In a bold attempt to resolve its ever-increasing problems of traffic congestion and to add more variety to its skyline, the Dubai Municipality has launched one of the most ambitious transport scheme ever to be built in the region – the Light Rail Project.

Nakheel’s recently-unveiled Dubai Waterfront project  – considered to be the most ambitious waterfront project in the region – has already garnered interest from overseas and local investors and consortiums, according to Robert Lee, director (development), Dubai Waterfront.

Master planning work is under way on a massive international airport complex – which will form the core of the world’s first integrated logistics and multi-modal transport platform and will eventually have double the passenger handling capacity of Dubai International Airport (DIA).

AteaM of three contractors – South Korea’s Samsung Corporation, the Belgian Besix and the local Arabtec Construction – launched work early this year on  what is designed to be the world’s tallest tower – the Burj Dubai.

Sector 6 of the Jumeirah Beach Residence (JBR) project is different to other contracts on the project in that it features a massive 16,000 sq m podium area over the complete project site, rather than individual podium levels for each tower.

AS a long-term supplier of raw materials for the manufacture of high-performance concrete to many major projects in the Middle East, the Dubai office of the 50-year-old Australian firm Bisley & Company is busy expanding its product range and diversifying its customer base across the region.

Hunter Industries, a specialist in irrigation products, is playing a vital role in greening the UAE through its tailor-made solutions that are ideally suited for the region’s extreme climatic conditions, says Hunter’s regional manager Hanna Zaidan.

Mammut Building Systems – a leading manufacturer of pre-engineered steel buildings (PEBs) and polyurethane injected sandwich panels (PUPs) in the UAE – has kicked off an ambitious expansion at its Hamriyah facility in Sharjah, which will significantly enhance the company’s production capacity.

Unimix, one of Dubai’s leading readymix concrete producers – with a contract to provide a range of concrete grades for the Jumeirah Beach Residence (JBR) project – recently had to transfer its Lintec batching plant when the land was needed for other purposes.

Growing demand for its formwork in the emirates has prompted Paschal to open an office in Dubai last November.

With the recent official inauguration of Union’s new design centre, the company is keen to make substantial gains in its market share in the region by getting closer to where the action is. Almoajil has been Union’s strategic partner throughout the Middle East.

AS part of its efforts to ensure the reliability of manufacturing, supply and installation of fire safety products in the Middle East, IFC Certification elaborates on the mechanics of a fire door certification scheme, such as that used by the Dubai Civil Defence (DCD).

Legrand, a global specialist in products and systems for electrical installations and data networks, unveiled Synergy, a new British Standard (BS) range of switches and sockets in Dubai recently. Synergy is now available throughout the Middle East markets.

Techno Mix Sanitary UAE, which is aggressively marketing the group’s products in the UAE, is planning to showcase its new product range at the ISH Kitchen and Bathroom Gulf exhibition next month (May 15 to 17) as well as at Nakheel Suppliers’ Expo 2005 to be held in Dubai from June 5 to 7, in addition to its regular participation at the Big 5 s

Lebanon-based supplier of building materials and tools, Unitech – which has set up its Dubai office in 2000 – is happy with the growth that the company has achieved in that market and is looking forward to grow further. “The Dubai market is excellent,” says a spokesman for Unitech.

The 39-storey Al Shatha Tower that is currently under construction in the Dubai Media City is among the latest projects to feature Alumco’s popular unitised curtain-walling system.

Roca Corporacion Empresarial, a Spanish specialist in the design, production and marketing of bathrooms, ceramic tiles, heating and air conditioning products, is looking forward to capitalise on the opportunities presented by the booming construction sector in the UAE. “Roca has a 50 year-old operational history in the Middle Eastern region.

The optimist thinks the boom will last forever; the pessimist reckons the bubble is waiting to burst; and the realist is making the most of the opportunities as the world watches with amazement as Dubai’s tremendous growth continues to build up, year on year.

With five new projects at various phases of development,  Union Properties (UP) is now planning and carefully studying the possibilities of creating further investment avenues in Dubai.

Leading Dubai-based property developer Union Properties (UP) – buoyed by an overwhelming response to its five newly-launched projects – is upbeat about the construction market and believes that the boom is here to stay for quite a while.

What is claimed to be the world’s largest themed mall is now getting its finishing touches and is set to open later this month. The Ibn Battuta Mall, as it is now known, has already seen its anchor store – the Geant hypermarket – open to the public late last month.

Construction of the Mall of the Emirates (MoE) – among the most exciting retail and leisure complexes in the world – continues to move forward at an unprecedented rate and looks well on track to meet its target completion date of September 2005.

Twenty-two thousand square feet of land within the highly prestigious and mammoth Dubailand is now in the spotlight as the proposed home for yet another innovative “city” in Dubai: The Dubai Studio City (DSC).

Site levelling works for the massive Dh4 billion ($1.08 billion) City of Arabia have been completed and piling is scheduled to begin this month on the 20 million sq ft plot in the heart of Dubailand.