Construction Week Issue 311 by ITP Business Publishing

SAUDI ARABIA BAHRAIN UNITED ARAB EMIRATES QATAR OMAN KUWAIT

Construction An ITP Business Publication

Licensed by Dubai Media City

WEEK

CONSTRUCTIONWEEKONLINE.COM

MARCH 6–12, 2010 [311]

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

MA A N A M US OC0 F Y T I C page 3

INSIDE NEWS

Al Hamad slashes salaries of workers in Bahrain PAGE 9

FACE TO FACE

Experts discuss if the production of concrete has changed this year PAGE 14

COMMENT

Infrastructure in the Gulf can be a valuable quarry resource PAGE 16

SAUDI FULL STEAM AHEAD CW LOOKS AT HOW THE KINGDOM HAS BEATEN THE DOWNTURN AND KEPT ON DEVELOPING

HEALTH & SAFETY

CW ﬁnds out how good practice can save lives and money PAGE 22

Megashor Heavy Duty 1000kN Shoring System

Megashor Product Features: Ultra high load modular system for axial loads up to 1000kN Single props, support towers and trusses Heavy duty needling Propping and backpropping

Focus on Excellence

MIDDLE EAST

One system with extensive applications. Megashor is an ultra high-duty modular propping system designed for axial loads of up to 1000kN. But its real strength lies in its versatility. From heavy lifting towers to travellers for tunnel formwork, bracing for excavations, shoring and trusses, Megashor can be conﬁgured for a huge variety of applications. Megashor is a versatile, heavy duty support system which can be used in either single or multiple leg support applications, both vertically or horizontally. Megashor can also be conﬁgured into support trusses with varying depths and spans.

ME Head Ofﬁce P.O. Box 5801, Sharjah, UAE Tel: +971 6 553 4173 Fax: +971 6 553 4327

Bahrain Tel: +973 1782 5368 Fax: +973 1782 6145 Email: rmd.bahrain@rmdkwikform.com

Oman Tel: +968 2463 6776/+968 2463 6772 Fax: +968 2447 8328 Email: mervyn.prins@rmdkwikform.com

Syria Tel (mob): +963933676570 Tel (ofﬁce): +963113313729 Email: waeil@scs-net.org

Dubai Tel: +971 4 341 7477 Fax: +971 4 341 7599 Email: rmd.uae@rmdkwikform.com

Kuwait Tel: +965 484 5161/ 484 9545 Fax: +965 484 6414 Email: moh.muhtaseb@rmdkwikform.com

Lebanon Tel: +961 545 0214 Fax: +961 595 5387 Email: youfo@cyberia.net.lb

Other ME Regions Tel: +971 6 555 0788 Fax: +971 6 555 0805 Email: rmd.uae@rmdkwikform.com

Abu Dhabi Tel: +971 2 665 9798 Fax: +971 2 665 5689 Email: rmd.auh@rmdkwikform.com

Qatar Tel: +974 467 5925 Fax: +974 465 3282 Email: rmd@qatar.net.qa

Saudi Arabia Tel: +973 17558726 Ex 351 Fax: +973 17558727 Email: brian.street@rmdkwikform.com

For general enquiries email: rmd.uae@rmdkwikform.com

Tailored Solutions • Global Expertise

www.rmdkwikform.com

CONTENTS MARCH 6-12, 2010 | ISSUE 311 9

FEATURES 22 SPECIAL REPORT Is it time to take Health & Safety more seriously? Is it better for business? Bruce Shahabi, director of operations for Combisafe Gulf thinks so.

DIRECTORY 26 TENDERS 27 PROJECTS 28 SPECIALIST SERVICES

REGULARS 2 ONLINE 4 MAIL

FRONT 9 AL HAMAD TO SLASH WAGES

12 FACE TO FACE

Bahrain-based contractor says it did not ask workers to sign away portion of wages on pieces of paper.

CW asks two experts for their views on whether the production of concrete has changed over the last year or not.

10 WORKER RIGHTS ‘HIGH 14 COMMENT PRIORITY’ SAYS INDIAN Olisanwendu Ogwuda discusses how PREMIER infrastructure can be recycled. Manmohan Singh said the Indian Government is looking at changing recruiting procedures.

11 NEWS IN BRIEF Highlights of the week.

BACK 30 CITY UPDATE The latest news and projects from Manama, Bahrain.

18 PROJECT UPDATE

32 DIALOGUE

CW takes a look at how Saudi Arabia is beating the downturn with billions of dollars being spent on development around the kingdom.

Al Falah Ready Mix general manager Abdul Traboulsi discusses his company’s shift towards sustainable building and green manufacturing.

MARCH 6–12, 2010 CONSTRUCTION WEEK

ONLINE

www.ConstructionWEEKonline.com MOST POPULAR

AL HAMAD TO SLASH SALARIES FROST & SULLIVAN PREDICTS MEP MARKET BOOM I-RISE OFFICE TOWER REACHES 30TH FLOOR ZAHA HADID WINDS JORDAN DESIGN JOB

HAVE YOUR SAY CONSTRUCTION PROJECT OF THE DECADE: YOU DECIDE What has been the most outstanding construction project of the decade?

JOBS OF THE WEEK IN PICTURES: PROGRESS ON INFINITY TOWER Infinity Tower is developed by Cayan and is located in Dubai Marina. It will be 73-storeys high, 305m tall and will stand out for its unique, ‘twisting’ design. The tower is rapidly approaching its 50th floor and work is proceeding at the rate of one floor per week. Each floor of the building is rotated by 1.08 degrees from the one below. The tower overcame a major setback in February 2007 when its foundations were flooded after excavation work had commenced. The final project cost is estimated to be AED1 billion. Around AED100 million of this was spent cleaning up after the foundation flooded. To read more visit www.ConstructionWeekOnline.com

Real Estate

Special Reports

DIALOGUE: BUSINESS PROSPECTS Jones Lang LaSalle’s Blair Hagkull discusses key trends in real estate.

SIX OF THE BEST: TOP GCC ROAD PROJECTS Here are six active road building projects that you need to know about.

Construction

Analysis

FORMING CIVIL STRUCTURES Infrastructure investment creates big opportunities for formwork ﬁrms.

GREEN COOLING CW asks AC ﬁrms how they are meeting the demand for greater efﬁciency.

CONSTRUCTION WEEK MARCH 6–12, 2010

ONLINE POLL WHAT DO YOU THINK OF GREEN BUILDING CODES?

46.2% 38.5% 11.5% 3.8%

Governments should enforce them on developers, whatever the cost.

Irrelevant! Contractors haven’t got a clue how to build green.

FEATURES

Civil supervisor, Abu Dhabi, UAE Planner, Abu Dhabi, UAE HVAC supervisor, Abu Dhabi, UAE Land specialist, Abu Dhabi, UAE

Developers are already falling over themselves to build green.

Governments should not enforce them on developers.

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

03/2010 en

Build on formwork expertise

Safety with Doka Safe formwork for your site

Framed formwork Frami Xlife – the lightweight framed formwork for walls, columns and foundations

Platform SCP – completely enclosed working platforms for maximum safety

Load-bearing tower Staxo

Doka formwork systems can readily integrate economical and easy to handle safety devices. Doka’s cost-effective safety solutions help you to create a safe and highly efﬁcient workplace.

19th – 25th April / Munich

Come and see us: Open-Air Area North F8, Stand N811

$OKA 3AUDI !RABIA $OKA 'ULF $OKA %MIRATES $OKA "AHRAIN $OKA 1ATAR $OKA +UWAIT $OKA ,EBANON $OKA *ORDAN $OKA -USCAT www.doka.com

Jeddah Riyadh Dammam Dubai Abu Dhabi Sharjah Umm Al Quwain Bahrain Qatar Kuwait Lebanon Jordan Oman

Tel. Tel. Tel. Tel. Tel. Tel. Tel. Tel. Tel. Tel. Tel. Tel. Tel.

Heavy-duty supporting system SL-1 – the safe and fast solution for tunnelbuilding

+966 (0)2 669 10 08 +966 (0)1 479 10 03 +966 (0)3 832 06 06 +971 (0)4 881 80 96 +971 (0)2 622 16 77 +971 (0)6 556 28 01 +971 (0)6 766 78 14 +973 (0)17 402 810 +974 (0)450 06 28 +965 (0)2 482 24 62 +961 (0)1 612 569 +962 (0)6 554 55 86 +968 244 844 45

MAIL RE: RENEGOTIATION BECOMES THE ORDER OF THE DAY

one she did for a museum in Germany. It’s a pity she didn’t change it.

When the market was booming, none of the clients were ready to pay the extra price for escalation. Why didn’t they consider price ﬂuctuations or corrections then?

SAMMY

MUKUL GOYAL

RE: LOUVRE ABU DHABI ENTERS PILING WORKS PHASE This is a great development for the UAE. After Dubai, now Abu Dhabi heads the news. AUDAY BAKHEET

RE: RERA PARKING SPACE RULE HURTS INVESTORS’ POCKETS Firstly, the parking is not free hold, it is a license; secondly, a “reasonable price?” Damac initially offered its investors covered licensed parking at AED115,000 only to slash it down to AED30,000. I’ll wait until it is free, thanks. Damac continued to blame Rera and the Dubai Land Department (DLD) for their mistakes. Look at The Crescent in IMPZ where I own a studio. The inside parking is barren. Only a handful of investors who didn’t read the contract bought parking and they are furious. Don’t take my word on it though, go to The Crescent and see for yourself. Damac still holds a lot of investor’s money in escrow accounts gaining interest.

RE: LARGEST SOLAR INITIATIVE IN LEBANON It is a drop in the ocean but is still commendable. But the fact remains, without supportive government legislation and other ﬁnancial incentives such contribution to our environment remains nominal. A lot of education is needed for people in power ﬁrst and later to the technically ignorant consumer, who if exempt from paying his electricity bill, will have no reason to think green or any other color. MAHER HAMZI

RE: AL HAMAD TO SLASH SALARIES I am working with Al Hamad Construction as a foreman and my salary was BD800. My salary was deducted by 17.5% and they asked me to sign on a plain paper, which I refused to do. It is true that they are asking everybody to sign on a plain paper. They have terminated my contract with immediate effect because I refused to sign this paper.

Registered at Dubai Media City ITP Business Publishing PO Box 500024, Dubai, United Arab Emirates TEL +971 4 435 6000 FAX +971 4 435 6080 Offices in Dubai, Manama, Mumbai & London

ITP BUSINESS PUBLISHING CEO Walid Akawi MANAGING DIRECTOR Neil Davies DEPUTY MANAGING DIRECTOR Matthew Southwell EDITORIAL DIRECTOR David Ingham VP SALES Wayne Lowery PUBLISHING DIRECTOR Jason Bowman EDITORIAL SENIOR GROUP EDITOR Stuart Matthews EDITOR Conrad Egbert TEL +971 4 435 6256, EMAIL conrad.egbert@itp.com ASSISTANT EDITOR Sarah Blackman TEL +971 4 435 6278, EMAIL sarah.blackman@itp.com MEP EDITOR Gerhard Hope TEL +971 4 435 6252, EMAIL gerhard.hope@itp.com PMV EDITOR Greg Whitaker TEL +971 4 435 6263, EMAIL greg.whitaker@itp.com CONTRIBUTING EDITOR Alison Luke ADVERTISING PUBLISHING DIRECTOR Jason Bowman TEL +971 4 435 6344, EMAIL jason.bowman@itp.com COMMERCIAL DIRECTOR Raz Islam TEL +971 4 435 6371, EMAIL raz.islam@itp.com ONLINE SALES MANAGER Scott Woodall TEL +971 4 435 6172, EMAIL scott.woodall@itp.com STUDIO GROUP ART EDITOR Daniel Prescott ART EDITOR Nadia Puma DIRECTOR OF PHOTOGRAPHY Sevag Davidian CHIEF PHOTOGRAPHER Khatuna Khutsishvili SENIOR PHOTOGRAPHERS G-nie Arambulo, Efraim Evidor, Thanos Lazopoulos STAFF PHOTOGRAPHERS Isidora Bojovic, George Dipin, Lyubov Galushko, Jovana Obradovic, Ruel Pableo, Rajesh Raghav PRODUCTION & DISTRIBUTION GROUP PRODUCTION MANAGER Kyle Smith PRODUCTION COORDINATOR Devaprakash V.A MANAGING PICTURE EDITOR Patrick Littlejohn IMAGE EDITOR Emmalyn Robles DISTRIBUTION MANAGER Karima Ashwell DISTRIBUTION EXECUTIVE Nada Al Alami CIRCULATION HEAD OF CIRCULATION & DATABASE Gaurav Gulati MARKETING HEAD OF MARKETING Daniel Fewtrell DEPUTY MARKETING MANAGER Annie Chinoy TEL +971 4 435 6133, EMAIL annie.chinoy@itp.com EVENTS & CONFERENCES DIRECTOR, CONFERENCES, MARKETING & EVENTS Kimon Alexandrou PRODUCER Oscar Wendel ITP GROUP CHAIRMAN Andrew Neil MANAGING DIRECTOR Robert Serafin FINANCE DIRECTOR Toby Jay Spencer-Davies BOARD OF DIRECTORS KM Jamieson, Mike Bayman, Walid Akawi, Neil Davies, Rob Corder, Mary Serafin

PRADEEP NAIR

CORPORATE WEBSITE www.itp.com CIRCULATION CUSTOMER SERVICE TEL: +971 4 435 6000 WEB www.ConstructionWeekOnline.com

RE: ZAHA HADID WINS JORDAN DESIGN JOB

As the saying goes “where there’s smoke, there’s a ﬁre.” Who do you think will still believe that these things are not happening? Anyway, it’s not only happening in your company.

It is the same design as the

MATEO

JERRY ASCIONE

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.

ITPIMAGES Certain images in this issue are available for purchase. Please contact itpimages@itp.com for further details or visit www.itpimages.com. SUBSCRIBE online at www.itp.com/subscriptions NOTICE The publishers regret that they cannot accept liability for error or omissions contained in this publication, however caused. The opinions and views contained in this publication are not necessarily those of the publishers. Readers are advised to seek specialist advice before acting on information contained in this publication, which is provided for general use and may not be appropriate for the readers’ particular circumstances. The ownership of trademarks is acknowledged. No part of this publication or any part of the contents thereof may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form without the permission of the publishers in writing. An exemption is hereby granted for extracts used for the purpose of fair review.

PRINTED BY Atlas Printing Press LLC Dubai CONTROLLED DISTRIBUTION BY Blue Truck

Worldwide Circulation Statement Average Qualified Circulation 11,435 (Jan-Jun 2009)

The opinions expressed in this section are of particular individuals and are in no way a reﬂection of the publisher’s views.

CONSTRUCTION WEEK MARCH 6–12, 2010

FOREWORD

CONTENTIOUS CONSENT

“THE TERM ‘CONSENT’ COMES WITH AS MUCH OF A RIGHT TO AGREE, AS IT DOES TO REFUSE. IF YOU TAKE AWAY THAT RIGHT, IT’S FORCE”

As we went to press last week, CW received a call from a source within Al Hamad in Bahrain, claiming that the administration staff had now asked its employees to sign new agreement documents, which were printed on ofﬁcial company letter heads. A comment left on the ConstructionWeekOnline website by another employee conﬁrmed the same. This follows claims last week from employees within Al Hamad that middle and senior management staff including civil engineers, site engineers, project engineers, project managers and project directors were being asked to agree to a wage deduction of up to 20% by signing blank scraps of paper, which were then being collected by administrative staff. But Al Hamad had earlier rubbished those claims via statement to CW saying: “None of the employees have been asked or forced to sign on any blank sheet.” He also said that the company was well within the Bahraini law by preparing an MoU between the company and the employee, which would only come into effect after the “consent” of the employee. A foreman working for Al Hamad claimed that he was among the many hundreds of Al Hamad employees who were asked to sign those contentious blank scraps of paper. He did not consent to do so and is now out of a job. The term ‘consent’ comes with as much of a right to agree, as it does to refuse. If you take away that right, it’s ‘force.’ After consulting a lawyer friend it was clear that these consents in writing are needed by the company to annul any existing contracts that were previously drawn up between it and the employees. Without that, the company would no longer be within the law’s jurisdiction, rendering all salary cuts illegal and in violation of the Bahraini labour law. Is there such a thing as forced consent? You decide.

CONRAD EGBERT EDITOR conrad.egbert@itp.com

WRITE TO THE EDITOR Please address your letters to: 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 articles.

CONSTRUCTION WEEK MARCH 6–12, 2010

THE REGION’S LEADING TRADE SHOW FOR LANDSCAPE ARCHITECTS, DEVELOPERS AND CONTRACTORS IN THE COMMERCIAL, RETAIL, LEISURE AND RESIDENTIAL SECTORS, INCLUDING CITY PARKS AND HIGHWAYS.

29 - 31

MARCH 2010 ABU DHABI NATIONAL EXHIBITION CENTRE

CO-LOCATED WITH

For more information and to register for your free entry badge please visit:

www.gulﬂandscaping.com Trade only, STRICTLY no children

ORGANISED BY:

Under the patronage of

His Highness Shaikh Khalifa bin Salman Al Khalifa Prime Minister, Kingdom of Bahrain

5th Gulf International Exhibition for Construction, Interiors & Furniture 2010

BOOK YOUR SPACE NOW! Beneﬁt from the still thriving construction and interiors industries of the Northern Gulf.

SAUDI ARABIA, BAHRAIN QATAR & KUWAIT vital markets for your business

Bahrain International Exhibition & Convention Centre

4 – 6th May 2010

Tel: +973 1729 9123 Supporting Organisations

www.gulfbidexhibition.com Media Partners

Online Partner

Data Provider

FRONT

>News >Highlights

>Events

>Face to face

>Comment

AL HAMAD WORKERS WERE INVOLVED IN STRIKES OVER UNPAID WAGES LAST YEAR. NOW MIDDLE MANAGEMENT IS BEING HIT WITH SALARY CUTS.

AL HAMAD TO SLASH WAGES By Sarah Blackman

Six hundred employees working for Bahrain-based Al Hamad Contracting have allegedly been forced to accept a pay cut or face going back to their home countries, Construction Week has learned. The members of staff, including civil engineers, site engineers, project engineers, project managers and project directors, have been asked to agree to a wage deduction of up to 20%. “Employees earning US$795 to $1326 (BD300 to 500) per month will have wages cut by 10%, while recruits earning BD500 will get a 15% [cut],” said a project engineer at the company, who asked not to be named. “Those who earn BD1000 will see a 20% deduction.” Bahrain’s Ministry of Labour condemned the move in a statement e-mailed to CW: “The Ministry of Labour hereby conﬁrms its standpoint and denunciation [of] the mentioned company [for] considering lowering its employee’s wages – let alone attempting to actually do [it] – as stipulated by Article 153 of the Labour Law in the Private Sec-

tor. Moreover, the Ministry condemns the coercion and oppression of workers and employees under any circumstances.” General Federation of Bahrain Trade Unions secretary-general Salman Mahfoodh also reacted to the news: “We are aware of this situation with Al Hamad Contracting and we are investigating the matter. For now, we cannot comment any further.” February salaries will be slashed and staff members have been asked to sign a piece of paper to accept this deduction, according to a civil engineer at the company. “At present nobody is on strike but they are hesitant to sign any papers, which don’t even have a letter head. Staff members are not allowed to take a copy of their signatures either,” he said. However, the project engineer informed CW that Bahraini nationals in management positions have largely been exempted from this pay-cut. “We are supposed to receive our deducted wage on March 12, but now they [Al Hamad] are saying we will be paid on March 15 and

I just don’t know when we will be paid.” But Al Hamad Contracting area manager for Bahrain Khalid Mukatash denied that employees were being asked to sign pieces of paper. “Salaries are being adjusted from allowances, which were granted to the employees during the construction boom. Even after this adjustment, the salaries of AHC employees will probably be much higher than other companies in the region.” “None of the employee have been asked or forced to sign on any blank sheet. A Memorandum of Understanding between the company and the employee is prepared as per Bahrain Law and the adjustment in salary will be effective only after the consent of the employee has been given. Salaries are released during the ﬁrst week of every month and March 2010’s salary will be released in the same manner.” In November, more than 2000 construction workers for the company went on strike due to the late payment of their wages. The labourers, who earn around BD70 per month, said they were owed one month’s salary.

MARCH 6–12, 2010 CONSTRUCTION WEEK

FRONT WORKER RIGHTS ‘HIGH PRIORITY’ SAYS INDIAN PREMIER AFP/GETTY IMAGES

By CW Staff Indian premier Manmohan Singh Some of the facilities put in has said that the welfare of Indian place include a 24-hour helpline, temporary shelters and workers in the Middle East is now counselling centres. ‘high priority’ on India’s agenda. Last month, a Dubai-based The Indian government is in the process of taking steps to better recruitment company said that regulate the recruitment of Indians there had been a sharp decline to the Gulf, Singh told Saudi reportin the number of workers being ers ahead of his visit to Riyadh last recruited from India and PakiMonday. The prime minister’s visit stan to the UAE. was the ﬁrst by an Indian leader A spokesperson from the Dhoria International Job Centre said the in 28 years. company was recruiting between “At the Indian end, we are in the process of reforming our own pro200 and 400 workers a month cedures, including better regulation last year, but in the last four of the recruitment process,” he told months it had only recruited a the Daily Excelsior newspaper. total of four workers. There are over five million But while the emirate may be Indian workers in the Gulf out seeing a drop off in recruitment, of which almost two million live the company said it was seeand work in Saudi Arabia alone. MANMOHAN SINGH SAYS INDIAN GOVERNMENT TAKES ing an increase in demand for “We are extremely proud that the THE RIGHTS OF WORKERS IN THE GULF VERY SERIOUSLY. workers in Saudi Arabia and it Indian community in the Gulf has has been contracted by a large been contributing to the socio-economic development of Saudi construction company to recruit 1500 workers for the region. The welfare of such a large overseas Indian a project due to start this month. Singh also proposed new partnerships between the two community is a matter of high priority for my Governcountries in the area of renewable energy. Indian investment,” Singh said. “We have also put in place arrangements in all Gulf ment in Saudi Arabia stands at more than $2 billion and countries, including Saudi Arabia, to respond to workers’ India wants Saudi Arabia to also invest in construction, grievances,” he added. manufacturing and energy.

DAMAC SAYS TEAM WORK IMPROVES SAFETY By Conrad Egbert Damac Properties has cited team work with its contractors as the reason it has doubled its safety performance record across nine construction sites in Dubai last year. The nine construction sites that were monitored during the annual safety audit were Ocean Heights, Smart Heights, Emirates Gardens One and Two, Tuscan Residences, Lago Vista, Park Towers, Business Tower and XL Tower. During 2009 a total of 21 million man hours were worked – an increase of 16% from 2008 – with just three lost time incidents for the entire year. This puts the frequency rate of lost time incidents per one million man hours at just 0.2 – a reduction from 0.4 in 2008. There were no fatalities at any site and medical treatment cases were reduced by 54% to just 58 for the entire year. In addition the number of ﬁrst aid cases saw a 30% improvement rate. The company says that developers must work together with contractors on site to ensure that safety awareness

CONSTRUCTION WEEK MARCH 6–12, 2010

programmes and initiatives are ‘embedded’ into everyday working practices. Damac Properties Health Safety and Environment Manager Ekarath Raveendran said: “It is our responsibility to ensure that we introduce consistent and clear expectations across all our sites. At the end of the day we have put quite a lot of pressure on our contractors but ultimately this has beneﬁted everyone by minimising risks and reducing accidents. We also use all Build Safe UAE safety alerts and posters to share both good and bad practice.” But Build Safe UAE administrator Elias McGrath said that despite Damac’s efforts to spread the right message, it has failed to enforce health and safety down the supply chain. “Damac spreads the right message, but some of its contractors have poor safety standards. Damac is not a member of BSU and if it wants to prove its commitment to health and safety, it needs to sign up to the initiative and enforce best practice on all its subcontractors,” he said.

FRONT HIGHLIGHTS Design

MAKOWER CALLS FOR DESIGN REVOLUTION Greater use of traditional design methods and materials could dramatically reduce the Gulf’s addiction to AC and cars, according to Tim Makower, partner at Doha-based Allies and Morrison. Makower explains how different approaches, which are often founded in traditional Qatari methods and building techniques, can naturally, cool buildings. For instance, buildings can be cooled by incorporating wind-catchers or thick walls. MEP

ABU DHABI BOOSTS MARINA DEVELOPMENT Water-infrastructure specialist Septech is seeking

to boost its Abu Dhabi-based Marina business following its presence at the 2010 Abu Dhabi Yacht Show. In addition to the Yas Marina, completed prior to the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, Septech is currently constructing two marinas in Dubai and a variety of ﬁshing harbours in Oman. Contracts

DSI BAGS TWO BIG JOBS IN KUWAIT Drake & Scull Internationalowned Electrical Contracting Kuwait (DSK) has been awarded two educational contracts, worth over AED90 million. “DSI growth strategy is focused on strengthening our presence in Kuwait, among other markets, and with the help of DSK, we

expect to establish ourselves in the Kuwaiti market as leaders in the MEP industry,” said Khaldoun Tabari, vice chairman and CEO of DSI. “Kuwait’s growing population is making demands on the country to expand its infrastructure, healthcare, and real estate sectors, so we see a lot of potential there.” DSI acquired 75% of DSK in late December, 2009, in line with the company’s strategy to pursue acquisitions targets in Kuwait, Qatar and Saudi Arabia. Projects

KLEINDIENST BREAKS WORLD GROUND Kleindienst Group last week became the ﬁrst company to break ground on The World islands

project. The developer of the Heart of Europe has started construction on Germany Island a week after it appointed Foundation Construction Group to begin soil improvement on the development. “Exactly two months ago, we launched Germany Island with a clear promise to start construction in Q1 of 2010. I am very proud to say we are delivering on that promise,” said Kleindienst chief executive Josef Kleindienst. The soil improvement operation, called “vibro-compaction”, involves the use of electric vibrators that mechanically agitate and lock the sand particles together down to seabed level to ensure that all construction on the island is stable.

FEBRUARY 20–26, JANUARY 9–15, 2010 2010 CONSTRUCTION CONSTRUCTION WEEK WEEK

27 25

EVENTS

Event: FM Awards 2010 Overview: The facilities management Middle East Awards ceremony aims to help raise the proﬁle of the industry and recognise and reward those who have made signiﬁcant contributions to its development. Date: May 19 Location: Dubai Phone: +971 4 435 6133 Email: annie.chinoy@itp.com Website: www.itp.net/events

Event focus

INTERIORS UAE DATE: 29-31 MARCH LOCATION: ABU DHABI NATIONAL EXHIBITION CENTRE Interiors UAE styles itself as the flagship event for the designled interiors sector. The event is an opportunity to source the latest in interior fit out products. The event is aimed at contract buyers/specifies, interior designers, architects, retailers and property developers working within the commercial, domestic and retail markets. Taking place in Abu Dhabi from March 29 to 31, the show is promising to act as a regional launch pad for a number of new products. For instance Italy’s Air Nova will also bring two new products to the show. The company, which specialises in the production of leather chairs for both the contract and retail markets, will introduce the Swarovski-encrusted Elettra, as well as Patchwork, which features a mix of different leathers in the same colours. The company will showcase a range of its armchairs, including the popular Aisha, along with consoles and chaise longues, on its stand. No stranger to the region, Air Nova supplied 650 of its Elisa chairs to Burj Khalifa. A UK-based company attending Interiors UAE is Yarwood Leather, one of the largest suppliers of leather to the UK furniture industry. The company, which is a first-timer to the show, specialises in blending traditional skills and modern technology to create more comfortable, durable products. A number of other European companies have also confirmed their attendance, including Germany’s Faustig Kurt, best-known for breaking the world record for the largest chandelier, created for the Abu Dhabi Mosque. Traditional European crafts will be presented by Spanish company, Virtus 1945, which creates bronze accessories using the antique technique of sand-testing. Its product offering includes table clocks, candelabras, mirrors, tables, vases, photo-frames and figurines. 

CONSTRUCTION WEEK MARCH 6–12, 2010

Event: Building Sustainability Saudi Arabia Overview: Delegates from the world of construction are invited to a one day event to discuss the vital aspects of building sustainability. Date: June 1 Location: Riyadh Phone: +971 4 4356127 Email: oscar.wendel@itp.com Website: www.itp.net/events Event: Building Sustainability Conference, Abu Dhabi Overview: Delegates from the world of construction are invited to a one day event to discuss the vital aspects of building sustainability. Date: September 28-29 Location: Abu Dhabi Phone: +971 4 4356127 Email: oscar.wendel@itp.com Website: www.itp.net/events Event: Middle East Architect Awards 2010 Overview: The Middle East Architect awards are an opportunity for the industry to come together and toast exceptional performance in architecture, engineering and design. Date: September 29 Location: Dubai Phone: +971 4 435 6133 Email: annie.chinoy@itp.com Website: www.itp.net/events Event: Construction Week Abu Dhabi Conference 2010 Overview: This one-day exclusive forum will gather top leaders from property developers and contractors alongside leading professionals from ﬁnancial houses and law ﬁrms to discuss vital aspects of construction and real estate. Date: October 27 Location: Abu Dhabi Phone: +971 4 4356127 Email: oscar.wendel@itp.com Website: www.itp.net/events Event: Construction Week Awards 2010 Overview: In its 6th year, the Construction Week Awards 2009 will celebrate excellence in the construction industry and exceptional performance in key areas of the sector, with nominations open to contractors, developers and consultants working in the Middle East.

Date: November 3 Location: Dubai Phone: +971 4 435 6133 Email: annie.chinoy@itp.com Website: www.itp.net/events Event: CID Awards 2010 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. A gala dinner will be held to present the awards to the winners and nominations are open now. Date: November 12 Location: Dubai Phone: +971 4 435 6133 Email: annie.chinoy@itp.com Website: www.itp.net/events Event: MEP Awards 2010 Date: December 8 Location: Dubai Phone: +971 4 435 6133 Email: annie.chinoy@itp.com Website: www.itp.net/events Event: Index 2010 Overview: Index is the Middle East’s largest contemporary interiors trade show. Now in its 20th year Index is established as the mustattend annual event for buyers and suppliers of the world’s ﬁnest interiors. Date: November Location: Dubai Phone: +971 4 438 0355 Website: www.indexexhibition.com Event: The Big 5 2010 Overview: Big 5 is the annual meeting place for all industry professionals and a trade show for all products related to the construction sector. Date: November Location: Dubai Website: www.thebig5exhibition.com Event: Saudi Aircon 2010 Date: May 23-26, 2010 Venue: Riyadh Exhibition Centre Phone: +966 1 454 1448 Website: www.eventseye.com Event: Saudi Build 2010 Date: October 3-6, 2010 Venue: Riyadh Exhibition Centre Website: www.eventseye.com Events: FM Expo 2010 Date: May 18-20, 2010 Venue: Dubai International Exhibition Centre Website: www.eventseye.com Event: Saudi Stone 2010 Date: October 3-6, 2010 Venue: Riyadh Exhibition Centre Phone: +966 1 454 1448 Website: www.eventseye.com

PROJECT QATAR 2010

LAST 500 SQUARE METERS !!! SECURE YOUR 2010 AND BOOK NOW

12 -15 April Doha Exhibition Centre THE 7TH INTERNATIONAL TRADE EXHIBITION FOR CONSTRUCTION TECHNOLOGY, BUILDING MATERIALS, EQUIPMENT & ENVIRONMENTAL TECHNOLOGY IN QATAR

In order to book your space please contact us Tel: +974 4329900 / +974 5517971 E-mail: michel.gebrael@ifpqatar.com Website: www.ifpqatar.com Integrity Sponsor:

Diamond Sponsor:

Gold Sponsor: Organized By:

FACE-TO-FACE CONCRETE DISCUSSION

PRAMOD PILLAI

PETER CONDY

English Indian Clays, country manager

Hycrete , vice president of international sales

CW ASKS IF THE PRODUCTION OF CONCRETE HAS CHANGED OVER THE LAST YEAR HOW DOES YOUR CONCRETE CHEMICAL WORK? Metakaolin is the ﬁrst choice green pozzolanic material in durable concrete world-over. It prevents Alkali-Silica Reaction - a concrete related problem. This is caused by the reaction of highly alkaline cement paste with non-crystalline silica, which is found in many common aggregates. The product of this reaction is a gel that surrounds the aggregate in the concrete mix.

Hycrete is a liquid designed to repel water and other contaminants, which could attack the rebar. It forms a long-chain hydro-carbon, which plugs all capillary pores and mechanically attaches itself to the sides of the structure to prevent water from entering.

DO YOU EXPECT TO SEE AN INCREASED DEMAND FOR CONCRETE AS CONSTRUCTION WORK PICKS UP AGAIN? We are yet to see any improvement on the ground. There is only hope now that projects which are on hold will re-start. But, this hope is not backed up with increased money ﬂow in the system. I am not hopeful of a signiﬁcant increase in the short-term.

There is a slight increase in the demand, but nothing like it was prior to the abrupt slowdown we experienced. I don’t think the volume and the frantic pace will ever reach the level it was prior to the downturn, but the projects that move forward will be solid and with excellent ﬁnancial backing.

HAS THE DROP IN THE PRICE OF CONCRETE AFFECTED THE PRICES OF THE TECHNOLOGY YOU OFFER? The drop in concrete prices has been well supported by the drop in prices of ingredients that go into the concrete. And these ingredients have in-turn been supported by the reduction in manufacturing costs due to various reasons, including fuel and input costs. So, a compromise in quality was never required.

Our prices have pretty much remained the same. The value proposition we provide to the general contractor and the owner is quite signiﬁcant. So even when there is a downturn, what we offer is even more signiﬁcant when the entire business proposition is reviewed and evaluated.

HAVE THE NEEDS OF THE DEVELOPER CHANGED NOW AS GREEN BUILDING BECOMES MORE POPULAR? In our specific use, we have seen a significant number of developers moving to Metakaolin, a green pozzolan instead of the cheaper Microsilica, which has been popular in UAE for the last 15 years. Metakaolin is the first choice pozzolan in developed markets like Europe and USA.

Developers are starting to see the real value of the green movement and the impact on the environment when products, which contribute to carbon emissions and gases are removed or are signiﬁcantly reduced in construction activities. In a relatively small project, for example, hundreds of tonnes of carbon emissions can be eliminated with the use of our technology.

ARE CONCRETE COMPANIES MORE COMPETITIVE THESE DAYS BECAUSE OF THE DOWNTURN? Concrete companies will emerge more competitive from this experience. Competence of technical people will be tested and management will look hard at their over-speciﬁed formulations and quality of ingredients. The focus will be on cost and life of concrete, rather than cost of individual items. I am expecting an overall rise in quality of the technical work force in the country.

CONSTRUCTION WEEK MARCH 6–12, 2010

We have seen a reduction in the cost of concrete. But it should be pointed out that the high-quality concrete producers have maintained their high level of quality. These companies have elected not to compromise and their prices have not changed much. Others have gone in the other direction; so you get what you pay for and the long-term results are not in the best interest of the owners.

ADVERTISING IN

GROWS YOUR BUSINESS ACROSS THE REGION

WE WILL CHECK YOUR AD COPY TO ENSURE YOUR RECEIVE DIRECT SALES LEADS.. ADVERTISING WILL RAISE YOUR PROFILE AMONGST YOUR COMPETITORS. EDUCATE YOUR CUSTOMERS ON YOUR BUSINESS BY ADVERTISING. GENERATE UP TO 60 SALES LEADS PER MONTH BY USING OUR EMAIL BLASTS.

ADVERTISING WILL SELL YOUR PRODUCTS & SERVICES QUICKER – CAN YOU AFFORD NOT TO CONTACT ME ON THE NUMBER BELOW? JASON BOWMAN Publishing Director Direct: +971 4 435 6344 Mob: +971 50 656 1567 Email: jason.bowman@itp.com

ITP BUSINESS PUBLISHING CO. LTD. Aamal House, IMPZ PO Box 500024, Dubai, United Arab Emirates Tel: +971 4 435 6000, Fax: +971 4 435 6080, Email: subscriptions@itp.com, www.itp.com/subscriptions

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

Recycled roads DR OLISANWENDU OGWUDA DISCUSSES HOW INFRASTRUCTURE IN THE GULF REGION CAN BE A VALUABLE ‘VIRTUAL QUARRY’ RESOURCE AS STRUCTURES NEAR THE END OF THEIR LIFE SPAN

“THE GULF IS WELL PLACED TO EMBARK ON THIS JOURNEY OF PROVIDING A MORE SUSTAINABLE AND ‘GREEN’ ROAD INFRASTRUCTURE, WHERE CONSISTENCY AND PREDICTABILITY OF PERFORMANCE OF THE MATERIALS ARISING FROM VIRTUAL QUARRIES CAN BE EVALUATED”

Ogwuda has been a senior teaching fellow and civil engineering course co-ordinator at HeriotWatt University, Dubai Campus, since September 2009. He has over 15 years applied research and development experience, mainly from the UK, linking research and practice in environmental highway engineering. He has developed partnership opportunities that have provided commerciallyfocussed innovation, research and technology development in low energy and sustainable construction for roadways and footways. He is a member of the Institution of Highways and Transportation and the Institute of Asphalt Technology.

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

CONSTRUCTION WEEK MARCH 6–12, 2010

Roads are the main form of land transport in many countries and often carry more than 80% of passengers-km and over 50% of freight tonne-km in a country. Roads are important to the national economy and provide vital links to vast regional, urban, local and rural areas. Developed countries need to maintain their road networks for continued economic growth while developing countries are building their road networks to reach standards similar to developed countries. The developed economies pay more attention to the creation of a sustainable network either by new developments or by upgrading their existing network. And, the emphasis in these markets is on new developments, by learning from the experience of developed economies, and making improvements to their networks. Developing countries will also need to give consideration to future maintenance needs. The nature of the market in any country in terms of the provision and maintenance of the road network is based mainly on price. Parts of the world have inadequate supplies of virgin aggregate and at the same time valuable construction rubble is being sent to land-fills or used as low-grade/low-value materials such as granular fills or sub-base material in roads. In other instances they are used as partial replacement materials within new high-energy products. A current barrier to a more effective and efficient use of construction rubble is concern over consistency of quality and predictability of performance. The concerns arise from current approaches in processing of construction rubble. Processing is usually undertaken at waste transfer sites and the economics of the market are such that low-grade materials only are produced with minimum processing and little need for predictability of performance. Although specifications for use of recycled materials exist, the barrier of con-

sistency and predictability of performance is significant. However, specifiers need the confidence in high performance recycled materials. Herein lies the specifics of the barrier, which requires science and technology to underpin system development and performance prediction that is confirmed by actual performance in service, complemented by protocols to ensure consistency of material production and placement. It should be noted that recycling is not an absolute solution to dwindling natural resources, but it can extend the life of non-renewable resources. The demand for materials for uses also needs to be put in context. Even if all potential recyclable materials were recycled, the quantities are such that they would only meet a comparatively small proportion of the demand for construction materials. Non-renewable natural resources will therefore continue to have to meet the bulk of the demand for the foreseeable future. However, the decision-making process should be based on an overall appraisal of potential suitable materials, including recyclable materials. The Gulf is well placed to embark on this journey of providing a more sustainable and ‘green’ road infrastructure, where consistency and predictability of performance of the materials arising from virtual quarries can be evaluated. This journey should begin now to avoid the pitfalls of experiences in other parts of the world. Now is the time to take stock of existing and future building and civil engineering infrastructure. We can evaluate the performance potential of these virtual quarries, which exist all around the Gulf, and how these may meet the future demand for road construction materials, at the same time ticking the ‘green’ box of sustainability. This is an opportunity to lead with a form of construction that will cascade to what can be described as ‘fourth world countries’ – developed countries of the future.

IN 2009, A JOINT VENTURE OF THE LOCAL ALRASHID TRADING & CONTRACTING COMPANY AND THE EUROPEAN AERONAUTIC DEFENCE & SPACE COMPANY (EADS) WON A SR3.4 BILLION CONTRACT TO BUILD A 900KM SECURITY FENCE ALONG SAUDI ARABIA’S NORTHERN BORDER WITH IRAQ.

KSA

PROJECT

UPDATE BILLIONS OF DOLLARS ARE BEING SPENT ON DEVELOPMENT AROUND SAUDI ARABIA By Christopher Sell

ith the Gulf remaining in an economic crisis that has led to numerous projects being frozen or cancelled, Saudi Arabia continues to push ahead with an expansionary fiscal policy, to spend its way out of trouble. The kingdom’s 2010 budget dispelled any lingering doubts about its ambitions, by providing a major boost to the projects sector, with SR260 billion (US $69 billion) of investment in new and existing projects, an increase of 16% on the previous year. Overall, the 2010 budget includes a 14% increase in spending compared to the 2009 budget, with total expenditure expected to exceed SR540 billion. This included greater funds for infrastructure and double-digit spending increases in key areas of the economy include health, transport, telecoms and water sectors. Of this figure, SR135 billion (US $36.7 billion) - a quarter of public funds, the largest proportion of the 2010 budget – is allocated to education and training, which represents an increase of 13% over 2009. The figures only add credence to the view held by a number of contractors in the kingdom that, contrary to the market of the UAE, Saudi Arabia represents a very fertile market for firms. Joseph Daher, executive vice-president with Jeddahbased Almabani General Contractor said: “This year we will see a continuation of the construction boom we have witnessed in the kingdom in 2008 and 2009. “Supported by good oil prices and strategy of the Saudi government to expand its infrastructure, airports, universities and colleges, it continues to be a very good market. I do not see any interruption of this boom in 2010 and

CONSTRUCTION WEEK MARCH 6–12, 2010

LIST OF TOP PROJECTS KAEC Princess Nourah Bint Abdulrahman University for Women KAFD Haramain high-speed rail

US$ 35 billion 11.5 billion 10 billion 6 billion

THE HARAMAIN HIGH-SPEED RAIL PROJECT IS EXPECTED TO COST $6 BILLION.

KAFD AT THE EARLY STAGES OF CONSTRUCTION.

A MODEL OF PRINCESS NOURAH BINT ABDULRAHMAN UNIVERSITY FOR WOMEN. KAEC TOPS THE LIST OF ONGOING PROJECTS BY DOLLAR VALUE.

in fact can see it continuing in 2011 barring circumstances as yet unseen,” he said. Manuel La Guardia – chief estimator with Jeddah-based Saudi Freyssinet echoed Daher’s view on the market – although the ﬁrm is not as heavily involved with public sector work – and said the market in general is looking better in 2010. “It is getting better certainly, I think it’s fair to say it’s quite good. We have a number of projects we are looking to submit bids for currently.”

on various aspects of the work. Saudi Oger was awarded the first package in mid-January 2009 worth SR12.5 billion, with Saudi Binladin Group and El-Seif Engineering & Contracting winning subsequent packages valued at SR10 billion and SR8 billion respectively. The contracts cover the majority of construction on site, including low-rise faculty buildings, infrastructure and associated works. Despite Saudi Arabia’s strong financial showing, it has not been immune to the impact on the slowdown on construction. The EDUCATION value of the contracts was subject to a significant reduction as This greater emphasis on education has manifested itself in a the client, the Finance Ministry demanded re-tendered bids in surge of university schemes aimed at transforming the educational light of decreasing raw material prices. This lower profit margin remains a concern for contractors moving forward. landscape of the kingdom. Most significant is the massive Princess Nourah bint AbdulrahA fourth package, valued at SR1.5 billion covering a 11-km monoman University for Women in Riyadh. Covering three square- rail network to link the facilities, was awarded to a consortium kilometres, it will include a 700-bed teaching hospital, central led by Saudi Binladin Group and Ansaldo STS and AnsaldoBreda, library and conference centre together with at least 15 academic part of Italy’s Finmeccanica Group. The firms will be part of a three-year deal that involves building faculties. It is one of the largest schemes tendered in the kingthe monorail - elevated 10 metres above the ground - and supplydom in 2009. In a statement, Princess al-Jowhara bint Fahd, the university’s ing the trains. Beirut-based Dar al-Handasah (Shair & Partners) president said: “It would double the admission capacity of women is the consultant on the project. students. The university would have 13 colleges, including those While these facilities in Riyadh point to a new direction for for medicine, dentistry, nursing, languages education in the kingdom, they are foland pharmacy.” The university is expected lowing in the footsteps of the massive “THIS YEAR WE WILL SEE to accommodate 40,000 students when King Abdullah University of Science & A CONTINUATION OF THE completed. Technology (KAUST). CONSTRUCTION BOOM WE Situated 80km to the north of Jeddah, Construction is pushing ahead, with the HAVE WITNESSED IN THE KINGDOM IN 2008 AND 2009” kingdom’s primary contractors all involved KAUST was officially opened by King

MARCH 6–12, 2010 CONSTRUCTION WEEK

Abdulaziz al-Saud on 23 September 2009 and represents a major centre of scientiﬁc and technological research, which has sprung up from the desert in just three years. To get a scale of the size of construction, at its peak, up to 40,000 workers were on-site. Unusually for an education-themed real-estate project, the client is the oil-giant Saudi Aramco. Designed by US-based architect HOK, the fast-track project is one of the most signiﬁcant in the region. With its links to local and international private industry and government institutions, it is at the very centre of the kingdom’s strategy to diversify its oil-based economy to a knowledgebased economy.

SECURITY

Equally significant, though more sensitive, is the security fence that is currently under construction, which is designed to circulate the kingdom and detect incursions along the kingdom’s border with Iraq, Jordan, Kuwait, Qatar, the UAE, Oman and Yemen, as well as the Gulf and Red Sea coasts. In 2009, a joint venture of the local Al-Rashid Trading & Contracting Company and the European Aeronautic Defence & Space Company (EADS) won a SR3.4 billion contract to build a 900km security fence along Saudi Arabia’s northern border with Iraq. It formed part of a multi-billion dollar project by the Interior Ministry to protect its 6,500km UNUSUALLY FOR AN RAIL border using radar-based technology. EDUCATION-THEMED Away from education, a number of key The same consortium secured the followREAL-ESTATE PROJECT, infrastructure projects are also progressing. up SR2bn contract for the second phase in THE CLIENT IS THE OILThese include the US $6 billion Haramain July 2009. Other bidders for the project were GIANT SAUDI ARAMCO. high-speed rail linking the holy cities of the local Al-Arab Contracting Company Mecca and Medina. The first construction (ACC), El-Seif Engineering & Contracting contract (US $1.8 billion) was awarded to the Al-Rahji alliance in with the US’ DRS Technologies, US’ Raytheon and local Madaf Trading & Contracting with France’s Thales. March, and civil works are currently underway. In February, the Council of Ministers announced it was lookConstruction in Saudi Arabia is not solely focusing on educaing to speed up construction of the 444 km line by forcing the tion and infrastructure, however. Underway in Riyadh is King state-owned Public Investment Fund (PIF) to provide funding, Abdullah Financial District (KAFD). One of the most prominent by supplying interest-free loans. projects in the kingdom, the SR36 billion project is being develThe project is geared towards providing an infrastructure capable oped Al-Rayadah Investments– the development arm of the Public of coping with the growing influx of religious tourists during the Pensions Agency (PPA). annual Hajj and Umrah pilgrimages. The high-speed line will Featuring two 300-metre plus towers, the 1.6km2 site in the Alenable trains to reach speeds of up to 300kph. Khozama district of the city, the development aims to become the The project also has a UK-presence with a joint venture of Middle East’s financial centre and forms a crucial part of the city’s Foster & Partners and Buro Happold working on the design of regeneration plan. It will be home to the Saudi stock exchange four of the five stations on route: at King Abdullah Economic City (Tadawul) and Saudi business institutions such as the Al-Rajhi (KAEC), Jeddah Central Station, Mecca and Medina. The railway Group, Public Investment Fund (PIF) and Capital Markets Authorwill also connect Jeddah International airport. ity (CMA), which regulates the stock markets. 

STALLED PROJECTS Despite the plethora of projects underway, the kingdom has not entirely escaped the damage wrought by the global slowdown. A number of ambitious projects have been delayed or scaled back, in line with a slowdown in investment and more cautious lending from ﬁnancial institutions. In 2009, the $20 billion 23 km2 Jeddah Kingdom City project north of Jeddah on the Red Sea coast was forced to delay its Kingdom Tower, which is expected to reach approximately 1km in height. Saudi Arabia’s much-vaunted economic city programme has also come under scrutiny since they were launched by the Saudi Arabian General Investment

CONSTRUCTION WEEK MARCH 6–12, 2010

Authority (Sagia) back in 2005. Riyadh’s plans to develop a series of economic cities, to stimulate investment away from oil, highlights its desire to diversify. While there is no doubt the ﬂagship King Abdullah Economic City (KAEC) will continue to progress – not least the fact it bares the king’s name, although it may get a re-tailored masterplan – the fate of the remaining ﬁve continues to look precarious. Freyssinet is also involved with King Abdullah Economic City but LaGuardia said after 12 months of relative inactivity, it is anticipated work will increase this year. “I think they are going to really push on with KAEC this year. Last year there seemed to be a real slowdown.

But I heard 2010 things will pick up. Although, it is the end of February and we haven’t heard anything just yet.” Of particular concern is Prince Abdulaziz bin Mosaed Economic City, at Hail, which has not progressed as planned. In late 2008, the local developer Rakisa Holdings was replaced by Kuwait’s Al-Mal Investment Company – the investment arm of Kuwait’s Mohammed Abdulmohsin al-Kharaﬁ Group. The company signed an agreement with Sagia and set up a ﬁrm with SR5 billion in capital to develop the city. Little activity has been seen since. Similar doubts are being raised over the future of the remaining four cities at Jizan, Tabuk, Medina and Ras al-Zour.

GOOD HEALTH & SAFETY CAN HELP SAVE MONEY AND WORKER’S LIVES.

GOOD SAFETY, GOOD SENSE CW FINDS OUT HOW IMPLEMENTING SAFETY SYSTEMS CAN SAVE MONEY, AS WELL AS LIVES By Sarah Blackman

t is common knowledge among the construction industry that good on site health and safety practice is paramount. The importance of the issue is drummed into us by leaﬂets, posters, presentations and seminars. And, reports of fatalities and injuries on site make us think seriously about putting plans into place to prevent such events. However, like many plans packed with good intentions, they tend to be put on hold and the ﬁnancial crisis has given many construction companies an excuse to invest in healthy and safety at a more ‘convenient’ time. What is not common knowledge among the construction industry is that implementing safety initiatives will not burn a

CONSTRUCTION WEEK MARCH 6–12, 2010

whole in your wallet and actually makes good business sense. “One cause of injury is the perception of the management team that safety is a cost (and not a saving), which during tight economic conditions, can be eliminated,” says Bruce Shahabi, director of operations for Combisafe Gulf, a developer of safety solutions for construction sites. “In truth, accidents cost time and money, as well as human lives, which are

“ONE CAUSE OF INJURY IS THE PERCEPTION OF THE MANAGEMENT TEAM THAT SAFETY IS A COST (AND NOT A SAVING), WHICH DURING TIGHT ECONOMIC CONDITIONS, CAN BE ELIMINATED”

the last things you need during tough economic climates.” Fortunately though, it becoming increasingly common for most construction heavyweights in the region to see the beneﬁts health and safety initiatives can bring to their businesses. “We’re not looking to cut into safety budgets – a healthy, safe and happy site is a more productive site,” insisted Six Construct general manager Phillipe Dessoy at the Construction Week Dubai Conference in November. Damac Properties also reported last week that it has doubled its safety performance record for 2009. “At the end of the day we have put quite a lot of pressure on our contractors but ultimately this has beneﬁted everyone by minimising risks and reducing accidents,”

> For more special reports visit www.ConstructionWEEKonline.com

BRUCE SHAHABI, DIRECTOR OF OPERATIONS FOR COMBISAFE GULF.

says Damac health, safety and environment manager Ekarath Raveendran. And, Arabtec has so far proved it is taking safety seriously at its Infinity Tower construction site. By the time 3.7 million man hours had been completed, there had been just seven lost time injuries. The latest figures from Build Safe UAE (BSU) also show that contractors made significant improvement in safety performance last year compared to 2008. According to the new report, there were 10 on site fatalities in the emirates last year – a 50% decrease from 2008’s statistics. There

WALID FEGHALI, 3M COUNTRY BUSINESS LEADER FOR SAFETY, SECURITY AND PROTECTION SERVICES.

“THE HARNESS CAN KILL THE CASUALTY IF THE RECOVERY IS NOT CONDUCTED IN A TIMELY AND EFFICIENT MANNER” were also 530 lost time injuries compared to 690 in 2008. However, the data that was collected from a selection of main contractors in the emirates showed that the number projects under construction, people employed and man hours delivered in 2009 has been reduced by approximately 35% to 40% in compari-

TOP TIPS FROM HSE FIRMS Systech Solutions “Educate workers on when and how to wear PPE and how to inspect the equipment. A height rescue plan should be in place and the right amount of kits and training should be implemented. All workers should be made aware of Suspension trauma. Anti Collision systems should be installed on all cranes. Also, a crane should not be allowed to over ﬂy public areas. These areas should be zoned out.” Combisafe “Combisafe’s top tip for working safely at

height is adopting the hierarchy of control for working at height (contractors and consultants with good safety records), putting in place safe systems of work for activities, which exposes the workers/ objects to risk of fall. In addition, plans should be put in place to prevent accidents.” 3M “Damage to the eyes, ears and lungs is irreversible so it is important that safety knowledge is past on to contractors, supervisors and workers so that the right tools are provided.”

son to a ﬁgures compiled two years ago. So, with fewer man hours worked, this may well have led to fewer accidents. And, according to BSU, developers in the Middle East still have to make vast improvements before they can declare their sites safe. “Key trends which need addressing include the proper handling of materials, avoiding falling objects, slips and trips and the biggest cause of deaths on construction sites - falls from height,” says Bovis Lend Lease assistant project manager and group administrator for BSU Elias McGrath. “Regulations do exist but it is evident that throughout the UAE, unethical ‘dodgy’ contractors are consistently breaching what they are required to comply with by law.” Suppliers of safety equipment don’t rate the on site HSE standards in the Middle East too highly either. “I would give it four out of 10 at this point in time,” says 3M country business leader for safety, security and protection services Walid Feghali. “We have to keep hammering the importance of safety by holding seminars and presenting demonstrations to improve this ﬁgure. We are actively working with the Dubai Municipality to elevate awareness and safety standards.” That argument is seconded by Robert Jennings, managing director of Systech Solutions, a supplier of rescue equipment:

MARCH 6–12, 2010 CONSTRUCTION WEEK

BUILD SAFE UAE HSE STATISTICS FOR 2009 SUMMARY OF ALL UAE PROJECTS 2009

JAN

FEB

MAR

APR

MAY

JUN

JUL

AUG

SEP

OCT

NOV

DEC

NUMBER OF PROJECTS

544

519

493

480

467

464

460

463

456

444

437

NUMBER OF PERSONS EMPLOYED

298,449

285,655

282,475

288,606

282,615

287,537

270,394

278,919

265,748

268,407

256,016

251,051

80,346,275

72,993,916

76,688,352

77,376,619

76,081,626

77,416,375

73,297,661

75,942,300

70,598,475

73,703,276

65,585,801

67,041,457

NUMBER OF LOST TIME INJURIES

NUMBER OF FATALITIES

LOST TIME INJURY RATE

0.0722

0.0658

0.0769

0.0685

0.0565

0.0633

0.0573

0.0408

0.0581

0.0502

0.0610

0.0433

FATALITY FREQUENCY RATE

0.0012

0.0027

0.0000

0.0014

0.0013

0.0028

0.0000

0.0030

0.0015

NUMBER OF MAN HOURS WORKED

“I would rate it as a three. Although we have come a long way in the last 10 years, there is still a long way to go to get some proper recognised standards in place,” he says. “There is still a lot of ‘box ticking’ with many safety measures seemingly being covered, but cannot be implemented in the event of an accident. There are no uniform practices - you can go on one site where safety seems to be high priority and, on the next site, you may find operatives working without any from of safety, or the right personal protective equipment (PPE).” The problem, according to Jennings, is that people in the industry don’t know enough about the dangers of a construction site even a harness cannot always save a worker from a fall. “One of the more recent changes in construction safety is the use of harnesses. If a worker falls, the harness will obviously prevent him from falling to the ground. The problem now, however, is that the harness can kill the casualty if recovery is not conducted in a timely and efficient manner,” he says. Death in a harness is the result of Othostatic Intolerance, commonly referred to as suspension trauma. The harness straps around a worker’s legs and prevents blood flow to the major organs. “If the casualty is placed in the normal recovery position, the deoxygenated blood flows back to the major organs, which results in death from toxic shock. What is alarm-

CONSTRUCTION WEEK MARCH 6–12, 2010

ing is that many people don’t know about these problems,” adds Jennings Sytech Solutions offers rescue kits, as well a six month training course to help workers understand how to use the systems properly. The company also supplies rescue plans to construction companies and provides anticollision systems that are installed on cranes. “We offer solutions that are financially justified and we can provide flexible payment options such as lease purchase, rentals and buyback schemes,” states Jennings. Shahabi insists that if contractors install the correct safety systems and provide proper training, they will save precious time. Further, developers should choose contractors and consultants with good safety track records to avoid negative PR at a later stage. “This [also] ensures that [the developer’s] own safety team will have less time- consuming accident investigation to do and more proactive supervision and planning time.” Combisafe offers systems to prevent the fall of workers and objects from a height. And, from April this year, it will be sup-

“YOU CAN GO ON ONE SITE WHERE SAFETY SEEMS TO BE HIGH PRIORITY AND, ON THE NEXT SITE, YOU MAY FIND OPERATIVES WORKING WITHOUT ANY FORM OF SAFETY”

plying Miller Fall Protection products to the industry, including harnesses and shock-absorbing lanyards to its Middle East partners. In addition, the company has developed a locally manufactured edge protection system, elevator shaft gates and slab opening protection systems, which target high-rises. 3M also offers solutions, which protect workers from harm such as ear muffs, eye wear and helmets. “Workers are exposed to dust, chemicals and hazards, and for each type application, we have the right product for protection,” explains Feghali. “At the moment, we are promoting our communication range – our ear muffs have microphones attached to them so workers can speak to each other from different ends of a construction site. A supervisor located at ground level could speak to a crane operator, for example.” So HSE products and systems are out there, contractors just need to implement them. Suppliers feel that onsite safety in the Gulf is improving but some contractors still need a nudge in the right direction. “I would like to see more government regulations along with a policing strategy that enforces adherence to site safety regulations,” says Jennings. Shahabi agrees and adds that BSU has inﬂuenced more companies to join the organisation over the past year and share their experiences and statistics in an open forum. 

www.ConstructionWEEKonline.com/directory

§ § § § DIRECTORY

DIRECTORY TENDERS | PROJECTS | SUPPLIERS | CITY UPDATE 26 TENDERS 27 PROJECTS SPECIALIST SERVICES 28 Design software 29 Construction manufacturers/steel CITY UPDATE 30 Manama, Bahrain

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

MARCH 6–12, 2010 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 EDUCATION – OMAN The Ministry of Education in Oman is a government body, set up to propose educational policies for schools, encourage investment in school education by the private sector and to provide school buildings with all requirements needed for teaching and learning. Currently, there is a strong focus on building schools in the Gulf state and the ministry is requesting contractors to express interests in the several tenders it is ﬂoating. Contracts cover the construction of Al Ashkarah basic education school for boys, the development of a 32classroom girl’s school in Al Fayadh and construction of a girl’s basic education school in Al Siya. Bidding deadlines are coming up in the next couple of weeks. 

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

BAHRAIN Issuer: Electricity and Water Authority Tender No: 379/2009/6000 Description: New administrative building at Juffair – phase 2 (interior works and furnishing). Closes: March 10 Fees: BD50 Bond: BD5000 Contact: www.tenderboard.gov.bh EGYPT Issuer: Egyptian Endowment Authority Description: Two tenders for the construction of 90 residential buildings comprising 2160 housing units in Asswan City. Closes: March 3 and March 7 Fees: EP17,000 and EP16,000 Bond: EP1.24 million and EP1.2 million Contact: Egyptian Endowment Authority, 109 Tahrir Street, Dokki, Giza KUWAIT Issuer: Central Tenders Committee Tender No: MEW/73/2009/2010 Description: Construction of ﬁve storage facilities. Closes: March 7 Fees: KD3000 Contact: Central Tenders Committee, Ministry of Electricity and Water Issuer: Central Tenders Committee Tender No: MEW/39/2008/2009 Description: Design and construction of Al Zour desalination plant, phase 2. Closes: March 9 Fees: KD3000 Contact: Central Tenders Committee, Ministry of Public Works Issuer: Central Tenders Committee Tender No: MEW/39/2008/2009 Description: Design and construction of Al Zour desalination plant, phase 2. Closes: March 9 Fees: KD3000 Contact: Central Tenders Committee, Ministry of Electricity and Water

CONSTRUCTION WEEK MARCH 6–12, 2010

BIDDING DEADLINES ARE COMING UP IN NEXT COUPLE OF WEEKS.

Issuer: Central Tenders Committee Tender No: RA\\140 Description: Construction of Jaber Ahmed Al Jaber Al Sabah Bridge in Kuwait. Closes: June 8 Fees: KD5000 Contact: Central Tenders Committee – Ministry of Public Works Issuer: Central Tenders Committee Tender No: MEW/54/2009/2010 Description: Construction of a water plant in East Amgarh. Closes: March 9 Fees: KD500 Contact: Central Tenders Committee – Ministry of Water and Electricity OMAN Issuer: Public Authority for Electricity and Water Tender No: 7/2010 Description: Expansion of Mawalleh water reservoir in Oman. Closes: March 8 Fees: OR564 Contact: www.tenderboard.gov.om Issuer: Ministry of Education Tender No: 2/2010 Description: Construction of Al Ashkarah boys basic education school. Closes: March 8 Fees: OR524 Contact: www.tenderboard.gov.om Issuer: Supreme Committee for Town Planning Tender No: 10/2009 Description: Consultancy services for the preparation of the master-plan of Duqm Town. Closes: March 8 Fees: OR300 Contact: www.tenderboard.gov.om QATAR Issuer: Public Works Authority Tender No: PWA/GTC/045/09-10 Description: Reconstruction of the Najma Road extension. Closes: April 20

Fees: QR7000 Contact: Contract Department, Public Works Authority SAUDI ARABIA Issuer: Ministry of Water and Electricity Tender No: 764/1431/1430 Description: Construction of a customer service building in Ashyab. Closes: March 13 Fees: SR1000 Contact: http://app.mowe.gov.sa Issuer: Ministry of Transport Tender No: MOT-Makkah-7 Description: Expansion of Jeddah – Jizan Coastal Road – phase 3. Closes: March 17 Contact: www.mot.gov.sa Issuer: Ministry of Transport Tender No: MOT-Makkah-9 Description: Construction of Makkah Ring Road- phase 2. Closes: March 20 Contact: www.mot.gov.sa UAE Issuer: Federal Electricity and Water Authority Tender No: E01/2010 Description: Supply and erection of 33KV double circuit overhead line and cabling works in the northern emirates. Closes: March 17 Fees: AED3000 Contact: www.fewa.gov.ae

ONE TO WATCH Issuer: SCADIA Description: Construction of Abu Dhabi’s International Airport’s midﬁeld terminal building. Closes: Unknown Contact: www.scadia.com

> For more tenders check online at www.ConstructionWEEKonline.com/tenders

¦PROJECTS

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

§ PROJECTS

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

Project focus

AL SHAQAB EQUESTRIAN ACADEMY IN QATAR In 2006 construction of the US $407 million (QR1.48 billion) Al Shaqab Equestrian Academy in Qatar commenced. The project will include a breeding facility, an equine hospital, an Olympic-sized indoor arena, a members’ clubhouse, staff accommodation, entertainment facilities, a museum, stables for several types of Arabian horses and all associated infrastructure works. Construction is in progress and is set to be completed by the second quarter of this year. Qatar Foundation for Education Science and Community Development awarded Leighton Contracting the main construction contract in June 2006.  PROJECT TITLE

LEIGHTON WON THE MAIN CONTRACT IN 2006.

CLIENT

CONSULTANT

MAIN CONTRACTOR

VALUE (US$MN)

STATUS

AL RAYYAN RESIDENTIAL TOWER

Shk. Mishaal Bin Hamad al-Thani/ Maryam

GHD Global

Al Darwish Engineering

AL SADD OFFICE TOWER

Shka. Nela Sadd M. Al Misned

Cansult Maunsell

HBK Contracting

project under construction

AL ATTIYAH OFFICE BUILDING

Sons. of Mr. Abdulla Bin Hamed Al Attiyah

Arab Engineering Bureau

Construction & Reconstruction Company

project under construction

AL-WAKRA HOSPITAL

Public Works Authority

GHD Global

Joannou & Paraskevaides Overseas

508

project under construction

AL REFAA RESIDENTIAL TOWER

Shk. Mishaal Bin Hamad al-Thani

GHD Global

Al Darwish Engineering

31 - 100

project under construction

MESAIEED HOUSING DEVELOPMENT - PHASE 2

QP/Qatar Real Estate Development Co;

Arab Engineering Bureau

Not Appointed

2,000

AL EMADI TWIN TOWERS

Mr. Mohammed Esmail Al Emadi

Arab Consulting Engineers

Not Appointed

101 - 250

AL MAJID RESIDENTIAL TOWER

Mr. Ahmad Mahdi Ali Al Majid

Arab Engineering Bureau

Al Seal Contracting

SIDRA MEDICAL & RESEARCH CENTRE

Qatar Foundation (QFESCD)

Cesar Pelli & Associates/Ellerbe Becket

OHL/Contrack International

LIBRARY FOR QATAR UNIVERSITY

Qatar University

Arab Architects Group

Tadmur Contracting & Trdg Est.

RESIDENTIAL BUILDING IN FOX HILLS

Buzwair Real Estate/QDREIC

Faim Design

Not Appointed

2.5 - 15

project under design

APARTMENT BUILDING AT AL SADD

Mr. Nasser Abdul Aziz Nasser Al Nasser

Consulting Engineering Group

Not Appointed

16 - 30

award awaited for the main contract

PALM TOWERS

Dar Investment & Development Co.

M.Z. & Partners

Al Seal Contracting

218

project under construction

BUSINESS PARK & HOTEL FACILITIES IN NAJMA

Shk. Mohammed Bin Hamad Al Thani

Arab Engineering Bureau

Redco Construction

101 - 250

project under construction

LABOUR ACCOMMODATION AT WAKRAH - PHASE 2

Public Works Authority

Al Aqsa Consulting & Engineers

Ramco Engineering

project under construction

SAMIRIYA TOWERS

Mr. Ali Mohammed Al-Khayareen

M.Z. & Partners

Gulf East Trading & Contracting

124

project under construction

NDIA-ATC BUILDING

NDIA Steering Committee

Bechtel/Khatib & Alami

Consolidated Contractors Int'l Company

project under construction

DOHA HIGH RISE OFFICE BUILDING

Shk. Saoud Bin Mohd Bin Ali Al-Thani

Consulting Engineering Group

China State Construction Engineering Co

125

project under construction

QATAR project under construction

project under design

project under construction

2,400

project under construction

DECEMBER 19–25, 2009 CONSTRUCTION WEEK

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

project under design

SPECIALIST SERVICES §

¦SPECIALIST SERVICES CONSTRUCTION PRODUCTS AND SERVICES MADE EASY IN CONSTRUCTION WEEK’S DIRECTORY TO ADVERTISE PLEASE CALL +971 4 435 6344, OR EMAIL JASON.BOWMAN@ITP.COM

Supplier focus

PENTAGON INTERNATIONAL

SUPPLIER OF SECURITY, SOLAR CONTROL, ENERGY EFFICIENT AND DECORATIVE WINDOW FILM

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

Based in Dubai, Pentagon Our range of energy efficient window film reduces International supplies and the amount of heat gain installs specialist window build up in your building films and retention systems designed to enhance the safety, by blocking solar energy aesthetics and energy saving to the desired level you characteristics of glass. The would want to achieve company has established itself as in order to balance your a specialist in glazing security, HVAC /MEP load,” says acting as a contractor and Pentagon managing direcconsultant to many of Dubai’s tor Verghese Joseph. landmark buildings. “With our calculation softWith products that can upgrade ware we can also consult existing glazing to withstand with clients about their type and contain accidental breakof glazing and required film product; then once age and bomb blast attack, the company has also been awarded we have all the data we many prestigious contracts such can provide them with as Dubai International Airport an actual estimated figand more recently the Meydan ure that they can show to Hotel and Racecourse. In addition PENTAGON MANAGING DIRECTOR VERGHESE JOSEPH. their top management to to improving security, window implement these changes.” film is recognised as one of the most energy efficient In addition to the head office in the UAE, Pentagon has products in today’s market, according to Pentagon. branches in Singapore, Malaysia, India, Sri Lanka and “As an energy saving product, window film is ideal. Australia. 

CONSTRUCTION WEEK MARCH 6–12, 2010

CONSTRUCTION/MANUFACTURERS

BUILDING MATERIALS

ยง SPECIALIST SERVICES

> For directory information visit www.ConstructionWEEKonline.com/directory

CONSTRUCTION/MANUFACTURERS

Painting and ๏ฌ nishing tools

www.pinceisatlas.com.br

PP CORRUGATED SHEETS

Monoblock

ThermoBound

OTAL (LLC) Dubai, U.A.E Phone: (+971-4) 267 9646 e-mail: otal@eim.ae website: www.otal.ae

RECRUITMENT

,OOKING TO RECRUIT WORKERS FROM

)NDIA .EPAL

"ANGLADESH 3RI ,ANKA

0HILIPPINES 4HAILAND

6IETNAM 0AKISTAN To advertise please call +971 4 4 435 6375 or email shishir.desai@itp.com

OR LOCAL LABOUR SUPPLY 7E ALSO UNDERTAKE -IGRATION 3ERVICE TO !USTRALIA #ANADA 4EL &AX % MAIL ASSIDUAA EIM AE STEEL

STEEL

MARCH 6โ 12, 2010 CONSTRUCTION WEEK

CITY UPDATE MANAMA, BAHRAIN

Small steps, big leaps

THE BAHRAIN WORLD TRADE CENTRE HAS BECOME ONE OF THE MOST RECOGNISABLE BUILDINGS IN BAHRAIN.

CW TAKES A LOOK AT THE LATEST PROGRESS MADE IN THE BAHRAIN’S CAPITAL By Sarah Blackman

hough the land mass of Bahrain is miniscule The new terminals are part of a US $4.7 billion (BD1.8 milcompared to neighbouring Saudi Arabia, and lion) expansion of the airport, which also includes new aprons, indeed many of Saudi’s cities, the scope of separate piers, a people mover system, car parking, road works construction work in the Gulf state is far and infrastructure. from being in short supply. There will also be an adjacent ‘airport city’ with hotels, conferThe work doesn’t just cover small resi- ence centres, retail and recreational facilities. dential areas and community roads either; As for the eagerly awaited monorail, construction on the green it includes mega projects in the form of cities and mixed-used line is set to start in the third quarter of this year. The green line developments, most of which are located in Bahrain’s capital will be a 23km-long section and will extend from Juffair through city of Manama. Manama and to the Seef district. And, if that’s not enough work to be getting First off, in terms of infrastructure, the on with, the contract to build Bahrain’s North design contract for two new terminals at “IT SEEMS LIKELY Manama Causeway could be awarded as soon Bahrain International Airport is expected THAT THE CONTRACT as April this year, according to Six Construct to go to tender before the end of this quarWILL BE AWARDED IN ter, according to Bahrain Airport Company general manager Phillipe Dessoy. THE SECOND QUARTER CEO Osama Al Ali. OF THIS YEAR” The Belgium ﬁrm is the front runner to win

CONSTRUCTION WEEK MARCH 6–12, 2010

CHARLES CROWELL/BLOOMBERG NEWS

SIX CONSTRUCT GENERAL MANAGER PHILLIPE DESSOY.

TOP PROJECTS

US$

Bahrain Monorail Bahrain International Airport expansion Bahrain Financial Harbour Bahrain Bay Villamar

7.9 billion 4.7 billion 3 billion 2.5 billion 650 million

BAHRAIN FINANCIAL HARBOUR STANDS IN MANAMA, BAHRAIN.

“THE THING YOU HAVE TO KEEP IN MIND IS THAT YOU CAN’T CONSIDER 2007 OR 2008 AS A NORMAL CONSTRUCTION AND DEVELOPMENT CYCLE; IT WAS THE PEAK OF A BOOM PERIOD”

the contract after submitting the lowest bid of $260.4 million in a joint venture with Bahraini contracting ﬁrm Haji Hassan. “If we win the contract, it won’t be before the next few months,” Dessoy told Construction Week. “It seems likely that the contract will be awarded in the second quarter of this year.” Other bidders include Bahrain’s Hafeera Contracting with a bid of $311 million, Korea’s Sungwon Corporation with $315 million and Malaysia’s Gamuda Berhad with $338 million. The project will link North Manama with the island of Muharraq and wind through Bahrain Bay and Bahrain Financial Harbour – arguably two of the biggest projects under construction in the capital city. Work in and around the Bahrain Financial Harbour, which covers 380,000m2 of waterfront property, has made steady progress over the last 12 months. And, Kuwait’s Gulf Holding Company’s Villamar Towers is destined to become one of the most iconic projects within the area. The $650 million mixed-use development includes three towers which vary in height, the tallest being 54 storeys. Each building will have hidden parking levels in the centre, as well as shops, restaurants, villas and apartment. Project completion is expected in the middle of this year.

It’s fair to say that things are looking up for Bahrain Bay as well. A large chunk of civil infrastructure has been delivered at the mega-project, which sits on 430,000 of reclaimed land off the coast of Manama, and the $150 million headquarters for the Arcapita Bank is expected to be finished by the end of 2010. But, it hasn’t always been easy for Bahrain Bay - by the end of 2009 it was expected that several projects would be well into construction, but two of the main developments including Raffles City and the Four Seasons hotel suffered severe delays. However the development’s CEO Bob Vincent remains positive about the 2010 forecast. “Everything we expected to deliver, we have,” he said. The thing you have to keep in mind is that you can’t consider 2007 or 2008 as a normal construction and development cycle; it was the peak of a boom period.” “So while there has been slippage from the expectations of 2007, Bahrain Bay has not fallen behind what would be considered a realistic and normal development programme. Vincent added that more developers to be active on site by the middle of this year. The Four Seasons is set to start the final tender process for main construction by the end of this quarter and construction could begin within the first half of the year. Meanwhile, a tender for the construction contract at Raffles City is expected to be released in Q2 2010. 

MARCH 6–12, 2010 CONSTRUCTION WEEK

DIALOGUE ABDUL TRABOULSI Mixing it up Al Falah Ready Mix general manager Abdul Traboulsi discusses his company’s shift towards sustainable building and green manufacturing

By Sarah Blackman

What is it about your ready mix concrete that makes it sustainable?

Al Falah Ready Mix adopts the deﬁnition of sustainability, which identiﬁes sustainable concrete as a concrete product that is produced to meet the needs of the present concrete demands, without compromising the needs of future generations. The company is currently producing sustainable concrete by replacing high levels of cement with recycled materials. We use low-energy and low-emission plant and equipment and abide by environmentally-friendly operational standards and delivery methods. In addition, we work within a culture of continuous improvement to achieve and attain sustainable goals. When did Al Falah decide to follow path towards green building?

It’s also worth noting that Al Falah Ready Mix is the ﬁrst ready mix concrete producer in the region to utilise the low-emission Euro V engines on a concrete delivery vehicle. Are you expecting to see an increase in concrete prices this year?

We foresee an increase in the demand for concrete starting the second quarter of 2010, which will lead to increased prices and subsequently the improvement of our business. Which projects have you got lined up for 2010?

We will be supplying our products to the carbon neutral Masdar City, Abu Dhabi International Airport and Yas Island Development. In addition Sorouh Real Estate has awarded Al Falah the contract to provide concrete to its Watani villas and Golf Gardens developments. We will also be working on the Bloom Gardens project, Baniyas Development, Al Falah Community, Saadiyat Island and the Dubai Pearl projects.

As of January 2009, Al Falah Ready Mix conducts operations with a minimal impact on social, economic, and environmental resources, while demonstrating at all times an understanding Will you be introducing any new products this year? of latest environmental challenges and risks, ensuring an Yes. Al Falah is committed to continual development of its exemplary ecological footprint that is, at the same time, services and range of products. In this respect, our research economically viable. Al Falah Ready Mix was encouraged to and development department is quite follow this path by the Masdar initiative, active in developing new products, which is inspired by Sheikh Mohammed which will soon be introduced to the Having worked as a technical manager bin Zayed Al Nahyan’s vision for and general manager for ready mix concrete market. We will announce details sustainable development, as the answer and precast concrete industries in the Gulf about these products in the to the environmental challenges that are region for over 18 years, Traboulsi has near future. growing across the globe . How do you minimise the carbon emissions produced by your vehicles and batching plants?

Our plants have recently been designed to minimise carbon emissions by utilising low-energy technologies. These plants are installed 2km to 5km away from all of our sites to decrease travelling distances, thereby reducing carbon emission from our delivery vehicles. In addition, our plants keep dust and noise pollution to a minimum.

CONSTRUCTION WEEK MARCH 6–12, 2010

actively participated in several research and development programmes relating to high strength and high performance concrete. His research interests are sustainable development, in addition to quality control and quality assurance systems relating to the concrete industry. He is a member of the American Concrete Institute and the American Society of Civil Engineers and received his Bachelor of Engineering degree from the American University of Beirut in 1992.

Do you offer chemicals and admixtures, which make the concrete waterproof/ ﬂow better into columns?

In order to produce high performance concrete, we make use of the latest ﬁndings in the construction chemicals industry and we utilise the latest generation of chemical admixtures that enable us to optimise concrete mixes for enhanced durability with lowest achievable carbon footprint.