AUGUST 2020
THE DEFINITIVE GUIDE TO THE REGION'S CONSTRUCTION PROFESSIONALS
P52// THE LATEST MACHINERY AND VEHICLE NEWS IN THE REGION
CEO Wissam Younane wissam@bncpublishing.net Director
// CONTENTS
Rabih Najm rabih@bncpublishing.net
AUGUST 2020 // ISSUE #66
Group Publishing Director Joaquim D'Costa jo@bncpublishing.net
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COMMENT INTERVIEW POWER HOUR MACHINERY
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+971 50 440 2706
Business Development Director Rabih Naderi rabih.naderi@bncpublishing.net +966 50 328 9818
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For all commercial enquiries related to Construction Business News ME contact sales@bncpublishing.net T +971 50 440 2706 All rights reserved © 2015. Opinions expressed are solely those of the contributors. Construction Business News ME and all subsidiary publications in the MENA region are officially licensed exclusively to BNC Publishing in the MENA region by Construction Business News ME. No part of this magazine may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means without written permission of the publisher. Images used in Construction Business News ME are credited when necessary. Attributed use of copyrighted images with permission. All images not credited courtesy Shutterstock. Printed by UPP
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Your business continuity is our top priority.
Our initiatives and remote solutions have got you covered in all situations. du.ae/wegotyourb
// EDITOR'S NOTE
EDITOR’S NOTE POWERING FORWARD As you glance through this edition of CBNME, you'll see our Annual Power Hour list for 2020, and the first thing that sticks out to our readers would be the significant increase in new entries compared to previous years. The annual power list sees a roundup of the Top 60 leaders who contribute and cover all aspects of the construction industry. ALL ASPECTS. The editorial team took a different direction this year in trying to showcase companies that had previously not been considered on the list. This year in particular shows why we should not stop and celebrate just the construction phase of any project. We cel-
ebrate that all year round, in every edition of CBNME. Project wins are significant and essential, especially for a power list. Still, with COVID-19, it opened people's minds up about the management of buildings and how the previous project may not have taken into consideration of a potential pandemic. New projects, designs, and management of buildings will change forever to counter any future pandemic as we return to the new normal. The editorial team here looks forward to seeing what the next 12 months would look towards building towards our next Power Hour list in 2021.
ON THE WEB Keep up to date with all the latest news, features and much more on our website. www.cbnme.com
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// CONSTRUCTION BUSINESS NEWS ME // AUGUST 2020
Kasun Illankoon Deputy Editor kasun@bncpublishing.net
3D Middle East proudly announces distributorship of FARO Technologies
Scan to BIM FARO’s Ecosystem to support AEC professionals to ensure traceability over complete building lifecycle
3D Middle East offers a seamless solution for capturing existing as-builts efďŹ ciently and accurately in order to process data directly into deliverable CAD plans and BIM models
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إ ﻣﺘﺪاد ﺟـﺪﻳﺪ ﻟﺴﻮق اﻟﺬﻫﺐ
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.إن اﻟﻤﻌﻠﻮﻣــــﺎت واﻟﻤـــﻮاد اﻟــــﻮاردة ﻫﻨﺎ ﺑﻤــــﺎ ﻓﻲ ذﻟﻚ اﻟﻨﺼــــﻮص أو اﻟﺮﺳﻮﻣــــــﺎت أو ﻏﻴﺮﻫﺎ ﻣﻦ اﻟﻌﻨﺎﺻـــــﺮ " أﻋــــــﻼه" ﺧﺎﺿﻌـــــﺔ ﻟﻠﺘﻐﻴﻴـــــﺮ The information and materials contained herein including text, graphics or other items are provided “as is” and subject to change.
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// COMMENT
DIGITALLY STAYING AHEAD Kim Custeau, Global Asset Performance Management Lead, AVEVA, on how predicting & preventing failure is critical to digital transformation success
Over the last 20 years, we’ve seen enterprise industrial businesses push assets, people and related maintenance technology to their limits to reduce downtime and improve safety and workforce efficiency: but it’s still not enough. With inaccurate predictions costing businesses up to 260,000 per hour, predicting and preventing failure has become a critical driver of digital transformation success. Say Hello to Optimized Asset Performance Management All companies have a mandate to continually improve performance, and through digital transformation, companies are seeking return on capital and improved profitability. Digital Industrial Transformation takes it one step further, unlocking the 12
potential of industry assets and empowering businesses to adopt predictive maintenance strategies. Asset Performance Management (APM) has traditionally been a key part of digital transformation, but for many asset-intensive industries, it’s been poorly understood and underutilised. Fortunately, times are changing. Companies now understand that with the ability to look ahead and understand risks you can prevent costly failures and identify problems before they become critical. What is now known as ‘APM 4.0’ is an evolutionary step in the digital transformation journey. APM 4.0, bringing together prescriptive analytics and many other components to achieve an entirely new level of prevention and digital transformation success.
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The Building Blocks of APM What does predicting and preventing failure mean to you? For most companies, it means identifying issues before they become costly problems. However, APM also presents an opportunity to reduce maintenance costs, reduce unplanned downtime, and potentially save 100s of millions with predictive analytics. There are two levels of prescriptive analytics organisations should consider with APM 4.0. The first is prescribing maintenance activities to minimize downtime once a failure occurs. The second is more sophisticated; it is the ability to prescribe operational changes to alter how the equipment and the process perform. The first level means becoming maintenance smart;
the second enables operational excellence and alignment of digital transformation strategy across the enterprise. There are several other core components to APM: machine learning, smart connected assets and services, IIoT platforms, mashup applications and digital twins. Used together, these components are unlocking the potential of your assets and powering predictive maintenance (PdM) strategies. AVEVA’s comprehensive Asset Performance Management software portfolio is designed to overcome today’s industrial challenges by leveraging all components of APM. With improved analysis, predicting and preventing failure will become a key part of your successful digital transformation.
HELPING YOU STAY AHEAD
INNOVATION IS YOUR ADVANTAGE You need superior, innovative products. A versatile fleet of aerial work platforms and telehandlers designed for tough rental demands. And you depend on comprehensive support to stay ahead. Financing, training, parts and service that keep your machines on the job, producing value for you and your customer. From powerful, reliable equipment to unwavering support, you can rely on JLG. Learn more at www.jlg.com
JLG Industries | JAFZA View | PO Box 262728 | LB 19, 20th Floor, Office 05 | Jebel Ali | Dubai | measales@jlg.com
// INTERVIEW
PRINTING THE FUTURE In conversation with Mohamed Kinj, Managing Partner at 3D Middle East LLC Tell us what were your expectation for 2020? We hoped 2020 to be year of financial recovery but due to COVID pandemic it's been a rough year to date. We still think it will continue to be unpredictable and more stability is likely to come in mid to late 2021. This pandemic has impacted businesses in a way that things cannot go back to old normal again. We have to get used to the new normal. Tell us about 3D Middle East. What are you doing exactly? 3D Middle East is a middle-east digital manufacturing solution provider since 2013 and aims to help companies in the region adopt more efficient digital solutions such as 3D printing and 3D scanning. With this in mind and with proven global leadership, we have focused on collaborating with various leading & global solution providers to create an ecosystem with the latest innovations and the most successful advanced manufacturing solutions to be adopted by a wide range of industries. As the world moves towards digitalization and automation, we are helping our customers to have leading-edge solutions as partners on this journey. How has the digital technology changed over the past decade? 3D technology has come a long way and continues to evolve and grow. Technology has a lot to offer to professionals across a range of industries. Today, we can print 3d scaled models in just one day, which would normally take a few months to complete. 3D laser scanning makes the day-to-day work of surveying and scanning professionals faster, easier 14
and more productive. There are many more applications like these, in which the use of this technology not only reduces working hours and workforce, but also significantly improves the quality and efficiency of work. What opportunities do you see for further innovation when it comes to digital technology? In every industry digital technology has become core. From design to manufac-
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turing, from idea initiations to product management, digital technology plays a key role. If we cannot measure, we cannot manage and that is the main advantage digital technology provides over conventional techniques. Ability to measure every process makes it accurate and efficient. We expect further innovations to take place in the fields of robotics, automotive and product design. Particularly during times such as the COVID pandemic, technologies such as 3D printing,
basis of our solutions and gives numerous advantages over manual techniques. Construction teams around the world are beginning to understand the speed and accuracy of the technology, and when it is used in BIM, the possibilities are virtually endless. Tell us about the features of your products Complete and accurate 3D building models are an essential working basis in construction. The FARO Laser Scanner Focus3D offers valuable support as it quickly and reliably captures actual data for building projects – both existing and new builds. A few minutes is all it takes to set up and attach the FARO Focus3D to a tripod. Its laser beam scans the surrounding area in three dimensions, capturing spatial and surface shapes to the nearest millimetre, however complex they are. Digital data is made available quickly and in a great level of detail, and can be imported into all CAD software solutions popular in the construction and real estate industries. This data serves as the basis for 2D and 3D plans and views, for visualisations and for working with building information modelling (BIM).
remote work have been very useful in overcoming logistical limitations.
deliver their one of the best quality products in the segment worldwide.
Tell us about your relationship with Faro Technologies and how strong is that partnership? We come from an entirely digital background and worked to provide the companies in the Middle East with digital manufacturing solutions. Faro is industry leader in digital measurement and imaging technology. So it was a natural match. We are providing them with regional coverage to
Tell us how 3D Middle East and FARO can benefit the construction industry? We currently have solutions that can be used at any stage of the construction lifecycle. The use of digital technology is increasingly evident on construction sites but our solutions offer much more than measurement hardware. The technology has made it possible to capture millions of points in seconds and very precisely. This captured data forms the
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How can 3D technology help in creating smart cities in the future? 3D technology will complement the other technologies like IOT in making smart cities more efficient. The digitisation of the entire lifecycle of construction can be of vital significance in the planning of cities. What is the vision for 3d Middle East now especially for Construction BIM? We want to support and drive the digitization of the construction industry. When you look at global numbers, you can find that the building industry is the second least digitized sector, only before agriculture. Nonetheless, this is slowly changing, and we want to push and endorse this trend of digitization by offering solutions along the building and design life cycle.
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// COVER STORY
CBNME's Power Hour Annual List of the Middle East's Top 60 features the most prominent Contractors, Real estate Developers, Consultants, Architects, Facilities Management, Asset Management Companies, and so much more that encapsulates the construction industry These influential leaders have reshaped the industry with their introduction of new innovative strategies and thought leadership that makes them stand apart in 2020
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Scania Touring HD range
a privilege to own The Scania Touring is a coach designed to meet your needs for occasional service and regular service over long distances. You will enjoy full support from a single point of contact since all parts, maintenance and repairs are backed by Scania’s comprehensive
global service work. The possibility of fast deliveries gives your business plenty of flexibility. If you’re focused on good total operating economy, this coach is destined to be a profit source for years to come.
// COVER STORY
01 Kez Taylor CEO, ALEC
ALEC’s CEO, Kez Taylor, a stalwart in the construction industry, has been ranked first on CBNME Power Hour List. Kez Taylor has been CEO of ALEC for 20 years and has led ALEC’s work on some of the Gulf’s most high profile projects especially in the UAE. At the forefront of Kez’s vision has been the implementation of new technology and innovation. As such, ALEC has driven several initiatives to realise its vision to be the leading innovative construction group in the region. In addition to having an innovation department that drives and assists with over 100 innovative initiatives per year, ALEC introduced numerous developments occurring in their digital transformation space. 2019 was a strategic year for ALEC in assessing where they were at, 18
in terms of the available technology in the market, the needs of their customers both internally and externally, and the most effective path forward to aid ALEC in driving business prospects. As 2020 rolls on, ALEC has been implementing its plan from the previous year, upskilling their teams, aligning their initiatives' capabilities, and scaling value to ALEC's people and their staff. Kez further added: “ALEC has been a leader in the UAE construction industry mainly due to the different mindset and willingness always to revamp and improve processes and procedures. Our people thrive for continuous improvement, learning & development. Thus every new project applies learnings from the previous ones, which increased our market competitiveness.
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ALEC can be considered in the middle of digital transformation across many elements, including implementing a new ERP, increasing BIM utilization, and using software and digital solutions across different processes to become information-enabled, leading to a data-driven decision making.” Over the past 12 months, ALEC has worked on several of of Dubai’s most high-profile projects including the expansion of Al Maktoum International Airport, The Residences at Marina Gate 2, Jumeirah Living Marina Gate, Tower 9, Dubai Hills Regional Mall, Dubai Creek Harbour Retail District, One Za’abeel, Expo2020 – Conference & Exhibition Centre, Expo2020 – Mobility Pavilion, and Expo 2020: KSA Pavilion.
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Yu Tao President and CEO of CSCEC ME With over 20 years’ extensive overseas experience in the management of corporate affairs and construction projects, Mr. Yu is currently the President & CEO of CSCEC ME and further oversees CSCEC’s direct regional operations in the GCC as well as in other countries in the Middle East. Under Mr. Yu’s leadership, CSCEC ME has become a recognized, prestigious and respected company across the region. Mr. Yu has led the successful diversification of CSCEC ME from a conventional building contractor to a comprehensive total solution provider with proven capability in diverse sectors of the construction industry in the Middle East. After more than a decade’s development, the company now offers Clients a full range of services from Contracting, Design and Build to Project Financing, extending beyond Building and Infrastructure into MEP, Steelwork, Industrial, Oil and Gas and Rail projects.
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Ahmed Abu Hashima CEO of Egyptian Steel & Egyptian Cement Ahmed Abu Hashima is known as a remarkable young selfmade patriotic Egyptian entrepreneur whose ambition has no limits, success for him is a decision, and his time is gold. Abou Hashima founded Egyptian Steel Group in the year 2010 and, in 2017, would establish Egyptian Cement and Egyptian Contracting, where he created what he calls “a one-stop shop for building materials.” After January 2011, he took a calculated risk and pumped 1 billion dollar investments into Egyptian Steel, which eventually paid off. Over 6 billion pounds were invested into Egyptian Building Material Group “Egyptian Cement.” They established a new Egyptian Cement Plant in Sohag, which is boasting a production capacity of 2 million tons per year. He was also the founder of the Egyptian Media group. A conglomerate of all types of media services that he established intending to develop the media sector in Egypt and provide the quality and expertise to regain Egyptian leadership in the regional market.
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// COVER STORY
04
Eng. Fakher Alshawaf Group CEO of Al Bawani Group
For Al Bawani Group, it was another year of steady growth and diversification that continues the fruitful history that started four decades back. Al Bawani brand has grown from a modest civil-works firm into a fullfledged turnkey general contracting corporation with a sizable portfolio, strong financial position, and a significant presence in a broad range of industries. Leading this charge has been Eng. Fakher Alshawaf, Group CEO of Al Bawani Group: "Our group business has successfully diversified into a wide range of sectors including construction, technology, trading, media and publishing, industrial works, real estate management and investments." The group works with more than 30 clients in more than 15 cities across the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. The clients vary from the government, semi-government and private enterprises. Al Bawani has a direct workforce of over 12,000 employees and a very healthy supply chain. In 2019 and first half of 2020, Al Bawani has been awarded over SR 5.9 billion worth of construction projects covering a wide range of industries and sectors. Al Bawani has secured projects such as SWPC - Shuqaiq Desalination Plant Phase 3; Saudi Aramco - MFD: Tanajib Industrial and Security Support Facilities: Pkg 13; King Faisal Air Academy Construction and Relocation Project; DGDA - Diriyah Gate Development: Phase 1: Bujairi District; TRSDC - Red Sea Tourism Project, Phase 1: Coastal Village, Residential; and much more. As part of Vision 2030, the group moves towards partnering with the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia on the reform 20
agenda to increase the private sector participation in the Kingdom's economy. A key measure in this direction is to encourage the Public-Private Partnerships (PPP) through Build-Operate-Own/ Transfer (BOT) projects in the essential services. "The group envisions to be aligned with such futuristic opportunities and is partnering with the other credible groups in bidding for such projects," said Eng. Fakher Alshawaf Also, Al Bawani revealed to CBNME that the group recently secured two more projects: 60-SCHOOLS IN WESTERN PROVINCE The group is part of a joint venture with Ajyad Knowledge, a local Saudi investment firm, to build, operate and
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transfer 60 schools for Tatweer Building Co., a Ministry of Education affiliate. We will be acting as the EPC contractor and financial investor to build the schools in 3 years that will be operated and maintained for 22 years. Total value of EPC is US$375mn. JUBAIL 3A DESALINATION PROJECT The group has partnered in a jointventure with ACWA Holding, a Saudi based international water and power firm, to build the world's largest desalination plant with a capacity of 600,000 m3/day. After completion, the JV will have the concession to operate the plant for 20 years and transfer the ownership to Saudi Water and Power Co. Project cost will be around US$500 million.
05
Pierre Santoni President of Parsons MEA
Pierre Santoni, President of Parsons MEA, has ensured that the organization continues to deliver growth through the application of their three strategic pillars: enhancing and optimizing their core operations, extending into opportunityrich adjacent markets, and maintaining to acquire and integrate transformative, and disruptive technologies. Under Pierre's leadership, Parsons has worked on and completed numerous projects around the region. To name a few: • The Dubai Metro Route 2020 extension has reached substantial completion at the end of June 2020 and was inaugurated by HH Sheikh Mohamed bin Rashid al Maktoum on 7 July. Parsons has been leading the PMC team since the project's inception in 2014. • The Dubai Creek Harbour initial western access bridge was inaugurated a few weeks ago. It is the first of several packages to ultimately constitute the Sheikh Rashid Bin Saeed Corridor, linking the Jadaf area to International City and beyond. Parsons were providing design and construction supervision services for the whole scheme. • In Abu Dhabi, the Airport Interchange and the associated road network, a vital link serving existing and planned future developments at AUH was completed and open to service. "Parsons is focused on delivering a better world through a digitally enabled, customer-focused approach to providing differentiated solutions consisting of hardware and software products, and services that support our customers' most critical missions. We've initially concentrated on leveraging four fundamental technologies to deliver disruptive WWW.CBNME.COM
solutions: artificial intelligence/machine learning (AI/ML), autonomous systems, cloud computing, and the Internet of Things (IoT)," said Pierre. Pierre sees enormous potential and opportunities to apply its strategic pillars on some of the region's most significant projects. Such as: • Kingdom of Saudi Arabia – assignments for the mega projects (Amaala, Neom, Qiddiyah, Red Sea), Riyadh metro extension, and other projects in
support of Vision 2030, • Dubai – continued projects in development for the Expo 2020 event next year. • Abu Dhabi – multiple opportunities with a focus on smart cities, transport infrastructure, Emirati housing, etc. • Kuwait – continued support for infrastructure upgrades and public housing. • Oman – poised to support public, private partnerships in all sectors.
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// COVER STORY
06
Dr Najib Khatib Chairman & CEO, Khatib & Alami
Under the leadership of Dr Najib Khatib, K&A has established itself among the leading consultants in the Middle East & Africa region. At any given time, the company is supporting the delivery of critical infrastructure projects which are improving the lives of millions of 22
people. Highlights over the past year include the company’s role as main consultant for Al Mahsama Water Reclamation Plant in Egypt’s Sinai Peninsula. With a capacity of 1 million m³/day, the project is one of the largest of its kind in the world,
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and is able to treat and recycle mixeduse wastewater to provide irrigation for up to 100,000 acres of agricultural land east of the Suez Canal. K&A remains extremely active in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, with around 3,000 locally based staff. Key ongoing projects include the Ministry of Finance’s Project Management Office (PMO), which is responsible for implementing international best practice standards in project management for mega-projects including the expansion of the Two Holy Mosques in Makkah and Madinah, which will benefit around 30 million pilgrims a year by 2030. The company’s high regard in the Kingdom was recognized last year by the Saudi Ministry of Housing (MOH), which named K&A as the Best Consultant of the Year for Design and Supervision following its work on a vast housing project involving 75 sites totaling over 104 million m² of land, which will house more than 500,000 people. K&A has continued to invest in its capabilities, and has made significant progress in extending its expertise to support clients with project finance. The company’s Infrastructure Development & Advisory team is focused on the advisory and co-development of infrastructure projects that are privately-funded, including PPPs. During the Covid-19 pandemic, K&A was quick to offer its expertise to support governments dealing with the crisis, including the Lebanese Ministry of Public Health. Its Geographic Information System (GIS) experts assisted in the development of a countrywide web portal to monitor the spread of the virus at a district and nation level.
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Joe Tabet Founder and Managing Director of JT+Partners
Joe Tabet is the Founder and Managing Director of JT + Partners, a leading innovative brand in architecture, master planning, and integrated design practices. Joe demonstrated an excellent record of initiating and leading business growth strategies, utilising lessons learned, and knowledge gained from previous leadership, business experiences to ensure that JT + Partners maintains its recognition as a world-renowned consultant. JT & Partners have delivered iconic, environmental and socially sustainable projects in global destinations, from Morocco to Seychelles, Lebanon, India, Sri Lanka, Angola, Cameroon, Zanzibar, Egypt, Portugal, Greece, KSA and UAE, spanning residential, hospitality, commercial, educational, mixed-use and masterplan developments. With aggressive marketing strategies, JT + Partners has maintained its impressive roster of clientele and contacts which includes Abu Dhabi Crown WWW.CBNME.COM
Prince Court, NCT&H, Al Ghurair, Al Marjan Island LLC, Al Hamra Real Estate, Anwa Group, Giga Group, Shalimar Group, Jumeirah Group, Marriott Group, Hilton Group, EMAAR, Aldar, and Pennyroyal. A strong advocate of sustainability,
Joe ensures that JT + Partners is committed to and deliver environmental and socially sustainable communities in the region and worldwide. The success of JT + Partners also goes down to Joe's overall leadership and management of his team, where he uses a unique approach that encourages diversity and a balance of ideas and incentives. "I choose my staff from multi-cultural backgrounds of different nationalities, support, and challenge them and drive them to achieve and exceed their objectives and expectations. As a firm believer in gender balance and empowering women, I ensure that my staff is made up of male and female resources based on their work performances and judged on their earned merits. I am providing both genders with the same opportunities and motivations for career growth and development. I promote my staff's well-being and encourage them to maintain a proper balance between work and family life," said Joe.
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Chris Roberts CEO Of Eltizam Asset Management Group
Chris joined the Eltizam Asset Management Group in 2014 as its CEO. Since then, the company has grown from AED 35 million to over AED 300 million in revenues and now has more than 2,000 highly skilled employees. Tafawuq and Three60 Communities, a subsidiary of Eltizam, both posted healthy revenue and contracts win. Tafawuq sealed AED 739mn in H1 2020 while Three60 Communities yearly charge collection reached more than AED 500mn. In terms of expansion plans, Eltizam intends to expand its existing operations in Oman, also expanding into the Egypt market with two businesses in Q3 2020, and launching the next phase of expansion plans in major regional markets, namely Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, and Kuwait, from Q4 2020 onwards. One of the most significant internal accomplishments of his leadership is the 2019 launch of Get Wonky, Eltizam’s organizational and business enhancement culture. Get Wonky seeks to embed strong corporate values 24
across the group, paving the way for positive business outcomes. Seeking to build on the organization’s successful track record, Chris continuously works with his leadership team to challenge the status quo, encouraging both entities and team members to excel at what they do, ensuring customer happiness and employee well-being. Also under Chris’s leadership, Eltizam
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has become a leader in innovative solutions that allow the group to stay ahead of market trends and keep pace with technological advancements by investing in and successfully implementing the latest industry technologies. Below are a few innovative technologies that Eltizam has introduced: o QuickPay online payment solution, which saw AED 50 million in payments processed since February 2020. o Tafawuq Go maintenance mobility app that ensured over 600,000 man-hours were saved since 2019. o Launched Nestrom QHSE inspection app. o Eltizam became one of the first organizations in the Middle East to deploy the SAP HANA, a next-generation ERP system. o Launched next-generation SAP Ariba platform for Clients, an end-toend procurement solution with SAP Ariba to its clients, transforming the core procurement operations through to finance, with increased process automation, operational efficiency, and digitization.
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Farhad Azizi CEO of Azizi Developments
John Pagano CEO at The Red Sea Development Company
A business strategist and management expert, Farhad has an exemplary track record in project implementation and has substantially contributed to the long-term value of the organisation. With his customer-centric mindset and strong business insights, he has positioned Azizi Developments as a leading developer in the region. Farhad is responsible for the company’s overall operation and management and has been the driving force behind the strategy, guidance, and direction of the managerial team. Bringing out the best of his team through his inspirational leadership style, he has been instrumental in instituting management best practices. Under his leadership, Azizi Developments has emerged as one of the leading property developers in the region, delivering world-class, integrated residential destinations that assure an outstanding return on investment. Over the past 12 months Azizi Developments’ has developed world-class properties across Dubai’s prime locations: MBR City, Palm Jumeirah, Dubai Healthcare City, Al Furjan, Studio City, Sports City, and Downtown Jebel Ali. We have delivered over 350,000 sqm of built-up area across 16 projects in Al Furjan (14 projects), Palm Jumeirah (one project), and Dubai Healthcare City (one project), comprising a total of 2,851 units. The value of these projects is over AED 2.5 billion. This year, Azizi aims to finish approximately 3,000 units, most of which are already over 90 per cent complete, including Mina on Palm Jumeirah, Aura in Jebel Ali, and Shaista, Star, and Plaza in Al Furjan. Several buildings in the first phase of Riviera will also be completed. Samia and Farishta were the first of these 3,000 units – which were completed in January and February 2020 respectively.
John Pagano has been tasked with delivering one of Saudi’s most ambitious luxury sustainable tourism project that would place Saudi Arabia on the global tourism map. Over the past 12 months, the Project made a significant amount of tangible progress following the master plan approval in January 2019, with work well underway on the enabling infrastructure that will support the destination’s development, with around 2,000 construction workers currently onsite. Development has commenced on a bridge linking Shurayrah Island to the mainland, and we recently completed work on the 100-hectare onsite landscaping nursery. This will be one of the largest in the Middle East, set to provide over 15 million plants to landscape the destination by its completion. Construction has also begun on building 77km of roads, including a 10km highway, a 13km airport access road, interconnecting roads within the destination, and an access road to the bridge connecting the main hub island. John told CBNME: “I want to ensure that everyone involved in the Project knows that they are part of something far bigger than simply building a tourism destination. We are striving to make a positive impact by providing new opportunities for Saudi people by encouraging a burgeoning hospitality, leisure, and tourism industry.” “Additionally, having worked on several high-profile real estate and tourism projects, it’s clear to me that to showcase the true beauty of Saudi Arabia and the Red Sea, conservation and sustainability must be incorporated from the very start if we wish to go beyond simply protecting to actively enhancing the environment.”
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PNC Menon Founder and Chairman of Sobha Group
PNC Menon is the Founder and Chairman of Sobha Group, a multinational real estate and construction group with diversified interests and investments in the UAE, India, Oman, Bahrain, Brunei and Tanzania. In this role, he is responsible for overseeing the Group’s operational strategy across its subsidiaries, including PNC Architects, Sobha Electromechanical, Sobha Interiors, Sobha Horticulture, Sobha Restoplus and Sobha Contracting. Despite COVID-19, the company confirmed that it remains committed to its construction schedule for 2020, with delivery on track across Sobha Hartland, its flagship master development located at Mohammed Bin Rashid Al 26
Maktoum City in the heart of Dubai. The company announced that Gardenia Villas Phase II is now complete and in the process of handover. Hartland Greens Phase III (Buildings 5 and 6) is advancing as planned and is at 90 per cent completion with delivery scheduled in 2020. Despite the challenging impacts of COVID-19 and a halt in operations across multiple sectors, Sobha Realty has put in place several measures to ensure the well-being and safety of its staff and maintain seamless construction activity over the course of the last few months. Earlier this year the company also announced the launch of its Creek
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Vistas Reservé Tower, the latest project in Sobha Hartland, the eight-million square feet luxury freehold master development situated in Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum City in Dubai. The launch follows the high uptake for residential units in the previous Creek Vistas towers by Emirati nationals and Arab buyers seeking welldeveloped and strategically located homes that offer panoramic views and are close to the city’s top attractions and shopping centres. As of July 6th, in an official press release, the company announced that its flagship project, Sobha Hartland, has reached 25% completion and is set to be completed by 2025.
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Tariq Chauhan Group CEO, EFS Facilities Services Group Tariq is the Group CEO of EFS Facilities Services Group, an industry leader in Global Facilities & Infrastructure Management across the Middle East, Africa, and South Asia. He is an accomplished business leader, widely hailed for establishing EFS as a regional powerhouse and a premium facilities management (FM) brand. Since 2009, EFS has achieved a sustained growth year on year in double digits supported by AED 5 Billion in contracts. During his tenure, EFS also prides itself on having an impressive rate of over 90% staff retention and 95% client retention employing over 18000 people across the business, including India. The CEO index in the Employee Engagement Survey stands at 96%, which indicates the satisfaction with Mr. Tariq as a responsible leader and leading the organization in the right way. Tariq told CBNME: “Our contracts backlog reaches AED 5 Billion while managing an approximate total area of over 49 million sq. m. across the Middle WWW.CBNME.COM
East, Africa, and South Asia regions. EFS is versatile in its expertise on delivering FM solutions to diverse business verticals including Banking, Education, Healthcare, Oil & Gas, Mixed-Use Development, Master Communities, and Public Sector, amongst others. EFS establishes a long-term symbiotic relationship with its clients and creates a win-win situation beneficial to all with effective frameworks and industry best practices. EFS has broadened its scope with the introduction of Bio-Clean Services that offers FM solutions for a healthier environment. Bio-Clean Services includes disinfection, deep cleaning, indoor air quality, water tank cleaning, and more. EFS continues to sustain its contract retention of more than 95% through sustainable service delivery and proactive client engagement. EFS also set its foot in Bangladesh by establishing integrated facilities management operations for some of the leading multinational banks.� Tariq has addressed critical topics
like challenges in the global FM industry, diversity and inclusion, community, and welfare of the blue-collar workforce and young leadership as he steers speeches, seminars, presentations, and panel discussions amidst high-network individuals, industry veterans, and business schools. For more than two decades, he has delivered a holistic impact through interviews, whitepaper articles, industry editorials, and speaking engagements that possess a circulation/audience of not less than 150,000 people annually. Tariq has also scooped up multiple awards in the past 12 months which included: Taqdeer Awards (2018) and Sheikh Khalifa Excellence Awards (2018) UAE, Top 50 Private Companies by Forbes Middle East, Best FM Company of the Year by BNC Publishing (2019), and the Expo 2020 Better Together Awards for Worker Welfare Initiative of the Year and Service Provider of the Year (2019) and Sheikh Khalifa Excellence Awards (2020).
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Ahmed Alkhoshaibi CEO of Arada
As the founding CEO of Arada, Ahmed Alkhoshaibi oversees operational management of every aspect the company, under the guidance of our Chairman, HE Sheikh Sultan bin Ahmed Al Qasimi, and Vice Chairman, HRH Prince Khaled bin Alwaleed bin Talal. In the short period of time since Arada has founded, the organisation has grown at a rapid pace, and now has a staff of some 400 professionals, all with relevant experience from some of the region’s most prominent constructionrelated companies. Despite challenging conditions in the construction sector over the course of the last 12 months, Arada has overcome a series of obstacles to achieve a number of highlights within an existing project portfolio valued at AED 25.3bn. At Nasma Residences, Arada completed the second and third phase of this 1,000 villa and townhouse project, and will complete the remaining two phases, plus the Nasma Central community centre, by the end of 2020. At Aljada, the first part of the megaproject to be completed was opened to the public in February, by HH Sheikh Dr Sultan bin Muhammad Al Qasimi, Supreme Council Member and Ruler of Sharjah. A new family entertainment destination, Madar at Aljada features a number of different attractions and has already welcomed more than 200,000 visitors. Arada will hand over the first homes in Aljada in the third quarter of this year, as the developer starts to complete the 1,400 homes in the first phase of the 24 million square foot megaproject. Alkhoshaibi told CBNME: “Outside our existing projects, we have talked previously about our plans for Saudi Arabia, where we are still planning to launch our first project by the end of the year. In addition, it is also possible that we will announce a third project in Sharjah by the end of 2020.” 28
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14 Yousef Bin Abdullah Al Shelash Chairman of Dar Al Arkan Real Estate Development Company
Late last year, Dar Al Arkan Real Estate Development Company recently celebrated its 25th anniversary with a ceremony held at Nayyara Banqueting and Conferences Centre in Riyadh. Yousef Bin Abdullah Al Shelash, Chairman of Dar Al Arkan Real Estate Development Company of Saudi Arabia, said in his speech: “Dar Al Arkan has been leading the development of unique real estate projects that contribute to urban development since its launch in Riyadh in 1994. The company has many world-class property developments in Riyadh, Jeddah, Mecca, Medina, and other major cities in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia to its credit. Currently, we are implementing projects covering a combined area of 12.4 million square meters, which include Shams Al Riyadh, Shams Al Arous in Jeddah, and Juman project near Dammam. Today, Dar Al Arkan is the largest real estate company in KSA and the world, with total assets of SR 26 billion and revenues of SR 17.5 billion achieved over the past five years.” The company will leverage advanced technological innovations to improve customer experience as well. For instance, the company’s online portal enables property search, addresses requirements, manages investments, and gives access to the best services such as smartphone applications based on customer relationship management (CRM) systems; blockchain; big data; artificial intelligence (AI); and smart home technologies equipped with security, self-maintenance, and energy efficiency systems.
Abdulaziz AlTurki Chairman of Nesma & Partners Abdulaziz AlTurki is a Founding partner and Chairman of Nesma & Partners, a main contributor to Saudi Arabia’s industrial and infrastructure sectors since 1981 with reliable, multidimensional construction services in the Kingdom. He chairs many local and international boards, and considered a public figure recognized for the various philanthropic works. In recognition of his community service activities, AlTurki was honored by HRH Prince Mohammed bin Fahad Award for Charity Works in 2006, HH Sheikh Eisa bin Ali AlKhalifa Pioneers in Volunteering Works Award in 2014, Man of Year Award in 2014 for supporting Cancer Patients and International Diabetes Federation Award as a National Hero in fighting the spread of Diabetes in the Kingdom for over 30 years in 2015. Nesma & Partners celebrates its 40 years anniversary in the coming year of 2021. Throughout the years, the company achieved major growth by expanding it into the industrial sector; that has been essential for the development of the Kingdom with a focus on the oil and gas, petrochemical, power, water and infrastructure sectors, airports and in particular fast-track projects. WWW.CBNME.COM
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Stuart Harrison CEO at Emrill
Stuart Harrison, Emrill’s CEO, has over 28 years’ experience in a range of technical, operations and senior business roles across of wide range of projects in facilities management, construction, and engineering, including management services in critical environments, such as international gateway airports, hospitals, and healthcare facilities. Since his appointment to CEO in 2019, Stuart has continued to build on the strong foundations and core pillars Emrill works and lives by it. His open and transparent leadership style and achievements stand out among his FM peers. Responsible for the performance, health, and well-being of employees across every aspect of Emrill’s business, he ensures all employees work towards the shared goal of operational excellence, quality, and safety. Stuart has inspired Emrill’s people to push the boundaries of delivery and innovation, creating a culture of continuous improvement. Every employee is accountable for ensuring customer satisfaction and continued growth. Stuart leads from the front – as an engineer that has worked his way up from an apprentice, he understands workforce dynamics at ground level. Joining Emrill in 2017 as Solutions Director, Stuart was responsible for technical delivery/excellence. He cemented his position as a critical member of Emrill’s leadership team. Stuart has pioneered innovation, providing clients with the newest advances in technology and equipment as they are looking for more from service providers. However, the focus is not to innovate and implement new technologies for the sake of doing so – they must address a market need. Emrill has a 30
proven track record in providing stateof-the-art/valuable solutions to enhance service delivery. Such a track record has helped Emrill to achieve a 73 percent client retention rate. Emrill has also secured new contract wins and renewals over the past 12 months, including façade cleaning for Princess Tower, integrated facilities
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management (IFM) services for Kingfield Liv Residence, and hard and soft FM services Aramex and concierge services for Meraas City Walk. In 2020, Emrill was awarded a six-year contract renewal by Dubai Airports for the deployment of 1,000 cleaning staff at Dubai International Airport Terminal 3, concourse A, B, and C.
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17 Hamid Kerayechian CEO & Founding Partner, Ayana Holding Hamid Kerayechian is the CEO & Founding Partner of Ayana Holding, a prominent international organization headquartered in the United Arab Emirates. Providing end to end industry centric solutions for governments and real estate developers across the globe. With a diverse range of businesses across real estate investment and development, Ayana Holding offers services from, Design, construction management, Marketing, Strategy, Technology, IT and infrastructure, Asset management, Procurement, Hospitality advisory and General trading. Hamid has full responsibility for executing the strategic direction and ongoing operations for Ayana Holding’s impressive wide-ranging portfolio of companies which include 32
- Alt Technology, Aquila Hospitality, Ayana Properties, Brand Capital, Detay Homes, M2L Concepts, Manya Décor, Nioum, Opaal Interiors, Performaa, XPLOR, VX Studio and WrkBay. In such a short period of time, the company has reached diverse markets, with ongoing projects not only the Middle East, but the UK, Europe, North America and Asia. With a strong desire to persistently thrive for new challenges, Hamid’s mission is to continue building a network of powerful companies on a global level and for Ayana Holding to become the most internationally renowned brand across real estate sector, an industry Hamid is a tremendously passionate about. After graduating from the University of South California with a Masters in
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Engineering, Hamid relocated to Dubai in 2008 and over the course of his career having operated with some of the world’s most influential organizations. With over 17 years of robust experience in the luxury development space and a dynamic entrepreneurial spirit, Hamid is inspired by an innate sense of boldness, integrity and resourcefulness - qualities that he injects to all of his companies, projects and developments. Hamid’s work and leadership have been recognized with several awards, to name a few, ‘Dubai’s Most Influential People’ and one of the ‘Most Inspiring Leaders in the Middle East’. Hamid was also acknowledged as the ‘Most Admired Leaders of Asia’ and as the ‘Young CEO of the Year’. Hamid has built a solid reputation for incubating new business models and is regularly featured in highly acclaimed publications, sharing his insight and experience regarding architectural design, master planning, developer-led design, real estate development and investment. His initiatives and market insights are widely admired by peers, his opinions and expertise are highly sought after. Hamid infuses his companies with an essence of drive, growth and enterprise, which has enabled him to assemble a portfolio of the most prestigious global organizations. As an energetic and interactive leader, he prides himself on managing teams of highly motivated and experienced professionals, who play a fundamental role in the growth, development and delivery of the quality projects and companies that comprise Ayana Holding. Hamid believes that the eminence and authenticity of each project is enriched by explorative and open collaborations with all stakeholders. He says, “collective creativity enhances each endeavor, resulting in strong and distinctive solutions. Our inventive methods drive global brands to partner with us, cultivating and refining ideas for ambitious environments of all kinds.”
18 Sultan Sobhi Batterjee Owner and CEO of IHCC Mr. Sultan Batterjee is the Owner and Chief Executive Officer of IHCC, Vice President of Business Development, and Board Member of Bait Al Batterjee Holding. As CEO of IHCC, he plays a vital role in positioning the company as a world-renowned design and build company and turnkey solution provider specializing in healthcare, education, and mixed-use development projects in the Middle East and North Africa. As a leading Saudi Class (A) company, IHCC aligns itself with being in line with the Vision 2030. Mr. Sultan Batterjee told CBNME: "As our in-house capabilities cover all components of successfully delivering megaprojects, we pride ourselves on being a single source for integrated turnkey solutions that cover design, construction and facilities management services. We manage projects and developments from inception to completion. We cover feasibility studies, conceptualization, architectural and engineering design to state-of-theart civil construction, electromechanical installations, quality finishing works, WWW.CBNME.COM
international procurement, equipping, and furnishing solutions. We strongly believe that we have the capabilities and resources to play a major role in the Vision 2030 mega developments." Over the past 12 months, the company has been involved in the design and construction of massive projects in the Middle East, including medical cities and mixed-use developments in Saudi Arabia, UAE, Egypt, and Morocco. In line with Vision 2030 and to provide clients with fully integrated solutions, IHCC introduced innovative services focusing on sustainability, design and construction, and MEP. The company has launched GREENER, a professional service that aims at providing sustainability and energy-efficiency services of buildings and facilities. On the other hand, RenoFit offers design and construction services for the various renovation and fit-out projects. IHCC also provides integrated MEP services providing end-toend solutions in these areas. Furthermore, under Mr. Batterjee's leadership, IHCC was rewarded with
Certified Great Place to Work in KSA in 2019 due to IHCC's great workplace and cultural environment. This certification was a notable win for IHCC as they were the only one out of the top 20 companies in KSA to be from the engineering and construction fields. IHCC has achieved several international awards and distinctions including: LEED Certification by US Green Buildings Council – 2019; Saudi Arabia's EY Entrepreneur of the Year 2016 among Top 10 Entrepreneurs and number one in Real Estate & Construction; European CEO Award 2015 as Best Construction Company; Best Infrastructure Contractor of the Year by Construction Week; Cityscape Jeddah Real Estate Awards for Best Residential Project-Built; Forbes Middle East ranking of IHCC as the number one Design and Construction Company, and Mr. Batterjee as one of The Top 100 Leaders inspiring the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia's Entrepreneurial Elite in the Real Estate and Construction Industry, and many more achievements.
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H.E. Abdulla Al Sahi Chairman of Modon Properties
Modon Properties, which is a subsidiary of ADQ, was established in January 2018 as a real estate development company, mandated by the Government of Abu Dhabi to develop integrated tourism destinations and sustainable residential communities. The company works in line with the goals of Abu Dhabi’s Future Plan, supporting the Emirate’s economic success and keeping pace with its future growth. Through developing multi-use strategic projects and communities, Modon aims to offer citizens, residents, and visitors with an optimal experience of the UAE. Modon promotes the growth of the national economy, and helps to establish Abu Dhabi as a leading global destination for business and entertainment. Riyadh City is one of their key landmark projects, the project is located 30 kilometers from the center of Abu Dhabi, and will be among the largest residential communities in the emirate, providing homes for 320,000 individuals. In addition, the development will include a range of modern facilities, including extensive parks, schools, retail stores, mosques, medical centers, community centers, and area for government facilities.
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Talal Al Dhiyebi CEO at Aldar Properties PJSC
Aldar Properties PJSC is the leading real estate developer in Abu Dhabi, and through its iconic developments, it is one of the most well known in the United Arab Emirates, and wider Middle East region. Aldar develops exciting and innovative projects, such as the internationally recognized HQ building situated in the Al Raha Beach development, the Gate Towers in Shams Abu Dhabi on Al Reem Island, in addition to Yas Island’s F1 circuit. Talal is the Chief Executive Officer at Aldar and according to the company’s website, he previously held the position of Chief Development Officer and Executive Director of Asset Management since the merger with Sorouh in 2013. 34
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Rahail Aslam CEO of Select Group
As Founder and CEO, Rahail has taken Select Group from a nascent property developer to one of the largest, multi-disciplinary, privately-owned property development and real estate investment companies in the GCC, with interests expanding to the UK and Europe. Under his leadership, Select Group now has a development portfolio of 19.5 million square feet, worth GDV of AED 17 billion. A driven individual with a strong belief in value creation, cost leadership and efficiency, Rahail has brought together a management team with the same ethos who can deliver his vision for constant improvement and wealth creation for both customers and stakeholders.
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Nicolas Naples CEO of AMAALA
Nicholas Naples brings three decades of experience in luxury hospitality to the AMAALA project. AMAALA is an ultra-luxury tourism project on Saudi Arabia’s northwestern coast inspired by the Red Sea. Composed of three communities based on the pillars of Art & Culture; Wellness & Sports; and Sun, Sea & Lifestyle, and rooted in philanthropy, the project will come to life as part of Saudi Arabia’s Vision 2030 roadmap. Sustainability is at the heart of AMAALA, and the project delivers upon the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia’s Vision 2030 pillars of the cultivation of a vibrant society, a sustainable economy, and a protected natural environment. Taking inspiration from the Bedouin tribes who traditionally hold a deep respect for and connection to the ancestral lands and seas that sustain them, a commitment to world-class sustainability is an integral part of AMAALA’s brand promise. C-suite experience of Nicholas spans from management and development of five-star hotels, resorts, mixed-use integrated resort properties that include hotels, casinos, retail malls, residential, office/commercial, entertainment/performance venues, golf, and sports clubs.
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Ismail Al Hammadi Founder and CEO of Al Ruwad Real Estate
Ismail Al Hammadi is the founder and CEO of two renowned companies in Dubai, Al Ruwad Real Estate and Biznet Consulting. Al Ruwad Real Estate was established in 2013 and to this day has remained at the forefront of Dubai's real estate market. Biznet Consulting opened its doors in 2015 and has helped investors and owners to initiate and complete their projects in Dubai through an array of innovative services, such as facilitating Government Relations strategies. With more than 22 years of experience, Ismail Al Hammadi is a leading figure in Dubai’s real estate and business scene being WWW.CBNME.COM
known as a “deal maker” offering invaluable insights for local and international investors. Prior to that, Ismail Al Hammadi had a flourishing career managing different governments agencies departments, as an Executive Director of Business Development at TECOM Group or Manager of Government Relations of Dubai Industrial City, to name a few. Ismail Al Hammadi is a firm believer that with an appropriate leadership structure, any business can thrive even during economic challenging times and that real leaders are forged in crisis. The best leaders take
personal ownership in a crisis, even though many challenges and factors lie outside their control and create a culture of accountability, giving everyone within the company a job and a purpose. While the world is emerging to a new normal, both Al Ruwad Real Estate and Biznet Consulting are taking not only social responsibility, but a stance to adapt to the new consumer's requirements, digital transformation and new business practices. Maximizing productivity and achieving business goals in 2020 are still a priority for Ismail, while putting his team's health and safety first.
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24 Rami Al Qaisi CEO at RAQ Contracting RAQ Contracting established its operations in Dubai in 2013 with CEO Rami Al Qaisi leading the company since its inception. Over the past 12 months, RAQ has successfully executed and worked on projects such as successfully delivering the Dubai Airport Freezone's high-end commercial complex and the 13-building complex for Jebel Ali Freezone, RTA bus stations, a consolidated engineering complex for Galadari Engineering Works and a 'Built to Suit' with Jaguar Land Rover among a few, and have crucially commenced executing on nine Expo projects. Rami told CBNME: "Our success in be36
ing a diversified general contractor has repeatedly been winning the trust of our existing clients. We have been fortunate to work with repeat names in the region such as DP World, Dubai Silicon Oasis, RTA, Wasl Properties, and many more. We aim for efficiency as well as quality and strive to be ahead of schedule on our projects. We were able to achieve, for instance, a 5-day cycle per slab on one of our high-rise projects in Dubai. From the beginning, our goal has been to set out and establish our position as one of the contractors on the region's upper echelon. With our consistent dedication, quality
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and delivery, and financials, we have completed projects to the complete satisfaction of our clients." Apart from big project wins, under Rami's leadership, the company invested heavily in young talent by initiating several university internship programs. Furthermore, RAQ established a special business unit that looks into new construction methodologies and investigates the viability of adopting new material sciences. Rami concluded by telling us: "Our consistent practices have always been to collaborate with prestigious clients by leveraging our design and build capabilities."
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Richard Stratton
Managing Director at Cundall
Richard has been with Cundall for the past 26 years, 13 years based in the London (UK) office, and 13 years based in Dubai in his current role as Managing Director of Cundall’s MENA business. Richard sits on three main boards of the business, the Global Management Board, the Global Strategy Committee, and the EMEA Management Board. This involves Richard considering the performance of all parts of the company and contributing to strategies that optimise both expertise and resources to create a resilient business – primarily driving and shaping an incredible business globally. Richard has led the business with a year-on-year growth expanding to Qatar, Oman, and recently to KSA. Throughout his work in the Middle East, the global business has seen diversification to new sectors, including rail, masterplanning, and entertainment, growing a multi-disciplinary team on the ground. Cundall has seen a significant boom in business under Richard’s leadership in the past 12 months, with reported revenue in 2019 being USD 11,150,803 representing approximately 70% growth compared to 2018. Furthermore, in 2020, Cundall has projected an overall projected global revenue at the start of 2020 was USD 91,336,400, and corresponding revenue for MENA is USD 11,717,642 (the projection were outlined before the COVID-19 pandemic). Richard told CBNME: “Commercially, we expect to see an impact on our 2020 performance, but we believe that we will emerge a stronger and more resilient business. As a privately owned business, our metrics are not only commercially focused, and we also see success in offering stability to our staff and clients.” WWW.CBNME.COM
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Hussain Sajwani Founder and Chairman of DAMAC Properties
Hussain Sajwani is the founder and Chairman of global property development Company, DAMAC Properties. DAMAC Properties, which employs nearly 2,000 employees, is a publicly-listed company with shares traded on the Dubai Financial Market. The company has one of the best track records in the luxury property development market in UAE. As a leading brand in the market, DAMAC Properties has joined forces with some of the most renowned fashion and lifestyle brands to bring new and exciting living concepts to the market. Other areas of business interest for Sajwani are in the world of trading, such as Al Amana Building Materials, based in Oman, that represents world-famous names like Villeroy & Boch, Grohe and Dorn Bracht, to name a few. Further business interest in this field in his portfolio is Al Anwar Ceramic Tiles Co, the first and one of only two tile manufacturers in the nation.
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Senan Abdullah Mohammed Juma Al Naboodah Managing Director at Al Naboodah Construction Group
Senan Abdullah Mohammed Juma Al Naboodah is the Managing Director of Al Naboodah Construction Group (ANCG), the construction business of Al Naboodah Group Enterprises (ANGE), one of the UAE’s oldest and most respected family conglomerates with a diverse portfolio of businesses. Under his leadership, ANCG is focused on maintaining its status as one of the leading construction companies in the UAE with a reputation for delivering above client expectations. As one of the third generation family members, Senan began his career with ANCG in 2005, immersing himself into all areas of the Group’s thriving construction business. Demonstrating leadership and commitment, Senan was promoted to Managing Director in 2013. Within the ANCG portfolio, Senan oversees all Civils, Building, MEP, Facilities Management and National Plant. Over the past 12 months, ANCG, have completed several projects which includes: Mankhool Mixed-Use Towers; EXPO 2020 – Police, Fire & Ambulance stations; Al Futtaim Automotive Showroom & Service Centres; Siemens substation – Dubai South HQ; Mitsubishi substation – Deira/Emirates road FEWA/Mitsubishi Substations – Ajman; Dubai International Airport – South Runway Refurbishment. CONSTRUCTION BUSINESS NEWS ME // AUGUST 2020 //
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Fouad Mashal CEO of Al Barakah International Investment
Fouad Mashal, CEO of Al Barakah International Investment, has been able to successfully deliver massive development projects such as large-scale residential compounds, hospitals, residential towers and luxury villas over the past 40 years. Currently, Mashal is leading the world-class development of more than 1.5 billion dirhams Al Qana project, one of the most exciting and transformational new touristic destination in Abu Dhabi. This multi-faceted development will feature the Middle East’s largest Aquarium, the largest standalone Cinema, a VR/E-sports zone and numerous restaurants and entertainment outlets that will serve the community of the capital, as well as many thousands of tourists per year. While Al Barakah started in 2006 with humble resources and a handful team under a single roof providing a very niche service; Al Barakah has become a holding company with 16 subsidiaries in 10 different sectors employing 6,000 staff from 27 nationalities.
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Paddy Padmanathan CEO at ACWA Power
Paddy Padmanathan is a seasoned engineering and energy expert with over four decades of experience and is a key member of ACWA Power’s executive leadership team. ACWA Power is a developer, investor and operator of power generation and desalinated water production plants. Currently present in 12 countries in the Middle East, Africa, Central Asia and South East Asia, ACWA Power employs over 3,500 people. ACWA Power’s portfolio includes 59 assets with an investment value of USD 48.8 billion, producing 34 GW of power and 5.9 million m3 /day of desalinated water delivered on a bulk basis to address the needs of state utilities on long-term, off-taker contracts under Public-Private-Partnership model. Paddy has guided ACWA Power’s cost leadership and business strategy which is focused on reliably and responsibly delivering electricity and desalinated water at competitive prices. He is also steering ACWA Power’s leadership in renewable energy, enabling it to be the forefront of reducing cost of clean energy on a global scale 38
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Craig Muir President, Resources at SNC-Lavalin
Craig Muir was appointed President, Resources, at SNC-Lavalin in April 2019, and is a member of the company’s Executive Committee. Based in the United Arab Emirates, Craig leads company’s global Resources business, including oil and gas, and mining and metallurgy markets. Since coming into this role, Craig has strengthened the leadership team with strategic appointments, bringing leaders with the right expertise in operations and business development to support their business growth and new strategy focused on engineering and consulting, asset management and project delivery services. Over the past 12 months, SNC-Lavalin have bagged notable project wins such as being awarded a general engineering, project management and technical support services contract from Al Yasat Petroleum, a JV between ADNOC and China National Petroleum Corporation, with an estimated value of approximately $52 million. Furthermore, Atkins, a member of SNC-Lavalin, was appointed by the Ministry of Environment, Water and Agriculture (MEWA) to carry out the development of an integrated water and wastewater Local Master Plan (LMP) for the North Western Water Distribution Sector in the Saudi Arabia.
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Alain Bejjani Chief Executive Officer at Majid Al Futtaim
Alain Bejjani joined Majid Al Futtaim in 2006 and in his decade at the organization he held a number of critical roles. His career in the Group culminated with his appointment to the CEO position in February 2015. He has been instrumental in driving a significant transformation of the organizational archetype and operating model of the Group and in setting a common business vision and sense of purpose. He was also the main ‘architect’ behind Majid Al Futtaim’s corporate rebranding. Mr. Bejjani serves on the Board of Directors for several of Majid Al Futtaim’s joint ventures.
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Atif Rahman Director and Partner at Danube Properties
Brian Johnson Managing Partner – Godwin Austen Johnson
Atif Rahman is an Entrepreneur in the UAE since 2004. He is the Director and Partner at Danube Properties, which he started with Rizwan Sajan in 2014 in Dubai, UAE. Danube Properties, the development arm of Danube Group, has achieved unprecedented success and growth through record-breaking sales, timely project delivery, and immense consumer support under Atif Rahman’s guidance and leadership. With a global footprint of operational sales forces in India, China, Oman, and KSA, Danube Properties has an ever-growing portfolio of over 4.5 billion AED in developed properties. In the past 12 months, Danube Properties has successfully completed their Starz and Resortz Projects. Atif points out that the company is eyeing on delivering more projects before looking into any projects. “We will only think of launching the next one once we have sold out the current project and commenced the construction. We have launched projects at some of the toughest times throughout our lifecycle and recorded sales success,” said Atif. An ardent lover of contemporary design, sustainable construction and value engineering, his projects demonstrate value for money in every Sq. Ft. One of his latest and unique property concepts help people maximize the living space by use of innovative design and furnishing. His projects also come with ultra-modern amenities, creating a unique sense of community living. The success of which can be seen in record breaking sales of close to 4,400 residential units incorporating this concept.
Brian has maintained an almost constant presence in the Gulf region since 1975 and in 1989 he opened the GAJ headquarters in Dubai. With more than 40 years of regional experience to his name, Brian’s influence on modern Middle Eastern architecture is undeniable. His body of work comprises some of the region’s most recognisable and prized buildings. Among them is the Dubai Creek Golf Club, widely recognised as one of Dubai’s first architectural icons – so much so that it features on the 20 dirham note. Recognised as one of the most distinguished architects in the region, Brian is credited with having set in motion a countrywide trend in the UAE to incorporate traditional Arabic and Islamic themes into modern architecture. His distinctive style and uncompromising resolve for design excellence has made Brian and GAJ a preferred partner for many distinguished projects and has resulted in the firm winning a number of prestigious design awards. Brian told CBNME: “In addition to the obvious milestones of successfully completed projects, over the years GAJ has established a number of internal departments all of which actively complement the architectural heart of the practice. The first was the establishment of an Interior Design Department which has continually won awards for high quality and unusual design solutions, followed by the acquisition of a fully functioning MEP team which has evolved over the years to be one of the most highly regarded in the region and, most recently, the Specialist Lighting Division which continues to add value to all we do.”
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34 Haleema Humaid Al Owais CEO of Sultan bin Ali Al Owais Real Estate 40
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A visionary. A risk-taker. A responsible leader. Haleema Humaid Al Owais, CEO of Sultan bin Ali Al Owais Real Estate rightfully deserves all her epithets. At the helm of three large companies that cover the entire scale of needs of her core business in construction, real estate development, and real estate management, Haleema has proven time and again that challenges you deal with will eventually define your character. When she entered the ‘then’ male-dominated industry of real estate and construction, Haleema was just 22 years old. Undaunted by the task ahead of her, she turned to her known resources in the shape of a senior colleague who had trained her in her previous job. This core team of three thus laid the framework for becoming the Sultan bin Ali Al Owais Real Estate. In terms of projects under development and completed, the company has delivered/ handed over close to 100 units in Ajman, a 65000 square foot building in Sharjah, and also built a Mosque in Sharjah. The company has two more projects underway, including a residential development in RAK and a mixed-use development on Emirates Road in Ajman. Haleema told CBNME: “My role involves Strategy, Management, and ensuring that we are always focused on our corporate ethos and vision. The most valuable change brought about during my term would be the enhancement of a strong corporate structure from a traditional family-owned business.”
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35 Saeed Al Qatami
CEO of Deyaar Deyaar is one of the largest developers in Dubai, its real estate ventures span major growth corridors and prime locations in Dubai. The company’s current project portfolio includes iconic residential and commercial tower developments as well as upcoming hospitality developments. Their mission is to create an urban environment that meets the high standards set by the nation’s leaders, with a diverse portfolio of quality real estate developments and differentiated services, a return on investment for stakeholders and value for customers, whilst providing the tools to our employees to realize their potential. According to a statement made on Deyaar’s official website, Saeed Al Qatami, CEO of Deyaar, said: “Much like the UAE, Deyaar has built our credentials on solid foundations that evoke trust and the collaborative engagement of every stakeholder. Our unwavering determination to excel in an industry that is fiercely competitive has allowed us to grow as a customer-focused, trusted and valued developer with in-depth market intelligence and property management expertise.” 42
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Greg Ward Managing Director at Transguard Group
Managing Director Greg Ward has led Transguard Group through four years of continual, record-breaking financial growth by strengthening Transguard’s robust business platform, deepening the company’s commitment to customer service and expanding its portfolio to include new revenue streams (including Transguard Living, Transguard Delivery, Transguard Misting Stations and more). Transguard Group was also at the forefront of the UAE’s COVID-19 containment efforts in its field hospitals in Abu Dhabi and Dubai, supplying more than 500 staff in a number of sectors, including Security, Facilities Management and Hospitality. Our work within three of the UAE’s field hospitals. For the first time, Transguard will now be offering its expertise to companies throughout Dubai who are looking for a 360-degree solution to the challenges of housing, feeding and entertaining workforces of all sizes and demographics, and so much more. In terms of expansion, Greg told CBNME: “Expansion is always on the horizon for Transguard, and to that end we’re currently eyeing multiple acquisitions in a variety of sectors, including FM, technology, cash, cybersecurity and recruitment, among others. Some of these opportunities are in the UAE but we are also considering international expansion opportunities as well.”
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Norman Foster Founder and Executive Chairman of Foster + Partners
Norman Foster is the founder and executive chairman of Foster + Partners, a global studio for architecture, urbanism and design, rooted in sustainability. He believes that the quality of our surroundings affects the quality of our lives, and is driven by his passion for innovation and excellence. According to the company’s website, Fosters + Partners completed Haramain High-speed rail project in 2019. The project consisted of a 450-kilometre high-speed rail link between the major Saudi Arabian cities of Makkah, Madinah, Jeddah and KAEC. Other project that are currently under construction include Samba’s new headquarters in KSA, Kuwait International Airport, and were recently selected by Amaala for their Mirage-Inspired Airport Design. Under Norman’s leadership, the company has grown to great heights and has stayed true to his vision of designing projects that promote sustainability.
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A Smart Move For New Possibilities New Quester’s flexibility makes it suitable across a variety of applications and segments such as general cargo, long haul and construction. And now, ESCOTs’ added power and performance in New Quester means assignments can be carried out with increased fuel and driver efficiency. Optimized specifications such as reduced tare weight allow you to carry more. And with the introduction of smart new connected features such as telematics, you can stay on top of your tough daily schedule. A smart move for your business
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Donna Sultan President & CEO of KEO International Consultants A passionate and motivational leader, Donna Sultan has proved to be a role model to many in the construction industry, known for her inspirational approach to managing people and her dedication to excellence. She has held the title of Chief Executive of Officer of KEO International Consultants for nearly 30 years and was appointed as its President and CEO in 2016. Under her leadership, KEO, a multi-disciplinary project management, architectural and engineering consulting firm grew from a handful of employees in 1991 to a firm of over 2,500+ professional staff with 12 offices located throughout the Middle East Region. The firm has consistently been ranked for over 15 years as one of the top 10 PMC firms and one of the top 200 design firms globally. 44
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Syed Kashif Akhtar Group Managing Director, Havelock One Interiors Since 1998, Havelock One Interiors has established itself as a leading fit-out service provider in the Middle East and beyond. Syed Kashif Akhtar is the group managing director and under his strong leadership, the company has progressed immensely. Some of the prominent completed projects by Havelock One Interiors include VOX Cinemas, Nakheel Mall, Palm Dubai; Hilton Garden Inn, Avenues, Kuwait; The Westin Hotel, Seef, Bahrain; The Cheesecake Factory, Riyadh Park, Riyadh; and more. Syed says: "We started our operations with a small facility in Bahrain, and today we are present in five countries with one of the largest joineries and manufacturing facilities in the region. I am very proud that the company has grown significantly since its inception in late 1998, and that Havelock One has positioned itself as a leading brand in fit-out industry in the GCC region. The recent award of ‘Great Place to Work’ to Havelock One is a testimony of how much we have matured as an organisation over the last 20 years, providing our employees with a thriving work environment." From the very beginning of this pandemic, Havelock's key priorities have been the safety of the employees and ensuring the continuity of service to its customers. "We have stayed very close to our customers, and the team has done an exceptional job in minimising business disruption on all our ongoing projects despite challenging conditions. We launched our ‘WFH - Work from Home’ initiative for our office-based staff at a very early stage, and that helped considerably in containing the spread of infection amongst our staff," adds Syed.
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Muhammad Al Salmy Managing Director, Partner, & Lead Architect at Hoehler + alSalmy
Hoehler + alSalmy originated from Hoehler + Partner which began in 1970 in Aachen, Germany. In 2009, the office formed a partnership with Muhammad Sultan AlSalmy to bring the venture to the Sultanate of Oman. In 2016, the Oman office rebranded to Hoehler + alSalmy (H+S) due to Muhammad’s dedication to the firm since its establishment. H+S has adopted a sustainable approach to architecture through a wide range of projects; from the small scale luxury private villas, to Offices spaces, Educational institutes, Cultural and apartment buildings. H+S has rapidly become a leading name in the architecture and design scene owing to their ability to create modern, sustainable designs, by combining German architectural and technical standards, with traditional local elements, to deliver unique and innovative design concepts, and multiple energy conservation techniques.
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Saeed Al Abbar Managing Director at AESG
As Managing Director of AESG, Saeed Al Abbar founded the company in the year 2010 and has built AESG into one of the Middle East and Europe’s largest and most respected specialist consultancy, engineering and advisory firms with a core focus on sustainable urban development. Under Saeed’s leadership, AESG has invested significantly in the engineering tools of the future, most notably in computer generated design which we are now utilizing across our projects. Furthermore, Saeed has led the chard in launching the ‘Pathway to Net Zero’ to advance the region’s uptake of a sustainable built environment. This will be applied free of cost to all of the company’s design projects to increase the uptake of green buildings. WWW.CBNME.COM
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Abdullah Al Sudairy CEO at Amlak International
Abdullah Al Sudairy, CEO at Amlak International since 2007, has brought about a great deal of change in the company. During his time, the real estate finance company has boosted their technological advantages to streamline technology platform, which allows Amlak to quickly approve and disburse lending products without compromising on strict risk management processes and high credit quality criteria. In 2019, Amlak International achieved revenue of SAR 296 million, and earnings before tax (“EBT”) of SAR 102 million at a highly competitive margin of 34.4%. In Q1 2020, the company’s revenue was SAR 75 million and EBT of SAR 33 million, at a very strong margin of 44%.
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Jamil Jadallah Managing Director at National Engineering Bureau
The National Engineering Bureau originated in UAE and goes way back to 1984. Some of the recent projects by NEB include the construction of Khalifa City Mall in Abu Dhabi, design and engineering of Warsan Medical Center and New Medical Fitness Centre in Dubai. NEB’s strategy during the pandemic situation is to get in touch with the existing, previous clients, and future investors via online methods and sending the company’s latest portfolio, taking safety precautions, and motivating each other. The company wants to expand and establish offices in other parts of the GCC. Some of the prestigious projects in the pipeline for NEB are construction supervision consultancy services for the Al Shuaiba School and Family Development Foundation Headquarters in Abu Dhabi, amongst others. CONSTRUCTION BUSINESS NEWS ME // AUGUST 2020 //
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44 Sam Alcock Director At Tenable Fire Engineering Consultancy Tenable FEC’s Dubai director, Sam Alcock, has just under a decade’s experience in a range of fire engineering consultancy roles. Sam joined Tenable FEC’s Oman office as a fire consultant and was tasked with handling Dubai’s operations, an opportunity that allowed him to grow and nurture the business before being officially appointed as Director. Under the supervision of Sam Alcock the company is recognised for delivering some of the region’s most robust and professional reports, demonstrating the company’s commitment to raising fire engineering consultancy services regionally. In 2019 and 2020, Tenable FEC consulted on and provided services for some of the most prestigious projects, including upgrades to Jumeirah Beach Hotel, various Expo 2020 pavilions, 5-star resorts, and travelling to Campione d’Italia to assist a Dubai based developer with their boutique hotel. The company also worked and is currently working on several international projects, including a Hilton Curio in Nairobi, Hilton and Garden Inn in Egypt, a museum, schools and resorts in KSA. Although 2020, has brought with it a number of significant challenges, including project delays, travel restrictions and periods of lockdown, Tenable FEC has achieved approximately 50% of its 2020, forecasted budget. 46
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Simon Karam Director at Sarooj Construction Company
According to the profile on their website, Sarooj Construction has been operating in Oman since 1976 and was re-structured in 2006. It has an established track-record and leading reputation for the provision of Earthworks, Geo-technical, Marine, Infrastructure, Airports, Roads, Buildings, Electrical & Mechanical Works and Site Temporary Facilities to the Oil & Gas and other construction industries in Oman. Sarooj has 43 years of experience working in Oman on major Infrastructure projects and oilfield services for leading operating companies such as Petroleum Development Oman (Shell), British Petroleum (BP), OOCEP, Occidental and Total and has been involved in most of the flagship infrastructure projects in Oman such as Musandam Gas Plant, Musandam Independent Power Plant, Nimr Water Treatment Plant, Shinas Port, Al Mouj Resort, Madha Road and Haima Airstrip.
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Gary Reader General Manager of ServeU
Since joining in 2018, Gary has significantly contributed to the strategic financial growth of ServeU which led to multimillion wins amounting to more than AED 200 Million and expansion of the company across several business sectors. Gary spearheaded technological integration in more than 80% of the company’s service delivery and operational processes, including WhatsApp for Business, thereby boosting the customer satisfaction rating to 92% towards the end of 2019, 7% more than 2018. This resulted in note-worthy award recognitions from RTA and Dubai Chambers, among others. Deeply committed to enhancing the regional FM industry, Gary implemented initiatives to reduce carbon emissions by switching the entire fleet of over 4000 staff transport buses to B20 Biofuel. In addition, he invested in staff growth and development by establishing the Centre of Excellence - this assisted in standardising the quality of ServeU’s service provision across all 1000+ active projects.
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Shaher Mousli Chairman of Arthur Mackenzy Properties Group Shaher Mousli's role involves designing the overall Strategic Direction of the organization based upon local and international market variables. "We have completed two G + 4 residential projects in Jumeirah Village Triangle and Jumeirah Village Circle, respectively," said Shaher. In terms of expansion, Shaher said: "We are designing housing opportunities across various parts of the UAE for the mid-income segment, and WWW.CBNME.COM
intend to deliver 1000 homes by Q4 of 2021." The company previously engaged the development of high yield rental properties as retirement portfolios for investors and developed luxury real estate. However, for the next five years, Arthur Mackenzy Properties Group's focus will be on lucrative opportunities in the mid to low-cost residential sectors. "Our people are our true asset, and
all company staff is considered family. We are fortunate to have maintained our staff strength during the pandemic as humanity needs to prevail, especially in times like these. We practice a decentralized management style and empower the team to make decisions freely with minor supervision from senior management – a practice that proved invaluable during times of social distancing and partial staff presence," concludes Shaher.
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HE Hesham Al Qassim CEO of Wasl Asset Management
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Murali S. Managing Director at Al-Futtaim Engineering and Technologies
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Imran Farooq Group CEO At Samana Group
Wasl was established on May 25, 2008 by the Dubai Real Estate Corporation (DREC) to oversee the management of its assets and grow its real estate portfolio. Its main objective is to strengthen Dubai’s position as the premier hub to live and work in and at the same time be the ultimate destination for tourists. One of their major projects in the past 12 months has been the Warsan Project. The
Al-Futtaim Engineering & Technologies offers customers complete engineering and systems integration solutions. Established over 45 years ago, the Engineering arm operates in the United Arab Emirates, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and Egypt and provides a wide variety of products and services for the construction industry from air conditioning, scaffolding and access solutions, elevators and escalators, control and life safety, facilities management, building products, MEP, Technology Infrastructure and
Imran Farooq along with his company takes pride in the companies’ ability to work closely with clients and to address and meet individual needs. Samana Group’s strength is in its highly professional and transparent approach. Visionary businessman Imran Farooq, Chief Executive Officer of Samana Group of Companies, has 20 years of Business Management experience and his mission is to endeavor for wholehearted satisfaction of companies’ clients and exceptional services.
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company announced in 2019, that construction on its Warsan project is well underway for a timely delivery. As per the companies press release in September 2019, the project had 60% of the construction and 95% of infrastructure work completed to date. The structural works in all buildings of the development are complete, and MEP activities are in progress.
Digital transformation. The Technologies division provides complete business solutions to large, medium and small customers that include networking solutions, IP telephony, infrastructure, contact centre solutions, business applications, ELV systems, professional audio-visual solutions and managed services. These solutions are further complemented by services that include project management, installation, testing, commissioning and after-sales maintenance contracts.
Samana Group of Companies is a Dubai-based well-diversified and well-established business conglomerate comprising of eight companies engaged in immigration services, investment, real estate development and asset management, playing their role in the UAE and GCC economies with outstanding professional approach. In the past 12 months, the company has completed their Samana Greens project and are working on their new Samana Golf Avenue project.
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Nasser bin Masoud Al Sheibani CEO of Al Mouj Muscat
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Benoy Kurien Group CEO of Al Hamra
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Aaron Hennessy General Manager at Douglas OHI
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Al Mouj Muscat is Oman’s first and leading oceanfront community that is a class apart and has no comparable competition. The awardwinning master plan defines a luxury lifestyle and leisure destination in the heart of Muscat that naturally connects people, businesses and cultures to create a thriving community that is positively integrated with a sustainable environment. Nasser bin Masoud Al Sheibani, CEO of Al Mouj Muscat, said; "As the Sultanate’s first
Benoy Kurien has been the driving force behind Al Hamra’s successful expansion. As Group CEO of Al Hamra, the leading real estate developer, services provider and investment company in the Northern Emirates, Benoy oversees the operations and assets of the US$1 billion group. Benoy started his career with Al Hamra in 1998 and successfully
Douglas OHI was established in Oman in 1981 and has since undertaken a variety of civil and building projects. Douglas OHI is also a leading provider of construction services with a national business network. It offers the flexibility to undertake a full range of sustainable solutions for building and civil engineering projects from the business case, through design, procurement, construction, and on-going aftercare. Aaron Hennessy, General Manager at Douglas OHI, was appointed in 2014. Aaron has over 20 years of experience in construction management,
integrated residential development, incorporating over 6,000 new homes, a 400-berth marina, an 18-hole PGA championship golf course that’s listed in the world’s top 100, luxury and authentic hospitality and vibrant retail, leisure and dining opportunities, Al Mouj Muscat urges families and individuals to live life to the fullest, do better, see more and live richer. Here, every moment spent, every opportunity explored, is life Inspired.”
earned his stripes, climbing the career ladder to his current position in a short span of time. Benoy has been instrumental in shaping Al Hamra and it many entities, and keeps the team motivated to achieve new horizons of growth. Keeping himself up-to-date with all critical financial and strategic information, he focuses on driving Al Hamra’s sustained growth.
working across Ireland, the Middle East, and North and West Africa. Aaron has led multicultural teams for multimillion-dollar construction development projects across the various regions. Aaron’s team at Douglas OHI has extensive expertise and knowledge in developing innovative solutions beyond excellent client service to ensure that we make a difference to the Omani community. Aaron’s vision is to build on Douglas OHI’s leading position at the heart of the Omani Construction industry and transform business and industry issues.
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Abdulla Bin Sulayem CEO, Seven Tides
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Dr. Anil Pillai CEO of Airolink Building Contracting
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Saleh Abdullah Lootah CEO of Lootah Real Estate Development
As CEO of Seven Tides, Bin Sulayem has taken overall responsibility for the company’s luxurious portfolio of residential, commercial and resort properties. This currently includes: Anantara The Palm Dubai Residences, a luxurious residential property forming part of the Anantara The Palm Dubai Resort; Oaks Ibn Battuta Gate Dubai Hotel, The Residences at Ibn Battuta Gate and The Offices at Ibn Battuta Gate; Oceana Residences on Palm Jumeirah; Discovery Gardens, a modern residential community located in Jebel Ali; the flagship DUKES
The history of AIROLINK is deeply entrenched in Europe whereby; Airolink Building Contracting Ltd was set up in 2001 to cater to the specialized needs of a booming construction industry in Ireland from 2001 to 2008. Having established in Europe, Airolink expanded to Middle East with some of the prestigious contracts in UAE. Airolink building expertise encompasses educational, commer-
Saleh Abdullah Lootah, CEO of Lootah Real Estate Development is in charge of executing strategic decisions to ensure they stay true to the board’s vision of improving the lifestyle of UAE residents and citizens, as well as contributing to positive change in the society. Lootah on the company’s achievements: “During my tenure with Lootah, I managed to maintain a culture of excellence and a firm commitment to provide the highest standards
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London and DUKES The Palm, A Royal Hideaway Hotel; as well as Dubai Heights Academy, a 1,845-capacity British curriculum school located in Al Barsha. With focus on expanding the existing Dubai footprint, and under Bin Sulayem’s leadership, Seven Tides launched SE7EN Residences The Palm, later rebranded to Seven Palm, and SEVEN CITY JLT, its first mixed-use development. The Seven brand marks a new direction for the extended space. With an emphasis on lifestyle and experience, it is positioned to appeal to young executives.
cial and retail developments, residential and hotel developments, industrial facilities and government defence buildings. As per the company’s website, between 2019 and 2020, Airolink have been involved in several notable projects which includes: Wonderland Waterfront Development, SEVEN City JLT, and Ministry of Human Resources & Emiratisation, and many more.
of housing. One development we consider as among our top achievements since I took this position is Ewan Residences in Dubai Investment Park (DIP), comprising 83 buildings with up to 12 apartments. We have delivered over 1,000 units to highly satisfied occupants in this residence. Due to this success, we aim to provide many more developments such as this in the future as part of our aggressive expansion plans.”
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Kareem Derbas Founder and CEO of Palma Holding
Founded in 1998, Palma specializes in developing bespoke properties in Dubai’s premium real estate areas, with an unmatched reputation for offering quality professional services and developments. Palma is guided by its core values of loyalty, excellence, integrity & honesty and team work. Just this year, the company announced the launch of their new AED 365 million residential project: ‘Olivara Residences & Park’ In a statement made on the company’s website, Kareem Derbas, founder and CEO of Palma Holding, said: “We remain focused and committed on delivering unique residential developments in Dubai that offer exceptional lifestyles with long-term investment returns and growth. There is no shortage of landmark projects, mixed use developments, 5-star hotels and large-scale master-planned communities. Yet within this exciting and competitive landscape, Palma Holding has been able to find a niche in high-quality, prime residential developments that offer its residents an exceptional lifestyle coupled with above-average market returns and capital gains.”
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Jesús Sancho Managing Director at ACCIONA ME
ACCIONA is a global company with a business model based on sustainability. It aims to respond to society’s primary needs by providing renewable energy, infrastructure, water, and services. The main project completed during the last year has been the EPC Dubai Metro Route 2020. In the previous 12 months, ACCIONA has been awarded several projects in the GCC for its different business units. The water treatment solutions got two large seawater reverse osmosis desalination plants for the SWCC at Al Khobar 2 and the SWPC at the Shuqaiq3 IWPP, both in KSA. During the last year, the company also developed different initiatives in the Middle East to raise awareness about climate change. For example, with the ACCIONA 100% EcoPowered, bringing the first zero-emission vehicle to the Middle East to finish the Dakar Rally and the only electric car to complete the most demanding rallies in the five continents. WWW.CBNME.COM
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Mounir Haidar Managing Director of Jubail Island Investment Company
In April 2019, Jubail Island Investment Company announced the launch of its AED 5bn Jubail Island project. Sprawled across 4,000 hectares of mangrove forests and coastal estuaries with more than 30 km of waterfront, Jubail Island will be home to 6 distinct village communities, with deliberately bespoke, breathtakingly picturesque residential areas and community facilities. At the time of the launch, Mounir Haidar, Managing Director of JIIC, said: “Jubail Island will cater to families, wellness, wildlife and nature enthusiasts, including water sports activities as well as offering a unique quality of life for homeowners and visitors alike. With its wide variety of residential, retail, hospitality, entertainment, and education offerings, the project is poised to become an important contributor to the Abu Dhabi real estate market in line with the objectives of the Abu Dhabi Economic Vision 2030.” Over the past 12 months, Jubail Island Investment Company has awarded the following contracts: AED 86mn Interchange Contract; AED80+ mn Infrastructure Works –awarded to Gulf Contractors Company; and AED50+ mn Marine Works to National Marine Dredging Company.
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Sundeep Tolani CEO and Founder of Akshara Global
Akshara Global Real Estate Development, a family owned company, has in a short span of time covered enormous ground, thereby establishing its place as a leading real estate developer in Dubai. Sundeep Tolani is the CEO and founder of Akshara Global. He has over 30 years of entrepreneurial experience in the Middle East and Africa region, and has built a multinational company spanning three continents. The company is one of the fastest growing entities in the realty sector that offers luxury at an affordable price. Akshara Global's management team combines decades of international construction experience, and it carefully oversees every aspect of the development through design, marketing, construction, and commitment to quality. Akshara Global has successfully handed over and delivered two projects in Jumeirah Village Circle, Laya Residences and Laya Mansion, both spanning over 400 apartments. CONSTRUCTION BUSINESS NEWS ME // AUGUST 2020 //
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RIWAL AND JLG CELEBRATE 25 YEARS OF DISTRIBUTION PARTNERSHIP
JLG Industries, Inc., an Oshkosh Corporation company [NYSE:OSK] and a leading global manufacturer of aerial work platforms and telehandlers, celebrates its 25th anniversary with Riwal as its official JLG distributor. The relationship was originally established in 1986, with the first purchase of JLG machines for the rental fleet operated by Riwal. In 1995 the relationship emerged to an official distributorship for the Netherlands. Over the years, Riwal successfully introduced many of JLG’s innovations to the Dutch market, such as JLG’s ultra booms, hybrid machines and most 52
recently the Lithium-battery operated EC Booms and hi-capacity models. The relationship has undergone much change over 25 years. Karel Huijser, General Manager and Vice President of JLG EMEAIR comments, “Riwal and JLG have come a long way since we started working together. We have seen the market mature and continued to develop and innovate the rental market. We appreciate the shared values of safety, innovation, and customer focus between both companies. We are looking forward to continuing our relationship in the future and congratulate Riwal with this milestone”.
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In support of its international growth strategy, more recently Riwal extended its JLG distributorship in Poland (2015), Croatia, Slovenia, Montenegro, Bosnia and Herzegovina (2018). Most recently Kazakhstan (2019) was added to the list of distribution areas. Pedro Torres, Riwal CEO adds: “The long-term relationship between JLG and Riwal is much more than that of a supplier and a customer. It is all about partnership, there is plenty of trust between both parties. I am very proud about the 25th anniversary of the distributorship and I look forward to a successful continuation of our cooperation.”
MB CRUSHER REVEALS 5 BRILLIANT SOLUTIONS FOR YOUR CONSTRUCTION SITE If you think of construction work as easy, let us tell you that you are wrong. At almost any stage of the job, difficulties can arise. And every problem must be solved quickly and without incurring additional expenses. Everyone solves difficulties in their own way, either with the machinery they already own or by adopting new processes that not only solve their problems but allows them to generate revenue. Demolish not destroy: The grapple with a delicate touch On a construction site in Japan, it was necessary to demolish a wooden house without destroying or ruining the material. Traditional three-tooth claw grapples, make it difficult to remove and move the small pieces of wood. On the other hand, the MB-G900 grapple removed the wooden planks, and delicately and precisely moved them without destroying the material. Using the MB-G900, the house was deconstructed, not just demolished. The job was completed quickly, accurately, and without additional costs. At the port, work never stops We are at the port of Conakry, Guinea, where 2 million tons of goods get trafficked every year. A 774 million dollar restoration project was underway, which included the restoration of the handling and storage area, which had begun to deform after continuous storage and movement of heavy cargos. Elimination of the existing self-blocking concrete blocks used to reinforce the subsoil is no easy task, let alone trying to replace them while the port activity WWW.CBNME.COM
to create flower beds and fencing and decorative retaining walls without disturbing the surrounding areas. How did they accomplish this? The solution they adopted was to use the MB-S18 screening bucket with 80mm panels to select and clean the stones inside a tight, water-filled container.
continued. The ingenious solution the construction site adopted was using a BF80.3 crusher bucket: with this agile and compact unit, they managed to crush the existing blocks on the spot, reducing them to a size of 0-3 cm. They then mixed the crushed material with the existing sub-base, creating a quality mixture capable of withstanding heavy loads. All done in a small space, without using trucks and disposing of waste material: three successfully attained goals. So clean it’s beautiful Trentino Alto Adige, Italy, is known for its aesthetically pleasing public greenery: everything is treated in detail, flowers, and other decorations are always perfectly arranged. A landscaping company was tasked to clean dirty natural stones
Good-bye weeds! In France, a mountain valley in the southeast had been overrun by the Japanese knotweed (which is commonly known as the “Polygon of Japan”): more than 1000 square meters of biodiversity was at risk. The task was to eliminate the weeds without the use of trucks to move tons of soil out. The inventive idea was to use an MB-HDS320 shafts screener to pull live rootstalk and mulch it. This would deem the rootstalk unfit for regeneration, and it was no longer able to infest the land. Even in a mine A new tunnel had to be created in a mine in Sinaloa, Mexico. The obstacle? To Find a machine that could create the mine with precision and be effective in tight spaces. The company thought to use a tool that hadn’t been used in a mine before: the MB-R900 drum cutter. They mounted the unit on a Komatsu PC200 and created an underground tunnel with millimeter precision. Job sites come with their unique challenges, some of which seem impossible to overcome. Sometimes you have to work hard to find the most suitable and least expensive solution. MB Crusher equipment works with the equipment already on site; it pays for itself in no time; it is compact and easy to use.
CONSTRUCTION BUSINESS NEWS ME // AUGUST 2020 //
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CATERPILLAR CELEBRATES PRODUCTION OF 175,000 MEDIUM HIGH DRIVE DOZERS
In 1985, Caterpillar expanded its revolutionary elevated sprocket undercarriage concept to its medium track-type tractor (MTTT) line with the launch of the HSeries models. Still unique to this day for the 130 to 350 hp (100 to 250 kW) dozer class, the high drive design conformed to the ground better, improving durability, serviceability and performance compared to low-drive and oval track designs. The Cat® D4H, D5H, D6H and D7H dozer models were the first to feature the high drive design, and in 1987, the D8L model was added to the family. In addition to bringing many of the same large dozer advantages to the medium line, the elevated drive sprocket allowed movement of the front and rear track 54
idlers. This helped to fine-tune machine balance and ground pressure for specific applications more easily than oval track machines. For the first time, variable pitch angle tilt (VPAT) blades were made available to high drive dozers with the D4H and D5H models for finishing jobs faster by grading at higher speeds. Thirty-five years later, Caterpillar celebrated the unrivaled success of the elevated sprocket design in the medium dozer class by producing three commemorative 175,000 units in May 2020. “One of the original taglines to promote the early high drive tractors was ‘Beyond Known Capabilities,’ because these units set a new standard for efficiency, productivity and ease of operation,” says
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Wes Holm, chief engineer, Caterpillar medium tractor products. Three commemorative Cat® tractors built With travel and gathering restrictions resulting from the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, Caterpillar cancelled in-person celebrations to mark the historic 175,000unit milestone for its medium dozers. However, three customers took possession of the commemorative units, which feature special decals on the fenders denoting the 175,000-unit milestone. The 175,000 image appears inside the cab as well, where it is embroidered on the headrest and printed on a plaque denoting each unit’s limited-edition status.
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