The Al Habtoor Group, UAE announced the appointment of China Railway 18th Bureau Group Ltd as the main contractor for its newest landmark development, the Al Habtoor Tower in the heart of Dubai.
The project, which is being built at the Al Habtoor City using innovative, creative, and selective construction techniques, is valued at AED 3.7bn.
Khalaf Ahmad Al Habtoor, Founding Chairman of Al Habtoor Group, commented: “It gives me great pleasure to welcome China Railway 18th Bureau Group as the main contractor for the Al Habtoor Tower.
“Knowing the complexity of taking on such a project, which requires a progressive and unique approach to construction, selecting the right contractors for the construction works was crucial for my team and me, as our goal is to complete Al Habtoor Tower at the highest quality in record time.
“The tender inquiry was published countrywide. We initially accepted 10 bidders and shortlisted three key bidders in an extensive process. We accepted the documents of European, Local, Indian, Chinese, and Middle Eastern companies.
“China Railway 18th Bureau Group was selected based on a list of criteria, mainly for; a) Meeting the projected target for completion of 36 months, b) Their full technical compliance for state-of-the-art quality, and c) their successful track record in mega projects.”
A multi-billion Dirhams development, Al Habtoor Tower is the largest residential building in the world with ultra-luxurious living facilities, comprising 1,701 keys over a built-up area of 3,517,313 square feet and 81 floors (G+7+73) above ground.
Adding on the non-conventional construction method, Al Habtoor said: “This is a project of many challenging firsts, following a structural system used for the first time in Dubai and validated by a detailed engineering peer review from world-renown experts; Structural San Francisco, Imperial College London and Terrasol Paris. We are choosing to save the current structure instead of demolishing it and building afresh at a lower cost, which would have meant more than 3,000 trucks of wasted concrete and sand.
“That is why we have opted for the innovative sustainable approach, using a top-down construction method whereby we have employed very heavy equipment from Bauer (the piling contractors), ranging from 60 to 100 tons each, to manoeuvre on top of the current building, reutilizing, and reusing the existing structure.
“Once completed, our carbon footprint will be less than half of any similar construction, where building 1 sqm of equivalent projects is usually 1 ton of CO2, using our method, our CO2 footprint will be less than 0.5 ton per sqm. Environmental experts will follow the Al Habtoor Tower construction journey closely as we work towards achieving LEED Platinum Certification (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) from the highest authority in green building rating systems worldwide.”
Following their engagement as the main contractor, Mr Zon Lin, General Manager of China Railway 18th Bureau Group Ltd., wrote to Khalaf Al Habtoor saying: “On behalf of China Railway 18th Bureau Group, I wish to take this golden opportunity to express our heartfelt gratitude and joy to you in receiving the LOA for the most prestigious Project – Al Habtoor Tower, which is a clear reflection of your trust and immense confidence in us to deliver the Project in accordance with your deepest satisfaction. With your blessing, we are fully committed to executing and especially delivering the Project within our full capabilities and abilities. You will not be disappointed whatsoever with our promises. We will ‘definitely walk the talk’.”
“As we embark on this challenging, prestigious project, we assure you that together we will forge a formidable team with all stakeholders to overcome all the arduous and challenging tasks and create a victorious and win-win situation for the project. We look forward to a long-term successful and beautiful relationship with your prestigious company.”
Speaking on the Al Habtoor Tower, Bauer the piling contractor, said: “We at Bauer are delighted to be engaged by Al Habtoor Group for this prestigious development. Bauer has developed a unique foundation solution with the Client, Project Consulting Engineers and Architects to enable the construction of the superstructure above an existing three-level deep basement. The foundation solution utilizes deep barrette foundation elements capable of carrying the substantial building loads.”
“One of the unique challenges involves the construction and installation of the foundation system from the top of an existing basement structure. Innovative engineering and design solutions and construction methods have been developed to meet this unique project need. The works at site are well underway with our specialist machine ‘Bauer MC96 BC40 Cutter’ in action constructing barrette foundation elements to depths greater than 90m.”
The majestic Al Habtoor City is home to Dubai’s most luxurious lifestyle destinations, which was officially launched in 2016, with its three internationally branded hotels – The Habtoor Palace, LXR Hotels & Resorts, the V Hotel, Curio Collection by Hilton, and the Hilton Dubai Al Habtoor City, La Perle – Dubai’s #1 show, a world-class unique theatrical experience in a specifically designed state-of-the-art aqua theatre, and three deluxe residential towers – Noora, Amna and Meera.
