Alkomed Engineering Services Company was awarded the contract to implement the complete mechanical and electrical services for Citibank's headquarters building in March 2000, and is currently working on the final testing and commissioning of the M&E services on site.

The company's scope of works included the following:

Mechanical installations: chilled water air-conditioning system, close control AC system, ventilation and smoke extract systems, building management system (BMS), plumbing and drainage systems, grey waste treatment plant and tanks, fire-protection system (sprinklers/hose reels/wet riser/test landing risers), CO2 extinguishing system, fuel filling and storage system, automatic irrigation system and stormwater drainage system.

Electrical installations: HV (high voltage) intake and LV (low-voltage) power distribution, small power and lighting system, lighting control system, dual output system, fire alarm and detection system, water leakage detection and alarm system, integrated security system, structured cabling system, earthing, lightning protection and external lighting.

Commenting about the project, Alkomed contracts manager, Steve Smith, says: "The building has many sophisticated, hi-tech M&E systems, and pulling them all together has been a technically challenging experience."

From the outset, Alkomed established a policy of using quality materials and reputed suppliers to meet both the high standards of Alkomed, and to satisfy the stringent demands of Citibank specification and the consultant. This approach ensured that the project unfolded relatively smoothly and the only problems encountered were run-of-the-mill for a project of this nature, according to Smith.

Elaborating on some of the highlights of the project, he says: "The new Citibank headquarters building is the first commercial building in Bahrain to have a packaged substation. With a total transformer capacity of 3 MVA, the station, manufactured by S&I Ltd UK, comprises both HV intake and LV feeder sections, and is linked to the BMS via an intelligent power monitoring system.

"This project also houses the first dual output system installed in Bahrain, which comprises a rotary UPS, constantly on line, with an integral standby generator, and the whole is supported by a fully automated fuel supply system and bulk fuel storage tank. The dual output system has been supplied by Hitec of Holland, and does away with the need for a standalone generator and a static UPS. This facility, when working in tandem with the automatic changeover features of the packaged substation and emergency panels, offers extensive standby power capacity, which can cater for more than 30 per cent of the building's total power demands in the event of a power failure from the mains supply.

"The building incorporates a structured cabling network for both voice and data transfer, the main hubs of which are on the third and fifth floors of the building. The structured cabling system has been designed and implemented using Krone UTP Cat 5e components and features a fibre backbone. Alkomed appointed Aeradio Technical Services as its specialist subcontractor for the structured cabling work.

''The security system includes CCTV, access control, traffic barriers, intruder alarm and vault security systems and is fully integrated. A central monitoring console is provided in the security control room from where all security systems can be monitored and controlled. Yusif bin Yusif Fakhro

was appointed specialist subcontractor for the job.

''The building is protected by an analogue addressable fire detection and alarm system supplied and commissioned by Gent, and a comprehensive fire protection network installed to LPC standards and including sprinkler, wet riser and hose reel systems.

"A high level of air-conditioning comfort is ensured by Carrier screw chillers working in conjunction with a VAV (variable air volume) air distribution system.

''Additionally, the computer rooms, data centres and other technical areas are served by close control AC units, supplied by Airedale of the UK.

"A comprehensive building management system, which integrates the control and monitoring of the various elements of the M&E services, has been installed. The BMS has been supplied and commissioned by Trend UK and is also fully integrated with the Gent fire alarm system and the MK e-Bus lighting control system, all of which have been procured and co-ordinated as a single package through the local agent YK Almoayyed.

''In keeping with Citibank's policy of being environmentally-friendly, the chillers have been supplied with R-134a refrigerant and the building includes a grey waste treatment plant which recycles waste water for re-use in the irrigation and sanitary water systems.

No efforts were spared to meet the stringent demands posed by the project, Smith points out. "For example, as the acoustic levels set for the building were very demanding, air-handling units were custom-made by Jucker of Italy with special sound absorption materials, and were acoustically proof tested prior to installation," he says.

Alkomed Engineering Services Company was established in 1978 and is one of the leading electro-mechanical engineering contractors in Bahrain with an excellent track record in a wide variety of M&E projects, encompassing infrastructure works, industrial, commercial and residential projects and maintenance services.

Alkomed has recently completed a range of projects including Regency Hotel refurbishment, Bapco P&U building, 66 kV cabling and GIS substation erection for the Alba coke calciner plant and McDonalds restaurant Zinj amongst others, and is currently engaged in the Sheraton Hotel refurbishment, various HVAC projects for Batelco and Bapco and other construction and maintenance projects.