DUBAI // Windows in high-rise apartment blocks are spontaneously breaking because of a combination of shoddy workmanship and inadequate building regulations, construction experts say.
"I came home from work and it was smashed, and I'm not quite sure how or why," said Nina, 38, a Briton, who found a half metre-long window damaged in her one-bedroom flat on the 36th floor of a tower in New Dubai.
"On the ground there were a few splinters, but it was more the window being cracked while still in the frame."
According to experts, Nina was probably the victim of building contractors who had improperly fitted window panes.
Large temperature fluctuations then caused the metal frames to expand and contract, straining the glass beyond its breaking point, they believe.
The problem is compounded by insufficient building regulations with regards to window installation, they say, leaving standards to be decided by contractors and developers.
"There are some incredibly bad practices - contractors who don't know what they're doing, putting things together in ways that are completely unacceptable," said Tom Bell-Wright, founder and owner of Thomas Bell-Wright International Consultants, which specialises in building facades.
"As far as regulations are concerned about installing windows and glass, there aren't any."
Asked if such regulations were maintained by Dubai Municipality, Kamal Azayam, a mechanical engineer who works in the qualifications and building studies section, said: "As far as I know, nothing."
Such decisions were not overseen by the Government, he said, but instead depended "on the requirements of the consultants".
Christine Stewart is baffled as to why a glass panel in the lobby of her apartment building suddenly shattered into dozens of pieces on Saturday.
"Nothing had hit it, nothing had happened," said Ms Stewart, 46, a Briton who works in the media.
"It just literally went, and people were sitting nearby. It could have hit them, but luckily it didn't.
"What worries me is what caused such a thing to happen, is it going to happen again, and how safe are our apartments."
When Barti Makhijani returned to her 28th-floor apartment in Dubai Marina recently, she found one of the five window panes in her bedroom, which run from floor to ceiling, was cracked in numerous places, but still intact.
"It looked at first glance like it was raining on just that window," said Mrs Makhijani, 30, an Indian who lives with her two children.
"It was shattered, as if a large stone had hit and some sort of ripple effect all along that centre pane. From what I understand, it was the outside pane that was shattered.
"I've got children around, and what if somebody throws something at that window like a ball because I'm not always in to guard the window?"
The cost of replacing the window, about Dh12,000 (US$3,200), was borne by Mrs Makhijani's insurance. But the men who did the repair told her "it wasn't the first flat in the building that experienced it".
Paul Rogers, managing director at Eminent Surveyors and Loss Adjusters, described Mrs Makhijani's window as "frosting up".
This happens when windows are installed without the necessary "wedges", which act as shock absorbers. This exposes them to greater amounts of thermal pressure, making them more prone to buckling.
"It's mostly the outside pane that shatters," he said. "If the inside shatters, that's serious because it means the glass was fitted the wrong way."
hnaylor@thenational.ae
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Cast: Vicky Kaushal, Akshaye Khanna, Diana Penty, Vineet Kumar Singh, Rashmika Mandanna
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COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Kumulus Water
Started: 2021
Founders: Iheb Triki and Mohamed Ali Abid
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Fuel economy, combined: 13.8L/100km
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Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.
Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.
“Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.
“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.
Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.
From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.
Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.
BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.
Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.
Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.
“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.
“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.
“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”
The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”
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UPI facts
More than 2.2 million Indian tourists arrived in UAE in 2023
More than 3.5 million Indians reside in UAE
Indian tourists can make purchases in UAE using rupee accounts in India through QR-code-based UPI real-time payment systems
Indian residents in UAE can use their non-resident NRO and NRE accounts held in Indian banks linked to a UAE mobile number for UPI transactions
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