regional developer profile
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GETTING THE BALL ROLLING
Wael Tawil, CEO of Baniyas Investment and Development talks to Oliver Ephgrave about the company’s community-oriented project with a FIFA-standard stadium at its heart
With a number of prominent Abu Dhabi investors targeting UK Premiership football clubs for their investment portfolios, coupled with the recent hosting of the FIFA Club World Cup, the emirate is becoming increasing synonymous with the sport. It is perhaps unsurprising, therefore, that a major project underway in the emirate uses the ‘beautiful game’ as a hook. Bawabat Al Sharq is a US$817 million mixed-use project in the suburb of Bani Yas, which is being built around a 20,000-capacity football stadium. The scheme is being developed by Baniyas Investment and Development (BID) – a subsidiary of Bani Yas Sports Club – which was established in 2005. CEO of BID Wael Tawil – a Jordanian national with experience in Dubai, Egypt, Saudi Arabia and North Africa – reiterates that the development’s focus on football is appropriate for the region. “Football is loved by many people in the Emirates, both locals and expats, as well as the wider region,” he says.
Bawabat Al Sharq will contain a FIFA-standard stadium designed by Roger Taillibert,
a specialist of the typology. The veteran French architect made his name with Paris’ Parc des Princes stadium and the iconic Olympic Stadium in Montreal, notable for its retractable roof. Taillibert is not a newcomer to the emirate, having already worked on Abu Dhabi’s striking Officer’s Club and international conference centre in the 90s. Tawil adds that the stadium design is symbolic of the UAE: “It preserves the Emirati
heritage as it is shaped like a tent from the side and in plan. The structure is also very Emirati – the corners resemble castles.” The capacity of the stadium may seem excessive considering that its main function
is to house local team Bani Yas Club. However, Tawil reveals the developer’s wider vision: “The stadium will be the home of the professional team but it will also be used by the school in the community, and it can host international games. Studies on specta- tors show the highest attendance for local matches will be around 8,000, so a 10,000 capacity stadium would more than suffice. However, there is growth potential, and to accommodate this – as well as the increased attendance for international games – we made the capacity 20,000.”
ONE-STOP-SHOP
In addition to the football hook, the project will contain a shopping mall covering nearly 70,000 square metres, with 339 retail and 22 food outlets. Within the mall will be Souk Al Megnas, a traditional market spread across 4,500 square metres, representing nearly eight percent of the gross leasable area. BID announced partnerships with WANASA Family Entertainment Center, Grand Cinemas and hypermarket chain Carrefour, and the latter will occupy 12 percent of the mall’s gross leasable area (8,800 square metres). The mall forms part of Phase I of Bawabat Al Sharq, which also includes 164 apartments
and 56 luxury villas. Contractors include Target Engineering Construction Company, a single source EPC contractor owned by Arabtec Holdings, and landscaping designers Cansult Maunsell/AECOM. Overall design is provided by World Planner Consultant Engineers while Australian design firm Saunders Global is responsible for the mall’s interior design.
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/apr-may 2010
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