffic for conversion into a pedestrian precinct, said an official at Dubai Municipality.
Work on the Dh4 million ($1 million) project started in August last year and is expected to finish in September. It is part of the municipality’s plans to redesign and upgrade commercial business districts.
The project involves converting the existing road, to the northeast of the Twin Towers and parallel to Baniyas Road, into a recreational facility where traders and shoppers can spend their free time.
What distinguishes this 2,400 sq m area is that it is shaded during most of the daytime because of the high-rise buildings. It also enjoys continuous air circulation thanks to the open areas at both ends.
The pedestrian precinct will include an amphitheatre, a 130-m-high water fountain and refreshment outlets. There will be landscaping with date palms and green areas.