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Monday, February 12, 2007

Implications of Infinity Tower Mishap

Was it a mishap or a disaster? I suppose for those with a personal stake in it, it was more a disaster, though not a non-recoverable one. To the rest of us, it was a worrying mishap. But was it even more--perhaps a precuressor, like the Fortune tower fire, of things to come?

For those unfamiliar with either of the two recent events, a brief summmary:

  • In early January 2007 a fire, possibly the result of an electrical short, breaks out on the upper floors of a 34-storey office tower under-construction in new Dubai's Jumeirah Lake Towers development. Although brought under control within a couple of hours, two workers perish and dozens are injured, while the tower suffers extensive, albeit repairable damage.
  • In early February 2007 the wall of a 20-meter deep excavation pit collapses sending the adjacent marina canal cascading in. All on site escape injury. But the project, an 80-storey residential tower in new Dubai's Marina district, is dealt an immense blow that could have set construction progress back for the better part of a year.
Mishap or disaster, both of these events speak to a troubling reality amidst the otherwise marveling feats of construction underway in Dubai. This is the conclusion I arrive at as a layperson who, nonetheless, has more than a passing interest.

Without knowing anything about the Infinity project specifically, or about engineering and construction matters more generally, what I do know is that you have in the UAE today an incredible demand for designers and builders who are well-trained and skilled to work on all these projects. This demand exceeds considerably the ability of both the local and regional markets to satisfy it and it goes up against fierce competition with the other hot building markets of the world internationally.

The skinny in all this is that Dubai is probably getting subpar workmanship--at all levels--on very much above par projects and designs. This is not the way to go.

What then is the solution? No one wants to slow down or can their daring schemes. The bottom line, I think, is that builders have to be prepared to spend more and accept lower profit margins. They have to be prepared to out-bid Qatar, Bahrain, China, etc. for the best people to get the job done. I don't think they are doing this. In short, I think they are trying to build fanciful structures on the cheap, and thus increasing the risk of such accidents.

Is it all then hit and miss? No, I would not say this at all. There's money in Dubai--some of these projects are being well-funded. Furthermore, a brigade of experienced designers and builders or emerging as year-by-year more projects are started and compeleted. It isn't hit and miss, but some builders and projects, if not most, are proverbially treading on somewhat thin ice. If the builders are inexperienced, if they are rushed, if they lack the required equipment, etc. extra measures are needed to avoid mishaps.

The Infinity accident should not have happened. Water could be seen pouring through the wall of the pit several days before the collapse occured. The risks should have been known and extra shoring put into place.

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