Takmeel enters the game

Takmeel will carry out the FM for Champions Tower I on completion.

After bagging the contract for Champion’s Tower I in Dubai, Ahmed Shaikhani, Managing Director of Takmeel Project Management explains why he is keen to move away from Shaikhani’s own projects

For over two years, Takmeel has been operating as the FM arm of property development group Memon Investments. Over this time, it has primarily focused on its own company projects.

“At present, we have approximately AED 9m construction projects in hand. We’ve been working on our own projects from the concept and design stage. Takmeel has been involved from day one, advising on the design, construction management, project management and value engineering. We now want to expand this to external customers and other projects.”

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Shaikhani says his team has gained enough experience working on the company’s own projects and is ready to take on the wider market.

“Development and FM is suffering because of a lack of communications, lack of employees. Our people have 10-15 years of experience and have experienced first our own things so they’re capable and that’s why they can go to other projects,” he says.

Takmeel’s USP is to be able to enter a project during inception stage or part way through rather than at the end of the project. Shaikhani explains there is no value in entering completed projects.

“Most FM companies already own those [established] projects. We can only enter as subcontractor. They have to guide you and so your passion for FM is killed.

“Our view is to go into semi complete, suffering projects and support them. If you enter a completed project, it is more difficult to handle than if you enter 70-80% of the way through and you know the development, construction and MEP side.”

Shaikhani believes that successful projects, with a long lifecycle are a result of early intervention of the FM company.

“When you enter a project at the 70%-80% completion point, you know everything from the construction to MEP to who the AC provider is. We have more convenience in being able to handle the project.

It becomes our own. We know everything including the loopholes.

“If you want to sustain a good project for a good time, you should invest in FM early on. In the west, sustainability of projects is for 300-400 years. This is because of the early intervention of FM.”