Vogele honours ERC
Dubai: Emirates Roads Contracting (ERC) was awarded a certificate of appreciation by Vogele, part of the Wirtgen group, for its loyalty to the German road construction equipment group.
The Wirtgen group, which is represented in the UAE by Genavco, offers Vogele pavers, Hamm rollers and Wirtgen milling machines, concrete pavers and road recycling machines.
ERC presently has a total of seven Vogele Pavers and 35 Hamm rollers in its fleet.
Genavco is one of the leading construction equipment and commercial vehicle suppliers in the UAE and part of the Juma Al Majid group.
Genavco says it last year sold a total of 60 Hamm rollers and 10 Vogele Pavers and by doing so, achieved the top sales position in the UAE road construction industry. There are about 300 Hamm rollers and 17 Vogele pavers operating in the emirates with the leading road construction companies.
Gibca becomes Tejari member
Sharjah: The UAE's Gibca Group will use Tejari's online community to sell a large selection of its products as well as procure goods and services for its business interests.
This was announced by Tejari, a premier business-to-business marketplace, after signing Gibca as a new member. Sharjah-based Gibca becomes one of the largest Tejari members to act as both an online buyer and supplier. It specialises in industry sectors ranging from cast aluminium, with brass and bronze finishes (with its company Alico Industries) to manufacturing packaging for the fast food industry.
Habtoor launches theme park project
Dubai: UAE business tycoon Khalaf Al Habtoor has launched a $40 million project to build Lebanon's first theme park. Construction work on Metropolitan Park, which is being developed on a 107,000 sq-m plot of land in a Beirut suburb is to be completed in 13 months.
Metropolitan Park is Al Habtoor Group's third large-scale project in Lebanon.
The group owns the five-star Metropolitan Palace Hotel, completed in 2001, and work is under way on the $150 million Metropolitan City Centre, a 33-storey commercial complex in Beirut.
Zayed road bridge completed
Dubai: The Dubai Municipality has completed construction of the first and longest bridge on interchange No 4 (Police Academy Interchange) on Sheikh Zayed Road, as part of development plans in the UAE.
Traffic will now be diverted to this new bridge from the old one from Jumeirah and Al Sufouh areas to Dubai, Al Barsha, and Al Quoz Industrial Area, road department roads construction section head Khalid Khalifa Al Marri said.
The old bridge will be demolished to start building the second 330-m-long bridge on the same interchange.
The second bridge will be for traffic coming from Dubai to Al Jumeirah, Al Sufouh, Al Barsha, and Al Quoz. Work on this bridge will start by September before the World Bank meeting gets under way.
Interchange No 4, a key junction on Sheikh Zayed Road, will be replaced with a cloverleaf to allow unhindered flow of traffic. The construction of this Dh110 million ($2.72 million) interchange began last year and it is expected to be completed in November.
The roundabout in the same area, between Al Wasl and Umm Suqeim, will be replaced with an interchange controlled by traffic lights.
The move is part of plans to replace all eight bridges on Sheikh Zayed Road. New bridges will be in place by 2007, Al Marri said.
Glass roof goes over Wafi extension
Dubai: A landmark pyramid roof is set to be a major feature of the 94,000 sq ft extension to the Wafi City Mall, said a top mall official.
Already, the giant glass pyramid roof is in place which in time will have glass intricately placed in an amazing design that will rival the existing pyramid roof.
The latest retail extension will be split over two levels. On the ground floor, the shops will reflect the high fashion end of the market while the first floor will have heavy emphasis on youth fashion and mid-range stores.
There will also be additional parking, and two further food and beverage operations to complement Wafi City's already growing choice.
Aside from the mall which boasts more than 170 stores, Wafi City comprises 23 restaurants, the Encounter Zone family entertainment centre, two spas, health club and the Planetarium nightclub.
Wrenn in double celebration
Dubai: Wrenn Associates, the hotel interior design specialist, is celebrating a double birthday. The UK-based company is 25 years old this year and also celebrates its 10th birthday in Dubai.
Meanwhile, the J W Marriott is also celebrating its 10th birthday. It was while working on the first phase of this award-winning project in 1993 that Wrenn Associates decided to set up a permanent office in Dubai.