Beijing-based China State Construction Engineering Corporation (CSCEC) has been awarded the contract to build the Marina Vista project for Emaar Development.

Located along Emaar Beach Front, the contract covers the construction of two residential buildings. The first is a 35-storey tower and the second is a 45-storey tower. The scope also includes the mechanical, electrical and plumbing (MEP) works.

In March, Turkey’s Nurol was awarded a contract to build the Beach Vista residential towers at Emaar Beach Front. That contract involves the construction of one 33-storey tower and a 26-storey tower.

Emaar Beach Front is being developed as part of the Dubai Harbour project. It was launched by its master developer Meraas in 2017.

The overall project includes a 1,400-berth marina as well as a cruise ship port and terminal, a 325,000 square-metre shopping mall, an events arena, residential buildings, hotels, offices, retail stores, public services, restaurants and cafes, and a 135-metre-tall tower known as Dubai Lighthouse. Altogether, it will cover an area of more than 1.86 million sq m.

Local contractor ASGC was recently awarded the contract to build the Dubai Cruise Terminal. That contract includes the construction of two main cruise terminal buildings strategically positioned on a 1 kilometre-long quay.

China State dominance

The contract award at Dubai Harbour strengthens China State’s position as the UAE’s most active contractor. In MEED’s Top GCC Contractors list published in April, CSCEC was the second-ranked contractor in the UAE with $4.8bn-worth of work.

At the time of writing, it appeared that the Beijing-based contractor was poised to mount a serious challenge to the UAE’s top-ranked contractor Arabtec, which had $5.2bn-worth of work.

Just one month later, China State secured two contract wins totalling $400m.

The first contract, valued at $207m, is for the construction of a tower in the Downtown area of Dubai for Emaar. China State says it has signed a letter of acceptance for the Grande on Plot B4 project, which is worth AED760m ($207m). The works involve the construction of a 70-storey residential building with 882 apartments.

The second contract, valued at $193m, is for the next section of the Shindagha corridor scheme for Dubai’s Roads & Transport Authority (RTA).

In June, it was awarded a AED430m ($117m) contract for construction at the Deira Waterfront development in Dubai.

The contract covers phase 1 plots 9 and 10 of the project, and includes structural, mechanical, electrical and plumbing, fit out, landscaping and other related external auxiliary works.