rom stunning towers that dominate the skyline such as the Kuwait Business Town (KBT) and Central Bank of Kuwait (CBK), to sprawling educational and leisure facilities such as the College of Basic Education and the Kuwait International Tennis Complex, a diversity of buildings and infrastructure that are now taking shape in Kuwait have first seen form on the drawing boards of Pan Arab Consulting Engineers (Pace).

The expertise of the Kuwait-headquartered multi-disciplinary practice is also being extended towards the creation of expansive malls, efficient motorway systems and functional neighbourhood centres.

Amongst the many major projects being undertaken by Pace are the Central Bank of Kuwait headquarters planned for completion in 2011 and Kuwait Business Town slated for completion next year.

Located on a 20,000-sq-m site on Arabian Gulf Street north of Kuwait City, the CBK headquarters will be a 40-storey tower with a gross area of 90,000 sq m. The project includes a 45,000-sq-m multi-storey car-park for 1,300 vehicles.
“The project, designed in association with HOK of the UK, has adopted the ‘intelligent building’ concept incorporating state-of-the-art facilities in information and communication technology (ICT),” Tarek Shuaib, a partner at Pace, tells Gulf Construction. “HOK and Pace are currently supervising the construction of the project.”

The building’s design is based around a triangular, truncated pyramid tower, composed of geometric shapes, which echo the geometry and order of traditional Kuwaiti architecture. The tower is intersected by a podium that contains reception and banking halls, conference facilities, dining and banquet rooms, a museum and specialist financial areas. The two city- and south-facing walls of the tower will be clad predominantly in imported stone, which will be used as a heat-sink to absorb the blistering Kuwaiti sun during the day.

The north-facing elevation features double-glazed, solar-controlled glass that provides panoramic views across the Gulf. Topping the building will be an all-glass viewing platform lit internally and externally to form a distinctive beacon at night.
Turning to the Kuwait Business Town in Sharq, Shuaib says that construction work on four office towers and a hotel within the development for Al Mazaya Real Estate Development Company is nearing completion. The project, involving a total built-up area of 62,000 sq m, includes a central plaza, parking, a covered walkway, an inner road system and landscaping over 4,010 sq m.

“Fentress Architects provided the architecture design services with Pace being the project engineer and supervision consultant,” says Shuaib, who joined Pace in 1988.

Since its establishment in 1968, Pace has developed and gained both the respect of its public and private sector clients and recognition as an international consulting firm providing efficient and professional services.

“We aim to deliver quality and excellence in design to clients,” states Shuaib.

As can be seen in the case of the CBK and KBT, on several occasions Pace has enlisted the assistance of leading international consultancies to deliver world-class projects to ensure client satisfaction.

“For example, we are working with Gensler for the Avenues Phase Three, and have joined hands with Louis Berger Group for the project to upgrade Jamal Abdul Nasser Street and Jahra Road,” says Shuaib. “Also, our tie-up with SOM International goes back to the 1970s and we are hopeful of signing a couple of projects with them. Other internationals include BKS Group from South Africa, in addition to Fentress Architects, Gensler and HOK.”
“Phase Three of The Avenues project is currently in the design and construction stage, while the Jamal Abdul Nasser portion of the expressway and Jahra Road project is in the tendering stage,” Shuaib adds.

Located in Al Rai, The Avenues is a landmark shopping destination being developed in four phases by Mabanee Company of Kuwait. Phases One and Two on the western end of the site, consisting of major anchor stores and specialty retail units, are already open for business. The 105,000-sq-m Phase Three, currently under design and construction, will consist of distinctive retail districts linked by a central grand avenue.

The architecture, landscape and signage design work was completed to design development stage by Gensler UK, and Pace is now undertaking the design and construction, which includes structural and MEP (mechanical, electrical and plumbing) services.

The main construction contract was awarded to Al Ghanim International in September, and work commenced on site in mid-October, he says.
“The MEP package has been tendered and Pace is working on the remaining packages to be issued for tender as per the programme. The project is due for completion by early 2012,” Shuaib points out.

The upgrade of Jamal Abdul Nasser Street and Jahra Road, for Kuwait’s Ministry of Public Works, involves the provision of consultancy services for study, design, upgrade and construction supervision of the upgrading of a 14-km stretch of road starting from the Sheraton Roundabout to the UN Roundabout on the Fourth Ring Road.  The work includes upgrading of the existing roads to expressways along with all modifications, relocation and protection of existing services within the areas.

For the Jahra Road package, tenders that have been received from international contractors are currently being evaluated while the Jamal Abdul Nasser Street will go out for tender by January 2010,” Shuaib states. 
Another key project is the 290,000-sq-m College of Basic Education for Kuwait’s Public Authority for Applied Education and Training, which is due for completion by the end of next year. For this project – which comprises educational buildings, learning resources, an administration building, recreational facilities and car-parks with a total built-up area of 380,000 sq m – Pace has joined hands with Education Consultant Services of Canada, and the local Mansour Al Rashdan. The girls and boys college campuses will spread over an area of 504,000 sq m and will accommodate 12,331 students and 1,341 faculty members.

Another Pace project that is under construction is the Kuwait International Tennis Complex, which aims to further Kuwait’s ambition of becoming a leading international tennis destination. Pace’s scope of work on the development for Kuwait Commercial Markets Complex Company  entails design and construction supervision of a main stadium that will cater to 6,000 spectators, a secondary 2,000-seat stadium, open and closed tennis courts, a sports club, players’ rest building, a four-star hotel and a commercial complex.

“The 114,000-sq-m project will feature the first retractable roof stadium in Kuwait, which will cover a total area of 70,000 sq m,” says Shuaib.

Other notable projects in Kuwait that Pace is engaged in include:
• Public Authority for Minors Affairs headquarters on a 5,000-­sq-m site in the Mirqab area of Kuwait City, tenders for which are expected to be out early next year. Pace has completed the designs for the multi-storey headquarters project  which includes an adjoining multi-level car-parking.

• The Al Sedeeq Neighbourhood Centre project, covering an area of 71,600 sq m. The concept of the project is based on a tent to feature a supermarket, retail shops, citizens’ service centre, a multi-purpose hall, a social development building, social aid centre, post office, banks, restaurants, municipality office buildings, a police station and a gas station. The project has already been tendered by the Ministry of Public Works.

• Upgrading of Subiya Road, which has been split into three packages. Package One, which was undertaken by Combined Group, is scheduled for final handover this month; while construction work on Package Two, being carried out by Shaheen Al Ghanim Company, is 94 per cent complete and due for completion next month.  The contract for Package Three was signed last March.

Other projects in which Pace is involved include the Hawalli Court complex, the Eighth Ring Road and Magwa Road project for Kuwait Oil Company.

Pace has also seen the recent completion of the KFH-Baitak Tower. The project comprises two high-rise office towers and commercial facilities with a two-level basement car-park on a total area of 37,4412 sq m in Kuwait City, offering a  built-up area of 26,000 sq m, says Shuaib.
   
Shuaib, who became a partner in Pace in 2005, considers the Arraya Centre – completed in 2003 – to be among the most challenging projects of his career.  The Arraya Centre, which is Kuwait’s tallest tower, incorporates a 56-storey office building, the Courtyard by the Marriott and a convention and exhibition centre. The project received the Arabian Commercial Property Award for Architecture this year, Shuaib points out.

“We started work on the Arraya Centre in the late 1990s and this project provided a good learning experience and has helped me in my career.  Since then, of course, there have been other challenging projects, which we have been handling with a number of leading international consultants,” he says.

Pace has an integrated in-house expertise to offer a diversity of professional services in masterplanning and urban design; architecture; engineering (structural, electrical, mechanical and public health); landscape design; interior design; quantity surveying; feasibility analysis and studies; value engineering; project management; and  construction supervision. The firm’s experience spans projects that are diverse in scale and settings, ranging from private villas to large-scale government and commercial buildings to roads and infrastructure. 

Pace is the first consulting firm in Kuwait to receive ISO 9001 certification from the European Quality Assurance Limited in recognition of its quality management system, says Shuaib.

The practice is currently carrying out projects in Kuwait, the GCC as well as in Africa and CIS Countries for Kuwait firms, private sector clients, investment companies and funding agencies.

Shuaib points out that Pace helps investment companies achieve their targets in terms of developing projects that
provide returns.

He attributes the success of the practice to its highly-experienced and qualified team, which ensures that they are proactive in serving in the interests of Pace’s clients by delivering high-quality projects that are successful.

Commenting on the Kuwait market, he says: “The market has slowed down, particularly in terms of private sector projects. However, we are hopeful of public sector projects driving the construction sector forward in line with the recent announcement that some 550 government projects will be released over the next four years and we are looking forward to this as are other firms in Kuwait. 

“What is hindering growth of the market in terms of the private sector are the bad debts, over-leveraged investment firms, the fact that real estate firms find it hard to obtain finance and oversupply of building stock. In terms of the public sector, it is the time taken for the various procedures prior to getting a project released and also perhaps because government departments that handle new projects are overloaded,” he says.

While BOT (build-operate-transfer) projects have been temporarily suspended, there is a new BOT committee in place which is expected to start operations shortly, Shuaib points out. “We are looking forward to this committee being activated.  Obviously they need to be proactive with the private sector to be successful,” he adds.

Pace has reactivated its office in Bahrain – where it is working on a 21-storey office tower and retail complex project at Bahrain Bay. In addition, it also has overseas offices in Beirut (Lebanon), Iraq and Tunis (Tunisia) and Djibouti and is looking to expand in international markets.