A COMPANY from Dorset has finished a £1million contract to help build twin skyscrapers in Dubai.

Poole-based SMD shipped more than 100,000sqmetres of steel decking to the United Arab Emirates for the job.

Tiara United Towers is a development of two 46-storey towers reaching 193metres (633ft).

The two towers will house 50,500sqm of office space and a five-star, 370-room hotel.

SMD, which has a satellite office in Dubai, has been working on the project since 2016.

The company’s international manager, Jane Biddle, said: “We celebrated the arrival of the 15th and last shipment of steel decking to Dubai in July 2017.

“The first shipment arrived in October 2016 and during the ensuing period we shipped a total of 101,270sqm of our TR80+ 0.9mm floor decking.”

She added: “The value of this project was £1.08m and was a significant step forward for SMD as we look to expand our overseas market.”

SMD was contracted by a global organisation which constructed the structural steel frame on to which SMD’s decking was installed.

Communication between SMD’s UK head office in Poole and the client was assisted by SMD Middle East’s UAE-based general manager.

The Tiara United Towers is set to feature a ‘coloration’ technique, by which the building façades appear in multiple colours.

The exterior of the building will also feature veins, like those on a leaf, spreading across the surface from the corners and ‘embracing’ the building.

The development is aiming to be the first building in Dubai to be certified by the US Green Building Council for achieving LEED (Leadership in Energy & Environmental Design) gold status.

SMD has more than 100 staff in the UK, including in Poole, Leeds, Nottingham and Glasgow.

Its decking has been used in the Shard and Olympic Park in London, Manchester City’s Etihad Stadium, Glasgow Museum, Birmingham New Street Station and terminals at Heathrow. It is one of a handful of British firms to design, manufacture and install its own steel decking systems.