2006--Year in Review

19 January: Although Arabian Forasol had been selected as piling works contratctor at the end of 2005, the site laid bare through January. By end of month Arabian Forasal signage and hoarding would be erected around the perimeter of the site. (See see additional photos and commentary from 20 Jan.)


23 February: A month later Arabian Forasol had got various pieces of equipment and storarge containers on site, with a minimal amount of excavation getting started. Meanwhile Dubai was hit with 2 days of the stormiest weather it would see in the year, resulting in localized flooding and requiring clean-up work at construction sites. (See see additional photos and commentary from 23 and 26 Feb.)


17 March: Additional equipment had been erected on site and excavation work was progressing. Notably trenches around the podium perimeter were visible where support walls for the excavation pit would be constructed. (See see additional photos and commentary from 17 and 25 Mar.)


13 April: Work appeared to be continuing on the trench where the excavation pit walls were to be constructed, with ongoing dewatering. Otherwise, the pace of work appeared slow.


3 & 9 June: Construction of the excavation pit walls seemed to pick up pace while heavy concrete blocks were placed on site for soil testing. (See see additional photos and commentary from 3 and 9 Jun.)


13 July: Excavation work was picking up but reportedly work was progressing behind schedule. The piling contractor was warned to pick up the pace and the project manager was replaced. (See see additional photos and commentary from 13 & 23 Jul.)


3, 13 & 18 August: The month of August saw accelerated activity onsite. The excavation pit was enlarged as workers continued piling. Shifts went on duty 7 days a week including at night.

3 August, continuing excavation (see additional photos).


13 August, increased activity and worker close-up shots (see additional photos.)


18 August, night work (see additional photos.)


2 & 23 September: Piling picked up while the photos revealed a substantial amount of supplies made ready on the plots beside the MAG 218 build site. Large drill bits were used to burrow into the earth. (See additional photos from 2 and 23 Sep.)


18, 24 & 26 October: By mid-October substantial progress was being made and piling and excavation appeared to be in the final stages. At months end the continued progress was clearly visible. (See additional photos and commentary from 18, 24 & 26 Oct.)


3, 17, 23, 24 & 30 November: Piling was complete by mid-month, with excavation to be completed on one half of the pit before paving. By end of month waterproofing and sealing had been started on the other half of the excavation pit floor. (See additional photos and commentary from 3, 17, 23 , 24 & 30 Nov.)



6, 8 & 22 December: Breaking of pile heads, a most time-consuming task, was often done at night and went on throughout the month of December. By year end what remained to be done was excavation and paving of still a small portion of the pit and closing of the gap in the perimeter wall. (See additional photos from 6, 8 & 22 Dec.)


Slow, But Well Done

By year end the job of piling and excavation had been largely completed. A total of 550 piles were embedded 38 to 48 meters deep, and the total depth of the excavation pit was around 12-15 meters. The work may be said to have been carried out largely between March 2006 and January 2007, thus taking over 10 months. The main contractor for piling, Arabian Forasol, were on site from January 2006 through the end of November.

In the final analysis the job may be said to have been slow, but well done. Two and a half months at the start of the year were lost, reportedly due to delays in getting approvals from the municipality in connection with construction of the Sheikh Zayed Road interchange in the vicinity of the build site. Additionally, time appears to have been squandered up to July when Arabian Forasol reportedly had not committed all of the equipment required to carry out the job. It was not until end of July that work picked up and substantial progress was made in the following months.

By comparison, work at other construction sites in the area appeared to progress at roughly the same speed if not more slowly than the MAG 218. These include the Torch, Princess, Infinity, 23 Marina and other towers. However, it has been interesting to see the Marina Pinnacle tower, beside the MAG 218 and of roughly the same dimensions, rise in the span of 7 months from where the MAG 218 is today to several floors above its podium.


Workers apply sealing to the excavation pit floor, 02 Jan 2007.

January 2007 appears to be off to a good start, with the main contractor having been in place for over a month and a half and work on the foundation already begun. The projected scenario is for the podium to begin to rise by February and be completed before mid-year. That would set the stage for the tower's remaining 55+ floors to rise at a pace of up to 3 floors per month. The MAG PDD project manager is anticipating completion of all building works by mid-2009.

On the sales front, sale of apartment units continued through the end of 2006, with all 330 of the one-bedroom units having been sold. Some portion of the 220 two-bedroom units remained available. The year saw two hikes on unit prices, one of 10% in April and another at 5% in December. Meanwhile the MAG 214 project, being built by MAG PDD in JLT, topped out with handover scheduled for sometime in 2007. Three additional properties were launched at Citiscape Dubai 2006, MAG 226 and MAG 228A & B.

See 2004-05 years in review: The MAG 218--A Brief History.

Go to latest MAG 218 photos. More images at MAG 218 Gallery.