Beach build up

Al Muneera.

120km chilled water pipes
In terms of the cooling component of the project, the total cooling load is 3650 TR and 3350 TR for the island and mainland respectively. Lewis says the total project has 120 km of chilled water piping. There are 12 chilled water pumps, 76 air-handling units (AHUs) and 5547 fan-coil units of varying sizes. The project also required 352 sets of hydraulic pumps for domestic water transfer, for example.

Such large quantities of equipment required careful co-ordination and planning. A lot of the equipment has been imported – the AHUs were sourced from Italy, for example – so varying lead times also had to be factored in.

Limited storage space on-site meant material-supply scheduling had to be monitored closely, in order to allow the MEP contractor to adhere to the extremely tight schedule.

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“The bulk of our effort lies in the careful planning and scheduling. The actual work itself is relatively straightforward,” said Lewis. The contract type employed at Al Muneera is NEC3, which means close co-operation with Al Futtaim Carillion.

“While controlling such a large labour force obviously entails its own unique challenges, another aspect is the availability of skilled labour as and when needed, especially as the project progresses. This means that we, as the main MEP contractor, have to be flexible enough to be able to cater to the specific needs of our entire scope of works,” said Lewis.

Infrastructure on track
Aldar Properties has achieved significant progress in terms of key infrastructure at its the development. Interchanges 4, 4A and 5 on the main Abu Dhabi-Dubai Highway will soon open to traffic in-bound to Al Raha Beach and Al Raha Gardens. The interchanges, which were completed structurally ahead of the Grand Prix last November, are now being readied for final delivery.

Pending final testing, the interchanges will be opened up to traffic in phases to allow access to areas of Al Raha Beach as they are completed.

Utilities installation is progressing well in the Eastern Precinct of Al Raha Beach, which covers the area from the Yas Island tunnel to the iconic HQ building. The utilities have been planned to allow the current developments to be connected to the Abu Dhabi main networks, before their committed occupation dates.

The utilities at Al Raha Beach include automated vacuum waste collection systems and a district cooling network. “We are delighted at the significant construction progress at Al Raha Beach, which will benefit both future residents and those already living and working in the area,” said planning and infrastructure director Talal Al Dhiyebi.

“Aldar is committed to providing world-class infrastructure for all of its developments from the outset, playing a central role in the development of the Emirate in line with Plan Abu Dhabi 2030.”