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Chinese contractor wins Al-Habtoor Tower construction

24 May 2023

The local Al-Habtoor Group has appointed China Railway 18th Bureau Group as the main contractor for its AED3.7bn ($1bn) Al-Habtoor Tower project in Dubai.

“China Railway 18th Bureau Group was selected based on a list of criteria, mainly for meeting the projected target for completion of 36 months; their full technical compliance for state-of-the-art quality; and their successful track record in megaprojects,” said Khalaf Ahmad al-Habtoor, founding chairman of Al-Habtoor Group, in a statement.

Located on a plot area of 7,500 square metres, the tower will have three basement levels, a seven-storey podium and 73 floors of residences. The built-up area will be 350,000 sq m.

The tower is technically challenging because it will be built above an existing parking basement that serves the already completed buildings at Al-Habtoor City.

Al-Habtoor had the option of demolishing the basement. Instead, it decided to employ a top-down approach to the construction that involves piling down through the basement, while at the same time starting construction above ground.

The top-down approach is expected to reduce the construction time by about one year, meaning the tower will be completed in 1,000 days or about three years.

Germany’s Bauer is working on the foundations for the tower. The consultant is the local MAK Engineering Consultancy.

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Colin Foreman

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