Alec Engineering and Contracting (Alec), part of Investment Corporation of Dubai (ICD), said it has achieved a major milestone with the topping out of Tower B, one of two towers that forms part of Ithra Dubai’s luxury development, One Za’abeel.

Centrally located adjacent to the Dubai World Trade Centre, One Za’abeel comprises three key components, namely Towers A and B and ‘The Link’, one of the longest cantilevered structures in the world, which bridges the towers at a height of 100 m.

One of the project’s unique features includes an automated car-parking system which consists of three lifts travelling at 0.9 m/sec and four shuttles travelling at 2.0 m/sec. The system also has three transfer areas for entry and exit, which serves two levels and can accommodate 242 vehicles.

In total, 35,000 tonnes of rebar and 176,535 cu m of concrete were used in the overall construction of the project’s Tower B.

On the key achievement, CEO Kez Taylor said: “It has been a pleasure to watch One Za’abeel come to life in collaboration with our client, Ithra Dubai and stakeholders. From the installation of The Link to the top out of Tower B, we are incredibly proud of the milestones we have achieved to date.”

“It has taken a monumental amount of planning and the engineering that has gone into making this a reality has been significant,” he added.

Managing Director Barry Lewis said: “In topping out Tower B, we are one step closer to completing this major project, which will not only make a valued addition to Dubai’s skyline, but serve as a reminder of the emirate’s commitment to pushing the engineering limits of what is possible.”

As part of its commitment to innovation, Alec utilised several cutting-edge techniques in the delivery of One Za’abeel so far, including the use of a Hilti Jaibot, a semi-automated drill that takes over executional work, while site teams monitor its progress through collated data, stated Lewis.