Author: Jochebed Menon

The Sharjah-based Alef Group has begun construction works on Phase III of its Dhs213 million Al Mamsha project. The development includes 612 residential units spread over six buildings that offer a mix of studios, one-, two-, and three-bedroom apartments. WAM reported that the start of construction work for Al Mamsha Phase III follows the increase in sales achieved in the previous two phases. Al Mamsha Phase III, which extends over 818,634 sqft, will provide residential units overlooking views of swimming pools, open spaces, and kids’ areas. It will also host a combination of retails that span 1,852 sqm.

Abu Dhabi Water and Electricity Authority (ADWEA) has qualified safety science leader UL as a certified third-party body for the certification of products listed under Category 0901020, relating to electrical power distribution equipment. Awarded a five-year qualification, UL has been added to ADWEA’s approved vendor list after successfully completing ADWEA’s stringent qualification process. This qualifies UL to certify switchgear and control gear equipment, transformers, cables, and batteries for manufacturers selling products to end-users within the Abu Dhabi National Energy Company (TAQA) group of companies, which includes Abu Dhabi Distribution Co., Emirates Water and Electrical Co., Abu Dhabi Transmission & Despatch…

eCommerce platform BigCommerce has joined hands with Like Digital & Partners, a London headquartered digital agency. The partnership aims to transform opportunities for merchants in the Middle East, enabling them to get set up and selling, smoothly and safely, with the latest in eCommerce technology. BigCommerce helps companies build, run, and grow a better online business that is up and running in less time. Boasting the latest and most cost-effective technological features and functionality to showcase a company’s products and manage business with user-friendly, reliable technological solutions, it has become a market leader across the region. Co-founder of Like Digital…

The Ministry of Energy and Infrastructure has partnered with Etihad Rail, the developer and operator of the UAE’s National Rail Network, to collaborate on the issuance of safety permits for Stage Two of the UAE’s national rail project. The agreement was signed at the Ministry’s office in Dubai in the presence of His Excellency Suhail bin Mohammed Faraj Faris Al Mazrouei, Minister of Energy and Infrastructure. The signing agreement comes as Etihad Rail continues to drive progress on Stage Two of the UAE’s National Rail Network. Across the project’s four packages, Etihad Rail has achieved 34% of overall progress since…

Saudi-based King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST) will be a licensed user of Zapata Computing’s Orquestra, the modular, workflow-based platform for applied quantum computing. KAUST is examining various lines of research to determine how quantum technologies could represent an advantage over classical compute tools in a variety of Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) use cases for airplane and automobile aerodynamic design. Currently, CFD computations are extremely time-consuming and expensive to run. The simulation process is inefficient, and a lot of time is wasted trying to model air flow around wings and engines more efficiently. Boosting work around those designs…

French commercial truck manufacturer revealed in its 2020 results that despite the pandemic the firm maintained its market share and recorded a 12% increase in orders compared to the previous year. Over 90% of the Renault Trucks sales network remained open at the height of the pandemic. On the European market for vehicles over six tonnes, the truck manufacturer recorded a stable market share of 8.5% in 2020. Market share remained unchanged in the over 16-tonne segment at 8.8% and in the mid-range segment (6-16 tonnes), it rose by 0.3 points to 6.6%. Internationally, Renault Trucks recorded a 16% increase…

The University of Birmingham Dubai has appointed Pacific Ltd to supply and install audio-visual systems across its new Dubai campus. The UK-based company will provide a range of equipment across all teaching spaces and meeting rooms in its ultra-modern building, which is due to open in September 2021. Pacific has worked closely with University of Birmingham Dubai staff to design systems so that the user experience for students, visitors and staff will be comparable to that of the University’s Birmingham campus. The Teaching and Learning Innovation Zone on campus will be equipped with AVoIP (Audio-Video over Internet Protocol) technology giving…

Integrated liquid logistics solutions provider Tristar Transport announced its intention to proceed with an initial public offering on the Dubai Financial Market (DFM). The offer size is expected to represent up to 24% of the total issued ordinary shares after the offering in the capital of Tristar. The offering will comprise a primary issuance of 199,000,000 new shares in addition to a secondary offering of up to 88,760,000 existing shares by existing shareholders. Tristar expects to receive between USD120 to USD160 million of gross primary proceeds from the offering. The existing shares are being offered by Agility Tristar SPV Ltd,…

Water management solutions firm Metito has appointed Talal Ghandour as its as Chief Investment Officer and Managing Director. Talal will form part of the senior management team and be primarily responsible for the companies’ global strategic growth initiatives. Talal worked for 23 years at Bank of America and was one corporation’s longest-serving senior executives in the Middle East, and until recently led the bank’s equities unit in the Middle East and North Africa, where he helped build one of the biggest regional franchises. “I felt this was the right time to join our family business especially given the companies’ exciting…

His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of UAE and Ruler of Dubai launched the Industrial Strategy ‘Operation 300bn’. The 10-year comprehensive strategy aims to empower and expand the industrial sector to become the driving force of a sustainable national economy, increasing its contribution to the GDP from the current Dhs133 billion to Dhs300 billion by 2031. Leading the strategy, the Ministry of Industry and Advanced Technology will roll out programmes and initiatives to support 13,500 industrial small and medium enterprises (SMEs). Focusing primarily on future industries that implement advanced technology and the Fourth…