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Discuss this article (0 Comments)Arab, French business ties deepen
by This email address is being protected from spam bots, you need Javascript enabled to view it on Saturday, 14 February 2009
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Due for completion in 2012, the historic agreement allows the Abu Dhabi museum to adopt the Louvre name, to borrow works of art and to stage special exhibitions.
As part of the deal Abu Dhabi will finance the refurbishment of a wing Paris' Pavillon de Flore. Abu Dhabi will also finance the restoration of the Château de Fontaine bleau's theatre, which will be named after Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan, President of the UAE and ruler of Abu Dhabi.
Theming
The museum's renowned French architect Jean Nouvel was the recipient of the 2008 Pritzker Architecture Prize Laureate and in October last year Daniel Dutoit was honoured with First Prize in France's National Engineering Awards for his design and management of the Dubai metro project.
"The Middle East is a key area for the Haulotte Group. We have been working in this region for some time now and hope that a higher level of safety requirements will apply to Middle Eastern countries in the near future," says Arthur Danelian, Manager of Haulotte Middle East FZE.
The French company, one of Europe's largest suppliers of people and material lifting equipment, announced it was expanding its presence in the Middle East with new offices in Libya in 2009 and Algeria in 2010.
Haulotte Middle East FZE currently delivers approximately 1,000 machines to the Middle East each year. At The Big 5 2008 exhibition in Dubai, the company launched a new telescopic big boom - a lifting device which has the capacity to rapidly lift up to 350 kgs.
France is a global force on the design and architectural stage and one of the niche markets it has carved out in the Middle East has been in the area commonly known as "theming."
French Leisure Group [FLG], which has an office in Dubai, is made up of a number of French architectural and design companies which specialise in this unique service.
Paris-based architect Clément Mansion points out that while FLG has only been working in the Middle East for three years those behind the company have nearly 30 years experience and cut their trade working on large internationally renowned projects such as Disneyland Paris.
Prestigious projects FLG has been involved with include Wild Wadi, the Burj Dubai Mall, Arabian Dreams and the Entertainment and Education Theme Centre. Mansion reports that they have also been involved in a competition for a tower for Damac and has worked on some projects in Bahrain.
Language barrier
Mansion also claims the pace of projects moves much faster in the Middle East than in France - the company has projects booked until 2010 although Mansion observes that Dubai is a tough market for French companies to break into. He says this is because the Dubai market is very much controlled by English and American companies.
While English-speaking superpowers are the main players in the Middle East, France is making credible steps into the region. The attraction appears mutual as Arab buyers look for summer retreats, just as long as they don't raise the ire of the Mayor of Paris!
Arab contracts won by French Companies
• The French Trade Commission reports that more and more French companies are being awarded design and build contracts in the Middle East and French companies have been involved in a roll call of some of the Gulf's biggest and most high-profile projects.
• Bouygues, one of France's biggest construction companies, is currently working on the US$276 million new Ritz-Carlton Hotel in Dubai for Union Properties. Located at the Dubai International Financial Centre, the hotel will have 341 guest rooms and 124 serviced and managed apartments.
• Scheduled to open in June, the highlight of the 14-storey building will be a 10-storey waterfall tumbling down the building directly into a courtyard.
• Bouygues was also awarded the design and build contract for Union Properties' Dubai Formula One Theme Park. Elsewhere in the Middle East, Bouygues worked on the upgrading of Lebanon's power grid in 1995, the redevelopment of the Beirut Seafront in 2000 and currently it is building the Equestrian Club in Saudi Arabia.
• VSL, a subsidiary of Bouygues which specialises in the development of post-tensioning systems, was involved in the construction of the Dubai Mall.
• In 2001, Vinci Construction was involved in the design and build contract of the Abu Dhabi Mall.
• Soletanche Bachy, who is based in France but work in over 100 countries worldwide, has been awarded a US$272 million contract by Abu Dhabi's Aldar for the embankment work on the Al Raha Beach project.
• In October 2008, Soletanche Bachy also began preliminary work on the Nakheel Tall Tower, which when complete in January 2010 will be the world's tallest building.
• The French Trade Commission reports that more and more French companies are being awarded design and build contracts in the Middle East and French companies have been involved in a roll call of some of the Gulf's biggest and most high-profile projects.
• Bouygues, one of France's biggest construction companies, is currently working on the US$276 million new Ritz-Carlton Hotel in Dubai for Union Properties. Located at the Dubai International Financial Centre, the hotel will have 341 guest rooms and 124 serviced and managed apartments.
• Scheduled to open in June, the highlight of the 14-storey building will be a 10-storey waterfall tumbling down the building directly into a courtyard.
• Bouygues was also awarded the design and build contract for Union Properties' Dubai Formula One Theme Park. Elsewhere in the Middle East, Bouygues worked on the upgrading of Lebanon's power grid in 1995, the redevelopment of the Beirut Seafront in 2000 and currently it is building the Equestrian Club in Saudi Arabia.
• VSL, a subsidiary of Bouygues which specialises in the development of post-tensioning systems, was involved in the construction of the Dubai Mall.
• In 2001, Vinci Construction was involved in the design and build contract of the Abu Dhabi Mall.
• Soletanche Bachy, who is based in France but work in over 100 countries worldwide, has been awarded a US$272 million contract by Abu Dhabi's Aldar for the embankment work on the Al Raha Beach project.
• In October 2008, Soletanche Bachy also began preliminary work on the Nakheel Tall Tower, which when complete in January 2010 will be the world's tallest building.
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