Main contractor Cybarco Bahrain says took up the challenge of constructing Citibank's new headquarters building confident in its strengths - namely, its technical capabilities, competent management and staff and experience in handling fast-track projects.

Set up in Bahrain in 1992 as a joint venture between the Cyprus-based Cybarco Limited and a local partner, the company is now fully Bahraini owned and has handled a wide range of projects in the country.

"The Citibank Headquarters Building is a complex building - the construction of which was compounded by the curved nature of the structure and the high specifications set for the mechanical and electrical services," says Peter Sellers, commercial manager.

The project challenged both the wits, speed and experience of Costas Demou, the project manager for Cybarco Bahrain.

"The landmark structure's shape made it difficult to build and yet we had to work within millimeters of accuracy on our shop drawings, especially on the precast panels," he says. "Moreover, a fast-track schedule kept us on our toes all the time."

"The project set high specifications for all components, both from the point of view of building materials and mechanical and electrical services. The services building is the heart of the building with its dual output system - the first such installation in Bahrain."

Elaborating on the construction of the project, he says: "The building is a reinforced concrete structure with columns, beams and slabs cast in situ using marine plywood to obtain a fair-faced concrete finish. Formwork systems from Paschal of Germany were used to speed up work on site.

''The building includes a treasury data centre and telecommunication operations centre together with all ancillary and support technology including structured cabling installation. Full security and fire protection installations are also incorporated.''

Among the features of the project which required meticulous attention was the construction of the portal area ceiling which involved raising the 8-10-tonne precast ceiling panels on scaffolds erected in the area, hoisting the panels by crane and then installing them on the beams before casting the slab.

As the precast concrete wall panels ranged in weight from 8 to 13 tonnes, Cybarco also purchased a 20-tonne travelling crane (Potain) specifically for the project.

Turning to the atrium area and the curtainwalling for the project, he says: "The atrium is constructed from structural steel framed glazing with thermal break incorporating custom aluminium 'wing profile' extrusions in PVDF coating and insulating units.

''Full-size visual and test mock-ups had to be prepared. Test mock-ups were dispatched and erected in Dubai for conducting the specified tests (air infiltration, water penetration, dynamic water penetration, structural load test etc).''

Co-ordinating with the project's several subcontractors was another time-consuming but yet essential task, according to Demou.

"Besides, the usual scheduled meetings with the consultants/employer, I had to organise weekly meetings with the subcontractors as the project called for a lot of coordination because of the various trades involved," he says.

Project planning was executed using the Primavera Software for critical path analysis. The whole project was carried out in accordance with the project's quality plan/system as prepared at the beginning of the project and submitted to the consultants.

Implementation of the project's quality plan/system was safeguarded through the recruitment of a quality assurance consultant from Cybarco Cyprus.

Demou, who is a Cypriot from Cybarco Cyprus, says that he has come out personally enriched by the project. "I have been responsible for various projects in Cyprus ranging from civil engineering projects such as air bases to luxury hotels. The project has been a learning experience because of its design requirements and the high specifications imposed by the consultant. This requirement also meant that we had to ensure we had suitable human resources to execute the project."

"We have employed good subcontractors - the main being Alkomed Engineering for the mechanical and electrical services, Bahrain Precast Company for the precast concrete cladding, Schmidlin of Switzerland for the curtain wailing and Fujitec for the lifts - and I can say that I am happy with the quality achieved," concludes Demou.

Cybarco Bahrain was responsible for the construction of the Dilmun Towers, opposite the National Bank of Bahrain (NBB) in Central Manama, the National Guard Camp, the BMMI headquarters and distribution centre, the VIP lounge at the Equestrian and Horse Racing Club, the Equestrian Centre and the Guest House at Safriah.

It has just started work on the Metras building, a six-storey commercial complex, in the Seef District under a BD2 million contract. The firm is also building 66 kV substations for the Electricity Directorate.

"No building is too small or too large for Cybarco Bahrain to handle," Peter Sellers comments.