February's downpours failed to put a dampener on proceedings at Dubai Police head quarters - thanks to Al Shirawi Contracting's waterproofing work.

Al Shirawi recently completed waterproof work on the basement, wet areas and roof for the Dubai Police Headquarters near Ghusais.

And when the heavy downpours came towards the end of February, officials at Al Shirawi sat back confident the work would withstand the deluge - and it did. And they say it will provide the same protection for the next 10 years.

This landmark contract for Al Shirawi came hard on the heels of work carried out at Muraqabat Police Station, The Barrack building at the Police Training College and the Muraqabat Administration building and workshop complex at Al Twar.

But the Dubai Headquarters contract was by far the biggest, containing 990 piles of different dia and about 25,000 square metres of substructure which covered 11,000 square metres of roof as well as wet areas and planters.

Only the highest quality materials were used. Bitumat Premierflex 4000 was used for the substructure, Bitumat Polyflex for the roof and wet areas and Anti-root membranes for the planters.

In addition, the injection hose system was used as an added precaution at each stage, to avoid any possible leakages.

The work was carried out at various stages over an 18-month period. The consultant on the job, Arenco and main contractor, Al Shafar General Contracting, were more than satisfied with the work of Al Shirawi Contracting.

S. Sekhar, General Manager, said: "We are sure the towering structure will definitely be one of the landmark buildings in Dubai and will stand as testimony for Al Shirawi's expertise for many years to come."

In yet another contracting coup, Al Shirawi Contracting has completed interior work in the 14 screen cinema complex at the Mall of the Emirates.
"Our reputation as cinema specialists is well and truly taking hold," said Raj Pal Saran, the General Manager, Interiors Division, of Al Shirawi Contracting. "Having successfully carried out similar work in the Ibn Battuta cinemas, Al Tayer Stocks were happy to award us this latest contract."

Al Shirawi's piece de resistance in the MOE complex was to supply and install a metal concourse [tunnel] at the entrance. "This was a first for us," explained Raj, "and involved installing a series of powder coated perforated aluminium panels, each measuring 2400 by 600mm, to create a semi-circular walk-way."

Al Shirawi also installed all 14 cinema ceilings with double layered acoustic tiles set on isolation mounts, as well as other ceiling and decor work in the foyer and lobby. "We also did a lot of the ceiling and wall cladding in the Magic Planet activity area," added Raj.

Dragon Mart, the largest trading facility for Chinese products outside of China, has opened its doors in Dubai and Al Shirawi played a key role in ensuring the construction of the massive structure was a success. Al Shirawi waterproofed 51000 m2 of the 1.2 kilometer long Dragon Mart, including the impressive main entrance known as the Dragon Mouth.

The massive trading hub is located at Nakheel's International City in the Al Warsan area. Over a three-month period Al Shirawi worked five foam concrete machines around the clock, the result being that the project was completed and handed over one month ahead of schedule. The 24,000 m² Dragon Mouth was completed in just one month. At any given time there were 45 laborers, two foremen and one full-time engineer on site.

S. Sekhar, General Manager, explained that the Dragon Mart is the second largest steel structure in the UAE, after the Dubai International Airport. It is jointly promoted by Nakheel and Chinamex Middle East Investment and Trade Promotion Centre. The consultants for Al Shirawi's work were Shadid Engineering Consultants and the main contractor was Al Shafar Transport & Contracting.

"We are very proud to have worked with Nakheel and to be associated with this project," Sekhar said. "Having seen the work we carried out at the Dragon Mart, Al Shafar Transport awarded us with a similarly valued contract for 27 buildings in the International City.

Walls and ceilings for no less than 20 Grand Cinemas theatres and one IMax 3D cinema were fitted by Al Shirawi Interiors Division at the Ibn Battuta Mall. Despite the scale of the contract, carried out on behalf of Al Tayer Stocks, the job was successfully completed within the three-month deadline.

"Although we've fitted out cinemas before, this was one of the biggest jobs we've ever done," said Raj Pal Saran, General Manager, Interiors Division, adding that the team was responsible for fitting susspended ceilings and dry walls, as well as the installation of a decorative ceiling in the cinema foyer.
All the walls around and between the 21 cinemas had to be clad in a special, fire-retardant wall system. Four layers of gypsum board on each side of the walls resulted in a thickness of 500mm, each reaching a height of 10-12 meters. Ceilings were also fitted with a special acoustic ceiling gypsum board, while a custom suspension system on isolation mounts provided shock absorption to cushion the vibrations from the cinema sound system. Below the ceiling, 600mm square acoustic tiles were fitted.

"Many of the materials we used had to be specially sourced," said Raj. "The walls and ceilings came from an Australian company, Boral Middle East, who specialise in gypsum board walls. The ceiling tiles and special black acoustic cladding behind the screens came from Rockfon in Denmark.

Once installation was complete, acoustic testing was successfully carried out to ensure that each theatre adhered to strict sound-level criteria. "Through this and other cinema projects we have completed, it is fair to say that we are now cinema specialists," said Raj.

"Malls are the new culture in Dubai, and each one will have cinemas. Companies looking for specialist outfitters need look no further than Al Shirawi. By working together, Al Tayer Stocks, the customer that contracted us to do the job, Nakheel, and the Turner project managers, were able to complete the job successfully and on time. The team did a great job, considering we also had to synchronize our work with all the other agencies who were also working on the cinemas, including the electromechanical and soft furnishing contractors."

Staff at the Belhoul Group's corporate offices in Dubai are now enjoying their plush new offices, thanks to the turnkey fit out project which Al Shirawi finished in record time. In just 75 days Al Shirawi carried out complete interior works on three floors of the building, which is located in Garhoud. The job involved the installation of partitions, ceilings, air conditioners, floorings, fire safety systems, and electrics.

The project also involved joinery and minor civil works. Raj Pal Saran, the General Manager of the Al Shirawi Contracting Interior Division, announced that both Belhoul and the consultant / designer Arki Design Dubai, are very happy with the overall result.

He added that Ani Chacko, Assistant Manager of Sales and planning, and Lakshman Kumar, the Site Engineer, played a crucial role in the coordination and successful execution of the project.

A highlight of the job was constructing the curved glass wall. It was the first time Al Shirawi had installed a wall of this type.