The Dubai Supreme Council of Energy (DSCE) aims to double its investments at its 39th council meeting held on 13 March 2016. During the meeting, a strategy to organise Dubai’s district-cooling sector was developed. CEO of Dubai Electricity and Water Authority Saeed Al Tayer, also present at the meeting, said: “The strategy will aim to improve the performance of operations, and enhance the amount of investments in this promising market from 20% to 40% by 2030,” The meeting was intended to support Dubai Clean Energy Strategy 2050 by implementing energy Demand Side Management strategy, which features nine programmes that contribute…
Author: Paromita Dey
Abdullah Alharoun, associate at International Counsel Bureau in Kuwait, analyses how Kuwait could be the new capital of public private partnership in the GCC Since its independence in the early 1960s, the State of Kuwait has embarked on an extensive modernisation exercise. This manifested in a broad programme of construction projects, which entailed strong partnership between public and private entities. In fact, Kuwait was miles ahead of its GCC counterparts in this area, with an impressive roster of construction projects, including modern roads, cities, sporting facilities, airports, and oil and gas facilities. However, following the first Gulf War in 1990,…
Property consultants Knight Frank will release London-based development Chelsea Waterfront to GCC investors in Dubai from 15 to 16 March and in Doha from 30 to 31 March 2016. Victoria Garrett, head of Knight Frank International London Sales in the Middle East, said: “Over the past year we have seen a significant increase of London new home sales from the Middle East, whether for investment purposes or for end-use. This exclusive second phase release is expected to attract significant interest in the Middle East following a successful first release in 2015 when investors from the region accounted for more than…
The National Emergency Crisis and Disaster Management Authority (NECMA) urged Emirates Telecommunications Corporation (Etisalat) to dismantle its Abu Dhabi-based head office’s spherical structure on 11 March 2016, according to Emirates News Agency. The instruction was made following the extreme weather conditions that hit the capital in the last week. The strong winds had severely damaged the structure, as a result NECMA will be providing the telecom company with engineering solutions to contain the damage and dismantle the sphere. Representatives of Etisalat, construction companies and consultants held meetings overnight to discuss the damage. NCEMA also asked the public to follow traffic…
Dubai-based developer Nakheel will provide technical support to Saudi Arabia developer Al Akaria for a range of new mixed-use projects in and around Riyadh. The two companies have signed a Memorandum of Understanding under which Nakheel will provide services including master planning, design, construction management, mall design and management, hospitality projects and leasing. Abdulrahman Almofadhi, chairperson of Al Akaria, said: “Al Akaria is embarking on a large and rapid expansion. We selected Nakheel to enable us to kick-start and speed up these new projects, and have every confidence in its ability to help us deliver.” Among the new projects is…
Anantara Hotels, Resorts and Spas announced the opening of two luxury resorts in the Sultanate of Oman in mid-2016. The resorts include Anantara Al Jabal Al Akhdar Resort located in the north east of Oman 2,000 metres above sea level on the curving rim of a great canyon and Al Baleed Resort – Salalah by Anantara in the southern province of Dhofar positioned between a scenic beach and freshwater lagoon. Anantara Al Jabal Al Akhdar will include 82 premier and deluxe rooms will each feature private balconies or terraces, whilst the 33 one, two or three bedroom villas complete…
WSP | Parsons Brinckerhoff (WSP|PB) urged regional governments developing metro or light rail ring-fence station-side land which would help off-set the upfront cost of rail projects. In its white paper, Smarter Rail – A Whole-life Approach, the company highlights one of the major challenges for local rail asset owners is transitioning from a delivery-oriented organisation to an asset operator and maintainer. The whole lifecycle of a rail network is often over-looked during planning and design, even though the operational phase is significantly longer and requires far more investment than the project phase. To help off-set the capital costs of…
Inferno at The Address Downtown Hotel on New Year’s Eve has re-ignited the debate over fire safety in Dubai. Jason O’Connell reports As the clock counted down towards the dawn of 2016, Dubai became the centre of the world’s attention when a fire broke out at The Address Downtown Hotel just a few hundred metres from the world’s tallest building, the Burj Khalifa, where a spectacular fireworks display was due to herald the arrival of a new year. Live images, beamed around the globe, showed the blaze quickly engulfing much of the 300-metre-tall building. But after barely a delay, the…
Red Sea Housing Services Co. signed a contract with Daruna for Real Estate Brokerage in Qatar to construct an integrated accommodations facility for 4000 tenants on 28 February 2016. The project value is worth over $39.56m with construction to begin with immediate effect and to be completed by 24 July 2017. Red Sea Housing Services will provide a complete infrastructure and housing development with facilities including accommodation blocks, indoor and outdoor recreation, utilities, mini-markets, police/security station, a bank, a clinic and other miscellaneous outlets. Donnie Sumner, president of Red Sea Housing Middle East Division, said: “The project demonstrates the acute…
Honeywell will launch the results of its Smart Building Score survey, which will reveal the scores of 620 buildings across the region, on 21 March 2016. The survey is set to reveal how ‘smart’ buildings are in the Middle East through extensive research conducted to evaluate the facilities across the region. The 620 buildings are situated across seven major cities in the region – Abu Dhabi, Dammam/Dhahran, Doha, Dubai, Jeddah, Riyadh and Kuwait City. It will include covering airports, hospitals, commercial office and residential buildings, hotels, schools and shopping malls. In collaboration with market research firm Nielsen and global advisors…