Construction Week by ITP Business Publishing

SAUDI ARABIA BAHRAIN UNITED ARAB EMIRATES QATAR OMAN KUWAIT

Construction CONSTRUCTIONWEEKONLINE.COM

An ITP Business Publication

WEEK

OCTOBER 3–9, 2009 [290]

NEWS, ANALYSIS, PROJECTS, TENDERS, CLASSIFIEDS, AND JOBS IN THE MIDDLE EAST

INSIDE

FACE TO FACE Experts discuss the viability of Saudi’s Jeddah market PAGE 14

SITE VISIT CW takes a trip down to King Abdullah Financial District PAGE 22

10 TO WATCH Check out developers exhibiting at this week’s Cityscape PAGE 26

CITYSCAPE THE TRUTH IS OUT THERE

HOW TO Barney Green tells us how to minimise working at height PAGE 34

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CONTENTS OCTOBER 3-9, 2009 | ISSUE 290 8

FEATURES 22 ON SITE CW visits the King Abdullah Financial District development to ﬁnd out how construction is progressing.

26 TEN TO WATCH CW identiﬁes 10 developers worth paying a visit at Cityscape this week.

28 SPECIAL REPORT Where is Saudi Arabia’s construction market heading and is it as strong as people think?

38 HOW TO 9

Barney Green tells us how contractors should try to remove the need to work at height on site.

REGULARS 2 ONLINE 4 MAIL

FRONT 8 CORRUPT CONTRACTORS CUT CORNERS TO SAVE COSTS Industry experts claim that some construction companies are allowing substandard workmanship and material quality to save on time and costs.

9 MERAAS TO EXHIBIT AT CITYSCAPE Meraas has surfaced for Cityscape Dubai after Jumeira Gardens developer disappeared for a year.

10 LEED CERTIFICATION SUPPORT REMAINS HIGH A constructionweekonline.com survey has revealed that majority people believe Leed certiﬁciation should remain high on the list of priorities for developers.

12 NEWS IN BRIEF Highlights of the week.

14 FACE TO FACE Industry experts discuss the market outlook for Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.

16 NEWS ANALYSIS Could Cityscape 2009 mark a watershed for the global development industry?

19 EVENTS

DIRECTORY 38 TENDERS 39 PROJECTS 40 SPECIALIST SERVICES

BACK 44 CITY UPDATE The latest news and projects from Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.

46 CONSTRUCT SAFE

Industry dates for your diary.

The industry’s very own comic strip on health and safety best practices.

21 COMMENT

48 DIALOGUE

Eugene Siterman discusses how developers have learnt valuable lessons for long-term survival during the downturn.

Cityscape’s Rohan Marwaha predicts a bright future for Dubai’s construction and real estate markets.

OCTOBER 3–9, 2009 CONSTRUCTION WEEK

ONLINE

www.ConstructionWEEKonline.com MOST POPULAR STANDARD OPERATIONS TOP 10 HEALTHCARE PROJECTS IN THE GCC REAL ESTATE CHIEF EXEC FACES 138 YEARS IN JAIL ARABTEC WINS RUSSIAN SUPERTALL TOWER CONTRACT UK FIRMS FINED MILLIONS FOR PRICE RIGGING

HAVE YOUR SAY

WILL WE SEE A TRANSITION TOWARDS LONG-TERM INVESTMENTS IN THE GCC? Is the market now ready to generate long-term rewards?

JOBS OF THE WEEK IN PICTURES: THE GULF’S ARTIFICIAL ISLANDS A recent design competition to create a memorial to Michael Jackson featured three somewhat outlandish designs adding to Dubai’s coastline. Construction Week has taken a closer look at some of the major artiﬁcial island projects in the Gulf and further aﬁeld. See more images at: www.ConstructionWeekOnline.com

MEP

Design

ACTUAL TRAINING Belimo Automation has launched a hi-tech training facility.

BRIGHT LIGHTS Breaking into the lucrative Saudi market presents its own set of unique challenges.

Architect

CONSTRUCTION WEEK OCTOBER 3–9, 2009

ONLINE POLL ARE YOU LOOKING FORWARD TO CITYSCAPE DUBAI IN OCTOBER?

52.2%

Of course, it’s going to be an important show for demonstrating that Dubai has great construction opportunities

FEATURES

PROJECT SHOWCASE – QATAR Proleads Global found a total of 191 “major” projects moving forward.

Construction Director, Dubai Senior QA/QC Engineers, Doha General Manager, Kuwait

30.4% 17.4%

Yes, I’m interested to see if it will conﬁrm if we should be worried about the future

PMV

I’m not going, now really isn’t a good time for new projects

EAST GETS TASTE FOR METRO BUILDS Dozens of urban rail projects are under way.

TO VOTE IN THIS WEEK’S SPOT POLL GO TO www.ConstructionWEEKonline.com

MAIL materials result in accidents. Flaws in design cannot be ruled out, however, building plans should be approved by authorised local authorities. BASHIR AHMED SHAH

We should concentrate on internal standardisation before dealing with international quality. JEFF HASPELL

FACE-TO-FACE: METRO TALK

RE: WORKSHOPS TO BE HELD BEFORE BUILDING CODES’ RELEASE It’s great to see that the UAE Municipal Authority has taken a prudent decision to introduce new building codes in the UAE based on international regulations. This alacrity of Abu Dhabi’s Department of Municipal Affairs will lead to a new era in the building sector. Now the time has come to prepare a common and integrated set of building codes for all GCC countries. MOHAMMED AZAD HOSSAIN

RE: EMAAR REVEALS PLANS FOR TOP BURJ DUBAI EXPERIENCE This is expected to be better than the Eiffel Tower experience in Paris. SHYAM

RE: POOR QUALITY MATERIALS CAUSED BUILDING COLLAPSE I believe that building collapses are caused by poor design and a lack of supervision. In my opinion,

three quarters of consultants lack design knowledge and one third of consultants are new to the construction industry. The wrong selection of consultants, in the name of cost saving, results in low quality construction. SHIVA

RE: STANDARD OPERATIONS Generally, a lack of qualiﬁed technical supervision and the use of substandard

The Dubai Metro will deﬁnitely help the region’s economy and trafﬁc problems will be reduced marginally. MAHESH BHAT

rather than just launching ultra luxury buildings. BENJAMIN

RE: TENDERS OUT SOON SAYS AL FARA’A Dubai’s property market still needs a few more years to digest the available units rather than adding more. Investors should stop building any new residential or commercial projects and focus on other sectors of the economy. I don’t see this announcement as good news. HASSAN

RE: NAKHEEL, EMAAR RETURN TO CITYSCAPE DUBAI

RE: DISCOVERY GARDENS OWNERS IN SERVICE CHARGE PROTEST

This move gives hope for everyone in Dubai.

Over the past six years I have not seen a single comment from anyone praising real estate companies of displaying real customer service. It is very sad to note that everyone only has complaints against real estate companies.

RE: UAE DECIDING ON FOREIGN COMPANY OWNERSHIP

VIPIN BALAKRISHNAN

RE: REPORT: UAE CONSTRUCTION SUFFERING THE MOST IN GCC The government has to change its policies on freehold ownerships so that the real owner can be more conﬁdent in making longterm plans and commitments. Also, developers have to concentrate on producing more affordable properties for the middle-income groups

EJAZ AHMED

While Dubai has established itself as a leader in business, I see Abu Dhabi as the new emerging leader. It has the time, ﬁnances and the intention to learn from markets’ mistakes and implement them in better way. ZAHIR PASHA

RE: RTA COMPLETES PHASE ONE OF BUS PROJECT Why has nothing been planned for Umm Al Quwain? The city doesn’t even have a bus terminal or a taxi station. The taxi drivers just make use of the empty land to park and are often harassed by the police. JONN BONG

WRITE TO THE EDITOR Please address your letters to: Post, Construction Week, PO Box 500024, Dubai, UAE or email editor@ConstructionWeekOnline.com. Please provide your full name and address, stating clearly if you do not wish us to print them. Alternatively log on to www.ConstructionWEEKonline.com and air your views on any one of a number of the latest Middle East business articles. The opinions expressed in this section are of particular individuals and are in no way a reﬂection of the publisher’s views.

CONSTRUCTION WEEK OCTOBER 3–9, 2009

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CONSTRUCTION WEEK APRIL 4–10, 2009

Worldwide Circulation Statement Average Qualified Circulation 13,336 (Jul-Dec 2008)

>Support for Leed certiﬁcation remains high

>Highlights of the week

>Face to Face

>News Analysis

ASIF HASSAN/AFP/GETTY IMAGES

FRONT

>Meraas to exhibit at Cityscape

COLLAPSED BUILDINGS COULD BECOME A COMMON SIGHT DUE TO DISHONEST BUILDERS, SAY INDUSTRY EXPERTS.

CORRUPT CONTRACTORS ACCUSED OF CUTTING CORNERS By Matt Warnock

Unscrupulous construction ﬁrms in the region are knowingly delivering substandard projects in order to save time and money, while dishonest laboratories help them cover up the scam, industry experts have revealed. “There was a project in Abu Dhabi, I won’t say which one. It was a high-rise tower block and we were testing the concrete foundations that the tower sits on, what they call the concrete piles,” recounted Rob Jackson, managing director – Middle East and Asia for testing specialists Exova. “We found that, basically, concrete was missing in three out of a hundred piles; just below the ground level there was a section where there was no concrete.” However, the problem goes deeper than simply poor workmanship. “We reported it and the contractor got another laboratory to test those same piles and they said ‘yes they have passed – they are all OK’,” said Jackson. “They then started building a multistorey building, which will have 400 or 500 people in it, when things were clearly defective.”

CONSTRUCTION WEEK OCTOBER 3–9, 2009

GTSC general manager Husain Al Omani conﬁrmed that corners were being cut: “If you are a regular reader of Saudi news, you’ll see that there’s a collapse from time to time. Contractors are cheating with concrete.” But, Al Omani does not know how widespread this corner-cutting practice is. “There is corruption within the industry. Let’s say there’s a project and one of the contractors wins with a US $2 million (SR5 million) bid, he then drops it to another contractor to do for $1 million with no effort or headache; that contractor will give it to yet another contractor to do for $500,000. This really happens in many sectors. Is the ﬁnal contractor going to use high quality materials and products, will they make it to the required standards? If they did, the cost would be more than $500,000.” Exova’s Jackson continued: “In the end, we had to go to the owner of the tower and express our concerns.” The owner, said Jackson, had been told nothing about the results, which had been buried by the contractor and lab, as it would have cost additional time and money to remedy or replace the defective piles.

Tameer chief development ofﬁcer John Zwets entirely agreed with Exova’s course of action: “I wish to express my deep concern. Allow me to record that if anyone were to ever face such a situation and neglected to inform the owner or developer, then I submit this would constitute a case of criminal negligence – apart from the obvious alleged criminal act referred to.” Zwets also urged other parties to come forward if they had witnessed similar illegal practices. “As CDO at Tameer, I have a duty of care to all stakeholders and we take this responsibility extremely seriously. There can be no excuse to nibble at the margins of structural quality in any construction environment. In construction, one does a job 100% right, since only 99% right means one percent wrong – which renders the entire equation wrong,” he added. “There is corruption within our sector and laboratories will provide results that are incorrect and will help their customers. Ultimately, the people who suffer are the main clients or owners. Lives are at risk here,” concluded Jackson.

FRONT MERAAS TO EXHIBIT AT CITYSCAPE By James Boley Meraas, the developer behind the US $95.2 billion (AED349 billion) Jumeira Gardens project, will be exhibiting at Cityscape Dubai this week after remaining out of the public eye for a year. Jumeira Gardens was unveiled by Meraas at last year’s exhibition and was pitched to be built over 12 years, across an area north of Sheikh Zayed Road between Diyafa Street and Safa Park. There will be several major parks and a number of smaller community parks, while a large canal will run through the heart of the development, flowing into the Business Bay Canal and out to MERAAS, DUBAI PROPERTIES AND EMAAR WILL EXHIBIT AT CITYSCAPE DUBAI. the sea. “Clearly, no one is expecting to see multi-billion dollar The current status of the project, which also contains three major skyscrapers, has been uncertain since March project launches or major finance deals being brokered. this year when the project was scaled back. Instead they will be focusing on transparent progress In a statement, Cityscape said Meraas had reappeared reports on existing projects with realistic completion in order to “demonstrate its confidence in the real estate milestones and handover dates.” Joining Meraas will be Dubai Properties, Emaar and sector in Dubai.” “We have been emphasising for some time now that the Nakheel. A fortnight ago ConstructionWeekOnline.com objectives for many developers exhibiting at Cityscape revealed that Nakeel and Emaar were planning to stay Dubai is to reassure existing and potential investors,” said away from Cityscape until both companies revised their Cityscape Manging director Rohan Marwaha. decisions a day later.

FRONT BIG 5 SEES POSITIVE SIGNS FOR UPTURN By James Boley

METITO’S HQ IN TECHNOPARK, DUBAI IS THE FIRST LEED GOLD BUILDING IN THE MIDDLE EAST.

SUPPORT FOR LEED CERTIFICATION REMAINS HIGH By James Boley A ConstructionWeekOnline.com survey has revealed that an overwhelming majority believe that Leed certiﬁcation should remain high on the list of priorities for developers and contractors. Over half (52.2%) of respondents agreed that the recession is no excuse to neglect environmental responsibilities, whereas 30.4% felt that having Leed certiﬁcation was, in fact, desirable as a way of attracting interest and business. “I agree with these results. We should not take any excuse to neglect the environment. Surely we have many major problems today generated by neglect of the environment in the past, and anyone who believes we have a choice in this matter has their head in the sand,” commented Emirates Green Building Council chairman Jeff Willis. He added that any kind of formal process that reduces consumption and waste by buildings should be high on the agenda, irrespective of economic circumstanc-

es. Meanwhile, just 17.4% felt that Leed certiﬁcation should be ignored in order to cut costs. “It is sad to see that some people (even though a minority) believe that reducing consumption and waste is necessarily more expensive,” said Willis. “There are two major misconceptions here. One is that it costs more to reduce consumption and waste. It does not. The cost is related to how you go about that reduction process, and there are many ways to improve the situation without expending more capital.” Willis also challenged the idea that it was acceptable for people to choose to damage the environment for their own ﬁnancial advantage. “We cannot afford the cost of continuing to consume more and produce more waste. If that thinking continues, we will have unsustainable buildings that are without power and water and surrounded by trash.”

Event organisers dmg have reported that Big 5, the building and construction show to be held in Dubai in November, has grown in size since last year and has almost sold out. This year’s show will be 15% larger by exhibition space than in 2008, with 92% of the area now booked. Dmg attributed the positive signs to confidence in the Middle East construction market’s potential in the future. “We seem to be bucking the trend of some other trade shows, which has been reflected in the increased floor space, and the right level of industry people signing up,” said show director Paula Al Chami. “Clearly, this has been a year of a slow down, but it seems that The Big 5 is coming at just the right time, as the industry is starting to look forward again and will be able to put a considerable amount of speculation to rest.” Big 5 runs November 2326 at Dubai International Exhibition Centre.

UK FIRMS FINED MILLIONS FOR PRICE RIGGING By Matt Warnock Several UK firms with GCC connections or subsidiaries have been fined for price rigging in the largest investigation ever carried out by the UK’s Office of Fair Trading (OFT). Over five years, more than 100 construction companies have been fined for rigging the prices of 199 construction contracts between 2000 and 2006. The companies – which include Balfour Beatty, Kier and Interserve – were accused of breaching rules by submitting bids not intended to win contracts but to boost the price for rivals by creating a false impression of competition. “Our investigation has uncovered significant infringements of competition law on nearly 200 projects across

CONSTRUCTION WEEK OCTOBER 3–9, 2009

England. Bidding processes designed to ensure clients receive the best possible choice and prices were distorted, creating a real risk of increased prices,” explained OFT senior director Simon Williams. Eighty-six of the 103 firms fined received penalty reductions for admitting their involvement and, in light of the “current economic climate affecting this industry” the OFT is allowing companies to spread payments over the next three years. Kier – fined US $28.5 million (GBP £17.9 million) – says it is “totally committed” to ensuring such behaviour is “totally driven out” of the industry.

FRONT HIGHLIGHTS Jordan

HANWHA POCKETS SAMRA POWER PLANT CONTRACT South Korean conglomerate Hanwha has scooped a contract to build Jordan’s largest electricity generation source with a total capacity of 900MW in Samra. Samra Electric Power Generating Company managing director Amjad Rawashdeh said the tender was awarded, with the contract to be signed later this month. “The project entails setting up two gas turbine stations with a total generating capacity of 285.740MW which will cover expected future loads, meet increasing demand and support the Kingdom’s electrical network.” Saudi Arabia

JEDDAH COMMITS BILLIONS TO PUBLIC INFRASTRUCTURE The Saudi Arabian city of Jeddah will invest more than US $1.3 billion (SR4.87 billion) in the construction of bridges, tunnels, roads and parks, according to Mayor Adel Fakeih. “The city is

NEWS IN NUMBERS

1.2°

The twist in each ﬂoor of Dubai’s Inﬁnity Tower, due for completion in 2011

determined to achieve and maintain its sustainable development,” said Fakeih. Eighteen road crossings are already under construction, in addition to 35 at the design stage, explained municipality construction and projects undersecretary Ibrahim Kutubkhana. “We will construct more bridges and public parks for the welfare of the residents,” he said, adding that 100 more public parks were due over the coming months. Qatar

CEMENT AVAILABLE AS PRICES NOSEDIVE Qatar’s construction industry has been buoyed by relaxed import rules, reducing shortages of materials and creating a drop in prices. “Adequate cement is available at reasonable prices in the wholesale market,” said the project manager of a leading Doha construction ﬁrm. Prices for cement have fallen to US $4 (QR14) a bag, down 72% from $14 a few months ago. Qatar has faced shortages caused by the construction boom since 2004.

Dubai Holding paid off a

US$ $300m loan for Sama Dubai which matured last week

CONSTRUCTION WEEK OCTOBER 3–9, 2009

UAE

DEYAAR DELIVERS ON BUSINESS BAY PROMISE Deyaar Development is set to hand over all units at The Citadel, its US $190.5 million (AED700 million), 41-storey commercial tower in Dubai’s Business Bay development. It is the first commercial tower to be delivered by any developer in Business Bay. Fulfilling the company’s earlier commitment to hand over seven projects in 2009, The Citadel comprises 52,490m² of office space and 26,941m² of retail space. “Despite the challenging environment in the sector, we have demonstrated that we will meet all our commitments to our customers,” said Markus Giebel, CEO of Deyaar. UAE

DRAKE AND SCULL TAKES THAI CONTRACT Drake and Scull International’s (DSI) UAE ofﬁce will provide staff to ﬁll project management and engineering positions for the US $35.4 million (AED130 million) MEP contract for

Construction on Tameer’s 31-storey Silver Tower, due for completion in

2010, has reached ﬂoor

The River development in Thailand. DSI will supply, install, test and commission complete MEP works including air conditioning, plumbing and drainage for the Bangkok building. Oman

US $200M OF CONTRACTS AWARDED FOR PORT OF SOHAR The Port of Sohar in Oman has signed three contracts for ﬁnancing, dredging and constructing the 1380mlong and 25m deep jetty. A vital part of an ongoing US $1.4 billion (OR539 million) project from Brazilian mining corporation Vale, Sohar will also function as the distribution centre for iron ore to be exported to the Middle East, India and Africa as one of few ports in the world capable of receiving very large ore carriers of 400,000 dead weight tonnes. Dutch ﬁrm Van Oord will carry out dredging duties while a joint venture between Italy’s Saipem and India’s Afcons will construct the jetty, which is expected to be completed in Q1 2011.

Qatargas’s Laffan Reﬁnery has begun production, creating

146,000 barrels per stream day

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FACE-TO-FACE JEDDAH UNDER THE SPOTLIGHT

FAYYAZ AHMAD

GEOFF SANDERSON

Research manager, Jones Lang LaSalle KSA

Principal, Green Concepts

WHAT ARE THE MOST IMPORTANT PROJECTS GOING ON IN JEDDAH AT THE MOMENT? The Saudi Land Bridge project, which will transport passengers between Jeddah, Riyadh, Damman and Jubail, is an important development. In addition, the King Abdulaziz International Airport expansion and the Jeddah Islamic Seaport expansion are two signiﬁcant projects going on in the city.

There are two that we are involved in. One is the new Jeddah Airport and the other is the Metropolitan Park. All of the infrastructure projects, which are being built in Jeddah, are also important. There is a new rail system that will take passengers to Makkah, for example.

HOW SIGNIFICANTLY HAS JEDDAH’S CONSTRUCTION INDUSTRY BEEN AFFECTED BY THE DOWNTURN? Most sectors have seen increased levels of new supply enter the market at a time of subdued demand resulting from the slowdown, the adjustment in oil prices from their cyclical peak, and tight credit conditions.

I don’t think it has been affected because the infrastructure works that Saudi Arabia is spending money on, was budgeted some time ago and those projects have been in the pipeline for quite a while.

IS THERE STILL A DEMAND FOR NEW PROJECTS IN THE CITY? Affordable housing is required in the market. Similarly, there is demand for quality hotels, while new standalone projects in the retail sector will do well if they are developed in the city.

The development of new projects in Jeddah has slowed down a lot. But, there are still a lot of aspects to Jeddah’s infrastructure, which need to be replaced and this is what is being done.

IS THERE ENOUGH SUPPLY OF INFRASTRUCTURE AND HOUSING TO ACCOMMODATE HAJJ PILGRIMS? Yes there is enough supply of housing but a lot of the stock is old and needs to be redeveloped. Hajj pilgrims use only the airport and hotel and they spend most of their time in Makkah and Madinah. So, the supply of housing in Jeddah does not affect them.

The number of people travelling into Jeddah, for Hajj, this year has been less than in previous years because of the spread of swine ﬂu. But, there is clearly not enough supply of infrastructure and that is why Jeddah is looking to expand these developments.

WHY DO PEOPLE CHOOSE TO SET UP THEIR BUSINESSES IN JEDDAH? Jeddah still has a lot of interest for retail trade and warehousing. The hotel market will also get more attention because Jeddah receives the highest number of domestic and foreign tourists. However, Jeddah is still a secondary market because multinational ﬁrms like to be based in Riyadh.

In my opinion it is overrated. It is a very costly and time-consuming process to get into the market and you can’t expect to be earning reasonable profits within the first 12 months unless you are well financed and can provide companies, in Jeddah, with resources that they don’t already have.

WHAT IS THE CURRENT FOCUS OF THE JEDDAH CONSTRUCTION MARKET? There is a focus on the development of basic infrastructure and raising the attraction of the Red Sea coast. Companies are now investing in resorts and hotels. At the same time, redevelopment of old down-town Jeddah is a priority for the government.

CONSTRUCTION WEEK OCTOBER 3–9, 2009

I don’t think there are many new residential projects being developed there at the moment. But, Saudi Arabia is likely to pace its growth according to the actual needs of its people.

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ANALYSIS The most important Cityscape yet COULD THIS YEAR’S EVENT MARK A WATERSHED FOR THE LOCAL AND GLOBAL DEVELOPMENT INDUSTRY? By Matt Warnock

Cityscape Dubai is upon us and many across the industry seem unsure of what to expect. As a developer’s shop window to the world, some of the planet’s biggest and most iconic projects have been launched at previous editions, but even the most optimistic of industry drumbeaters would have to concede that these are very difficult times. “It’s natural that there’ll be a difference as DESPITE A DROP IN FOOTFALL EXPECTED AT CITYSCAPE THIS YEAR, ORGANISERS STILL SEEM POSITIVE. things have changed and that’s reflected in the real estate market,” explains Cityscape walking about with their shopping bags full how the market has changed, to share major group director Chris Speller. of gifts – but now it’s back to business. concerns and experiences, both local and “Lots of companies are no longer around “This year’s Cityscape Dubai is going to be a global. We’re setting up meetings, making but those that are represent the active, proac- platform built around and for the industry and, the links, booking the rooms and telling tive professionals. Companies are still doing with that in mind, we’ve introduced special exhibitors to bring guests….we want them business –they’re not fly-by-night.” events, such as the Investor Round Tables, to see this Cityscape as an opportunity.” In fact, if previous Cityscapes were showy a City Leaders Forum, a CEO networking That’s the organisers’ approach but, in launches of bombastic developments that lunch… architects, investors, developers, the absence of new launches to announce, architects could barely dream up as fast as government bodies will all be sitting down in are developers equally optimistic about semi-formal lunch meetings which the event? speculators bought up, then 2009 is will be closed-door – they’re for “We will focus on exhibiting our prime “THIS YEAR’S where the real work frank and open discussion, not communities that are close to completion,” CITYSCAPE DUBAI starts, according says a Nakheel spokesperson. press coverage. IS GOING TO BE A to Speller. “We’re developing our relation“We have an extremely active fourth PLATFORM BUILT “The past may have ships back to developers and we quarter ahead of us and our attendance AROUND AND FOR THE INDUSTRY” been about sightseers think this is the time to discuss will highlight our commitment to delivering units and services to existing investors and residents.” For others, attending Cityscape Dubai is simply vital for obtaining answers to the industry’s biggest questions. “We all want to know when the global crisis will turn into an opportunity. Cityscape Dubai is poised to help us find a solution,” says Tantallon Research president and CEO Jesper Koll. Deyaar CEO Markus Giebel maintains that, in addition to important discussions, business can still be done at Cityscape. “We continue to see Cityscape as an important platform to showcase our prod-

CONSTRUCTION WEEK OCTOBER 3–9, 2009

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uct portfolio and to “THE FOCUS HAS MOVED engage our customers FROM NEW LAUNCHES and other key stakeTO DELIVERY AND holders. Cityscape COMPLETION – THEY’RE is an opportunity THE TWO KEY WORDS” for us to showcase our strengths and to engage our stakeholders while gauging market developers to follow appetite across different product segments. this example. We will use the information and feedback “The focus has we get at the event as key considerations moved from new for our 2010 business strategy.” launches to delivGiebel adds that Deyaar will be taking a ery and completion different, more value-orientated approach – they’re the two key CITYSCAPE DUBAI 2009 WILL NO LONGER BE ABOUT HANDING OUT SHOPPINGS in order to remain attractive to investors. words. However, BAGS WITH FREE GIFTS FOR VISITORS, IT’S BACK TO SERIOUS BUSINESS. “We have been working with a clear strat- there will still be a egy to safeguard and support our customers few launches in Russia and Saudi Arabia, decrease in exhibitor space is a real success; with a comprehensive plan right through in particular.” Most exhibitors, explains we’ve seen a similar drop in pre-registered 2009 and we have met with very positive Speller, have taken the same amount of guests but that’s still excellent and there’ll feedback. These measures include project space as in previous years, however, he be a whole lot less speculators. consolidation, price revision, structured concedes, that cutbacks have been made “At Cityscape Abu Dhabi, there were fewer payment plans, and bank tie-ups, among in additional promotional, marketing and visitors this year but all the exhibitors comother things. mented on the quality of those visitors. branding spends. “We will continue to add to these benefits The organiser and exhibitors all seem “Make no mistake, Cityscape Dubai will and features in line with our commitment set on creating a major event that many be a very successful event – one that still to deliver optimal value to our customers hope may provide answers to some of the truly represents the industry.”  and investors. Deyaar will continue to be a biggest issues shaping the industry today. significant developer in Dubai with a pru- But will visitors still flock? dent long-term strategy, and this will reflect “At the beginning of this year, no one in all our announcements at Cityscape.” knew what was around the corner,” says 5 BUSINESS TIPS FOR CITYSCAPE 2009 Cityscape’s Speller says he expects many other Speller. “In the circumstances, a 25% to 30% • Arrange as many meetings as possible before the exhibition – people may be busy and out of reach if you leave it too late • Prioritise introductions and meetings with out-of-town visitors as you can see local companies at another time • Plan as many meetings and business dinners as possible for outside show hours to maximise your ROI for the show itself • Decide on the two or three most pertinent points you want to make – don’t confuse potential clients with too much information • Trade shows are just the beginning of a relationship – follow up every contact you make at Cityscape Dubai

OCTOBER 3–9, 2009 CONSTRUCTION WEEK

EVENTS

Event: MEP Kuwait Overview: This conference aims to shine the spotlight on Kuwait and will discusses the challenges of engaging with Kuwait developers; future opportunities; the technology required now and in the future; and the long-term plans for the country and how these will impact on operations. Strong desings coming from architects offer an incentive for MEP companies to relocate or set up ofﬁces in Kuwait. Date: October 28 Venue: Radisson SAS, Kuwait City Phone: +971 4 435 6127 Email: oscar.wendel@itp.com Website: www.constructionweekonline. com/conferences Event: Construction Week Dubai Conference Overview: A one day event with two streams running concurrently covering the vital aspects of construction and real estate. Date: November 3 Venue: Rafﬂes Hotel, Dubai Phone: +971 4 435 6127 Email: oscar.wendel@itp.com Website: www.constructionweekonline. com/conferences

Event focus

CITYSCAPE DUBAI DATE: OCTOBER 5-8 VENUE: DUBAI INTERNATIONAL EXHIBITION CENTRE WEBSITE: WWW.CITYSCAPE.AE Cityscape Dubai is a four-day networking exhibition and conference dedicated to the real estate and construction industry. Delegates will be given the opportunity to speak to developers, ﬁnancers, consultants and architects who are seeking to invest in the local market. A ‘Green Day’ conference will also be held at the event. Panelists will address challenges faced by developers and contractors wishing to take steps towards a sustainable future. 

Event: Building Sustainability into the Middle East Overview: Construction Week has merged the Building Sustainability into the Middle East conference, and the GreenBuilding training series in order to offer

strategic insight and practical learning in one exhibition. Date: October 25-26 Venue: Crown Plaza Hotel, Abu Dhabi Phone: +971 4 4356127 Email: oscar.wendel@itp.com Website: www.constructionweekonline. com/conferences

Event: Construction Week Awards 2009 Overview: In its 5th year, the Construction Week Awards 2009 will celebrate excellence in the construction industry and exceptional performance in 15 key areas of the sector, with nominations open to contractors, developers and consultants working in the Middle East. Award categories include project manager of the year, construction manager of the year, sustainable project of the year and developer of the year among others. Date: November 4 Location: Grand Hyatt, Dubai Phone: +971 4 435 6133 Email: annie.chinoy@itp.com Website: www.constructionweekonline. com/cwawards

for the construction industry, Building Smart can facilitate improvements in profitability and sustainability in the region. Building Smart will eventually operate throughout the Middle East, as well as North Africa, as a not-for-profit organisation. Date: November 15-16 Venue: Yas Hotel, Abu Dhabi Website: www.itp.net/events/buildsmart Event: MEP Awards Overview: The MEP Awards 2009 is a platform for the mechanical, electrical and plumbing sector in the Gulf to recognise its achievements and to acknowledge the latest innovations, technology and processes that have helped drive down costs and ensure adherence to best-practice standards. Date: December 9 Venue: The Westin, Dubai Phone: +971 4 435 6133 Email: annie.chinoy@itp.com Website: www.constructionweekonline. com/mepawards Event: Construction Week North Africa Conference. Overview: This Construction Week conference will provide a firm basis for all interested parties to come together and share their experience of the economic renaissance in North Africa. Date: December 17 Venue: Intercontinental Hotel, Cairo Phone: +971 4 435 6127 Email: oscar.wendel@itp.com Website: www.constructionweekonline. com/conferences Event: International Symposium on Architectural Membranes Overview: The workshop will address the theoretical bases for structural analysis necessary for computer implementation. Date: October 14-15 Venue: American Univeristy in Dubai Website: http://isam-dubai.web.officelive. com/about.aspx

Event: CID Awards 2009 Overview: This year’s CID Awards will celebrate the success of the Middle East design industry and demonstrate how the region’s sector can stand alongside its international peers. Date: November 15 Venue: Park Hyatt, Dubai Phone: +971 4 435 6133 Email: annie.chinoy@itp.com Website: www.constructionweekonline. com/cidawards

Event: Index 2009 Overview: Index is the Middle East’s largest contemporary interiors trade show. Now in its 19th year Index is established as the must-attend annual event for buyers and suppliers of the world’s ﬁnest interiors. Date: 14-17 November Venue: Dubai World Trade Centre Phone: +971 4 438 0355 Website: www.indexexhibition.com

Event: Build Smart 2009 Overview: Build Smart 2009 will present solutions, new technologies and best practice for improving efﬁciency and productivity during project development. But, the main focus at the event will be the ofﬁcial launch of new association, Building Smart Middle East. It will demonstrate that by establishing standards

Event: The Big 5 Overview: Big 5 is the annual meeting place for all industry professionals. Over 58,000 key buyers and decision makers from the public and private sectors attended the 2008 event. Date: November 23-26 Venue: Dubai World Trade Centre Website: www.thebig5exhibition.com

OCTOBER 3–9, 2009 CONSTRUCTION WEEK

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COMMENT > For the latest news and comments log on to www.ConstructionWEEKonline.com/comment

A “perfect storm” boosts value engineering in Dubai EUGENE SITERMAN DISCUSSES HOW DEVELOPERS HAVE LEARNT VALUABLE LESSONS FOR LONG-TERM SURVIVAL DURING THE DOWNTURN

Fat City is no place to preach prudence. Dubai enjoyed perhaps the greatest landand-building rush of all time, thanks to the strong global economy, easy credit and oil markets of 2004 to 2008. In the bonanza, quite understandably, developers bolted to get glassy skyscrapers built, leased or sold. It is not human nature to optimise behavior, personal or business, in the zenith of a gold rush. So, value engineers, those consultants who streamline systems and fine-tune a building’s constructability, were sometimes backseat drivers in the epic Dubai boom. How times change. With chilling suddenness, the global economy sank in the last few months of 2008, and the credit spigot was cut off. Oil, nearing US $150 (AED551) a barrel in 2008, sank to nearly $30 a barrel in early 2009. Economy, credit and oil: It was a triplewhammy up, and then down, for Dubai builders. While the worst is happily over, important lessons have been learned. The perfect storm The changing Dubai economy has generated a “perfect storm” of demand for value engineering. There is an armada of projects underway or on the boards, yet there is time to calmly consider quality and efficiency. The marketplace now dictates that the fittest, not just the fastest, will survive. So developers are bringing in the value engineers to improve projects in the planning stages, or to re-evaluate and optimise projects underway. Quality and efficiency have taken a front seat next to speediness. From many perspectives, this is an excellent change of focus. In few places in the world are contributions of value engineers needed more. Dubai is exemplified by massive glasswalled towers that reach for the sky, yet those awesome glass walls also admit large

amounts of light and heat, which result in world-class cooling loads, enormous energy consumption, outsized mechanical rooms (reducing leasable space) and a challenge to the ideals of sustainable design. Competent value engineers, whose sole mission and focus is to make buildings more efﬁcient without compromising architectural ideals, are necessary to select systems, materials and glazing that can substantially reduce cooling loads and electrical demands. Developers are being reminded that experienced value engineers can optimise project systems while reducing building capital budgets and operating expenses. We have found that on MEP systems planned in Dubai, capital savings approaching 20% are possible, as well as similar or greater reductions in energy consumption. And streamlining begets other advantages— reduced space for mechanical rooms, and thus more leasable square footage. In addition, concerted use of Building Information Modeling (BIM) three-dimensional software results in increased constructability of buildings, and helps to avoid unnecessary construction expenses. Back to value engineering Of course, in a broader sense, value engineering should always be embraced, even in boom times. It is always a good practice to build efﬁciently, with results that make best use of energy or water. Whether feast or famine, bringing value engineers into the process early results in better, more valuable buildings. Many developers now speak of never rushing again, and always turning to value engineers to help visions become realities. Let us hope. Building smart always brings both quantitative and qualitative rewards, and more-sustainable buildings.

“THE MARKETPLACE NOW DICTATES THAT THE FITTEST NOT JUST THE FASTEST, WILL SURVIVE”

Siterman is a principal at New York-based VE Solutions Group, an international value engineering firm with offices in the UAE. His role is to establish and oversee relationships with clients worldwide. He has a decade of experience in international business development in sectors including construction and sustainable building. He holds a bachelor of science in business management from the State University of New York at Stony Brook.

The opinions expressed in this column are of the author and not of the publisher.

OCTOBER 3–9, 2009 CONSTRUCTION WEEK

BU I L D I N G A N EW R I YA D H UNAFFECTED BY THE GLOBAL ECONOMIC DOWNTURN, SAUDI ARABIA IS FURIOUSLY CONSTRUCTING ITS KING ABDULLAH FINANCIAL DISTRICT, A PROJECT DESTINED TO BECOME A NEW CITY CENTRE FOR RIYADH. NOW WITH A MERE 30 MONTHS LEFT TO FINISH THE BULK OF THE WORK, THE PACE IS FAST AND THE CHALLENGE IMMENSE By Benjamin Millington; Photos by George Dipin

hen Saudi expected to redefine Riyadh from the nation’s Arabia’s rather boring administrative capital to a K i n g sleek business and entertainment hub. Centrally located on Riyadh’s King Fahd Abdullah bin Abdul Highway, the development will feature more Aziz Al than 40 towers with all the facilities, ameSaud takes nities, utilities and transport networks you a keen personal interest in the success of a would come to expect in a well-designed particular project, you can almost guaran- city of the 21st century. The catch, is that the majority of this 1.6 tee it will be seen through to completion without delay. million m² project is to be constructed in just Such is the case with the US $10 billion 3.5 years; and with King Abdullah receiving (SR37.5 billion) King Abdullah Financial regular progress reports, those involved know District (KAFD), a project the pressure is on which not only bears his name, to deliver. “THE CRISIS DROVE but will send a definitive sigThe company in DOWN COSTS AND nal to the rest of the world MADE TENDERS MORE charge is Rayadah Investment, an arm that the kingdom is well on COMPETITIVE” of the government’s its way to modernity. As the epicentre of Saudi Arabia’s bur- Public Pensions Agency (PPA), which aside geoning financial services sector, KAFD is from taking care of social security is also charged with investing huge sums of money in real estate development. After finalising a master plan design by KAFD FEATURES Denmark’s Henning Larsen, Rayadah awarded • More than 40 towers four design and build contracts for the first • Four levels of underground parking in 10 parcels of land. Saudi Binladin Group each tower picked up four mixed-use parcels, while • A huge central pedestrian area or “wadi” Saudi Construction, El Seif Engineering • A monorail network and Saudi Oger each, picked up two. • Elevated skywalk corridors linking Construction started last November and each tower with a fast-tracked contract period of 30 • Leed certification for the entire months this first stage is expected to finish development around mid 2011. • A 100,000 tonne district cooling system Meanwhile, Rayadah is on the verge of • A tier four data centre awarding stage two - a multi-billion dollar design and build contract for another 30

CONSTRUCTION WEEK OCTOBER 3–9, 2009

parcels, which will make up “the bulk of the project” says Rayadah’s project manager Waleed Aleisa. “It will probably be awarded late September or early October. We’ll most likely go with one contractor for the whole thing because we want to make sure there are no conﬂicting logistical problems.” Under the fast tracked contract 27 of the 30 parcels are expected to be ﬁnished in just 30 months, which gives a deadline of around mid 2012. Aleisa won’t divulge who

ABOVE: CONTRACTORS ARE CURRENTLY DOING BASEMENT WORK ON STAGE ONE OF THE PROJECT, EACH TOWER WILL HAVE FOUR UNDERGROUND LEVELS FOR PARKING. AROUND 2000M³ OF CONCRETE IS BEING POURED EACH DAY AND 80,000M³ IS IN THE GROUND SO FAR. AT THE END OF STAGE TWO IT’S EXPECTED FOUR MILLION CUBIC TONNES WILL HAVE BEEN POURED. RIGHT: SAUDI BINLADIN IS WORKING ON FOUR MIXED USE PARCELS WHICH INCLUDE TWO TOWERS, 88M AND 133M, A 26-STOREY OFFICE BUILDING AND SEVERAL LOW-RISE BUILDINGS. THEY HAVE SIGNED US ARCHITECTS FX-FOWLE TO WORK ON THE PROJECT AS PART OF THE DESIGN AND BUILD CONTRACT TEAM.

KAFD – FAST FACTS: COST

US $10 billion (SR37.5 billion)

START DATE

November 2008

FINISH DATE

Mid-2012 (stage one and two)

AREA

1.6 million m2

BUILT UP AREA

5 million m2

MASTER DEVELOPER

Rayadah Investment Company

MASTER PLAN DESIGN

Henning Larsen

MAIN CONTRACTORS

Saudi Binladin, Saudi Construction, El Sief Engineering, Saudi Oger

is in the running for the massive award, but In addition to this, Saudi Arabia’s leadersays it is three of Saudi Arabia’s biggest ship is keen to see the kingdom’s financial contractors which are “capable of pulling services sector develop as quickly as possible as they attempt to diversify the economy it off.” While Rayadah is developing the vast major- away from oil dependency – a near imposity of KAFD itself, four of the most central sible task without quality office space or a parcels will be developed by sub-develop- cohesive CBD. ers including the Capital Market Authority “We did a customer leads analysis and (CMA), the Saudi stock exchange Tadawul, found that there is a huge deficit in ‘Class Samba Bank and Al Rajhi Bank. A’ office space in Riyadh and Saudi Arabia,” Each is constructing its own tower in KAFD’s says Aleisa. financial plaza with CMA and Tadawul “This is what most financial services comhaving the two tallest in the development panies want, along with having a designated respectively. They will each have to adhere area that is conducive for business. There to stringent design criteria laid down by is a huge demand for this project and this is Rayadah as well as stick to one reason why we’re in such a rush.” the same deadline. “WE WENT TO GREAT Overall it’s expected that While the financial LENGTHS TO ENSURE by mid-2012 around 70% of services industry will THAT WE CREATE A KAFD will be built out, with sustain the city, Alesia VIBRANT CITY” the remaining land develis quick to point out that this is not where oped over time according to demand. the function of KAFD ends, describing the Such a speedy timeframe to complete such project as “a new city centre for Riyadh”. a mammoth project was not always on the “We went to great lengths during design agenda, says Aleisa, but came about as a to ensure that we create a vibrant mixedresult of the economic downturn. use city that is lively during the day and “The crisis drove down costs, made tenders evening,” he says. more competitive and made more resources “We went to 11 countries to study their available to us,” he says. financial centres and found that this is very “So the decision was made by higher authori- important – you don’t want a ghost town ties to do as much as possible within the at night.” As such 26% of KAFD’s 5 million m² shorter time frame and take advantage of built up area will be designated for resithe situation.”

OCTOBER 3–9, 2009 CONSTRUCTION WEEK

SAUDI BINLADIN, SAUDI CONSTRUCTION, EL SIEF ENGINEERING AND SAUDI OGER ARE CURRENTLY WORKING ROUND THE CLOCK ON KAFD’S FIRST TEN LAND PARCELS IN ORDER TO FINISH WITHIN 30 MONTHS.

dential apartments designed for local and international customers. There will also be a total of six hotels and a fair proportion of KAFD has been set aside for retail and attractions. Alesia says there will be 11 “attractors” designed to bring people into the city for entertainment including an aquarium, a ﬁnancial academy, an arts and heritage museum and a geosciences museum. Tying all of this together is a master plan design that seeks to create a harmonious relationship between the business, residential, retail and entertainment elements of the city. Central to the plan is KAFD’s “wadi” concept; a subterranean pedestrian area running throughout the development which include water features and greenery and will be heavily shaded by the surrounding towers. The idea is to create a communal outdoor space that is comfortable, visually stimulating and a common linking feature between retail facilities and towers. With the wadi as a central theme KAFD seems to be a city designed for the pedestrian. Alesia says real effort has gone into designing a complex road network which will ensure that for the most part car trafﬁc is hidden away from public spaces.

CONSTRUCTION WEEK OCTOBER 3–9, 2009

This requires that every single tower will have four underground levels of parking linked to main service roads. The heavily built-up area around the financial plaza will even have a double-decker road network which will consist of a subterranean road mimicking the path of the ground level road. All of this will be complemented by a monorail service around the development and an enormous network of elevated skywalks between the towers. Alesia says the skywalks will effectively allow you to walk from one end of the city to the other without leaving the comfort of air-conditioning. “This city is very unique for Saudi Arabia,” he says. “Currently there is nothing else that is this well thought-out, well-designed and built from scratch. We are trying to create the perfect environment for people to both work and enjoy.” KAFD will also be up to standard with its environmental credentials. The entire site is expected to at least achieve the basic Leed environmental certification – which will be the first Leed accredited buildings in Riyadh. “We have a design guideline that states the energy saving we want the buildings to achieve, which basically comes down to how you deal with solar gain,” he says.

“One of the concepts is that the buildings are orientated in a certain way to be in shade most of the time. We’ll also have grey water treatment facility in each building.” The architects from FX Fowle, who are designing Saudi Binladin’s parcels, say they are also using local materials and stone in the construction which will also help score Leed points. The US-based FX-Fowle is one of several international architects working on KAFD. Upon its completion Alesia expects to be able to proudly point out various towers designed by a long list of well-known firms. For now this vision is still a long way off. At the moment the contractors are only on the basement levels of the first ten parcels and furiously working 24 hours a day to stay on target. Alesia says 2000m³ of concrete is being poured each day and 80,000m³ is in the ground so far. At the end of stage two, he says, a whopping 4 million t³ will have been poured. But the big question remains, are they going to meet the mid-2012 deadline which the powers-at-be are expecting? Alesia is confident. “I have no doubt. At the beginning we had a problem with procuring resources, but now it’s just dealing with the logistics and complexity of the site, it’s a real challenge but we’ll make it.” 

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10 CITYSCAPE ‘09 DEVELOPERS EXHIBITING AT

By Conrad Egbert

Companies in this feature are listed in no particular order.

ALDAR PROPERTIES Aldar Properties is an Abu Dhabi-based property, development, management and investment company. It was listed on the Abu Dhabi Securities market in 2004. Aldar was established to support the region’s infrastructure through the creation of high quality, attractive and sustainable communities equipped with residential, commercial, retail, leisure, hospitality, education and medical facilities. Aldar’s portfolio includes developments in Abu Dhabi including Yas Island, Al Raha Beach and Central Market. The company owns over 50 million m2 of land in strategic locations throughout the emirate. Contact person: Abdel Sattar Ibrahim Email: asibrahim@aldar.com Website: www.aldar.com

Stand

Numbe r 4G10

TOURISM DEVELOPMENT & INVESTMENT COMPANY (TDIC) Stand Numbe

r TDIC is one of Abu Dhabi’s leading 6G10 developers and the name behind many projects including Saadiyat Island, a 27km2 natural island lying just 500m offshore Abu Dhabi City, which is being transformed into a leisure, cultural and residential destination. TDIC is also behind the Desert Islands - one of the world’s largest sustainable island tourism destinations, under development in its western province. Contact person: Alanood Al Malik Email: aalmail@tdic.ae Website: www.tdic.ae

CONSTRUCTION WEEK OCTOBER 3–9, 2009

MUBADALA REAL ESTATE AND HOSPITALITY Mubadala Real Estate and Stand Hospitality (MREH) is a Numbe business unit of Mubadala r 3H20 Development Company. With a mandate to drive the long-term development of Abu Dhabi and deliver key projects within Plan Abu Dhabi 2030, MREH develops strategic real estate and hospitality projects including large scale commercial, residential and leisure districts. Key projects include the development of Sowwah Island - the core of Abu Dhabi’s new Central Business District, Sowwah Square, and the Mina Zayed Waterfront. Contact person: Romi Moore Email: mrehinfo@mubadala.ae Website: www.mubadala.ae

MERAAS DEVELOPMENT

Stand Number 2B10

Dubai based Meraas Development has burst back onto the scene and is exhibiting at this year’s Cityscape. The developer, which offers unrivalled levels of sustainability, promises to comply with the highest green building standards to reduce environmental impacts, increase energy and water efﬁciency and optimise the life cycle costs of buildings. Contact person: Ashraf Sharaf Email: ashraf.sharaf@meraas.ae Website: www.meraasdevelopment.com

> For more top 10s visit www.ConstructionWEEKonline.com

MEYDAN

DUBAI PROPERTIES

Meydan was founded on the simple guiding principles of partnership, community and sporting excellence. ‘Meydan’ is translated from an Arabic word meaning ‘a meeting Stand Number 8E10 place.’ It is interconnected by four distinct districts including business, sport and cosmopolitan living. At its centre is the world-class Meydan grandstand and racecourse, the area will also serve as a major business and conference district. Contact person: Khadija Mohammed Email: khadija.turki@meydan.ae Website: www.meydan.ae

EMAAR Emaar Properties, a Dubai-based public joint stock company listed on the Dubai Financial Market, is a global property developer. The developer made headlines a fortnight ago when it announced that it would not participate at Cityscape 2009 only to make a complete U-turn a day later saying it would take part, and that it was looking forward to the property event. Contact person: Michele Dabaghian Email: mdabaghian@emaar.ae Website: www.emaar.com

Stand Number 7A05

Dubai Properties Group (DPG), Stand Numbe a member of Dubai Holding, is a r 6E10 community developer that offers integrated and holistic services in real estate, retail, hospitality and lifestyle management. Dubai Properties Group was established last year to consolidate the operation growth of Dubai Properties different divisions into six distinct business units – Dubai Properties for customer service, sales and marketing; Salwan for property management; Injaz for community development; Dubai Retail as the retail services company; Dubai Asset Management as the facilities management provider and Dubai Hospitality as the hospitality ﬁeld company. Contact person: Sheetal Khan Email: sheetal.harris@dubai-properties.ae Website: www.dubai-properties.ae

NAKHEEL

Stand Number 3A10

Nakheel, developer of the iconic Palm Jumeirah and The World in Dubai, has said that it will focus on exhibiting communal properties on several of its developments that are close to completion, at Cityscape this year. The unexpected announcement followed the developers declaration a fortnight ago that it wasn’t planning to participate at the real estate event. Nakheel has recently completed the handover of 33 islands on The World and is scheduled to complete property handovers on a number of other developments in its portfolio. The company says it is focusing on delivering units and services to existing investors and residents. Contact person: Ruqayya Al Belooshi Email: ruqayya.albelooshi@nakheel.com Website: www.nakheel.com

ISKANDAR INVESTMENT BERHAD d Number 3F20

Stan Iskandar Investment Berhad (IIB) is an investment holding company which promotes and co-ordinates the development of Iskandar Malaysia, a special economic zone in Johor. Working in close partnership with Iskandar Regional Development Authority, IIB is the sole developer focused on bringing in projects, which stimulate and sustain long-term growth of the region including Legoland Malaysia, EduCity and the Iskandar Financial District. Contact person : Razaleigh Zainal Email : info@iskandarinvestment.com Website : www.iskandarinvestment.com

PARIS LA DEFENSE Paris La Defense is the leading business district Stand in Europe according to Number 7G10 the developer and includes 3.2 million m2 of ofﬁces, 1500 companies’ headquarters, 150,000 jobs with an important concentration of international and high potential employees and 20,000 inhabitants.With its renewal plan Paris La Defense offers an investment opportunity for investors wanting to branch out into France. Contact person : Sylvie Guyot Email : sguyot@epaladefense.fr Website : www.ladefense-seine-arche.fr OCTOBER 3–9, 2009 CONSTRUCTION WEEK

THE BUILDING SUPERPOWER SAUDI ARABIA HAS BRAVED ONE OF THE WORST FINANCIAL CRISES THE WORLD HAS SEEN AND IS FORGING AHEAD WITH SOME OF THE BIGGEST PROJECTS IN THE GCC. BUT WHERE IS THIS GIANT HEADING AND IS IT REALLY ALL THAT STRONG? By Conrad Egbert

ith real estate investments in the kingdom touching US $334 billion (SAR1.2 trillion) currently, and further estimated to reach $400 billion by 2010, according to the lastest research by Global Investment House (GIH), can Saudi Arabia be called the sleeping giant anymore? Its $40 billion Sudair City development, along with its $10 billion Landbridge Railway project, which are both currently in bidding, are witness to this GCC state’s resilience to the economic downturn. In another report by research house Proleads, Saudi Arabia is placed on top, in terms of the number of ongoing projects in the kingdom, with 442 projects still proceeding and a rather low 19% cancellation and postponement rate. A fortnight ago, GIH also revealed that the demand for business and housing projects in Saudi Arabia has led to a projected 7%

CONSTRUCTION WEEK OCTOBER 3–9, 2009

growth in the kingdom’s real estate sector from now until 2012 – a time during which most countries would merely be recovering from the effects of the crisis. Further, recent reports have shown that if the kingdom wants to sustain its rapidly growing population it needs to build around 1.5 million new homes by 2015, which is around 250,000 housing units annually. These ﬁgures are further broken down city-wise including Al Khobar with a 25% increase in housing demand, 21% in Jeddah and around 17% in Riyadh. Jeddah is also looking to invest more than $1.3 billion in the construction of bridges, tunnels, roads and parks. But while Saudi Arabia appears to have escaped the clutches of the evil crisis, one cannot deny the many projects that have been cancelled across the GCC, including a few within Saudi Arabia. But that is not

“MANY PROJECTS HAVE ALREADY BEEN SIGNED, INCLUDING BILLION DOLLAR ONES BY SAUDI ARAMCO AND SABIC”

beyond normal says Dammam-based GTSC general manager, Husain Al Omani. “You will ﬁnd that many projects have already been signed, including billion dollar ones by Saudi Aramco, Saudi Electric Company and Sabic, along with various other ongoing infrastructure jobs in the kingdom. Yes, some projects are on hold but that’s because they’re backed by companies based outside Saudi Arabia and may

OMANI SAYS DESPITE THE CRISIS NO MAJOR PROJECTS IN KSA HAVE BEEN CANCELLED.

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“BASED ON ORDERS [WON], WE’VE SEEN NO DOWNTURN IN THE SAUDI ARABIAN MARKET” have been affected by the downturn. But no major projects have been cancelled,” he added. And Omani isn’t the only one who feels conﬁdent about the Saudi market. Big Saudi construction companies are still picking up jobs in the country and have said they have no reason to look elsewhere just yet. “There is so much work in Saudi Arabia that we still have the option to decide if we want to take a job or not,” says Jeddahbased Saudi Binladin Group (SBG) corporate development director Ahmed Anees. “And that is a luxury most countries within the GCC and the world over do not have. That

in itself is testament to the strength of the Saudi Arabian market.” Power and automation technology company ABB Group goes a step further saying its order book has never been this ﬁlled up. “We’ve seen and experienced a rise in demand for our power and automation technology solutions in the Kingdom over the past 12 months due to the Saudi government’s efforts to upgrade the energy and utilities sector,” said Mohammed Samkari, president and local business unit manager for substations at ABB in Saudi Arabia. “Based on orders, we’ve seen no downturn in the Saudi market. Oil prices are stable and the kingdom is still enjoying strong economic growth. In general, government projects are going ahead on time and as budgeted. We’ve been adding staff to our operations here to cope with the rise in demand for power generation solutions.

ABB now has over 1300 employees in Saudi Arabia and we’re still growing.” The sheer size of the country and its population of 27 million could be one of the main reasons for its promising future. Yousef

SAMKARI SAYS THE KINGDOM HAS SEEN A RISE IN DEMAND FOR POWER AND AUTOMATION NEEDS.

LEADING SAUDI CONSTRUCTION COMPANIES SAUDI BINLADIN GROUP The group’s most active division is the Public Buildings and Airports Division (SBG-PBAD). It was incorporated in 1967 and diversiﬁed into construction activities in the UAE during in 1971 and KSA in 1981. The division is highly completive and has undertaken various projects in roads, bridges, airports, hospitals, universities, large housing projects, residential and commercial buildings and high rise towers including all infrastructure and electromechanical works. The yearly turn over of the division is around US $800 million. All divisions of PBAD have ISO 9001:2000 Certiﬁcation and Quality programmes maintained. www.sbgpbad.ae

CONSOLIDATED CONTRACTORS COMPANY The origins of Consolidated Contractors Company (CCC) goes back to 1952 when three entrepreneurs, Kamel Abdul Rahman, Hassib Sabbagh, and Said Khoury, joined forces to create one of the ﬁrst Arab construction companies in the world. Hassib Sabbagh is now chairman of the group while Said Khoury is president. Today the company has ofﬁces all over the

world including the UK and the US and is among the top 10 construction companies in Saudi Arabia. www.ccc.gr

SAUDI OGER Saudi Oger Limited started out as construction company based in Riyadh in January 1978. Since its inception, Saudi Oger has become one of the leading construction companies, facilities management service providers and infrastructure project developers in the kingdom. In a relatively short period of time Saudi Oger has grown into a multi-company, multi-divisional organisation with subsidiaries and afﬁliates in Saudi Arabia and abroad. Today the company’s line of business covers many sectors including construction, facilities management real estate development. www.saudioger.com

ARABTEC SAUDI ARABIA Arabtec Construction is the leading construction ﬁrm in the UAE. Since its launch in 1975, it has executed a diverse and far-reaching portfolio of major construction projects in all sectors of real estate and infrastructure. Arabtec Construction was one of the companies working on the Burj Dubai.

In March this year, Arabtec Construction formed a joint venture with two Saudi partners to establish Arabtec Saudi Arabia. The Saudi participants are CPC Services, a member of the Saudi Binladin Group, and Prime International Group Services. Arabtec will have a 45% stake in the partnership, while CPC will hold 35% and Prime 20% www.arabtecuae.com

MAKKAH CONSTRUCTION AND DEVELOPMENT COMPANY (MCDC) MCDC operates in construction with focus on the area around the Holy Haram in Makkah, which is a destination visited by millions of advocates every year. Some of MCDCs projects include Makkah Hilton and Towers, a multi- million mega structure overlooking the holy site. The structure contains the 1400 room Makkah Hilton Hotel, in addition to the three-storey 451 unit Makkah Shopping Centre. In 2006, MCDC was a founding member (with 21% stake) of the Jabal Omar Development Company that was established with a capital of US $1.3 billion (SR5 billion). MCDC has appeared on Forbes Arabia list of the 50 best performing companies among the Arab countries.

OCTOBER 3–9, 2009 CONSTRUCTION WEEK

Hajeir, estimation and support manager at one of the leading construction firms in the kingdom, Consolidated Contracting Company (CCC) based in Al Khobar, says that Saudi Arabia is now the central focus of construction companies in and around the GCC and that looking elsewhere for work is not even on the agenda at the moment. “Only recently one of Kuwait’s biggest construction companies opened up offices here in order to find more jobs. Construction companies from all over the world seem to be rushing to Saudi to take advantage of all the opportunities available. The UAE’s biggest construction company, Arabtec, has even opened up an office here.” Good news seems to be in abudance in Saudi but angels come with demons and with the yin there’s the yang. There’s no doubt that Saudi appears to be the next construction superpower, but power can often wield a disregard for the practical, and issues which are now of international concern across all GCC countries, could be overshadowed by murky ideas of gran-

“[GREEN PRACTICES] ARE NO WHERE CLOSE TO THE STANDARDS THAT ARE BEING IMPLEMENTED ACROSS EUROPE”

THE SAUDI ECONOMY HAS WEATHERED THE CRISES WITH NO MAJOR PROJECTS BEING CANCELLED.

deur.Take the green issue for example. Are Saudi Arabian construction companies, the government and other construction related industries, like building product manufacturers, focusing on environmentfriendly construction techniques or have they been blinded by the rich promises this industry seems to offer? “To be honest, not all companies are focusing on going green,” says Hajeir. “The big ones are gradually aligning themselves with green practices, but it is no where close to the standards that are being implemented across Europe.” The Saudi government’s enforcement of environment-friendly practices is essential to take the green initiative in the kingdom to the next level. Omani agrees. “I can’t really say if the green issue is being taken seriously or not,

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but if the implementation of health and safety regulations is anything to go by, then I think more definitely needs to be done. Yes, you can find some regulations about safety, or concern about safety, but only 25% of these are enforced. And I think this is exactly the same for the green issue.” But a scandalous 25% enforcement of green regulations quickly loses importance when compared to the can of worms that the crisis cracked open. It has exposed serious problems across the GCC construction and real estate industry, which were being overlooked during the boom years including quality nightmares, poor facilities management standards and inadequate real estate regulations. “The downturn exposed flaws in the investment and financing process for certain projects,” says Riyadh-based Al Muhaidib Technical Supplies marketing

“IN SOME INSTANCES, INVESTMENTS WERE MADE WITH FAULTY ECONOMIC ASSUMPTIONS” support manager Mohammed Dahlan. “In some instances, investments were made with faulty economic assumptions. And the government has stepped in to assure that the downturn is not as pronounced in Saudi Arabia.” But due to the conservative nature of the kingdom, caution during development has appeared naturally and Saudi seems to be treading a little more carefully than its neighbours. The country has placed a lot of emphasis on developing its education sector including mega projects such as the 8 million m2 Princess Noura Bint Abdul Rahman University for Women in Riyadh where it has

10 BIGGEST SAUDI PROJECTS BY VALUE 1. King Abdullah Economic City 2. Sudair City Development 3. Mile Tower 4. Princess Noura Bint Abdul Rahman University for Women 5. Landbridge Railway 6. Knowledge Economic City 7. Prince Abdulaziz Bin Mousaed Economic City 8. Yanbu IWPP 9. North-South Railway 10. King Abdullah University of Science and Technology

LEADING SAUDI CONGLOMERATES KINGDOM HOLDING COMPANY KHC is one of world’s largest and most diversiﬁed private investment companies with holdings in a large number of Saudi Arabian, Middle Eastern and international companies. The assets of KHC are valued at US $25 billion (SR 92.4 billion) as of 31 December 2006. The company is also planning to build the tallest tower in the world as part of a $26.7 billion project in Saudi Arabia. The Kingdom Tower will be more than 1km high and form the centerpiece of Kingdom City to be built 20km from the old city of Jeddah. Kingdom City will cover an area of 7.1km2 with a built up area of 23 million m2 comprised of commercial, residential, institutional, educational, entertainment, retail and hotel facilities. www.kingdom.com.sa

SABIC The Saudi Basic Industries Corporation (Sabic) is one of the world’s leading manufacturers of chemicals, fertilizers, plastics and metals. The company is behind several new petrochemical projects in Saudi Arabia at a preliminary estimated value of US $3.2 billion (SR12 billion) including seven new

companies for the last ten years. It has recently established a CSR department to pursue the implementation of a widerange of social development projects. The company recently launched the Durrat Al Riyadh project, which aims to provide housing units on the outskirts of Riyadh city. www.dallah.com

THE AA TURKI GROUP

KING ABDULLAH INAUGURATES KING ABDULLAH UNIVERSITY OF SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY.

plants across the kingdom. These plants are expected to go on-stream by mid 2013. www.sabic.com

DALLAH ALBARAKA Dallah Albaraka was founded in Riyadh in 1969 and has evolved into a diversiﬁed international conglomerate, incorporating investments in billions in over 40 countries worldwide. The group has interests in almost every sector including industry, trade, real estate, healthcare and education. Dallah Real Estate and Tourism Development is the company’s development arm. The group has been rated among the top ﬁve Saudi

The AA Turki Group of Companies (Atco) is a 3000-employee strong, conglomerate that has successfully operated since the mid-1950 in Saudi Arabia’s governmental, industrial sectors. Atco is ranked among the largest companies in Saudi Arabia. The company’s construction arm handles large scale electrical, mechanical, civil, and construction projects for residential, commercial and industrial facilities. www.atco.com.sa

AL RAJHI SAUDI GROUP Al Rajhi Saudi Group was founded in 1990 with a wide range of diversiﬁed services, including construction, maintenance, supplies, manufacturing and consulting. The group’s construction division has been involved actively in the kingdom. www.alrajhi.com.sa

OCTOBER 3–9, 2009 CONSTRUCTION WEEK

“THE DOWNTURN EXPOSED FLAWS IN THE INVESTMENT AND FINANCING PROCESS IN CERTAIN PROJECTS”

DAHLAN FEELS THE DOWNTURN HAS CREATED OPPORTUNITIES TO IMPROVE PROJECT SPECS.

banned the use of Chinese products in order to maintain a “quality” end-product. The country has also carried on construction with its economic cities, none of which have been put on hold or have been cancelled. Optimists feel that the downturn has offered a new chance to the construction industry to begin afresh, and in the correct manner, where developers and contractors can set the tone for things to come.

Dahlan adds, “At many levels, the downturn has also created opportunities to reﬁne and improve some projects, especially, when you read about the results of rebidding some of the mega-projects with multi-billion dollar savings.” Omani too feels the same and says Saudi could soon be leading the way in this regard. “There have been several problems all over the region but companies are now looking to become international names, and for that they’re going to have to adhere to the highest standards; this is a fresh start. “The construction sector has been affected from the downturn, in that, it has offered many companies the chance to go back to the drawing board and rethink their projects according to more practical terms.

Everyone has learnt from the past and the way ahead only looks better,” says Omani. The kingdom is on the edge of its own little construction boom, but what turn is taken is now in the hands of its government. With only three months to the close of 2009, 2010 could see Saudi become the greenest pastures yet. 

GLOBAL ECONOMIC FORECASTS (GCC) GDP GROWTH, % GCC 2007 2008 2009F 2010F Saudi Arabia 3.4 4.2 -0.2 3.1 UAE 6.3 7.4 -1.0 2.0 Kuwait 2.5 6.3 -1.9 2.0 Qatar 15.3 16.4 5.7 8.1 Oman 6.4 6.2 1.5 2.3 Bahrain 8.1 6.3 1.8 2.4 Research by Merrill Lynch

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HOW TO… MINIMISE WORK AT HEIGHT ALL CONTRACTORS SHOULD BE WORKING TO A HEIGHT SAFETY HIERARCHY, IN ORDER TO PREVENT ONSITE ACCIDENTS

ost people has now been broken into nine easy steps, recognise to assist the selection of the best solution the hazards to any work at height problem. associated First and foremost, we should still avoid the with work need to work at height. We should try and at height find another way of carryout out the work. naturally, One example would be to preassemble comthrough a sense of vulnerability. They feel ponents prior to them being lifted (see pics insecure when at height and there is a risk below), and to modularise the construction of falling, and they feel exposed when pass- process. Any action, or work sequence, that ing below work at height in removes the need for some work at case something falls. “FIRST AND For many years the normal height, is of priFOREMOST, WE solution to the first hazard, mary safety benefit SHOULD ALWAYS was to issue a harness and to any construcAVOID THE NEED TO WORK AT HEIGHT” tion project. lanyard (frequently with no Having said that, training in its use), and for the second hazard, to cordon off the area we must recognise that avoidance is not always possible, and that some work at height below the work. There has been a long established safety may be necessary. At this point we should hierarchy which identifies the best route to also recognise that measures, which offer follow when solving safety problems – avoid, protection to all, are better than measures prevent, and then mitigate. This hierarchy which protect an individual, and also that

Barney Green tells us how contractors should try to remove the need to work at height onsite by preassembling components prior to them being lifted. Green is a lapsed civil engineer having done 10 years of study, site, and design work, before specialising first in construction fixings and then in securing those who work at height. Green spent 20 years as a height safety systems installation contractor, installing anchor points, cable systems, safety nets, edge protection, and temporary stairways. He has spent the last five years with systems manufacturer, Combisafe International.

measures which offer protection without the need to act, are better than those that require some action to be protected. We are therefore looking for collective passive safety. This is the next level in the work at height hierarchy, and the subsequent route through the hierarchy is best shown as a matrix (see right). On the left of the matrix we have the four levels of protection, prevention, minimising height and consequence, minimising consequence, and doing nothing. We have two columns within the matrix, collective measures, and personal measures. We then follow down the matrix, zigzagging

LEFT: ONE EXAMPLE OF AVOIDING WORKING AT HEIGHT IS TO PREASSEMBLE COMPONENTS ON THE GROUND BEFORE LIFTING THEM INTO PLACE.

CONSTRUCTION WEEK OCTOBER 3–9, 2009

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1.75m if fully deployed, and this can lead to clearance distances of over 6m below the anchor point being required. It is extremely important to consider the need for immediate rescue when using PFPE. The fall event will frequently lead to significant injury, and once arrested, a faller needs attention before the potentially fatal effects of suspension trauma set in. This will often lead to the need for complex equipment and highly trained rescuers to be available, on site, in case they are needed. This adds to the cost, and reduces the effectiveness of PFPE based solutions. Once we have considered these top five layers within the hierarchy, we are starting to move to less effective equipment. ABOVE: WORK AT HEIGHT HEIRARCHY MATRIX. The final four levels in the hierarchy all offer some form of protection, but in the between the collective and personal col- to the worker. Many accidents in the past vast majority of cases they can be improved umns, as shown. have resulted from poorly or incompletely upon, by revisiting the layers above. At one point there was the suggestion that Examples of preventative measures that specified solutions, when the worker has offer collective protection would include been left to choose their lanyard and their ladders should be banned from construcedge protection systems, advanced guard- anchor. The general rule of thumb tion sites, rails, and working platforms. If not suit- is to use as short a lanyard as as they “IF WE CAN’T AVOID able, we can move to preventative measures possible, and to anchor above offered THE NEED TO WORK AT that protected only a single person, such and behind the worker. Bear in no real HEIGHT, WE SHOULD THEN mind that, to safely resist the fall as alsipercha, pulpit steps etc. protecMINIMISE THE HEIGHT If we cannot avoid the need to work at height, load, an anchor point should be tion from AND CONSEQUENCE OF ANY FALL” and we cannot prevent falls, we should then capable of supporting a small car. the fall minimise the height and consequence of any Also remember that the energy hazard fall. In the collective column we should be absorber can increase the lanyard length by and they are for single person use only looking at safety nets and other soft land(personal). As you can see they appear in ing systems, as these gather the faller, or the hierarchy, but they lie within the very bottom category. There are applications for falling material, into them and they slow down and stop which a ladder can be defended as offering the fall event the best solution, but only once the deci“AVOIDANCE IS NOT with minision maker has moved steadily through ALWAYS POSSIBLE mal chance the hierarchy and carefully considered and AND SOME WORK rejected all the other solution types. of injury. If AT HEIGHT MAY BE NECESSARY” we cannot use The most common hazards associated collective meawith work at height (falls and falling sures, we move to the personal column objects), can be risk managed from and can now reach for the harness the first five levels in the majority and lanyard solution of old (perof situations. sonal fall protective equipment If you are unable to find a or PFPE). solution to your work at When specifying the use height problem within these of PFPE, it is important to top five levels, perhaps consider all aspects of some professional the work sequence advice should be and the equipsought before ment needed, moving furfrom the ther down the anchor point A PYRAMID SHOWS HOW TO MINIMISE WORKING AT HEIGHT, BEGINNING WITH AVOIDING IT TO LEVELS OF PRECAUTION. hierarchy. 

OCTOBER 3–9, 2009 CONSTRUCTION WEEK

www.ConstructionWEEKonline.com/directory

§ § § § DIRECTORY

DIRECTORY TENDERS | PROJECTS | SUPPLIERS | CITY UPDATE

38 TENDERS 39 PROJECTS SPECIALIST SERVICES 40 Building materials 41 Construction chemicals/concrete 42 Education & training/ﬂooring 43 Recruitment/steel CITY UPDATE 44 Riyadh, Saudi Arabia

To advertise please call Shishir Desai +971 4 435 6375, or email shishir.desai@itp.com

OCTOBER 3–9, 2009 CONSTRUCTION WEEK

TENDERS §

¦TENDERS FREE TENDERS AND SERVICES IN THE CONSTRUCTION INDUSTRY TO INCLUDE YOUR TENDERS IN THIS SECTION EMAIL TENDER DETAILS TO EDITOR@CONSTRUCTIONWEEKONLINE.COM

Tender focus

MINISTRY OF FINANCE, KSA The Ministry of Finance, along with the Ministry of Higher Education, is the client for the US $11.5 billion (AED42.2 billion) Princess Noura University for Women in Riyadh. In January this year Saudi Oger was awarded the ﬁrst construction package for the project, worth $3.3 billion. Saudi Binladin Group won the second contract, worth $2.6 billion, and El Seif Engineering and Contracting won the third, worth $2.1 billion. The ﬁrst two contracts will cover the majority of the construction work at the site, including low-rise faculty buildings and associated works. The third package covers infrastructure and plant stations. This month, Premco, a subsidiary of Construction Products Holding Company

To include your tenders in this section email tender details to editor@ConstructionWeekOnline.com

BAHRAIN Issuer: Electricity and Water Authority Tender No: 237/2009/5310 Description: Supply of PVC pipeline in Bahrain. Closes: October 7 Fees: BD15 Contact: Purchasing and Supply Directorate, Room 107, Ground Floor, Electricity and Water Authority, Diplomatic Area, Manama EGYPT Issuer: Potable Water and Sanitary Drainage Company Description: Companies specialised in waste water solutions to design lifting stations at villages within Kafr El Sheikh Governorate. Closes: October 7 Fees: EP5000 Bond: EP500,000 Contact: Potable Water and Sanitaty Drainage Company, opposite the court yards complex, Tanta OMAN Issuer: Oman Wastewater Services Company Tender No: 258/2009 Description: The scope of work includes the development of Al Ansab wetland in Oman. Closes: October 5 Fees: OMR686 Contact: www.tenderboard.gov.om Issuer: Oman Wastewater Services Company Tender No: 258/2009 Description: The scope of work includes the construction of a car park for Haya Water Headquarters in Al Ansab. Closes: October 5 Fees: OR686 Contact: www.tenderboard.gov.om QATAR Issuer: Qatar Petroleum Tender No: GT09109900 Description: The scope of work includes irrigation, landscape maintenance and refurbishment works at Qatar

KING ABDULLAH BIN ABDUL AZIZ AL SAUD INSPECTS THE PROJECT.

has signed an agreement under which it will supply 62,000m3 of precast concrete to the university. 

Petroleum locations. Closes: October 4 Fees: QR500 Contact: Qatar Petroleum, PO Box 3212 Issuer: Public Works Authority Tender No: PWA/GTC/009/09-10 Description: The design and construction of trunk and internal sewers within Musaimeer. Closes: October 13 Fees: QR6000 Contact: Contracts department, Public Works Authority Issuer: Public Works Authority Tender No: PWA/GTC/010/09-10 Description: Construction of trunk and internal sewers within Musaimeer – phase one. Closes: October 27 Fees: QR6000 Contact: Contract department, Public Works Authority Issuer: Public Works Authority Tender No: PWA/GTC/009/09-10 Description: Construction of trunk and internal sewers within Ain Khalid Area – phase 2. Closes: November 10 Fees: QR8000 Contact: Contract department, Public Works Authority SAUDI ARABIA Issuer: Royal Commission for Jubail and Yanbu Tender No: PIC A-1093D Description: Procurement, construction, testing and commissioning for the development of industrial areas at Yanbu Industrial City. Closes: October 4 Fees: SR27000 Contact: Purchasing and Contracting Department, PO Box 30031, Yanbu Industrial City Issuer: Royal Commission for Jubail and Yanbu Tender No: 325-S13 Description: Operation and maintenance of infrastructure including roads, storm drainage, material handling facilities in Jubail Industrial City. Closes: October 12

Fees: SR12,500 Contact: Contract section, directorate general of Royal Commission in Jubail, PO Box 10001, Jubail Industrial City Issuer: Holy Makkah Municipality Tender No: 4/00/00/296/1/2/19 Description: Construction of pedestrian facilities in several areas of Makkah. Closes: October 24 Fees: SR5000 Contact: www.holymakkah.gov.sa Issuer: Royal Commission for Jubail and Yanbu Tender No: 655-C13 Description: Construction of sports centres at Al Ferdos and Jalmudah. The work includes site preparation, construction of new roads, sidewalks and utilities. Closes: October 25 Fees: SR9000 Contact: Contracts section, directorate general of Royal Commission in Jubail, PO Box 10001, Jubail Industrial City Issuer: Ministry of Finance Tender No: 1193 Description: Expansion of the Ministry of Finance in Qassim. Closes: November 3 Fees: SR1000 Contact: www.mof.gov.sa UAE Issuer: Dubai Electricity and Water Authority Tender No: CN/0263/2009 Description: Engineering consultancy services for Hassyan Power and Desalination Station and Hassyan site management. Closes: October 13 Fees: AED2000 Contact: www.dewa.gov.ae Issuer: Dubai Electricity and Water Authority Tender No: CNW/0132/2009 Description: Construction of Al Ghafat reservoirs phase one and two in Dubai. Closes: October 21 Fees: AED2000 Contact: DEWA, PO Box 564 > For more tenders check online at www.ConstructionWEEKonline.com/tenders

CONSTRUCTION WEEK OCTOBER 3–9, 2009

PROJECTS §

¦PROJECTS

> For the latest projects information visit www.ConstructionWEEKonline.com/projects

A SAUDI ARABIA DATABASE - BUILDING PROJECTS FOCUS TO LIST YOUR PROJECTS IN THIS COLUMN EMAIL DETAILS TO EDITOR@CONSTRUCTIONWEEKONLINE.COM

Project focus

NASMAT AL RIYADH The project calls for construction Nasmat Al Riyadh, located east of Riyadh city. The development will include eight residential buildings ranging in height from three to nine floors. The project, which will spread over 3 million m2, will also include educational facilities, commercial outlets and entertainment facilities. The project is currently at design stage and construction is expected to start in the first quarter of next year. Completion is penciled in for the first quarter of 2014. Thabat Real Estate Development, the client for the project, is awaiting approval from the Saudi Government before construction can begin. The approval is expected to be issued this month. 

To list your projects in this section email details to editor@ConstructionWeekOnline.com

PROJECT TITLE

THE PROJECT IS EXPECTED TO BE COMPLETED IN Q1 2014.

CLIENT

CONSULTANT

MAIN CONTRACTOR

VALUE (US$MN)

STATUS

Muzahimiyah Power Plant

Saudi Electricity Company

Fichtner

Not Appointed

New Dam in Hail

Ministry of Water & Electricity

SaudConsult

Progressive Construction Limited

project under construction

202Km Transmission Line Between Qurayyah Power and The National Grid

Saudi Electricity Company

Hyundai Engineering & Construction Company

106

project under construction

Bader Subsation - Yanbu OHTL

Saudi Electricity Company

Al Saleh & Massoud Company

project under construction

132 KV Al Takhasusi Substation

Saudi Electricity Company

Al Fanar Contracting

project under construction

Khurais Field Development-Qurayyah Seawater Treatment Plant

Saudi Aramco

Jacobs Eng./SNC Lavalin/SaudConsult

Snamprogetti

2,000

project under construction

110/13.8-kV Al Baidaa Substation

Saudi Electricity Company

In House

Siemens

project under construction

132/33-KV Substation in Nmas

Saudi Electricity Company

Iscosa Industries & Maintenance

project under construction

380 KV Manifa Substation

Saudi Electricity Company

National Contracting Company

123

project under construction

33-kV HV Line in Abha

Saudi Electricity Company

In House

National Contracting Company

project under construction

Reinforcement of Six 132 KV Substation in Jizan

Saudi Electricity Company

In House

Iscosa Industries & Maintenance

project under construction

Shuqaiq - Abha East OHTL

Saudi Electricity Company

Middle East Engg. & Development Co.

project under construction

SAUDI ARABIA 950

project under design

Qsai Dam at Jizan

Ministry of Water & Electricity

Zuhair Fayez Partners

Bin Jarallah Group

1200 MW Thermo Electric Power Plant in Rabigh

Saudi Electricity Company/Acwa Power Int’l/KEPCO

Not Appointed

New Dam in Abha

Ministry of Water & Electricity

Zuhair Fayez Partners

Bin Jarallah Group

project under construction

33-kV HV Line in Al Hagu Villages

Saudi Electricity Company

In House

Al Saleh & Massoud Company

project under construction

2,000

project in concept stage

CONSTRUCTION PRODUCTS AND SERVICES MADE EASY IN CONSTRUCTION WEEK’S DIRECTORY TO ADVERTISE PLEASE CALL +971 4 435 6375, OR EMAIL SHISHIR.DESAI@ITP.COM

Supplier focus

MAPEI

A MANUFACTURER OF ADHESIVES AND FLOOR AND WALL COVERING PRODUCTS

Founded in Milan in 1937, Mapei is today a world leader in the production of adhesives and complementary products for the installation of all types of floor and wall coverings. The company is also specialised in other chemical products for building: from waterproofers, and special mortars to admixtures for concrete, products for the restoration of buildings and the preparation of all substrates used in building. Mapei has built its strategy along three principal guidelines including specialisation, research and development (R&D) and internationalisation. Mapei offers a vast range of specific, technologically advanced products and every year invests 5% of its annual turnover and employs 12% of its workforce in research. In addition to its 53 quality control labs, Mapei has eight R&D laboratories in Milan, Villadossola and Treviso in Italy, Laval in Canada, Deerfield Beach in the US, Sagstua in Norway, Wiesbaden in Germany and Toulouse in France. Starting in the 1960’s Mapei put its strategy of internationalisation into action. Its basic strategy is always the same: maximum proximity to the needs of local markets and reduction of logistic costs to a minimum. The Group has 57 subsidiaries with 54 plants in 24 countries over five continents. Among them, two new plants in Chulai (Danang) in Vietnam and Stupino in Russia, which opened in 2007. Furthermore, Mapei

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SPECIALIST SERVICES §

¦SPECIALIST SERVICES

MAPEI BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT MANAGER LAITH HABOUBI.

has developed a sales and technical service network with ofﬁces all over the world. Mapei offers an efﬁcient Technical Assistance Service that is much appreciated by architects, engineers, contractors and owners, with experts available for on-site consultation. 

BUILDING MATERIALS

CONSTRUCTION WEEK OCTOBER 3–9, 2009

BUILDING MATERIALS

HARD LANDSCAPING SUPPLIER

CONCRETE

§ SPECIALIST SERVICES

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CONSTRUCTION/MANUFACTURERS

CONSTRUCTION CHEMICALS

Full range of plaster, tiles and gypsum tools

DEWATERING

Engineering Works Foundation Infrastructure (L.L.C.) P.O. Box: 111245, Dubai - U.A.E. P.O. Box: 2752, Abu Dhabi - U.A.E. Tel: +971 4 340 9022 Fax: +971 4 340 8952 E-mail: brian@ewfi.ae

SPECIALIZED DEWATERING SERVICES: • Specialized in Deepwell, Wellpoint, Open pumping techniques • Professional Service OTAL (LLC) Dubai, U.A.E Phone: (+971-4) 267 9646 e-mail: otal@eim.ae website: www.otal.ae

• Round the clock backup • Effective Groundwater control OCTOBER 3–9, 2009 CONSTRUCTION WEEK

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CONSTRUCTION/MANUFACTURERS

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¦SPECIALIST SERVICES CONSTRUCTION PRODUCTS AND SERVICES MADE EASY IN CONSTRUCTION WEEK’S DIRECTORY TO ADVERTISE PLEASE CALL +971 4 435 6375, OR EMAIL SHISHIR.DESAI@ITP.COM

CONTRACTORS/MANUFACTURERS

EDUCATION & TRAINING

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FLOORING

HVAC & PLUMBING RELATED EQUIPMENT

CONSTRUCTION WEEK OCTOBER 3–9, 2009

PP CORRUGATED SHEETS

RECRUITMENT

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OCTOBER 3โ 9, 2009 CONSTRUCTION WEEK

CITY UPDATE RIYADH, SAUDI ARABIA

INFRASTRUCTURE PROJECTS ARE HIGH ON DEVELOPERS’ AGENDAS IN SAUDI ARABIA.

Raising Riyadh THE ‘SLEEPING GIANT’ IS WAKING UP AND PROMISES GOOD OPPORTUNITIES IN THE KSA CAPITAL By James Boley

t’s no longer a secret, by any stretch, that the KSA construction market holds massive potential within the Middle East. Moderately less affected than other Gulf nations by the recession, Saudi construction is the second most lucrative in the region after the UAE, and a growing population combined with a shortage of housing means there is a lot to get excited about in Riyadh, the Saudi capital. Jones Lang LaSalle’s report on Riyadh, issued in June this year, has brought to the fore the need for housing. Riyadh’s population is estimated at 4.9 million, 19% of the national total, of which 1.7 million are expatriates. Between 2004 and 2008 the population grew by a compounded annual growth rate of 3.3%. Meanwhile, the number of residential units currently under construction represents less than 5% of the existing stock

CONSTRUCTION WEEK OCTOBER 3–9, 2009

and there remains a huge potential for “big real estate opportunities,” said the report. However, challenging mortgage laws mean that developers cannot rely on conventional ﬁnancing arrangements to fund projects. Changes to rules also mean that off-plan selling requires approval from a new national commission. Power to the people The growth in population also means that infrastructure projects are high on the agenda. Bidding is currently open for a

2000MW power plant project with a decision expected from the Saudi Electric Company by March 2010. Meanwhile, the Princess Noura University is building an automated transport system for its students and in September awarded Premco a US $26.7 million (SR100 million) contract to supply precast concrete for the construction of the walkways. However, the biggest news remains the progress at the King Abdullah Financial District. A design-and-build contract for 30 parcels of land is soon to be announced. 

TOP RIYADH PROJECTS Princess Noura Bint AbdulRahman University for Women King Abdullah Financial District Riyadh - Al Zour Water Pipeline Nasmat Al Riyadh Olaya Towers

US$ 11.5 billion 10 billion 2.5 billion 1.6 billion 250 million

ConstructSAFE Preventing heat stress Wow, Farik it’s still quite hot here!

CONSTRUCTION WEEK OCTOBER 3–9, 2009

Yes, the summer in this region is longer than most places.

> For the ConstructSafe comic strip log on to www.ConstructionWEEKonline.com

In the summer, we have a midday break, which is very important to follow.

Introducing the Construct Safe lead characters (from Left to Right)

experience. Poor health, safety & welfare knowledge

Raoul: Senior Supervisor with 30 years experience and good health, safety & welfare knowledge

Farik: Apprentice labourer new to the industry with no experience. Poor health, safety & welfare knowledge

Achmat: Construction labourer with little

Illustrations by Jincom Publishing

If you have a health & safety or environment issue that you would like to see addressed through this comic strip email your ideas or comments to editor@ ConstructionWeekOnline.com. Alternatively, log onto www. ConstructionWeekOnline.com to see the comic strip.

SPONSORED BY: Murray & Roberts Contractors

OCTOBER 3â&#x20AC;&#x201C;9, 2009 CONSTRUCTION WEEK

DIALOGUE ROHAN MARWAHA A time for change Rohan Marwaha, managing director of Cityscape believes that the brand’s upcoming event in Dubai will reflect new confidence in the construction and real estate industries

By Sarah Blackman

Which areas of Dubai are investors targeting most actively?

Every area, whether it is Dubailand, Jumeira Gardens or Downtown Burj Dubai, hold significant value. Obviously these areas, in terms of location, all represent something slightly different. I will say that investors who have been sitting on the fence are now starting to reactivate themselves again. They all need to have confidence that Dubai has the strength to grow and I think developers are beginning to believe this now. With Cityscape coming up, I think there will be an injection of confidence as the event takes place. Will the attraction from foreign investors towards the Middle East construction market grow in 2010?

A lot of companies are saying that, at the moment, they are heading into rock-bottom in the Middle East markets and Dubai speciﬁcally. I for one certainly believe that we are literally on the ﬂoor at the moment. But, I think there will be opportunity for things to take off in 2010. There are also other organisations who support this view – Jones Lang LaSalle have recently put out a report on the attractiveness of the Middle East to foreign investors and, looking at long-term prospects, Dubai has a huge amount of potential. What is your reaction to Nakheel’s and Emaar’s sudden decision to exhibit at Cityscape Dubai after their previous announcement that they will not be participating?

this is a very significant figure. If you put this into perspective, it means that only one third of projects are either cancelled or on hold. The majority of ongoing projects will be showcased at Cityscape Dubai. What we don’t expect to see, is many new mega projects launched at the event but the theme of Cityscape this year is completion and delivery of existing projects. There will be some new project announcements but not on a grand scale like we have seen previously. Most of the big names are now focusing on markets outside Dubai. Do most of the developments showcased at Cityscape reflect this shift in focus?

Cityscape Dubai is truly an international real estate event. Last year it attracted 21,000 international investors and professionals who entered Dubai speciﬁcally to attend the event. However, the majority of the ﬂoor-space and the themes of Cityscape are focused on Dubai so we expect the investors who come over to be, for the most part, interested in the Dubai real estate market. How many participants do you expect to see at Cityscape Dubai this year compared to last year?

Last year we had 68,000 visitors. Our current forecasting models for this year put us around 20% to 25% down from last year. I still think this is a signiﬁcant achievement due to the state of global real estate market. There have been a lot of people who have been made redundant in Europe and the US markets and this will have an effect on the number of visitors coming to the event.

Obviously we are delighted that they are coming back to the event. I don’t want to speak on their behalf because that would be inappropriate, however, I will say that we have been in discussions with them and have worked along side them for several years. We Following the Cityscape’s launch in 2002, were very excited when they called us to Marwaha has developed the brand into the say that they were coming back. We have world’s leading business-to-business real gone out of our way to make sure we can estate event portfolio, which comprises help them as much as possible. Due to the crisis, is it less likely that mega-projects will be showcased at Cityscape Dubai this year?

The latest statistics from the Cityscape Intelligence Report we produced with Proleads, which we are about to put out, indicates that at least two thirds of projects are still ongoing in Dubai and

CONSTRUCTION WEEK OCTOBER 3–9, 2009

a series of exhibitions, conferences and seminars. He has steered Cityscape Dubai into becoming the world’s largest real estate event in seven years. The success of this event has enabled him to spearhead launches into China, India, South East Asia, Abu Dhabi, Latin America, Russia, Korea and Saudi Arabia.

Cityscape has come to be known as the “litmus test” for the real estate industry. Is this a good thing?

If you look at previous years, Cityscape Dubai has always been the litmus test for the Dubai real estate industry and a lot of project announcements have always been held off until Cityscape comes around. The event has created an opportunity for visitors to speak with every player in the market and look at their competitors. Delegates go through a learning experience at the event by sharing knowledge.