Contractors

Creating a buzz

LEADING UAE contractor Arabian Construction Company (ACC) is continuing to strengthen its presence overseas, having recently won a multi-million-dollar contract to build an 81-storey skyscraper on the outskirts of India’s capital city which will offer exclusive high-end residences ranging from three-bedroom apartments to luxury “sky villas”.

The deal is reportedly worth Rs330 crores ($54 million) and adds to several other major contracts won by ACC in the country in recent years.

The 81-storey Brys Buzz tower will rise to a height of 300  m and is being developed by India’s Brys Group at a reported total cost of Rs850 crores ($139 million), funded through bank loans and advances against sales.

Brys Group chairman and managing director Rahul Gaur was quoted in reports as saying that the company had “awarded the contract to Arabian Construction Company for building the structure of the tower”.

The skyscraper will be built over an area of 7.5 acres on the Noida Expressway in the New Okhla Industrial Development Authority (Noida), which lies 20 km east of New Delhi and has been described by Newsweek as “India’s hottest city”.

It will offer a total of 291 residences ranging from three to six bedrooms including duplexes and sky villas, offering panoramic views of the city and serviced by high-speed elevators.

The building will feature a triple-height wood-panelled lobby, jogging track, swimming pool, three landscaped sky gardens with mini-pools, wide sun decks and terraces, a fitness club, spa, yoga and meditation centre, play areas for children, community facilities, a state-of-the-art ICT hub for building management and security, and a helipad on top of the structure. Its five-star luxury services will be managed by the hospitality division of the Brys group.

The tower will also offer what it claims will be the “highest observatory deck in Northern India”, in addition to housekeeping, shopping, dining, medical, valet and butler services round the clock.

Brys Buzz will rise 81 storeys high and offer super luxury residences.

Brys Buzz will rise 81 storeys high and offer super luxury residences.

The tower will be earthquake resistant and built to Seismic Zone IV standards. It will also be a “self-sustaining” green building and aim for Leed (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) Platinum rating from the US Green Building Council (USGBC).

Its key green features will include zero waste water discharge, optimum use of energy and solar lighting in some areas, rainwater harvesting, a high level of indoor air quality and preferred parking space for vehicles with zero carbon emissions. It will also boast “spectacular hard and soft landscaping with an abundance of water elements”.

For the interiors, Brys has formed a partnership with Tonino Lamborghini Casa, which has lent its signature Italian design to their furnished options. 

ACC is also expected to be awarded another contract for finishing works on the tower at a later stage, according to reports.

Unfurnished apartments range from $625,000 to approximately $10 million. Completion for the Brys Buzz building will be due in 2016.

In 2011, ACC won its first contract in India from Lodha Group in joint venture with Simplex Infrastructures to build the World One, a super-tall residential skyscraper which is currently under construction in Mumbai. The 117-storey development will become the tallest building in India on completion in 2015.

ACC’s other contracts include the 80-storey Spira Tower in Noida, two other high rises in Mumbai and a 60-floor building in Kolkata, making ACC the builder behind the tallest towers in north, east and west zones of India, according to the company.

Rasheed Mikati, ACC’s director, said: “The awarding of this important contract has allowed ACC to further establish itself as a significant construction operator in the Indian sub-continent and is recognition of the high standards of design and build that we deliver. The project follows on from the journey we started in the Indian market commencing from the World One skyscraper and other three high-rise towers across the country.”

ACC has constructed some of the most impressive high-rise buildings across the GCC and Middle East and North Africa (Mena) regions, including a number of the tallest towers in the UAE. Famous names include the Almas Tower, Princess Tower, Sky Tower, Gate Towers, Etihad Towers, World Trade Center Abu Dhabi and Rose Rotana. It is also currently engaged in constructing the tallest building in Jordan.