Dubai: A shipping container as a house? Well, if a contracting company is to be believed it's not only possible, it's also very practical.
UAE | Housing & Property
On-site workers' home in a box
Contracting firm touts shipping containers as ‘practical' accommodation for on-site workers
- By Faisal Masudi, Staff reporter
- Published: 00:00 July 22, 2010
- Image Credit: MEGAN HIRONS MAHON/Gulf News
- Each 40-foot container houses up to eight people. They sleep on bunk-beds to save space for small furniture items
Alsahel Contracting Company LLC (ACC) said it had introduced the idea in Dubai during the construction boom in recent years to help find ‘practical' housing solutions for on-site workers.
Ahmad Etman, Managing Partner, ACC, said there was nothing questionable in the arrangement that started three years ago. "It's safe and we've got government approval," he said.
Respectable look
"It looks respectable, it's decorated and has the usual housing facilities," he said. These containers are normally used for transporting goods worldwide.
Last week, XPRESS was granted rare access to one of ACC's labour camps made up of containers stacked together, near International City.
Each 40-foot container houses up to eight people. A front door in the middle opens into a small partition that separates two side cabins, each of which accommodates four roommates. They sleep on bunk-beds to save space for small furniture items.
A window on each half side comes with an air conditioner. There are also two exhaust fans. The interior walls, floor and roof are covered with "decoration wood" and a special material to keep the steel structure from overheating in the sun.
"It's normal, we don't feel out of place here," a middle-aged labourer at the site said about life inside the container.
Etman said ACC became the first company to use containers as homes in Dubai three years ago.
"We wanted a practical housing solution for labourers. They travel for hours between labour camps and construction sites. They come to work tired and get home tired.
"This became the only permitted on-site housing facility in Dubai. We grew from there," he said, but declined to reveal how many containers it uses for housing.
"Now, other companies here may try to imitate us," he said.
Containers make better homes than the usual wooden portable cabins, Etman added. The metal trunks are robust, easily moveable and affordable, even after refurbishments. He refused to reveal the cost of these homes.
Big savings
"In the long run, containers save money too. Organic structures break down, especially in the climate here. They can't withstand sandstorms [for example], which are like bullets to them.
"Outside the UAE, this isn't a new thing. They've been around for 10 years. There's a whole history of them being used for housing, offices and schools," he said.
Comments (12)
|
Community Reports
-
Seek solace in sarod at Madinat Theatre
Get out of the heat and into Amjad Ali Khan's upcoming sarod concert
-
Buses don’t halt at bus stops being excavated
Excavation turns using public transportation into a nightmare
-
Cyclists put their lives in danger
Alarming volumes of cargo totter precariously above their heads
-
Students step towards a greener planet
The students and their parents participate in a week to raise awareness about going green.
Latest news
- Al Ain officials probe IELTS, TOEFL scam claim
- Crows destroy Dubai’s native bird species
- Dubai beaches get new change rooms
- Fujairah police investigate engineer’s death
- Mohammad Bin Zayed visits Sharjah
- Three brothers get death penalty in Al Ain
- Arbitrary dismissal case is 14 months late
- Do I have to agree to a limited-term contract?
- My company won't pay my overtime; please help
- Unaware of red meat quality?
- Police rescue tourists stuck in sand dunes
- Dewa staff show charity begins at home
- Arabic conference recommendations revealed
- Adec reviews student safety steps in schools
- Pack simply, pack lightly and pack tightly
