Dubai to build new bridge
Dubai: Dubai has announced plans to build a new bridge, the fourth one, over Dubai Creek.

The municipality is also planning to widen the Emirates Road into a five-lane highway.
The new projects are part of Dubai Municipality’s five-year plan to ensure a smooth traffic flow. The new bridge between Al Maktoum Bridge and Al Shindagha Tunnel will link Omar Bin Al Khattab Road in Deira to Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Road in Bur Dubai.
The new bridge is still in the design stage and various options are being studied, said an official.
Construction of another bridge replacing the existing Al Garhoud Bridge will also start in the first quarter of 2006. The new Al Garhoud Bridge will have seven lanes in each direction in addition to a pedestrian walkway.

DHCC plans new hotel
Dubai: A luxury five-star hotel will be built in the heart of the city of Dubai by Dubai Healthcare City (DHCC) the region’s leading healthcare, wellness, medical education and research facility.
DHCC chairman Saeed Al Muntafiq said the hotel would be built at an estimated cost of Dh860 million ($234.2 million) and will be a twin-tower project with one of the high-rises being a five-star hotel and the other an apartment tower.
The development will open doors to visitors by September 2007. The hotel and apartments would be connected by a glass air-conditioned tunnel to the 425-bed teaching hospital and the on-campus Harvard Medical School Dubai Centre. It will be located along the northeastern edge of the DHCC Phase 1.

Emirates Glass wins major deal
Dubai: Emirates Glass, a Dubai Investment subsidiary, has won a major contract to supply 140,000 sq m of its premium glass to a prestigious development on the Palm Jumeirah.
The company will begin delivery of its EmiCool Sun Gray/Bronze to the development by December end. The supply contract will be executed in four months.
“This is another illustration of our ability to deliver world class premium products within the stipulated time frame of a project. This was made possible by the state-of-the-art machinery and equipment installed at our facility at a cost of more than Dh16 million. We are sure this major Palm Jumeirah contract is just another example for our quality and time management,” said Jerry Dowling, managing director, Emirates Glass.
Meanwhile, the company is also looking at international deals. Currently, the company is in negotiations for the supply of 14,000 sq m of its glass products to two international projects – one in the UK and another in Singapore, he said.

New locking system for Trident
Dubai: Trident International Holdings (TIH), a real estate development company, will introduce the futuristic keyless transponder-based digital locking and organisation system in its Trident Grand Residence (TGR) in Dubai Marina.
Trident has announced a tie-up with global technology leader in access control and biometrics system, SimonsVoss Technology for implementing this system.
This is the first time that such a system is being implemented at a residential project in the UAE, said Wazir Daredia, director and CEO of TIH said.

Terminal design to be ready soon
Abu Dhabi: The design of Abu Dhabi International Airport’s (ADIA) multi-billion-dirham mega Midfield Terminal Complex will be unveiled later this month, following an international competition which involved some of the world’s biggest design specialists, a report said. The Supervision Committee for the Expansion of Abu Dhabi International Airport (SCADIA), has received proposals from four major international design consultants for the UAE capital airport's future main terminal.

IMI wins key orders in Dubai
Dubai: Al Yousuf’s Imperbit Membrane Industries (IMI) has won two orders to provide moisture protection for two of Dubai's landmark buildings.
“As per the contracts, IMI will supply more than 30,000 sq m of membranes for the record six level-deep basement of the New Dubai Gate Tower at Jumeirah Lake Towers, as well as 25,000 sq m of membranes for the basement of the 62-storey Emirates Crown Tower at Dubai Marina,” says a company spokesman.
IMI, which produces 10 million sq m of roofing and waterproofing membranes a year, manufactures the Imperflex range of modified bitumen membranes. When applied to concrete, these membranes form an impervious layer that protects concrete from saline and other corrosive elements found in groundwater.
The membranes are designed to withstand a 70 m head of water pressure, equivalent to seven times atmospheric pressure, he says.

80-storey tower work under way
Dubai: Piling and foundation work is currently under way for the Infinity Tower in Dubai.
Infinity Tower, which will stand 80 storeys high, is anticipated to be a dominant feature on Dubai Marina’s landscape.
Located opposite Grosvenor House and at the beginning of the Dubai Marina, Infinity will boast one of Dubai Marina’s most-sought-after locations.
The unique design will afford each apartment a staggering view of the Palm islands, the Arabian Gulf, or the Marina.

$816m resort for Fujairah
Fujairah: The Fujairah government and Saudi-based Golden Riyadh Establishment have launched a joint investment of Dh3 billion ($816.7 million) to develop a resort in Al Aqa area, near Le Meridien Al Aqah to be called Jannat Al Fujairah (Paradise of Fujairah).
The new resort, surrounded by high mountains and beaches, will include approximately 1,000 villas, designed according to five-star standards on a total area of 700,000 sq m. It is considered the largest of its kind in the region.
The project is expected to be completed in 24 months said a spokesman.

El Seif wins Jewels deal
Dubai: Saudi Arabia-based Jade Investment Development has awarded the building contract for the Dh250 million ($68 million) The Jewels at Dubai Marina to El Seif Engineering Contracting Company (ESEC) International.
The Jewels, a 20-storey twin-tower development, will house 120 units and five villas priced between Dh800,000 to Dh10 million. These include one, two, three bedroom apartments, duplexes, penthouses, lofts, retail shops and luxurious villas overlooking the marina. Unit sizes range from 940 sq ft for a one-bedroom apartment to 9,397 sq ft for the presidential penthouse.
Work on the residential towers has already begun and the project will be completed in December 2006.

Plan for $68m Swiss Towers
Dubai: Three investors are promoting the UAE’s first ‘country-branded’ commercial freehold property – the Dh250 million ($68 million), 40-storey Swiss Tower – which will be built in Dubai’s Jumeirah Lake Towers complex.
Architect Gunter Buerk JSK is working on the final design of the project and tenders for the main construction package are expected next year, said Al Tamimi and Company managing partner Essam Al Tamimi.
The building is equally owned by Essam Al Tamimi, Christoph Kunz of Odette Switzerland Holdings and Swiss Business Council vice-president and Swiss national Premal Shah. Asteco will supervise the sale of the tower, expected to house mainly Swiss companies.

Nakheel wins top award
Dubai: Nakheel was voted the World’s Leading Tourism Property Development Company at the World Travel Awards 2005 held in London.
The awards are voted for by travel industry professionals worldwide, and this year more than 175,000 people from 200 countries registered to vote for the awards.

Abu Dhabi plans $12.8bn projects
AbuDhabi: Construction tenders worth over Dh47 billion ($12.80 billion) for new projects in Abu Dhabi will be announced in the next two years, the Wam news agency said.
The projects will include commercial and residential buildings, roads, airport infrastructure, industrial parks and work for government institutions, according to a study by the Abu Dhabi National Exhibitions Company (Adnec), Wam said.
“A string of projects are under development in Abu Dhabi and more investments are planned across various sectors. These are all pointers to a continued boom in the Abu Dhabi construction market”, an Adnec spokesman said.
He said mega projects under way in the UAE capital included the Dh54 billion Al Raha beach development, the Dh35 billion Al Reem Island development, and the Dh25 billion Abu Dhabi Airport expansion.

Al Fajer offers Business Centre
Dubai: Al Fajer Properties is to build its Jumeirah Business Centre project at Jumeirah Lake Towers at an estimated cost of Dh470 million ($128 million).
The development, which will have two parts – Jumeirah Business Centre 1 and 2 – will have Nakheel as master developer and finance options available from Abu Dhabi Commercial Bank.
The first of the two towers has been already sold out, an official said.

Enoc awards expansion contract
Dubai: Emirates National Oil Company (Enoc) has awarded Foster Wheeler a contract to upgrade its 120,000 barrels per day (bpd) condensate refinery and is seeking $500 million in financing for the project.
The project will add a 70,000 bpd hydro-treater and a 36,000 bpd crude catalytic reformer as well as sulphur recovery, tail gas treatment unit, and power flash scene generation.
The UK-based office of US firm Foster Wheeler won the engineering, procurement and construction management contract. Dubai Islamic Bank (DIB) was mandated to arrange the $500 million Islamic facility under Ijarah structure. Financial closure is scheduled for the first quarter of 2006.
A DIB official said the financing would be at a 70/30 debt to equity proportion. Enoc chief executive Hussain Sultan said the project would be financed through internal resources and the ijarah (Islamic investment vehicle) but gave no details. Sultan said the upgrade, due to be completed by the end of 2007, would allow the plant to run at full capacity using sour condensate and to produce low-sulphur naptha as well as 1.2 million tonnes of high octane reformate for gasoline.