Building heights lowered in Al Ain
ALDAR Properties has reduced the height of the buildings in its Noor Al Ain project in  line with new guidelines by the Abu Dhabi Urban Planning Council (UPC).

The project will establish several residential buildings, a retail centre, a hotel, class 'A' office space, and a host of entertainment and leisure facilities.
Its focal point will be the Noor Al Ain shopping centre, which will provide 160,000 sq m of retail space and include a spa, and multi-screen cineplex, rooftop gardens,  water park and an indoor beach. The project aims to transform Al Jimi Mall into a full-fledged development that will enhance Al Ain’s attraction as a leisure destination.
Monorail for City of Arabia
METRAIL of Switzerland is to build a monorail to serve the mass transit needs of the $5 billion City of Arabia retail, residential, commercial and entertainment destination, at the gateway to Dubailand.
The contract was awarded by City of Arabia’s developer Ilyas and Mustafa Galadari Group and aims to minimise the use of cars in the development by transporting residents and visitors to and from a Dubai metro station and around the site. The Metrail network will consist of a 6-km dual guide-way with 11 stations and six two-car trains. The first section of the alignment will be operational in 12 to 18 months.
BREEAM standard comes to Gulf
BRE Global has launched its world-leading environmental standard BREEAM in the Gulf.
The BREEAM (BRE Environmental Assessment Method) has been tailored to the requirements of the construction industry in the region through collaboration with leading local councils, consultants and developers, says director Martin Townsend.
BREEAM is said to be the most widely used environmental assessment method for buildings, with more than 100,000 buildings certified and over half a million registered. Credits are awarded in eight categories according to performance and then added to produce a single overall score which is also reflected in a rating from one to five stars.
Piling work awarded to Sharaf
Sharaf Foundations has been awarded a contract for enabling and piling works on The Creek Towers and Plaza at Dubai Maritime City, the world’s first purpose-built maritime city. The contract covers shoring, piling, pile load testing, excavation and dewatering, over a total area of 69,371 sq m. In addition, two concrete batching plants will be set up, each capable of delivering over 120 cu m of concrete per hour – achieving the daily production target of 3,000 cu m. The company will also strive to achieve gold certificate for environmental compliance in accordance with Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (Leed) rating. The project is expected to be completed in third quarter of 2009.
Silicon Oasis plaza ready
Sobha Contracting has completed work on Fatima International’s IT Plaza, a Dh270 million ($73 million) commercial office tower at Dubai Silicon Oasis (DSO). The work on the project was kicked off in February last year.
IT Plaza is a 14-storey tower built on a sprawling land area covering over 72,000 sq ft. The building consists of 100,000 sq ft shopping area that will house 70 outlets, a multi-cuisine food court, a café lounge and a parking facility for more than 500 cars. It also features one of the tallest atria in Dubai, at 65 m in height.
Aarvees projects worth $2.71bn
THE Aarvees Group has launched projects worth Dh10 billion ($2.71 billion) in the UAE in the first year of its operations.
These include iconic developments on The World islands, at Dubai Waterfront, Warsan City and  Downtown Jebel Ali.
The UAE company’s flagship project at Dubai Waterfront will open for sales before the end of the year, according to managing director Rajat Verma, who added that all the projects are on a sound footing.
Square close to completion
Omniyat Properties has completed 75 per cent of its first family-orientated mixed-use development in Dubai. Named ‘The Square’, the project consists of offices, retail facilities, serviced apartments and residential units.
Located in Al Mamzar (Deira) in the heart of Dubai, the Dh772 million ($210 million) project is due to be topped off in January 2009.
Architecture for the low-rise buildings relives the neo-classical Arabian style. The residential complex comprises seven low-rise buildings, with the retail arcade spread across the ground floor of the complex. The commercial complex consists of two buildings – one for serviced apartments, operated by Mِvenpick Hotels & Resorts, the second for offices including a medical centre for healthcare services.
Bond to track work on stations
British engineering and management consultancy Clarke Bond, which recently opened an office in the UAE, has been appointed as project manager for the delivery of two ground satellite tracking stations in Abu Dhabi for Yahsat.
With a built-up area of approximately 15,000 sq m, the ground stations will house both technical and administrative buildings along with supporting infrastructure, including a number of large antennae. One station will be built approximately 40 km from the city centre of Abu Dhabi, while the second station will be situated near the city of Al Ain.
Conceptual designs have been completed and more detailed designs are in progress with a view to commencing site works in early 2009.
Strata gets new associate director
STRATA, RMJM’s landscape architecture group, has appointed Adrian Matthews as associate director to work on a growing portfolio of Middle East assignments. Matthews brings more than 15 years experience working in landscape and urban planning in the UK and the Middle East on a range of projects.
Matthews will join Simon Sinclair and team in RMJM’s Dubai office and will focus on projects in Abu Dhabi and Dubai in collaboration with Strata’s team in Hong Kong.
Strata projects in the Middle East include Nakheel’s Palm Jebel Ali Hub, Abu Dhabi National Exhibitions Company’s Al Ain Masterplan and the Cayan’s Silverene Dubai Marina.
Five factories near completion
Five of the 19 new factories being built at Dubai Industrial City at a total cost of Dh650 million ($176.9 million), will be completed by the end of this year, while the remainder will become operational by next year.
The factories are coming up in the base metal, mineral, transport, equipment and parts, as well as the food and beverage zones, of the 560 million sq ft township, the third-largest non-real estate project in Dubai.
All in all, more than 500 factories and manufacturing units for light and medium industries are set to be built across the six industrial zones by 2015.
Workshop on way for shipbuilder
Hadeed Emirates is building a state-of-the-art vessel manufacturing workshop for Abu Dhabi Ship Building Company. The workshop will extend over an area of 15,000  sq m, and will be completed and ready for use by the fourth quarter of next year. The cost of the workshop is estimated at Dh35 million ($9.5 million).
Training centre opens doors
Dutco Balfour Beatty has opened its new staff training and development centre in Jebel Ali. The Dh2.5-million ($680,000) facility will offer a comprehensive range courses including HSE (health, safety and environment), construction skills and general management training. The centre is certified by both the UK’s CITB-Construction Skills Authority and the Institute of Occupational Safety and Health (IOSH) as an approved training provider for a range of HSE courses.
Four contracts won for AAC products
Emirates Thermostone has secured contracts worth Dh9.4 million ($2.56 million) to supply AAC (autoclaved aerated concrete) construction materials for four major projects in the UAE – a five-star hotel in Abu Dhabi, mixed-use developments in Ras Al Khaimah and Al Nahda, and the Dubai Silicon Oasis project. 
Tie-up with environment specialist
Abu-Dhabi engineering and environmental firm Edessa Emirates Engineering Consultants, a subsidiary of Lebanon’s Edessa Holding, has signed a collaboration agreement with environmental and waste management expert SLR Consulting of the UK, which will give clients access to SLR’s range of multi-disciplinary services.
Giant bridges for giant Palm
Three 12-lane bridges that will connect the Palm Deira to mainland Dubai are being built at a cost of Dh1.98 billion ($539 million), according to its developer Nakheel. The bridges will connect Deira Island Front with mainland Deira between the mouth of Dubai Creek and Port Hamriya Deira via Abu Baker Al Siddique Road, Abu Hail Road and Omar Bin Khattab Road. Decking has been laid for the first of these bridges and is due for completion in May next year.
RTA awards, endorses contracts
Dubai’s Roads & Transport Authority (RTA) has awarded a Dh86 million ($23.4 million) contract for constructing internal roads at Nad El Sheba 2 area to Al Wasit. The project entails construction of two-way roads extending 5 km, a 14 km road, five circular intersections, a 2 km lane and a 5 km bicycle track.
The RTA has also endorsed a Dh758 million ($206 million) contract awarded to Korea’s Sungwon for  roads and bridges under Phase One of Business Bay’s canal extension project.