Gulf Construction

April 2002

There are three key attributes that are essential to the successful management of a top-class entertainment center (FEC) project, according to Shahram Foroughi, chairman of Fun Exchange Corporation, the company responsible for the Adventureland FEC in Sharjah’s Sahara Mall.

“The first is to have a complete understanding of the FEC from the operator’s point of view; the FEC’s positioning in the market, establishing budgets, anticipated return on capital and payback and the financial risks involved. In too many projects in the Middle East, the operator is only brought in after the project is completed and is faced with unsuitable attractions, inappropriate design and unworkable finances,” he says.

“The second is the understanding of how to master plan the entire complex, be it a mall such as such as the Sahara Mall For other mixed use projects such as hotels and resorts. The FEC project cannot be isolated other mall attractions such as cinemas and food courts. This cohesion needs to be established on a number of levels from basic issues as traffic flows and accessibility all the way to major structural design issues such as floor loading and ceiling heights. Essential services such as electricity and air conditioning also need to be specially designed to accommodate the FEC,” Foroughi continues.

“The third is choosing the correct mix of attractions in the FEC to match what the paying customer wants. This highlights the essential differences theme parks such as Disneyland and mall based entertainment centers such as Adventureland. The majority of customers will visit the theme park only once in a lifetime whereas an entertainment center lives by repeat custom. Thus, there can be no preconceived concept and the emphasis must be on maximum flexibility and the ability to change an upgrade the center’s attractions on a fairly regular basis,” he says.

Foroughi sees an FEC project developing in four distinct planning phases: a feasibility study an investment analysis; a rough list of the types of attractions required to match the market requirements and a master plan that takes into account all aspects of the mall’s design and features. it is only when the first three phases are complete and agreed that the final design and theming for the center can be decided.

Foroughi’s company, Elite Research Management Consultant which is based in Dubai, specializes in the design, construction and project management of amusement facilities and leisure attraction parks. born in Iran but a naturalised Frenchman, Foroughi has an impressive project portfolio which demonstrates his extensive experience in the family entertainment market. he was involved in the design and construction of the Asterix Park in France in 1997 and handled five major attractions at Euro Disney. in the UAE, Foroughi’s expertise paved the way for the theming construction of Wild Wadi water park.

for the Adventureland project, Elite teamed up with Gleeco Entertainment of the Philippines. Gleeco Is headed by Glenn Figueroa, a third-generation fun entrepreneur who shuttles back and forth from Manila to Dubai and elsewhere in the Middle East. Figueroa Has over 25 years of experience in the entertainment industry, having operated around 30 to 50 entertainment centers all over the Philippines and several in the Middle East.

The merger of the two companies has created Fun Exchange Corporation, a full service company whose main line of business is the design, construction, procurement and operation indoor and outdoor entertainment and amusement complex. Fun Exchange now manages Adventureland on behalf of the owner, Al Itharah Amusement Center.

For Adventureland, Fun Exchange offered a complete consultancy and operational package which covered project management services including budgeting, planning, and coordination of finance and legal issues; procurement, including the selection of the attractions, management of the tendering process and inspection of the rides; technical assistance, including recruitment of staff, operational planning, ticketing and queuing systems; design and supervision of the project itself and installation of all the equipment and coordination of the other consultants and contractors involved for the structural, electrical and architectural lighting systems.

The firm also employed Socotec of France as technical inspector for the installation of rides and International Leisure Consulting based in the US for safety and security inspection.

Fun Exchange met with several significant technical challenges when it took over the reins of the project.  Not least as the requirement to raise the floor loading to accommodate the rides, on of which, ‘Chaos’ weighed in at 28 tonnes when assembled.

In order to accommodate the roller coaster and train rides, the roof design had to be raised from 7 m to 15 m clear.

The electrical and air conditioning services and layout also needed to be redesigned and re-specified. Perhaps the greatest challenge of all was to achieve the opening date for Eid Al Adha having lost two months of the original six-month installation schedule due to the structural changes required, he says.

As it was, the project installation was completed in just four months which included the month of Ramadan and the center was able to open on time and under budget once the costs for the structural changes had been stripped out, Foroughi points out.

Adventureland occupies approximately 7,000 sq m of space on the first level of the Sahara Mall, and comprises 20 different rides and attractions.  Eight of the attractions are claimed to be first-time offering in the Middle East including the first indoor roller coaster, the first indoor flume ride and the first multi-level train.

As well as the mechanical rides, Adventureland offers a wide range of electronic games and a sports café which features cosmic bowling, billiards and an internet café as well as food and drinks. There is also a party area for celebrations of all types. The total cost for the center is approximately $10 million and it employs some 60 staff to supervise and operate the rides.