Guggenheim Museum contracts due

The Abu Dhabi government is set to award contracts for the construction of the UAE branch of the iconic Guggenheim Museum by the year-end or early 2017, said a senior official.

The Guggenheim will be located in the emirate’s cultural hub on Saadiyat island, along with a branch of the Louvre opening late this year and the Zayed National Museum, Ali Majed Al Mansoori, chairman of the Department of Economic Development and the state-owned Tourism Development and Investment Company (TDIC), said.

TDIC is developing a cultural district in Abu Dhabi which will house these facilities (see UAE Focus).

Speedway to be ready by year-end

About 83 per cent of the work on the Dh2.1-billion ($572 million) Abu Dhabi-Dubai speedway project has been completed and is on track for delivery by the end of the year, said senior officials of Abu Dhabi General Services Company (Musanada).

The 62-km highway project, which extends from Seih Shuaib area to Sweihan Interchange, is being developed in two packages (A and B) involving four lanes in both directions, they stated.

It is an extension of the Mohamed bin Zayed Road in Seih Shuaib at the Dubai border. The work is progressing as per schedule and is expected to be ready during the last quarter of this year, said senior officials.

Al Habtoor denies links to HLG

UAE conglomerate Al Habtoor Group has officially announced that it has no relationship with leading construction company Al Habtoor Leighton, also known as Al Habtoor Leighton Group (HLG).

The HLG is not a subsidiary of Al Habtoor Group and neither is it involved in the company’s day-to-day operations, said the group.

The family-owned company had in November last year declared plans to sell its stake in HLG with its chief saying it wanted to focus on its core businesses.

Work starts on Palisades in DIP

Ground-breaking work on the Palisades project has commenced, according to Dubai Investments, a leading diversified investments conglomerate, which has signed an agreement to manage and market the project within Dubai Investments Park (DIP).

The Palisades, spread across an area of 20 million sq ft, is a residential development comprising 20 buildings with 1,450 apartments, 36 townhouses and eight luxury villas.

The infrastructure within the project, to be developed in phases, will be built at a cost of Dh600 million ($163 million).

Enabling work complete for new mall

Nakheel, one of the world’s leading developers, said it has completed the enabling works for its new Dh2-billion ($544 million) Al Khail Avenue mall, a retail, dining and entertainment destination at Jumeirah Village Triangle in Dubai. 

The company has also received bids for the main construction package, with seven proposals under assessment and a contract due to be awarded shortly.

According to Nakheel, Al Khail Avenue will span nearly 200,000 sq m, with over 110,000 sq m of leasable space. There will be 350 shops, a multi-screen cinema, a wide range of cafes and restaurants and a multi-storey car-park with 4,400 spaces, it stated.

AHEC works with designers

The American Hardwood Export Council (AHEC) has announced the launch of ‘Seed to Seat’, a collaboration with seven of the most prominent and exciting designers in the UAE, who have been given an open brief and asked to design ‘something to sit on’.

The leading international trade association for the American hardwood industry said the pieces, which will be made from a selection of four American hardwood species, will be unveiled at Downtown Design 2016 fair, which will run from October 25 to 28 at Dubai Design District. This is the second collaboration between AHEC and Downtown Design.

Al Ashram to build Aramex facility

Al Ashram Investments, a Dubai-based leading investment firm, has signed a strategic partnership agreement with Aramex, a leading global provider of comprehensive logistics and transportation solutions, to build and lease back its new Express Courier Facility in Dubai.

The new facility costing Dh75 million ($20.41 million) will be located in the Umm Ramool area on Dubai Airport Road. It will be constructed by Al Ashram Contracting on a fast-track build-to-suit basis and is expected to be complete within seven months.

Tenders out for 3D-printed labs

The Dubai Electricity and Water Authority (Dewa) has invited expressions of interest (EOI) for the construction of 3D-printed laboratories at its Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum Solar Park in Dubai. The labs will be used for conducting research on drones and 3D-printing technologies at the solar park which will generate 1,000 MW by 2020 and 5,000 MW by 2030, said the state news agency Wam.

The solar park, said to be the largest single-site project of its kind in the world, will feature the new labs under the umbrella of the Research and Development (R&D) Centre.

EmiratesGBC set for bigger role

Emirates Green Building Council (EmiratesGBC)  is set for a bigger global role with its co-founder, board member and treasurer, Habiba Al Marashi being appointed to the membership committee of the World Green Building Council (WorldGBC), a network of national green building councils in more than 100 countries.

Dubai-based KBW Investments has acquired Grayscale Interiors, adding a new facet to the group’s existing portfolio of turnkey project solutions.

“After partnering with Grayscale Interiors for several projects that required bespoke interior fit-outs, it was clear that having the company join the KBW Investments portfolio would increase our group’s capability to address projects from the early conceptual development and planning stages, all the way to project management and execution stages,” said Ahmed Alkhoshaibi, Group CEO, KBW Investments.

KBW Investments buys fit-out firm

Dubai-based KBW Investments has acquired Grayscale Interiors, adding a new facet to the group’s existing portfolio of turnkey project solutions.

“After partnering with Grayscale Interiors for several projects that required bespoke interior fit-outs, it was clear that having the company join the KBW Investments portfolio would increase our group’s capability to address projects from the early conceptual development and planning stages, all the way to project management and execution stages,” said Ahmed Alkhoshaibi, Group CEO, KBW Investments.

Nepal billionaire plans hotel in Dubai

CG Hotels and Resorts, the hospitality division of Nepal billionaire Binod Chaudhary, has started the construction of a new hotel in Dubai’s Jumeirah Lake Towers. The company has entered into this venture with India’s Taj Hotels Resorts and Palaces aiming to make the 200-key luxury hotel one of the most recognised destinations for business travellers.

Mulk enters ‘top 100 brands’ list

UAE-based Mulk Holdings, the brand holder of Alubond USA, the world’s largest producer of aluminium composite panels, has been listed among “The World’s Greatest Brands and Leaders 2015-16 IUA (India, UAE and Africa)”. 

The listing, which evaluates brands from 10 countries, is an initiative of United Research Services International and AsiaOne magazine with Price Waterhouse Coopers as the process reviewer. 

Mulk Holdings founder and chairman Shaji Mulk has also been named in the list of ‘World’s Greatest Leaders 2015-16 – IUA.’

NRC’s Abu Dhabi HQ completed

Abu Dhabi General Services Company (Musanada) has completed all the work related to the Dh285-million ($78 million) National Rehabilitation Centre (NRC) headquarters in Abu Dhabi.

The facility, coming up over a 100,000-sq-m area at Shakhbout City, is in line with the Abu Dhabi government’s plans to establish and deliver health rehabilitation and community care facilities across the emirate.

Proclad plans $136m expansion

Proclad, a world leader in specialist engineering services, has signed an agreement with the National Industries Park in Dubai to invest Dh500 million ($136.1 million) in an expansion programme.

It plans to develop 1.5 million sq ft of industrial area specialising in products and services related to the oil and gas industry.

The expansion will be in two phases. The first phase will be fully operational by December 2016 and second phase by December 2017.

Proclad specialises in corrosion-resistant alloy (CRA) products, solutions and services and its weld overlay cladding for pipes and equipment is said to be the only one of its kind and a market leader in the industry. 

RCC facility breaks ground

RSA Cold Chain (RCC), the newest venture of Dubai-based third-party logistics (3PL) provider RSA Logistics, has broken ground on its new facility in Dubai South.

RCC, which will house a total capacity of 21,000 pallets, will start Phase One of its operations in March 2017, offering an initial capacity of 10,800 pallets, coupled with sophisticated, end-to-end 3PL services for packaged food, fresh fruit and vegetables, dairy products, and frozen food, said the company.

Phase One Living Legends delivered

Saudi property developer Tanmiyat Group has handed ov er keys to 184 villas completed in the first phase of the much-delayed Living Legends project at Dubailand. The second phase of the development, located in the Al Barari area of the city, is scheduled for handover by year-end, stated a report.

The 15-million-sq-ft project was started in 2006 with the aim of finishing the work by 2010. However, the project was halted during the financial crisis and only restarted in 2012. Overall, construction would be completed by the end of 2017, said the report. 

Once ready, the mixed-use project will boast 12 residential towers and a five-star hotel besides other key amenities such as a nine-hole golf course, schools, clinics and a shopping mall.

Turner & Townsend seals Unilever deal

Turner & Townsend, a global construction and programme management consultancy, said it has been appointed to provide full project and cost management services for the construction of Unilever’s new manufacturing factory in the UAE.

The $272-million investment will enable the consumer brands giant to expand its innovative personal care products business across Middle East and North Africa (Mena) region.