As Dubai Marina continues to take shape in the fashionable Jumeirah area of the city, Ben Smalley talks to Yehia Abudullah of Al Habtoor Engineering Enterprises about the company's construction of Marina Terrace - a stunning residential tower in the heart of the new marina development.

Dubai's decision to allow expatriates to buy property in the emirate has fuelled a spate of construction projects to cope with the demand from residents and investors keen to step onto the property ladder in the most progressive and dynamic city in the Middle East.

Emaar's spectacular Dubai Marina project is just one of the pioneering new initiatives which have caught the imagination of Dubai residents, and Al Habtoor Engineering Enterprises is firmly involved in the project through the construction of four residential and hotel towers which form part of the unique 'city within a city.'
One of these developments is Marina Terrace, a residential tower which Al Habtoor Engineering Enterprises is building, along with Norr Consultants, on behalf of Damac Properties.

Project manager Yehia Abudullah explained: "The whole Dubai Marina area from Dubai Internet City to the Sheraton Jumeirah is being developed by Emaar. They have sold some land to investors such as Damac Properties, while the rest is being developed by Emaar themselves."

With literally dozens of high-rise buildings destined to be built around the man-made marina next to Dubai's famous Jumeirah Beach strip, there is great competition between developers and construction companies to demonstrate the quality of their work.

"Basically there will be many towers in this area so there is a big competition between investors to provide the best finishing of the towers, the best rooms and the best views," Yehia said. "This also reflects on us as the constructor, as we are in a position to show what we can do - we are in a challenge to show that Al Habtoor Engineering Enterprises is a leading company, that we can achieve projects on target without any delays - and this is a commitment made by us all.

"There are also some clients and contractors involved with Dubai Marina who have never worked with Al Habtoor before, so this is a good opportunity for us to showcase the quality and commitment to work that we have, and also the systems that we employ. It is also an important development for the future of Dubai, so we are especially pleased to be involved with that."

Marina Terrace comprises a six-storey podium, which forms the base of the building, rising from which is a 35-storey tower comprising the residential components of the building - a mixture of one, two and three bedroom flats.
The podium comprises car parking and service areas and will be topped at the sixth level with leisure facilities, including a swimming pool, Jacuzzi, tennis court and sports training area.

"There are also some commercial areas, which could be used as a beauty salon or some other purpose," Yehia said. " And there is also space for a kids' play area on top of podium six, and there will be a lot of landscaping in this area. In addition, there is also a ramp, which comes up from the main street to podium six, to provide vehicle access for people visiting the tower to pick somebody up, or drop somebody off."

There will be around 200 apartments in the building and, Yehia says, all but two or three have already been sold by Damac Properties, which reflects the demand and popularity of the development - especially as construction only began six months ago.

"We started on 3 September 2003 and are due to hand over the project in April 2005 - so we have a total construction time of 19 months," Yehia said. "This type of project is very time constraining - you would normally expect to take at least two years to build a tower like this, so to build it in 19 months creates time pressure - it is a fast-track job and it has to be completed on time so we are pushing and working day and night in two shifts to ensure we stay within the programme and hand over the project on time.

"Right now we have about 550 Al Habtoor people working on the site, but in the future many subcontractors will also be involved, which will increase that number further by around 200-300 people."

Working surrounded by the clear turquoise waters of the marina provides for a spectacular view, but the presence of so much water can also have its problems. Yehia explained: "We had some problems in the beginning as we have two basements which go down about seven metres below the water level and we are just eight metres away from the lake. So in the beginning, we had to get the area dry for working, but we have overcome this initial problem and are now in a good position and ahead of the programme."

One of the ways in which Yehia and his team are 'fast-tracking' the project is by using a technique known as 'slip forming' in the construction of the core of the building.

"There is a lot of concrete and reinforcement in the core walls which takes time to complete," Yehia explained. "So we have incorporated this system and are always slip forming this area ahead of the outer walls in order to minimise the time required to construct each floor - to go from one floor to another is much easier for us if the core wall is ahead."

Slip forming, as the name suggests, is a sliding-form construction method of pouring vertical concrete structures. It begins with the construction of a fixed-diameter form on top of a foundation, with a back-up support and bracing system to ensure that the form maintains its shape during movement. Inside and outside forms create the cavity of the wall, and inside this cavity, reinforcing steel is tied together vertically and horizontally to reinforce the concrete wall. The form is then connected to jack rods with hydraulic jacks, which automatically move the form vertically in minute increments as the concrete is being poured. Once pouring begins, it continues until the top of the structure is reached, allowing for a monolithic poured concrete structure.

"This is not a new technology, but we are fairly unique in using it here and we have had other construction firms come along to see how we are doing it," Yehia said.

Marina Terrace is the second project Yehia has managed since joining Al Habtoor Engineering Enterprises in May 2003. Previously he worked as project manager for a contracting company in Abu Dhabi, and also worked in Kuwait for a number of years after graduating from the University of Texas in the USA in 1983.

His first job for the UAE's leading construction company involved building a new grandstand and refurbishing the existing facilities at the Al Ain Club ahead of the UAE's hosting of the FIFA World Youth Championships last year.

The techniques involved in building a football stadium are vastly different from a high-rise tower, but such is the versatility of the projects Al Habtoor Engineering Enterprises is able to execute. And Yehia was especially pleased to see the stadium his team built receiving international attention during the championships.

"Sadly, I was unable to go to a game because I was too busy here, but I read about it a lot in the newspapers and the tournament seemed to go very well and everyone was happy with the facilities," he said. "The UAE may not have won the tournament, but the country showed it has the facilities and ability to stage a world-class competition which will hopefully serve as a good advert for the UAE across the world and attract similar events in the future."

When Elisha Graves Otis invented the elevator in 1853 his revolutionary device enabled buildings – and architects’ imaginations – to climb ever skyward, giving a new and bolder shape to the modern urban skyline.

The industry has come a long way since the pragmatic American mechanic first stunned the gathered crowds at New York’s Crystal Palace with a demonstration of his pioneering safety brake mechanism that enabled lifts to work without the inherent risk of falling due to rope failure.

Today, more than a century and a half later, the Otis Elevator Co. still stands as the world’s leading company in its field, with more than 60,000 employees serving customers in nearly every country of the world.

The United Arab Emirates is no exception, where Otis has a proud history as the first manufacturer to establish a presence in the country in the late 1960s. Otis is now expanding its market share in the UAE even further by sourcing its market-leading elevators and escalators from Otis factories in China, in addition to Europe.

Yusef Shalabi, general manager of Otis in the UAE, says the Chinese factories have  enabled substantial cost savings for clients, greater choice of product and enhanced customer service.

“Up to last year, we were sourcing elevators from Otis factories in France and Spain and escalators from Otis factories in Germany, but the strength of the Euro and weakness of the dollar has made buying from Europe prohibitively expensive,” he explains. “Otis has four factories in China and, now that we are sourcing our products there, we are able to offer our valued customers in the UAE an even better service at a greatly reduced cost.”

Among the benefits for Otis customers in the UAE is an increased product range, with the Chinese factories offering a wider variety of models than their European counterparts, while the ability to specify different finishes, buttons, ceilings and floorings has eliminated the need for costly customisation to take place in the UAE to meet specific client requirements.

“All products are manufactured by Otis in Otis-owned factories and come with the Otis guarantee and warranty,” Shalabi says. “So our customers are benefiting from a better price, even better choice of product and better quality, which has helped propel our sales and enabled us to be much more competitive.”

Otis prides itself on safety, and customers also have the added peace of mind that comes with buying an Otis elevator, escalator or moving walkway.

“Our products come with the latest safety features as standard, rather then as optional extras,” Shalabi explains. “These features are included because Otis as a company demands them, not because local regulations require them. Our safety standards are second to none. This is an invisible advantage for our clients and just one of the many reasons why Otis is the world’s largest and most successful elevator company in the world.”