WITH the successful completion of the Fujairah City Centre, international consultancy and construction company Mace Group has added another prestigious project to its portfolio.

The company provided project management services for the landmark development that was carried out on a fast-track basis.

“The project is nearing completion with testing and commissioning activities and building finishes in progress. The external road access and egress works are progressing and preparation for the landscaping is complete,” says a spokesman for the firm.

Despite its fast-track nature, the project has targeted Leed (Leadership in Energy Environmental Design) Gold accreditation from its inception. The design aimed for water use reduction, minimum energy performance, fundamental and enhanced refrigerant management, storage and collection of recyclables, IAQ (indoor air quality) performance, environmental tobacco smoke (ETS) control, outdoor air delivery monitoring, increased ventilation, and indoor chemical and pollutant source control.

To achieve this goal, all materials used in the project are submitted and scrutinised for Leed compliance and approved accordingly, says the spokesman.

Highlighting other challenges posed by the project, he says that as Fujairah does not have many local contractors, a large number of the resources – particularly the retail fit-out contractors – are Dubai based. Hence, the main contractor’s workforce was accommodated in a camp based in Fujairah.

In addition, while the site is very accessible – being adjacent the Fujairah men’s college at the junction of the new Fujairah-Dubai highway and the Fujairah-Masafi Road – work was in progress on the new highway that only opened on the UAE National Day (December 2, 2011), when the project was 70 per cent complete.

Another challenging aspect was dealing with the extreme weather conditions, especially since the contractor’s programme required casing floor slabs during the hottest months. “To overcome these issues, the roof was quickly progressed to provide shading and a lot of the pours were carried out at night.

“At the peak of construction, there were a total of 2,100 workers involved on the project, which has achieved an accident-free 2.635 million man-hours,” he says.

With the Fujairah City Centre, the Mace Group continues to build on its long-standing relationship with the client Majid Al Futtaim (MAF). The company has been working for MAF for more than a decade, providing project management services on more than 31 projects across the UAE, Oman, Bahrain and Egypt. Deira City Centre, Mall of the Emirates, Ski Dubai, Bahrain City Centre and Mirdif City Centre are just a few of the notable projects successfully delivered by the company.

The international consultancy and construction company, which employs more than 3,200 people, operates across 65 countries with a projected turnover of £928 million ($1.48 billion) in 2011. Its core business is programme and project management, cost consultancy, construction delivery and facilities management. Mace is truly multi-disciplinary with services spanning the entire property and infrastructure lifecycle, says a spokesman for the company.

Mace has been providing project and commercial management services to the Middle East over the past 14 years. The company has set up offices in Abu Dhabi, Dubai, Bahrain, Oman and more recently in Qatar and Saudi Arabia. During this time, it has completed diverse projects including commercial high-rise buildings, residential developments, five-star hotels and numerous retail projects.

Its service portfolio comprises development, project, cost and facilities management, in addition to a full construction delivery service. “It is through the integration of our services that Mace adds value for clients, providing clear and transparent support and direction throughout the construction lifecycle,” the spokesman says.