Awqaf completes 94 mosques in Al Ain in 2016-2017

Source: Awqaf. A mosque in Al Ain.

The General Authority of Islamic Affairs & Endowments in the UAE (Awqaf) has completed 54 new mosques in Al Ain city in 2017. This brings the number of mosques completed in 2016-2017 to 94, according to Awqaf's branch at Al Ain. The new mosques are located in the city and its outskirts, on the Abu Dhabi-Al Ain and Dubai-Al Ain highways.

Abdul Aziz al Ghaithi, Director of the Awqaf branch at Al Ain, said that in its strategic plan for building mosques, Awqaf focused on constructing the mosques on highways, in remote areas and in the city centre. There was a substantial improvement in mosques' design and construction criteria in terms of the structure, furniture, maintenance, he said.

"Awqaf ensured adoption of high standards in building the mosques in the industrial area, Hili Industrial Area and areas with high population density. The aim is to provide spacious comfortable mosques to replace the haphazard and caravan (temporary) mosques, which were razed as they were neither licensed by municipality nor by Awqaf, failing to meet basic safety standards, and thereby putting the lives of worshippers themselves in danger. Some of those were replaced by new mosques based on the need of each area," al Ghaithi noted.


The new mosques can accommodate for 1,500 to 2,000 worshipers, he said. The new mosques are, in general, consistent with the UAE heritage and include attachments and halls for Quran memorisation, lessons for males and females and women's musalla (Editor's note: prayer area). Unlike the old mosques, the new ones do not have columns, can accommodate more worshipers, and include more water closets and ablution corners, al Ghaithi said.

The new mosques, he added, feature all the sustainability standards in terms of energy and water saving and are compliant with the requirements of Abu Dhabi Council for Urban Planning as well as the standards defined for those with special needs. He said that Awqaf's strategy for future mosque construction is compliant with the requirements of the Abu Dhabi Council for Urban Planning and those of Al Ain's Municipality city planning.

Al Ghaithi further shared that the replacement building for Sheikh Hazza Mosque in the Al Mutaredh area is expected to be completed within two months.

DIB awards Badr Project Phase 1 contract to Engineering Contracting Company

Dubai Islamic Bank (DIB) has awarded an AED687 million contract to construct Badr Project Phase 1 to Engineering Contracting Company (ECC). Abdulla Al Hamli, Managing Director at DIB, and Hatem Kamal Farah, Chairman and CEO at ECC, held a signing ceremony on March 29 at DIB headquarters.

The Badr Project is a self-contained residential community built on DIB-owned land. It consists of five distinct zones with apartment buildings as well as a number of villas and other community buildings and recreational facilities. The project is situated at the intersection of two key traffic arteries, Sheikh Mohammed Bin Zayed Highway E311 and Al Khawaneej or Airport Road, giving it easy and quick access to most of Dubai and to routes of other UAE cities. Phase 1 is located centrally within the overall project, adjacent to a central park with mixed-use and retail facilities. 

The community will have a Mediterranean theme, inspired by elements of Andalusian, Spanish and Italian architecture that marries the urban environment experience with a focus on encouraging outdoor activities and healthy living through its well-connected facilities. The master development, Badr, with a total built-up area of 13.8 million sq ft will be developed across five phases and the first phase with a built-up area of 2.2 million sq ft is expected to be completed by 2018. 

Al Hamli said: “Following a thorough tender process to identify the right construction partner, we selected ECC LLC as the lead contractor to bring the Phase 1 of this project to completion. With regard to Badr, we are confident that given its location, quality of project, attractive price points, it will be high on the priority list of investors. ”

“At Dubai Islamic Bank, we are deeply committed to investing in the long-term development of Dubai’s infrastructure,” said Dr Adnan Chilwan, Group CEO, DIB. “This initiative is, yet again, an indication of our belief in the strong fundamentals of UAE’s economic landscape and its ongoing appeal to both local and international investors.”

“Moving forward, by leveraging our vast experience and knowledge, we will continue to support Dubai’s ambitions and aspirations in the lead-up to Expo 2020, building a climate that not only fuels global commercial interest but also attracts residents who want to make the emirate of Dubai and the UAE their permanent home,” he added.

MARC rates Putrajaya Bina's sukuk wakalah programme AAAIS

Ratings corporation MARC has assigned a preliminary rating of AAA_IS with a stable outlook to Putrajaya Bina's (PB's) proposed Islamic medium-term notes (sukuk wakalah) programme of up to RM1.58 billion. An AAA rating from MARC denotes an "extremely strong ability to make payment on the instrument issued under the Islamic asset-based financing contract(s)".

Proceeds from the issuance will part fund the RM1.9 billion development costs for nine blocks of government office buildings and one block of shared facilities that PB will undertake under a concession from the Malaysian government.

Based on a private finance initiative, the development entails two phases: three and a half years for construction and 25 years for asset maintenance. Putrajaya Holdings (PJH), as a PB shareholder, will contribute RM380 million in the form of shareholders’ advances to meet an 80:20 finance-equity ratio requirement. Upon completion of construction and one month after receipt of the certificate of acceptance, PBSB will be entitled to receive concession payments in the form of availability charges (AC) of RM215.6 million per annum and asset management service charges (MC) of RM69.2 million per annum for tenancy of the building from various ministries and government agencies.

The assigned rating is driven by the credit strength of the government which provides the AC and MC payments over the tenure of the sukuk wakalah programme. The sufficiency of the quantum of the annual AC payments alone without considering the MC payments to meet the principal and profit payments under the sukuk wakalah programme is also a key consideration. The rating also incorporates an irrevocable and unconditional letter of support (LoS) from PJH to meet PBSB’s financial obligations, including any cost overruns during the construction period. MARC maintains a long-term rating of AAA/stable on PJH.

The project construction, which commenced in Q415 and is expected to be completed by Q418 is being undertaken by Sunway Construction under a fixed-price contract. MARC considers the completion and cost overrun risks to be mitigated by the moderate complexity of the project, the established track record of the principal contractor Sunway Construction and the terms of the fixed-price contract. PJH’s obligations under the LoS which will remain effective until the date of the first AC or MC payment, whichever is later, alleviates the payment risk in the event of delay. Notwithstanding this, should the concession be terminated during the asset management period on default of the government, PB will be entitled to a compensation amount of the net present value of foregone future AC payments discounted at the company’s weighted average cost of capital.

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Deyaar building shari'ah compliant hotel in Dubai

Deyaar Development has confirmed that it is planning to build a shari'ah-compliant hotel and furnished apartment tower in the Al Barsha area of Dubai. The project is worth an estimated AED450 million (US $123 million), and is in the preliminary design stage.

The Al Barsha toll gate in 2009.

 

A clarification on statements in media that appeared on September 3 after Deyaar's CEO Saeed Al Qatami granted an interview were sent to the Dubai Financial Market on September 4. 

CIDB refurbishes prayer hall in Kampung Andus, Sabah

Ramadhan, being a time for giving, has seen many corporations come together for corporate social responsibility (CSR) efforts.

Source: CIDB. The handover ceremony.

The newly-repaired Al-Mukminin Surau at Kampung Andus, Sabah, Malaysia, was handed over to villagers by the Construction Industry Development Board (CIDB) on July 20 in a handover ceremony officiated by Deputy Works Minister Datuk Rosnah Abdul Rashid Shirlin.

Using funds raised from corporate companies through its “Build Brigade” Programme, launched as a CSR initiative last November, CIDB strengthened the building structure, repaired parts of the buildling, and added an ablution area for women. 

Through Build Brigade, CIDB helps communities living in the interior and needy groups. Twelve private companies, including JH Teguh, Bumisem Engineering, Jad Reka Kaya, Cement Industries Sabah and the management of Dayaku Construction donated nearly RM40,000 and materials for the success of the surau restoration. 

“Such CSR projects are certainly encouraged for implementation by agencies under the Ministry and construction industry players to extend their assistance and contribution to local communities in a more meaningful and beneficial way," said Datuk Rosnah. 

Prior to this, CIDB had constructed two community halls for the Sungai Miak Orang Asli village in Janda Baik, Pahang, and the Penan community in Long Keluan, Sarawak, as well as repaired the Sungai Berua Orang Asli community centre in Hulu Terengganu and a kindergarten in the Post Brooke Orang Asli village in Gua Musang, Kelantan.

Other charity-minded projects organised this Ramadhan include:

Accor Hotels, Indonesia with the Time to Give, Time to Forgive online campaign

Al Hilal Bank with its Jood Bil Khair social media campaign
Du has a 30 Days of Sharing social media campaign