With the construction sector in Dubai witnessing a never-before boom, vertical transportation specialist Alimak’s Scando hoists have been busy ferrying both men and materials along some of the tallest towers in the emirate.

Alimak’s hoists have been working non-stop on some of the recent projects in Dubai including the 60-storey Al Marsa Tower at Dubai Marina, apart from several others towers within the Jumeirah Beach Residence (JBR) project.

Al Marsa Towers
On 60-storey Al Marsa Tower, which is nearing completion, main contractor Al Naboodah Contracting remains reliant on two twin Alimak hoists for moving both passengers and materials, says a spokesman for Alimak.
“Both Alimak Scando 20/30 TD twin hoists were delivered by local distributor Inma at the start of construction in 2004 and are in constant round-the-clock demand,” he adds.
Featuring an internal cage size of 1.3 m by 3 m by 2.55 m (w by l by h) and a maximum capacity of 2,000 kg, the project’s four cages can travel at speeds of 40 m/min on the 256-m-high tower.
Dubai Marina has been described as the world’s largest man-made marina and ranks amongst the world’s largest masterplanned water developments. Started in 1998, the mixed-use canal city project, inspired by Venetian tradition, covers an area of 4.9 million sq m and is expected to house over 120,000 people in a mix of condominium towers and villas with waterfront views.
By completion, it is expected to contain more than 200 hi-rise towers including the Al Marsa Tower.

JBR Towers
At the JBR, Alimak has been providing reliable vertical transportation for several contractors. With its 40 hi-rise towers, JBR continues to dominate the skyline of Jumeirah’s waterfront and Dubai Marina, with a few more towers reaching the topping out stage.
Recently, three towers that form Salah Construction’s Sector 2 contract were topped out, closely following the topping out of Al Shafer General Contracting and Al Ahmadiah Trading and Contracting Sector 5 and 6 contracts, respectively.
All the contractors are relying on no fewer than 20 Alimak Scando passenger and material hoists to ensure the fast and efficient movement of the labour force and materials on the JBR projects, says the spokesman.
Salah Construction opted for four twin-cage Scando 20/32 TD hoists, including three units purpose-ordered in 2005 from local distributor Inma.
Al Ahmadiah Trading and Contracting is similarly using Alimak Scando 20/32 TD hoists on its Sector 5 contract with five twin units plus four twin CH14/30 hoists for the contractor’s five high-rise towers with heights varying between115 m and 172 m.
Al Shafer General Contracting’s Sector 6 contract, featuring two 44-storey towers and a 26-storey tower linked to a 40-storey building have final heights of between 107 m to 172 m over a four-level podium.
The contractor opted to use six twin-cage Scando FC 24/32 D hoists, which have increased efficiency of passenger movement on each of the towers and also relieves the tower cranes for some of the building materials, he says
The Scando F 24/32 TD, with cage dimensions of 1.5 m by 3.2 m by 2.15 m, has three motors featuring a 2,400 kg capacity and can travel at a speed of up to 57 m/min for a lifting height of up to 150 m.
“Local distributor Inma is responsible for the service of all Alimak hoists across the complete JBR project to ensure optimum performance,” says the spokesman.
Liebherr’s expertise
Al Shafar General Contracting and Al Ahmadiah Trading and Contracting Company are each relying on eight and 10 Liebherrs, respectively, for the Sectors 5 and 6 contracts of the JBR project.
Al Shafer has opted to use two luffing jib cranes in only the second project in Dubai. Both Liebherr 112 HC-L luffing jib cranes feature an under hook height of 240 m.
According to Al Shafar’s project manager, Ehab Edward Narouze, the company opted for the luffing jibs because of limited space on Tower ADI even though it occupies the biggest area.
“It is also close to the road and the cranes cannot therefore swing across the road, in addition, it is also close to the adjacent sector.”
Six Liebherr eight-tonne capacity tower cranes complete the line-up for Al Shafar General Contracting.
Al Ahmadiah Trading and Contracting is relying on a mix of 10 Liebherr 290 HC, 255 HC, 180 HC and 280 EC-H tower cranes with a 12-tonne maximum capacity for its Sector 5 contract.