14 September 2026
Stonehaven Completes Cost Management and Quantity Surveying on the UAE's First Fully LED-Enabled Cinema
Stonehaven has completed its cost management and quantity surveying appointment on VOX Cinemas at City Centre Me’aisem, which has opened as the first fully LED-enabled cinema in the United Arab Emirates.
The six screen venue is the 24th VOX Cinemas location in the country. The auditoria are built around direct-view LED screen technology, complemented by Dolby 7.1 Surround Sound, and the venue includes a dedicated Candy Bar serving the VOX Cinemas range.
Stonehaven led the cost and commercial management of the project from pre-concept stage through to completion and handover, acting as cost consultant and quantity surveyor to the client throughout. The appointment covered the full pre-contract and post-contract cost management cycle on a specialist cinema fit-out programme.
Pre-contract quantity surveying and cost planning
At pre-concept stage, Stonehaven's quantity surveying team prepared the initial order of cost estimate and developed it into a structured elemental cost plan as the design progressed. Cost planning work included feasibility estimating, benchmarking against comparable cinema fit-out projects across the Gulf, cash flow forecasting, and the preparation of tender documentation and bills of quantities for the main works and specialist packages.
Because direct-view LED display technology had not previously been installed at this scale in the United Arab Emirates, early cost certainty was central to the commission. Stonehaven benchmarked the new specification against conventional projection-based cinema fit-outs, carried out value engineering exercises where the design allowed, and tested the commercial implications of each design option before it was committed. Procurement strategy advice, tender evaluation and contract negotiation were delivered as part of the same pre-contract cost management scope.
Post-contract cost control and contract administration
Through the construction phase, Stonehaven provided post-contract quantity surveying and contract administration services, including interim valuations and payment certification, measurement and valuation of variations, change control, risk and contingency management, cost reporting to the client, and settlement of the final account.
A live cost position was maintained and reported at every stage, so that commercial decisions were taken against known values rather than estimates. Cost control measures held the outturn within the approved budget from first estimate through to final account.
City Centre Me’aisem brought a display technology into the UAE market for the first time, and that always carries commercial risk. Our job as cost managers was to give the client the cost certainty needed to commit to it. We set the budget early, held the line on it through design development and construction, and closed the final account out on budget. Rigorous cost planning at the front end and disciplined cost control after contract award are what make that possible. Commercial discipline is the standard we set ourselves on every project we take on.
Gordon, Managing Director, Stonehaven Project Management Services LLC
The completion adds to Stonehaven’s track record in the entertainment, leisure and retail sectors across the Gulf, where the firm continues to provide quantity surveying, cost management and project management services to cinema, retail and hospitality operators on fit-out, refurbishment and new build programmes
