Al Fajer Properties saves up to Dh60m in restructure

Dubai: By speeding up construction and restructuring the company, Al Fajer Properties has saved up to Dh60 million in its Jumeirah Business Centre Tower project, according to the Project Management Group (PMG).

As part of a company restructure in February 2008 to reduce the company's liabilities of Dh4 billion and Dh200 to 400 billion debt, construction was stepped up to a rate where 200 floor slabs were poured over a period of 10 months, reaching a four-day pour cycle per floor and cutting construction time in half.

Focus

In addition to speeding up construction, PMG was hired to re-tender the project's nominated subcontracts and trim the final cost for each tower. According to PMG, this resulted in a total savings of about Dh60 million.

"When I took over, I made a decisive decision to consolidate and focus on delivering. We hired a new project management company focused on delivery, we restructured the company's accounts and operations," Shaikh Maktoum Bin Hasher Al Maktoum, CEO of Al Fajer Properties, said in an earlier interview.

"We were brought in to address delays which had plagued the project and to ensure the cost and quality would be up to the standard required by the development firm," said Ahmad K. Awad and executive partner at PMG.

Flagship project

Jumeirah Business Centre Towers is the Al Fajer Properties flagship development in Jumeirah Lake Towers comprising five buildings, four of which are 39 storeys while the fifth is 44.

Each tower sits on a 1,650 square metre plot and the entire project has a total built-up area of 297,831 square metres.

Handovers for the first phase of the Dh1.1 billion Jumeirah business Centre Towers began in August. The second phase of the project which consists of four towers is expected to be completed in 2011.