Dubai Industrial City awards Dhs23m contract for the construction of the main civil defence station

Rashed Al Ansari, Vice President of Dubai Industrial City, and Major-General Rashed Thani Al Matroushi, Director of the Civil Defence in Dubai celebrated the start of construction at the site of the new station in DI by conducting a ground breaking ceremony in the presence of senior officials from both organisations.

Al Ansari said: "We have awarded the contract after close coordination with Dubai Municipality and the Civil Defence on the design and the location of the station which is going to be constructed on 91,565 square feet of land. We also have plans to build two smaller civil defence sub-stations by next year to ensure the safety of the various industrial and commercial zones in our township."

Al Ansari confirmed that the contract was awarded to Hennessey LLC, where construction of the Dhs23m main station has already started and is expected to be completed by the first quarter of 2009.

Marking the occasion, Major Al Matroushi said: "Establishing a dedicated centre for Dubai Civil Defense at the leading industrial destination marks our commitment to providing a secure environment for businesses that operate here."

Almatroushi also pointed out that this ground breaking ceremony further indicates the determination of both organizations to strike a viable partnership for drawing up a shared strategy to offer environment, health and safety (EHS) services that match global standards of excellence.

"Our objective is to lead in rescue operations, provide safety for the employees and companies, as well as for moveable and immoveable properties within the Dubai Industrial City premises," he explained adding that the station would be built as per the latest international standards, incorporating the latest fire fighting and rescue technology as well as a training centre and an observation tower.

Al Ansari added: "The civil defence station is of paramount importance to us as we are keen on ensuring the highest safety levels across the city's industrial and commercial areas. This is especially important from next year when construction of manufacturing units and factories is expected to step up."

He also explained that Maqayees, the Dubai Centre for Industrial Standards, is working to ensure that preventive measures are put in place with regards to health, safety and environment at the design stage of each factory.

"Post construction, Maqayees will work in close coordination with the civil defence to conduct on site inspections and devise preventive measures for fire protection and hazard mitigation," Al Ansari stressed.

Al Ansari said the focus is currently on completing the first of the civil defence stations which will be located in the first phase industrial development of the city to meet the direct demand from this section.

"Infrastructure work on the first phase is progressing at a fast pace. This will be occupied first by tenants and investors and the civil defence station will seek to meet the immediate operational needs of the city," he added.

Al Ansari pointed out that until the new stations become fully operational, the Jebel Ali Civil Defence station will meet the city's fire fighting requirements.

"The two other stations are part of our future plans for the Dubai Industrial City, which will house up to 500,000 people when fully operational," Al Ansari concluded.

Located adjacent to the Al Maktoum International Airport (Dubai World Central) and in close proximity to Jebel Ali Port and Free Zone, with easy accessibility to major highways such as Sheikh Zayed Road, Emirates Road and the Dubai Ring Road, the 560 million square feet Dubai Industrial City is a dedicated industrial destination comprising six industrial clusters featuring food and beverage, base metal, mineral products, chemicals, transport equipment and parts, and machinery and mechanical equipment.

Complementary facilities for logistics, warehousing, labour villages, industrial training, in addition to commercial, residential and entertainment zones, position Dubai Industrial City as a comprehensive one stop-shop destination. DI provides tenants with a critical competitive advantage in human resources, logistics and business operations.