What we self-perform, and what we do not.
Frame, blockwork, plaster and external works are ours. MEP, façade, lifts and specialist finishes are subcontracted to firms pre-qualified annually — and a contractor who claims to self-perform everything is either enormous or misleading you.
The raft pour is the number worth asking any contractor about. Continuous placement means no cold joint through the mat, and achieving it takes eleven months of planning, three batching plants and a traffic permit that nobody enjoys obtaining.
Four jobs we turn down, and why.
We do not bid below cost to keep the yard busy
It is the standard move in a slow quarter and it ends in a claims war eighteen months later. If our number is 8% above the lowest bid, that is the number, and we will show you the build-up.
We do not accept pay-when-paid down the chain
Our subcontractors are paid on our valuation cycle whether or not the client has paid us. Passing cash-flow risk to a plastering subcontractor with nine employees is how the industry breaks people.
We do not take design-and-build without a design fee
Free design at tender stage is design you cannot rely on, priced by somebody hoping to win. We charge for the design stage and the tender is honest as a result.
We do not run two-shift working to recover our own delay
If the delay is ours, we pay the LDs rather than pushing a night shift onto a workforce that has already done ten hours. The Al Barsha school on the projects page is that decision, in writing.
Why publish your LTIFR?
Because safety claims are otherwise unfalsifiable. Ours is 0.41 per million man-hours across 4.18 million hours in 2025, with two lost-time injuries described on the safety page. A contractor quoting zero without an hours figure is quoting nothing.
Are you the cheapest?
Rarely. Our bids typically sit a few per cent above the lowest, mostly in preliminaries — supervision, safety staffing and temporary works that the lowest bid has usually thinned. You can see the build-up at tender stage.
What happens if you are late?
Liquidated damages at the contract rate, applied without argument. It has happened once since 2021, on the Al Barsha school, and it cost us AED 1.4 m.
Do you self-perform or subcontract?
Frame, blockwork, plaster and external works are ours. MEP, façade, lifts and specialist finishes are subcontracted to firms we pre-qualify annually — and we publish our payment terms to them.
Can we visit a live site?
Yes, with 48 hours' notice for the induction and PPE. You can also visit the labour accommodation unannounced, which is the visit that actually tells you how a contractor operates.