Launched in 1970, Al Habtoor Engineering Enterprises (HEE) has developed and prospered in parallel with the UAE through the excellence of its work, innovation and experience in tackling complex projects.

Al Habtoor has demonstrated its ability through its own resources, and through appropriate joint ventures, to undertake projects of a global scale in the Middle East.

The company specialises in build-only, design-and-build, joint venture and services projects as well as civil works.

HEE has two fields of operation - one is as Al Habtoor Engineering where it carries out traditional construction work, and the other is through its various joint ventures with Murray & Roberts Contractors Middle East (M&R) for special projects.

"The joint venture bids for projects which we would not qualify otherwise. Anybody in the UAE is used to 20 and 30 storeys. But when it comes to more than 30 storeys it is a completely different concept," says Nigel B Poole, HEE's contracts manager. "We manage projects together...they provide some management and we provide what is best in us. We have a very successful relationship that has brought us into different and difficult projects. We are now on our eighth joint venture project," he says.

With such progress in joint ventures, Al Habtoor's own home base is also growing. The company's turnover in 1999 was around Dh500 million ($136.24 million) without taking into account the joint venture activities.

He says much of the talk about the downturn in the construction sector stems from the fact that during the last three years, Dubai has seen a very high concentration of big projects such as Burj Al Arab, Emirates Towers and Dubai Airport's new terminal.

"Probably, 15,000 people were working on these three projects at one time. Those have now been finished. If these projects had been spread out, they would have carried the construction sector aloft for a long time.

"A project like Burj Al Arab is not likely to be repeated. It was a one-off and a tremendous achievement for the company to have succeeded in completing it," he says.

"I think now is a period of consolidation. Three major projects have come to an end. It is going to be difficult to replace them. They were all very intensive and fast-track projects. If there was no rush, we would have been cruising well.

"We had a very busy time with some of these projects and fortunately for us, we have been successful in securing major jobs in Abu Dhabi," he says.

Apart from Burj Al Arab and the Dubai Airport concourse building, Al Habtoor, in partnership with M&R constructed Kendah House, which was finished last November and is working on Tower No 1 (see separate report).

"We were one of the very few contractors shortlisted for these projects," he says proudly. "These two projects are valued at more than Dh150 million each."

Al Habtoor is also just about to finish the headquarters building for the United Arab Shipping Company (UASC) in Dubai, which has a unique shape.

Norr of Canada is the consultant and Union Properties is the project manager for this project.

In Dubai, there are still a lot of quality projects. "They are not for lower level contractors. They are major specialised projects," Poole says.

Works on the drawing board include the Mashreq Bank Headquarters and Bur Juman Centre expansion. There is also talk of another terminal at the airport.

"A great deal of our focus in the last six months has been on Abu Dhabi, where our joint venture is working on the Marina Mall Shopping Centre, National Bank of Abu Dhabi headquarters and the civil works for Ruwais petrochemical project. Together, these projects are valued at Dh600 million," says Poole.

Al Habtoor is also building a villa project costing Dh90 million, and the Tahnoun Tower in Abu Dhabi.

Al Habtoor occasionally undertakes design-and-build projects such as Marina Mall. "We take the concept and develop the project. We are quite happy to take turnkey projects and have consultants work for us. That actually works very well. It give us the opportunity to work on the project from the very beginning," says Poole.

The current trend is for projects to be executed on a fast-track basis.

"Some five years ago, people could not have dreamt of building 200 villas in six months. But now we have made it possible. The Air Show project had to be completed in 10 months. We have made it possible. We have the people and the equipment," he says.

The future is tourism-related construction, says Poole. "People are spending more on leisure. The shopping malls are now complete mini-communities and have become leisure centres, increasing local tourism. People are being encouraged to spend more money in the Emirates."

Following 30 hectic years during which it was involved in some of Dubai's world-class projects, Al Habtoor Engineering is now looking at international projects.

"We are now looking beyond the UAE. Our joint venture has put a bid in Doha for a massive shopping centre. We are also looking at Egypt," he says.

"Last year, the company received a new ISO 9002 certificate, which confirms that the firm's quality management system is consistent, compliant and co-ordinated with the 20 points of ISO9002. Al Habtoor first received its ISO certificate in 1996," says Richard Corish, HEE's quality assurance manager.

Al Habtoor has an employee strength of 5,000 and benefits directly from association with fellow group member Construction Machinery Centre, one of the UAE's major construction plant distributors, and also has the support of centralised carpentry and steel workshops.

Al Habtoor architects and draftsmen use the latest CAD (Computer Aided Design) software on workstation computers to translate the most complex design concepts into working realities on site.

Some of the major projects carried out by Al Habtoor include: