Altitude Fever

Relationships are what have built the tallest towers in Abu Dhabi, says Brian Murphy, manager services, Khidmah.

Following a competitive tendering process, Khidmah secured the contract for property and facilities management of the 74 storey Sky Tower and 65 storey Sun Tower in late 2009.

It has since become the first to be officially handed over on Reem Island and to have occupancy. The award winning towers, located within the Shams Gate District are also among the first in the capital to be Strata based.

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Light years ahead
“Even though Strata Law has not been enacted in Abu Dhabi, Sorouh had the vision and foresight to bring it on board,” explains Murphy. “It has come at an important time and has posed challenges for the team [which has had to] establish baselines, budgets and KPIs due to its knowledge of Strata only being based on previous experience in the marketplace.”

There are several OAs across the two towers which were launched in July 2011.
“Budgets, allocation of resources all have to be divided accordingly. To manage this learning curve has been fantastic, with particular regard to the expectations of each party,” says Murphy.

Khidmah also appointed a dedicated utility and energy management team as the topic is high on its agenda.”

Similarly, recycling and energy conservation didn’t need to be a priority when the building was designed so many years ago. It is centre of attention now.

“One of our key relationships has been with Bunya, the entity responsible for Master Community services on Reem Island. Working closely with them has been a great experience. [They appointed] United Paper Mills, which proposed the most comprehensive and cost effective recycling programme [for the towers],” says Murphy. Educating residents on the recycling process has been interesting for the team.

“Many of the residents have come from environments where recycling is not prevalent. We’re engaging them from day one through the various portals, pamphlets and sms’s,” says Murphy.

The physical elements of the project have also brought with them some practical challenges. Sky tower stands 300 metres tall and consists of 74 floors while Sun Tower stands at 65 floors.

They are the two tallest buildings in the Shams Gate District, a cluster of eight towers located at the entrance of Shams Abu Dhabi . These are the highest completed buildings in Abu Dhabi to date.

Close to 600 families have already moved in over the last six months; over the next two quarters the balance will largely be taken up, said Gurjit Singh, COO, Sorouh to Construction Week.