A decade well spent!
The 11 October 2008, I recall, was a grey and damp Saturday morning in Manchester, as I left home and headed along the M56 towards Manchester Airport to board the midday flight to Dubai.
Filled with trepidation and excitement in equal amounts, I approached the Emirates Airline check-in counter with passport and flight ticket in hand. The rest, as they say, is history.
Since my first day working out of our small cramped offices in Al Gharhoud, overlooking the construction of the Dubai Metro, along with the extension of the existing Airport Millennium Hotel, it was apparent that we were soon going to outgrow these offices. In the second quarter of 2009 B&W secured office space in Business Central Tower in Media City, by the summer of 2010 we had moved to Al Shafar Tower, Tecom where we spent the next six years, until 2016, when we eventually moved to our present location of Marina Plaza, Dubai Marina.
The rapid growth and expansion of our company is in line with the construction industry since 2008 when I arrived in UAE. During this time, many major iconic projects have been started and completed in Dubai and other Emirates. The list below reflects just a small sample of construction projects that are complete and are now fully operational for people in the UAE to enjoy.
- Atlantis the Palm
- Dubai Mall
- Yas Marina Grand Prix circuit
- Dubia Metro
- Burj Khalifa tallest structure and building in the world
- The Walk at JBR
- City Walk, Outdoor Retail complex with Restaurants
- Dubai Water Canal
- Dubai Opera House
- Equinix Data Centre 1.3
- Dubai Frame
By taking the opportunity to come to Dubai, I have grown as an Engineer and experienced a totally different working environment from anything I had previously known in the UK or Hong Kong. The scale and range of projects I’ve been involved with cannot compare with previous projects I’d worked on prior to 2008.
Client’s and Contractors alike demand a high level of accountability from their MEP Consultants, we are expected to act as Project Managers interfacing with and coordinating information issued by third party specialist Consultants/ Contractors as well as carrying out our duties. On occasion these endless demands can be overwhelming and disheartening. This is magnified even more due to the fact that we are not in our home country, but with the help and encouragement from colleagues throughout our numerous offices, these trials and tribulations can be shared, managed and resolved.
B&W has afforded me the opportunity to travel and work in a number countries, ranging from Azerbaijan, Philippines, KSA, Qatar and Oman, and who knows, maybe in the future new destinations will be added to my CV.
Working overseas isn’t for everyone, sometime it is easier to stick with what you know and what’s comfortable, but my advice to any engineer working in any of our offices who may be thinking about an opportunity overseas, is pursue those dreams and make it a reality – nothing ventured, nothing gained!