Dubai allocates $29m for cold stores
Dubai: Sheikh Hamdan bin Rashid Al Maktoum, deputy ruler of Dubai, has approved a Dh107 million ($29.13 million) project for building cold stores at the Dubai Central Fruits and Vegetables Market.

The project involves the construction of 41 cold stores with a total built-up area of 61,140 sq m including roads, external services and all associated works.
A locally-based contracting firm, which was awarded the project recently, is expected to start work within the next few days. The project is expected to take 14 months to complete.

Dubai Lagoon opens for sale
Dubai: Dubai Lagoon, a Dh3 billion ($816.88 million) project coming up within the Dubai Investments Park residential community complex, was launched to retail residential purchasers last month.
Phase one includes 21 six- and eight-storey buildings with a completion date of September 2007.
Dubai Lagoon, which will eventually have 53 residential towers, comprises 4,166 units – studio, one, two three and four-bedroom apartments.
Targeting the middle to high middle income class, all buildings have lagoon views, and with over 75 per cent of the total land used for landscaping and the lagoon itself, the development promises to offer residents charming, tranquil and luxurious surroundings, says a spokesman for the developer.
Dubai Lagoon is being developed by Dubai based Town Centre Management, which is sponsored by Nasser Abdulla Hussain Lootah, the chairman of Nasa Group. The project is designed and master planned by Artec, a leading architectural firm in the region.

EMS launches LComm wireless
Dubai: Energy Management Services (EMS), the leading energy management and energy conservation company in the Middle East, has announced the launch of an advanced wireless distribution and management system from LComm, the leading North American developer of enterprise and neutral host Wireless Access Systems in the Middle East.
The new wireless solution is suited for the increasing  number of smart buildings in the region, as it can be used to effectively manage Wi-Fi, cellular, PBX voice, two-way radio and security systems to provide one total productivity solution.
The state-of-the-art, secure and cost-efficient wireless infrastructure can be used in large buildings and high-density population structures such as hospitals, hotels, government buildings, schools, airports, shopping malls, recreational facilities, underground parking lots, manufacturing facilities and warehouses. LComm’s Wireless Management System (LCWMS) will add the luxury of a full network wireless bandwidth control, with no interruption of service.

DWTC exhibition hall work begins
Dubai: Dubai World Trade Centre (DWTC) has begun the initial phases of construction of a new exhibition hall for the Dubai International Convention and Exhibition Centre (DICEC).  Construction of the hall will begin next month and will take eight months to complete.
The project will add 15,000 sq m of exhibition space to the Dubai International Convention and Exhibition Centre (DICEC), thus increasing the available space by 30 per cent.
“Dubai’s Conference and Exhibition sector is undergoing massive growth and, as a result, demand for space is outstripping supply significantly,” said DWTC director-general Helal Saeed Al Marri.
Al Marri added: “Recognising the developing needs of the sector and the important growth opportunities that lie ahead, we have put two major stages of a strategic development plan in place to provide sufficient exhibition space for the future.The first stage is based upon expanding and enhancing the current exhibition space and facilities at DICEC to support the growth of the industry over the next three years. The second stage will enable us to meet the exciting demands of the future, through the construction of Dubai Exhibition City, part of the Jebel Ali Airport City, by  2009”.

Al Burj to rival Burj Dubai
Dubai: Nakheel’s Al Burj tower, proposed to be built in Dubai Waterfront, is expected to rival Burj Dubai – claimed to be the tallest tower in the world – now under construction.
Burj Dubai is being developed by another prominent Dubai property developer Emaar Properties.
Al Burj, initially planned to be developed on the Palm Jumeirah’s trunk, was later shifted to the Dubai Waterfront. Both are Nakheel’s projects. However, the final height of both the towers remain a secret.

Union Properties awards $288m deal
Dubai: Union Properties has awarded a Dh1.06 billion ($288 million) contract to Nasa Multiplex, a UAE-Australian joint venture construction company, to design and build Index a 328-m mixed-use tower with 86 floors. Construction of the tower will start this month and will be completed in three years.
The project, initially named One Central Park, will be located in the heart of the Dubai International Finance Centre (DIFC) complex, with 25 levels of office space, 520 apartments and penthouses over 50 levels with parking, retail, services and landscaped podium on other levels, Multiplex Group said.
Foster and Partners of London produced the architectural concept for the project, while Multiplex has engaged architects Woods Bagot and structural engineers Bruechle, Gilchrist and Evans to complete the design.