Msheireb Properties awards contract for raft foundation

Msheireb Properties has awarded HBK Contracting with a contract to construct raft foundations of phase 3 of its flagship project Msheireb Downtown. The seven-month contract with HBK Contracting represents another milestone in the ongoing development of the Msheireb Downtown project, described as the world’s first sustainable regeneration of a downtown area. The raft foundations contract is the second contract awarded by Msheireb Properties to HBK Contracting, which is currently completing the superstructure for Msheireb Downtown Doha’s main building works. Raft foundations are used to spread the load of a building structure over a large area. Phase 3 raft slab will be 45,500sq m in area, and 1.5m thick on average. Spread over 150,000sq m of gross floor area (GFA), phase 3 of Msheireb Downtown Doha features 15 mixed-used buildings. These include two office blocks with 90 retail units; 11 residential buildings with 350 apartments; a mosque of more than 2,500sq m; and a five-star Park Hyatt Hotel. “This opportunity to expand our working relationship with HBK Contracting, a leading local contractor, is an encouraging development and reiterates our commitment to work with local companies and further promote Qatari expertise in sustainable urban development,” Mohammad Al Marri, chief officer for design and delivery at Msheireb Properties, said. “Through this award, we aim to demonstrate our consistency in delivering to the highest quality standards. Moreover, we reaffirm our commitment to the developer’s strict guidelines on sustainability and advanced environmental performance as we have demonstrated in phase 1A contract with Msheireb Properties along with our partner Hyundai Engineering and Construction,” said Sheikh Ali bin Hamad K al-Thani, chairman and managing director, HBK Contracting. Construction of Msheireb Downtown Doha started in 2010 and the development will be completed in five phases.