Wates wins AED65m contract for Abu Dhabi school

Paul Coackley (left), school principal, shakes hands with Bernard Hunt of Wates.

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Wates Construction International is to upgrade the British School Al Khubairet in Abu Dhabi, the company’s first project since setting up an office in the emirate.

The privately-owned family company is to work on the AED65 million extension as part of a joint venture with UAE partner Al Fara’a General Contracting.

School principal Paul Coackley said the two firms were selected as together they brought “extensive sector experience and expertise that they have building schools in the UK combined with their unparalleled local knowledge”.

British School Al Khubairet was established in 1968 on land donated by the late founder of the UAE, H.H Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan, and it became formally established by Amiri decree in May 1971. The school moved to new purpose built facilities at its current location on Airport Road in 1980.

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Building and demolition work is to begin 1st July and will continue for two years in two phases. Wates and Al Fara’a will demolish and develop new buildings in one quarter of the site. Once completed, teaching staff and students will move into these new facilities and vacate existing older buildings, which will be demolished to make way for new modern facilities.

Surrey, UK-based Wates, which opened its Abu Dhabi opffice last December, is more than 110 years old and last year enjoyed a turnover of AED6 billion. It has a wide spectrum of project areas across the public and private sector in the UK. The restoration of St Paul’s Cathedral; the renovation of The National Gallery in London’s Trafalgar Square; and the refurbishment of Queen’s Gallery within Buckingham Palace are among its previous projects.

“From our experience, we have gained a clear understanding of the complex logistics involved in delivering high quality, technically challenging education establishments. We intend to draw on this experience to the specific benefit of the British School Al Khubairat,” said Steve Yazdabadi, director of Wates Construction International.

Al Fara’a General Contracting, an civil engineering, procurement and construction firm based in Al Ain, is one of nine firms within the Al Fara’a Group. In April it secured a contract from the Abu Dhabi National Exhibitions Company for phase one of the construction of the Al Ain Convention Centre district, what will be an AED3.5 billion project in total.