MEP contractor lauds successful Dubai Metro

Al Futtaim Engineering was the main contractor at the depot next to Rashidiya station

MEP contractor Al-Futtaim Engineering said that when working on the Dubai Metro it overcame many challenges on the project. “We have been involved with complicated projects before, but nothing as complex as this,” commented Al-Futtaim Engineering MEP division GM S.S. Murali.

He says the company was the MEP contractor for the main depot at Rashidiya, just before the Rashidiya Station, with an auxiliary depot located at Jebel Ali Port. “The Red Line depots are basically places where you have sidings and buildings. These comprise light trade areas as a diesel engine workshop, vehicle maintenance and cleaning and other storage buildings.”

Importantly, the depots also contain the Operating Control Centre (OCC), with the main one at Rashidiya and an auxiliary one at Jebel Ali. The rail network is driverless, and is controlled automatically from the OCC. Thales Rail Signalling Solutions supplied its SelTrac IS train control and NetTrac central control technology in this regard.

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Al-Futtaim Engineering’s scope of work covered a full range of MEP services. This included a cooling load of about 7,000 TR, incorporating HVAC, smoke ventilation, general air extraction, fire protection and alarm systems, standalone emergency exit systems and a well-engineered electrical distribution system with complete back-up.

“In the event of any power interruption, there are standby transformers and generators. A BMS system is linked to the Scada system at the main OCC, so there is quite a high level of interface in terms of reporting systems,” said Murali.

“This required a high level of engineering. We had highly competent engineers working together with the various stakeholders. It has been gladdening to see all this come together and work well.”

Electrical and plumbing and drainage services fell under the ambit of Al-Futtaim Engineering directly, while specialist contractors were enlisted for the fire-fighting and alarm systems. “Our own engineers and operators worked with these contractors in order to execute these systems. In terms of the overall BMS, we used products from Trend in the UK, for which we are the local principals.

“The design was done by Atkins in terms of the overall project consortium. We had to interface with all the various companies in terms of specifications, drawings, documentation and obtaining approvals.

“The MEP industry in the UAE in general, and in Dubai in particular, works largely on British, European and US standards, so we had no problem in co-operating in an international venture of this nature,” says Murali.

MEP works at the depots was also complicated by the presence of live ‘third rails’, as “DC power is very dangerous. There are certain safety standards and serious limitations when the track is energised.” This meant that all the tradespeople working within the depot had to undergo specialised safety training.

Read the full interview in the October issue of MEP Middle East.