BICB Middle East

16/01/2014

BICB Middle East appointed to undertake the development and roll out of Self Storage Facilities across the GCC with a major Middle East Investment Group.

15/01/2014

BICB Middle East participates in the European Self Storage Conference in London October 2013

19/06/2013

BICB Middle East officially an Expo 2020 Bid Supporter

21/10/2012

Brigadier Abdullah Mohamed Al Suwaidi

DOHA: The Civil Defence Department has said that some engineering consultancies are fraudulently claiming that the department deals exclusively with them and that only their building drawings are accepted by it for approval.

These consultancies are making false claims, the department said, adding that it deals on equal terms with all engineering consultancy firms licenced to operate in the country.

The fraudulent consultancies are claiming that it costs extra to get their drawings approved by the Civil Defence Department in order to extract money from their clients.

These firms are spreading rumours that the recent amendments to building safety regulations vide law number 9 of 2012 have imposed new conditions to safety requirements and that compliance with these conditions by clients would cost

them extra.

The Director-General of the Civil Defence Department, Brigadier Abdullah Mohamed Al Suwaidi, said in a statement yesterday that safety requirements for buildings remain the same as before in the new law (Number 9 of 2012) which is an amended version of the old legislation.

So, claims by some engineering firms that new requirements have been added to the law are baseless, he added. “These firms are exploiting the amendments to make people believe that the Civil Defence has some new safety requirements and that it costs more to get building drawings approved,” he said.

Also, the claims made by these firms that the Civil Defence is dealing only with them are baseless, said the director-general.


The statement said that given the hectic pace of urban development taking place in the country, the Civil Defence has “always sought to ease procedures” for the people and engineering consultancies.

Critics, meanwhile, dispute the claim of the Civil Defence about easing procedures and say the department takes quite long to provide clearances.

But after the new law was put into force late last August the drawings need to be submitted to the Civil Defence for approval.

Also, Civil Defence’s clearance is required to get commercial registration (CR) of a shop, office or any other commercial establishment renewed.

These clearances are taking a lot of time, people complain. The Civil Defence takes a lot of time to send inspectors to commercial establishments for checks and it is only after the inspection that the department provides clearance for CR renewal.

The department appears to have shortage of inspectors and that explains why there are undue delays in deputing inspectors for site visits, said a critic.

The new rules have come into force after the state amended the old building safety law and issued a new one (Number 9 of 2012) late last August.

The government stressed the urgency of amending the old law and enforcing new safety requirements after the devastating Villaggio Mall fire of May 28 that claimed 19 lives—13 of them small children.

The Peninsula

02/09/2012

It has been said that a Camel is a Horse designed by a Committee..

The same comparison has been made about dealing with the acquisition, development and disposal of Industrial and Commercial Real Estate in the Middle East. Many corporates have clearly defined objectives which correlate to market conditions and standards in the west and find what they are offered in the Middle East below par in terms of service and professionalism..

BICB though its track record in the region and extensive networks provides clear and concise advice to Corporations, cutting through red tape, bureaucracy and cross cultural issues encountered in the region.

02/09/2012

Abu Dhabi began commercial operations on Saturday at its new Khalifa Port in a multi-billion-dollar project to transfer its main container terminal from the 40-year-old port of Mina Zayed.

The new facility, built on reclaimed land five kilometres (three miles) off the coast of the Gulf emirate, received its first ship from a commercial customer, the 366-metre (1,208-foot) MSC Bari.

The first phase of the project, now complete, has cost 26.6 billion dirhams ($7.2 billion), the Abu Dhabi Ports Company (ADPC) said in a statement released to coincide with the opening ceremony.

Khalifa Port, which is part of the Kizad industrial zone, now has a capacity of 2.5 million TEUs (containers) a year, with an additional 12 million tons of general cargo, including four million tons a year from the adjacent Emirates Aluminium (EMAL) berth which opened in late 2010.

This capacity could double to five million TEU "in three to five years," said Martijn Van De Linde, chief executive officer of Abu Dhabi Terminals, which operates Khalifa Port.

The size of the island hosting the offshore part of the port is 2.7 square kilometres (1.08 square miles), equivalent to 400 football pitches.

Its total area, including onshore, is 9.1 square kilometres (3.64 square miles).

The first phase of Kizad A, which is under construction, is spread over an area of 51 square kilometres (20.4 square miles), while the second phase, Kizad B, is planned to cover 365 square kilometres (146 square miles).

The ultimate aim is to take the annual capacity of the port to 15 million TEU by 2030, ADPC said.

This is more than the amount handled by Dubai's nearby Jebel Ali port, the world's largest man-made harbour, which handled 13 million TEU last year.

"We have reached our capacity" at the existing Zayed Port, ADPC chief executive officer Tony Douglas told AFP.

"Our plan is to move all our existing container business starting today from Mina Zayed to Khalifa Port," he said.

ADPC's chief insisted that developing Khalifa Port is not aimed at competing with Jebel Ali Port 45 kilometres (28 miles) away, adding that it was aimed at serving Abu Dhabi's needs.

"Jebel Ali is a trans-shipment port... Mina Zayed is a destination port. It (Khalifa Port) will be exactly the same," Douglas said.

"Currently Mina Zayed is a destination port. Ninety-five percent of everything that goes into Mina Zayed stays in Abu Dhabi. When we migrate to Khalifa Port, it will be the same."

Mina Zayed handled 500,000 TEU in 2010.

Located in the city of Abu Dhabi, Mina Zayed port will continue to handle commercial cargo, but will also concentrate on developing the growing cruise liner business.

31/08/2012

Increased Civil Defence given new powers
News


30/08/2012


Increased Civil Defence given new powers
A new law passed yesterday significantly increases the role of Civil Defence in improving the safety of all of Qatar’s buildings.

The new law - which replaces the original Civil Defence law, which was passed in 1977 - follows a safety crackdown and increased checks by Civil Defence since the Villagio tragic fire.

These are the key points:
•All buildings must now have fire alarm systems. Gas pipes and fire fighting equipment areas in buildings must be coloured yellow.

•The law introduces a new ban on cafeterias operating within or next to a petrol station, due to the proximity of cooking gas. This may have an impact on many existing eateries which are located close to petrol stations.

•All designs for buildings will now need to be approved by Civil Defence, and no alterations will be allowed once approval has been given.

•All commercial centers must display their Civil Defence approval prominently.

•People found guilty of making internal alterations to a building without Civil Defence approval which go on to cause a death will face eight years in jail or a QR500,000 fine, or both.

•All new buildings will be inspected by Civil Defence, and they will be issued with an occupancy certificate if they pass.

•All buildings that have six floors or more must have a lift, and systems in place so that these can operate if there’s a power cut.

The Minister of Interior has now been given the authority to declare a state of emergency in the case of a natural disaster (man-made or natural.)

21/07/2012