High-rise MEP contracting in Al Majaz 

High-rise MEP contracting in Al Majaz: local context

Al Majaz surrounds Khalid Lagoon and Al Majaz Waterfront in central Sharjah, a district of high-rise residential towers, hotels, offices and retail that grew mostly from the 1990s to 2010s. Its lagoon-front towers are some of the city's most recognisable, and many are now in their second cycle of MEP upgrades. Streets are busy and plots are tightly packed.

• Lagoon proximity means humid, salt-bearing air, so cooling towers, condenser coils, roof pipework and steel supports need corrosion protection and regular inspection.
• Refurbishment of occupied towers involves replacing chillers, pumps and risers floor by floor, with coordinated shutdowns agreed with building management and SEWA where supplies are affected.
• Sharjah Civil Defence typically requires fire alarm, firefighting and emergency lighting upgrades to meet the current UAE Fire & Life Safety Code during major refurbishments.

Building types we serve in Al Majaz

For high-rise towers, the work concentrates on pressure-zoned water and drainage stacks, riser and plant-room coordination, stair pressurisation and a cooling source sized for diversity across dozens of typical floors.

Scope of work

• Riser design and installation for chilled water, drainage, fire mains, electrical busbars and low current, with expansion joints and supports suited to building movement.
• Smoke control and stair pressurisation systems, including fans, dampers and controls, coordinated with fire alarm cause and effect.
• Main electrical distribution with busbar risers, floor distribution boards, standby generators and separately protected supplies for life-safety equipment and firefighting lifts.
• Testing, commissioning and phased handover by floors or zones as required by the developer, with life-safety systems proven before any floor is occupied.

Systems we install

• Stair and lift-lobby pressurisation and smoke extract systems.
• Sprinkler risers, landing valves and zoned fire pumps.

UAE site and climate challenges

• Stack effect in tall buildings pushes air through stairs and lift shafts, especially with large indoor-outdoor temperature differences. Pressurisation design and door leakage assumptions take this into account so doors remain openable during an emergency.
• Sealed-facade towers depend entirely on mechanical ventilation. Fresh-air intakes are separated from kitchen exhaust, toilet extract and generator flues so polluted air is not drawn back into apartments, especially on still, humid summer nights.
• PRV stations versus multi-zone booster pumps for domestic water: PRVs are simpler and cheaper but need regular servicing, while dedicated zone pumps give steadier pressure at the cost of more plant.

Relevant Manolia projects

Two Nahda residential towers, Sharjah

Al Nahda (Sharjah) · MEP · Completed

MEP for two towers of 23 and 24 typical floors over parking podiums.

Armada Tower hotel, JLT

Jumeirah Lakes Towers (JLT) · MEP · Completed

MEP for the hotel tower of the three-building Armada Towers cluster.

Frequently asked questions