Abu Dhabi’s construction industry can now reduce its environmental impact thanks to the opening of a new specialised processing plant designed and built by Thiess Services Middle East (TSME) to manage construction and demolition debris.

TSME, a joint venture between Al Habtoor Leighton Group and Australia’s Thiess Services, designed the plant to meet the requirements of its 15-year waste management concession contract with the Center of Waste Management Abu Dhabi. The plant allows construction waste to be processed and recycled for other uses such as roadbase, general fill and aggregates for construction and infrastructure projects.

At the opening ceremony on the 10th of May, TSME’s General Manager, Tim Harwood, said the plant was the largest and most sophisticated of its type in the Middle East. “Not only does this plant provide opportuni- ties to re-use and manage construction waste within Abu Dhabi, it also reduces demand on natural resources and quarries in other locations in the UAE,” he said. Boasting the latest in safety features and technology, the new plant is capable of processing more than 7,000 tonnes of material per day. The products generated from this plant meet all international quality standards and in many cases have been shown to outperform natural quarried products.

“Abu Dhabi is taking its carbon footprint reduction strategy very seriously with projects such as this and we are pleased to be part of such a worthy initiative,” said Tim. He congratulated the Center of Waste Management on their vision to find a clean- er, greener way to manage construction waste in the Emirate.

TSME is looking forward to contributing to this vision by providing the market with the option to use high-quality recycled products.  

Thiess Services Middle East has been award- ed the GCC Sanitation & Waste Management Contractor/Service of the Year Award at the Facilities Management Middle East Awards 2010.

The award was presented at the annual Facilities Management Middle East Awards 2010 gala dinner on 19th May, and recognised TS- ME’s work in waste collection and recycling in Abu Dhabi.

In addition to receiving the award, Thiess Services Middle East was also shortlisted for five other awards.

Tim Harwood said that TSME was proud to receive the award for its work in Abu Dhabi.
 
“This is great recognition for the hard work of the TSME team and indicates there is a growing need and demand for a sustainable approach to waste management and recycling in this region.”  

The project team for the St. Regis Hotel on Abu Dhabi’s Saadiyat Island has reached a key milestone, having met its first structural completion date earlier than scheduled.

The project, which is a joint venture with HLG and Murray & Roberts, began in August 2009 and is due for completion in August 2011.

The contract is for the 380 luxury hotel rooms, 259 residential apartments and 33 luxury resi- dential villas. The project also features a retail and entertainment component, a health and racquet club, a health spa and 1,600 struc- tured parking bays.

Senior Project Manager, Gus Heber, said initial works involved the construction of many deep basement pits and water tanks below the water table and several metres beneath the hotel basement area, as well as a three- level underground basement car park for the Apartment Complex.

“Since August 2009, the extensive structural works have now made their way out of the ground which covers a substantial footprint of approximately 350,000 square metres,” he said.
 
“During this period the raft slabs of the 33 surrounding villas have been dotting the perimeter while a dedicated underground service tunnel for the hotel’s service vehicles and main incoming chilled water supply has been making its way forward from the site entry and is about 70 per cent complete.

“Concrete placement on site is currently aver- aging 4,000 cubic metres per week.”

Mr Heber said the first of seven apartment buildings reached structural comple- tion on May 26 - three days before the original con- tract requirement date. The structural works in total are programmed to continue until November 2010.

“The achievement of the first structural completion date earlier than programmed was an important milestone for the project,” he said.

“Currently the site workforce is 3,000 men and this will increase to about 6,000 men later this year as the structural works complete and the internal works and external cladding will be in full swing.

“The hotel structure is 40 per cent complete and structural works for the 33 villas surrounding the hotel and apartments are about 50 per cent complete, so we are pleased with the way we are tracking at the moment.”