GHESA, a leading international Spanish company in the design, construction and maintenance of cybernetic and ornamental fountains, has been awarded a contract to build 180 fountains for the Princess Nora University (PNU) for Women in Riyadh.

The project, commissioned by Saudi Arabia’s ministries of finances and education, involves design, supply, construction and maintenance of the fountains under a SR74-million ($19.73 million) contract, which is expected to be completed in seven months.

“The complex will consist of 180 spectacular fountains including a 100-m-long waterfall with a flow of 120,000 litres per minute; two overflowing fountains with a total perimeter of 2.4 km; a plaza featuring 327 illuminated water jets with 562 submersible LED light projectors,” says a spokesman for Ghesa.

He says the company has applied the latest technology, which includes more than 100 pumps and 1,132 submersible LED lights.

With 40 years of experience behind it, Ghesa is one of the world’s leading organisations offering turnkey services in the design, execution and installation of ornamental and cybernetic musical fountains and multimedia shows. Since 1963, the firm has installed more than 3,000 fountains all over the world.

Ghesa, which has a presence in Dubai, Abu Dhabi, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain and Qatar, is also working on what is expected to be the largest multimedia floating fountain in saline water in the Middle East – and probably in the world – which will be located within the Al Majaz Waterfront project in Sharjah, UAE.

The company offers a wide range of products including ornamental fountains specifically designed as a exclusive decorative element for their surroundings, cybernetic fountains provided with water, light and sound to create authentic audiovisual shows, walk-in and floating fountains, and water and art elements designed by renowned artist or by Ghesa’s creative and talented team.

 “With an engineering background, Ghesa is the only company offering real turn-key solutions, from design to maintenance, using the latest technologies and solutions, reducing costs and execution time,” says Carlos Gomes Pissarra, CEO of Ghesa’s Dubai branch. “Our design-and-build formula gives customers greater security and profitability in the management of their projects, since there is only one firm responsible for the execution of them, from the beginning till the end.”

 “We can also offer the innovative concept of value engineering, whereby existing fountain projects can be re-engineered, designed and constructed at substantially lower costs,” he continues. “The purpose of value engineering is to incentivise the supplier to propose contract or project improvements, which also reduce costs without reducing product or process performance.

Ghesa’s value engineering solution motivates developers and contractors to re-examine existing fountain projects, thereby reducing costs without jeopardising the overall quality and design features.

“Based on previous projects like City of Dreams in Macao or Princess Nora in Riyadh, Ghesa has proven to reduce fountain building costs by up to 40 per cent,” he says.