Brazil has potential to export goods and services in the area of construction to the United Arab Emirates. "I believe that Brazil has quality products and different design. I believe that the country may be a good supplier of material to Dubai," said New Zealand engineer Greg Sang, assistant project director at Emaar Properties, the real estate development company of the Arab country.
He participated March 15 in the 5th International Architecture and Construction Forum at Revestir, in the southeastern Brazilian city of São Paulo, the main business hub in South America.
According to Sang, who is responsible for the construction of Burj Dubai, the soon-to-be world's tallest building, it is not just Brazilian construction material that has potential to be present in the Emirates, but also architects and engineers. "The Emirates are living a very large construction boom," he recalled.
Sang also stated that Brazilian exports to the Emirates should increase with the new maritime route that has recently been inaugurated between both countries. He recalled that starting in October there will also be a direct flight between São Paulo and Dubai, operated by Emirates Airline, which may also help in business.
During a talk to around 100 guests, Sang spoke about the works in Downtown Burj Dubai, a neighbourhood specially designed to include the tallest tower in the world, at over 700 metres in height, as well as the largest shopping centre in the world, to include 1,200 shops, plus 100 restaurants and a 50 metre long and 12 metre tall aquarium. Emaar, which is responsible for the works, is the largest company in the sector in the country and had net profits of US$ 1.74 billion last year.
The success of the projects developed by Emaar in the Emirates opened doors for the company to operate in great residential and commercial projects in Morocco, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Jordan, Syria and India.
According to Sang, each floor of Burj Dubai takes three days to be built. The total cost of the project is US$ 20 billion. The tower alone is receiving investment of US$ 1.1 billion. The building will include the Armani Hotel, offices and homes.
Apart from that, Downtown Burj Dubai will include schools, hotels, shopping centres, residential units, golf courses, ranches and artificial lakes. Between three and four thousand people are currently working on the construction of the tower. "There will be peaks in which around 5,000 people will be working," stated Sang.
This is not Sang's first experience in giant buildings. The civil engineer also worked on the IFC Two tower, in Hong Kong, and on the Shun Hing Square, in China, respectively the fifth and ninth tallest towers in the world. Sang graduated at the University of Auckland, in New Zealand, and has been working at Emaar since 2004.
The engineer's participation in the forum was promoted by the Brazilian Association of Ceramic Tile Manufacturers (Anfacer) in partnership with the Arab Brazilian Chamber of Commerce.
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