You don’t want to light a cigarette in the latest warehouse to open in the new Dubai World Central mega-complex.
The 15,800 square metre RSA-Talke warehouse, which has space for 19,000 storage pallets, storing a cornucopia of dangerous chemicals, is programmed to fill completely from floor to ceiling with flame-retardant foam in just three minutes at the sign of a spark.
The new warehouse, built by RSA-Talke, a joint venture between Dubai-based RSA Logistics and the German-based Talke Group, also includes an explosion-proof facility, a special polyurethane-coated floor and some exceptionally tight security.
Of course that is hardly surprising considering that the new warehouse, which opened yesterday and is set to start operations on Monday has the capacity to handle some of the most dangerous substances traded internationally including cyanide, arsenic and hydrochloric acid.
RSA-Talke said that the warehouse, which will handle class 3, 4, 5, 6, 8 and 9 dangerous goods, cost Dh50 million to build and construction took 345,000 man hours.
The company is already planning to start work on a second 50,000 sq metre facility close to Jebel Ali port designed to handle liquid chemicals which will have a capacity of 1,800 TEU (twenty-foot equivalent units) complete with equally impressive safety features.
The company predicts that demand for its specialist services is set to explode (so to speak) as the chemical and petro-chemicals trade increases in the UAE and new chemicals factories currently under construction in Saudi Arabia start to produce raw materials that will require both import and export.
"Demand for this sort of facility in the Middle East is set to grow rapidly," Abhishek Ajay Shah, the director of operations and business development at RSA told The National. "There are so many planned factories in Saudi Arabia. They produce things like foam, which is made from two components. The raw materials have to be shipped to Saudi Arabia so that the foam is produced and then it is transported to a mattress factory in somewhere like China or Sharjah."
“There has never been anything like this in Dubai before,” he added. “We have built this facility to European standards which is what our international customers were demanding.”
Certainly with the new facility having already signed up clients for a committed capacity of 20 to 25 per cent, the concept seems to be sparking interest.
lbarnard@thenational.ae
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
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Who was Alfred Nobel?
The Nobel Prize was created by wealthy Swedish chemist and entrepreneur Alfred Nobel.
- In his will he dictated that the bulk of his estate should be used to fund "prizes to those who, during the preceding year, have conferred the greatest benefit to humankind".
- Nobel is best known as the inventor of dynamite, but also wrote poetry and drama and could speak Russian, French, English and German by the age of 17. The five original prize categories reflect the interests closest to his heart.
- Nobel died in 1896 but it took until 1901, following a legal battle over his will, before the first prizes were awarded.
What is blockchain?
Blockchain is a form of distributed ledger technology, a digital system in which data is recorded across multiple places at the same time. Unlike traditional databases, DLTs have no central administrator or centralised data storage. They are transparent because the data is visible and, because they are automatically replicated and impossible to be tampered with, they are secure.
The main difference between blockchain and other forms of DLT is the way data is stored as ‘blocks’ – new transactions are added to the existing ‘chain’ of past transactions, hence the name ‘blockchain’. It is impossible to delete or modify information on the chain due to the replication of blocks across various locations.
Blockchain is mostly associated with cryptocurrency Bitcoin. Due to the inability to tamper with transactions, advocates say this makes the currency more secure and safer than traditional systems. It is maintained by a network of people referred to as ‘miners’, who receive rewards for solving complex mathematical equations that enable transactions to go through.
However, one of the major problems that has come to light has been the presence of illicit material buried in the Bitcoin blockchain, linking it to the dark web.
Other blockchain platforms can offer things like smart contracts, which are automatically implemented when specific conditions from all interested parties are reached, cutting the time involved and the risk of mistakes. Another use could be storing medical records, as patients can be confident their information cannot be changed. The technology can also be used in supply chains, voting and has the potential to used for storing property records.
Benefits of first-time home buyers' scheme
- Priority access to new homes from participating developers
- Discounts on sales price of off-plan units
- Flexible payment plans from developers
- Mortgages with better interest rates, faster approval times and reduced fees
- DLD registration fee can be paid through banks or credit cards at zero interest rates
Brief scoreline:
Liverpool 5
Keita 1', Mane 23', 66', Salah 45' 1, 83'
Huddersfield 0
Brief scores:
Kashima Antlers 0
River Plate 4
Zuculini 24', Martinez 73', 90 2', Borre 89' (pen)
