Key road project 40pc complete

Work on the dualisation of the 12 km-long Seih Assalam Road in Dubai has reached 40 per cent completion with the project slated for opening next December, said the emirate’s Roads and Transport Authority (RTA).

The project, which costs Dh69 million ($18.8 million), involves the broadening of the existing road stretching from Bab Al Shams Hotel and Dubai International Endurance City to the Cycling Rest Point roundabout on Al Qudra Road into a two-lane motorway in each direction..

Mattar Al Tayer, the director general of RTA and chairman of the board of executive directors, said: “The RTA will shortly undertake Phase Two of Seih Assalam Road running 20 km from the Rest Area roundabout of the cycling track up to the Dubai-Al Ain Road.”

Meanwhile, RTA announced that helipads for emergency use would be constructed at three locations along the way of the Dubai Tram, namely at Rashidiya, Qusais and Jebel Ali.

Baharash to design desert eco-retreat

Baharash Architecture, an award-winning design studio based in London, UK, has won a contract to design a solar-powered luxury desert eco-retreat in the Liwa region of the UAE.

The facility is energy self-sufficient; using solar panels, it generates and stores clean power in several battery units.

Its other features include smart glass windows to offer instant privacy at the flick of a switch, an indoor herb garden, and a central fireplace for social bonding which was a key part of the Bedouin heritage, said the London architect.

The eco-retreat is being built for one of Dubai’s high- profile individuals, the company said.

Dubai solar park substation on track

The substation project at Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Solar Park in Dubai is progressing well with about 30 per cent of the engineering work completed, said Dubai Electricity and Water Authority (Dewa).

The 400/132 kV substation, being built at a cost of Dh250 million ($68 million), has a 505 MVA transmission capacity. The project includes supply, installation, testing and commissioning of the substation, which is due to be completed by November next year, said Saeed Mohammed Al Tayer, managing director and CEO of Dewa.

The substation will connect the solar power generated from the 200 MW second phase of the Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Solar Park to Dewa’s grid to supply Dubai with electricity. In the future, other phases of the solar park will be connected to the station to power development projects in Dubai, Al Tayer said.

Enec begins work on fourth reactor

UAE’s Emirates Nuclear Energy Corporation (Enec) has commenced construction on the country’s fourth nuclear energy reactor at Barakah.

With this, Barakah becomes the world’s leading nuclear energy construction site with four identical reactors being safely constructed simultaneously in one site and surpasses nuclear construction sites in China, the US, the UK, Russia and other countries to become the largest project of its kind.

Unit One is now 75 per cent complete and all four units are more than 50 per cent complete. By 2020, Enec’s team will be responsible for the operations of four nuclear energy units that are expected to provide up to a quarter of our nation’s electricity needs and to save up to 12 million tonnes of carbon emissions every year.

In 2017, Enec’s first unit is scheduled for completion, with additional units following at 12-month intervals.

Unit Four is set to commence commercial operations in 2020, pending regulatory reviews and licensing.

Key appointment at Al Maryah

Faithful and Gould, a London construction and engineering consultancy, has been appointed as a cost consultant on the first phase of Gulf Related’s $1.5-billion Al Maryah Central project in Abu Dhabi, said a report.

The announcement follows the appointment of the Australian contractor Brookfield Multiplex in August, according to The National.

Work is set to start on the site soon and finish in March 2018. Al Maryah Central is a 3.1-million-sq-ft mixed-use project.

Ritchie auction sets Dubai records

More than 2,600 items of equipment were sold last month at a record-breaking auction in Dubai by leading industrial auctioneer Ritchie Bros.

More than $42 million worth of equipment and trucks were sold at its unreserved public auction.

The two-day auction set new Dubai site records for total number of bidders (920 plus) and number of online bidders (400 plus).

The equipment sold included more than 100 excavators, 85 compactors, 85 telescopic forklifts, 80 wheel loaders, 65 cranes, 40 loader backhoes, 85 dumptrucks, 55 truck tractors and more.

RAK Ceramics opens Singapore office

RAK Ceramics, a leading Ras Al Khaimah-based manufacturer of lifestyle ceramics solutions, has opened a new regional office in Singapore.

The office, a wholly owned subsidiary of RAK Ceramics, will be led by Carmen Herrada, vice-president Asia, who was appointed in July this year.