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CMEC SECURES $150MILLION EPC CONTRACT FOR DUBAILAND PROJECT China Machinery and Engineering (CMEC) has secured a $150million turnkey engineering, procurement and contracting (EPC) contract from Bahrain-based GFH Financial Group (GFH) for the construction and financing of up to 85% of California Village, its Dubailand-based project. GFH said that under the terms of the contract, Chinese banks will provide financing under an insurance policy to be issued by Chinese state government agencies. According to the Manama-based company, California Village is one of the high-end mixed-use development and gated communities located in Dubailand with more than 200 private villas and 400 branded residences opposite MG Theme Park on Sheikh Mohammed Bin Zayed Highway in Dubai. CMEC, which is owned by the state government of China and listed on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange with
a market capitalisation of $15billion, will take up all activities necessary at the Dubailand-based project for the completion of villas, apartments, facilities and other amenities. The announcement for the Dubaibased project has been made after a threeday visit by Chinese President Xi Jinping to the UAE that resulted in the signing of several business agreements in sectors ranging from energy to aviation. GFH CEO Hisham Alrayes said: “We’re pleased to create this important strategic relationship with CMEC, who is a leading global EPC provider. “California Village will mark our first cooperation and we expect to build on this relationship with CMEC and other Chinese partners to undertake works that reach up to $1billion in value covering other projects currently under discussion in the Gulf region. “We look forward to obtaining the necessary approvals and concluding this important milestone successfully.”
GFH, one of the major financial groups in the Gulf region, is involved in asset management, wealth management, commercial banking and real estate development and is listed on Bahrain
Bourse, Kuwait Stock Exchange and Dubai Financial Market. The group’s operations are focused on the GCC, North Africa and India.
VIBRANT DEPICTION OF UAE’S HERITAGE & PROGRESS TO ADORN WATERFRONT MARKET’S MAIN WALL THROUGH UNIQUE MURAL PAINTING COMPETITION Dubai’s largest integrated quality fresh food destination has announced the launch of a unique mural painting competition aimed at creating a vibrant depiction of the cultural and economic transformation of the UAE community. The competition is part of the Waterfront Market’s community-focused initiatives that celebrate the diversity and exceptional progress of the country and support the growing local art scene. The Waterfront Market urges young and upcoming artists across the UAE to participate in an open platform and submit their works before September 16, 2018. This is a chance to become known for an award-winning mural that will remain an icon of development adorning one of the Waterfront Market’s main walls. The competition’s theme broadly covers the UAE’s rich heritage and achievements as a nation. Issam Galadari, Chief Executive Officer,
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Ithra Dubai, said: “The Waterfront Market Mural Competition is an exciting addition to our previous community-oriented initiatives including the food fest, biggest catch competition and other events. The mural competition is an initiative which we hope will bring together artists from the UAE’s creative community to capture in an art piece, the growth in our nation’s culture and heritage. We look forward to meeting artists that represent the country’s talents and make us proud to showcase their work to more than hundreds of thousands of visitors monthly and to the world. Their artworks will be judged based on creativity, uniqueness, visual impact, balance and accurate depiction of the competition’s theme.” An artist will be selected directly from the initial submitted applications through the committee who would shortlist finalists and collectively decide on a winner. Works of the top 10 shortlisted artists will be
displayed in a gallery. On top of having the honor to represent the local art community, the winner will be awarded AED 30,000. The winner of the competition will have the opportunity to paint the artwork on the main wall of the Waterfront Market measuring 8.5 meters in length and 4.5 meters in height as a symbol of the UAE’s cultural heritage and economic development. Shoppers and tourists visiting the Waterfront Market will have a chance to witness live the mural work in progress by the winning artist from 1st of October 2018, and the artwork will be unveiled to the public after completion at the Waterfront Market. Submissions of proposed work will be evaluated by a combination of juries and business leaders that will be selected by the Waterfront Market and will be assessed based on artistic merits such as appropriateness of content and visual impact of the project. Designs must be
original and must not have been previously promoted, sold or used in any competition. The deadline for submission of designs is on September 16, 2018. A maximum of three original artworks in high resolution can be submitted to murals@waterfrontmarket.ae. For more information on the competition and the guidelines, kindly visit @WFM. UAE
ISSAM GALADARI, CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER, ITHRA DUBAI
