Construction robots being used for the first time in the Middle East are helping to speed up the latest addition to Jumeirah Lakes Towers' vast skyline.
The 78-floor Uptown Tower is to be finished by February next year and will include 200 luxury hotel rooms and suites plus conference facilities, restaurants, shops and a health spa.
The 340-metre glass tower being built by Belgium's Besix Group is being developed with a difference, using advanced robotics made by a Swiss company that is set to feature heavily at Expo 2020 Dubai.
Our workforce is exposed to a hot, dusty and noisy environment, so this robotic process eliminates that
Urs Puentener,
Schindler Group
Since January, an autonomous robot has scaled each floor to drill thousands of holes while inserting guide-rail bolts and landing doors for the building’s lift shaft.
The Swiss-made Schindler Robotic Installation System for Elevators, or Rise, has saved hundreds of man-hours and helped to relieve the stress of a difficult working environment, according to Urs Puentener, the company's head of global fulfilment.
“This lift project [in Dubai] is one of our iconic installations,” Mr Puentener said.
“It is a strong innovation for the construction industry, with this robotic system applied to this phase of the development for the first time in the region.
“It allows us to take autonomous installation steps of the build by a robot, rather than conventional manual drilling and labour.”
There are 9,000 holes to be drilled for 14 elevators, with the manual work being taken over by the Rise robot.
Installation is usually done by hand and can be dangerous, uncomfortable and time consuming in the 45°C heat of the Dubai summer.
“Our workforce is exposed to a hot, dusty and noisy environment, so this robotic process eliminates that,” Mr Puentener said.
“The robotic system addresses not only health and safety but also the quality of installation due to the robot’s precision.
“It is also more efficient and faster. Obviously, the higher the building, the more work is required, so the use of the robot becomes more beneficial.”
Once complete, the Uptown Dubai District will offer 10 million square feet of residential and business space, complete with 200 shops and restaurants.
Uptown Dubai is expected to create about 10,000 new jobs over the next decade.
Uptown Tower is one of two super-tall buildings that will include a main podium 28 metres above ground featuring a two-level central plaza, larger than New York's Times Square. This will be linked to numerous outlets and a retail mall.
Schindler Group is one of Switzerland’s success stories in innovation and construction, installing escalators and elevators across the world, including those at Dubai Mall.
Although the Rise robot has already been used for projects in Poland, Austria, Switzerland and Germany, Uptown Tower is the first build in the Middle East to benefit from the technology.
The company is set to feature heavily during Expo 2020, with its so-called mountain trains taking visitors to the Swiss pavilion on an escalator journey with 360-degree drone footage and graphics.
Pavilions run by the UAE, India, Brazil, Belgium, France and the UK are also using equipment and technology installed by the Swiss company.
THE BIO
Occupation: Specialised chief medical laboratory technologist
Age: 78
Favourite destination: Always Al Ain “Dar Al Zain”
Hobbies: his work - “ the thing which I am most passionate for and which occupied all my time in the morning and evening from 1963 to 2019”
Other hobbies: football
Favorite football club: Al Ain Sports Club
Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.
Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.
“Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.
“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.
Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.
From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.
Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.
BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.
Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.
Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.
“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.
“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.
“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”
The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”
RIDE%20ON
%3Cp%3EDirector%3A%20Larry%20Yang%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3EStars%3A%20Jackie%20Chan%2C%20Liu%20Haocun%2C%20Kevin%20Guo%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3ERating%3A%202%2F5%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
The specs
Engine: 2.0-litre 4cyl turbo
Power: 261hp at 5,500rpm
Torque: 405Nm at 1,750-3,500rpm
Transmission: 9-speed auto
Fuel consumption: 6.9L/100km
On sale: Now
Price: From Dh117,059
England squad
Joe Root (captain), Alastair Cook, Keaton Jennings, Gary Ballance, Jonny Bairstow (wicketkeeper), Ben Stokes (vice-captain), Moeen Ali, Liam Dawson, Toby Roland-Jones, Stuart Broad, Mark Wood, James Anderson.
How to wear a kandura
Dos
- Wear the right fabric for the right season and occasion
- Always ask for the dress code if you don’t know
- Wear a white kandura, white ghutra / shemagh (headwear) and black shoes for work
- Wear 100 per cent cotton under the kandura as most fabrics are polyester
Don’ts
- Wear hamdania for work, always wear a ghutra and agal
- Buy a kandura only based on how it feels; ask questions about the fabric and understand what you are buying
How much do leading UAE’s UK curriculum schools charge for Year 6?
- Nord Anglia International School (Dubai) – Dh85,032
- Kings School Al Barsha (Dubai) – Dh71,905
- Brighton College Abu Dhabi - Dh68,560
- Jumeirah English Speaking School (Dubai) – Dh59,728
- Gems Wellington International School – Dubai Branch – Dh58,488
- The British School Al Khubairat (Abu Dhabi) - Dh54,170
- Dubai English Speaking School – Dh51,269
*Annual tuition fees covering the 2024/2025 academic year
The Voice of Hind Rajab
Starring: Saja Kilani, Clara Khoury, Motaz Malhees
Director: Kaouther Ben Hania
Rating: 4/5
