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Having completed the Dh 540
million Sheikh Rashid Terminal Concourse at Dubai
International Airport four years ago, the Joint Venture
between Al Habtoor Engineering Enterprises and Murray &
Roberts is still involved in a number of construction
projects as the Middle East’s premier airport continues
to grow and develop alongside the dynamic city it
serves.
Dubai International Airport is
considered the Middle East’s premier and busiest
airport, having won numerous awards since the new Sheikh
Rashid Terminal and Concourse opened in 2000. The modern
expansion has enabled an even greater number of
passengers to arrive in the emirate as Dubai continues
to evolve as a leading business city and tourist
destination. But with a staggering 60 million visitors
anticipated by the year 2010, the Dubai Department of
Civil Aviation is continuing to plan for the future.
The second
phase of the airport’s expansion began in 2002 when
construction began on a third terminal and two new
concourses dedicated to Emirates airline, one of which
has been designed to handle the new Airbus A380 Super
Jumbo. Other aspects of the US$ 4.1 billion expansion
programme include a giant cargo terminal, extending the
existing Terminal One, and the construction of a Flower
Centre to process imported flowers and other perishable
commodities for redistribution.
HH Sheikh
Ahmed bin Saeed Al Maktoum, President of the Dubai
Department of Civil Aviation and Chairman of the
Emirates Group, said: “With the opening of Sheikh Rashid
Terminal, Dubai International Airport entered a new era.
We now have a state-of-the-art facility complementing
our high standards of service. However, passenger growth
has been steadily increasing.”
According
to statistics released by Airports Council International
(ACI), Dubai International Airport is one of the fastest
growing airports in the world in terms of international
passenger movement, recording 13 % growth in 2003. A new
monthly record was set in August 2004 with passenger
movement of 2.05 million people and, according to
projections, 21 million people will pass through the
airport in 2004, making the need for expansion ever
pressing.
“The
Department of Civil Aviation is committed to ensuring
that the next phase of the expansion programme is built
to the most advanced specifications possible,” Sheikh
Ahmed said. “With the help of the Government of Dubai,
we aim to build the most advanced aviation hub, not just
in the region, but in the world.”
The
pioneering Joint Venture between Al Habtoor Engineering
Enterprises and South Africa-based Murray & Roberts
played a major role in the construction of the Sheikh
Rashid Terminal and Concourse and has since successfully
tendered for a number of contracts worth Dh 350 million
across the length and breadth of the airport in the
current phase of expansion, including work on the Flower
Centre, expanding the arrivals area of Terminal One,
building new departure bus lounges, the creation of new
business and first class lounges, and other ancillary
works.
The team is
headed by Project Director Duncan Meredith, with Project
Managers Stephen King, Murray Vetch, Barry Hand and
Chris Prodehl overseeing different aspects of the
operation. These production teams are ably supported by
competent back up departments comprising Engineering,
Planning, Quality, Commercial / Surveying,
Administration and Safety.
“The Joint
Venture began work on the Sheikh Rashid Concourse in
1998 and we have been involved in additional projects at
the airport ever since,” Mr King explained. “A number of
the contracts have already been completed, such as the
fit-out of the new Emirates First and Business Class
lounge and the construction of eight new departure bus
lounges, while others are ongoing and due for completion
by the middle of 2005.”
Working at
a busy, functioning airport creates unique challenges
for the team, particularly as some of the projects are
‘air side’ and cannot disrupt the flow of passengers, or
the workings of airport staff and officials.
“Most
people’s port of entry into Dubai is the airport and it
creates their first impression of the emirate, so it has
to look smart, it has to look efficient and it can’t
look like a building site,” Mr King said. “If you look
around carefully, you will find us quietly working away
behind hoardings, ever busy revamping, renewing and
constructing anew.
“Some of
the projects are MEP (Mechanical, Electrical & Piping)
intensive, others are of a temporary nature, there are
those that need to address the sensitivity to passenger
movement, some require strict and sensitive
co-ordination with traffic control and the police, and
others involve co-ordination with subcontractors and
other direct contractors.”
The Joint
Venture’s work within the existing Terminal One building
involves extending the arrivals area and creating new
baggage areas, extending the offices above, and
re-arranging some of the existing facilities like the
arrivals duty free shop, while in the main concourse
there is also the fit-out of the ‘foreign carriers
lounge’.
“To
complete the enlargement of Terminal One we have to
demolish a building which is used to house utilities
like air-conditioning and electrics,” Mr King explained.
“In order to do this we have to upgrade another
utilities building to take all that equipment, and this
all has to be done while keeping everything operational,
so it is logistically demanding.”
The US$
50million Flower Centre is being constructed at a
prominent location within the airport, with its 300
metre long principal elevation facing directly onto the
busy Sharjah-Dubai highway. When fully developed and
automated, it will have a floor area of about 100,000
square metres comprising export chambers, offices and
automated sorting areas. The handling capacity of the
centre is anticipated to exceed 300,000 metric tones of
product throughput per year, with much of the building
being refrigerated to maintain an ambient temperature of
2-4 degrees Centigrade.
“Initially
the flower centre was only going to process flowers, but
will now also process other goods as well,” explained Mr
King, who previously worked for Murray & Roberts in
South Africa before moving to Dubai two years ago to
work with the Al Habtoor / Murray & Roberts JV. “The
produce will arrive at the flower centre by either air
or road and will be X-rayed and checked by Customs
before being processed, wrapped and sent out again –
either for distribution in the local market or forwarded
on to other markets.
“One of the
unique aspects of its construction is that it comprises
seven separate contracts, which is fairly unique here.
Normally you would have a main contractor and a number
of subcontractors, but each contract is independent and
we have to co-ordinate between ourselves and the other
contractors. Our contract initially involved two
mezzanine decks and an X-ray pod, but we have
successfully tended for the fit-out contract as well,
which includes the ceilings, floors, tiles, bathrooms
and all the finishes to the building, as well as the MEP
(Mechanical, Electrical, Piping) work.”
With
between 600 and 800 people working on site at any one
time - the number varies as individual contracts finish
and start - safety is of paramount importance and
regular safety co-ordination meetings are held between
the Joint Venture, the Department of Civil Aviation,
consultants and contractor teams.
“Needless
to say, the staff involved on the various airport
projects need to be of the highest calibre, with the
ability to manage the many varied facets of airport
life,” Mr King said. In this regard, we have developed
an excellent atmosphere of support, interaction and team
work as the Joint Venture between Al Habtoor Engineering
Enterprises and Murray & Roberts continues to grow from
strength to strength.”
The current
airport projects successfully acquired by the Joint
Venture are due to be completed by the middle of 2005,
and the team is keen to continue its successful
association with the Dubai Department of Civil Aviation
and is currently awaiting the outcome of a tender
submitted for the fit-out contract for the new Terminal
Three concourse.
Habtoor Engineering –
Murray& Roberts JV (HMR) won the tender and has just
been awarded by the DCA the biggest construction
contract so far in the UAE for completing Terminal 3 and
Concourse 2 of the Dubai International Airport.
Terminal 3 and the Car Park are a wholly underground
structure, approximately 532,000 sq. m in area, composed
of 2 major public levels in addition to 3 other
services/administrative levels. It is connected on the
landside to the Car Park by 2 separate curbside levels,
each about 300 m long. The Car Park is an open-air
structure, appx 257,000 sq.m in area, on 3 levels. On
the Airside, the Terminal 3 levels directly interface
with corresponding underground levels in the Concourse
2.
The Concourse 2 is partially a continuation of the
Terminal 3underground structure that extends above
ground under a metal shell to accommodate 27 Aircrafts
Stands out of which 5 are A-380s and 14 remote stands.
It will be positioned in line with the present Concourse
1 and connected to Terminal 3 by means of a special
vertical transportation system that acts as a focal
point feature in a central atrium.
The building shell, which is being tendered under a
different package, has an elliptical profile with
tapering ends. Its footprint is 90.8m wide and 924m
long. The built-up area is approximately 670,000 sq. m
and its comprises in addition to the arrival floor and
departure floor that includes a Duty Free area, a
dedicated floor for First & Business Cass passengers and
hotel area divided into 4 & 5 star hotels. | 
