HMR wins Madinat Jumeirah contract

12 July 2002

The local/South African joint venture of Al-Habtoor Engineering Enterprisesand Murray & Roberts Contractors (Middle East)has been awarded package 2 on the Madinat Jumeirah project in Dubai. Valued at AED 535 million ($146 million), the contract centres on the construction of a hotel, villas and a health spa. Package 1 on the prestigious development is being carried out by another local/South African team, made up of Bu Haleeba Contractorsand Grinaker-LTA(MEED 24:5:02; 18:1:02).

The 20-month contract involves the construction of the 300-bed Palace hotel, which will have a built-up area of 58,000 square metres and parking for over 200 cars in the basement. In addition, the venture will build 31 blocks, containing 10 villas each, with a total built-up area of 43,000 square metres, a health spa with a built-up area of 3,000 square metres, and three theme restaurants, with a built-up area of 4,500 square metres. It will also carry out the external works.

The package 2 scope originally included the construction of a souk and conference facilities. However, both elements have been removed and placed in a third package, which will be tendered at a later date.

The other main competitors for package 2 were South Korea's Daewoo Engineering & Construction Companywith the local Dhabi Contractingand the Bu Haleeba/Grinaker team.

The estimated $65 million, package 1 contract calls for the construction of a port of entry hotel, which will have 300 rooms and 20 suites. The hotel is scheduled to open in August 2003, a month before Dubai hosts the IMF/World Bank meetings (MEED 18:1:02). Madinat Jumeirah will be the latest in a series of hotel developments to be built in Dubai. It will be built to the south of the Burj al-Arab and Jumeirah beach complexes. The various components of the development will be linked by a navigable waterway.

The client on Madinat Jumeirah is Jumeirah International. The project manager is Mirage Mille Leisure & Developmentof South Africa; the interior design consultant is KCAof Hong Kong.

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