Ducab’s royal treatment
First dedicated high voltage facility in region inaugurated by HH Sheikh Nahyan and HH Sheikh Maktoum
H.H. Sheikh Mohammad bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE, and Ruler of Dubai, inaugurated Ducab-HV’s new factory yesterday in a ceremony also attended by H.H. Sheikh Hamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Chairman of Abu Dhabi Crown Prince’s Court. The joint venture between Ducab (50%), ADWEA (25%) and DEWA (25%) offers high voltage cable systems up to 400 kV.
The plant will be the first dedicated high voltage facility in the region, and will increase Ducab’s production capacity by 15,000 tonnes of conductor. Senior managers from the joint venture partners and other regional leaders were also present at the event.
“We are very proud that Ducab-HV has opened as scheduled and we extend our heartfelt thanks to H.H Sheikh Mohammad for his presence and support. Ducab-HV will benefit the UAE economy by offering an excellent quality alternative to imports. When fully operational, the factory will also generate 130 new jobs, which means more opportunities to hire and develop UAE Nationals,” said Ahmad Al Shaikh, chairman of Ducab and Ducab-HV.
Machine installation for the plant was completed earlier this year, and extensive commissioning testing was also finished to schedule. Most of the machinery at the HV plant has been sourced from European suppliers, and their experts provided assistance to the Ducab project team during commissioning and installation.
The most notable feature of the Ducab-HV plant is its 148m tower (equivalent to a 44 storey residential tower) housing state of the art extrusion equipment. It is the tallest industrial tower in the GCC, and is designed to ensure that the high voltage cables are manufactured to the highest quality standards. In addition to the extrusion equipment the tower also contains a series of Clean Room facilities to ensure no contamination occurs during production.
“Ducab-HV will offer the latest in global HV technology to the UAE and the region. All products will be rigorously tested at the state of the art high voltage laboratory, a specialised facility that also gives the capability for advanced research and development in high voltage systems.” said Jon Vail CEO of Ducab HV.
