The project, scheduled to be completed in August 2012, spans over 50,000 square meter comprising 19 floors of offices and service & control areas. Schneider Electric will install KNX products in the building that control and monitor lighting systems including presence sensors, switching and Dimming which will create a green building that saves the energy and make it more efficient.

Hesham AboRejal, Vice-President – LifeSpace and Residential Business at Schneider Electric, said, “Leading technical and commercial companies have been competing for the prestigious PME centre and we are delighted to be awarded the contract. We presented our offerings to Al Angari, the project contractor, AD Consultant, the project consultant, as well as SETRA e.Vision, the projects’s system integrator on the basis of the high quality service Schneider Electric engineers have achieved and will contribute towards this project.”

The new PME centre will be responsible for compiling and correcting meteorological bulletins from the GCC countries, other Arabian territories, several African countries and adjacent seas and oceans, and subsequently disseminate the data to the World Meteorological Organization for global and regional exchange. Upon the completion of the building, Jeddah will be one of the world’s four regional telecommunication hubs (RTH) that has the receiving/transmission capability in addition to Beijing, New Delhi and Tokyo.

Schneider Electric has enjoyed a presence in the Saudi market for more than 30 years. The company has two manufacturing plants and three regional branches in Riyadh, Jeddah and Al-Khobar, in addition to five local sales offices that ensure proximity to partners and customers.

The aluminium panel manufacturer called for unified building codes for all seven emirates and tighter import controls for non-certified and substandard aluminium  panels.

“There is need to create awareness about the usage of certified fire-rated panels and as part of our corporate social responsibility, we are spending a significant amount on advertisement in this regard,” Mulk said.

“There is need to look into the testing procedures and check the standards of certifications to ensure passing of quality products for the safety of buildings in the UAE,” he added.

Commenting further, Mulk said recent fires in Sharjah have raised awareness about the application of certified materials, however more needs to be done to raise awareness.

“We have received number of inquiries from building contractors especially in Sharjah to supply fire-resistant panels for their under development projects,” Nawab Shaji Ul Mulk, chairman of Mulk Holdings, told Khaleej Times.

Following the separation of the developer from Dubai World in August 2011, the legal affairs department advised that this would be the best course of action, given the expertise the courts had in dealing with such cases, a Gulf News report said.

“The Legal Affairs Department advised that the Dubai World Special Tribunal, which was established by HH Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice-President and Prime Minister of the UAE and the Ruler of Dubai, pursuant to Decree No 57 of 2009 [as amended], to decide the disputes relating to the financial position of Dubai World and its subsidiaries, had previously been the appropriate forum to hear such cases,” a statement from the department said.

“However, by virtue of the restructuring of Dubai World, which led to the separation of Nakheel and its subsidiaries, any cases involving Nakheel or any of its subsidiaries as a party will now come under the jurisdiction of the Dubai Courts or the alternative competent dispute resolution forum.”

The Legal Affairs department added that it was responsible for issuing legal interpretations with respect to local legislation applicable to Dubai. This legal interpretation was necessary, it said, in light of the numerous enquires it had received, requesting clarification to the appropriate forum in which to file cases.

Chairman Abdulla Ahmed Nass explained that the construction firm, which is working on a number of major projects, including Diyaar Al Muharraq and the US Navy Waterfront Development Programme, had achieved a slightly lower gross turnover of $63.14m in Q1. In 2011, the firm had achieved a gross turnover of $66.02m, but had a lower net profit.

“Despite extremely adverse market conditions, the company has been able to achieve a reasonable growth in profit and is confident of carrying forward its successful track record in the period to follow,” he explained.

Established in 2005, Nass Corporation is part of the Nass Group and specialises in delivering turnkey installations and provides clients with a convenient single source of multiple construction services, including electrical, plumbing, mechanical and contracting.

Earlier this year, the it was announced that the shareholders in Public Joint Stock Company would get a cash dividend of 15% for the year 2011. The company will pay a cash dividend at 15% of paid up capital, amounting to $8.55m on its 215.077m shares (excluding treasury shares of 4.923m) held by the  shareholders whose names appear in the Register of Members of the company.

Intended to ease the congestion plaguing the Saudi Arabian capital’s gridlocked roads, the new metro system will come as a welcome relief in a country that has limited public transport facilities.

The Arriyadh Development Authority (ADA) invited international consortia to prequalify for the project, which it wants to be finished within four years.

“ADA invites global consortia specialised in the production and supply of rolling stock, control and telecoms systems as well as metro tunnelling, civil, mechanical and electrical works to prequalify for the Riyadh metro project,” the authority said in a statement.

The prequalification notice came with a June 20 deadline.

In April of this year, the Saudi Arabian cabinet approved plans to develop a new public transport network in the city, which would include both a metro and a fleet of new buses, a report by Reuters said.

The project would be overseen by a committee headed by Prince Sattam, who was appointed Riyadh Governor in November and is chairman of ADA. The committee also includes the finance and transport ministers.

Last year, The Big Project reported that the focus on infrastructure development in the Kingdom was driving a near 10% annual growth in the transport sector.

Estimates place the growth between 6% and 10% due to the volume of new roads, railways and integrated community development projects.

Furthermore, the increasing influx of pilgrims visiting the country has also pushed the growth forwards, with the likes of the Mecca metro line being of prime importance to the smooth flow of millions of religious visitors.

An official of the Algeria National Investment Development Agency said that the project was scheduled to finish within the next 18 months. Phase one includes the establishment of an international school, villas and residential buildings, along with green spaces and recreational areas.

The project has faced numerous delays in the past that has resulted in all work on the project stopping.

The second phase of the project will see the construction of two five star hotels, a hospital, commercial facilities and business centres. All phases of the Dounya project are expected to be completed by 2017.

Built on 1,059 hectares, the park has expanded from the originally planned 630 hectares. The extension came in April 2012 via a government decree.

According to Zawya Projects Monitors, the project is located in the west of Algiers and will include 12,260 apartments and 986 villas. In addition it will contain facilities such as a 200 bed hospital and a 500 room hotel.

It is expected to create more than 25,000 jobs for the local economy during its construction period.

With an average of 72 deaths a year amongst people who work at height (since 2007), Abu Dhabi has long been aware of the dangers that come with unsafe practices on high-rise building sites. As a result, safety experts have now backed a campaign that highlights these risks and aims to improve current safety standards.

“There have been many cases in Abu Dhabi where workers, especially those at construction sites, operate on high buildings where no protection has been provided to prevent them from falling,” said Darren Joubert, senior advisor for occupational health at Health Authority – Abu Dhabi during the launch of the campaign.

“The awareness programme targets occupational health and safety professionals, employers, supervisors and workers,” he explained. “We shall conduct workshops and seminars involving employers and supervisors and educate them on how to implement safety regulations and providing protection at worksites.”

He added that supervisors would be trained on rescue guidelines that could help save lives in the event of an emergency.

Supported by the Ministry of Labour and the Environment, Health and Safety Centre, the initiative hopes to bring to an end a steady stream of fatalities, the section head of Occupational and Environmental Health at the HAAD said to The National, an Abu Dhabi based newspaper.

“If you look at occupational injuries [in 2011], they are the leading cause of fatalities in Abu Dhabi [out of a total of 537],” he said.

“The trend that you can see since 2007 is that every year there are between 60 and 80 fatal occupational injuries. That trend is not really going down, so we still need to do a lot more in terms of preventing these types of injuries.”

One cause of deaths and injuries is the hot weather which afflicts the GCC during the summer months. Working in oppressive heat conditions, workers often become faint and dehydrated, which can and has lead to accidents.

Despite this, the Ministry of Labour has refused to bring forward the obligatory lunchtime breaks for workers, which is scheduled to begin on June 15, even though temperatures in May are hitting the 50° mark.

However, the capital has stepped up its efforts to increase safety on construction sites, with licensed companies needing to register for Environment, Health and Safety Management System guidelines by last July. Failure to do so could mean that companies are refused building permits if their staff are not trained to an adequate level.

Statistics released by HAAD in January of this year showed ten fatalities from 29 construction accidents on building sites last year, in Abu Dhabi alone. It was the first time accident data was collated for a 12 month period.

Workers falling from heights or being hit by falling objects were the most common hazards for construction site labourers. Unsafe scaffolding and open shafts were also common workplace hazards.

The high end, luxury homes that are available to buyers range from three to six bedroom villas and are divided into two phases. The first phase consists of 254 villas and was launched in 2009 and completely sold out. Due to this success, a second batch of 90 villas was released in November 2011 to meet demand. The handover of both phases are set to be completed by the fourth quarter of 2012.

“Each property has been carefully developed and finished to remarkable standards, and the handover of the first villas is an extremely important milestone. We are delighted with the demand we have received for these villas and we attribute this success to the fact that these properties offer a smart investment opportunity,” said Ahmed Al Fahim, executive director of Marketing, Communications, Sales and Leasing at TDIC.

In 2011, Saadiyat Island saw a burst of activity, with a number of hospitality and cultural projects launched, including the St Regis Saadiyat Island Resort in November 2011. The Park Hyatt Abu Dhabi Hotel and Villas, which was developed by Abu Dhabi National Hotels Company, was also opened.

TDIC plans to introduce a number of important community services and developments for residents, including a purpose built nursery, a retail centre, mosque and an international school.

All developments are scheduled to be completed by 2013.

Dr Pejman Norastehfar, Head of the ECB Programme, Bayer Middle East, and Dr Ommid Saberi, Associate in Building Physics from WSP E&E Middle East, kickstarted the discussion with an outline of the programme.

“Essentially, the ECB programme works on partnerships between various elements of the construction industry to create integrated and sustainable commercial buildings that will have an extended lifespan, while providing comfort and quality to the end-user,” Dr Saberi summarised.

Commenting on the role of Facility Management, Consultant, Trainer and BGreen expert contributor, Alan Millin, explained how being involved in the initial design stages of a project could avoid wastage in terms of time and money. “There are many technically brilliant buildings around, but if the FM isn’t factored in early on, it could lead to certain less efficient choices. For example, a building with food outlets on the mezzanine floor might need elevators that provide direct access for employees that work in the offices upstairs, cutting out the time wasted going to the lobby and back up in separate elevators,” he said, citing an real world example of poor integration between FM and design.

Facilitated by BGreen editor, Praseeda Nair, the roundtable was held at the Emirates Green Building Council’s office, and is the first in a line of many bi-monthly discussions.

Read the transcript of the roundtable in the June issue of BGreen.

Dr Abbas Nasser Hassani said that amongst the projects endorsed by the supplementary budget for 2012, there were 82 specifically for electricity, which will cost around $52m, while 40 projects costing $25m will focus on housing and reconstruction. Furthermore, he said that there would be six communications projects that would cost $1.2m.

“Twenty four projects costing $15.44m will be channelled into the health sector, while $858,000 will be covering six other projects for higher education, civil registration and traffic,” Hassani said.

He added that 20 projects for education would receive $36.8m, while 101 projects for various municipalities will cost more than $163m.

Karbala is one of Iraq’s wealthiest cities as it profits from both religious tourism and agricultural produce. It is located about 100km southwest of the capital, Baghdad and has an estimated population of around 572,300 people.

Home to the Imam Hussein Shrine, the city is one of the holiest cities for Shia Muslims, after Mecca and Medina and millions visit the city every year.