More and more Australian construction firms are setting up offices in Dubai.
As one of the Middle East's highest profile destinations, Dubai is a fitting showcase for some of the world's most splendid architecture and a number of companies involved in these developments are Australian.
In fact, according to Jeremy Bruer, Australian ambassador to the UAE, Australian construction-related services such as design, project management, engineering services and model making are important components of Australian service exports to the region.
An exciting place
"Companies such as Multiplex and Woods Bagot, which have their head offices in Perth, reflect Western Australia's strong construction and building materials-related capabilities," says Pankaj Savara, Regional Director (MENA), Western Australian Trade Office. "The number of Australians, and Australian companies in the UAE has increased over the past five years, being attracted by the opportunities here. For an engineer, it's certainly an exciting place to be," says Chris Gordon General Manager, Corporate Affairs, Leighton Asia Limited.
"Australians have a strong ability to come up with new methods for building projects by thinking creatively. This manifests in innovative solutions to complex problems," he says.
Savara says that Australian companies are strong in sectors such as city planning, urban revival, land subdivisions and in building designs from shopping centres and apartment blocks to individual dwellings, resort developments, theme parks and more. "Solutions provided include services such as surveying, technology based solutions for land management and city development, and architectural design," he adds.
Australian companies have secured some of the region's prime projects. The Multiplex Group — which operates under the trade name of Nasa Multiplex in the UAE — completed 10 years in the Middle East and has an impressive portfolio comprising projects such as the Emirates Office Tower, Emaar's Dubai Marina (comprising six high-rise towers), the Gate at DIFC, the Grosvenor House Hotel at Dubai Marina and Phase 1 of the Burj Dubai Residences. Multiplex was also awarded a Dh1 billion contract for the design and construction of the Union Properties project, Index — an 86-storey office, residential and retail complex — located in the Dubai International Finance Centre.
The development comprises 25 levels of office space, 520 apartments and penthouses over 50 levels with other levels being occupied by parking, retail, services and a landscaped podium. Multiplex has also worked on Union Properties projects such as The Tower and Creekside Apartments. Nasa Multiplex was also awarded the contract to construct the Emirates Park Towers Hotel for Emirates airline. Union Properties have also commissioned edara-APP — a joint venture between Dubai's edara and Australian project management company APP — as their project managers for Index's design and construction phases.
Leighton Asia (which operates in the region as Gulf Leighton LLC) has been contracted as part of a joint venture with Kier Dubai LLC to work on infrastructure development on the City of Arabia development. The $64 million (about Dh235 million) contract involves the construction of 15 kilometres of roads in and around the development, five bridges and underground services including drains, sewers, water mains and telecommunications. There are huge projects in Abu Dhabi and Doha as well.
The Sunland Group has 23 years of experience in construction in Australia and is known for its iconic developments, Yve and Q1. In Dubai, the group joined hands with Emirates International Holdings to form the Emirates Sunland Group (ESG), which is also the real estate development company behind the first Palazzo Versace Hotel in Australia (Gold Coast). The company is now working on the second Palazzo Versace Hotel and condominiums in Dubai and the premium D1 development in Dubai. The D1 is a sister-development of the Q1 (Gold Coast, Australia).
Australian leading construction company Bovis Lend Lease in association with the Mass Transit Rail Corporation of Hong Kong, has been appointed by the Rail Transport Authority of Dubai to offer strategic project management services for phases one to three of the new Dubai Metro project.
Austrade and other government bodies are also pitching in. According to Savara, the Western Australian Government recently hosted a Middle East Focus Construction Industry Seminar in Perth and invited GHD Global PTY Ltd from Dubai to brief the industry about the potential the UAE holds in construction and building material related sectors.
