Infrastructure Middle East July/August 2015

ISSUE 017 | JULY-AUGUST 2015 thalesgroup.com ISSUE 017 | JULY-AUGUST 2015

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2022 WORLD CUP

Leaving a legacy Engineering sustainable sporting venues P44

A BALANCING ACT Sustainable desalination is crucial to the Gulf region’s water security

OIL & GAS

The Big Miraah PDO invests in Solar EOR P52

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INTRODUCTION

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Published by

he scarcity of natural water resources in the Middle East and its near total absence in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries is a hard reality that no amount of economic growth or oil wealth can mask.

An oft-quoted statement of HE Abdullah Al-Hussayen Minister of Water and Electricity, Saudi Arabia - People pay SAR200 ($53) a month for their mobile phone bills yet less than SAR1.00 ($0.27) a month for their household water – is a pithy reminder of the challenges faced by the Gulf countries in ensuring their water security.

Their story is not fundamentally different from what is happening elsewhere in the world. Rapid population growth, economic growth and associated standard of living have contributed to increasing demand for water, which must be me, despite the limited resources at hand.

The GCC countries, without exception, rely on desalination to meet their water needs and will continue to do so. According to a Frost & Sullivan report, a total of 39m m3/day of desalination capacity is expected to be added between 2010 and 2020. This represents an approximate investment of between $40-50bn.

However, desalination’s high carbon and ecological footprint, and its adverse impact on air and marine environment is transforming the water industry’s focus towards sustainable desalination and water reuse. The UAE and Saudi Arabia are investing in research and pilot projects that seek to combine desalination technologies with their plentiful solar insolation. The fact that GCC accounts for 50% of the world’s desalination capacity only adds to the urgency.

In recent years, GCC countries have adopted reuse as a cheaper alternative to bridging the water demand and supply gap. Saudi Arabia, for example, is targeting 100% reuse of wastewater from cities with 5,000 inhabitants or greater by 2025.

Some countries are also incorporating demand management into their water security strategy through tools like smart metering, slab tariffs, and green building codes. The steep decline in oil prices is forcing governments in the region to tighten their purse strings and review the level of subsidies given to different sectors. As a result, sooner or later, water tariffs may reflect the actual cost of production more closely than ever.

In the long term, sustainable desalination and water reuse technologies are fundamental to the region’s economic growth and social development. A GCC-wide effort can yield commercially viable solutions that meet the region’s long-term water needs.

T

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July - August 2015

INFRASTRUCTURE MIDDLE EAST 01

CONTENTS

017 July-August 2015

24 32

TOP 10 FEATURE

REGULARS

GCC water projects

06 Regional update

Water remains a priority sector for governments in the Gulf region as they focus on reversing the negative trends in the region’s water balance

10 Sector update 15 Global update 16 Quote Board 17 In Transit Deb Frodl, GE’s global executive director of ecomagination

18 In Focus Karim Helal of ProTenders

DESALINATION SPECIAL

30

Interview: Dr Abdullah AlAlshaikh, President, International Desalination Association (IDA),

34

Interview: Asad Iqbal Khan, Manager – Business Development, AES Arabia

38 32

The GCC water sector is undergoing a structural shift

Interview: Ahmad Saif al Mazrouy, CEO, Majis Industrial Services

21 Infrastructure tenders 54 Bottomline Matters SICK Sensors

64 Executive Insight 65 Infra People 66 Events 68 Infrastructure Milestones This month: Makani

INDUSTRY SECTORS

ANALYSIS

2022 WORLD CUP

OIL & GAS

SOLUTIONS HUB

28 Construction hotspot

44 Leaving a legacy

52 The Big Miraah

59 Port

Low oil prices and reduced growth forecasts have failed to dampen construction industry sentiments

Engineering sustainable sporting venues in the Middle East

By Matt Kitson

PDO contracts GlassPoint Solar to build one of the world’s largest solar plants for oil recovery

Navin Shewani of BASF on solutions to protect marine structures

RENEWABLE ENERGY

TELECOM

TRANSPORT

TRANSPORT

40 Rooftop solar revisited

46 Getting ready

56 Future-proofing

60 Designing airports

for 5G

transport infrastructure

Q&A session excerpts from panel discussion on Dubai’s roof-top solar initiative

How operators should prepare for a 5G future

By Saleem AlBlooshi

Interview: Martin Bassett, Director of Transport and Infrastructure, WSP l Parsons Brinckerhoff

GALF 2015 panel discusses the factors driving the expansion of airports in the region

CONSTRUCTION

TECHNOLOGY

TRANSPORT

FINANCE

42 Building a better tomorrow

48 Squaring the circle

58 The significance of signalling

62 Budget jitters

The 3rd Annual ‘Precast for All’ Conference in Dubai brought together the industry’s foremost precast experts

Safe, and definitely high voltage, SMA uses string fuses in solar park

By Dr Rüdiger Meyer

Interview: Denis Laroche, Ground Transportation, Sales & Marketing Director, Thales France

Faced with its first fiscal deficit since 2009, the UAE may moderate its spending plans

02

INFRASTRUCTURE MIDDLE EAST

July-August 2015

Protection

Bringing you Container Terminal 3 at Jebel Ali Port, Dubai 3 World’s largest semi-automated facility 3 Capacity of 4 million TEU, taking total capacity at Jebel Ali Port to 19 million TEU DP World, UAE Region P.O.Box 17000 Dubai Tel. +971 4 881 5555 marketing@dpworld.com www.dpworld.ae

3 19 automated quay cranes and 50 automated rail-mounted gantry cranes 3 Quay length of 1860 metres, 70 hectare storage yard and 17 metres depth

ON TOPIC ROUNDUP

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1

EDITOR'S CHOICE

READERS' COMMENTS

Italian firm scores $852m deal to build Qatar

World Cup stadium Salini Impregilo set to build Al Bayt Stadium, scheduled for completion in September 2018

PHOTO GALLERIES

2

Three execs resign from Dubai-listed Arabtec,

Damac’s first UK property features Versace interiors

Reorganisation of UAE’s largest

The Dubai-listed developer recently unveiled Aykon Nine Elms, its first development outside the Middle East.

listed contractor continues

See photo galleries at: meconstructionnews.com/photos

acting CFO appointed

with resignation of senior staff including chief financial officer

3

Saudi’s Kingdom Tower: How world’s tallest

building will benefit Jeddah

“It was interesting to read that construction disputes in the region soared in value in 2014 (‘Middle East construction disputes rise in value by 88%’). Especially because one of the reasons behind this was said to be that the industry has recovered after the financial downturn, so contractors now have the funds to pursue legal claims. It seems it’s time to rejoice that the market is better, and then call in the lawyers…”

Name withheld, via email

Mounib Hammoud of the Jeddah Economic Company discusses

READER POLL

the impact of the 1km tower

4

Is the UAE’s summer midday work ban effective?

Germany’s Hochtief in $1.5bn deal for Riyadh

64% 14%

airport expansion International joint venture consists of Hochtief, Shapoorji Pallonji

VIDEO

MidEast and Nahdat Al Emaar

French architects plan vertical city in Sahara

5

$217.7m mixed-use development

OXO Architectes and Nicolas Laisné Associés have developed a concept for a sustainable tower in the Moroccan part of the Sahara.

along Dubai Creek

See videos at: meconstructionnews.com/videos

Site visit: Dubai Wharf project Gavin Davids visits the

Yes: It is ensuring workers’ wellbeing

Yes: But the hours should be extended

17% 5% No: It is not enforced adequately

No: It is too disruptive to the industry

Log on for the latest from across the Middle East construction sector. Write to the editor at contact@meconstructionnews.com

REGIONAL UPDATE

The UAE Ministry of Energy has announced that fuel prices would be deregulated as of 1st August, 2015.

HE Suhail Al Mazroui, Minister of Energy, said that in accordance with the new pricing policy that has been ratified by the UAE Cabinet, a fuel price committee has been set up to review fuel prices against average international levels prior to their implementation in the UAE every month.

Al Mazroui said that deregulating fuel prices would help decrease fuel consumption and preserve natural resources for future generations. It will also encourage individuals to adopt fuel-efficient vehicles, including the use of electric and hybrid cars.

Sorbis / Shutterstock.com

UAE

Unaffected UAE’s construction sector reported production worth $81bn in 2014

Signalling a cooling in growth momentum, the Emirates NBD UAE PMI fell to a two-year low during June, with non-oil private sector firms reporting the weakest improvement in business conditions since August 2013.

The overall slowdown was mirrored by weaker expansions in output and new orders

during June. On a positive note, employment continued to increase while inflationary pressures from both input costs and output charges were negligible.

Khatija Haque, Head of MENA Research at Emirates NBD, said it is difficult to determine whether the softening will continue into Q3, particularly when bearing in mind the Islamic calendar.

Oman According to the International Monetary Fund (IMF), Oman’s total subsidies will touch $7.27bn in 2015 driven by growing energy consumption.

The report in the Times of Oman said the government grants subsidies to producers of various essential items, including petroleum products, housing loan interests, electricity, water and essential food items, including wheat flour.

The subsidy estimate for 2015 in the state budget is $4.64bn.

Overall, subsidies constitute almost 13% of budget expenditure and 8.9% of the GDP led by petroleum products, natural gas and electricity, in that order. The Central Bank of Oman recently favoured a phased reduction in the government subsidy.

06

INFRASTRUCTURE MIDDLE EAST

Curbing subsidies Petroleum products account for 60% of Oman’s total subsidy bill

Three of the five consortiums on Oman Rail’s shortlist for Segment One package of the national rail network have been asked to extend the validity of their bid bonds to October this year.

The remaining two - a JV led by India’s Larsen & Toubro comprising FCC Construction and Khalid Bin Ahmed & Sons; and the one led

July - August 2015

by China State Construction Engineering Corporation with SK E&C as partner were told to collect their bid bonds, reported Oman Observer.

The design and build contract is likely to be awarded in the fourth quarter of this year paving the way for construction work to begin by year-end. Segment One covers a 207-km stretch from Sohar Port to Buraimi.

With 2014 proving to be the strongest year economically for the UAE since its foundation, the economy is expected to continue to perform strongly in 2015 as well.

In a recent statement, Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai said growth this year will be driven by projects such as the $27bn expansion of national airports and the $11bn Union Rail Network, in addition to roads and transport projects, improved tourist facilities, electronic infrastructure, real estate and financial services.

He added that the UAE has put in place plans to increase the contribution of non-oil sector to the national economy to as high as 80% by 2021.

Oman’s first commercial solar power project started generating electricity and will be officially inaugurated in Al Mazyona in South Oman in September this year.

Rural Areas Electricity Company (RAECO) will purchase electricity for 20 years from the 307kW-capacity project built at a cost of $1m in an area of 8,000 sqm. As many as 1,617 solar panels have been installed at the site.

The solar power plant, which will meet about 60% of Al Mazyona’s winter electricity demand, will be operated by Bahwan Astonfield Solar Energy Company, a JV between Oman’s Bahwan Engineering Company (BEC) and India’s Astonfield Renewable Resources. RAECO presently generates 680MW to cater to the demand. different parts of the country, mainly in the rural areas.

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Power Transformers Current transformers Voltage transformers General AC insulation testing Resistance testing Circuit breakers Primary testing Protection relays

REGIONAL UPDATE

Kuwait Kuwait’s 2015-2016 state budget projects a $23.2bn deficit due to the sharp drop in oil prices.

The budget, which projects revenues at $40.7bn, a massive 39.2% drop from last year’s estimates, was passed by the parliament last month. Spending is projected at$63.9bn, 17.4% lower than last year’s estimates.

“We are facing a very difficult financial situation. We must control the growth in spending and diversify our sources of income so as not to remain completely reliant on oil,” said Finance Minister Anas al-Saleh.

Oil income in the new budget is calculated on the basis of $45 a barrel, down from last year’s $75 a barrel.

Project focus Kuwait’s medium-term capital spending outlook is positive

Kuwait’s economic growth will be driven by resilient private and public consumption and government capital spending, given stable oil production volumes, said Fitch Ratings, while affirming Kuwait’s ‘AA’ long-term rating.

“A lower oil price path appears to have had limited impact on the available confidence indicators,

while a better relationship between parliament and government should support the implementation of government capital projects,” said Fitch.

The agency said that oil directly accounted for 60% of GDP and 80% of government and external revenues, and government contracts supported much of the private sector.

Saudi Arabia Saudi Arabia’s first fullyfledged airport privatisation initiative commenced operations last month.

The new terminal at Prince Mohammed Bin Abdul Aziz International Airport (PMIA) in Madinah Al-Munawarah was completed in 30 months.

The Build Operate and Transfer (BOT) contract was awarded to the TIBAH Consortium, which comprises TAV Airports with Al Rajhi and Saudi Oger, by the General Authority of Civil Aviation (GACA) in June 2012.

The new terminal and airfield allows for an initial operating capacity of 8m passengers per year.

According to Frost & Sullivan, the new airport is expected to improve commercial trade to more than $107m.

08

INFRASTRUCTURE MIDDLE EAST

Low gear Saudi Arabia has decided to revisit Riyadh-Dammam high speed rail project

Saudi Arabia outlined plans for more than $140bn worth of public transport infrastructure projects in the Kingdom during the UITP World Congress and Exhibition in Milan in June.

Authorities revealed a 10 year expansion program that will see $90bn spent on infrastructure, rolling stock and buses and a $51bn spend on operations. The component market for the metro

July - August 2015

and rail network is valued at $23bn, while rolling stock and bus manufacturing are estimated to be at $9bn each.

Since 2008, the Kingdom has established over 12 large-scale public transportation projects.

Also, the Saudi Arabian General Investment Authority (SAGIA) has launched an fast-track investment programme with a focus on transportation.

Kuwait’s non-oil growth will maintain a steady 5% in 2015 and 2016 as project implementation improves, said the National Bank of Kuwait (NBK) in its latest Economic Update.

However, lower oil prices have highlighted the longer term sustainability challenges, rekindling efforts to introduce fiscal reform.

These include a broader corporate income tax and a value added tax (VAT), though neither is likely before 2019.

A new subsidy reform initiative is also expected, including cash transfers to lower income households. The parliament is deliberating on a wage bill reform initiative, which aims to standardise pay across the public sector and increase central control over the government’s wage bill.

The Saudi Railways Organisation (SRO) has cancelled the $201m contract awarded to Spain’s Talgo for six high speed trains for the Riyadh-Dammam high speed rail line in February.

A press release posted on the SRO website said the decision was taken following a ‘reassessment of SRO’s rolling stock needs.’

According to e-zine globalconstructionreview.com, the decision has raised fears that the kingdom is scaling back its infrastructure spending because of lower oil revenues.

Interestingly, Talgo is also part of the 12-member Spanish consortium building Haramain High Speed Rail Project linking Mecca and Madinah. In April, Transport Minister Abdullah Al-Muqbel, who is also chairman of SRO, had issued a strong warning to the consortium for ‘substandard and slow’ work.

REGIONAL UPDATE

Qatar According to Qatar’s Ministry of Development Planning and Statistics, the country faces a budget deficit in 2016 for the first time in 15 years because of the oil price slump.

In 2016, Qatar expects to run a fiscal deficit of 4.9% of GDP, the ministry said, and 3.7% the following year.

However, the government said it would continue with its huge investment program ahead of hosting the football World Cup despite the anticipated deficit.

Dr Saleh Al-Nabit, the minister for development planning and statistics said Qatar’s considerable financial reserves will provide an ample buffer while assuring that “important capital spending plans will proceed.”

Effective decoupling Only 7.5% of the infrastructure capex is linked to the World Cup

A vast majority of Qatar’s planned $200m capex is ancillary and planned independently of the World Cup, said Samba Financial Group in its latest country report.

The spending explicitly linked to the world cup is about $15.4bn, which represents only 7.5% of the capex, said the report.

Samba maintains the view

that the tournament will go ahead in Qatar in 2022.

“In a hypothetical scenario, if the World Cup is cancelled then the metro and Lusail City projects may well be scaled back - as well as the pace of project execution.... this would mean a scenario where GDP growth is clipped by perhaps one percentage point annually, but still registering above 5% YoY.”

Changes to the country’s Kafala sponsorship law would actually tighten regulations on expats, reported Doha News.

Qatar’s Advisory (Shura) Council signed off on changes to the Kafala law during its last session before summer recess.

The most significant proposal suggested making it harder for expats to change jobs. the Shura Council has recommended that the employee should serve double his contract time, or 10 years if they are on an open contract, before they are eligible to switch employers.

In June, Qatar’s government had issued statement which said a final draft of the new law would be ready by year-end.

After the award of the World Cup, Qatar has come under scrutiny for its labour practices.

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SECTOR UPDATE

Utilities A consortium of FCC Aqualia and local Alkhorayef Water and Power Company has been awarded a three-year operations and maintenance contract for Hadda and Arana wastewater treatment plants in Mecca, Saudi Arabia.

Both plants treat an average water flow of 250,000 m3 and have a maximum capacity to treat 375,000 m3. Mecca has a stable population of 1.5m people, which becomes considerably higher due to pilgrim visits, creating significant variations in the water flow to the plants.

This project falls within the framework of the programme by Saudi authorities to transform and modernise the country’s water cycle management.

Arana WWTP The O&M contract is FCC Aqualia’s third major win in Saudi Arabia

First Solar has signed an agreement to supply its high performance photovoltaic (PV) modules to power the 200MW second phase of the Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Solar Park.

Ahmed S Nada, Vice President and Region Executive for the Middle East, at First Solar said: “With this win, First Solar will

have earned the position of being the leading PV solutions provider in the Middle East, with a projected installed capacity of at least 270MW across the region by 2017.”

The project will be powered by over 2.36m First Solar modules, compared to the 152,880 that were installed in the 13MW first phase.

Oil & Gas Petroleum Development Oman (PDO) and GlassPoint Solar have signed an agreement to set up a 1GW solar thermal project for oil production.

Miraah (mirror in Arabic) will be a 1,021MW solar thermal facility in South Oman. The steam produced will be used in thermal EOR to extract heavy and viscous oil at the Amal oilfield, providing a sustainable solution for EOR steam currently produced by burning natural gas.

Once complete, Miraah will save 5.6tn BTUs of natural gas each year, sufficient to to provide residential electricity to 209,000 people in Oman.

Miraah follows the successful commercial operation of 50 tonnes of steam/day pilot by GlassPoint at Amal since 2010.

10

INFRASTRUCTURE MIDDLE EAST

Amal pilot project The oil and gas industry is the next major market for solar energy

Qatar Petroleum (QP) has announced the completion of the re-organisation program, which included the integration of Qatar Petroleum International (QPI) into QP. Saad Sherida Al-Kaabi, President and CEO of QP pointed out that with one corporation in charge of the oil and gas business domestically and internationally, QP can work towards its strategic

July-August 2015

objectives of becoming one of the best NOCs in the world.

Al Kaabi also expressed his regret on retrenchment of workers during the the reorganisation programme but added that adding that no Qatari employees were laid off during the process.

According to Reuters, 30% of QP’s 14,000-strong workforce were affected by retrenchment.

Alstom Grid and National Grid of Saudi Arabia signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) to develop and advance electricity infrastructure in the Kingdom on a long-term basis.

The two parties will cooperate in fields of standards and specifications, engineering and design, maintenance and operation, technical exchange forums and technology roadmap.

The cooperation also includes main equipment such as HV switchgear, power transformers, substation automation solutions including protection and measurement IEDs, digital substation, smart grid and supergrid applications, network management, maintenance and training courses.

UAE-based Dana Gas won another court ruling in its long-running dispute with the Kurdish Regional Government (KRG) over payment arrears of $2bn.

The London Court of International Arbitration ruled that its Pearl Petroleum consortium – which includes partners Crescent Petroleum, OMV of Austria and Hungary’s MOL – has exclusive rights to develop the Khor Mor and Chemchema concession in the Kurdish region for a period of not less than 25 years. The tribunal has fixed September 21, 2015 to determine the consortium’s monetary claim against the KRG. Dana Gas has invested over $1.2bn in the region and has already produced over 145m barrels of oil equivalent of natural gas over a period of seven years.

SECTOR UPDATE

Transport WSP l Parsons Brinckerhoff have been awarded a significant highways design project in Kuwait.

The appointment, by the Ministry of Public Works, consists of developing concept and detailed designs to upgrade Kabd-Sulaibiya Highway (KSH) in the Kuwait Metropolitan Area.

It also includes preparation of tender documents and tender evaluation, followed by construction supervision assignment in the later stages.

WSP l Parsons Brinckerhoff has delivered numerous projects in Kuwait including Package 1 of the Kuwait First Ring Road Upgrade Project where it provided design and construction supervision services.

Riyadh Metro Tunneling Lines 1 & 2 will have more than 35kms of tunnels

A consortium led by Bechtel has begun tunneling on Line 1 of the Riyadh Metro in Saudi Arabia, marking an important milestone on the $10bn project.

In total, seven tunnel boring machines (TBM) will be deployed by the Bechtel-led team to dig and construct more than 35km of tunnels beneath the capital city.

Amjad Bangash, Bechtel’s director on the project said: “Getting early agreement on the alignment in the heart of the city was crucial to advance the detailed design work needed to start tunneling.”

The first TBM will steadily ramp up to its planned average tunneling rate of about 100 meters/week and is expected to complete its journey by mid-2016.

Construction A consortium led by Italy’s Salini Impregilo will build and operate the Al Bayt stadium in Qatar for the 2022 World Cup. The consortium of Salini Impregilo, Galfar Al Misnad and Cimola will build a 70,000-seat stadium in the city of Al Khor, 50km north of Doha. To be completed by September 2018, the stadium will have a unique design inspired by the Bayt Al Sha’ar, the black and white tent traditionally used by Bedouins in Qatar.

The contract is split into $783.43m for construction and $58m for operations and maintenance. The stadium, built over an area of 200,000 sqm, will have demountable seating, so that it can be reduced to a capacity of 32,000 once the tournament is over.

12

INFRASTRUCTURE MIDDLE EAST

Reem Mall Construction work on Abu Dhabi’s newest mall will start this year

Two Kuwaiti companies have partnered to develop the Reem Mall in Abu Dhabi.

United Projects for Aviation Services Company (UPAC) and National Real Estate Company (NREC) recently announced the formalisation of their partnership agreement signed last year.

Under the agreement, UPAC, through its real estate subsidiary, Al Arfaj Real Estate Company,

July-August 2015

will invest up to $224m over the next three years in the project.

The construction of the $1bn mall, which will occupy an area of 2m sq ft, is set to commence this year and is expected to be completed by 2018.

Founded in 2000, UPAC has been managing over 200,000 sq ft of commercial space in Kuwait, including the country’s international airport.

ARCADIS has been appointed to provide architectural, branding, design and construction consultancy services for Doha’s Gold Line metro line on behalf of the contractor, ALYSJ JV. ARCADIS’ involvement in the project covers the detailed design and coordination of architectural finishes for 10 of the 13 new underground stations as well as associated MEP, structural and landscape design, plus construction support and consultancy services.

The design phase is expected to take 12 months and construction support an additional 24 months. The ultimate client is Qatar Rail Company. The value of the project to ARCADIS is almost $31.26m. The company is working on a similar package on Red Line South metro.

SSH, one of the leading master plannning, building desisn and infrastructure firms in the region, has been awarded the professional design services contract for a new luxury retail complex in Qatar.

Situated at the heart of the emergent city of Al Wakrah, The South Mall is being developed

by E’EMAR Development & Real Estate investment.

SSH’s Senior Partner and Qatar Resident Director Matthew Squires said, “The new innovative and unique design submitted by SSH will make The South Mall in Qatar a compelling destination for residents and tourists alike.”

Covering an area close to 50,000 sqm, the luxury mall, which will be located in the main Wakrah Road, will include a hypermarket, exclusive international restaurants, food outlets, coffee shops, anchor stores and a sports and recreational club.

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SECTOR UPDATE

Cities UAE-based Tawazun Company has signed up AECOM to start work on Jaheziya, its 1 sq km safety security and disaster management city coming up in Abu Dhabi.

Jaheziya, coming up at ICAD IV, will be designed and built as an integrated disaster management city with multiple training wings and zones and support facilities including props and simulators.

It will cover all the industries and sectors with a high degree of potential hazards such as maritime, rail transport, construction, medical emergencies, aviation, industrial, CBRN and Hazmat (chemical, biological, radiological, nuclear and hazardous material) and fire fighting.

Volvo Electric Bus The Swedish major sees huge potential for such buses in the GCC

Volvo Buses is hoping to bring its concept electric bus, launched through the public transport system in Gothenburg, to the Middle East soon.

The concept bus is silent and emission-free and runs on electricity generated by renewable energy.

Steve Hedouin, Vice President

Volvo Bus Corporation Middle East and Africa, pointed out that countries in the region are the most forward thinking and are leaders when it comes to introducing the latest, stateof-the-art public transport systems, so we are actively looking at opportunities to bring models such as this electric bus to the region in the future.”

Finance The Arab Petroleum Investments Corporation (APICORP) has announced the establishment of a $3bn Sukuk programme.

APICORP’s Chairman, HE. Dr Aabed A Al-Saadoun said: “The lower financing costs that APICORP’s are expecting to secure after this new Programme will enhance APICORP’s ability to foster its development mandate of the hydrocarbon and energy related sectors in Arab countries by, first: enabling APICORP to extend attractive financing terms to its clients and partners alike, second: enhance APICORP’s ability to participate in financing some strategic energy related projects which may not attract the commercial banks from either a return or tenor perspective.”

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INFRASTRUCTURE MIDDLE EAST

Stake sale Saudi Arabia’s PIF has invested $1.1bn in Korea’s POSCO E&C

Al Khalij Commercial Bank has extended financing to a JV of Consolidated Contractors Group (Offshore) and Teyseer Contracting Company for the construction of the Mega Reservoir PRPS 5 - Al Thumama (Package C) project.

The project constitutes significant component of Qatar’s Water Security Mega Reservoir Project.

July-August 2015

“Al Khaliji’s financing of such imperative development comes as part of the bank’s strategy to support the rollout of major infrastructure projects in the State of Qatar,” said Fahad alKhalifa, Al Khaliji Group CEO. Recently, the bank facilitated financing for a contract awarded to a joint venture between Boom Construction Company and Six Construct Qatar.

Dubai’s Roads and Transport Authority (RTA) has announced the completion of connecting all traffic signals in the emirate (408 junctions) with the Traffic Control Centre using 3G technology.

Engineer Maitha bin Udai, CEO of RTA’s Traffic and Roads Agency, said: “Benefits of the new system include remotely controlling the timing of light signals and managing them to cope with the changes in the traffic flow, which translates into low congestions at junctions.”

According to a related report in the Gulf News, the 408 signalised traffic junctions have been linked to SCOOT, a traffic control system equipped with smart sensors to detect the volume of traffic on roads and help ease traffic movement on the road accordingly.

South Korean steel maker POSCO has sold a 38% stake in its Engineering & Construction division to Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund (PIF) for $1.1bn.

This investment will enable POSCO E&C to achieve its twin goals of improving its capital structure and establishing a transparent management system adhering to global standards.

The two companies intend to establish a JV in Saudi Arabia and jointly bid for key national construction projects in sectors such as railways, urban infrastructure, hotels and architectural projects.

The agreement was officially signed by POSCO Chairman Kwon Oh–Joon and PIF Secretary General Abdulrahman M Al Mofadhi at at POSCO E&C’s headquarters in Korea.

GLOBAL UPDATE

Round Up The BRICS bank, officially named the New Development Bank (NDB), was launched last month in Shanghai.

The new bank will fund infrastructure and development projects in BRICS countries - Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa NDB’s first president KV Kamath has announced that it would start lending in local currency by April 2016.

The bank will have an initial authorised capital of $100bn, and initial subscribed capital of $50bn “equally shared” among the five founders.

China, which is the world’s second-largest economy, is also the main initiator of Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB), which will be headquartered in Beijing.

Sanctions imposed by the US and the EU at the end of 2011 and during the summer of 2012, respectively, led to the displacement of more than 1m bpd of Iranian crude oil on the global market, said the US Energy Information Administration (EIA).

Iran’s main buyers in Asia, Europe, and elsewhere replaced Iranian crude oil with barrels from other members of the Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC).

According to the EIA, if oilrelated sanctions are lifted, Iran will look to regain export market share, competing with other OPEC members with similar crude oil grades. Iran’s crude oil and condensate exports averaged 1.4m bpd in 2014. In 2011, prior to sanctions, Iran exported 2.6m bpd, most of which went to Asia, particularly China and India.

Pitching in Luchtsingel is the world’s first crowdfunded public infrastructure project

According to Jochen Wermuth, Founding Partner & Chief Investment Officer, Wermuth Asset Management, investment in oil, gas and coal assets no longer had any future in most parts of the world.

Wermuth claimed that if COP21 leaders this year commit to a global 20C temperature target for 2050, 80% of the world’s known fossil fuel reserves will need to be written off by energy majors.

With renewable energy increasingly competitive, often without subsidies, Wermuth Asset Management is encouraging banks, insurers and investors to make the risks associated with fossil fuels transparent and to divest themselves of hydrocarbons.

“Solar power is winning in open competition with fossil fuels,” said Wermuth.

A 400-metre-long pedestrian bridge described as the ‘world’s first crowdfunded public infrastructure project’ has opened in Rotterdam.

Named Luchtsingel, which means “air canal”, the structure runs through a building and across roads and railways to connect three previously disconnected areas of the city.

Initial fundraising came from a crowdfunding campaign. For every €25 ($27.35) donated, supporters could have their name inscribed onto one of the wooden boards that line the edges of the bridge.

Over 8,000 people signed up to support the campaign financially. The architects were later granted funding to complete the project by the city council.

The project was initiated and designed by the Rotterdambased architects ZUS.

X’Trapolis train Alstom’s Gibela JV is one of the biggest railway projects worldwide

July-August 2015

Toyota, Nissan and Honda Motor have agreed on key details regarding a new joint support project for the development of hydrogen station infrastructure in Japan.

In addition to partially covering the operating costs of hydrogen stations, the three automakers have also agreed to help infrastructure companies deliver the best possible customer service and create a convenient, hassle-free refueling network for owners of fuel cell vehicles (FCVs).

Furthermore project partners will jointly raise awareness regarding these support measures, in order to encourage new companies to enter the hydrogen supply business.

Alstom’s JV Gibela announced at Africa Rail 2015 the construction of the new train manufacturing site at Gauteng, South Africa.

The new site is part of a contract won by Alstom in 2013 for the supply of 600 X’Trapolis Mega commuter trains over a period of 10 years, as well as technical support and the supply of spare parts over an 18-year period. While the first 20 trains are being built at Alstom’s Lapa plant in Brazil, the following 580 will be produced in the newly built site. A first train is already in testing phase.

Gian Luca Erbacci, Senior Vice President for Alstom Transport Middle-East and Africa said: “This project is one of the biggest in rail transport worldwide and Alstom through Gibela is proud to be part of it. This illustrates Alstom’s strategy to strengthen its presence at both global and local levels, thanks to its worldwide industrial footprint and strategic partnerships that enable proximity with its customers.”

INFRASTRUCTURE MIDDLE EAST 15

QUOTE BOARD

61st UITP World Congress and Exhibition JUNE 8-10, MILAN, ITALY “Our data shows that cities with a higher public transport market share use less of their urban space for transport.

This space can then be used for recreational as well as economically-productive functions” Alain Flausch, Secretary General, International Association of Public Transport (UITP), commenting on the UITP report Mobility in Cities

“Globalisation of the economy is affecting the businesss of public transport just like any other sectors. We can call on decision makers to give us more support, but ultimately, we have to pry ourselves away from depending too much on public funds. We have to find new models to pay for public transport, and talking constantly with the business community is going to be vital” Sir Peter Hendy, President, UITP & Commissioner of Transport, London on the impact of globalisation

“For the first time we can go back to an old dream: we can visualise all the flows of a city, thanks to the convergence of physical and digital.

In order to plan a city, you need to survey; today this incredible wealth of data allows us to better understand it and plan cities better; this is big data” Carlo Ratti, Director, MIT SENSEable City Lab, delivering the keynote address

“UITP (in turn) has the ambitious goal for the sector to double the market share of public transport worldwide by 2025. PTx2: This represents huge opportunities for the future; new business models for public transport, innovative technologies, electric or hydrogen buses on our streets, for example” Violeta Bulc, Commissioner for Transport, European Commission at the EU session

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INFRASTRUCTURE MIDDLE EAST

July-August 2015

“RTA is moving ahead with its strategic plan for uplifting public transport systems with the aim of raising the share of public transport trips to 20% by 2020... and 30% by 2030.... (RTA) recently unveiled Route 2020 project to extend the Red Line of Dubai Metro by 15km to reach the site of Expo.

RTA is also improving and expanding the public transport routes to serve new communities.

In accordance with the Master Plan of Rail Network in Dubai, the total length of railways will extend to 110km by 2020, extend to 200km by 2025 and double up to 421km by 2030” HE Mattar Al Tayer, Director General and Chairman of the Board of Executive Directors, Roads and Transport Authority (RTA) talking about Dubai’s public transportation plans at the event

INFRA PEOPLE

IN TR ANSIT Lucrative innovation GE’s global executive director of ecomagination, Deb Frodl speaks to Anoop K Menon on her company’s well-known Green initiative How is GE’s ecomagination strategy helping the company?

Ecomagination is celebrating its 10th anniversary this year. It represents GE’s commitment and strategy to developing innovations that are cleaner solutions for our customers and help them from both economic and environmental standpoints.

We have public commitments to grow our revenue from cleaner energy solutions and R&D investment. At the same time, GE is also reducing its environmental footprint.

In the last nine years, ecomagination has generated more than $180bn of revenue.

That in itself is a big proof point that our customers value efficient technology that helps their businesses. We have invested almost $15bn in ecomagination R&D top date. In March 2014, we decided to commit an additional $10bn for R&D to reach a total investment of $25bn by 2020.

Is innovation only internal?

We have always had an eye on the global market tracking the megatrends happening in the world today. However, clean energy is not only about renewable energy. Our focus is on developing cleaner energy solutions across GE’s portfolio, whether it is oil and gas, or power and water, or LED lighting, for example.

We work with GE customers to create these technologies and implement them.

We understand that the opportunities and challenges are local. We want to build solutions that meet a region’s needs but we also have the ability to scale globally. We have seven global research centres where we can further adjust or tweak these solutions to adapt them to different countries or regions. These represent the internal R&D spend. However,

we have a counterpart called GE Energy Ventures which makes external investments in companies. They are looking to be the global partner of choice for energy solutions that are complementary to GE’s energy portfolio.

But when we are doing things like Open Innovation, like the one we did recently with Saudi Aramco to reduce energy in seawater desalination, we work with our partners to reach out to global innovators, entrepreneurs and academics for ideas that we can award.

We provide the team with a little bit of money to continue to invest in that innovation and bring in the ventures team to make a substantial investment if we are interested in that technology.

Do you see GE’s plans for the Industrial Internet of Things and ecomagination complementing each other?

Three years ago, our Chairman and CEO Jeff Immelt committed billion dollars to investing in the Industrial Internet. Our vision was to have all of GE’s global assets connected

to the Internet through sensors, software and communication networks. We wanted to create big data and analytics in order to figure out how to help our customers, for example, by eliminating unplanned downtimes or enabling real-time maintenance or improving productivity and efficiency. We have our main software centre in San Ramon, California where 1,200 data scientists and computer engineers are working on Industrial Internet solutions. Currently, we have 40 different industrial applications running on our Predix software platform. We will double that over the next two years.

Digital Resource Productivity, a white paper we published at the end of 2014, talks about the integration of ecomagination and the Industrial Internet. The 40 applications I mentioned earlier are part of the ecomagination portfolio. We believe that ultra-efficient hardware like ecomagination and software-led Industrial Internet are a new frontier for resource productivity and environmental performance.

We estimate that we can double the rate of improvement of resource productivity in the next 15 years just by putting together hardware and software solutions. At the end of 2014, we decided to open up the Predix platform to all companies including competitors to develop their own industry applications. We are opening up to have a much bigger ecosystem.

Any integration example that you can share with our readers…

Sure.Reducing fuel consumption and improving velocity are high priorities for the rail industry. We have a product called Movement Planner, the equivalent of an air traffic control for railways. Norfolk Southern in the US has implemented Movement Planner along its 22-state, 35,405.5km rail network, which has helped reduce their fuel consumption by 6.5% and improved their velocity between 10-20%. In fact, every product that GE is developing at present is going to be Predix-ready. Moreover, a big portion of the additional R&D spend committed up to 2020 will go into software.

July-August 2015

INFRASTRUCTURE MIDDLE EAST 17

IN FOCUS

CONSTRUCTION

“It’s never too late to start thinking about using technology to drive efficiencies” ProTenders, a UAE-based e-bidding and marketing platform for the construction industry, has been used by banks, developers and consultants since 2009 to process bids worth more than $12bn. Infrastructure Middle East spoke to Karim Helal, CEO and Co-Founder of ProTenders to understand how sustainable is the recovery in Dubai’s construction sector. Excerpts from the interview… ow has the construction market changed in Dubai after hitting the lowest point during the 2009 financial crisis and its aftermath?

Previously, time was the critical factor in managing construction projects, but now it is cost. The market has become more aware of the risk and how to mitigate it. There is a massive focus on profitability and increased acceptance of construction software to bridge the information gap so that companies can make data-driven decisions. One should capitalise on the fact that competition is increasing with many more entrants from Asia and Turkey entering the local market.

With more competition, companies have to be more productive to win tenders. To protect their margins, they should embrace the use of software or cloud-based technology to change their workflow; from finding the right partner, bid submissions and tender management to better modelling tools to prevent design clashes.

Project management is key to meeting budgets and deadlines. The general attitude is towards a more collaborative and transparent approach between the client and the contractor.

H

How competitive is the market at present?

Are margins coming under pressure even before any award of work takes place?

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INFRASTRUCTURE MIDDLE EAST

June 2015

“If a contractor is asking for a certain amount of project financing based on underbidding, both the contractor and the financier will eventually lose out. Having insight into average market trends, in terms of how much certain project modules cost, allows better decisions to be made resulting in a winwin situation” KARIM HELAL, CEO AND CO-FOUNDER, PROTENDERS

Some contractors report margins holding at around 4 – 5%; others have seen a decline from 17% down to 10% in the last couple of years.

Margins tend to be under pressure due to the skewed structuring of the contracts, where most of the risk is pushed onto the contractor while protecting the client. In many cases, the margins are eroded as a result of frequent changes for which the client seldom pays.

One of the ways the industry can improve their situation, and retain or even grow their margins is by making each step of the construction process more efficient with the use of technology.

The tendering and bidding process alone can take several weeks or even months, and incur thousands of dollars in printing costs.

Imagine if you can move the entire process online - you save weeks in time and eliminate paperwork costs. You have already generated better margins even before you’ve won the bid by making the process more efficient.

Proponents of BIM also speak on the same lines. Discovering that something doesn’t fit where it was supposed to mid-way through construction or going back to the drawing board to rework an electrical system eats up valuable time. Loss of money apart, the entire project could get delayed, inviting financial penalties.

In fact, margins are further under pressure from the rise in contract disputes. According to Arcadis, there has been an 88% increase in disputes in the region during 2014 compared to

IN FOCUS

2013. Many of these were parked issues from the crisis years but are coming to fruition now given the extra liquidity in the market.

Delayed payments seem to have become an ‘institutionalised’ practice with recent reports hinting at 180-days credit period.

How should new entrants deal with this situation?

New entrants should take the time to understand the local market. For example, today foreign companies are rushing into Qatar, desperately trying to get a piece of the $200bn planned infrastructure budget. They are focusing on revenue but not on profitability.

In Qatar, there is a general unwillingness to work with whom they perceive as ‘fly by night companies’ out to fleece them. Coupled with administrative and bureaucratic issues, contractors end up dipping into their own pockets to cover the cost of working on projects.

They also have to wait an extremely long time to recoup their money. In such situations, joint venture structures where international and local companies partner together are a better option.

Further downward pressures, particularly for Qatar, include the cost of building materials and labour that can make long credit periods particularly acute. New entrants need to be completely up to speed with the conditions of each country and factor that into their cash flow projections.

Funding continues to remain a major hurdle for existing players. How can this challenge be met?

Funding and risk are interrelated so better information will always be of value. Contractors underbid to win work only to find that they are unable to complete it within the estimated budget. There is a lot of focus on better estimation software and project budgeting on the bidding side, but there hasn’t been anything to help the opposite side to assess outcomes accurately.

ProTenders’ e-tendering module addresses the issuer’s side and allows clients to see quickly potential bid pricing issues early on through various forms of data visualisation. As a result, they are spared the headache of manually comparing incoming paper bids or creating Excel tables. If you can quickly see that out of 10 incoming bids, the majority fall near each other except for a couple that have set extremely low prices for HVAC, for example, there are multiple benefits to both parties. The more the e-tendering module is used, the smarter

the engine becomes in helping clients to take better decisions about the pricing and bidding landscape for the future.

Funding institutions can also use these trends to reduce their risk and exposure. If a contractor is asking for a certain amount of project financing based on underbidding, both the contractor and the financier will eventually lose out. Having insight into average market trends in terms of how much certain project modules cost allows better decisions to be made resulting in a win-win situation.

Is there sufficient activity in Dubai’s construction sector for new players seeking to enter the market?

Aurecon recently cited the abundance of Greenfield sites in the UAE as a key driver of growth compared to more mature markets, which makes the UAE attractive for new players.

They estimate a 9.5% growth during 2015.

Retrofitting is another area of growth in the construction industry as the government

continues to push for sustainability. New projects are becoming more complex in both size and scope, including better and sustainable design and smart systems. Undoubtedly, there is sufficient activity to attract new players in a range of specialisations.

What would be your recommendations to new players looking at Dubai?

New players need to focus on three main areas.

First, being realistic about how big the market is when all outside pressures are considered - building materials, access to labour, credit periods and joint ventures. Second, think like a client whose priorities are to grow the business but reduce risk by striving continuously to get better information about partners and more collaboration during the early stages. Third, it’s never too late to start thinking about using technology to drive operational efficiencies. From bidding to modelling software, the time and money saved add up to ensure healthy margins.

PROTENDERS 2015 GLOBAL CONSTRUCTION SURVEY

T

he ProTenders 2015 Global Construction Survey completed in April 2015 highlighted the critical role of technology in the growth and stability of businesses operating in today’s competitive marketplace.

Amongst the findings, more than 94% of respondents stated that they are actively seeking new business leads and 80% are constantly on the lookout for new construction partners. Construction companies, who want to reduce risk, prioritise previous experience, qualifications, and team size, past experience and product range as the top five factors, when selecting a business partner.

HR resources and the processing of large amounts of paperwork are the two most costly elements of information gathering and distribution, with 69% stating that they had dedicated business development staff for sourcing new business leads, while 50% continue to use media and trade shows.

These findings in the survey illustrate an urgent need for construction companies to be more efficient in order to remain competitive in this market. Other pain factors for generating new leads include lack of proper marketing budget, difficulty in generating awareness of products and services, too many different prequalification standards and the penetration of new territories.

This is a particularly crucial time for UAE and Qatar’s construction sector, as

they move full speed to meet the strict completion deadlines ahead of World Expo 2020. Companies that spend more time on information gathering and processing can be severely impacted and are at risk of not meeting these deadlines.

The survey showed that the construction industry is picking up pace in the region.

The UAE was the main region where tenders were issued most frequently, with 40% of respondents issuing more than 20 tenders per annum and 66% of respondents submit more than one bid per month. Interestingly 85.7% of respondents stated that they continue to use email as the primary method of distributing tenders.

The frequency of bidding and tenders issued makes it imperative that the construction sector be equipped with the right tools to remain competitive. Ninety per cent of respondents surveyed stated that they would be interested in moving to an automated system to manage tenders, 50% stated that their decision would be based on its ease of use, 30% stated security, and 10% stated price as a deciding factor.

The findings in the survey solidify the need for contractors and developers to invest in construction software to win more business. If not suitably addressed, this could lead to an increase in the overall operational cost of construction companies and lead to unnecessary delays.

June 2015

INFRASTRUCTURE MIDDLE EAST

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MIDDLE EAST INFRASTRUCTURE TENDERS

Infrastructure Tenders Our monthly analysis of new tenders and key projects across the region

OMAN NATIONAL RAILWAY PROJECT

BIODIESEL REFINERY PROJECT

MARYAH PLAZA MIXED-USE PROJECT

INTEGRATED SOLAR & COMBINED CYCLE POWER PLANT PROJECT

BUDGET: $15,000,000,000

BUDGET: $13,000,000,000

BUDGET: 1,000,000,000

BUDGET: 960,000,000

Territory: Oman Client Name: Ministry of Transport Description: Engineering, Procurement & Construction (EPC) contract for 2,135km-long national railway network.

Period: 2018 Status: New Tender

Territory: UAE Client Name: Petrixo Group Description: EPC contract to build a bio-fuels refinery with a final capacity to produce 1 mtpa year of fuel, including jet fuel, naphtha and LPG. Period: 2018 Status: New Tender

Territory: UAE Client Name: Mubadala Description: Construction of 3 commercial and residential towers offering 435 luxury apartments and one hotel tower offering 180 rooms.

Period: 2017 Status: New Tender

Territory: Saudi Arabia Client Name: SEC Description: EPC contract to build a 1,050MW integrated solar and combined-cycle (ISCC) power plant at the Waad Al-Shamal City.

Period: 2017 Status: New Tender

July-August 2015

INFRASTRUCTURE MIDDLE EAST 21

MIDDLE EAST INFRASTRUCTURE TENDERS

Top Tenders UAE

RUNWAY EXPANSION PROJECT - FUJAIRAH INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT Project Number: MPP2978-U Client Name: Department of Civil Aviation, Fujairah Address: Fujairah International Airport, Fujairah Phone: (+971-9) 222 4747 Fax: (+971-9) 222 3149 Website: www.fujairah-airport.com Description: This project involves expansion of the runway at Fujairah International Airport.

The existing runway is 45 metres wide and 3.75km long with three turning loops and taxiway. It will be extended 900 metres to the east. The ability of this airport to increase traffic volumes had been constrained by safety concerns due to its proximity to the Hajar mountains.

Abu Dhabi Airports Company (ADAC) has agreed to supervise the runway expansion work.

Status: New Tender Tender Categories: Airport Development & Management

workers. This project will be located at Mohammed Bin Zayed City in Abu Dhabi and cover an area of 100,000 sqm. It is understood that the project is currently under design stage. Construction work is expected to commence in the final quarter of 2016.

Period: 2016 Status: New Tender Tender Categories: Medical & Healthcare, Construction & Contracting

DUBAI TRADE CENTRE JEBEL ALI PROJECT Project Number: MPP906-U Client Name: Dubai World Trade Centre Address: Shaikh Zayed Road, Dubai Phone: (+971-4) 332 1000 Fax: (+971-4) 331 8299 Description: Development of a 4.4 sq km site comprising a 1.68 sq km ticketed area, 700,000 sqm of pavilions, large arenas for cultural events and 500,000 sqm of permanent structures, including apartments, malls, hotels and warehousing. The client has issued requests for

MEDICAL CITY PROJECT - MOHAMMED BIN ZAYED CITY

INFRASTRUCTURE MIDDLE EAST

OMAN BULK LIQUID BERTHS PROJECT – PORT OF DUQM Project Number: ZPR1363-O Client Name: SEZAD Oman Address: Bareeq Al Shatti, Muscat PC 103 Phone: (+968) 2450 7500 Fax: (+968) 2458 7400 Website: www.duqm.gov.om Description: EPC contract to build bulk liquid berths at a port. The facility will be suitably equipped to handle liquid volumes, mainly refined petroleum products, chemicals and petrochemicals that will be generated when the refinery and other petrochemical plants come on-stream at the adjoining economic zone.

International companies have submitted prequalification

documents for the EPC contract on this scheme. A contract award is slated before the end of 2015.

Package 1 works are planned for completion in third quarter of 2018, ahead of the scheduled start-up of Duqm Refinery in 2019.

Status: New Tender Period: 2018 Tender Categories: Gas Processing & Distribution; Marine Engg. Works & Seaports

LPG EXTRACTION PLANT PROJECT – SALALAH Project Number: MPP2840-O Client Name: Oman Oil Company Address: Al Khuwair, Muscat PC 133 Phone: (+968) 2468 1666 Fax: (+968) 2468 1656 Website: www.oman-gas.om Description: EPC contract to build a state-of-the-art liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) extraction plant. The project is currently in FEED stage. Client has revealed that 2016-2018 would be stage for detailed design, procurement and construction, while 2019 onwards would be the commissioning part of this scheme. US-based CB&I and UK’s Petrofac are vying for the EPC contract on this project.

Period: 2019 Status: New Tender Tender Categories: Gas Processing & Distribution

KUWAIT

KABD WASTE-TO -ENERGY PLANT PROJECT

Project Number: WPR486-U Client Name: Manazel Real Estate Address: Salam St, Opp. Abu Dhabi Municipality, Floor 7, 8 & 9, Abu Dhabi Phone: (+971-2) 644 4466 Fax: (+971-2) 644 4465 Website: www.manazel-re.com Description: Construction of a new Medical City comprising a hospital of 40 beds, as well as housing for doctors and hospital

22

proposals for three consultancy contracts on this scheme. The three roles cover infrastructure design and supervision, urban planning and the design public spaces, as well as design of the development’s souq/market area.

Status: New Tender Tender Categories: Leisure & Entertainment; Construction & Contracting; Hotels

Project Number: MPP2620-K Client Name: Kuwait Authority for Partnership Projects (KAPP) Address: Touristic Enterprises Co. Bldg., Shuwaikh Phone: (+965) 2496 5900 E-mail: (+965) 2496 5901 Website: www.ptb.gov.kw Description: Build-Operate-Transfer

July-August 2015

MIDDLE EAST INFRASTRUCTURE TENDERS

(BOT) contract for the development of a waste-to-energy plant with initial capacity of 3,275 tonnes/ day. Client will enter into a 30year contract with the winning investor. This will include 2 years for construction and equipment installation. Client has invited all foreign and local companies, consortia and listed companies in the Kuwait Stock Exchange to submit Request for Qualification (RFQ) no later than July 16, 2015.

Period: 2015 Status: New Tender Tender Categories: Power & Alternative Energy; Sewerage & Drainage

TERMINAL 2 PROJECT - KUWAIT INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT Project Number: SPA/214-K Client Name: Ministry of Public Works (Kuwait) Address: MPW Bldg, 3rd Floor, 6th Ring Road, Safat 13001 Phone: (+965) 2538 5520 Fax: (+965) 2538 5219 Website: www.mpa.gov.kw Description: This project involves construction of Terminal 2 at Kuwait International Airport. The new terminal will increase capacity of the airport from 6 million passengers a year to 13 million.

The new terminal will be located

south of the existing terminal between the two existing runways.

A consortium of local Kharafi National and Turkey’s Limak is understood to be the lowest bidder with a price of $4.8bn, followed by China State Construction Engineering Corporation at $5.6bn. Other bidders include UAE’s Arabtec Construction and a joint venture of Italy’s Astaldi with Turkey’s Ictas. Client has invited the same five contractors to submit revised bids for the main construction contract on this project.

Period: 2015 Status: New Tender Tender categories: Airport; Construction & Contracting

construction of a Hydro-treater and hydrogen plant, gas sweetening facilities, a pipeline network, storage facilities, natural gas liquids recovery, gas de-hydration facilities, as well as offsite and utilities. The packages for the scheme are: - Package 1: Main processing facilities - Package 2: Sulphur recovery unit (SRU) - Package 3: Off-sites and utilities. Bidders for all three packages include: - South Korea’s Daelim Industrial; Daewoo Engineering & Construction / Samsung Engineering GS Engineering & Construction / Spain’s Tecnicas Reunidas - Hyundai Engineering & Construction - Japan’s JGC Corporation / Italy’s Saipem - UK’s Petrofac.

The deadline to submit bids has been extended from the previous deadline of June 15, 2015.

Period: 2018 Status: New Tender Tender Categories: Gas Processing & Distribution

QATAR AIRPORT CITY DEVELOPMENT PROJECT Project Number: SPR2595-Q Client Name: New Doha International Airport Steering Committee Address: Hamad International Airport, Doha Phone: (+974) 4467 9888 Fax: (+974) 4467 9816 Description: Development of an Airport City spanning an area of 10sq km.

Period: 2019 Status: New Tender Tender Categories: Construction & Contracting

PRODUCED IN ASSOCIATION WITH MIDDLE EAST TENDERS

KSA FADHILI GAS PROCESSING PLANT PROJECT Project Number: ZPR1186-SA Client Name: Saudi Aramco Address: Dhahran 31311 Phone: (+966-13) 872 0115 Fax: (+966-13) 873 8190 Website: www.aramco.com Description: EPC contract to build a sour gas processing plant with capacity of 2.5bn cubic feet a day in Fadhili. field in the Eastern Province of Saudi Arabia. Plant will process gas coming from Khusaniyah and Hasbah Fields. This will include

July-August 2015

INFRASTRUCTURE MIDDLE EAST 23

TEN GCC WATER PROJECTS

GCC WATER PROJECTS Water remains a priority sector for governments in the Gulf region as they focus on reversing the negative trends in the region’s water balance

24

INFRASTRUCTURE MIDDLE EAST

July-August 2015

WATER SECURITY MEGA RESERVOIRS PROJECT

Country: Qatar Owner: Kahramaa Budget: $4.7bn Progress: Contracts awarded Five reservoirs will be constructed at five locations, namely Um Baraka, Um Salal, Rawdat Rashid, Abu Nakhla and Al Thumama.

The project consists of 24 reservoirs with a total storage capacity of 2,273 MIG. It also includes the installation of 650km of large diameter pipelines to connect key desalination plants in the country to the reservoirs. The client has selected four firms for the five main construction packages on this scheme: Consolidated Contractors Company (CCC) / Teyseer (Package A) Umm Birka & (Package C) Al Thumama; Leighton Contracting Qatar (Package D) Rawdat Rashed; Local HBK Contracting Package B) Umm Salal; China Gezhouba / Kuwait’s Burhan International (Package E) Abu Nakhla.

TEN GCC WATER PROJECTS

YANBU POWER & DESALINATION PLANT PROJECT - PHASE 3

FACILITY D INDEPENDENT WATER AND POWER PROJECT

INNER DOHA RE-SEWERAGE IMPLEMENTATION STRATEGY

Country: Saudi Arabia Owner: SWCC Budget: $4bn Progress: Under construction

Country: Qatar Owner: Kahramaa Budget: $3bn Progress: Contract awarded

Country: Qatar Owner: Ashgal Budget: $2.5bn Progress: Work underway

Facility D is a new Independent Water & Power Plant (IWPP) which will produce 2,500 W of power and 590,992 m3/day of water.

The project was awarded to a consortium led by Mitsubishi Corporation with Acciona Agua responsible for the design, construction, operation and maintenance of the desalination component incorporating both membrane and thermal technologies.

In July, Samsung C&T was awarded the EPC contract for delivering the combined cycle power plant (CCPP). Eversheds advised Kahramaa on the 25-year power and water purchase agreement with the consortium. The project is expected to be completed in 2018.

The Inner Doha Re-sewerage Implementation Strategy or IDRIS will provide a long-term wastewater treatment solution to serve the needs of Doha, Al Wakra and Messaieed. This scheme includes a major deep tunnel sewer network, and advanced sewage treatment works. In May, Ashgal awarded three contracts under IDRIS for the design and construction of the Main Trunk Sewer project at a value of approximately $296m. A joint venture between Bouygues Construction Qatar and UrbaCon Trading was awarded the contracts for the northern and southern segments of the main trunk sewer while IDRIS SHP Contractors has been awarded the contract for the construction of the central segment. The work on the main sewer is slated to be finished by end-2019.

The project involves the construction of an oil-fired power plant with a capacity of 3,100MW and a desalination plant with a capacity of 550,000 m3/day in Yanbu. Doosan was awarded the $1bn desalination package while a consortium of Al-Toukhi Company for Industry, Trading & Contracting, Samsung Engineering and Shanghai Electric was awarded the $3bn power plant package.

The project is due to enter commercial operation in 2016. France’s Alstom is supplying the equipment for 5x620 MW power component of the project; Foster Wheeler is supplying five steam condensers and 30 feed-water heaters; GE is supplying electrical variable speed drives for the plant.

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TEN GCC WATER PROJECTS

AL ZOUR NORTH IWPP - 1

Country: Kuwait Owner: Ministry of Electricity and Water Budget: $1.4bn Progress: Under construction France’s GDF Suez, in consortium with Japan’s Sumitomo Corporation and local Abdullah Hamad Al Sagar & Brothers, was awarded the contract to for the project with a capacity of 1,500MW of power and 405,000 m3/day of water. South Korea’s Hyundai Heavy Industries, in partnership with France’s Sidem, was awarded the EPC contract. Construction work is currently 75% complete. Last month, Sharjah-based Quality International, which had been contracted by Sidem for the construction and delivery of 6 MED evaporators for the project, shipped three evaporators to the site. The MED evaporators are the biggest of their kind in the world ever to be constructed in a shop/yard & shipped to the project site.

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INDEPENDENT WATER PROJECTS (IWP) - SOHAR & BARKA

RAS ABU FONTAS A3 DESALINATION PLANT

Country: Oman Owner: Oman Power and Water Procurement Company (OPWP) Budget: $1bn Progress: RFQ stage

Country: Qatar Owner: Qatar Electricity and Water Company (QEWC) Budget: $500m Progress: Contract awarded

The Sohar IWP will have a capacity of 250,000 m3/day. It is being tendered jointly with the 280,000 m3/day Barka IWP as a single project, thus constituting the single biggest procurement of new water desalination capacity in the Sultanate.

Leading international companies including French group GDF Suez, Singapore-based Hyflux, Spanish company Valoriza and consortiums of Spain’s Abengoa and French group Veolia have been ‘unconditionally qualified’ while three other groups, led by GS Inima, Itochu, and JGC, were ‘conditionally qualified.’ Both schemes are slated for commercial operation by April 1, 2018.

Kahramaa had signed an agreement with QEWC to develop the 164,000 m3 per day Ras Abu Fontas A3 project under an IWP model. In April, QEWC awarded the contract to build, operate and maintain A3 to the consortium of Japan’s Mitsubishi Corporation, Toyo Thai Corporation, and Spain’s Acciona Agua. The project is scheduled to be completed by 2017. Both A3 and Facility D IWPP represent the first large-scale deployment of reverse osmosis desalination technology in Qatar.

The 160,000 m3/day Ras Abu Fontas A2 plant, which opens this year, is based on the multi-stage flash technology.

July-August 2015

TEN GCC WATER PROJECTS

JEBEL ALI STP (SEWAGE TREATMENT PLANT) PHASE 2

Country: UAE Owner: Dubai Municipality Budget: $408m Progress: Tendering stage The client has invited companies to prequalify and submit bids for the EPC contract. Contractors have been invited to submit tender proposals in three parts. The deadline for prequalification was July 12, 2015. For the technical and financial part, prequalified contractors will have until September 13, 2015, to submit bids. Phase 2 will use the existing infrastructure and roads that serve the first phase. The construction contract will include a provisional option for one-year operation and maintenance (O&M) of the entire STP. On completion, the plant is expected to decrease the load gradually on existing Al Aweer sewage treatment plant.

Jebel Ali STP will be one of the largest in the world, serving an ultimate population of 4.5m.

WAAD AL SHAMAAL WATER AND WASTEWATER TREATMENT PLANT

HAQL 3, DUBA 4 & ALWAJH 4 DESALINATION PLANTS EXPANSION PROJECT - PHASE 2

Country: Saudi Arabia Owner: Maaden Budget: $240m Progress: Main contract to be awarded soon

Country: Saudi Arabia Owner: SWCC Budget: $200m Progress: Bids under evaluation

The project involves the construction of water and wastewater treatment plant at Waad Al Shamal Mining City in Al Hail to serve the 440 sq km industrial city. The project is currently in the tendering stage, and the main contract is expected to be awarded in the third quarter of this year. Radicon Gulf Consult Kentz (RGCK) is the main consultant and Byrne Looby Partners (BLP) is the concept design consultant on the project. Waad Al Shamal city will be a major producer of phosphate products including the industrial fertilisers, animal feedstock, plastics and detergents. It is a crucial element of Saudi Arabia’s economic diversification strategy.

The project involves the construction of new RO desalination plants at Haql 3, Duba 4 and Al-Wajh 4, each of which will have 2 MIGD capacity. The project also involves installing water transmission lines to connect the desalination plants to the grid. The main consultant for the project is US-based Kuljian Engineering Corporation.

In October 2014, SWCC had extended the deadline to submit the bids for the main construction contract to October 2014.

The latest update indicates that bids have been submitted for the EPC contract and are currently under evaluation. The project is expected to be completed by 2016.

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ANALYSIS

OPTIMISTIC NOTES

Construction hotspot According to Deloitte Middle East’s annual construction industry report, low oil prices and reduced growth forecasts have failed to dampen industry sentiments 015 stands to be another key indicator of economic development as the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) continues to invest in infrastructure and capital projects.

The forecast for projects planned and underway in the GCC in 2015 is $172bn; the highest on record to date.

This is according to Deloitte Middle East’s newly released annual report: ‘GCC Powers of Construction 2015: Construction – the economic barometer for the region.’

Issued annually, the Deloitte Middle East Powers of Construction report serves as a comprehensive review of the construction industry for leaders.

The Deloitte report is based on data gathered from surveys and supported by interviews with some of the most prominent construction industry leaders from the region. In addition to articles and interviews examining key industry trends, the Deloitte GCC Powers of Construction report includes a country by country analysis of statistics, and key projects.

According to the report, key drivers for diversification include job creation given that 50% of the GCC population is under the age of 25. In the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) alone it is forecast that four million jobs will be needed in the next five years.

GCC population growth is forecast to grow from 35m to 60.2m by 2050, all driving the GCC countries’ strategies to provide education, healthcare, infrastructure and

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“The forecast of $172bn worth of projects are against a backdrop of lower oil prices, continuing political unrest and reduced International Monetary Fund (IMF) growth forecasts across the GCC” CYNTHIA CORBY, AUDIT PARTNER AND LEADER OF THE CONSTRUCTION INDUSTRY, DELOITTE MIDDLE EAST support to communities. This growth will require energy and water: a 34% increase in electricity generation capacity and a further 2.2bn litres desalination capacity are required by 2020.

“The forecast of $172bn worth of projects are against a backdrop of lower oil prices, continuing political unrest and reduced International Monetary Fund (IMF) growth forecasts across the GCC,” said Cynthia Corby, audit partner and leader of the Construction industry for the Middle East.

“However the GCC countries have the benefit of reserves, which they have built up as a buffer and which they can continue to use to achieve their outlined strategies. Therefore, they are expected to continue to spend on infrastructure and capital projects in order to achieve their strategies for diversification of their economies.” she added.

July-August 2015

COUNTRY HIGHLIGHTS

UAE: The dwarfing infrastructure project of the region is of course DWC: Al Maktoum International Airport expansion, currently budgeted at $32bn and anticipated to be the biggest airport in the world. This is followed by a massive industrial project in Abu Dhabi for Tacaamol Al-Gharbia Chemicals Industrial City, planned at $20bn. There are other sectors with several billions being planned on capital projects, with the top sector for 2015 being mixed-use and residential projects amounting to $24bn.

Saudi Arabia: The largest project in preexecution phase in KSA is Al Mozaini - Riyadh East Sub Centre, for $15bn. The second largest project in pre-execution phase is Khozam Development in Jeddah for $13.3bn. This mixeduse development located in the south east of the centre of Jeddah is expected to develop the area economically, culturally and socially.

There are a number of other sectors with several billions being planned on capital projects, with the top sectors for 2015 represented by healthcare projects amounting to $19 billion, infrastructure projects (roads and bridges) at $35 billion, and power plants at $13bn. This is all much needed capital spend in KSA. Qatar: In Qatar, the two largest projects in pre-execution phase and expected to be awarded in 2015 are from QRail, namely the “QIRP: Passenger & Freight Rail”, budgeted at $15bn, and from QIRP, whose “Passenger & Freight Rail: Phase 2” is budgeted at $3bn. This is followed by two projects, one for the new Qatar Economic Zone budgeted at $3bn, which is one of the three new planned economic zones mainly focusing on logistics and air freight companies (expected to be the biggest of the three), and Occidental Petroleum Corporation

ANALYSIS

(Oxy) - Idde Shargi North Dome Expansion Phase 5, again budgeted for $3bn. So in Qatar a clear focus on infrastructure continues as expected.

Oman: The largest project in pre-execution phase is Oman Rail - Oman National Railway, with a total length of 2,135km, which is budgeted at $15.6bn and is the single largest project currently planned in Oman. It will be executed in nine segments and completed by 2022. Joint ventures of leading international construction and engineering companies are bidding for this railway project’s first segment, which is a design and build contract that is expected to be awarded by the second half of this year. The next two largest projects employers hope to award in 2015 are ORPC – Liwa Steam Cracker & Polyethylene Project for $1.7bn, which will enhance both fuel and plastics production, and SEZAD - Liquid Terminal Project for $1.3bn, designed to handle the increase in liquid volumes associated with a large-scale refinery and petrochemicals hub envisioned at the Special Economic Zone (SEZ). When looking at projects in the pre-execution phase which employers hope to award in 2015, the oil, gas and chemical sectors stand out as the largest once again, amounting to $11.6bn.

SUMMARY

Out of the total $2.8tn projects which are in execution and pre execution phases, 40% of this value relates to residential, leisure and hospitality buildings and mixed-use developments, totalling an anticipated budget value of $1.1tn. These projects are the most sensitive in terms of balancing supply and demand in each of the GCC countries, with timing of delivery balanced alongside a sensible return on investment likely impacting the awards of these projects specifically.

GCC countries are hence expected to manage their economic growth and planned capital projects to create diversified economies with effective debt and capital funding in the coming years.

“What seems clear is that the necessity to move away from oil-based economies has never been greater and that in the race to diversify, there will be winners and runners-up. Quite how this will play out is too early to say, but the gap is likely to grow, providing a regional hotspot of investment and development,” said Andrew Jeffery, managing director, Capital Projects Advisory, Deloitte Middle East.

“What seems clear is that the necessity to move away from oil-based economies has never been greater and that in the race to diversify, there will be winners and runners-up. Quite how this will play out is too early to say, but the gap is likely to grow, providing a regional hotspot of investment and development” ANDREW JEFFERY, MANAGING DIRECTOR, CAPITAL PROJECTS ADVISORY, DELOITTE MIDDLE EAST

CONSTRUCTION C-SUITE SURVEY

The report also featured the results of a ‘pulse’ survey carried out by Deloitte targeting construction CEOs and CFOs during March and April 2015. The key findings from this survey are as follows: x Despite the continuation of geopolitical risks and the instability of oil prices impacting the GCC over the past six months, C-suite respondents are optimistic. 71% of respondents are more optimistic about the financial prospects for their companies compared to 12 months ago. According to Deloitte analysis, contract awards appear to be occurring at a faster pace than in the past few years, which is potentially contributing to this improved sentiment. x Cash flow management remains a key concern for a majority of construction companies. From the time the work is completed, the collection cycle takes: a. Approximately 90 days to certify a progress billing b. A typical receivable credit period of 45 days c. Approximately 90 days to collect certified receivables This adds up to a total of 225 days from completing the work to collecting the cash.

This protracted collection period can and has put a strain on construction companies’ cash flows. Employees and labourers still have to be paid and materials need to be

procured, and the contractor then typically ends up funding this. x While securing new work at an appropriate commercial margin to improve the bottom line seems to be a focus for the majority (47%) of respondents, a large proportion (27%) of contractors are still focused more on winning new work, and are willing to accept small or no margins at the tender stage to try to secure a project.This approach results in the contractor running a high risk of project losses being incurred as they have very little margin to cater for typical project risks and unforeseen project complications which regularly arise on projects in the GCC. x The majority of respondents in the survey (53%) consider that the level of contract claims has increased since the financial crisis impacted the Middle East region. Despite this perceived increase in volume of claims, 62% of respondent companies do not recognise uncertified/unapproved claims within contract revenue in the financial statements.

Such claims revenue is effectively deferred until it is certain of recovery and approved by the contract owner. x Despite events such as the World Cup in Doha and the World Expo in Dubai in the near future, the number one concerns raised by respondents were the geopolitical instability in the wider region, the decline in world oil prices, and the impact these may have on local governments’ appetites for construction projects in the short to near term. This in turn impacts the growth prospects for contractors, and is understandably a key concern for C-suite members. x Delivering projects on time and within budget was also a key concern noted above. 82% of respondents also stated this was a priority focus area for their business to concentrate on during the forthcoming 12 months.

According to Deloitte, there are some key improvements required in the way contractors manage their costs and budgets on projects, especially while the competitive landscape for tendering is still very tough and there is little room to manoeuvre on thin project margins. This, along with the constant focus to strongly administer contracts and have detailed supporting documents to support claims and variations, is critical if costs are to be recovered in the long run.

To read the full report, visit - http://bit. ly/1PYivMv

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DESALINATION SPECIAL

“I never tire of reminding people that we are living in a very water-scarce region. Therefore, desalination will always remain a strategic source of water. However, we definitely need to recycle and reuse our wastewater” DR ABDULLAH AL-ALSHAIKH, PRESIDENT, IDA

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July-August 2015

DESALINATION SPECIAL

INTERVIEW

“Using renewable energy for desalination is a game changer” Dr Abdullah Al-Alshaikh, President, International Desalination Association (IDA), spoke to Infrastructure ME on why sustainability matters in his industry r Abdullah Al Alshaikh, the former Deputy Governor for Planning and Development of Saline Water Conversion Corporation (SWCC), Saudi Arabia wears two hats. He is the President of the International Desalination Association (IDA) for the 20132015 term. He is also the CEO of Advanced Water Technology (AWT), a newly formed Riyadhbased company, which aspires to bring change through innovation and sustainability to the global water sector. Excerpts from the interview.

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BALANCING DEMAND AND SUPPLY I think we are consuming a lot of water for a region, which is among the most arid places in the world. Therefore, I believe that looking at the demand side is crucial to balance supply and demand.

RAISING TARIFFS TO CHECK CONSUMPTION I think tariff hikes are only one side of the issue. I am not against increasing water tariffs but we need to do many things before taking such a step. Services have to improve to a level that makes a tariff hike acceptable.

You also need to ensure a consistent and reliable supply of water and power. Even today, there are many areas in the region that get water supplies only once a week.

However, conservation of water should not be tied to tariffs. Conservation is a national issue because this is a region with limited resources and no natural resources for water.

Converting seawater to drinkable water costs an enormous amount of money. Based on that, it is vital to treat water as a valuable commodity.

ENERGY EFFICIENCY IN DESALINATION The good thing about desalination is that it is a sustainable resource. We are relying on the sea and not using up water from the

aquifers. I think it is important to tackle sustainability in terms of the energy we are using for desalination and the water itself.

Thanks to the decline in the cost of solar PV, producing electricity and water using renewable energy is a much more viable proposition today. The important point here is that renewable energy is sustainable. At the same time, we need to show leadership in terms of putting in incentives that supports sustainable enterprise.

THE AL KHAFJI SOLAR DESALINATION PROJECT The key obstacle in the way of our progress towards sustainability is our ability to act.

We have spent enough time talking about solutions, and not enough on implementing them. Recently, Advanced Water Technology (AWT), which I head as CEO, selected Abengoa to develop jointly, the world’s first large-scale desalination plant powered by solar energy. The plant will produce 60,000 m3/day of water to supply Al Khafji City in the North Eastern part of Saudi Arabia.

This is a pioneering project globally, where a solar photovoltaic plant will provide the power required by the desalination process. It will also have a system to optimise power consumption and a pretreatment phase to reduce the high level of salinity and oil present in the seawater.

I think using renewable energy for desalination is a game changer in itself because it slashes the operational costs of running a desalination plant.

IDA’S FOCUS ON WATER REUSE “I never tire of reminding people that we are living in a very water- scarce region. Therefore, desalination will always remain a strategic source of water. However, we definitely need to recycle and reuse our wastewater.” We could use it for agriculture and industrial purposes.

In Singapore, they are even using it for drinking

purposes. I think with the advances in technology, we can and should recycle and reuse all wastewater.

THE FUTURE OF SEAWATER REVERSE OSMOSIS As a technology, SWRO uses less energy, which is a plus point. However, thermal desalination is a great solution because you can also produce electricity.

If you go beyond 500-600m3/day, it is too risky to depend only on RO. As a process, it is very sensitive to the quality of the water. On the other hand, thermal is not so sensitive and is more reliable.

I think thermal desalination will continue to find a place in our countries because it is robust.

Moreover, thermal technologies continue to advance.

The Gulf region is also home to hybrid desalination plants that integrate thermal and RO technologies. If you have an existing thermal desalination plant and want to extend its capacity, you can build an RO plant beside it and take the electricity from the power plant. This is an example of a holistic solution that increases the overall efficiency.

IMPACT OF LOW OIL PRICES ON THE DESALINATION SECTOR I believe that oil prices will always fluctuate, which is an additional driver to move to renewables. The reasons to diversify are two-fold: first, oil prices might go up again but you cannot base your plans on that as prices may fall as well. There are many elements at play, including multiple sources of supply. Second, we all agree that it’s too risky to rely on one source; you need to diversify your energy mix. Desalination industry too stands to gain from a stainability standpoint.

PROTECTING THE MARINE ENVIRONMENT There are many solutions to deal with reject water going into the marine environment, like Zero Liquid Discharge (ZLD), for example. We need to work with the private sector to come up with a model that makes ZLD a viable technology to deploy.

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DESALINATION SPECIAL

LONG TERM TRENDS

STRUCTURAL SHIFT

The Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries are part of one of the most water scarce regions in the world – the Middle East. In this part of the Middle East, there are no perennial rivers groundwater resources are limited and rains nonexistent. Other shared characteristics include high population and economic growth, rising water demand and desalination as the backbone of water supply. But change is afoot as the Gulf countries invest in energy efficient desalination and water recycling/reuse to boost available water resources and ensure sustainability of their water supplies. The water sector is undergoing a structural shift with long-term ramifications. For example, the decoupling of power generation from desalination production is one such development. Infrastructure ME presents the five markers of that structural shift. Disclaimer: This is not an ‘exhaustive’ list, and the numbers shouldn’t be confused with ‘ranking’ of any sort.

DECOUPLING OF POWER GENERATION AND DESALINATION

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PREVALENT SCENARIO: In the Gulf region, the coproduction of power and water (through thermal desalination) had always been the norm.

WHY: Fuel was cheap; since MSF thermal desalination is energy-intensive, integrating it with power generation helps to reduce the cost.

DRIVERS FOR CHANGE: Population growth and rising consumption of power and water account means domestic energy consumption is on the increase at the cost of exports; the recent drop in oil prices has dented the hydrocarbon export revenues forcing governments to cut expenditure that also includes fuel subsidies.

On the technical side, in the GCC countries, water demand is relatively consistent throughout the year but electricity demand tends to peak during the summer months as air conditioning load kicks in. The rest of the year, though electricity demand is low, full desalination output needs to be maintained. To produce the steam, one can operate the power plant inefficiently or installed a supplementary boiler. The costs involved and the energy wastage are clear in either case. The cost savings of co-generation are restricted only to the summer months when electricity demand is 100%.

Decoupling electricity generation and desalination mean water output won’t depend so heavily upon the quantity of power produced. Flexibility apart, energyintensity will be lower resulting in optimal utilisation of fuel.

Though air and marine pollution issues associated with cogeneration plants are to be found in the decoupled scenario as well, the former’s relative inefficiency adds to the problem.

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July-August 2015

THINGS YOU DIDN’T KNOW ABOUT THE GCC WATER SECTOR ENERGY EFFICIENT DESALINATION

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PREVALENT SCENARIO: Thermal desalination technologies that use low-value steam as a heat source and electricity from power plants have dominated the Gulf market.

WHY: Cheap and easy availability of fossil fuel; thermal processes can more readily accommodate highly saline feed-waters like the Arabian Gulf; Large-scale desalination favours thermal desalination. Currently, MSF accounts for 81% of the desalination capacity, followed by Multi-Effect Distillation at 13% and Sea Water Reverse Osmosis (SWRO) at 6%.

DRIVERS FOR CHANGE: The cost of desalination is widely determined by the energy costs. Thermal desalination requires both electricity and thermal energy. According to an IRENA report (IEA-ETSAP and IRENA Technology Brief – March 2012), desalination via MSF consumes typically 80.6 kWh of heat energy (290 MJ thermal energy per kg) plus 2.5 -3.5 kWh/m3 of electricity, while large-scale RO requires only about 3.5-5.0 kWh/m3 of electricity. The average energy demand has been calculated at 5 kWh/m3 for MSF, 2.75 kWh/m3 for MED and 2.5 kWh/m3 for RO. Rising energy costs have made policy makers and planners in the Gulf appreciative of energy-efficient alternatives to MSF. MED has evolved from small installations to relatively large unit sizes. In the case of RO, various improvements in membranes, energy recovery devices, and pre-treatment techniques have made it more cost-competitive and reliable. Does this mean thermal will be replaced by RO in the Gulf? Depending on the feed water and location, RO may not always be the most cost-effective desalination technology. High feed water salinity, turbidity and presence of marine life in the feed water in the Arabian Gulf waters impact pre-treatment costs. Some experts claim that feed water salinity will only increase thanks to the growing number of desalination plants in the Gulf discharging their brine into the sea.

In the UAE, Masdar has launched a pilot desalination programme to test and develop energy-efficient seawater desalination technologies powered by renewable energy sources. The pilot will call for a full-scale facility to be operational by 2020, with the long-term objective to implement the best performing technologies in desalination plants across the UAE. Four companies Abengoa, Degrémont, Sidem/Veolia and Trevi Systems were awarded contracts last year wherein each company will build and operate its own test plant to demonstrate advanced membrane desalination technologies over the course of 18 months.

HYBRID DESALINATION

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PREVALENT SCENARIO: Hybrid desalination plants that combine thermal and membrane technologies have gained a toehold in the Gulf.

WHY: MSF+RO or MED+ RO plants allow more flexibility than MSF and MED plants would have on their own, especially in the Arabian Gulf.

DRIVERS FOR CHANGE: Hybrid plants help match the variation of power demand between summer and winter, discussed earlier in DECOUPLING OF POWER GENERATION AND DESALINATION, by using two different forms of energy for desalination. The surplus power generation capacity during winter is absorbed by the RO part of the hybrid desalination system. Hybrid designs take advantage of waste heat for the thermal process and higher feed temperatures for the membrane process.

The Fujairah F2 Independent Water and Power Plant (IWPP), inaugurated in 2011, combines MED and RO and is the largest of its kind in the world; on the other hand, the Ras Al Khair IWPP in Saudi Arabia, which is the world’s biggest desalination plant, has opted for a MSF + RO combination. Hybrid desalination plants make sense only if they make it possible to achieve a lower water cost.

SOLAR DESALINATION

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PREVALENT SCENARIO: Research & Development is underway, mainly in Saudi Arabia and the UAE to find a sustainable way to desalinate sea water using renewable energy. So far, there have been only small-scale projects like the 120m3/day solar–MED plant built in Umm Al Nar, Abu Dhabi.

WHY: Historically, seawater desalination is an energy-intensive process; by using renewable energy for large-scale desalination, it is possible to achieve a significant reduction in operational costs (since fuel is technically free).

DRIVERS FOR CHANGE: The dependence on desalination for water supply is near total in GCC countries. Desalination also impacts the environment from greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and discharge of brine. Growing water demand feeding into desalination capacity will increase future energy requirements and take a large share of national energy production. About 95% of the domestically-used natural gas in the UAE is allocated for power generation and water desalination. According to the World Bank, desalination alone requires burning approximately 1.5m barrels per day of crude oil in Saudi Arabia. The falling oil prices and consequent decline in revenues have made subsidies on domestic energy consumption a pressing challenge for the countries.

GCC countries have set targets for increasing the share of renewable energy in their energy portfolios by 2020-2030. So it makes sense to look at renewable energy as an option for powering desalination plants. Moreover, according to the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA), realising the renewable energy plans of the Gulf Cooperation Council region (GCC) will result in a 20% reduction in water withdrawals in the power sector. During the power generation stage, water needs for solar PV and wind are negligible compared to conventional generation.

Amongst the GCC countries, Qatar, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) and the United Arab Emirates (UAE), have taken the first steps in developing solar desalination projects. The game changer could be the world’s first large-scale solar-powered desalination plant in Saudi Arabia. Riyadh-based Advanced Water Technology (AWT) has selected Abengoa as its partner for the $130m project, which is unlike the smallscale and pilot projects the region has witnessed so far. A solar PV plant will power the 60,000m3/day SWRO plant, which will supply water to the Al Khafji City.

In January this year, Masdar, Masdar Institute, Laborelec, and Degrémont signed research collaboration agreement for the development of a completely solar-powered, full-scale SWRO desalination plant in the UAE. The research collaboration will focus on selecting the most practical and economical photovoltaic (PV) and solar thermal energy technologies to supply a full-scale SWRO with locally produced renewable energy. The parties will jointly work to develop an optimized design of a solar energy powered SWRO desalination plant. They will then attempt to demonstrate, according to the particular conditions of a selected UAE site, the ability to produce the required quality and quantity of fresh water on a large scale.

WASTEWATER REUSE

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PREVALENT SCENARIO: GCC countries are investing in wastewater treatment and reuse as part of a broader water resource management strategy.

Wastewater reuse can alleviate water scarcity by improving conservation, reducing wastage and balancing long-term water demand and water supply.

WHY: Population and economic growth, paralleled by industrial diversification, is placing immense pressure on water demand in the GCC. Realising that desalination alone cannot meet water demand, GCC countries are putting a lot of emphasis on wastewater recycling and reuse to increase available water resources. At onethird the cost of desalinated water, treated wastewater is seen a viable substitute for potable water in municipal, industrial and agricultural sectors for applications including landscaping, irrigating non-food crops and district cooling.

DRIVERS FOR CHANGE: Meeting growing demand for water purely through desalination isn’t sustainable because desalination is energy intensive. Its high cost is masked by government subsidies, which is a burden on the government.

Water reuse is an economical option compared to desalination. Government regulations are also getting stricter concerning treatment and discharge. Abu Dhabi is committed to the goal of 100% use of TSE within five years. Abu Dhabi Sewerage Services Company (ADSSC) has started working on creating the necessary infrastructure to achieve the goal including the Strategic Tunnel Engineering Project (STEP).

Saudi Arabia has set long-term goals of increasing water reuse to more than 65% by 2020 and more than 90% by 2040, all by transforming more of its existing and planned wastewater treatment assets into source water suppliers across all sectors.

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DESALINATION SPECIAL

AES ARABIA

“A significant percentage of our business comes from the region’s oil and gas and energy sectors” Asad Iqbal Khan, Manager – Business Development, AES Arabia speaks to Infrastructure Middle East about his company’s strong track record in the region’s industrial water treatment sector

ince its inception in 1995, AES Arabia has grown to become one of the leading specialised water treatment companies in the Middle East and North Africa.

The company has a strong track record in the desalination and waste management sector that goes back to 1997. In 1999, it built the Haql and Duba seawater reverse osmosis (SWRO) desalination plants for Saline Water Conversion Corporation. The same year, AES was picked among several major water

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treatment firms to carry out the 13,000m3/ day BWRO water treatment plant at King Khalid International Airport by the Ministry of Defence and Aviation (MODA). In late 2000, AES was awarded the construction and upgrade of 38,000 m3/day Brackish Water Reverse Osmosis (SWRO) water treatment facility for the Royal Commission of Jubail.

Asad Iqbal Khan, Manager – Business Development, AES Arabia says: “Being an arid region, the Middle East suffers from scarcity of potable water for both households and industries. The countries here depend mostly on desalinated water from the sea, and this

July-August 2015

can lead to contamination from the brine.

Technology providers are being challenged to come up with solutions where wastewater from homes or effluent from industries and refineries can be recycled for use in industrial processes or irrigation to reduce the pressure on desalinated water.”

Today, AES Arabia is mainly focussing on providing water and waste treatment management and turnkey solutions to the energy sector in the region. Major clients include Saudi Aramco, PDO, SABIC, ADNOC, Sonatrach, TOTAL, Shell, etc, who have selected and contracted AES for several of their projects to supply RO plants for water treatment, waste water treatment plants and chemical injection skids. Some of the major international EPC contractors have taken AES round the globe as their trusted partner.

“A significant percentage of our business comes from the region’s oil and gas and energy sectors,” says Khan. “Currently, we have been awarded a major multi-million dollar desalination plant for an energy industry client in the Red Sea area.” The project is very significant for the end user, contractor and AES in particular.

AES Arabia designs, engineers, manufactures, installs and commissions water and waste treatment solutions on a turnkey basis. The company works with Engineering, Procurement and Construction (EPC) contractors and end users in its projects.

“In the oil and gas and petrochemical industries, there are several waste streams from the processes,” said Khan. “We have set up an active Research and Development (R&D) department to develop effective treatment solutions for our clients.”

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DESALINATION SPECIAL

For example, AES worked on a project where all the process water from different sources like phenol washing or phosphate washing is treated. The wastewater stream is treated to a level where the water can be reused in the process.

In another project, the company provided a solution to crystallise the waste stream.

These crystals are used as feedstock in other industries. â&#x20AC;&#x153;We help companies in the energy sector minimise their waste streams and reduce environmental impact through reuse of the treated wastewater in their processes or by generating valuable by-products from the waste,â&#x20AC;? said Khan.

He noted that companies in the GCC regionâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s energy sector have to comply with tougher environmental norms. â&#x20AC;&#x153;There is a lot of awareness about the environmental impacts than in the past thanks to regulations. In the oil and gas sector, for example, the Royal Commission has very strict regulations, and these have to be taken into consideration in the initial design and engineering stages of projects,â&#x20AC;? said Khan. He also added that there are different solutions for enabling efficient water reuse in the energy sector, ranging from wastewater treatment to polishing with RO membranes to Zero Liquid Discharge (ZLD).

AES Arabia also manufactures equipment like API Oil-Water Separators, Corrugated Plate Interceptors (CPI) and Produced Water Treatment Plants. â&#x20AC;&#x153;When we execute a project, we supply a substantial part of the value of the project,â&#x20AC;? said Khan. â&#x20AC;&#x153;We use the latest technologies for water and wastewater treatment and this helps us increase efficiency.â&#x20AC;?

AES Arabia has also carried out the implementation of a ZLD pilot project in Saudi Arabia. ZLD enables greater permeate recovery while reducing brine volume and the associated disposal cost.

Khan continued: â&#x20AC;&#x153;If you are using RO for water treatment, the permeate makes up 40-50% while the rest is brine. ZLD is the best solution to deal with brine. In fact, it can be more efficient if incorporated at the design stage of the RO plant. With a 30-35% incremental increase in cost, it cannot be called a very expensive technology either.

ZLD is an excellent technology for the Middle East, but the going has been slow.â&#x20AC;?

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INFRASTRUCTURE MIDDLE EAST

The absence of substantial uptick in oil prices doesnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t worry Khan, who points out that there havenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t been many project cancellations. He is also conďŹ dent that AES Arabia can ride out this storm as well, quickly listing out the companyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s strengths: Ć&#x20AC;É (&#% É )'* .#.),-É ,)'É /,)* ĹťÉ ' ,# É and Asia, AES Arabia has been based in the Middle East for more than two decades with its production facility in Riyadh. Ć&#x20AC;É É " -É É ĹŠ 2# & É **,) "É #(É , --#(!É clientâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s requirements regarding

July-August 2015

compliance with speciďŹ cations, terms and conditions and client procedures. Ć&#x20AC;É " É )'* (3É " -É &1 3-É )'*& . É ( É delivered projects on or before scheduled. Ć&#x20AC;É , 0#)/-É 1),%É 2* ,# ( É 1#."É &# (.-É from the region opens the door for new business opportunities which arenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t available to most competitors.

Regarding emerging opportunities, Khan cites Jazanâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s IGCC (integrated gasiďŹ cation combined-cycle plant and Fadhili gas processing plant as important projects to track in the Saudi oil and gas sector.

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DESALINATION SPECIAL

“Majis’ vision is to continue with water utility solutions” Majis Industrial Services (Majis) was established in 2006 to provide water services to the industrial port and special economic areas of Sohar. Since then, it has grown to become a one-stop water utilities solution provider. Ahmad Saif al Mazrouy, CEO, Majis Industrial Services spoke to Anoop K Menon on the key projects being undertaken by Majis to strengthen its offerings and future plans 38

INFRASTRUCTURE MIDDLE EAST

July-August 2015

DESALINATION SPECIAL

C

ould you give us a summary of Majis’ evolution into a water utility provider for the Sohar Port and its industrial zones?

that are sensitive to contamination from chemicals. However, we treat the effluent to process water standards. The domestic wastewater is treated to irrigation water standard for the green areas in the Port.

When Majis was established in 2006, it was mainly to supply cooling water to the Sohar Port while the Public Authority for Electricity and Water (PAEW) took care of the potable water supply. Then came the requirements from customers for process water. If individual clients had to set up their process water plants, it would mean an unwanted addition to their core business.

Around 2008, Majis could see the growing demand for process water and potable water and the need to treat industrial effluent. That’s how we started to invest in these areas.

Will you be sticking to Sohar or are there plans to take the business to other parts of Oman?

What are the services currently provided by Majis?

Having mastered the water utility business, do you see Majis getting into electricity supply as well?

Currently, we have five products – cooling water, potable water, process water, treatment of industrial effluent and domestic wastewater.

We have the capacity to pump 400,000 m3/ hour of seawater, and by 2018, we will double the capacity. We screen the seawater to remove suspended, macro and microbiological elements before supplying the water to our customers. A Six Construct – Tecnidas Reunidas joint venture is constructing Sea Water Intake Pumping Station 2, which will provide 400,000 m3/hour of cooling water.

Since all this water has to go back to the sea, we are also going to expand the outfall.

Our potable water production capacity is 11,000m3/day. We might expand the capacity in the future if we are required to step in. Otherwise, potable water is left for our Independent Water and Power Project (IWPP) colleagues. I favour that strategy because whoever provides better water in terms of cost and quality is most welcome.

Currently, we are producing 10,000 m3/ day of process water, which we intend to increase to 20,000 m3/day in the next two years. Process water isn’t needed in big quantities like potable water, which acts as an incentive for us to focus in this area. We supply process water to clients under a bilateral agreement based on a cost-reflective tariff.

We have segregated industrial effluent treatment from domestic wastewater treatment. We didn’t want treated industrial effluent to be utilised in areas

In fact, we are reviewing our business model whether we want to stay in Sohar or spread our wings within the country, the GCC or even the MENA region. Currently, we look after the Port of Sohar and the Freezone. Going beyond that, we may look at State industrial zones, and other industrial areas in Oman to treat industrial effluent and make process water out of it. We may take our effluent treatment and process water business to Salalah, Nizwa and Ghala industrial areas.

Majis’ vision is to continue with water utility solutions. We may produce potable water or make other products out of effluent by-products like oil, chemicals or metals.

We are experts in industrial cooling water because we started with that service. In fact, demand is increasing within the Sohar Port area and Oman overall as all the heavy industries, metallic industries and petrochemicals need cooling water. And cooling water is not their core business.

We are also looking at the possibility of having a smaller company, a joint venture, under Majis for Operations and Maintenance (O&M). Our products are now scattered among three companies – Veolia, through Azaliya, is dealing with the O&M of the cooling water and the network, Acciona with Sogex Oman is looking after the O&M of the desalination plant while UEM is managing the industrial effluent treatment plant.

Since Majis has the water utility mandate for Sohar Port, does it mean there are no competitive pressures?

The government of Oman as our sole shareholder and this year, they stopped supporting us. They have to us that they want us to stand on our own. To be competitive, you need to control your overheads and reduce your consumables like electricity and chemicals. I have to make sure that my

clients are happy to continue to business with me because I provide them with costeffective water. For example, a big component of our cost is electricity consumption. We are exploring the opportunity of recovering the energy used for pumping the water before sending it to the sea as electricity.

Due to decline in international oil prices, the government of Oman had raised gas prices for industrial units in the country. Has this step impacted Majis since the gas price hike must have affected your customers in Sohar Port?

Surely, the government and the decisionmakers will look into all these elements to make sure that the businesses aren’t harmed.

As far as Majis is concerned, we are providing only one part of service. We are protected by cost-reflective tariffs, so that if something like a gas price hike, which is beyond our control, happens, it gets transferred to the customer.

Majis has no risk at this moment in time.

Also, customers shouldn’t have to worry about Majis exhausting its production capacity. We don’t have limitations on time and investment. What matters is that there is a market for our products. We can get funding from banks to invest. But we need customers to assure us that they will buy our product. Whenever they run into an additional requirement, we try to satisfy that element too. We have additional capacity for emergency situations. We have a constant dialogue with customers to understand their needs and issues.

How is Majis supporting the government’s agenda of encouraging the Small and Medium Enterprises (SME) sector in the country?

I have always been in favour of the SME policy. The way out for Omanis to deliver and to be committed is not through employment but SMEs because they have the liberty to earn more money. Instead of being restricted to one company, they can provide services to many companies.

At Majis, we are splitting our work into core and non-core. The number of employees in Majis is 35 and I have no intention of increasing that. I will make them the most professional team in the core business while the rest of noncore business will be done by Majis.

We already have 3-4 SMEs operating in the company. Hospitality, potable water tankers and landscaping are all done by SMEs.

July-August 2015

INFRASTRUCTURE MIDDLE EAST

39

RENEWABLE ENERGY

2015 SEMINAR SERIES

Rooftop solar revisited Excerpts from the Q&A session that followed the panel discussion on Dubai’s rooftop solar initiative at Infrastructure Middle East’s ‘2015 Seminar on Energy Efficiency and Management’ held in Dubai

t Infrastructure Middle East’s ‘2015 Seminar on Energy Efficiency and Management,’ held in May at the Habtoor Grand, Dubai Marina, the most keenly awaited panel discussion of the three scheduled for the day was the session on Rooftop Solar.

The context of the discussion was the recently launched rooftop solar initiative by the Dubai Electricity and Water Authority (DEWA) called Shams Dubai.

The initiative implements Council resolution number 46 of 2014, issued by HH Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Crown Prince of Dubai and Chairman of the Dubai Executive Council, to regulate the connection of solar energy to Dubai’s power grid.

The session moderator Imtiaz Mahtab, President, Middle East Solar Industry Association (MESIA) was joined by Waseem

A

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Qureshi, Founder, MiccGreenTec; Faizan Ahmed, Manager HVAC Solutions, NIA; and Sarfraz Dairkee, Board Member, Emirates Green Building Council (EGBC) to discuss the opportunities and challenges involved in installing, operating and maintaining rooftop solar systems.

Following a 40-minute intense discussion, the floor was thrown open for questions. [The panel discussion has been extensively covered in the June 2015 issue of Infrastructure Middle East]. Key aspects of the Q&A session have been edited and reproduced below: The Q&A session started with a question about the impact of dust and haze on solar panel output. Waseem pointed out that since solar photovoltaic panels work with light if the dust or haze is very high, there will be degradation of output. In his experience, degradation of output is the 3-5% range.

“We survey the location, and if the situation demands it, we oversize the solar panels by 5-10% to compensate for the

July-August 2015

degradation,” he said. Thus, issues like haze and dust can be addressed at the design stage itself. The fact that solar PV works well with direct as well as reflected sunlight stands the roof-top system in good stead in such conditions.

Waseem also pointed out that high temperatures during the summer months also reduces the efficiency of solar PV panels which needs to be addressed during the design stage.

“When the temperature recorded 55 degrees C, I have recorded 107 degrees C on the solar modules,” said Waseem.

One of the questions posed by Imtiaz to the panelists pertained to the scope for financing and leasing solutions for solar power systems including rooftops in Dubai, citing the example of SolarCity in the US. In response, Waseem pointed out that currently, the contract is between the consumer and DEWA, and there is no other party in the picture.

During the Q&A, DEWA’s Armando Dominioni, who works on the Shams Dubai initiative, acknowledged that the connection agreement is between the endconsumer and DEWA. “That means you cannot go for a rental model in the sense of a roof rental model,” said Armando. “You cannot, as a developer, rent a roof, install your panels and be a legal entity for DEWA for selling your power.”

Once a customer enters into a contract with DEWA for Shams Dubai, they can enter into a commercial relationship with a developer, who can help them develop and operate the system, finance it, own it or even rent it.

“When a customer comes to us with a load, whether it is a refrigerator, or air conditioner, we don’t ask him whether he owns it or leased it,” said Armando. “In the same way, the customer can own the panels or rent them.

When we developed the regulations, we were open to this type of business model.”

A delegate from Qmega wanted to know

RENEWABLE ENERGY

if the financing entity can register the contract with DEWA on the same lines of registering a car lease with the Roads and Transport Authority (DEWA). In the latter instance, it ensures that the lessee cannot dispose the car off without closing the contract.

Armando said that DEWA is looking closely at what can be put in place in cooperation with banks and other financial institutions to make life easy in terms of financing rooftop solar systems.

Waseem said: “The main concern of the bank is that rooftop solar system should be registered to somebody’s name. They want security not only on the performance of the system but also on its recovery.

Whenever financing comes up there has to be a secondary market to that as well. So if

a customer doesn’t pay and the bank recovers the system, there should be a secondary market where they can sell. These are limitations that only governments can help overcome.

The delegate from Tebodin asked about the design life of the panels, their rate of degradation in the operational phase, the efficiency of the panels offered in the market as “all these are linked to payback.”

Waseem pointed out that despite the different claims floating in the market, he is yet to see a single panel exceeding 16% on the efficiency front. Efforts to improve the efficiency in Europe a couple of years ago were stymied by the financial crisis.

“The degradation of the panels varies with the manufacturers. It ranges between 10-15 years,” he said. “The maximum degradation

“The costing model should also factor in the future maintenance of the system” Kingspan Energy, with offices in UK and Ireland, offers end-toend solar photovoltaic (PV) installations including feasibility, design, installation, and financing. James Kelly, Business Development Manager – GCC, Kingspan Insulated Panels, was among the keen listeners at Infrastructure ME’s panel discussion on Rooftop Solar. He kindly acquiesced to share his thoughts on Dubai’s newly launched rooftop solar initiative ‘Shams Dubai.’

Excerpts from the interview: How would you rate Dubai’s initiatives towards developing a truly self-sustaining roof-top solar sector?

My opinion is that the policy currently being implemented - Net Metering - is the most sustainable in the long term. The fact there is no reliance on government-backed incentives make this scheme very robust. The framework and technical standards appear to be well constructed and intuitive for players such as ourselves, who are coming from overseas markets.

What are the parameters that go into the costing of a roof-top solar system?

The primary considerations are health and safety. With most of the activity taking place at heights, expenses shouldn’t be a constraint when it comes to preventing accidents. Proper loading facilities for materials, proper access and egress points to and from roofs, covering of exposed voids and roof lights and protection from exposed edges should be provided.

Apart from these, structural reports and roof condition reports plus proof of compliance with roof manufacturers’ warranties are important. The costing model should also factor in the future

you can up to is 40% in 25 years. But that still gives you 60% output to work with.”

A delegate from the University of Sharjah wanted to know at which stage of design one needs to correct for the irradiation effect and the temperature effect.

He continued: “Our research shows that for one degree Celsius increase, we have a drop in efficiency of 0.4%. Is there a technology that combines both cleaning and cooling at the same time?”

Waseem said: “Lot of companies are working on cooling of solar panels during degradation temperatures. In extreme summer, we experience a lot of degradation in generation. People think we have a lot of solar landing in this part of the world, but technology limitations stop us from harvesting that energy.”

maintenance of the system in terms of providing adequate walkways and safety systems on roofs.

What are the main challenges of installation of roof-top solar systems from a technical/engineering/structural standpoint?

Are there variations when it comes to new-build versus existing roofs? How are solar equipment manufacturers addressing the challenges?

For the most part, the actual installation of the PV system components should be quite similar. On a new build, the PV contractor will most likely be working in the confines of a standard construction site. Whereas, on a retrofit installation, more attention needs to be given to the operation of the business/plant under the roof. Additional factors include site specifics that the contractor needs to be made aware of, particular site protocols and the public.

From a technical point of view, the condition of the existing roof needs to be established, and bespoke testing done on mounting structures to ensure that the attachment parameters are the same as when the roof was new. Both new and retrofit build installations need to ensure they do not compromise the integrity of the roof.

What are the different financing models that Dubai can adopt to further the roof-top programme?

Ensuring cash flow for investors is the best way to get funding moving. If an investor is solely relying on the covenant of the landlord with whom they have a Power Purchase Agreement (PPA), then a lot of the systems may not get off the ground. A government policy that ensures that any power exported to the grid, in the event of a building being empty or a landlord defaulting, would receive an export payment is useful. Other ways that the government could help support the industry would be to have no tax or duties on green products - solar modules, inverters and mounting frames. A carbon reduction tax payment would also give additional incentive to investors and landlords alike.

July-August 2015

INFRASTRUCTURE MIDDLE EAST 41

CONSTRUCTION

PRECAST FOR ALL

Building a better tomorrow The 3rd Annual ‘Precast for All’ Conference in Dubai brought together the industry’s foremost precast experts he Precast League recently held its third annual conferencecum-exhibition in Dubai, UAE. Titled ‘Precast for All’ the event attended by real estate developers, investors, and construction, contracting and infrastructure stakeholders from both private and public sector organisations. The attendees discussed the latest industry developments and challenges, debated the means to expand in the GCC and the Arab region while sharing their expertise and success stories.

At the co-located exhibition, 11 member companies displayed their products and showcased their completed/under construction projects in the UAE and the region at large. They also presented advanced precast technologies used in the building and design of towers, residential units and offices together with in-house techniques developed to meet local requirements.

The patronage of Dubai Municipality and the UAE Contractors’ Association emphasised the important role being played by the precast sector in the UAE real estate market, and Dubai in particular. Thanks to its high degree of standardisation, Precast has often played a significant role in delivering noteworthy projects with tight deadlines.

Members of the Precast League expressed their willingness to communicate with companies and investors in GCC real estate sector to establish common grounds for future cooperation. They acknowledged that the real- estate boom currently underway in the GCC presented an excellent opportunity to develop residential, office and commercial projects using precast technology.

Dr Ahmad Saif Belhasa, Chairman of UAE Contractors’ Association and Precast League stated the amount of total annual investment in this industry exceeds $410m.

As an environmentally-friendly product free of toxic components, precast has

T

42

INFRASTRUCTURE MIDDLE EAST

Dr Ahmad Saif Belhasa, Chairman of UAE Contractors’ Association and Precast League

achieved a major leap in terms of quality and applications. While the use of precast for the construction of basins, dams and major urban facilities is quite widespread, the technology is proving to be reliable enough for constructing electricity networks and telecommunication platforms.

Belhasa noted that that improvement in the development of precast technology in the region had contributed to minimising the time and effort required to accomplish significant development projects. This achievement, in turn, has helped reduce cost, save energy and elevate local construction standards to the highest international norms.

He also pointed out that construction in the region follows performance standards and finishing processes accurately, scaffolds are being used less, and the workforce is flexible enough to be trained.

Belhasa concluded by calling for greater interaction between the stakeholders in precast industry and keeping the industry on track with the latest scientific updates through relevant research. He also urged for local and national standards to be applied keeping environment and climate change, making the precast sector more responsive to expansion, development and mega project requirements.

Eng. Abdulla Mohammad Rafia, Assistant Director General, Dubai Municipality stressed on the significance and role of the

July-August 2015

precast industry in achieving Dubai’s goal of becoming the most sustainable city by 2020.

Eng. Rafia highlighted the trends that are shaping the precast industry as a significant economic contributor for Dubai and the UAE. He further stressed that Dubai is open for sustainable and innovative solutions in community development and welcomes all local, GCC and international efforts contributing to achieving its aspirations.

Eng. Samir Qablawi, Project Manager at HI-Tech Concrete Precast emphasised that the aim of the Precast Conference and Fair was to promote the industry before the region’s real estate sector and showcase its capabilities and 10 years of experience.

He noted that the precast industry is capable of meeting the real-estate market’s requirements thanks to its diversity. The sector can contribute to 99% of any project with tight deadlines while delivering to standards specified by the stakeholders.

The conference recommended that a database should be established to promote precast technology in upcoming projects. A recommendation envisioned by Eng. Bashar Abu Mayala, CEO of Hard Precast Building Systems (HPBS) was adaptation of the latest e-systems in the real estate development world, resting on the success of the precast experience before and after the financial crisis.

The sector’s importance was cemented by the

Eng. Abdulla Mohammad Rafia, Assistant Director General, Dubai Municipality

CONSTRUCTION

‘Precast for All’ Conference was held under the patronage of Dubai Municipality and the UAE Contractors’ Association

contractors’ realisation of the significance of cost reduction measures to cope with the crisis. When considering all these elements together along with the real estate market in the region, precast role’s in catering to the real-estate booms in Iraq, Egypt and Saudi Arabia become evident.

Abdul Razaq Al-Dajani, General Manager of Xtramix International Precast and Chairman of the Organising Committee of the Conference said: “The precast industry is open to the latest technologies and is self-driven and progressive, responsive to upcoming challenges in any project, and providing the required support to the engineering challenges. Al-Dajani stated the Precast League is also open to welcoming new members, especially from the Kuwaiti market.

The relationship connecting the members of the League is based on mutual experience and cooperation in taking precast to a better status and contributing to its expansion so that precast retains its leading role in the region’s real estate sector while local competitive qualifications will lead the way.

Hakam Al-Abed, General Manager of Concrete Technology noted that the Precast Conference and Fair serve as a platform for the exchange of information among industry stakeholders, municipalities, engineering offices and real estate developers and highlights the significance of precast and its advantages.

Al-Abed also spoke on how engineering challenges involved in high-rise buildings can benefit from Ready Mix Concrete (RMC). Upon answering an enquiry on the significance of holding the Precast Conference for the third time and the impact of the former two rounds, Al-Abed said: “The past two rounds have increased

the number of participants and expanded business momentum within the region. Many members also expressed their willingness to hold extended discussions on additional dimensions of the industry. During the former rounds, we have extended invitations to GCC real estate stakeholders given the tremendous opportunities in the promising GCC markets. We have no doubt that precast will retain its critical role in upcoming urban developments.”

Khaled Hassan, CEO of RAK Precast said: “The local efforts and expertise in Ready Mix Concrete (RMC) have successfully proved themselves in executing mega projects in the region and developing reliable and thermal insulated construction systems that meet the market requirements. RMC is designed to cope with the requirements of mega project developments while enabling operation and labour cost reduction and adherence to environmental standards and ensuring product reliability – all this will help to expand the precast industry in the coming five years in the GCC states and rest of the Middle-East.”

A DAY’S WORK Matthew Palmer, General Manager, United Precast Concrete, delivered the opening presentation focused on ‘Building a better tomorrow.’ Comparing traditional construction and precast systems by exploring their pros and cons, Palmer, who has been with the company for a decade, explained how precast systems substantially reduce construction time and onsite labour and waste material. He observed that precast

PARTICIPATING PRECAST COMPANIES 1.

Xtramix International Precast, which headed the Organising Committee 2. United Precast Concrete 3. HI-Tech Concrete Precast 4. Dubai Precast 5. Hard Precast Building Systems (HPBS) 6. Exeed Precast 7. Arabtec Precast 8. Gulf Precast Concrete Company 9. Al Ain National Precast Technology 10. Ras Al-Khaimah Precast 11. National Precast Company

makes up 30% of the UAE’s concrete market, is around 10% cheaper to manufacture compared to other alternatives and can be produced much faster.

The second presentation discussed precast and sustainability, and was delivered by Professor Abid Abu-Tair, Professor of Structural Engineering at the British University in Dubai and visiting research scholar of the Manchester School of Mechanical, Aerospace and Civil Engineering. Professor Abu-Tair showed how precast concrete delivers a triple bottom line solution: social, as an essential part of GDP (comprising 10% of GDP); environmental, as a key enabler of renewable energy technologies; and economic, with relatively low cost versus performance and the lowest ‘whole of life cost’ in infrastructure.

He was followed by Dr Mohamed Naji, who delivered a presentation on the durability and service life of precast concrete. Dr Naji is serving as the Director of Infrastructure Sustainability and Assessment Centre at the American University of Dubai.

The fourth presentation – given by Dr Daniele Pfeffer, from Gulf Precast – was on the subject of total precast solutions for large villa developments. .

The first post-lunch presentation focussed on precast solutions for the construction of low-rise buildings such as schools and car parks. Matti Mikkola, who has served as the CEO of Dubai Precast since 2006, made the presentation.

The sixth presentation was on the topic of precast solutions for the construction of highrise buildings by Jesn Fussing from BG & E and Engr. Bahaa Ibrahim, Design Manager at Hard Precast.

The penultimate presentation was on the subject of the innovative use of precast

by Brett Holmes and Bernd Reisacher.

Holmes, serves as Territory Manager at StormTrap, has a chemical and civil engineering background and extensive stormwater industry experience, with a focus on educating engineers, contractors and regulatory bodies about the benefits of precast concrete in the Stormwater Management Industry. Reisacher is the Technical Sales Director at Reckli.

The eighth and final presentation of the day, which explored the maximisation of cost benefits through early value engineering, was delivered by Professor Abid Abu-Tair.

July-August 2015

INFRASTRUCTURE MIDDLE EAST 43

CONSTRUCTION

2022 WORLD CUP

Leaving a legacy Engineering sustainable sporting venues in the Middle East

By Matt Kitson

osting a World Cup presents a great opportunity for the host country to benefit not only during the tournament but also to leave a positive and lasting legacy, with enhanced infrastructure and venues that are seen as exemplary on the world stage.

At the heart of the plans for the ‘2022 World Cup’ in Qatar are the stadia that will host the matches. Such sporting venues are often celebrated for their design, but rarely for their contribution to sustainability, but there’s no reason why they shouldn’t be.

The Qatar 2022 Supreme Committee for Delivery and Legacy has set the sports design community a challenge. It’s one which should apply not just to football stadia, but every large sporting venue. Every aspect of design and construction must make a stand for human, social, economic and environmental development.

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At the recent World Stadium Congress in Qatar, I shared my advice on how we, as designers, architects, engineers and constructors, can and should embed sustainability into every large sporting venue – during construction and beyond, to ensure a lasting legacy. Here, are the key points.

CLIMATE AND CONSERVATION

There’s no room for complacency with Qatar’s challenging climate. The geography is barren and the temperatures average over 40˚C across a five-month summer, with a winter daytime average in the mid-twenties. Annual rainfall is less than three inches while humid summers pass without a drop of rain.

Qatar also has one of the highest percapita carbon dioxide emissions in the world.

The emissions are mainly due to the amount of energy it uses, which includes natural gas processing, water desalination, and electricity production. Since the country is hot and dry, water consumption is also very high. In response to these environmental

July-August 2015

challenges, Qatar National Vision 2030 was launched in 2008.

The National Vision introduced a number of initiatives as well as new regulations. Qatar now has a sustainability framework for all projects, taking into account their local impact as well as their built forms. It is based on the internationally recognised LEED certification and GSAS, a sustainability assessment system developed by Qatar.

For the most part, design and construction will be expected to achieve LEED Gold and GSAS 4. Together, they will ensure that we are genuinely innovative and wholly practical in the protection and conservation of natural resources. It’s a no tick-box exercise.

GSAS assesses eight key areas: energy and water consumption, indoor environment, cultural and economic impact, the site itself, urban connectivity, materials used and management and operational use. Energy, water and indoor environment carry the greatest weighting.

To achieve high standards is possible – just look at the Ali Bin Hamad Al-Attiyah Arena and Lusail Sports Arena, each of which achieved four-star GSAS ratings under the guidance of the Qatar Olympic Committee.

We can emulate that success by using the framework as a design tool from concept stage onwards – and ensuring that we employ the specialists necessary to manage both design and construction phases.

DESIGNING FOR HEALTH

The climatic conditions in Qatar present another problem for designers: keeping players and spectators comfortable. While it seems likely that the 2022 tournament will be played in the cooler months of November and December, the all-important legacy consideration means that we need to be designing stadiums that will host a safe and comfortable environment for sports during those arid summer months too.

Combine high levels of activity with high humidity and temperatures climbing above 350C and you have an environment that is very harsh to counteract. At Hilson Moran, we carried out research into a number of major sporting events: the 1986 football World Cup in Mexico City, the 1994 World Cup in Orlando, the 2002 tournament in Seoul and the 2004 and 2008 Olympics in Athens and Beijing.

We measured the average temperatures, humidity, solar position, the time-of-the-

CONSTRUCTION

the precinct and public realm â&#x20AC;&#x201C; where shading devices, landscape design and low-level cooling can all play a part.

PROVIDING THE POWER

Lusail Stadium - Image Courtesy: Foster + Partners

day when the events took place and the level of shading offered by the stadiums.

We discovered that itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s not just the air temperature that matters â&#x20AC;&#x201C; and by plotting each locationâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s characteristics we established that Qatar offers a more extreme challenge than any of these locations.

For Qatar, shading is, of course, essential and adding cooling to the playing surface and bleachers is most effective using displacement cooling from the seats. But thorough assessment and analysis is the key and we would always recommend using Computational ďŹ&#x201A;uid dynamics (CFD) so the best design solution can be found; itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s incredibly complex but well worth the effort.

The key performance characteristic in CFD is WBGT or wet bulb globe temperature, a composite temperature that estimates the effect of temperature, humidity, wind chill factor and solar radiation. Others include operative temperature in the bleachers, outside and inside environment analysis and as well as full radiation modelling. The calculations need to be precise, and theyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ll then reveal all the considerations that need to be taken into account to provide a comfortable and efficient environment: Ć&#x20AC;É )) É -" * Ć&#x20AC;É )) É " #!". Ć&#x20AC;É )) É )* (#(! Ć&#x20AC;É )) É ' . ,# &Ć&#x20AC;É " É -/(É * ."É ( É ),, -*)( #(!É 0 (.É .#' Ć&#x20AC;É #. "É ( É & " ,-É . '* , ./, É ( É humidity levels Ć&#x20AC;É ( É &) É ( É ( ,!3É )(-/'*.#)(Ĺş Then you need to consider the design of

Now, how about the power to do all of this? A natural ďŹ rst instinct would be solar â&#x20AC;&#x201C; with so much sunshine, surely a clear-cut solution?

After all, the Dragon Stadium in Taiwan features solar panels in the roof that do the job. But Taipei features longer daylight hours, lower average temperatures, far greater rainfall and lower humidity.

In fact, we worked out that weâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;d need to build the worldâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s largest solar farm â&#x20AC;&#x201C; nine million panels covering 14.8 sq km â&#x20AC;&#x201C; to power the tournament. So letâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s leave solar on the bench.

Hereâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s where the ingenuity comes in. Weâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re looking at three very clever technologies to help reduce the energy required: Ć&#x20AC;É É É É É Ć?É , '# É * #(.É 0 &)* É 3É ." É Japanese space agency, which uses nanotechnology to reďŹ&#x201A;ect heat. Simple enough to apply. Ć&#x20AC;É É É É & .,) ",)'# É ),É -' ,.É !& --É Ć&#x2018;É 1" , É É small electrical current cuts 40% to 95% of ." É -)& ,É ! #(ĹşÉ ,# -É , É ,)**#(!ĹťÉ * ( &É sizes work commercially and the AC load can be seriously reduced as a result. Ć&#x20AC;É É É É ( ĹťÉ &')-.É #( , # &3ĹťÉ É É )'* (3É && É 0 ! (É 3-. '-É " -É 0 &)* É a commercially viable tile that uses piezoelectric cells to generate electricity from footfall. Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s been tested under É )). &&É *#. "É #(É #)É É ( #,)É ( É provided enough power to run the lights for up to 10 hours. Imagine this in the stadium precincts.

environmental manager: site-wide environmental impact assessments and well-conceived construction environmental management plans will ensure compliance and even baseline and day-to-day noise levels need monitoring.

LEAVING A POSITIVE LEGACY

As we look back at those Supreme Committee goals: human, social, economic and environmental development, we can start to see the future of Qatar. The architecture needs to create a sense of place that respects local culture and traditions; public realm and social infrastructure should support and enhance community interaction and be inclusive irrespective of nationality, culture, gender, age and ability; and public transport and healthy, self-sufficient travel such as walking and cycling must be promoted.

And if youâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re in any doubt as to the importance of planning for a sustainable future for stadiums, learn the lessons taught

by Brazil 2014, where six of the 12 stadiums built are in real ďŹ nancial difficulty. One $600m stadium has lost $3m since it opened.

Letâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s leave a ďŹ&#x201A;awless legacy in Qatar and show how sustainability can be achieved and make a difference for the generations to come.

SUSTAINABLE CONSTRUCTION

In addition to high sustainability standards, construction is also expected to meet international standards. Therefore, designing for sustainable construction is key â&#x20AC;&#x201C; and modular, prefabricated construction is an approach encouraged by the Qatar 2022 Supreme Committee. Everything from embodied energy to materials waste is reduced and prefabrication should mean less damage .)É #,É +/ &#.3É .))ĹşÉ ĹąĹ°É Ć&#x2DC; #, ),( É * ,.# /& . É matter up to 10 micrometres in size) in Qatar is way above World Health Organisation (WHO) guidance. So on-site dust control is essential.

During the construction phase, we recommend appointing an experienced

Matt Kitson is Regional Director, Hilson Moran Qatar

July-August 2015

Hilson Moran is a leading, international multi-disciplinary engineering consultancy. Matt Kitson is Regional Director, Hilson Moran Qatar.

Projects include some of the worldâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s most innovative and iconic buildings, including 30 St Maryâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Axe and 20 Fenchurch Street in London, Ordnance Surveyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s HQ in Southampton and the North Yas Island masterplan in Abu Dhabi.

INFRASTRUCTURE MIDDLE EAST 45

TELECOM

oday, mobile communications form an integral part of the lives of millions of people around the world, a situation that is expected to continue and become even more undeniable in the future.

Amid such a situation, together with the upcoming needs for Smart Cities and Internet-of-Things (IoT), the anticipated challenges of the future are so tremendous that there is a vastly increased need for a new mobile communications system with even further enhanced capabilities, namely a fifth generation (5G) system.

But the future of 5G wireless access is much more than just about radio interface technology. 5G wireless access should be seen as the overall future solution to providing wireless access to people and devices.

In our view and based on the currently known challenges and the foreseeable traffic trends, we foresee the following as the 5G requirements: Reduced cost and ‘green’ energy efficiency: 5G has to provide 100x better cost per bit compared to the current networks (both CAPEX and OPEX) Higher network capacity: 5G has to be able to manage traffic volumes of many orders of magnitude compared to today’s networks.

In our view, the target should be a minimum of 100x the current capacity offered by the current LTE networks.

Higher Speed: 5G has to practically provide higher speeds compared to today’s networks. This also has to be coupled with a much more consistent quality of user experience (QoE) compared to LTE. In our view, the target speed would be the 1Gbps user throughput achievable everywhere.

Support for Internet of Things and massive connectivity: 5G has to allow for the expected massive number of devices to

T

Getting ready for 5G Even though the next generation mobile 5G is still just a concept, operators can still prepare their network for this future technology

By Saleem AlBlooshi Executive Vice President of Network Development and Operations, du

“5G has to allow for the expected massive number of devices to be connected simultaneously to the network in order to support Internet of Things (IoT)” 46

INFRASTRUCTURE MIDDLE EAST

July-August 2015

be connected simultaneously to the network in order to support Internet of Things (IoT) that are “always” connected to cloud services. Also, 5G has to be able to flexibly support more machine type devices for IoT. Very Low RAN latency: 5G has to provide not only higher speeds but also a user-plane latency of less than 1ms over the radio access network (RAN).This is crucial for the cloud services and remote real-time control for M2M systems.

At ‘du’, our experts have been working closely with all our technology partners, infrastructure vendors and Standardisation Bodies to help shape, and clarify the 5G network requirements, especially from an Operator perspective.

Recently, the International Telecommunications Union (ITU) approved du’s submitted contribution regarding 5G standardisation, titled ‘Proposal to launch the 5G studies in SG13’.

The contribution outlines du’s research on the basic and most essential requirements for the road to 5G, its current candidate technologies and architectures, and the concerns and issues that the telecommunications provider foresees with all the highlighted candidate technologies and architectures. du’s successful contribution to the ITU cements its objective to be first in the market for pioneering technologies and lead the way towards a 5G future.

TECHNOLOGY

SOLAR POWER

Squaring the circle Safe, and definitely high voltage, SMA uses string fuses in solar park. By Dr Rüdiger Meyer MA is trying out new system solutions in a large solar farm for major solar power plants that will be built worldwide. The DC plug-in connectors from Phoenix Contact’s Sunclix product range are used for reliable DC field wiring. The new Sunclix fuse adapters secure the solar modules against high return currents in the event of an error.

SMA Solar Technology AG (SMA) has been operating a 3.2MW ground-based solar farm in the Sandershäuser Berg industrial park in the north Hessian town of Niestetal near Kassel, Germany, since June 2014.

This solar power plant supplies electric power to nearby Solar Plant 3 and additional buildings for the firm, which specialises in photovoltaic systems technology. However, the plant serves primarily as a test platform for new system solutions in large photovoltaic power plants.

S

Protective elements are required for the safe and reliable operation of photovoltaic systems with multiple parallel-switched strings to prevent the occurrence of return currents. Phoenix Contact’s Sunclix fuse adapters are used for this task.

35,000 solar modules in nine months “We have set up almost 35,000 solar modules over a surface that is about four football fields in size for our solar power plant,” recalls Tobias Pressel, Project Manager at SMA. “Only nine months separated the start of planning and start-up.”

The 3.2MW photovoltaic test field run by power inverter manufacturer SMA Solar Technology, in the Sandershäuser Berg industrial park near Niestetal in the Kassel region in Germany.

Tobias Pressel, Project Manager for the Development of the new generation of string combiner boxes.

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The module fields, which were interconnected in strings, are brought together in 24 string combiner boxes, and from there they are connected to the central inverter station via DC collector lines. On the AC voltage side, the system is connected via a 20kV transformer to the power grid of SMA’s Solar Plant 3.

July-August 2015

A solar park as a test platform “What we could hardly do in the laboratory for cost reasons, we can do with the solar power plant at almost zero cost,” explains Pressel. “By using our internal 20kV mediumvoltage grid, we can measure interactions between the solar generators and the grid, create specific operating conditions, and simulate special cases.”

In addition, the integration of a battery inverter is planned that can be used as a buffer for non-utilised energy and can stabilize the grid.

Today’s typical PV systems work with a maximum system voltage of 1000V on the DC side. “We can raise the system voltage in our test facility up to 1500V with simple switching procedures,” says Pressel. “That’s how we test innovative devices and system components for this high voltage level, in real operations.”

TECHNOLOGY

The reason they use this method is the higher energy efficiency resulting from lower currents with higher voltages – in the final analysis, power loss is determined by wiring and contact resistances in wiring, contacts, and devices, and is proportional to the square of the flowing current.

Temperature-optimised string combiner boxes for 1,500 V String combiner boxes are typically located near solar modules in the field.

Conventional arrangement of a solar generator and a string combiner box – the control cabinet is located near the solar modules and is protected from direct sunlight by positioning it beneath the panels.

In the SMA test system, they are designed for system voltages up to 1500V. To build it, the right components are needed, as well as larger distances between live parts to guarantee insulation distances.

The control cabinets mostly contain a DC switching mechanism to separate the solar generator from the power inverter, a monitoring system to keep an eye on string currents, and surge arresters to protect the system from surge voltages caused by such events as lightning strikes.

Furthermore, today’s typical string combiner boxes mostly contain high-current fuse elements that, in the event of a failure, are meant to prevent dangerous return currents from entering the parallel-switched PV strings.

Eliminating heat sources The fuses are also live in the solar generator’s normal operations and cause a power loss of 5W per fuse. The fuses give off this power loss in the form of heat. Too much heat can lead however to premature aging of components, or even malfunctions or failures. In the case of string combiner

ADVANTAGES OF A UNIVERSAL DC INSTALLATION PROGRAMME DC-side field installations in today’s PV systems often entail serious deficiencies. These often go unnoticed if the errors only lead to increased contact resistances and “invisible” heat losses. The most frequent cause is the combination of connective components from different manufacturers because these often do not work well with each other, even if they are labelled with dubious compatibility to an unnamed standard.

High-quality installation components from the same manufacturer are indispensable for high system yields and for safe, reliable, and error-free operation – and they are also required for normative and clear warranty regulation. Only a few manufacturers offer a comprehensive range of connection technology and systems components like Phoenix Contact.

The expansion of the Sunclix product range to include a fuse adapter for high system voltages and currents, designed for outdoor environments, rounds out the product line.

boxes, this affects all of the components in the box, especially the fuses themselves, which degrade under constant intense heat. This means that the fuses have to be replaced within the space of a few months to a few years. The resultant servicing for a solar park operating company is high and incurs significant expense.

There are various ways to prevent overheating in string combiner boxes. For example, the spacing between the (up to 64) fuses in each box should be selected in such a way that mutual thermal influence remains low.

Active ventilation can remove heat from the string combiner box. This however requires higher investment in the fans and brings along additional failure risks associated with moving parts. Moreover, openings are required in the external case of the boxes. Alternatively, the volume and the surface of the box can be chosen in a way that favours the removal of heat through convection. As the volume of the control cabinet increases, however, so do the costs associated with it.

Inline string fuse with good cost-benefit ratio A technically and economically attractive alternative is to relocate the fuses externally, meaning in the string connection outside of the string combiner box. This is called an inline string fuse.

One special feature of the SMA string combiner boxes is the arrangement of the string fuses outside of the control cabinet. This eliminates the most significant heat source within the housing, removing thermal influence and preventing premature aging of components.

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INFRASTRUCTURE MIDDLE EAST 49

TECHNOLOGY

This important installation accessory is also available for system voltages of 1000V (600V UL) or 1,500V (1000V UL) – an important requirement for the kind of large solar parks that SMA will equip in the future. Comprehensive variance for nominal fuse currents from 6 to 30A in conventional graduations offer planners great flexibility in the design of solar parks.

SUMMARY

DC field connector in combination with a fuse adapter – wires that have not yet been assigned are protected with a field connector and the right sealing plug, and can be easily and safely connected during installation or the later addition of more strings.

“This enables us to drastically reduce the size of the string combiner box,” says Pressel.

“Along with the pure investment costs, which can result in three-digit savings for the junction boxes for 32 strings, there is another advantage: the boxes become so light that two people can lift them and install them, without moving aids.”

It’s also advantageous in live operations that the externally attached fuses can give off their waste heat into the environment, optimally and unhindered, thereby preventing premature aging. “If a malfunction leads to the need to change a fuse, service technicians have easy access,” says Pressel. “The monitoring system shows the error location and the affected fuse, and the fuse can be exchanged without even opening the control cabinet.”

DC field installation components in the SMA test system SMA uses Phoenix Contact’s Sunclix plug-in connectors for its DC installation (Figure 6).

They are designed to meet system voltages up to 1500V and can carry currents up to 65A on cable diameters up to 16 mm2.

Pressel says: “The tool-free connection technology makes it easier for the installer to build the systems.” It is advantageous for

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servicing that the plug-in connection can be easily unlocked using a conventional screwdriver; a special tool is not required.

Phoenix Contact has developed a new system component for fuse protection against high return currents for strings with the Sunclix fuse adapter. The inline string fuse consists of a robust plastic housing for outdoor environments. Inside there is a high-quality, reliable wire fuse for photovoltaic DC applications.

Phoenix Contact decided to cooperate closely with the US manufacturer Littelfuse to ensure the highest quality.

The fuse adapter is equipped with a DC connection on both sides for Sunclix plugin connectors, and it can be exchanged easily while ensuring that there is no contact with live parts.

This means that the new PV plug-in connector is the first inline string fuse on the market that fulfil the new testing specification prepared by TÜV Rheinland for these kinds of photovoltaic system components (2 PfG 2380 2014-02). The corresponding standards for the US market (UL 4248) were also taken into account during the development of the Sunclix fuse adapter so that it can be used around the world.

July-August 2015

The search for potential cost reductions in photovoltaic system equipment is leading to new solutions and concepts. Phoenix Contact is expanding its solar range with the development of the Sunclix fuse adapter for system voltages up to 1500V and nominal fuse currents up to 30A, a robust installation component for outdoor environments.

This enables the development of string combiner boxes with a minimal size that are easy and cost-effective to install. In contrast to many other cost-cutting measures, this application also increases the safety and reliability of the system by preventing the premature aging of important system components. This reduces failure times for PV systems as well as servicing costs.

“We have managed to square the circle with Phoenix Contact as our partner,” says Pressel. “This is because the inline string fuse has made a central element of large PV systems both more affordable and better as well – a win-win situation for everyone involved.”

The author is Head of Product Management Solar and Device, Field Device Connectors, Phoenix Contact, Germany.

OIL & GAS

ENHANCED OIL RECOVERY

The Big Miraah Petroleum Development Oman (PDO) contracts GlassPoint Solar to build one of the world’s largest solar plants for oil recovery

country’s crude-oil production and nearly all of its natural-gas supply. The organisation has been working with GlassPoint since 2010 on a successful pilot scheme at Amal to test the commercial viability of solar steam amounting to 50 tonnes of steam a day.

The seven megawatt solar steam pilot will continue to operate at Amal alongside the full-scale development.

Restucci added: “PDO awarded GlassPoint the contract based on the strength of our successful solar steam pilot, which has exceeded expectations for reliable operations and steam delivery for the past two years. GlassPoint’s proven track record propelled us toward this historic project that will be over 100 times larger.”

FULL-SCALE PROJECT

man’s Amal Oilfield will host one of the world’s largest solar plants as the Sultanate turns to the sun for oil recovery.

In July, Petroleum Development Oman (PDO), the largest producer of oil and gas in Oman, and GlassPoint Solar, a leader in solar enhanced oil recovery (EOR) announced plans for one gigawatt solar thermal plant for oil production.

Miraah (meaning mirror in Arabic) will be a 1,021 MW solar thermal facility harnessing the sun’s rays to produce steam. The steam will be used in thermal EOR to extract heavy and viscous oil at the Amal oilfield.

The plant will provide a sustainable solution for EOR steam, which is currently produced by burning natural gas. Once complete, Miraah will save 5.6tn British Thermal Units (BTUs) of natural gas each year, the amount of gas that could be used to provide residential electricity to 209,000

O

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people in Oman.

At the contract signing ceremony in Muscat, Raoul Restucci, Managing Director of PDO, said: “PDO is proud to lead the industry by deploying solar-powered oil production at an unprecedented scale and level of efficiency.

The project will provide a significant portion of the steam demand at Amal and is an important part of PDO’s production plans.

“The use of solar for oil recovery is a long-term strategic solution to develop PDO’s viscous oil portfolio and reduce consumption of valuable natural gas, which is needed elsewhere to diversify Oman’s economy and create economic growth. It also will displace diesel and higher carbon intensive power generation and oil burning in future thermal projects.

“PDO has been a pioneering force in EOR for many years and it will play an increasingly important part in the Company’s portfolio, accounting for around a third of our production by 2023.”

PDO accounts for about 70% of the

July-August 2015

The project will generate an average of 6,000 tonnes of solar steam daily for oil production, dwarfing all other solar EOR installations. The system will deliver steam to Amal’s existing thermal EOR operations, meeting a sizable portion of the field’s steam demand.

The full-scale project will comprise 36 glasshouse modules, built and commissioned in succession in groups of four. The total project area, including all supporting infrastructure, will span three-square kilometres, an area equivalent to more than 360 football pitches. The actual solar field will span less than two-square kilometres.

The project will break ground this year with steam generation from the first glasshouse module in 2017. The project is expected to reduce CO2 emissions by over 300,000 tonnes annually, the equivalent of taking 63,000 cars off the road.

Rod MacGregor, President and CEO of GlassPoint Solar, said: “The oil and gas industry is the next major market for solar energy. It takes a tremendous amount of energy to produce heavy and viscous oil, with a typical oil field consuming the same amount of energy as a small city. PDO is the global leader in oil and gas innovation and the first to realise the value of using solar to replace traditional fuel sources to generate steam for EOR.” MacGregor added: “GlassPoint is thrilled to embark on a new era of partnership between the oil and solar industries.

Our efforts with PDO will pave the way for additional large-scale solar EOR

OIL & GAS

Raoul Restucci, Managing Director, PDO

developments at oilfields around the world.”

In September 2014, the State General Reserve Fund (SGRF), Oman’s largest sovereign wealth fund administered by the Ministry of Finance, co-led a $53m investment in GlassPoint with Royal Dutch Shell and other investors to accelerate the deployment of solar EOR in Oman throughout the region.

and pump to the surface. Steam for thermal EOR is typically produced by burning large volumes of natural gas. However, GlassPoint’s solar EOR solution generates steam from solar energy, reducing an oilfield’s gas consumption by up to 80%.

GlassPoint designed a concentrating solar power (CSP) technology to meet the particular needs of the oil and gas industry.

Unlike solar PV panels that generate electricity, its enclosed trough technology uses large, curved mirrors to focus sunlight on a boiler tube containing water. The concentrated energy boils the water to produce high-quality steam, which is fed to the oilfield’s existing steam distribution network.

A self-cleaning glasshouse encloses and protects the solar collectors from wind, sand and dust storms common in Oman and throughout the Gulf region. The glasshouse structure creates a windfree environment so the mirrors and other components inside can be very thin and lightweight. The enclosed trough mirrors are a small fraction of the weight of exposed solar thermal systems, resulting in significant material and cost savings.

ENERGY PRODUCTION 1,021MW thermal (1 GW) DAILY STEAM OUTPUT 6,000 tonnes TOTAL PROJECT AREA 3 km2 TECHNOLOGY GlassPoint enclosed trough NUMBER OF GLASSHOUSES 36 CONSTRUCTION START 2015 FIRST STEAM 2017 GAS SAVINGS 5.6 trillion Btus/ year CO2 EMISSIONS SAVED 300,000 tonnes/ year

SOLAR MAKES SENSE

With much of the world’s easy oil has already recovered, oil companies are increasingly moving from primary and secondary methods to tertiary oil recovery processes as well as unconventional resources, which are more complex and expensive to produce. Recovering heavy oil, which represents the major proportion of the world’s remaining reserves, is energy intensive. Typically, for every five barrels of heavy oil, the energy equivalent to one barrel is consumed in the production process.

The leading method of producing heavy oil is steam flooding, a thermal EOR process that injects steam into a reservoir to heat the oil and reduce viscosity, making it easier to extract

Fast facts

Rod MacGregor, President and CEO, GlassPoint

GlassPoint is planning to localise the supply chain are currently under development, including establishing a local manufacturing factory in Oman.

PDO has a comprehensive programme to address energy management, installing combined cycle, waste heat recovery, and reduced loss distribution systems, along with gas breakthrough controllers, more efficient turbines and electrical submersible pumps, low pressure and atmospheric gas recovery systems – and solar along with LED lighting.

PDO’s multi-award-winning Nimr reed beds project is also considered to be the largest industrial constructed wetland system in the world, and uses the power of nature – huge reed ponds – to treat more than 700,000 barrels of produced water from oil production a day at a fraction of the cost and energy intensity of conventional deep water disposal.

The project yields an energy and fuel gas reduction, not least related emissions, of 98% and provides the opportunity for turning the waste water into value.

Restucci said: “Integration of this solar EOR technology into existing PDO oilfield operations will be seamless and further extend our energy conservation efforts, building on globally recognised water treatment and other initiatives across our portfolio.

“This project has the potential to make Oman a world centre of excellence for solar EOR with obvious benefits in terms of job and training opportunities for Omanis, building a robust Omani supply chain and attracting further foreign investment, whilst building a reliable and sustainable proposition for solar EOR worldwide.

“What we are aiming to do is secure greater recovery of oil while at the same time reducing our energy consumption and our costs. We are confident this is going to be a winwin and sustainable project for PDO, GlassPoint and the Sultanate.”

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INFRASTRUCTURE MIDDLE EAST 53

CASE STUDY

Bottomline Matters Helping you make the smartest decisions

SAFE BAG DROP A new airport safety measure from SICK Sensors n airports, safety, reliability and punctuality are of paramount importance.

Tight flight schedules and high passenger volume require smooth operations in every area. This process starts at the bag drop counter. The counter forms the interface between areas accessible to the public (land side) and the restricted luggage handling area (air side). The bag drop counter is where the foundation is laid to ensure things remain safe and secure.

The bag drop counter is responsible for preventing unauthorised access and attempts at entering the luggage handling area as well as stopping oversized and bulky luggage from blocking the system. Once bags are checked in at the bag drop counter, passengers and luggage go their separate ways. The conveyor belts in the complex handling systems transport thousands of bags every day and they are designed specifically for this purpose.

I

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Components of this system pose a danger to people. To ensure the safety of the passengers and reliable airport operations, the bag drop counter has to be secured so that only luggage is moved along the conveyor belts. The solution to this challenge is Safe Bag Drop from SICK. Safe Bag Drop is a package consisting of a safety laser scanner and a programmable safety controller. It is always on duty regardless of whether an attendant is at the bag drop counter or not. A safety laser scanner mounted vertically over the bag drop counter monitors 2 conveyor belts simultaneously, ensuring safe and reliable detection of objects.

Simultaneous protection field evaluation immediately detects which field was infringed and stops the associated belt. The signal can be directed to the counter or to the monitoring room. The safety laser scanner only allows the incoming luggage to pass if the attendant starts the handling process on a control panel.

July-August 2015

Combining the functions of a safety laser scanner and a programmable safety controller into one system makes Safe Bag Drop a truly versatile package. By being able to detect objects other than allowed luggage, like small children crawling on conveyor belt, it prevents accidents in public areas at an airport. In addition to this, the package also prevents unauthorised access. A person trying to enter the conveyor belts area taking advantage of the counter being

Fig 1. SICK’s SAFE BAG DROP SYSTEM

CASE STUDY

unattended is detected and an alarm signal is sent to security.

Thanks to the additional smart functions, the system also detects luggage that is too tall or that has become stuck and stops the belt. A signal to the service personnel on duty ensures that the issue can be sorted out immediately.

SICK SAFE BAG DROP OFFERS 2 VERSIONS:

SAFE BAG DROP PRIME AT A GLANCE Access protection in terms of functional safety Alarm signal for activating security cameras Ultra-compact sensor housing Shut-off and diagnostics in the event of luggage jams Signals for preventative maintenance if dirt accumulates on the sensor’s front screen

BENEFITS The ultra-compact housing can be integrated to be virtually invisible Smooth, safe luggage handling free of incidents involving passengers minimizes downtimes Safety and Security for passengers and airport staff Closes security gaps in airports – any unauthorised access is detected and tracked Dependable luggage handing ensures ontime departures and increases customer satisfaction as a result Preventative system diagnostics ensure luggage reaches its destination without a hitch

SAFE BAG DROP PRO AT A GLANCE Access protection in terms of functional safety Alarm signal for activating security cameras Individual shut-off signals thanks to simultaneous protective field monitoring Over-sized luggage is detected and separated out Shut-off and diagnostics in the event of luggage jams Signals for preventative maintenance if dirt accumulates on the sensor’s front screen

BENEFITS High system availability thanks to simultaneous monitoring of two bag drop counters

Smooth, safe luggage handling free of incidents involving passengers minimises downtimes Safety and Security for passengers and airport staff Closes security gaps in airports – any unauthorised access is detected and tracked Dependable luggage handing ensures ontime departures and increases customer satisfaction as a result Preventative system diagnostics ensure luggage reaches its destination without a hitch At the latest Dubai Airport Show in May 2015, SICK displayed the concept for this new system, which attracted tremendous attention. An excellent introduction as to how the Safe Bag Drop works can be found on the SICK Sensor Intelligence YouTube channel, where an animated movie takes the viewer through the key elements and benefits of the system: http://bit.ly/1KRnSgT Already in negotiation and implementation stages with airports and system integrators across the region about the Safe Bag Drop solution, SICK have always been in the forefront when it comes to developing and supporting sensing solutions for airportrelated applications.

Barcode and vision solutions from SICK enhances the luggage identification process Additionally, in terms of luggage transportation, SICK offers suitable solutions for the entire process chain – starting with bag drop and right through to loading of the aircraft. The luggage, which is identified with bar code labels and/or RFID tags, is securely transported to the target destinations within the building by means of the airport’s material handling systems that are several kilometres in length.

With its worldwide leading solutions for luggage identification, SICK can also provide support in this area. With sensor technology from SICK, it is possible to determine the size, position or shape of luggage items, which in turn helps to protect system parts from damage and optimise the processes for the intermediate storage or automatic loading of luggage items.

Indeed, many ALIS systems (Airport Luggage Identification System) have been installed across the Middle East, bringing the highest performance possible to the automated tag reading process in baggage-

handling applications. As well as providing barcode reading capability, SICK is unique in also combining RFID technology with laser-based barcode systems, resulting in the one-of-a-kind Hybrid ALIS system, with superlative read-rate results.

In a very recent development, SICK has further enhanced the standard IATA barcode reading functionality of its track & trace systems with the very latest advances in vision technology. By introducing the LECTOR®654 Image-based Code Reader, SICK offers a perfect performance package for demanding code-reading tasks.

Changing object heights and reading distances, large field of view, randomly positioned bag tags and high conveyor speeds – the particular requirements in baggage handling systems, the LECTOR®654 scores with features such as “wide angle” field of view, a high camera resolution as well as quick capturing and decoding of image series. It enables the very highest reading performance even when bar codes are damaged and dirty, and allows images to be used for vision tasks.

In the event that the Baggage Source Message (BSM) is missing, the data that is relevant to sorting processes can be read on the IATA bag tag in conjunction with video coding or optical character recognition. Less manual reprocessing of the item of luggage is required. This increases the sorting rate and optimises the transfer time. Thanks to the intelligent SICK network concept, the vision system can be integrated into existing laser systems. Combinations with other types of technology are also possible.

With the image-based LECTOR®654 code reader, SICK completes its ATR system portfolio and offers a full solution range including laser scanners, line-scan cameras, matrix cameras and RFID systems.

Fig 2. VISION-BASED ALIS SYSTEM FROM SICK

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TRANSPORTATION

Future-proofing transport infrastructure Martin Bassett, Director of Transport and Infrastructure in WSP l Parsons Brinckerhoff leads the development and implementation of transportation and infrastructure strategy for the Middle East business. He spoke to Anoop K Menon on how the region has graduated to â&#x20AC;&#x153;delivering sustainable and smart transport solutions that are an integral part of the societyâ&#x20AC;?

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TRANSPORTATION

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o what extent are governments and infrastructure planners aware of the interdependencies of the infrastructure sector?

I was fortunate that I came to the region eight years ago specifically for the Dubai Metro, which is a very iconic project, not just for the region but also the global transportation and infrastructure industry. What I have seen over the past eight years is a very rapid learning process.

Clients have certainly learned from their experience and have matched their ambition with recruitment and planning of resources that has enabled cities such as Dubai to be delivered making it what it is today.

I believe Dubai has put in place a very robust set of requirements and processes to facilitate the delivery of transportation and infrastructure and the wider built-environment. We see that through the success of the road network and the world’s longest driverless metro system, which is still growing. Dubai Metro is also the world’s highest performing metro system.

You don’t achieve such outcomes unless you have well-planned, well-thought through and well-executed projects. Other cities in the region like Doha and Riyadh are following Dubai’s lead in setting up Metro systems.

If we take the Gulf region as a whole, the level of wisdom is demonstrable in the level of infrastructure that exists. They very much understand the interconnectivity between the two and the working between various government organisations. I think they have put in a lot of efforts into making that as efficient as possible.

What is your assessment of the region’s transport infrastructure?

The standard of transportation infrastructure does vary from place to place. Dubai is a world-class city with terrific transport infrastructure and public transport network with no parallel in this region.

I think Doha has aspirations to achieve something similar with their Expressway Programme, which is currently underway and the various other significant pieces of transportation infrastructure, like the Hamad International Airport and the Doha Metro.

There are still many opportunities to improve the transportation and infrastructure network, both in physically

what’s delivered and in the approach to how it is delivered. The scope would be in terms of the interconnectivity between the different modes of transport, the manner in which it is planned, and the manner in which the various stakeholders come together to define their needs and agree on something that is deliverable and meets longer term objectives while being mindful of the overall lifecycle of the physical assets.

Thus, we are not only considering the design and construction process but also how, during service, the passengers will experience the use of the public transport or the road network. And importantly, as the asset is optimised over its entire lifecycle, it contributes to the economy while not being an unnecessary burden on government. Taking a more holistic view is a real opportunity, and the region can still learn from examples from the wider transportation and infrastructure industry globally.

What is the best approach to designing transport infrastructure projects?

We have to combine the future needs with what currently exists to deliver the optimal. This is not to say it will all be delivered now, but at least, it will be delivered in a manner that accommodates and provides capacity for future needs.

A good example is the rail network in Dubai not just what exists currently but what is projected to be there in the future.

WSP I Parsons Brinckerhoff worked on the rail master plan for Dubai on behalf of the RTA, which looked at the combined needs of the city – at the time, it was a 2020 plan – to identify what metro and light rail systems were required, where Etihad Rail ties into the rail network, as well as intercity and regional rail services, in both passenger and freight.

Should the countries in the region be looking at how to optimise their extensive road networks?

I think there are always opportunities to optimise any asset. When we are adding to the road network, for example, it is always possible to deliver something that is of a high contemporary standard. However, when you have an existing asset that is substantial, its optimisation is something of a duty.

As professional engineers, I think we should try to understand the needs of the various stakeholders including the road users, government agencies and various other parties and see what needs to be delivered to meet those

needs. Needless to say, the computing capacity that we have, in this day and age, enables us to project future needs and model that in very finite detail (through transport impact studies) so that we can identify, in a macro sense, the impacts of wider urban development and regeneration. We can also go all way down to the addition of discrete buildings and facilities and understand the connectivity required for that particular location to tie into the wider network.

There are various technologies that enable us to analyse the operational asset and understand truly what the level of user-ship or ridership is, identify where the weak points are and then continually focus on removing bottlenecks.

Today, technology gives us the ability to get a level of feedback both actively and passively from end-users of infrastructure to identify where there are opportunities to optimise. Thus, we can spread the use of infrastructure at various times of the day as opposed to the heavily congested times by incentivising people. We can also put in place fare structures in public transport systems that incentivise people in spreading the demand on infrastructure.

Given the extensive road network, shouldn’t transport authorities be also looking at options like Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) systems?

We know from the services that we provide to government bodies in the UAE and private sector clients that all of the options are being considered to try to get to something that is optimal. Of course, BRT is not currently being used in Dubai.

But what we have seen Dubai with its bus network is the high level of interconnectivity with the Metro. Basically, you have a feeder service, which is bringing people on to the Metro and that’s where we look at integrated transport solutions.

We have a team of 35 people across the Middle East that specifically look at transport solutions, planning and delivering something that is integrated and future proof. For example, we see Abu Dhabi more likely go down the BRT route. They see it as a more appropriate technology given the costs associated with tunnelling for the Metro. Doha, on the other hand, has already decided that tunnelling and underground Metro system is the right solution for their city. We can thus see different approaches and consideration of various options in each location.

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RAILWAYS

The significance of signalling Denis Laroche, Ground Transportation, Sales & Marketing Director, Thales France spoke to Infrastructure Middle East on the latest trends in railway signalling systems ould you distinguish between Metro and Mainline systems in terms of their signalling requirements?

Though they share the same building blocks in terms of tracks, switches and trains, the Metro and the Mainline are two very different systems. In a Metro station, for example, you don’t see the switches at the track except at the terminal, where you may see one or two switches. On the other hand, in the Mainline, you can see hundreds of switches at the tracks.

With Metro trains, is important that the frequency of the train is regular and as short as possible to decrease the waiting time for the passenger. In Mainline trains, headway between the trains and their frequency isn’t very important. The passenger, who has the schedule beforehand, is mainly concerned about the on-time departure and arrival of the train as per its scheduled times.

In Mainline, the key challenge is to manage an open network with trains of different types using the same tracks. If there is an issue, you need to manage the priorities between the trains to recuperate the time schedule.

C

Are driverless trains a purely Metro phenomenon?

Driverless solutions, called Automatic Train Operation (ATO), is making its presence felt in the Mainline systems too but I am not aware of any Mainline driverless system in commercial service today.

In Europe, the number of electronic interlockings (which manages the switches and signals) on Mainlines is less than 50%.

We started to deliver the first electronic interlocking only 20 years ago.

I feel it is going to a very long migration to ATO but bits and pieces of its functionality have started to appear in Mainline systems.

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“CBTC (CommunicationsBased Train Control) is very appropriate for dedicated lines.

But where you have open systems with a mix of commuter lines and freight trains, for example, ETCS (European Train Control System) is the most suitable system” DENIS LAROCHE, GROUND TRANSPORTATION, SALES & MARKETING DIRECTOR, THALES FRANCE What are the dominant standards in signalling?

Europe has defined ETCS(European Train Control System) as the norm for Mainline applications. A major advantage of ETCS is that it is an interoperable system compared to CBTC. It is on its way to becoming a global standard, with implementations in Mexico,

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North Africa, Turkey, Egypt, India and Saudi Arabia. It is also the standard for the GCC Rail network. However, China, Russia and the US have their individual signalling systems.

Thales has implemented ETCS Level 2 signalling system on the 2,400 km NorthSouth Railway (NSR) line in Saudi Arabia. The advantage is that its operator – SAR - can buy trains equipped with ETCS from any supplier in the world. Moreover, the NSR trains can also run on SRO’s Dammam-Riyadh line.

In the case of the Metro, all vendors supply CBTC (Communications-Based Train Control) systems but they are not interoperable. In that sense, there is no single standard. CBTC is very appropriate for dedicated lines. But where you have open systems with a mix of commuter lines and freight trains, for example, ETCS is the most suitable system.

In London, for instance, at the extremities of the Crossrail Tunnel, which uses CBTC, the trains will be entering the network of Network Rail which use ETCS necessitating dynamic switchover between the control systems. As a result, the trains will need to be equipped with both CBTC and ETCS. What’s the next big leap in signalling?

The next evolution will be the use of large band telecommunication systems in CBTC and ETCS, which will make them more efficient. It will save part of the hardware and reduce the costs of the line. We will also see advanced systems that will further reduce the headways in the Metro.

Currently, Metros use the Moving Block System to manage the headway between trains. Here, the start and end points of the blocks move along with the trains. Therefore, if you have one train in the block, there won’t be any other train in the block before and the block after, which removes the risk of collision between the trains. At the moment, this technology is not being used in the Mainline. But it will be in the new generation of ETCS in the next ten years.

SOLUTIONS HUB

INFRASTRUCTURE

Port Protection Navin Shewani, Regional Product Manager - Repair, Protection & Performance Grouts, Construction Chemicals Division, ORA: Middle East, West Asia, CIS & Africa, BASF elaborates on solutions to protect marine structures rolonged exposure to water could prove detrimental to concrete. So, the use of right materials and systems is key for marine structures that are in constant aggression with wave pressure, extreme weather conditions and corrosion from salt water.

BASF Construction Chemicals offers an extensive portfolio of products under the brand Master Builders Solutions for the construction and refurbishment of ports.

BASF addresses the issue of waterproofing from the early stages of construction. The company’s quick, reliable and cost-effective admixture solutions combine corrosion inhibitors and watertight systems to create water repellant, impermeable concrete that is protected against chloride ingression and harsh weather conditions. Careful consideration at the time of construction helps limit cracks, leaks and deterioration to extend the life of any structure.

Creditably, MasterProtect 8000CI has been selected for the new port project at Doha. This silane-based corrosion inhibitor is suitable for both chloride and carbonation induced corrosion and is effective in high humidity environments - porous mineral substrates protected with silane prevent capillary suction and therefore water ingress. Adequate for concrete with micro-cracks, its long service life ensures durability even while providing guaranteed resilience to the passive layer of the steel surface.

Should the concrete require a further layer of protection, BASF’s product portfolio includes anti-carbonation coatings such as MasterProtect 300 and hydrophobic impregnation coatings like

P

MasterProtect H 1100. For older structures, BASF’s expertise includes concrete repair mortars and crack repair solutions.

Given the fact that the right application of products is key to the effectiveness of the systems and to the overall success of any project, BASF’s Master Builders Solutions Technical Services team comprising

18 industry specialists offer technical recommendations and train applicators on site or at the company’s training facilities.

Such meticulous follow through allows BASF customers to regard the company not only as a creditable material supplier but also as a reliable partner that offers holistic solutions.

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TRANSPORTATION

THE AIRPORT SHOW 2015

Designing airports Excerpts from a panel discussion on the factors driving expansion of airports at the recent Global Airport Leaders’ Forum (GALF) in Dubai MODERATOR

PANELISTS

KASHIF KHALID Campaign Manager, Gulf (UAE, Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman and Qatar), IATA

HE DR FAISAL HAMAD AL SUGAIR, Vice Chairman and Vice President,General Authority of Civil Aviation (GACA), KSA

BARRY LEWIS Managing Director, ALEC Construction UAE

YANN LE PAGE Senior Vice President - Regional, ADPI

Kashif Khalid [MODERATOR]: It took the world 100 years to reach 3.5bn passengers.

But we predict that over the next 6-7 years, we are going to double that number to more than $6bn. According to CAPA’s Construction and Capital Expenditure Database, there are $385bn worth of airport construction projects. In fact, airport expansion is a major area of focus for the aviation industry in the Gulf region since the bulk of our airlines and airports is experiencing double-digit growth.

Your Excellency, could you describe your strategy for infrastructure development in the kingdom of Saudi Arabia, and where do you envision the future?

projected growth in air traffic movements. At the same time, our airport expansions are not only expanding the terminal and the receiving area. Rather, we are looking at the whole suite of services like first class lounges and airside hotels to make the whole airport experience comfortable. In fact, Dubai has an excellent model that we all are striving to emulate and hopefully, exceed one day. But it is great to keep raising the bar so that we can all look forward to a better experience as travellers.

Le Page: Not necessarily. Every case must be sustained by a vision to be a successful airport. Big doesn’t mean better and that’s part of the challenge we are facing when designing bigger installations.

Kashif: Yann, what are the latest trends in designing airports and how is ADPI working to design and develop better airports?

HE Dr Faisal Hamad Al Sugair: In Saudi Arabia, we have a very ambitious plan of expanding all our airports over the next ten years. We have a network of 27 airports five of which are international and 10 are regional airports. When they develop sufficient traffic, they will be reclassified as international airports. And there are domestic airports becoming regional on their way to becoming international. We have a unique challenge of having to expand these airports, build the right facilities and make them comfortable for travellers. Our airport infrastructure is actually behind the curve from the standpoint of the

Yann Le Page: An airport designer strives to be a good translator of the operator’s or the investor’s philosophy. He has to take into account the environment and the technology he can use and implement to serve the vision of the operator. We have been in the business for more than 20 years, and when we started, 5m passengers was a big project; now it is at least 10 times more. There is no doubt about the challenge to design bigger facilities; the question is how to do it in a sustainable way.

Barry Lewis: I think the challenge is that there is a certain critical mass that a contracting entity can manage. When you are building mega facilities, the more the people involved, the more complicated the scenario is.

Designing bigger may be better in the long run for the operator and the facility but that doesn’t mean it is easier to build, and the more you break it up into manageable elements, the more complexity you introduce.

I think there is a balance between having a reasonably sized project that you can put out to the various contracting entities without overburdening them, and without creating a problem for yourself as a client/operator trying to bring the whole thing together.

Often we get involved once the design is being finalised. But from the project’s

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Kashif: So is bigger better?

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Kashif: Barry, you have the task of taking inputs from various stakeholders, designers and the airports themselves and also develop some very complex facilities. What’s your take on the ‘bigger is better’ trend?

TRANSPORTATION

inception stage to when it actually goes live can be anything between seven and 10 years, and often, during that process, you start on something that is already old news.

And it goes through a couple of evolutions because in this region, things are moving so fast and the technology is moving so fast that the picture you started with is not the picture you end up with. The bigger you make the airport, the longer that period is going to be, the more difficult it is from a design perspective and the client’s perspective to actually define what they want 10 years before they get it Kashif: Your Excellency, what are the challenges that airport operators and developers are facing in the wave of expanding airports in Saudi Arabia?

Al Sugair: In Saudi Arabia, you have a unique challenge because so many projects are going on at the same time. It is, therefore, a challenge to find competent contractors who can build the airport projects on time and within a reasonable cost. The other challenge, on our side, is being able to manage these projects and ensure that the contractors and developers can deliver.

Because of the need to do this quickly, we are trying to move into a design-build type activity that puts a lot of burden on the organisation.

You are building and designing it at the same time. We are learning from it every day.

Kashif: Yann, from a design perspective, the influx of bigger aircraft is going to pose bigger challenges from both design and development standpoints. So, what are the essential elements of a futuristic airport?

Yann: Bigger planes are part of the equation we look at but they are not necessarily adding more complexity. It is when you try to deal with big and less big planes that you start to have some difficulties, complications and overinvestment in the project in terms of time or cost. The giant aircrafts are coming but there will still be smaller ones. There will be different types of planes, drones, and you will have to deal with all this traffic. From a design standpoint, the two major challenges will be flexibility and security.

Kashif: Barry, what are the challenges from an infrastructure perspective?

Barry: I think the challenge that airport facilities have got is that they have made a guess at a certain point in time in terms of the type and size of the aircraft they are going to accommodate.

When you are looking at changing your fleet, the impact on your infrastructure, if you have got a pre-existing facility, is quite significant. When you start introducing bigger planes, you start losing stands. The new aircrafts that are coming in are not necessarily using the same technology in terms of docking interfaces. You can physically hack up an apron to add a piece to an airport but the decisions are quite fundamental in terms of the disruption to the airport facility. Is upgrading a stand going to give you the result that you want because you are all going to lose something.

Kashif: Your Excellency, Saudi Arabia has been a leader in the region at developing airports using Public-Private-Partnership (PPP) as well as Build-Operate-Transfer (BOT). Has this been a successful formula for the Kingdom?

Al Sugair: We are very happy with the results and so is the investment community. The project in Medina was implemented as a BOT, and we plan to do the same in Taif as well. We are doing another model where we build the airport and hand it over to a partner,

an operator, who takes the responsibility of managing, operating and maintaining the facility for an extended period. The overall direction is one where we can get private sector mentality and approach in managing and also building these airports. You get better efficiency, customer service, and you care more about delivering a service, which is better than the airport being built by the government as just a piece of infrastructure.

Kashif: Barry, what are some of the key challenges involved in physically delivering airport infrastructure?

Barry: There are always going to be challenges. Therefore, you need to have a relationship with all the stakeholders and your direct clients which facilitates problemsolving. In fact, big infrastructure projects get derailed when the stakeholders are not pulled together with a common objective. When issues are allowed to fester instead of getting resolved, the project gets derailed and then it becomes an exercise in finger-pointing.

You need to be operating in an environment where there are mechanisms that deal with the conflict and issues that are brought to the table by the various entities, and they need to get resolved. Projects can only move on the basis that decisions are made. When decisions are not made, things stagnate.

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FINANCE

FISCAL DEFICIT

Budget jitters Faced with its first fiscal deficit since 2009, the UAE may moderate its spending plans

he UAE could post its first fiscal deficit since 2009 as the decline in oil prices take a toll on revenues. The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has projected a deficit of 2.3% of GDP in 2015 as opposed to a 5% surplus in 2014. The country’s current account surplus is also projected to decline substantially to 4.1% of GDP. With a fiscal break-even of $78 a barrel and Brent prices averaging $60-70 a barrel this year, businesses are legitimately worried about the direction of fiscal consolidation – will capital expenditure be sacrificed at the altar of current expenditure?

The UAE is in a better position compared to peers thanks to its comfortable external and fiscal buffers. Speaking to Reuters last month, Zeine Zeidane, who led the IMF’s Annual Article IV Mission to the UAE, said that the deficit posed no threat to the economy. He

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estimated that at today’s oil prices, the UAE could keep spending at current levels for at least 30-40 years, drawing on its ample financial reserves.

The government has also been making reassuring noises. In a statement, HH Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai noted that the country witnessed its strongest economic year in 2014 with a real GDP growth of 4.6%, and this growth pattern is expected to continue in 2015, with work continuing on a number of large-scale infrastructure projects, including $27bn on expanding the national airports, $11bn building the union rail network, as well as numerous roads and transport projects, new and improved tourist facilities, electronic infrastructure, real estate, and financial services.

Additionally, economic diversification efforts have resulted in a substantial change in the country’s economic structure since 2000. In 2014, the non-oil sector’s share of the

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GDP stood at 68.6%, and the government’s long-term plan is to grow that share to 80% by 2021. This is proposed to be achieved through intensive investment in the industrial and tourism sectors, air and maritime transport, import and re-export, as well as supporting a range of projects and initiatives based on the knowledge economy.

DEPENDENCE ON HYDROCARBONS

But the fact remains that oil revenue as a percentage of the GDP is still high. Despite progress in diversification, hydrocarbon revenues comprised 75% of the UAE’s consolidated revenues in 2014. Whether government expenditure grows or stays constant, the erosion of hard-earned assets is inevitable.

Mathias Angonin, analyst, Moody’s says: “Given our forecast for Brent crude oil prices to average $60 per barrel in 2015, versus $101 in 2014, we expect a 27% drop in consolidated government revenue.”

FINANCE

ICAEW’s Economic Insight: Middle East report observes that reserves can only be a short term solution to avoid extensive cuts to spending; the extent of the price fall means that adjustments will be necessary in the medium term.

The IMF too recommends a gradual fiscal consolidation instead of sweeping cuts. “With large buffers, fiscal consolidation should be gradual and designed to minimise its growth impact,” said Zeidane. “It should preserve investment spending, control the public wage bill, phase out subsidies while strengthening safety nets, reduce transfers to Government Related Entities (GREs), and mobilise more non-hydrocarbon revenues.”

The UAE seems to be taking the IMFs recommendations to heart, with the Ministry of Energy announcing petrol and diesel price deregulation starting August 1, thus effectively phasing out fuel subsidies. Fuel prices will be linked to global oil prices and adjusted on the 28th of each month.

According to the IMF, post-tax petroleum subsidies in the UAE would have cost the government $7bn in 2015 (1.9% of GDP) under the current system, a decline from $10.2bn in 2013 (2.5% of GDP). Per capita, UAE fuel subsidies equal $730 per resident per year, compared with $2,810 in Qatar and $2,522 in Kuwait. Total subsidies and transfers made up around 22% of all consolidated expenditures in 2014. Phasing out fuel subsidies will partly offset the negative effect of lower oil prices.

Angonin says: “Although details of the pricing formula have not yet been disclosed, we estimate that removing fuel subsidies will reduce the UAE’s consolidated fiscal deficit by 0.4% of GDP this year and contribute another 0.6% of GDP to the fiscal balance in 2016, which we expect will return to a small surplus.

Fiscal savings from the subsidy reform will increase if, as we expect, oil prices rise to $75 by 2018. Linking retail prices to global prices also makes public finances more predictable because the public sector will no longer absorb increases in global oil prices.”

Further price increases should limit growth in domestic fuel consumption (which has been 8.1% a year on average over the past five years) and support export volumes. Rising fuel consumption has been eating into oil exports, and the share of oil consumed domestically has increased to 23.5% in 2014 from less than 20% before 2009.

The Moody’s analyst also allayed fears

of about the inflationary impact of the price deregulation. He continued: “The inflationary effect will likely be moderate: fuel consumption is less than 4% of the UAE’s consumer basket and petrol prices are already higher in the UAE than in the rest of the Gulf.

So with the UAE set to post its first budget deficit since 2009, should the construction industry be worried about its impact on government spending? Karim Helal, CEO and Co-Founder of ProTenders believes otherwise.

He quotes data from the Ministry of Labour, which shows a steady growth in the number of construction and real estate related businesses registered since 2010.

Helal says: “Whilst budgets might be lower, this has not affected market confidence.

The ministry’s data shows that 58,000 construction companies and 24,600 real estate companies registered in 2014. In addition, overall employment grew by 10% in 2014 compared to the previous year, with the construction industry accounting for the highest share of the market at 34% (1.5m jobs out of 4.4m overall). There certainly seems to be enough activity whether in the UAE or surrounding markets to drive this growth.”

However, prioritisation of projects is a natural corollary of the decline in government revenues.

Abu Dhabi Sewerage Services Company (ADSSC) MD Alan Thomson says that being part of the government sector means the decline in oil prices will have an impact on ADSSC. “We expect to see the decline in oil revenues reflected in our budgets. But we have got to be smart in putting our case forward so that we can say that we are spending to save money, and that’s the approach that we will be taking.”

In the next 5-10 years, ADSSC plans to increase treatment capacity given the growing volumes of wastewater coming from

Abu Dhabi and Al Ain. The volumes have been growing at a rate of around 6-8% per year. Currently, ADSSC is implementing the Strategic Tunnel Enhancement Program (STEP), one of the world’s largest gravitydriven sewerage networks.

“We also have two trunk mains planned with associated pumping stations. One of these is awaiting approval while other is still in the design stage,” says Thomson.

Asad Iqbal Khan, Manager – Business Development, AES Arabia, which specialises in water treatment solutions for the energy sector points out that projects in the oil and gas sector are moving, albeit at a slow pace, as companies are pressurising EPC contractors to reduce their prices even after awarding the project.

He says: “There is an impact, but I feel it is a temporary phenomenon. In fact, project cancellations have been few and far between.

For example, Saudi Aramco is moving ahead with its Fadhili gas plant project, and the trend is the same in Abu Dhabi, Oman and Kuwait.” In fact, Abu Dhabi is planning to invest over $25bn in the next five years on boosting its oil production capacity from offshore fields. In November 2014, ADMAOPCO, an ADNOC joint venture signed nearly $3bn worth of construction contracts with Hyundai Industries and the UAE’s NPCC for the development of the offshore Nasr field.

Thus, it seems the UAE is likely to heed the IMF’s recommendation concerning quality of spending cuts to avoid damaging the country’s competitiveness and long-term growth prospects. The world body also suggests that ‘government investments should be preserved relative to non-hydrocarbon GDP to support infrastructure, while the implementation of GRE mega projects should be gradual, in line with the expected demand.

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EXECUTIVE INSIGHT

Arvind Mehrotra

“The infrastructure industry is demanding that (continuous availability) because their production and engineering systems deliver non-stop services”

High expectations Arvind Mehrotra, President & Global Business Head - Infrastructure Management Services, NIIT Technologies on why industry is demanding continuous availability T is becoming bimodal in nature – what it means is that there is an industrial world that focuses on engineering aspects of it, talking of efficiencies, Service Level Agreements (SLAs), robustness and availability. At the same time, the world has shifted for Gen X and Y as new digital services are coming up. These people are becoming ever-demanding, their behaviours are everchanging, and they expect IT to run 24x7.

In the industrial world, you had plant maintenance shutdowns; but in the digital world, there are no maintenance shut downs.

In the bimodal world, the systems of engagement are the activities which the end-customer faces. The engineering or back office or middle office focuses on systems of record. Now the systems of engagement connect into the back-end system for giving right digital experience.

So from high availability, people are talking about continuous availability. The infrastructure industry is demanding that because their production and engineering systems deliver non-stop services.

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Within infrastructure services, NIIT Technologies is sharply focussed on the aviation sector. Some of our key customers include Abu Dhabi Airports and Emirates.

In the Gulf region, the mega projects being implemented in the air transport sector are mainly in the airports and the railway sectors.

What is also interesting is that you need integrated inter-modal transportation services.

Thus, when you get down from a flight, you should be able to hop onto a train or a taxi or a bus. You should be able to navigate using the same system across whatever requirements are.

You should not be worrying about how to make the payment or where you will get the booking done? And it is all happening through a digital experience.

THE CONNECTED TRAVELLER

The consumerisation of IT has led to the creation of a new set of expectations which is going to change the business of IT (making the business operations more efficient) and the IT of IT (servicing the back-end of technology infrastructure).

We believe that the experience shift is going to happen and this, in turn, will change how services are going to be delivered.

July-August 2015

The second big shift relates to maturity. In the industrial world, after you have achieved a certain level of efficiency and a certain level of stability, you want to cut down costs, ensure you get the benefits, and want to be able to deliver that same process with less. You also want someone to take end-to-end SLA responsibility.

What we as an organisation stand for is continuous delivery, less is more, management of benefits and end-to-end SLA accountability.

The biggest change that is happening in aviation is the connected traveller. He or she must get superior service experience. Because the airport infrastructure attracts airlines, an airport is now more than just a point to travel from one place to another. It has become a hub that attracts economic power - it can be an industrial hub or a business hub or a logistics hub. It can create a traveller’s experience and thus, a holiday destination.

Airports are trying to become smart, modern and give superior experience to the connected traveller so that they don’t have to spend much time in the airport. In the event they have to, they must be able to time or deal with their business or personal needs and smoothly board (or switch flights) or be informed about disruptions so that they can plan seamlessly.

(As told to Anoop K Menon)

INFRA PEOPLE

Ducab has new chairman Dr Ahmad Bin Hassan Al Shaikh has been appointed as Ducab’s new Chairman of the Board, effective March 2015.

This is Dr Al Shaikh’s second period as Ducab Chairman and he takes over from Eng. Jamal Salem Al-Dhaheri, Chairman of the Board from 2013-2015, who replaces

Point of View

Dr Al Shaikh as the Vice Chairman.

Dr Al Shaikh is also a Director of Ducab High Voltage and Ducab Aluminium Company, and holds positions in several decision-making bodies, including the General Pension and Social Security Authority and Dubai Economic Council (DEC).

Saudi Aramco names new acting President and CEO Amin H Nasser has been named as the acting President and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Saudi Aramco. He is a member of the Board of Directors of Saudi Aramco and has held the position of Senior Vice President, Upstream since 2008. Nasser joined Saudi Aramco in 1982, after graduating with a bachelor’s degree in petroleum engineering from King Fahd University of Petroleum and Minerals in Dhahran.

Rockwell Automation names new President for EMEA region Thomas Donato has been appointed the President of Rockwell Automation’s Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA) region.

Donato was most recently Rockwell Automation’s regional vice president in Canada. He also served as regional sales director of Rockwell Automation’s Northern and Eastern European region. Previously, he was the business director for the company’s services and solutions business in EMEA. He has 18 years of automation industry experience, including the last 11 years with Rockwell Automation.

“Thomas’ extensive experience makes him the ideal candidate for this key leadership role,” said John McDermott, Rockwell Automation senior vice president, global sales and marketing.

“His record of building high-performance teams and developing leaders will help achieve our business goals in the EMEA region.”

“We’ll continue to build our business by supporting end user customers and machine builders in two ways,” said Donato.

“One is by helping end users realise that The Connected Enterprise is essential today for any company that wants to implement future advanced manufacturing strategies such as Industry 4.0. The other is by making integration seamless for our machine builders. These strategies will contribute to the success of both groups.”

HE Abdalla S El-Badri, Secretary-General, Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC)

Current climate change negotiations to develop an agreement in Paris at the end of the year and raise the level of ambitions for the pre-2020 period are extremely important. But we need to make sure the interests and concerns of all of us are taken into account.

With this in mind, I will again repeat the four words: practical, realistic, logical and equitable.

Yes, we need to continue to develop renewables. But they cannot be seen as a replacement for fossil fuels in the coming decades.

Yes, we need to continue to use energy more efficiently. But we need to remember that some people still have no access to modern energy services.

Yes, there are environmental concerns regarding fossil fuels. But there are ways that these can be met and overcome.

This includes pushing for the development and use of cleaner fossil fuel technologies, such as carbon capture and storage. At OPEC, we recognize the importance of continually looking to advance the environmental credentials of oil, both in production and use.

Overall, we need to keep in mind that the three pillars of sustainable development – ‘economic, environmental and social’ – mean different things to different people.

(Excerpted from the speech delivered at the 6th OPEC International Seminar in Vienna in June)

July-August 2015

INFRASTRUCTURE MIDDLE EAST

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EVENTS

SPECIAL PREVIEW

The Big 5 Kuwait --#0 É )(-.,/ .#)(É *,)$ .-É 1),."É $188bn currently underway in the Gulf state ith $188bn of projects currently under various stages of planning and construction, Kuwaitâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s construction sector is poised for signiďŹ cant growth. The demand for high-quality infrastructure along with upscale residential and commercial properties can be seen in several multibillion dollar projects including: Ć&#x20AC;É ĆŞĹˇÉ (É /1 #.É .,)É *,)$ . Ć&#x20AC;É ĆŞĹłĹşĹłÉ (É /1 #.É (. ,( .#)( &É #,*),.É Ć&#x20AC;É ĆŞĹ˛ĹşĹśÉ (É / #3 É /- 1 3 Ć&#x20AC;É ĆŞĹąĹľÉ (É &É )/,É 1É ĹŚ( ,3É ,)$ . Ć&#x20AC;É ĆŞĹśĹşĹ˛É (É ').),1 3É )(-.,/ .#)( -"& 3É ) ,.-ĹťÉ 0 (.É #, .),É ) É " É #!É ĹľÉ /1 #.ĹťÉ - # ĹźÉ Ć&#x2020; /1 #.É " -É ,' ,% É ĆŞĹˇĹşĹ˛ (É ,)'É #.-É ((/ &É / ! .É ),É Ĺ˛Ĺ°ĹąĹľĆ?Ĺ˛Ĺ°ĹąĹśÉ ),É ." É )(-.,/ .#)(É - .),É and accelerated the sectorâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s growth.

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Kuwaitâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s combined value of retail, interior and ďŹ t-out market stands at ƪųŹ'ĹşÉ " É ( 1É " &&É 1#&&É É (É 2 &/-#0 É

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š@jlV^i ]Vh ZVgbVg`ZY ,#'Wc [gdb ^ih VccjVa WjY\Zi [dg '%&*"'%&+ [dg i]Z XdchigjXi^dc hZXidg VcY VXXZaZgViZY the sectorâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s growthâ&#x20AC;?

ASHLEY ROBERTS, EVENT DIRECTOR, THE BIG 5 KUWAIT

What: When: Where: How to

showcase of products from the segments such as bathroom accessories, ceilings partitions, ceramics & porcelain, ďŹ&#x201A;ooring, sanitary ware, showers, ďŹ tted furniture, sinks, bathtubs, and wall coverings. É - )( É ( 1É ./, É #-É ." É )0 ,É Ĺ˛Ĺ°É , Ć?.)Ć? .. ( É )(.#(/#(!É ,) --#)( &É 0 &)*' (.É Ć&#x2DC; Ć&#x2122;É , #. É 1),%-")*-ĹşÉ They will be highly educational for architects, interior designers, consultants, procurement managers, contractors, real estate developers, engineers, and government sector personnel who can register the points with their professional association or use it -É ,.#ĹŚ . É ) É .. ( ( ĹşÉ ĹˇĹśĆžÉ ) É 0#-#.),-É 1")É .. ( É É 1),%-")*É #(É Ĺ˛Ĺ°ĹąĹ´É , . É ." É sessions as either â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;excellentâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; or â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;good.â&#x20AC;&#x2122; " É #!É ĹľÉ /1 #.É Ĺ˛Ĺ°ĹąĹľÉ #'-É .)É be an ideal venue for regional and international manufacturers and distributors of related goods and services to showcase their products to the now proven lucrative Kuwaiti market. .É ." É - ' É .#' ĹťÉ ) ,#(!É &) &É buyers easy access to these new and innovative products. " É #!É ĹľÉ /1 #.É #-É ." É & ,! -.É building and construction event in Kuwait, attracting visitors from /1 #.ĹťÉ / #ĹťÉ ", #(É ( É ĹşÉ .É addresses the needs of the countryâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s burgeoning construction sector. (É Ĺ˛Ĺ°ĹąĹ´ĹťÉ #.É .., . É )0 ,É ĹľĹťĹ°Ĺ°Ĺ°É #( /-.,3É professionals, including architects, engineers, interior designers, contractors and developers looking to source products to service building and infrastructure projects during the exhibitionâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s three-day run. " É #!É ĹľÉ /1 #.É )'*& ' (.-É ." É growing momentum in the Kuwaiti construction sector by offering new concepts and solutions in building technology.

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July-August 2015

EVENTS

COMING IN OCTOBER

POWER-GEN MIDDLE EAST 4-6 OCTOBER 2015, Abu Dhabi

Mark your diary...

2015 IDA WORLD CONGRESS AUGUST 30 –SEPT 4, 2015

he 13th annual POWER-GEN Middle East Conference and Exhibition is set to take place at the Abu Dhabi National Exhibition Centre (ADNEC) alongside WaterWorld Middle East.

HE Suhail Mohamed Al Mazrouei, Minister of Energy of the UAE, will formally launch the conference and exhibition with an official ribbon cutting ceremony and a keynote address on the opening day.

Nigel Blackaby, Director of Conferences, PennWell Corporation will be giving the introduction and opening remarks.

This year, attendees will have a choice of 19 strategic and technical Conference Sessions as well as two new components on the exhibition floor – a dedicated Exhibitor Presentation Theatre, which will feature live exhibitor demonstrations, and a new Business Matchmaking Service. The event will offer a unique platform to meet more than 3,000 industry

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professionals from over 70 different countries.

Event Director Feraye Gurel said: “In the GCC, power generating capacity will need to rise by an estimated 64GW to 176.5GW by 2020, requiring an investment of $40-45bn. So far, 75GW of renewable energy projects worth $200bn are already in the pipeline, making the region a global power player in the sector.

Under the theme ‘Sharing Technology Innovation’, the 2015 edition of POWER-GEN Middle East will address critical issues affecting the region’s electricity market and provide pioneering and practical solutions to expand energy efficiency, technological excellence and implementation of smart solutions tailored to the region’s power industry.”

SAN DIEGO Held every two years, the International Desalination Association (IDA) World Congress features a comprehensive four-day Technical Programme, industry-leading Exhibition, exclusive plant tours and extensive networking opportunities.

Contact: Michele Pszenny Tel: +1-978-887-0410 Email: info@idadesal.org wc.idadesal.org MENA RAIL AND METRO SUMMIT 2015 5 – 7 OCTOBER, 2015 DUBAI

Contact: Sue McDermott Tel: +44 992 656 632 Email: suemc@pennwell.com www.power-gen-middleeast.com

The 11th edition of the summit will have a focused agenda exploring key themes and issues regarding projected rail plans in the region.

Contact: MEED events

NATRANS ARABIA 2015 25-27 OCTOBER 2015, Abu Dhabi he GCC’s integrated transport strategy will be the focus of NATRANS Arabia 2015, a first-of-its-kind event piecing together the Gulf region’s transportation infrastructure. The region boasts of rail, road, and maritime projects worth an estimated $422bn to be completed within the next five years.

The conference-led exhibition is being held in partnership with the UAE Federal Transportation Authority – Land and Maritime and held under the patronage of HE Dr Abdulla Belhaif Al Nuaimi, Minister of Public Works and Chairman of the Federal

T

Tel: +971 4 818 0217 Email: meedevents@meed.com www.meedrailprojects.com PROJEX AFRICA

Transport Authority - Land and Marine.

NATRANS Arabia, which takes place at ADNEC, consists of three distinct conference streams – the 6th Middle East Rail Opportunities Summit; Middle East Maritime Conference and Middle East Road Conference.

Top level transport delegations representing the UAE at the conference include government bodies such as the Department of Transport, The Road Transport Authority, Etihad Rail, Abu Dhabi Ports, DP World and the Ministry of Public Works.

2 – 5 NOVEMBER, 2015 CAIRO Projex Africa and MS Marmomacc + Samoter Africa & Middle East are two trade fairs dedicated to excellence in the sectors of marble, natural stone, construction machinery, innovative materials and sustainable building systems.

Contact: Veronafiere International Department Tel: +39 045 8298 800

Contact: Alex Heuff Tel: +971 4 609 1588 Email: alex.heuff@fleminggulf.com www.natrans-arabia.com

Email: vfi@veronafiere.it www.veronafiere.it

July-August 2015

INFRASTRUCTURE MIDDLE EAST

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#017 Makani Dubai Municipality’s first-of-its-kind Geo-Address system marks an important milestone in the emirate’s smart city agenda n address system that allows people to locate entrances to buildings in Dubai with a precision level of 1 sqm. The Makani app launched recently by Dubai Municipality, promises that and more.

Makani, which means ‘my location’ or ‘my place’ in Arabic, marks a huge leap towards achieving HH Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid’s vision of transforming Dubai into the smartest city in the world.

The Makani Geo-Address or Number is a unique identifier comprising of 10 digits assigned to building entrances.

These entrances are viewable on a digital map in the free Makani app.

A user doesn’t need to determine a particular’s building’s name, street number and building number. All he

A

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or she needs to do is enter the 10-digit code in the app, which converts the code into any version of the global coordinate systems that are available in smart devices and car navigation systems. To find the code of the destination, the user can key in the name of the building or location in the app’s search bar and check the results.

The other option is to zoom in on the map, clicking on the building or the location once visible. In all cases, the code can be shared online. Makani also provides a voice navigation feature to guide the user to his/her destination.

Since Dubai never had a traditional postal addressing system, the integration of new communities and the city’s ever-expanding boundaries have always posed a challenge.

Thanks to Makani, drivers will not have to waste time searching for their destinations. Reduction in emissions and congestion is an added benefit.

July-August 2015

Fast facts Official inauguration: April 4, 2015 Launched by: Dubai Municipality Unique feature: 10-digit geo-address Initial target: 128,000 buildings Deadline: End of 2015

Online buying and associated logistics will become smoother because the parties involved can easily announce their locations. Reporting issues or emergencies at a particular location in conjunction with the Makani number should enable quicker response.

In fact, as Dubai’s official geographic addressing system, Makani will be used by all government bodies, police and emergency services.

Dubai Municipality plans to assign 10-digit numbers to each building and every location, from public sector organisations, hospitals and parks to commercial buildings, houses and factories. It has set a target of 128,000 buildings by the end of this year.

Also, once a new building is issued a building completion certificate, it will be linked to the Makani database.

As reported in Gulf News, discussions are underway to extend the Makani system to the entire UAE.

CONSTRUCTION AND SUSTAINABILITY AWARDS OF EXCELLENCE NOVEMBER 24, 2015 JUMEIRAH EMIRATES TOWERS, DUBAI

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Ground Transportation solutions Wherever safety and security matter, we deliver

TRANSPORT SAFETY Automate critical decisions to eliminate human errors

PASSENGER SATISFACTION Offering real time information and ensuring security

REVENUE PROTECTION Innovative solutions to collect revenues

SPECIAL REPORT

NETWORK CAPACITY Improve flow with automated signalling for optimal train frequency

OPERATIONAL EFFICIENCY Ensure optimised network management with minimal investment

SEAMLESS JOURNEYS Unique fare systems for all transport modes

2022 WORLD CUP

Leaving a legacy Engineering sustainable sporting venues P44

A BALANCING ACT Sustainable desalination is crucial to the Gulf region’s water security

OIL & GAS

The Big Miraah PDO invests in Solar EOR P52

Millions of critical decisions are made every day in transportation.

The ability to run networks smoothly and efficiently is crucial to economic growth and quality of life. Thales is at the heart of this.

We design, develop and deliver equipment, systems and services, providing end-to-end solutions. Our integrated smart technologies give decision makers the information and control they need to make more effective responses in critical environments. Every moment of every day, wherever safety and security are critical, Thales delivers.

PLUS T O P 10 G CC WAT E R P ROJ E C T S