Metro Dubai

ConstructionWEEK

CONSTRUCTIONWEEKONLINE.COM 09/09/09An ITP Business Publication

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A SUPPLEMENT OF

SOUVENIR GUIDETO THE MAKING OFDUBAI METRO

CONTENTS

DUBAI METRO SOUVENIR GUIDE CONSTRUCTION WEEK 1WWW.CONSTRUCTIONWEEKONLINE.COM

UP FRONT3 INTRODUCTION

4 LAUNCH DAYExclusive news and pictures from the launch of the Dubai Metro on 09/09/09.

9 INTERVIEWConstruction Week interviews construction adhesive specialist Mapei, on its work for the Metro.

12 OVERVIEWAll you need to know about Du-bai Metro - the longest fully au-tomated rail in the Middle East.

EXTERIOR14 ARCHITECTUREA look into the creative ideas and reasons why the Metro looks the way it does.

20 PLANNINGWhat the Metro could mean for Dubai and its future, and what the experts have planned.

25 CONSTRUCTIONA look at the clever engineering techniques that went into build-ing the Middle East’s first Metro.

30 MATERIALSThe use of smart materials is how the Metro was finished on time. Mapei reveals the truth.

35 BUILDINGConstruction Week gets on site at Dubai Metro a year from its first revenue service.

40 MEPWe take a look at how keeping the Metro cool was one of the biggest challenges.

45 PMVSome of the biggest machines in the world were used to build the Metro. We took a tour.

INTERIOR50 FIT OUTDesigner John Carolan talks about the trials and tribulations of working on the Metro.

56 FMNow built, maintaining this mon-ster of a Metro system will be the next challenge. We ask how?

61 WHO DID WHATMany companies were involved in building the Metro. We round up a few to get their thoughts.

64 COMPANY INDEXA detailed view of which com-panies did what on the Dubai Metro project.

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925

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Dubai has fi nally built its own metro – yet another fi rst for this extraordinary city.

Dubai is not a stranger to lead-ing the way, and some say it’s been done so often that the nov-elty of it has been lost.

But the great can always be dis-tinguished from the not-so-great and Dubai Metro is up there, at par, with the Burj Dubai and oth-er iconic structures that we’ve

seen this city build over the years. As you watch the ultra modern train glide past the icon-

ic Dubai World Trade Centre - one of the fi rst tall towers to be built in the region, you can’t help but smile in won-der at how far this little seaside port-town has come.

It usally takes a lifetime to see such a stark contrast be-tween the old and the new; this city has done it in just over a decade.

I was lucky enough to be among the fi rst few to ride the new Red Line at the Metro launch a fortnight ago.

The trains are good and the stations are what you’d im-agine a Dubai Government project to be - spacious, shiny and glamorous (yes, they even have chandeliers).

The launch of the Metro brought with it the start of a new era - one that will see Dubai transform into a global city, becoming more cosmopolitan than it has ever been.

In this little souvenir book, Construction Week captures the entire development of the metro from the time it was announced, to the recent launch on 09/09/09, while highlighting those ‘Kodak moments’ that this country and the world will always cherish.

It is a memory that will remain with each of us, most of whom have watched the Metro being built, and now are standing tall in appreciation of what has become the region’s biggest infrastructural achievement to date.

Congratulations Dubai.

TRACK TIME

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CONRAD EGBERT EDITORCONSTRUCTION WEEK

FOREWORD

DUBAI METRO SOUVENIR GUIDE CONSTRUCTION WEEK 3

A SUPPLEMENT OF

LAUNCH

4 CONSTRUCTION WEEK DUBAI METRO SOUVENIR GUIDE WWW.CONSTRUCTIONWEEKONLINE.COM

ALL SYSTEMS GOTHE LAUNCH OF THE DUBAI METRO COULD

HERALD A NEW ERA FOR THE CITY AS PEOPLE FIND A NEW WAY TO MOVE AROUND

1

LAUNCH


1

he Dubai Metro was offi cially opened by HH Sheikh Moham-med bin Rashid

Al Maktoum, vice presi-dent and prime minister of the UAE and ruler of Du-bai, on 09/09/09.

“There were great hands that worked and built; minds that created and planned and a will of deter-mination and support that made this possible...the Metro shows Dubai’s abil-ity of progress and renewal itself and we are pleased to be pioneers in our region,” said RTA chairman Mattar Al Tayer.

Sheikh Mohammed pushed the button at nine minutes past 9pm to offi -cially open the metro sys-tem at a ceremony at the Mall of the Emirates Sta-tion before joining other VIPs on the fi rst journey to Rashidiya Station.

“We love challenges, and we like to rise to chal-lenges, and we like to beat challenges,” said Sheikh Mohammed.

His Highness also made use of new media in order to spread praise about the success of the Metro, send-

ing a message via micro-blogging service Twitter: “Well done to the RTA team for a smooth and success-ful launch”. He also added “It was great to see all the excitement and jubilation at the launch of the Dubai Metro yesterday (launch day) evening.”

Mattar Al Tayer also con-fi rmed at the opening of the launch that the UAE was investigating the possibility of an inter-emirate metro

When asked if the Dubai Metro would link up the cities of Dubai, Sharjah and Abu Dhabi, Al Tayer said that it was a federal issue that was being planned.

“Transport between the emirates is a federal issue. A separate authority has been set up to look into ways of connecting all the

emirates. We already have an inter-city bus network along with a taxi service. The metro between the emirates could be of anoth-er type in terms of technol-ogy, and could be of a high-er speed,” he revealed.

He also stressed that the Dubai Metro has been built to serve Dubai as a commu-nity and has focused on the city of Dubai.

One of the main reasons the RTA decided to build the Dubai Metro, was to tackle traffi c problems within the city, which was mainly between the emir-ates of Sharjah and Dubai.

“We have enough parking spaces on both borders of Dubai,” Al Tayer said. “We have a 3000-space parking lot at the Nakheel Harbour station so that people com-ing in from Abu Dhabi can park their cars and use Du-bai Metro to visit the city. Similarly, we have 8700 parking spaces on the Shar-jah side so this should re-duce traffi c within the city tremendously.”

According to him the metro is expected to take 17% of traffi c off the roads in Dubai, while the bus sys-tem will take 13%.

1. On board the fi rst trip withDubai Metro

80%OF THE METRO

LINE IS ELEVATED, MOSTLY RUNNING

ALONG SHEIKH ZAYED ROAD

LAUNCH


5. Dubai Metro opened on

09/09/09.

6. Some of the fi rst riders enjoy their

trip.

7. Preparing to depart.

8. VIPs explore the stations.

9. Taking a closer look at the hi-tech

ticket machines.

22. HH Sheikh Mohammed bin

Rashid Al Maktoum at the Metro

opening.

3. VIPs arriving at Mall of the Emirates

station.

4.RTA holds a press conference at the Al

Rashidiya station.3

4 5

6

7

8 9

LAUNCH


10. Celebrations at Mall of the Emirates station at the launch.

11. Even when busy, there is ample room to stand in a Metro carriage.

12. HH Sheikh Mohammed was the fi rst to ride on the Metro.

13. The launch was a hugely popular media event.

14. Dramatic views of the Kempinski Hotel by Mall of the Emirates station.

15. The Metro provides a whole

new way of getting across Dubai.

16. Ten stations opened at the

offi cial launch, with a further 19 to come

in 2010.

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INTERVIEW

9WWW.CONSTRUCTIONWEEKONLINE.COM

What is the background of the company?LH: The company is now over 72 years old. It was formed in 1937 by Rodolfo Squinzi, the father of our current chairman, Dr. Georgio Squinzi. They started as a small specialist manufacturer of paints and finishes on the outskirts of Milan, and now Mapei is the largest construction adhesive manufacturer in the world.

How has the company been affected by the economic changes we’ve seen over the last

year? LH: Obviously the market’s changed

tremendously. However, we plan for the long term. There’s a lot of sus-

tainability in our business plans and in the structure we operate.

We’re growing at a sustain-able rate and because of that we’ve been able to weather the situation, maybe better

than others.

NY:We are keeping a close eye on how the market is

METROMAESTROS

CONSTRUCTION ADHESIVES AND CHEMICALS SPECIALIST IBS MAPEI PLAYED A CRUCIAL ROLE IN ENSURING THE DUBAI METRO WAS DELIVERED ON TIME. IBS MAPEI BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT MANAGER LAITH HABOUBI

AND COMMERCIAL MANAGER NAHEED YOUNIS TALK ABOUT THE COMPANY AND WHAT THE METRO MEANS TO THEM

DUBAI METRO SOUVENIR GUIDE CONSTRUCTION WEEK 9

1

“THE AMOUNT OF TECHNICAL

EXPERTISE THAT WENT INTO [THE

METRO] WAS QUITE TREMENDOUS”

INTERVIEW

1. Naheed Younis said the team

worked round the clock to ensure

on-time delivery of the project.

2. Laith Haboubi said the metro is

among the fi rst projects in the

region to use its rapid setting screed.

10

2

CONSTRUCTION WEEK DUBAI METRO SOUVENIR GUIDE

growing and we are ready to react appropriately once we see improvement.

How signifi cant is the UAE offi ce to the company as a whole?LH: We get an enormous amount of support. Mapei sees this region as a place for long term growth; it doesn’t have over ambitious targets or expectations unlike a lot of other companies, who’ve coat-tailed on what’s been happening. We’ve always been relatively slow and steady, and very long term because Mapei will ulti-mately be one of the mar-ket leaders here and to do that you need all your solid building blocks in place.

How did IBS Mapei’s prod-ucts help with the construc-tion of the Dubai Metro?NY: The amount of technical expertise that went into that was quite tremendous. This was one of the first projects of its type that used rapid-setting screed. They’re quite usual in Europe but here it

was a relatively new type of product. The amount of site assistance and techni-cal support required from us was significant. The team was often required to work pretty much around the clock; inspecting the sub-strate and its preparation, the correct installation of the screed itself, trouble-shooting where there were any issues, testing and ad-vising on the installation of the tiles themselves by pro-viding technical advice on selecting and using the most appropriate adhesives (we actually had the selected tiles tested and classified by our R&D laboratories in Italy to ensure the correct adhesive was used).

We even assisted with the apparatus to make sure that moisture contents were checked on site technically. It wasn’t just about using quot-ed data sheets per-formance, we also did physical checks as well to make sure that it was a perfect

installation. This was a job where there could be no failures.

What does it mean for you to have worked on Dubai Metro?LH: It was unique, in that, it heavily utilised materials and techniques that haven’t been used here before, and there-fore Mapei was one of the few companies with the ex-perience and product range that could provide solutions that would fit in exactly with those types of construction, without compromising on quality or time. It’s a perfect project for us. We’re very proud to have been associ-ated with it.

“WE GET AN ENORMOUS AMOUNT OF SUPPORT.

THIS REGION IS A PLACE FOR LONG TERM GROWTH”

DUBAI METRO SOUVENIR CONSTRUCTION WEEK 11WWW.CONSTRUCTIONWEEKONLINE.COM

FACILITIES MANAGEMENT

12 CONSTRUCTION WEEK DUBAI METRO SOUVENIR WWW.CONSTRUCTIONWEEKONLINE.COM

OUR CITY,OUR METROTHE DUBAI METRO IS THE FIRST PROJECT OF ITS KIND IN THE REGION. SO WHAT EXACTLY IS IT THAT MAKES UP THE METRO?

27,000PASSENGERS PER

HOUR, ESTIMATED TO USE THE DUBAI

METRO ONCE FULLY OPERATIONAL

OVERVIEW


t seems a very long time ago that the fi rst tenders for the Dubai Metro were issued . How-

ever, even as far back as July 2004, when six contenders were shortlisted for the con-tract, the RTA insisted that the project would be ready in 2009. And of course, on September 9, the Dubai Rail Link (Durl) consortium of Mitsubishi Heavy Indus-tries, Mitsubishi Corpora-tion, Obayashi Corporation, Kajima Corporation and Yapi Merkezi delivered on that promise.

Dubai Metro is the Gulf’s fi rst metro project. The Red Line, stretching 52.1km from Jebel Ali Free Zone in the south of the emirate, to Rashidiya in the north, will be joined next year by the Green Line. This will bring the total amount of track up to 74.6km, making the Dubai Metro the longest automated metro network service in the world.

Ten stations on the Red Line opened on the Metro’s fi rst day of operation, and by February 2010 the remain-ing 19 stations are expected to be open as well. Support-ing the Metro is a network of feeder buses and the next few years may also see an additional two lines added to the present two.

The fi rst stations to open to the public were Rashidi-ya, Airport Terminal 3, Dei-ra City Center, Al Rigga, Un-

ion, Khalid bin Al Waleed, Al Jafi liya, DIFC, Mall of the Emirates and Nakheel Harbour and Tower.

Dubai Metro has a variety of station types: at-grade, elevated Type 1, Type 2 and Type 3, underground stations and underground transfer stations. Type 1 are regular at-grade concourse stations, Type 2 are regular elevated concourse stations, and Type 3 are elevated spe-cial track stations with an

extra track to hold a non op-erational train.

The cost of the fi rst urban rail system on the Arabian Peninsula has soared 80% to US $7.6 billion (AED28 billion) from its original budget of $4.2 billion.

Among the reasons for the jump in costs were two ex-tensions of the Green Line, which included fi ve stations and a depot, two stations on the Red Line and a re-worked design of all stations and their footbridges.

74.6KMTOTAL AMOUNT

OF TRACK, MAKING THE DUBAI METRO

THE LONGEST AUTOMATED METRO

NETWORK IN THE WORLD

ARCHITECTURE


1

ARCHITECTURE


CREATING A DISTINCT LOOK FOR THE STATIONS MEANS THAT DUBAI METRO CERTAINLY STANDS OUT AGAINST THE REST, IN

A UNIQUE BLEND OF STYLE AND SUBSTANCE

DUBAI STATION

ARCHITECTURE

rior to the economic downturn, Dubai was one of the fastest growing cit-

ies in the world and even post-credit crunch, the level of intrigue and mystery surround-

ing the success and future direction of this hub of Middle Eastern archi-tecture remains prevalent.

One of the projects leading that intrigue is the recently launched

Dubai Metro. The project repre-sents the world’s longest fully-auto-mated driverless train and displays the engineering prowess and archi-tectural brilliance of a consortium of companies including Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, Mitsubishi Cor-poration, Obayashi Corporation and Kajima Corporation, Yapi Merkezi, Atkins and sub-consultant Aedas.

The combination of a rapidly-

ARCHITECTURE


set of requirements from the JT Metro joint venture (JTMJV). The JTMJV re-quired the station archi-tecture to incorporate “an aesthetic, form and exter-nal appearance which is unique, innovative, iconic and reflective of Dubai’s identity and character.”

The strength of the de-sign hinges on the cultur-ally-inspired forms of the stations and their collec-tive response to the ex-treme climatic conditions of the city. The unique

growing population—ex-pected to reach three mil-lion by 2017—and severe traffic congestion necessi-tated the building of an ur-ban rail system to provide additional public transpor-tation capacity, relieve mo-tor traffic, and provide in-frastructure for additional development.

Architectural design of the stationsThe architectural designs of the stations represent a response to a very simple

1.The visually distinctive exterior

station design.

2. Dubai’s history with pearl diving

inspired the design of the stations.

3 and 4. The interior space mimics the

smooth lustre of the station exterior.

2

3 4

shell-shaped roof—while both modern and iconic—invokes Dubai’s early his-tory with pearl diving. Re-quiring skill and bravery, pearl diving brought early prosperity to the emirate and is thus an integral part of the history of the city and an appropriate form to mimic in the architecture of the stations.

Much like the pearls that inspired their forms, the metro stations aim to be a collection of modern day gems, enhancing the cul-

ARCHITECTURE


ture and business of Dubai by providing an efficient transport system. While this cultural reference is aesthetically appealing and appropriate for its con-text, the shell-like roofs are purposefully conceived for

5 to 7. From its conception, Dubai Metro was designed to acheive both aesthetic and functional superiority.

both aesthetic and func-tional superiority.

The roofs, which rest lightly on support struc-tures, boast elegance and technical prowess and offer attractive covering to the public areas of the station. Perhaps most importantly, the external beauty of the shell is similarly activated inside the public space, where the inner surface cre-ates a wonderfully smooth and lustrous enclosure that is reminiscent of the origi-nal pearl inspiration.

OVERALL COST OF THE DUBAI METRO

The smooth inner shell avoids the visual complexity and industrial appearance commonly used in elevated metro stations. Neverthe-less, the shell structure re-mains an efficient means of creating one long span large volume space void of inter-nal columns or supporting structure. Moreover, the curved double skin clad-ding provides and environ-mentally friendly means of cooling the roof, using solar assisted natural ventilation techniques.

“WE ALSO LOOKED AT A SUN PATH ANALYSIS FOR EACH

OF THE BRIDGES TO ASSESS THE FUNCTIONALITY OF THE PROPOSED ALUMINIUM SUN

SHADE LOUVERS.”Adrian Lindon, Atkins

5

6

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US $ 7.6BILLION

ARCHITECTURE


s a v e d — a p p r o x i m a t e l y 12,900t(CO2-e)—allowed the team to save as much CO2 as that produced by 29,000MW/h of electric-ity in Dubai, which is the equivalent of running seven hundred 50m long travela-tors at 10 hours a day for a year or 500 microwaves on full for five and a half years.

“This is a great achieve-ment and stands as another excellent example of how Atkins is working hard to ad-dress Carbon Critical Design Issues,” concludes Lindon.

FootbridgesDesigned by global archi-tecture and engineering consultancy Atkins, the 4km of footbridges that allow us-ers to reach the stations and platforms are equipped with ‘travelators’ or automatically moving walkways.

Working closely with At-kins Dubai’s Carbon Critical Design team, lead architect Adrian Lindon oversaw the design of the footbridges, which stand 5.5m high, 7.8m wide and 4km long. In an ef-fort to make the footbridges as eco-friendly as possible, Lindon sought to reduce the amount of glass and increase the amount of insulation.

By implementing these changes, the Atkins team saved just over 500m³ of alu-minium and it’s estimated that peak cooling load was reduced by around 35% when com-pared to the original design.

The reduction in the amount of aluminium

47NUMBER OF

STATIONS GLOBAL ARCHITECTS

ATKINS AND AEDAS DESIGNED FOR THE RED & GREEN LINES

• The Dubai Metro has over 4km of footbridges linking the above-ground stations with entrance pods up to 400m away.

• Footbridges over 40m in length con-tain two travelators and are 7.8m wide, whilst the narrow bridges are 4.2m wide. The maximum bridge span is 45m in length.

• The footbridges have been designed to minimise solar gain within the bridge, and therefore reduce the running costs and the impact on the environment.

• The double glazing within the façade is argon fi lled to provide optimum per-formance in the extreme heat of Dubai’s summer. The fi rst bridge was success-fully launched in August 2008.

• Atkins was responsible for the entire design of the footbridges including site support to the JV contractor during fi nal installation.

FACTS ABOUT THE FOOTBRIDGES

9. Double-skin cladding means eco-

friendly stations, inside and out.

8. The Carbon Critical team worked to

make the walkways energy effi cient.

8

9

Inspired design> With our experts in rail transport solutions, there’s a

lot more to Atkins than just our iconic buildings.

Plan Design Enable

Atkins is the lead consultant providing detailed design services to Japan-Turkey Metro Joint Venture (JTMJV) for the Red and Green Lines of the Dubai Metro.

Our work for the stations, tunnels, viaducts, depots, footbridges, entrance pods, car parks includes:

Architecture

Civil Engineering

Structural Engineering

Mechanical Engineering

Electrical Engineering

For more information please visit us at:

www.atkins-me.com

PLANNING


PLANNING


TRANSIT ORIENTED

DEVELOPMENTTHE LAUNCH OF DUBAI METRO COULD HERALD A NEW ERA FOR THE

CITY AS IT DEVELOPS AROUND A NEW MODE OF TRANSPORT

1

ubai is at a critical moment in its history as far as urban planning is concerned. Over the long term the city’s pop-

ulation is expected to grow larger, as well as be boosted by a seasonal tourist influx.

As Dubai strives to become a city greater than the sum of its parts one of the key is-sues for urban planners, is the movement of people in the city. Overlooking for a mo-ment the many exciting developments in the works, one simple question remains: how will all these people get around in the greater Dubai?

PLANNING


The road mapAt a traffic conference a few years ago, Mattar Al Tayer, chairman of the board and executive director of the Roads & Transport Authori-ty (RTA), outlined the meas-ures that are being taken to create a ‘21st century state of the art transportation sys-tem’ for Dubai to cope with the increased demand.

“We are presently work-ing on road projects with a total budget of US $2.5 bil-

extended to a total length of 3000km, and tram lines are also under study. Du-bai’s marine network of wa-ter buses is also growing in strength.

These measures will be necessary. As soon as a city grows over a certain size and activity, it cannot be sus-tained by purely car based private transport. Experts put the crossover point at over a million. A natural progress in the cycle of a city’s growth is evolution.

Introducing extra trans-portation methods is clearly a good start, but the real challenge may prove to be convincing people to use them, especially during the hotter months in the year when people may be more reluctant to leave the air-

1. Dubai Metro is the longest fully

automated metro system in the world.

2. Dubai Metro’s Red Line runs along Sheikh Zayed Road.

40%METRO TRIPS WILL BE NEW

2

“EXPERIENCE HAS TAUGHT US THAT BUILDING ROADS

ALONE DOESN’T SOLVE CONGESTION PROBLEMS”

lion,” he said. “To give you an example of the volume of work, we have increased the number of lanes across Du-bai Creek from 19 in 2006 to 40 in 2007, and this will reach 100 in 2020.”

But, of course, as he went on to admit, creating extra roads will only go so far to solving Dubai’s traffic woes.

“Experience has taught us that building roads alone doesn’t solve congestion problems. Transport must be planned and operated as a complete system with in-tegrated modes of transpor-tation such as bus, rail and water transport,” he said.

In a further bid to encour-age people to swap their cars for alternative meth-ods of transport, the exist-ing bus network is set to be

PLANNING


conditioned comfort of their own cars.

This is in fact one of the major challenges in creat-ing an effective transport system, points out Profes-sor Erik Ferguson, of the Institute of Urban Planning and Design at the Ameri-can University of Sharjah. Short-term measures such as additional parking, for example, will help to alle-viate the problem of heavy traffic, but over the longer term, these don’t really help in promoting other methods of transportation, he says.

“If you increase the park-ing supply in order to deal with this traffic problem, then you also make it more convenient for people to use their automobiles and less likely to switch to these

new transit systems. So you are sort of stuck between a rock and a hard place. Do you maintain a tight supply of parking in order to make these new rail systems more attractive?” he asks.

Steps being taken by the authorities to encourage people to switch from pri-vate to public transport in-clude installing air-condi-tioned bus shelters.

Shared responsibilityWith the large-scale com-munities being created in Dubai, the responsibility to move people is no longer just that of the transport au-thorities, but also of the de-velopers, and consequently, of the masterplanners.

Planning of urban spaces is now a shared responsibility.

3

One development approach that is starting to take off in the region is Tran-sit-Oriented Development (TOD).

TOD is ‘the creation of compact, walkable communities centred around high quality transit systems, enabling a high quality lifestyle without complete dependence on a car for mobility. TOD is fairly well established in cities in Europe and North America, but it is a relatively new concept in the Gulf.

Dubai has the opportunity to take it to a larger scale because of the ability to execute projects more quickly, with capital investment.

A lot of new areas are being devel-oped so the opportunities here for TOD are fairly large, but the authorities and developers need to understand and make conscious decisions to plan com-munities in that way.

Benefi ts of TOD are not merely limit-ed to making a city less car-reliant and more walkable, but also help reduce pollution and energy usage, according to experts.

Whether TOD is adopted or not, as the pace of development in Dubai ac-celerates, the next few years look set to be critical in terms of the placement of different activities and connections between them.

The great planning challenge over the next decade or so will be uniting the individual elements of Dubai.

This is what will help it become a city greater than the sum of its parts.

TOD

3. Dubai Metro stations are being built all over the city.

CONSTRUCTION


ith Du-bai’s traf-

fic reaching nightmarish

proportionscoupled with a grow-ing population, the city’s metro or Light Rail Transit (LRT) project could not be built fast enough. As such, the pace of construction was rapid.

A joint venture between VSL Middle East and Rizzani de Eccher was awarded the construction contract for su-perstructure for the Red and Green lines – the largest LRT project undertaken in a single contract.

The total project consti-tuted almost 70km of viaduct with 47km on the Red line and 17.6km on the Green line.

1. The project is the longest rail link in the world to built from scratch.

Erection works for the Red line commenced in March 2007 and were completed in August 2008 – a total of 18 months.

“It’s gone remarkably well to be honest,” says VSL’s deputy general manager Stephen Burke.

“It was delivered ahead of time and it was a sweet job from A-Z. It was well

1

CLEVER ENGINEERING TECHNIQUES THROUGH USING PRECAST CONCRETE AND POST-TENSIONING HELPED ENSURE THAT DUBAI METRO WAS DELIVERED ON TIME. CONTRACTORS ON THE PROJECT EXPLAIN HOW

ENGINEERING EXCELLENCE

CONSTRUCTION

CONSTRUCTION


thought out and went like a Swiss clock.”

Using precastThe design of the metro line is a U-shaped girder with the trains running on the slab and the webs act-ing as the parapet.

Since more than 80% of the line is elevated, Burke

says precast segmental viaduct construction was selected as the fastest and most cost efficient way of constructing the viaduct. This method was also con-sidered the most aestheti-cally pleasing because of the smooth quality finish that can be achieved using precast, he says.

“The segments were pre-cast using match cast tech-nology in a temporary pre-cast facility constructed in Jebel Ali,” he says.

“It was one of the largest precast yards in the world covering about 3km2.

“60 moulds were used, producing 45 segments per day – that’s 900m3 of con-crete poured over a period of 10 hours.”

A total of 12,306 precast segments were erected for the Red line and a further 4163 for the Green line. Burke says the segments were erected using 10 spe-cially designed launching gantries and it took two days to erect one 32m span – including lifting, gluing, stressing and lowering onto temporary bearings.

“The project went like a factory production because all of the segments were precast in a purpose built yard – everything was made for the job and it was well executed,” he says.

Burke says they hope to use the project as a bench-mark to gain similar work in Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Abu

2. The track has been built through

already exisiting infrastructure, which has been

one of the biggest challenges.

12,306PRECAST

SEGMENTS NEEDED FOR THE

RED LINE

2

CONSTRUCTION


Dhabi and Bahrain. All have plans for various types of light rail networks at the preliminary stages. Speedy and effective completion in Dubai will be noted else-where.

Post-tensioningPost-tensioning has revolu-tionised the construction of

infrastructure, and is quick-ly providing subcontractors and their clients with new ways of working together.

Imagine a series of small blocks of wood, like those a child plays with. Now drill a hole through them. Slip a string through the centre, and hold the blocks of wood using the string. Relax your grip, and the string holding the blocks droops.

Tighten the string, and the blocks rise, moving closer together. Next, put a small clip on either end of the string, fixing the blocks in their place.

Now, substitute the string for steel strands, the blocks for segments of a concrete bridge or building, and the clips for anchorage devices and the idea behind post-

3. Freyssinet did the post-tensioning on Dubai Metro.

4. Post-tensioning balances gravity loads by creating upward forces using steel wires.

tensioning should become clear. More cost-effective than traditional reinforced concrete, post-tensioning has transformed the con-struction of long span bridg-es and high rises.

“The idea behind post-tensioning is to balance gravity loads by creating upward forces using steel wires,” says Khalid Rabadi, buildings division manager at Freyssinet, the subcon-tractor responsible for post-tensioning on Dubai Metro. Its implementation, he adds, results in saving building materials, enhancing the performance of concrete structures and simplifying construction. As the tech-nology strengthens concrete with steel, less concrete is used for the slabs.

3

4

“THE BASIC IDEA BEHIND POST-TENSIONING IS TO BALANCE THE GRAVITY

LOADS BY CREATING UPWARD FORCES USING STEEL WIRES”

MATERIALS


SPONSORED BY

MASTERING THE MATERIALSCONSTRUCTING SOMETHING AS AMBITIOUS AS THE DUBAI METRO REQUIRES SMART USE OF MATERIALS – AND THE RIGHT MATERIALS CAN MAKE ALL THE DIFFERENCE IN ENSURING A PROJECT IS DELIVERED ON TIME

veryone can now have small sigh of relief now that the Dubai Metro has been deliv-ered on time. With 10 station opening on 09/09/09 and

the remainder to open over the coming months, the achievement of meeting the deadline was, in part, helped by choosing the right materials.

As one of the fi nal stages of construc-tion, fi nishes can sometimes become an afterthought in the construction schedule. However, it was the selection of the right material for the fi nishes that made a cru-cial difference in ensuring the Metro ar-rived on time.

Construction adhesive and chemicals supplier IBS Mapei supplied a variety of materials to the Metro’s construction, and it was these high-tech materials that helped speed up delivery. “Finishes are

always squeezed on schedules,” says Ma-pei business development manager Laith Haboubi. “The fi nishes are under pressure and there’s a great danger of compromis-ing the quality if you rush it. But if you have the right products then you can accelerate programme times.”

Self-hydrating screeds played a crucial role. Usually a screed takes three to four weeks for the moisture content to get down to a workable 2%. However, Mapei were able to supply screeds that could achieve this in two to three days, representing a massive acceleration of the construction process.

“The screed comes towards the end of the project. If they had used the tradi-tional method of fi xing or screeding, they would have needed 4 to 6 weeks before they could have installed the stone, so the whole project could have been delayed,”


MATERIALS

SPONSORED BY

1

MATERIALS


SPONSORED BY

explains Mapei commercial manager Naheed Younis. “We really added value to that project by speeding up the work by a minimum of four weeks.”

Because nothing like the Metro has even been built before in the Middle East, the project required mate-rials that hadn’t been used in the region before.

Of course, the use of new materials meant that everything had to be double-checked to ensure the most effective methods were used.

“We have a huge data-base of most materials in use worldwide, so any time someone comes to us, we can go to our bank of infor-mation to look at that par-ticular stone, that particular

give any recommendation,” says Haboubi. “We also save the potential liability caused by doing something the wrong way. There are several places in the UAE where there are large legal claims because due to the fast tracking of the project, those points were not taken into consideration.”

Keeping up appearancesThe right materials can also help a project succeed aesthetically, as well as structurally. Architectur-ally, the Dubai Metro is a very distinctive looking de-velopment, and the use of the right materials enabled construction contractors to remain faithful to the ar-chitects’ original vision for the project. The job is very

1. Choosing the right materials

helped speed up construction and

give the Metro a unique aesthetic

appeal.

2. Parking areas particularly

benefi ted from self-hydrating screeds.

2

“WE REALLY ADDED VALUE TO THE METRO PROJECT BY SPEEDING UP THE

WORK BY A MINIMUM OF FOUR WEEKS”

material, where there will be a wealth of test data,” says Younis. “One of our strengths in our research and development is that in less than a week, we can fl y any piece of material that is new to the market , do the proper testing and provide the right solution for the new material.”

Although safety is always paramount on any project, the high profi le nature of the Dubai Metro meant that there was absolutely no margin for ever, so using hi-tech materials that were thoroughly evaluated not only added value by speed-ing up the construction, but also by providing a far high-er confi dence level.

“We go through a whole list of questions before we


MATERIALS

SPONSORED BY

highly architectural with lots of colourful schemes,” says Younis. “We are one of the very few companies worldwide who can offer 26 colours of sealant. That proves to be an asset in helping the architect into getting the scheme right.”

Although sealants are often regards as generic ancillary materials, in this

case they helped make a vi-tal difference.

“The ancillary materials complimented their archi-tectural schemes which can be very diffi cult to do,” says Haboubi. “You sometimes have to compromise looks with performance. In this case, they didn’t have to.”

Setting the standardUse of high-tech materials was also crucial in ensur-ing car parks feeding to the Metro were also delivered on time.

Mapei supplied the stone installation, screeds, grout-ing and sealants for the cru-cial infrastructure and the materials helped speed up construction.

“We really contributed on delivery because one of

4-6WEEKS OF

CONSTRUCTION TIME WAS SAVED

THANKS TO HI-TECH MATERIALS

3

3. Coloured sealants allowed contractors to remain faithful to the visions of the architects and designers.

4 and 5. Mapei manufacturers a variety of specialised adhesives and sealants.

the car parks was behind schedule. We took off three weeks time over there,” ex-plains Younis.

The Metro may now be fulfi lling its purpose of moving people across Du-bai, but it has also acted as a showcase for what can be achevied by the use of new construction materials.

Haboubi also said that even though fi nishing is not an area that is particu-larly counted on to save the contractor time, when it is done with the use of new materials, the benefi ts be-come extremely obvious.

“In future projects they can see how one can mini-mise the delays.

“It could be part of their methodology in the future,” reckons Haboubi.

4

5

BUILDING


ere is a straight for-ward message

pinned to the wall at Union Station, the largest of Dubai’s metro sta-tions - “Failure is not an op-tion. 371 days remaining to revenue service.”

The same message is pinned to the wall at the Jebel Ali station. It’s a fair bet that wherever you go

on the under-construction Dubai Metro project, you’re never far from the message.

The previous day, it was approaching 2pm in the cen-tre of Dubai. At mid-after-noon, traffic was relatively light. But this would quickly change. The masses were about to finish work.

“It is good now,” said one of Dubai’s taxi drivers. “But wait five or 10 minutes, and

1. Part of the Dubai Metro tunnel under

construction, slightly over a year

before it was opened to the public.

you will have serious traffic jams everywhere.”

The taxi drivers of Dubai are a long-suffering breed. On the same day, a different driver told of a 2½ hour trip to Sharjah at rush hour. A journey that, in light traffic, should have taken around 30 minutes.

It was against this back-drop that the project every taxi driver has been wait-

1

THE MEAN STREETS OF DUBAI ARE NO PLACE FOR THE FAINT HEARTED, ESPECIALLY NOT IF YOU’RE IN A HURRY.

CONSTRUCTION WEEK VISITED THE DUBAI METRO WHEN IT WAS JUST OVER A YEAR FROM ITS FIRST REVENUE SERVICE

PAVING A WAYBUILDING

BUILDING


ing for arose. And the cli-ent? None other than the taxi driver’s employer - the Roads and Transport Au-thority (RTA).

When the Dubai Metro project was announced by the Government of Du-

bai in 2004, it was becom-ing abundantly clear to the highest office in the land that in order for the city to compete on the global stage in tourism and commerce, it was high time to bring some much needed relief to the

2. An early image of the metro trains on

arrival in Dubai.

3. A worker at a station being built

for the Red Line.

4. Ongoing construction work

at Jebel Ali station.

choked roads. Construction of the metro began in Janu-ary 2005. In typical Dubai style, things were not done in half measures. The RTA laid out its plans for the big-gest driverless metro system in the world, and the longest

2 3

4

BUILDING


5. The track winds through already existing infrastructure.

6. The station interiors are very modern and contemporary.

7. Mechanics test out the new trains.

metro track ever to be con-structed from scratch.

The main contractor was-Dubai Rapid Link (Durl), a consortium of mainly Japanese firms. By its very nature, construction of the project presented a daunt-ing task from inception.

“The biggest challenge was the diversion of traffic with-out causing a hindrance to the traffic flow,” says Adnan Al Hammadi, director of rail projects construction.

It became possible to walk the length of the Red Line from beginning to end, three days ahead of schedule. This was quite a feat in a city where materials shortages were never far from the head-lines. Then again, if you need to ensure the job gets done, it no doubt helps to name drop the Government of Dubai: a sign that if something needs to get done, it will happen.

The track itself will be familiar to anyone who

17%THE AMOUNT OF

TRAFFIC THAT THE METRO IS EXPECTED TO

REDUCE ON DUBAI’S OVERCROWDED

ROADS

5

6

7

BUILDING


has driven along Sheikh Zayed Road.

It climbs above and dives below existing bridges, snaking along much of Du-bai’s main thoroughfare, and threading through the city’s existing infrastructure.

The designers went over bridges where possible to avoid the hazard of de-bris falling from above. In a driverless system, track obstructions can cause problems.

At the Burjuman shop-ping centre, the track dives below ground, tunneling under Dubai Creek. The system will also include a “leaky feed”, allowing pas-sengers to make and receive mobile phone calls from

underground. Footbridges have been installed over-night with the help of a self propelled mobile transport-er, an immense Japanese-built machine. The bridges are air-conditioned, and fit-ted with conveyors. This is Dubai. Why walk when you can travelate?

Al Hammadi believes the Metro will be enough to prise residents of Dubai from the seats of their cars when combined with broad improvements in the public transport network.

“The RTA’s main objec-tive is to upgrade the trans-port infrastructure as a whole,” he said.

“The Metro will serve as a key connector linking to

Dubai International Air-port. Provision for park and ride facilities near the terminals and at strategic locations along the railway route, will also promote the use of the Dubai Metro.”

The five-carriage metro trains can carry a maxi-mum of 643 passengers per train, and can run with 90 second intervals at peak travel times.

All stops have been pulled out to ensure the Metro is running on time. Despite the urgency, the project maintained a good safety record. A safety consult-ant engaged on the project said: “We have a record of 1.14 lost time accidents per million man hours.”

8. Ongoing construction at

Rashidiya station.

9. Adnan Al Hammadi, director

of rail projects construction, RTA.

10. All stations have air-conditioned

foot bridges.

8

109

MEP


COOL CHALLENGESAPART FROM ALL THE GLAM ASSOCIATED WITH DUBAI METRO, IT ALSO POSED A CHALLENGE, ESPECIALLY ON THE COOLING AND MEP SIDES

he Dubai Metro, being the first of its kind in the

region, posed a sig-nificant challenge

in that “there was no model to follow, as with a shopping mall. Additional complicat-ing factors such as under-ground stations and live tracks posed specific MEP and cooling-system chal-lenges,” says Al Futtaim En-gineering managing director Dawood bin Ozair.

The team behind the Dubai Metro reflects the emirate’s truly international charac-ter and ability to benchmark itself against the best glo-bal standards. Al Futtaim Engineering MEP division general manager M Murali

1 and 2. Co-ordination of

services and access for the district cooling piping

network posed a major challenge.

1

looks at some of the chal-lenges on the MEP front.

Murali is a mechanical engineer, having graduated from the National Institute of Technology in India in 1991. He also holds an MBA in finance and marketing. “I started my career with Batli-boli as a graduate trainee engineer. After a few years I moved on to Carrier. I joined Al Futtaim Engineering in 1998, and have worked for the group ever since.”

He joined as a project manager in the then M&E (mechanical and electrical) division. “In 2001 I assumed overall responsibility for the projects business, which has grown significantly on the back of the construc-

tion boom, and now I am the general manager of the MEP division.” Murali ex-plains that the MEP divi-sion itself is divided into three distinct units, namely projects, maintenance and security. It has 150 profes-sional employees, and about 1500 to 1800 site operators.

“In the context of the Al Futtaim group, we work closely with the real estate division, so we know exactly what a developer or client actually wants. In meet-ing these requirements we always strive for optimal value-engineered solutions with a built-in low cost of ownership. Thus we are a turnkey building services contractor,” says Murali.

MEP


1

Solid reputation“Over the last few years we have established a solid rep-utation as a good quality, me-dium-sized MEP contractor that is highly competitive in its particular sphere. In terms of the impact of the current downturn, we have not had to retrench any staff, and have a healthy or-der book going forward.

“This is because we have not been involved very heav-ily with any mega projects, focusing mainly on major infrastructure jobs such as the Dubai Metro for RTA. At present we are also involved with Alstom in a 2000MW power plant in Fujeirah.” Murali says that infrastruc-ture has emerged as a key focus area. “We have earned a name for ourselves here, and are striving to strength-en our position and focus.”

A large part of this reputa-tion has been gained through its involvement with the

Dubai Metro, which inaugu-rated ten stations of the Red Line on September, 9. When the Green Line opens in June 2010, the Dubai Metro will become the longest au-tomated metro network in the world, taking this title away from the Vancouver Skytrain in Canada.

Al Futtaim Engineering won the tender for the MEP works on a competitive ba-sis. “What made the differ-ence was that our proposal was very detailed, so much

so that it even highlighted various engineering and technical inconsistencies we were able to pick up from the various drawings and specifications.

Attention to detail“These were highlighted at the proposal stage itself, so they could be discussed and resolved, rather than leav-ing this to the post-contract period. So this attention to detail really helped our bid, combined with the high reputation of Al Futtaim En-gineering. This is a flagship project that adds signifi-cantly to the company’s CV.

“We have been involved with complicated projects before, but nothing as com-plex as this. The knowledge

2

“UNDERGROUND STATIONS AND LIVE TRACKS POSED SPE-CIFIC MEP AND COOLING SYS-

TEM CHALLENGES ”

3

2. Diagram of the Al Barsha part of the

Metro network.

3. Al Futtaim Engineering

managing director Dawood bin Ozair.

MEP


and experience garnered from this project will serve us well in handling other complicated projects in the future. The general ap-proach we take with any project is not to assume a fully contractual role. We are practicing engineers, and hence have the scope to be able to work with the main contractor and client

comprise light trade areas as a diesel engine workshop, vehicle maintenance and cleaning and other storage buildings.

Operating Control CentreImportantly, the depots also contain the Operating Con-trol Centre (OCC), with the main one at Rashidiya and an auxiliary one at Jebel Ali. “The rail network is driver-less, and is controlled au-tomatically from the OCC. Thales Rail Signalling Solu-tions supplied its SelTrac IS train control and NetTrac central control technology in this regard.

“Al Futtaim Engineering’s scope of work covered a full range of MEP services. This included a cooling load of about 7000TR, incorporat-ing HVAC, smoke ventila-

4. Murali is the general manager

of the MEP division at Al Futtaim

Engineering.

to arrive at an optimal solu-tion.

“Such a culture of innova-tion and flexibility in my team in particular, has really helped us in terms of this project. For example, where some of the designs did not meet the local authority reg-ulations, we could offer our own expertise in making this work.” At the end of the day, Al Futtaim Engineering produced a total of 2500 de-sign and engineering draw-ings.

Murali explains that Al Futtaim Engineering was the MEP contractor for the main depot at Rashidiya, just before the Rashidiya Station, with an auxiliary depot lo-cated at Jebel Ali Port. “The Red Line depots are basi-cally places where you have sidings and buildings. These

The Dubai Metro is the world’s fi rst district-cooled mass transit system, says Stanley Consultants project manager Hisham Hajaj. A distribution network provides centralised cooling via pre-insulated buried steel distribution piping to all Dubai Metro stations to inter-national standards.

Seven district cooling plants have been built specifi cally for the Dubai Metro, with the fol-lowing installed capacities:

• Al Rigga 10,000TR

• Al Barsha 7500TR• Al Kifaf 10,000TR• Jumeirah Island 7000TR• Jebel Ali Industrial 4400TR• Al Rashidiya 7500TR• SZR2 7500TR

Hajaj cites the design challeng-es as having to reroute existing utilities, the lack of ‘as built’ documentation, unmarked utilities, and the lack of space in some areas for chilled-water piping. This posed specifi c challenges for the construction as well.

For example, the main con-tractor would produce draw-ings rendering the trial pits in ‘soft’ landscaping. These draw-ings were then submitted to all the relevant authorities for approval. Once approval was obtained, the trial pits were ex-cavated – only to reveal other services crossing the district cooling corridor.

The construction NOC draw-ings, based on information obtained from the trial pits, were then submitted to all the relevant authorities. Work

WORLD’S FIRST DISTRICT-COOLED MASS TRANSIT SYSTEM

4

MEP


tion, general air extraction, fire protection and alarm systems, standalone emer-gency exit systems and a well-engineered electrical distribution system with complete back-up.

“In the event of any pow-er 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 inter-face in terms of reporting systems,” says Murali. “This required a high level of en-gineering. We had highly competent engineers work-ing together with the vari-ous stakeholders. It has been good to see all this come to-gether and work well.”

Murali says that electrical and plumbing and drain-age services fell under the

ambit of Al Futtaim En-gineering directly, while specialist contractors were enlisted for the fire-fight-ing and alarm systems. “Our own engineers and opera-tors worked with these con-tractors 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 lo-cal principals.

Project consortium“The design was done by

Atkins in terms of the over-all project consortium. We had to interface with all the various companies in terms of specifications, draw-ings, 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 have no problem in co-operating in an international venture of this nature.

“This was truly an interna-tional team as it comprised experts from Japan, Turkey and the UK, among others. Some of the designs were done by an American team sitting in Thailand, for ex-ample. So it was a fully in-ternationally fledged design and engineering team in that sense,” he Murali.

could only commence once the construction NOC was in hand. If the work was located on any major road, or would affect traffi c fl ow in any way, then ap-proval for road diversion had to be obtained from the RTA.

The NOC applications them-selves were complicated by the length of time these took to process, which had had a great impact on the construction programme itself. “The other main construction issue was co-ordination with the Dubai Metro main contractor, the Durl consortium,” said Hajaj. A sub-stantial portion of the district

cooling works fell within Durl’s own site boundaries, and it had its own deadlines to meet.

In terms of procurement, a total of 52km of piping was needed for the cooling network. This required close co-ordina-tion with the piping manufac-turers during the design stage, as well as submitting bills of quantities before issuing the tender so that the planning could be fi nalised.

Hajaj explains that district cooling was particularly suited to the Dubai Metro. Not only did it reduce the electromechanical areas inside the stations, but

it also reduced the total power connected and consumed by between 30% to 50%. This, in turn, reduced the total carbon footprint of the project. It also reduced the noise and vibration from a solution comprising air-cooled chillers and pumps on a station roof.

“The initial cost of the district cooling plants with associated piping network is higher than an individual standalone solu-tion, but the payback period is much less,” says Hajaj. Also, the lifespan of district cooling plants is 25 years compared to 15, for air-cooled solutions.

50%REDUCTION IN TOTAL POWER CONSUMED AT

STATIONS

PMV


TICKETS PLEASEDUBAI METRO IS THE WORLD’S LONGEST AUTOMATED RAIL TRANSPORT

SYSTEM. AS SUCH IT WILL POSE BOTH UNIQUE CHALLENGES AND OPPORTUNITIES TO FACILITIES MANAGEMENT PROVIDER SERCO. PAUL

METROMACHINES

MORNING, NOON AND NIGHT, MACHINES OPERATED ON THE GIGANTIC DUBAI METRO BUILD. DURING THE WORK, CONSTRUCTION WEEK TOOK A

TOUR OF THE RTA’S PLANT DEPARTMENT

1

PMV


etting the first two lines of Du-bai’s new metro sys-

tem raised from sand to full operation in just five years is the sort of task that Brunel himself might have baulked at. If you add to it, the fact that the project had to run through built up areas and through existing road net-works, you might be able to understand the difficulty of the operation.

At first, Dubai’s Road and Transport Authority (RTA) searched for an engineering firm with the experience and size to deliver some-thing of the type. Eventually they awarded a US $3.38 billion (AED12.45 billion) contract to a consortium of Japanese companies includ-ing, Mitsubishi Corporation, Obayashi Corporation, Mit-subishi Heavy Industries,

Kajima Corporation and Turkish firm Yapi Merkezi.

Work began in 2005, with scores of subcontractors brought in. Amazingly there was no in-house plant de-partment at first, but very soon it was obvious that one was needed so the ‘depart-ment that never was’ got es-tablished and underway.

Headed by Graham Lar-kin, the new division com-prised of lots of machines, and even more hardware to keep them running as well as scores of people to make it all work.

Any place with a lot of kit and people, needs to be well organised, so the plant man-ager employed a modern approach to efficiency. “We use the Tag Plant Manage-ment System. It was origi-nally developed for the oil industry,” explained Larkin. “I should have been a sales-man for it, I’ve used it in my

last three or four projects,” he smiled.

The computer helped log all the pieces of kit that were being bought in, along with their serial number, current location and serv-ice record.

In theory, the operation was paperless, but in prac-tice there were reams fly-ing everywhere, as safety certificates, manuals, trans-fer documents and the like came in. With the system up and running, a keen team of staff started logging all the machines, from their demountable office at the Deira City Centre site.

“We have a responsibility to make sure all the paper-work from our equipment and the subcontractors equipment is all in order.” Larkin said.

Keeping track of all the machines on a jobsite that snakes around 166km is no walk in the park though. “It’s a difficult job, because it all comes in one day and then is out somewhere else again on another.

1. Agiant custom gantry crane

places the pre-cast sections.

2. A line of all-terrain telescopic cranes.

3,4 & 5. Self propelled modular

transporter (SPMT) moving pedestrian

bridge sections.

6. Graham Larkin.

2

US $ 3.38BILLION

VALUE OF THE CONTRACT

AWARDED TO THE DUBAI METRO CONSORTIUM

PMV


“We make an arrangement to go to the site to inspect whatever the machine is. All the mandatory documents are in place and if they aren’t, no one is to use it. So we have quite a mountain of files,” he laughed.

The number of machines that were being entered into the system became mind boggling. “I wouldn’t even hesitate to guess the amount of subcontractors machines there are on the job at the moment - literally thou-sands,” explained Larkin. “Our own equipment list

comprises of 423 items from lighting towers upwards.”

A particularly arduous job is keeping on top of the pa-per work for the piling rigs, of which various contrac-tors have a couple of dozen around the site.

By their nature, they are constantly being moved, but every time one leaves and gets moved out onto the road so that it can be used elsewhere on site, the law states it has to be inspected again, meaning the paper-work starts ‘piling’ up for the plant department.

Interestingly, the giant two-metre diameter double-start drilling buckets used in the pilers had to be custom made by a local firm in Dubai, as such a thing is not an off-the-shelf item, even in M i t s u b i s h i Heavy In-dustry’s long inventory.

Speaking of the inventory, one of the largest areas in the plant d e p a r t -

“WE MAKE AN ARRANGEMENT TO GO TO THE SITE TO INSPECT THE MA-CHINES. IF ALL MANDATORY DOCU-

MENTS ARE NOT IN PLACE, NO ONE IS TO USE IT”

3

4

5

6

PMV


ment is a fleet of 61 trucks. Several of these are Mit-subishi Canters, which have had various custom backs installed, notably that of a crane inspection platform and mobile tire rig. All have had flashing strobe lights fitted to the rear as well as high-visibility chevrons, as the narrow job sites that work through the night mean all precautions need to be taken in order to pre-vent site vehicles bashing bumpers.

Other trucks owned by the depot include one 50-tonne tractor unit, which has the sole purpose of shifting re-

bar, while another moved aggregates. These, alongside an assortment of cement mixers and dumpers are only seen during the hours of darkness due to the rules affecting the movement of heavy vehicles on the Emir-ate’s busy roads throughout the day.

“This is another, opera-tional reason why the site has to run 24 hours,” ex-plained Larkin.

Also running right through the night is a forest of mo-bile cranes.

Complementing the count-less scores of contractor’s units throughout the jobsite,

are 24 rough terrain cranes belonging to the plant de-partment.

Smaller site managers might take comfort in the fact that the region’s chron-ic equipment shortages in recent years even affected well-resourced projects like the metro.

There were simply no new cranes to be had, so the plant manager had to look further a field.

“We got them from all over Europe,” said Larkin.

“We basically concentrated on three types and that was really dictated by what was on the market at the time.”

7. Telescopic boom crane.

8. A very large piling rig.

7

8

FIT OUT


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INSIDE STORYAS DESIGN JOBS GO, A METRO SYSTEM HAS TO BE AMONG THE MOST UNIQUE.

JOHN CAROLAN OF KCA INTERNATIONAL TALKS ABOUT THE TRIALS AND TRIBULATIONS OF WORKING ON THIS UNUSUAL AND HIGH-PROFILE PROJECT

s a young designer, John Carolan, now

design director of KCA International

in Dubai, worked on one of the palaces of the Sultan of Brunei.

He was put on ‘bathroom duty’, responsible for de-signing what can only be

imagined were some of the most opulent bathrooms in the world. Then came the Burj Al Arab, a striking landmark that has emerged as a symbol of Dubai – and catapulted KCA Interna-tional to design stardom. And now, the Dubai Metro.

Construction Week asked

1. Inside Jebel Ali Industrial station.

2. Route fi nding was a key part of the design.

3. John Carolan of KCA International

4. Smooth layouts facilitate movement.

Carolan to talk us through the trials and tribulations inherent in such a large-scale, high-profile project:

As projects go, a metro system is quite unique. I’m assuming that you haven’t worked on anything like this before. Was the pros-pect quite daunting?

2 3

4

FIT OUT


When it happened, we never thought, ‘Oh my God, I don’t know what to do’. I suppose that just comes with experience. When I first qualified as a designer, I remember thinking that I never wanted to be pigeon-holed because that would mean that I wasn’t able to

experience the whole spec-trum of design. I’ve been very fortunate, moving through that and then fi-nally getting into this busi-ness, which opened up a whole new sphere. When I got to the Metro five years ago, it was just another job. People were saying: ‘Oh you

can’t do that because you’ve never done it before’. But why not? It’s just design.

How did KCA International get the job?We had worked with Al Habtoor-Murray & Roberts on the Burj Al Arab. They were one of three or four

5. A standard check-in booth

design at Dubai Metro stations.

5

FIT OUT


consortia bidding on the Metro. All of the bids were based on the principle that you produce architecture and then, obviously, there was the financial bid and the design bid.

Aedas had done a bid for the stations, both over ground and underground. It was a beautiful piece of architecture. And then Al Habtoor-Murray & Roberts had this idea that to give

them an edge, they would bring in designers – and who better to bring in than KCA International, because we’d done the Burj.

I put some ideas together, based on the London Un-derground. I had been in London, maybe three or four years before and they had just started refurbish-ing some of the stations.

One of the things that al-ways stuck in my mind was Baker Street and how they had very simply provided a way-finding tool by just having Sherlock Holmes’ stalker hat and pipe.

I thought that was a great idea and that we would do the same, but in a differ-ent way. We had to do it with local representation. We decided to use colour, texture and tone, so that

6. Wide spaces allow free movement of people.

even if there are only four colour schemes, you remember the riven.

If you are on the train and have fallen asleep, you can immediately ascertain, am I on a water scheme? Which station? So the design was also a way of way-finding for people. That was the general crux.

The joint venture that eventually won was a com-bination of Turkish and Japanese companies. They won the job but because the client liked Aedas’ archi-tecture, they asked them to come over.

The client also asked them to go out and find another designer, so a gentleman from Aedas walked into our office one day and asked us whether we’d wanted to work on the Metro. We did.

4ELEMENTS THAT

MAKE UP THE THEME OF THE

METRO: EARTH, AIR, FIRE & WATER

6

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Tell us about the design.We presented in June 2006 and it was really out there. I knew the design was quite radical – but I thought that we should just push it out there and see how it was received.

We looked at some of the metros in other parts of the world – Moscow, London, Singapore and Paris, for ex-ample. In many cases, they

were very hard-edged and unfriendly. They were very Euro-style – a lot of con-crete, glass and steel.

They are designed to be vandal-proof, you see, which is half the problem. Once you start down that route, it’s very difficult to know where to stop. I like it because it is minimalist and very engineered. It ap-peals to me but I could see

why it wouldn’t appeal to the client.

Did the client, the Roads & Transport Authority (RTA), have a clear idea of what it wanted?What we came up with was not what they expected, I don’t think. I think they came at it from a more prac-tical point of view, although they didn’t want that to

7. KCA wanted to avoid ‘Euro-

style design’.

8. The design is very minimalist.

9. Working on the Metro opened

up a whole new sphere for KCA.

7

8 9

FIT OUT


close down the creativity of the design.

However, when we pre-sented it to the committee, the general view was, this is what we want. We want uniqueness, and this repre-sents Dubai. We got a very positive response to the presentation.

What was your design philosophy?Our philosophy worked around the four elements: earth, air, fire and water. The great thing about this was that you had design

10.Design is themed around the four elements.

and you had colour, so you could mix and match and get quite a lot of variables. When we were doing his-torical sites, such as Union Square, Burjuman or Al Ghubaiba, we also looked back at historical referenc-es to the place. For example, Burjuman means desert pearl, so we used that as the basis.

What is your favourite station?I like Burjuman, just be-cause of the glamour of it all. I also like the over-

ground stations because of their simplicity. Those spaces are special.

Is there anything in the Du-bai stations that you might not fi nd in stations in other parts of the world?We had a long discussion with the RTA about wheth-er they wanted decorative light fittings in there. We showed them examples ini-tially, just to put it out there. We expected them not to like it, but they did, so in the main underground, we’ve got chandeliers.

10


56 CONSTRUCTION WEEK DUBAI METRO SOUVENIR WWW.CONSTRUCTIONWEEKONLINE.COM

TICKETS PLEASEDUBAI METRO IS THE WORLD’S LONGEST AUTOMATED RAIL TRANSPORT SYSTEM. AS SUCH IT WILL POSE BOTH UNIQUE CHALLENGES AND OPPORTUNITIES TO FACILITIES MANAGEMENT PROVIDER SERCO. PAUL ANDERSON, MANAGING DIRECTOR, SERCO DUBAI METRO, AND ALI ABDUL KADER, DIRECTOR, MAINTENANCE DEPARTMENT, RAIL AGENCY, RTA, EXPLAINED WHAT LIES AHEAD

ubai is witnessing history in the mak-ing, just as Brit-ain did 200 years

ago when Richard Trevithick invented the steam rail-way locomotive which, by the mid

1



1800s, mobilised some 30 million Britons. Fast for-ward to the 21st century, to a Gulf city where a public rail transport network has come to fruition. Born of vision and necessity, the impact of the metro on Dubai’s popu-lace and visitors in terms of travelling habits and mobil-ity will help shape the emir-ate’s socioeconomic future.

Network service“This is the world’s long-est driverless automated railway system, and a first for the Middle East,” said Ali Abdul Kader, director, maintenance department, Rail Agency, Rail and Trans-port Authority.

“It is a huge project and one that has never been at-tempted in the Middle East before, so of course we have faced challenges. However, we met those challenges through fact finding trips to all the major cities including

Paris, London and Singa-pore, to speak to the experts and see how they construct-ed, operated and maintained their metro systems.”

Bids were then put out to tender. “Bids included French transport company RATP, SPS and SMRT from Singapore and Serco Mid-dle East,” explains Al Kader. “All the bids were good, but Serco’s regional experience in the aviation industry gave it the edge.”

The RTA awarded Serco the operations and mainte-nance concession to manage

both pre- and post-launch phases of both lines,

thought to be worth around US $4.1 billion (AED15 billion). The global service compa-

ny can count Docklands Light Railway in London,

the Great Southern Rail-way in Australia and the

Copenhagen Metro in Denmark

among its transport c l i e n t list.

Primary FM objective The rail service, mixed-use stations and connecting ar-eas and bridges will have to reflect the network’s five star rating.

“Our primary task is to provide and maintain a seamless multi-modal trans-port service,” said Paul An-derson, managing director, Serco Dubai Metro.

“That means that passen-gers - whether using a bus, taxi or park and ride service - will experience a five star service. If we don’t provide and maintain these stand-ards in the first instance pas-sengers will lose confidence and not use the service – it’s as simple as that.

“And you have to factor-in the extreme climate here in the Middle East, so com-fort is paramount. All buses, taxis, connecting areas and footbridges will be air con-ditioned, and we’re building new access and egress points interconnecting malls to sta-tions to enhance the tem-perature controlled nature of the network.”

Value addsStations will be fully equipped with amenities such as food outlets, ATMs, dry cleaning services and re-tail space.

“We need footfall, so to at-tract passengers we are pro-viding value added services at stations,” said Anderson. “Commuters will be able to incorporate their daily rou-

2

1500FM STAFF REQUIRED

FOR THE RED LINE - FROM TECHNICAL

ENGINEERS TO CLEANERS

1. Dubai Metro has been designed keeping in mind the variety of cultures.

2. Serco Dubai Metro managing director Paul Andersonsaid comfort was paramount while designing the Metro.



tines such as laundry, cash withdrawals and bill pay-ments, shopping and the like, into their daily travel schedule.

“This not only makes the network commercially vi-able, which of course it has to be, but we’re also making travel on the metro an at-tractive proposition for peo-ple who are used to doing the above from the comfort of their cars.”

Mobility patternsAnderson highlighted the affect the metro will have on mobility patterns in Dubai.

“Undoubtedly the network will change the way people live their lives. Trips that were previously repressed due to time and cost re-straints will now open up – we believe 40% of all trips will be ‘new trips’. In doing so the network will deliver liveability and productivity will also rise. People will no longer miss meetings due to traffic and they’ll arrive at work in a positive state of

mind, as journey times fall.“The purpose of the metro

is to give people options, to complement the services already available, to create a travel network. As pub-lic confidence grows in the abilities of the integrated system we’ll see a more European model emerge, whereby people either drive to the station and commute or use taxis and buses to do the same. The environmen-

“AS PUBLIC CONFIDENCE GROWS IN THE ABILITIES OF THE INTEGRATED SYSTEM

WE’LL SEE A MORE EUROPEAN MODEL EMERGE”

3. Attracting passengers means

providing added value amenities

at stations.

3



Being hailed as fi ve star service, it gives rise to the question of afford-ability. “We are rolling out a unifi ed multi-modal ticketing system that passengers can use on buses and at metro stations. Pricing will operate on a distance-based zonal model,” Anderson explained.

“To my mind the infrastructure modernity is unparalleled. The stations have been designed to give quality space with a lot of void areas and high quality fi xtures, fi ttings and fi nishes. The chal-lenge will be to keep them clean at

certain times of the year when it’s very dusty and humid.”

In a climate when at certain times of the year it’s near im-possible to go outside for any length of time, temperature control at stations and connect-ing areas is crucial. “Yes, the climate is a challenge,” said Al Kader, especially keeping the underground sections of the network cool. Heavy invest-ment in the latest HVAC tech-nology will ensure a consistent and comfortable environment.”

UNIFIED TICKETING SYSTEM

4. As more stations are completed, more passengers will use the Metro.

4

tal implications will also be-come more tangible as pol-lution levels drop and qual-ity of air improves.”

EmploymentOn the Red Line alone 1500 staff are needed – from tech-nical engineers to cleaners. A 30% Emiratisation staffing policy is in place to aid de-velopment of capabilities for future needs in the country.

“We are looking to place Emiratis in key areas – we want a strong local presence in our organisation and we are recruiting from school leaver level to graduates. Serco has partnered with the best universities, colleg-es and schools in Dubai to build a sustainable pipeline for locals,” said Anderson.

“The metro has five dif-ferent training and devel-

opment schemes charting a career path for engineers. Furthermore, through at-tachments around the world we have been able to intro-duce disciplines new to the UAE, which is exciting and shows are commitment to the future. And the policy is working.

WHO DID WHAT?


n 1937, Mapei was founded by Rudolfo Squinzi, as a small company on the outskirts of Milan,

dealing mainly in paints, plasters, and interior and exterior covering materials for large buildings, hospi-tals, and airports.

The big change came when the company began concentrating its efforts on a specific market niche, floor installation products.

Since then, the company has continued to grow with its range of adhesives, sealants, screeds and floor coverings. Mapei is now the largest construction adhesive manufacturer in the world, with an annual turnover of over US $2.5 billion (AED9.2 billion) across 55 plants.

The company’s self-hy-drating screeds played a

key role in the delivery of the metro, significantly re-ducing construction time and helping contractors to deliver the project on 09/09/09.

The company has been supplying products to the GCC for more than 10

years, with projects such as the Burj Al Arab and Emir-ates Palace benefiting from the company’s products. Just under two years ago, the firm established a local subsidiary, IBS Mapei, to capitalise on opportunities in the region.

Although the Middle East is not a ‘core’ market for the company at present, according to business de-velopment manager Laith Haboubi, the region is seen as a prospect for long-term

growth. As a result, Mapei opened its first factory in the area in February 2009, a 40,000m2 facility at Du-bai Investments Park.

The company is currently working on projects at Yas Island and on Burj Dubai.

“MAPEI HAS BEEN MANAGED BY THE SAME FAMILY WITH SAME MIDESET. THEY’VE WEATHERED

WORLD WARS AND GLOBAL RECESSIONS BEFORE”

60NUMBER OF MAPEI EMPLOYEES IN THE

UAE AT PRESENT

FAST FACTSRole in making the metro: Supply of screeds and sealants, plus technical

advice and support.

What does working on the Metro mean to the company?: “For us it fi ts in with our company exactly, be-

cause it’s a high-tech, new technology type of

project. It’s things that haven’t been done here

before, techniques that haven’t been used here

before, and therefore Mapei was one of the few

companies that could provide solutions, which

would fi t in exactly with that type of construction

without compromising on quality or time. It’s a

perfect project for us. We’re very proud to have

been associated with it.”

ContactTel: +971 4 323 3167

Web: www.ibs-mapei.ae

1. Mapei is now the largest construction adhesive manufacturer in the world.

1

WHO DID WHAT?

MAPEITHE ITALIAN CONSTRUCTION ADHESIVE MANUFACTURER

HELPED IN DELIVERING THE METRO ON TIME

WHO DID WHAT?


1. Erecting precast concrete segments.

2. Inside the metro station.

DEMAG CRANES AND COMPONENTS (ME) FZEMetro working dates: May to September 2009Metro contract value: US $30,000 (approx)Role in making the metro: Provided foot mounted rope hoists to run two freight elevators.What does working on the Metro mean to the company?: “Our mission statement is ‘we are committed to technological leadership through innovation’ and being part of this prestigious project demonstrates a step taken to achieve it.”Phone: +971 4 8120 800 Web: www.demagcranes.ae

VSLMetro working dates: November 2006 to April 2009Role in making the metro: A key member of the JV for pre-casting and erection of the bridge superstructure works.What does working on the Metro mean to the company?: “Working on the Dubai Metro project was a great honour and privilege for VSL, and to be part of the team that helped to deliver this major Dubai infrastructure project is a source of great pride to VSL as a company.”Phone: +971 4 885 7225Web: www.vsl.com

1 2

METRO HELPERSTHE FEW WHO HAD THE PRIVILEGE OF BEING PART OF HISTORY

TELL US HOW THEY FULFILLED THEIR ROLES

WHO DID WHAT?


ATKINSMetro working dates: January 2006 to on-goingRole in making the metro: Atkins’ role as lead designers for the JTMJV included the design of above ground stations, underground stations, viaducts, tunnels, annexes, C&C, depots, car parks, highways and utilities.What does working on the Metro mean to the company?: “It is very satisfying to see the opening on the due date particularly given that we were appointed nine months into the project; to have caught up on time and to have taken on board the multitude of changes that have been required, is a fantastic achievement by the whole design team,” says John Newby, project director.Phone: +971 4 4059300Web: www.atkins-me.com

FINO INTERNATIONALMetro working dates: Oct 2008 - stage 1 handover on 30th August 2009, stage 2 handover on 2nd December 2009.Metro contract value: US $50 MillionRole in making the metro: All metal works, cladding, screed, waterproofing, doors, access panels , glassworks, handrail, sensor poles, doors, fire rated metal doors, light holders, ceilings, custom made ceilings, all entrance pods and 11 foot bridges, including insulation, fire barriers and smoke curtains.What does working on the Metro mean to the company?: “It was a new experience and a challenging one, with new types of products and material used in such a public transport facility.”Phone: +971 4 8802663Web: www.finoinfo.ae

DUBAI CABLE COMPANY (DUCAB)Metro contract value: US $27.2 millionRole in making the metro: Supply of power cablesWhat does working on the Metro mean to the company?: “Ducab played its role in helping make the Dubai Metro a dream come true. With the combined effort, 09/09/09 marked a day to remember in the history of the UAE”Phone: +971 4 8082500Web: www.ducab.com

3

3. A footbridge at Burj Dubai station.

COMPANY INDEX


SPONSORED BY

DUBAI RAPID LINK CONSORTIUM (DURL)Mitsubishi Heavy IndustriesMitsubishi CorporationObayashi Corporation

DUBAI METRO: SUPPLIER LISTDUBAI METRO: SUPPLIER LIST

COMPANY ROLE

Aconex Project management info systems

AECOM (formerly Cansault Maunsell)

Engineering and project management

Aedas Design consultancy

Al Bahar PMV supplier

Al Faris PMV supplier

Al Futtaim Engineering MEP services

Al Hamad Contractor

Al Laith Terex supplier

Alcatel Lucent Driverless train & communications/surveillance system

Arabian Forasol Foundations Cement

Arabian Mix Company Cement

Atkins Project consultancy

Beresford Blake Thomas Recruitment

Besix Construction

Bovis Lend lease Project management

Capita Symonds Lead Engineer & project manager

Domoferm Door hardware

Dosteen Doors and Engineering Services

Roller shutters

Dubai Electricity and Water Authority (DEWA)

Power supply

Ducab Cabling

Emirates Preinsulated Pipes Industries

Piping

Emirates Road Contracting Co Access roads for Al Rashidiya metro station

ETA Construction Company Material and equipment supply

Faiveley Transport Passenger access products, air conditioning, high-voltage solutions and on-board electronics

Fino Interior fi tout contractor

Gulf Dynamic Switchgear Switchgear

Haulotte Access platforms

HQ Creative Promotional activity

Infrasor-VSL Dubai Foundations and piling

Jebel Ali Precast Yard Viaduct precast work

Kalindee Rail Nirman Engineers Track laying

Kassab Media Ad contract for the metro

KCA International Interior architects

Kellog Brown Root Consultancy

Kinky Sharyo Trains

Kajima CorporationYapi Merkezi

COMPANY ROLE

Kontron Embedded systems for real-time tail applications

Liebherr PMV supplier

Llewelyn Davies Architect Consultant

Macalloy Bar and cable systems

Majid Al-Futtaim Group, Etisalat, Gulf General Investment, Sharaf DG, First Gulf Bank, Nakheel and Dubai Airport Free Zone

Station naming rights

Mammut Auxilliary depot construction

MEN Mikro Elektronik Embedded computer systems for rugged environments

Middle East Foundations Group Foundations and piling

Mott Macdonald Engineering consultancy

New Vision Metal Brackets, cement silos

Nexus Lighting Lighting

Pandrol UK Limited Baseplate assemblies

Planet Lighting Lighting

Prometal Doors

RMD Kwikform! Formwork

Saatchi & Saatchi Launch advertising campaign

Samsung Engineering & construction

Serco FM services

SMRT Media (Singapore), Advertising contract for the Metro

Stanley Consultants Consultancy

Swaiden Feeder buses

Systra Project consultant

Tabreed Station and depot cooling

TAG PMV software

Thales Ticket machines and automatic train control system

Timberline Purchasing software

Trantek On-board PA, emergency call box and LED systems

TUV Rheinland Codes of conduct, best practice documentation

UK Offi ce of Rail Regulation Health and safety advice

United equipment rentals equipment rental

VDL Buses Feeder buses

Wellmark Communications Ad contract for the metro

Westinghouse Knorr Bremse Platform Screen Doors

Wilbur Smith Associates Dubai Consultancy

Yongam Supply, fabrication and erection of structural steelworks

Zoeftig Seats

VSL are proud to have participated in the construction of the Dubai Metro

We would like to thank the RTA, The Engineer - Systra Parsons and the JTM - JV for having invited us to this challenge.

www.vsl.com Tel: +971 (4) 8857225 Fax: +971 (4) 8857226

Metro Dubai

Documents

Transcript of Metro Dubai