Construction Week - Issue 321 by ITP Business Publishing

SAUDI ARABIA BAHRAIN UNITED ARAB EMIRATES QATAR OMAN KUWAIT

Construction CONSTRUCTIONWEEKONLINE.COM

An ITP Business Publication | Licensed by Dubai Media City

WEEK PLUS: BIA AR AL GHCUS FO ge 36

MAY 15-21, 2010 [321]

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

SPECIAL ISSUE

AIRPORT A-Z 50 COMPANIES CHANGING THE FACE OF GCC AIRPORTS

CONTENTS MAY 15-21, 2010 | ISSUE 321 10

14 AIRPORT PROJECTS CW looks at the top 5 airport projects in the GCC as billions are ploughed into the aviation market.

19 AIRPORT A-Z An A-Z of 50 well-known companies changing the face of airports in the Middle East, including their specialist products, services and details of their largest and most recent airport projects in the region.

34 12 19

REGULARS 2 ONLINE 4 MAIL

24 36

FRONT

DIRECTORY

9 HSE COMPLIANCE

34 PRODUCT FOCUS 36 REGION FOCUS 38 SPECIALIST SERVICES

New regulations mean that 190 construction ﬁrms will have to implement health and safety management systems by 2012.

10 QATAR PROJECTS All mega projects will be ﬁnished in Qatar by 2026, according to government.

11 NEWS IN BRIEF Highlights of the week.

FEATURES 12 LEGAL Philip Adams looks at compensation events and the role of the project manager in NEC contracts.

BACK 40 DIALOGUE CW catches up with Nicholas Thompson, CEO of architecture practice Aukett Fitzroy Robinson, which has recently returned to the region. MAY 15–21, 2010 CONSTRUCTION WEEK

ONLINE

www.ConstructionWEEKonline.com MOST POPULAR TOP 13 SAUDI ARABIAN CONSTRUCTION CONTRACTORS CONTRACTORS TO BID FOR STADIUM PROJECT BY MAY 24 ARABTEC WINS DAMA HEIGHTS CONTRACT FOR MARINA IN PICTURES: KAUST

HAVE YOUR SAY BURJ OBSERVATION DECK TICKET PRICES

Should it be lowered? Is it fair for ‘At the Top’ to charge as much as it does for viewing?

IN PICTURES: FIFA 2010 WORLD CUP STADIUMS In preparation for the FIFA 2010 World Cup, South Africa’s most reputable stadiums have undergone revamps. Hosting the first and final matches of the tournament, Soccer City stadium in Johannesburg for example paid out as much as ZAR1.2 billion (AED580 million) to expand the seating area to cater for 94,700 fans. To further increase capacity, South Africa has also built five new stadiums. With its giraffe-shaped roof and zebra-print seats, the 46,000-capacity Mbombela Stadium in Nelspruit pays tribute to the wildlife at nearby Kruger National Park, one of Africa’s largest game reserves. Just as eye-catching is the Nelson Mandela Bay stadium, which cost around ZAR2.1 billion to build. To read more visit www.ConstructionWeekOnline.com

Sector focus

City update

RETURNING TO HEALTH Why investments in hospitals across the Gulf are proving to be long-term sources of return

AMMAN Jordan’s capital has been given a boost by a clever approach to investment law, and projects are nearing completion

Design

Analysis

HIGH FASHION Italian architects, Lino Losanno and Lorenzo Perini, speak to CID about the art of effective retail design

WORKING AT HEIGHT Why working safely at height needn’t come at the cost of expediency

CONSTRUCTION WEEK MAY 15-21, 2010

Procurement Ofﬁcer, Bangladesh Mechanical Engineer, Abu Dhabi Quality Assurance Manager, Riyadh

ONLINE POLL IS YOUR COMPANY WORKING ON AN AIRPORT PROJECT?

45.2% 35.5% 12.9% 6.5% Yes

FEATURES

JOBS OF THE WEEK

Yes, wish we could get more.

No, never again.

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

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MAIL RE: ‘TIME FOR DIALOGUE’ ON THE FUTURE OF DUBAI Making Dubai into a city like New York or Chicago will require huge resources. I have worked on Sheikh Zayed Road and lived in Deira, and I am now living in International City where I can walk to the new ofﬁce that NAGA set up there over a year ago. It’s not bad to have satellite cities but there have to be good connections. I agree with the comment about creating a better walking and bicycle city. It would make Dubai much more human. JOHN

RE: KAUST PRAISED Hats off to KAUST! As part of the KAUST commissioning team, I am very proud to have worked as an architect on this project. It’s very hard to develop such a big university in less than three years. It’s a fantastic achievement, and an honour to be praised by the AIA. Thanks to all the personnel who worked on this project. SALMAN SAEED

RE: TOUGH 2012 DEADLINE FOR HSE COMPLIANCE This is one of the highlights of CW’s news. Abu Dhabi Municipality is moving in the right direction by implementing better health and safety for contractors. As an EHS professional myself, I see this as a very strategic decision by the government. PAMARTHI RE: BURJ OBSERVATION DECK TICKET PRICE The Burj observation deck ticket price should deﬁnitely be

more affordable. Though it will still attract visitors at a price of AED500 it would be unjustiﬁed to charge such a high amount. Making it affordable would allow those with lower incomes to enjoy it. They could perhaps vary the prices at weekends. AHMED If you want to increase revenue, lower the price of the tickets. If the company makes the ticket price more affordable for the general public, say AED50, its revenues could triple or quadruple. ISIDRO BALMATER RE: NAKHEEL’S UNFINISHED PROJECTS Blame the US? You cannot be serious. In addition to poor and top heavy middle management there was uncontrolled corruption. I hope Nakheel has learnt from this and hires practical, experienced people in the future. NICK Nakheel is a good company. In the recent times of economic crisis, management executives have tried to solve problems by refunding back money to investors. TAHIR MASOOD RE: MARINA WEST INVESTORS TOLD: THIS ISN’T GOING AHEAD The project has stopped and Al Hamad has not been paid. The company had to reduce its workforce by more than 50%. The money paid so far by investors has disappeared. There needs to be more laws to protect the interests of individuals. HASSAN

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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 MAY 15–21, 2010

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COMMENT MIGUEL RIOPA/AFP/GETTY IMAGES

HIGH FLIERS

“WITH ALL THE USUAL FUSS THAT IS ASSOCIATED WITH FLYING, IT CAN BE EASY TO MISS THE EFFORTS OF THE INDUSTRY THAT CONTINUES TO BUILD SOME OF THE NICEST AND NEWEST AIRPORTS IN THE WORLD.”

Spending on airport projects in the GCC has been massive over the last five years. Driven by a desire for economic diversification and teamed with brand-building national airlines, GCC airports have been an integral part of making GCC cities into regional business hubs. Increasing passenger and freight figures, plus the enthusiasm for the giant Airbus A380, have helped push Gulf cities into developing larger and more modern airports. The long and low profiles of an airport passenger terminal, being built in just about every city near you, are the outward signs of development. Less obvious are all the supporting works which go along with those buildings. From cargo to catering, engineering, fuel stores, runways and aprons, the modern airport is a large and complex combination of resources. But when was the last time you noticed all of this? When traveling through an airport, I normally do so with anxious haste. There are always miles to walk, then it is dodge the perfume sprayers, the money changers, the floor sleepers and the inevitable slow-moving phalanx of old people looking for a distant gate. But in truth there is much more to an airport than the things you try to avoid, or simply rush past. A quick look at the contracts awarded over the last five years reveals a world of detailed and technical construction packages, which must look to every detail of access, comfort, security and overall safety. With all the usual fuss that is associated with flying it can be easy to miss the efforts of the industry that continues to build some of the nicest and newest airports in the world. It is an effort that should be applauded, even if you do not always appreciate it.

STUART MATTHEWS SENIOR GROUP EDITOR stuart.matthews@itp.com

CONSTRUCTION WEEK MAY 15–21, 2010

FRONT

>News >Highlights

>Comment

>Top airport projects

ABDULLAH SULTAN AL-DAREI, THE EHSMS PROJECT MANAGER, CONFIRMED THAT SRA WILL WORK WITH STAKEHOLDERS TO ACHIEVE PROJECT GOALS.

TOUGH 2012 DEADLINE FOR CONTRACTOR HSE COMPLIANCE By Elizabeth Broomhall

New regulations mean that 190 organisations in Abu Dhabi’s construction industry will have to devise and implement their own environment, health and safety management system before 2012. The scheme will affect contractors, sub-contractors, developers, consultants and suppliers, and has come about with the launch of a new Building and Construction Sector Environment Health and Safety (EHS) Department in the Al Ain municipality, Abu Dhabi. By linking international principles with existing federal laws and setting minimum standards for environment, health and safety, senior government executives want to create safer workplaces and healthy working environments, while minimising pollution and ensuring sustainable development. General Manager of Al Ain Municipality Dr Matar Al Nuaimi said: “This landmark project aims to deliver a fundamental change to levels of understanding and attitudes towards the environment, health and safety on construction sites.

“The Sector Regulatory Authority (SRA) is committed to working with all stakeholders in the building and construction sector to enforce the Environment Health and Safety Management System (EHSMS). Our aim goes beyond enforcement. By educating the sector, we hope to inﬂuence behaviours and develop a positive EHS culture that values both human life and the environment. We aim to create a cleaner and safer working environment and, ultimately, save natural resources.” As part of the scheme, 190 high risk companies or ‘nominated entities’ will be informed of their requirement to register with the new building and construction SRA, before devising their own management systems, in line with their speciﬁc health and safety needs. After each system is approved by the SRA, the companies will have one year in which to implement it throughout their own corporation, as well as a applying similar system across their supply chain.

This will involve self regulation and regulation of subcontractors through regular internal audits, and through efficient performance, risk and incident reporting to the SRA, using IT systems. Abdullah Sultan al-Darei, the EHSMS Project Manager, confirmed that the SRA will work with stakeholders to achieve project goals by providing the necessary support, including training, education and recognition of the best compliance with EHSMS requirements. Environment Agency-Environment Health and Safety (EA-EHS) Centre Representative Andrew Jukes said: “We believe it is a good time to introduce regulatory guidance for government departments and private businesses. It will give this particular emirate a competitive advantage in the region.” He added: “This is the world’s first integrated system of health, safety and environment. We think that’s a good step forward and believe the benefits of this scheme will outweigh the economic impact. Having this framework will actually attract business.” MAY 15-21, 2010 CONSTRUCTION WEEK

FRONT COMMODORE CONTRACTING ENTERS DUBAI LAGOON FRAY By Ben Roberts

QATAR GOVERNMENT OFFICIALS ARE BACKING THE COMPLETION OF MEGA PROJECTS BY 2026.

QATAR MEGA PROJECTS TO BE FINISHED BY 2026 By Andrerw Sambidge All mega projects in Qatar will be ﬁnished by 2026, according to a government ofﬁcial. Ibrahim Abbass, Infrastructure and Transportation Planning director of the Ministry of Municipality and Urban Planning (MMUP) said during the Qatar Property Investment Forum that all current and upcoming projects will be ready within 13 years. This includes projects such as the upgrade and expansion of road networks, as well as the metro lines and railway system. “We are planning to have connected roads soon for easy access to any part of the country. We are also working on underground and surface metro as well as improved bus transportation to encourage more people to use public vehicles,” he said.

The plan is ambitious given the scope of the work, but Abbass said there was a desire from the government to keep projects on track. “We intend to achieve all our plans on the country’s masterplan by 2026 and, before then, every ﬁve years we will commission a new package of projects, especially road projects,” he told a newspaper. He also urged more residents to use public transport. Abbass said that the government had revised earlier targets for public transport uptake to more realistic ﬁgures. They had hoped that 40% of commuters would use public transport but a more realistic target of 20% could be achieved through a slow but steady commuter transition from cars to buses, the underground and metro services.

Troubled developer Schön Properties has added another construction company to the building of Dubai Lagoon to speed up the completion of the stuttering AED3 billion project. The company has awarded an AED82.25 million contract to Commodore Contracting for zones two and four, to finish all concrete and block works, double basement, superstructure, water proofing and related works for both zones. Commodore Contracting joins Bin Sabt Building Contracting Company, which is working on the more advanced Zone one, and Belhasa Contracting and Engineering Company (BHECC), which is reputedly on site with an intensified construction program planned for Zone three. Actual construction is expected to start within three weeks and the ground floor will be hit by midSeptember, according to the schedule set by the contractor. The move comes after mounting criticism from investors over delays, in some areas by more than two years. Last month Schön Properties confirmed that zones five through to seven had been stopped completely.

MOL GETS TOUGH ON FRIDAY WORKER COMPENSATION By Ben Roberts The Ministry of Labour is to step up pressure on businesses to compensate labourers who work on Fridays in a wider attempt to harmonise the enforcement of employee rights across the Emirates. Following a notification on its website, the Ministry has confirmed that it is taking action to ensure that companies do not flaunt existing legislation and pay workers 50% more than their usual hourly pay on the first day of the weekend. The crackdown on payment comes after a pro10

CONSTRUCTION WEEK MAY 15–21, 2010

test on 3rd May in Dubai in front of the Ministry of Labour, in which workers demanding pay long-overdue that had been withheld by their employer, a South Korean construction company, which is yet to be named. Legal experts say that the legislation for remuneration has been in place across the Emirates for some time, though this far from guarantees compliance. One employment lawyer told CW that it is part of a sea-change at the Ministry to

add bite to rule enforcement, along with the added clarity of publicising its activities online. “We are seeing more and more that the Ministry of Labour – and groups such as the International Labour Organisation – are ensuring that elements of legislation are being implemented,” she said. She added that there is often great variation in the enforcement of such issues as worker pay – but that the authorities will be breathing down the necks of noncompliant ﬁrms.

FRONT HIGHLIGHTS Project

DAMAC PICKS ARABTEC CONSTRUCTION Damac Properties selected Arabtec Construction as the main contract for its US $136 million (AED500 million) Damac Heights project at Dubai Marina. The contract was signed this week and construction is expected to start on site as soon as Zetas Foundation Technology has competed enabling works. The 90-storey Damac Heights tower will be one of the company’s most iconic projects, overlooking the Palm Jumeirah and situated within walking distance of another Damac ﬂagship construction project, Ocean Heights - which is also being constructed by Arabtec. Work on Ocean Heights is due for completion later this year. Materials

IMPORT DUTIES TO BE SCRAPPED The GCC Secretary-General has conﬁrmed that tariffs on steel and cement imports into the GCC countries will be abolished within one to two months. At a meeting of ﬁnance ministers on Saturday, Abdul

Rahman Al Attiyah told reporters that the 5% import duty imposed by the GCC customs union would be scrapped as part a wider plan to ease economic integration in the region. “There is consensus among GCC countries about this proposal. It will be approved without any problem but it will probably take a month or two for it to be implemented,” Al Attiyah told Reuters before the start of the meeting. Materials

GAS SQUEEZE ADDS TO MATERIALS PRESSURE The curtailing of gas from Qatar is putting pressure on UAE building materials suppliers forced to switch their machines to running on oil, slashing the returns from revenues and sales. The cost of switching from US $5 per barrel of gas to $85 per barrel of oil has added to a dwindling market for Emirati material suppliers, particularly those in cement, as the drive to run machinery on more sustainable fuels such as electricity remains a distant prospect. “The gas supply in UAE is very small, and the gas curtailment means that

Project

TAMEER’S TWIN TOWERS TOPPED OFF Tameer Holding Investment’s Imperial Residence development in Dubai has been topped out, the developer has announced. The two-towers that make up the residential project consist of 28 floors each and rise from a four-storey podium. “The topping out of the superstructure on both towers has been completed, and we expect to deliver the project to our customers in the first half of 2011,” said Tameer president Federico Tauber. “The development affords residents the benefit of

being easily connected to both Dubai and Abu Dhabi, with the added appeal of unobstructed, panoramic views of the spectacular Dubai skyline as well as Dubai’s Sports City.” Once completed, Imperial Residence, which is located in Jumeriah Village South, will house 510 apartments. Other amenities include a swimming pool, a gymnasium and several retail outlets. MEP

SLASH YOUR AIR-CON BILLS BY WITH BLINDS The latest trend in roller blinds and metallic fabrics, can slash the electricity consumption of an aircon system in a typical building by at least 50%, says TechnoShade manager Mohammed Imtiaz. “These kinds of products create a very high reﬂectance of solar radiation, and therefore a much lower G-value, so that less heat enters a building.” “The climatic conditions in the Middle East have boosted the demand for environmentfriendly roller shutters and sun-protection systems,” adds Alusol general manager Nasser Al Essa, one of the exhibitors at R+T Middle East 2010.

51%

NEWS IN NUMBERS

AED 82.25

million

the contract offered to Commodore Contracting to work on zones 2 and 4 of Dubai Lagoon

companies have had to look at a switch to alternative fuels,” said Hettish Kumar, senior ﬁnancial analyst at Global Investment House in Kuwait. Ras Al Khaimah-based Gulf Cement Company is the latest company to see a jump in the costs as order sizes shrink. Revenues declined almost US $11.7 million to $46.58 million (AED43 million to AED171.1 million) from $58.2 million - for the period January to the end of March this year compared to the same period in 2009.

600,000 number of tonnes of copper used in the Middle East each year

the equity stake that India’s UltraTech is to take in Star Cement, announced this week

BD128.3m (AED1.24bn)

Last year’s expenditure of Bahrain’s Ministry of Works

MAY 1–7, 2010 CONSTRUCTION WEEK

COMMENT > For more legal advice log on to www.ConstructionWEEKonline.com/comment

NEC reality check PHILIP ADAMS LOOKS AT COMPENSATION EVENTS AND THE ROLE OF THE PROJECT MANAGER IN NEC CONTRACTS

“IT IS VIRTUALLY IMPOSSIBLE TO COMPEL PARTIES TO ACT IN MUTUAL TRUST AND COOPERATION, EITHER THEY DO OR THEY DON’T”

Philip Adams is an associate director at Systech in Dubai. He has provided commercial, contractual and dispute resolution advice on projects ranging from high specification offices, data centres and long distance fibre optic networks to major civil engineering projects, multi-storey offices and oil and gas. He is a member of the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors and a fellow at the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators.

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

CONSTRUCTION WEEK MAY 15–21, 2010

I become increasingly frustrated at the way in which the NEC contract is promoted as the answer to all constructions ills. Don’t get me wrong, it is a good contract but at the end of the day it is virtually impossible to compel parties to act in mutual trust and cooperation, either they do or they don’t. In my experience due to a general misunderstanding of the procedures and an inherent ‘wait and see’ attitude, compensation events can remain unresolved until the end of the project. The NEC panel recognised the problem and introduced condition precedents in NEC3, but unfortunately in practice these tend to be deleted in the Z clauses. Compensation events are assessed at the time of the event and once agreed, there is very little scope to revisit the assessment. In preparing assessments contractors include allowances ‘for matters which have a significant chance of occurring’ (clause 63.6), and the assessment is ‘not revised if a forecast upon which it is based is shown by later information to have been wrong’ (clause 65.2). In paragraph 5 on page 4 of the guidance notes, the NEC explains the principles behind the above. It is intended to ‘stimulate foresight’, enable the employer to make decisions ‘with reasonable certainty of the cost and time implications’, and ‘put a risk on the contractor which is tolerable and motivates him to manage efficiently’. Unfortunately, contractors can become overly reliant on their subcontractors when pricing a compensation event and often seem unwilling to price from first principles. The result is that initial assessments tend to be too global and incorporate ‘on account’ sums. Consequently they are gradually eroded by the project manager (PM) due to lack of substantiation, until eventually the assessment reverts back to actual cost.

The PM should state assumptions upon which the assessment should be based, and if such assumptions are subsequently corrected, then this becomes a compensation event in itself (Clause 60.1(17)). Therefore, the PM is required to give direction but again this rarely happens and matters remain vague, in the hope that a ‘wait and see’ attitude will have a positive outcome, when invariably the opposite occurs. Consequently, there can be no cost or time certainty and little motivation for the contractor. Furthermore, the definition of disallowed costs under options C, D, E and F includes costs which the PM decides ‘is not justified by the contractor’s accounts and records’. Unfortunately, these provisions tend to be used to revisit assessments and this doesn’t sit well with Clause 65.2. Finally, under Option C (target contract with activity schedule) assessments are there to increase or decrease the target price and therefore, have limited bearing on the final cost of the works other than as an incentive for the contractor. However, this concept is often misunderstood and PM’s seek to erode the assessments to actual cost. In my experience Option C projects administered as normal cost-plus contracts result in no gain and a lot of pain. In conclusion therefore, contractors must ensure that the compensation events are priced properly and timely. If there are multiple compensation events the process can become quite complex and therefore, contractors should ensure they allocate adequate commercial and programming resources. If insufficient information exists regarding a compensation event and the PM is not providing clear direction, contractors should be proactive and prepare their own list of assumptions so that the PM is clear from the outset where the risks lie.

On May 29th, Construction Week will reveal the GCC’s 50 Most Admired Companies. From a shortlist of over 250 companies, our editors have spent the past three months studying a range of companies across all sectors of the industry – developers, contractors, engineers, suppliers and product manufacturers. Each company has been examined carefully, looking at its proﬁts, management, leadership,

innovation, technological excellence, R&D and the range of projects it has been involved with. The publication of “The GCC’s 50 Most Admired Companies” is the most anticipated event in construction publishing this year, and will take place both in print on Saturday 29th May and online at www.constructionweekonline.com from 9am on the same day.

To ensure you are part of this historical issue, contact me immediately. Jason Bowman, Publishing Director

T: +971 4 210 8351

E: jason.bowman@itp.com

ConstructionWEEK

TOP 5 AIRPORT PROJECTS IN THE GCC BILLIONS HAVE BEEN PLOUGHED INTO GCC AVIATION MARKETS TO BUILD UP THE REGION’S PROFILE AS A TRANSPORT HUB. CONSTRUCTION WEEK LOOKS AT FIVE OF THE BIGGEST ONGOING AIRPORT PROJECTS AS THE DEVELOPMENT CONTINUES By Chris Sell

he GCC’s aviation sector has undergone rapid transformation over the last decade. Recognising that establishing a hub – backed by an international brand – was a strong tool for development, Dubai with Emirates, Abu Dhabi with Etihad and Qatar with Qatar Airways have ploughed billions of dollars into their respective aviation markets. Kuwait, Bahrain and Oman too have established strong regional hubs and are continuing to modernise their airport infrastructure to cope with double-digit growth in cargo and passenger demand. 14

CONSTRUCTION WEEK MAY 15–21, 2010

Projects listed in this feature are in alphabetical order.

Construction Week takes a look at ﬁve of the biggest aviation projects currently underway in the GCC, beginning with the biggest potential market, Saudi Arabia. Despite being left behind by the investment of its GCC neighbours, the kingdom – buoyed by record budget spending – has embarked upon a massive upgrade programme of its airport infrastructure. In particular, the kingdom’s airports are undergoing extensive and radical overhaul’s to ensure Saudi Arabia will become a major hub by 2035 – and at the same time catch up with newer hubs such as Dubai and Abu Dhabi, which have already committed signiﬁcant funds into their respective sectors.

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KING ABDULAZIZ INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT, JEDDAH The kingdom’s largest contractor, Saudi Binladin Group last month secured the low-bid for two of the largest contracts set to be awarded in 2010 for the upgrade of the King Abdulaziz International airport in Jeddah. A number of international and local contractors had submitted bids for two design and build contracts, which covered infrastructure and construction of the terminal and afﬁliated works. SBG submitted bids valued at US $3 billion (SR11.3 billion) for the terminal and $3.7 billion for the infrastructure. Other bidders for the work included Almabani General Contractors, El Seif Engineering & Contracting Company, China Harbour Engineering Company and Joannou & Paraskevaides with Murray & Roberts. Known as the King Abdulaziz International Airport Development Project, it will be developed in three phases. Phase one – which includes the overhaul and construction of two passenger terminals, construction of a general aviation terminal, desalination plant and other facilities – is scheduled for completion in 2012, while phase 3 is scheduled for 2035. The new terminal will include a new terminal with 42 departure gates, aircraft hangers, new control tower, railway station zone and maintenance facilities. Unlike the rest of the GCC, Saudi Arabia’s primary target is to meet demand from religious tourist on the Hajj and Umrah pilgrimages. Jeddah acts as the gateway to the holy cities of Makkah and Madinah, with approximately 2.5 million visitors during the Hajj period alone. Up to seven million perform the Umrah over the course of a year. In addition to these plans, Saudi Arabia plans a number of ‘airport cities’ within the kingdom where people can live, shop, study and attend conferences. Jeddah, Riyadh and Dammam have all been earmarked as sites where these cities will be developed. Arabian Business, citing Bloomberg, reported the General Authority for Civil Aviation (Gaca) had short-listed four groups for a $2.4 billion project to build and operate facilities at an Airport City linked to Jeddah. It will take approximately 10 years to complete and is part of a plan to attract $5.86 billion in investment to build, own and operate an airport and terminal related facilities, according to Alaa Samman, director of business development for domestic airports at Gaca. The winning bids are expected in August, he added.

AL MAKTOUM INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT, DUBAI Al Maktoum International airport – part of the massive US $33 billion Dubai World Central project – is set to open its first phase on June 27 for cargo. The site will also feature a logistics centre and a number of residential developments. When complete Al Maktoum will be able to handle 160 million passengers a year, making it one of the world’s largest airports. While falling demand and room for renegotiation on contracts has affected the pace of the project, its overall design has not altered. Anticipating longterm growth, the government is developing the new airport near Jebel Ali Free Zone. It is not clear at this stage, however, when commercial flights will begin operating out of the airport. The budget has been revised but when finally completed the site will feature 4km of runways, a cargo terminal, passenger terminal, utilities complex and associated facilities. Other phases will see the construction of further runways, a 10km underground cargo tunnel to Jebel Ali port, baggage and cargo handling facilities and associated amenities. A consortium featuring the local contractor Arabtec Construction and Malaysia’s WCT Engineering won the construction contract for the airport in 2006. Meanwhile, Dubai airport’s $1.17 billion concourse three, designed specifically to take the A380 is scheduled to open in 2012. MAY 15–21, 2010 CONSTRUCTION WEEK

ABU DHABI EXPANSION Like its neighbouring emirate, Abu Dhabi is anticipating a marked increase in passenger and cargo traffic over the coming years and has subsequently planned for this. The Abu Dhabi Airports Company is constructing a new airport near the existing site, under the Supervision Committee for Expansion of Abu Dhabi International Airport (SCADIA) to increase passenger traffic from the current 7 million to 32 million. To be completed in two phases the project will include a 21-storey air traffic control tower (ATCC), Etihad passenger terminal, midfield terminal complex, 4.1km runway and a number of taxiways and commercial areas. The contract for the midfield terminal complex is expected to be awarded in the fourth quarter this year and will be completed by 2015. The contract will see a new terminal built between Abu Dhabi’s International airport’s two runways with a total built-up area of 630,000m2 and the capacity of handling up to 20 million passengers per year. It will also feature a multi-storey car park. A number of groups are understood to have submitted prequalification forms. These include ACC with Bouygues, Samsung Corporation and Six Construct Abu Dhabi. Bechtel Corporation with Enka and the Al Jaber Group and Al Habtoor Leighton with Murray & Roberts and Hochtief. Al Habtoor Engineering & Murray & Roberts were awarded the EPC contract for the Etihad passenger terminal, which was completed in 2008. The ATCC is being built by Ascon and Kumho Engineering & Construction Company and is due to be completed in the second quarter. Foundation, piling and excavation works are currently underway.

136 MILLION MAN HOURS WERE WORKED WITHOUT LTIS AT DUBAI INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT.

PRINCE MOHAMMED BIN ABDULAZIZ AIRPORT, MADINAH In addition to Prince Abdulaziz at Jeddah, Gaca is in the process of prequalifying firms for the public-private partnership (PPP) deal to develop the US $1.5 billion first phase of the Prince Mohammed Bin Adbualaziz Airport expansion at Madinah. Bids for the first phase are due in September, with an award expected by the end of November. Construction is then due to start one year later. A number of firms have been prequalified including SBG and Almabani General Contractors. Gaca will renovate the airport to enable a much-increased capacity of 14 million passengers per year, compared to the 3.5 million passengers a year. Construction will involve a new pas16

CONSTRUCTION WEEK MAY 15–21, 2010

senger terminal, renovation of the existing runway and a possible second runway. This second phase is expected to take place between 2021 and 2024 and is expected to push up the overall cost to $2.4 billion. The expansion of Madinah airport – the ﬁrst that Gaca is developing under a PPP contract - is part of the kingdom’s wider plan to develop more than $10.5 billion of airport projects to increase capacity across the kingdom. In total, Gaca is upgrading 16 domestic airports including Abha, Hail, Arar, Al Wajeh and Al Quisumah. Bids for construction packages are scheduled to be submitted in the third quarter of 2010, with an award following in the fourth quarter. Concept and detailed design has previously been awarded to ADPI Designers & Planners. Saudi Arabia has 27 airports in total.

NEW DOHA INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT, QATAR Work is also still ongoing on the New Doha International Airport in Doha. Following the success of Qatar Airways, it was decided the existing facilities were inadequate and work is now under way to build a new airport in excess of 22km2, with the ability to handle 50 million passengers. This will make it three times the size of the current airport and six times the capacity. With a spiralling budget estimated now at US $11 billion (previously it was $5.5 billion), the first phase of the airport is expected to open in 2011. This will comprise of two runways and a 13,000m2 terminal, 24 gates and the capacity to handle 12 million passengers per year. Phase 3 is due to be completed in 2015. At the beginning of the year, a number of contractors submitted bids for a $600 million contract to build an extension to the passenger terminal. An award is expected in the second quarter of this year. The extension includes a five-storey structure covering 127,000 m2. Those firms understood to have bid include Six Construct, Hyundai Engineering & Construction Company and China State Construction Engineering Corporation. This will connect with the main passenger terminal currently being built by a consortium featuring Taisei Corporation and TAV. The second phase of the expansion will double capacity to 24 million and the addition of 80,000m2 of space.

Elsewhere in the region, Iraq’s Ministry of Transport is looking to develop aviation facilities, which meet international standards to receive pilgrims and tourists. In total, it plans to meet a capacity of 30 million passengers per year on a site of 220 acres at Karbala. Details of the projects include a runway, taxiway, apron, terminal, passenger bridges, air trafﬁc control tower and administrative buildings. The project has an estimated value of US $3 billion. Kuwait’s Directorate General of Civil Aviation is looking to expand the number of passengers annually passing through the airport to 20 million, from the current six million. It will also be able to receive the new Airbus A380. A new terminal building will be linked to the existing terminal via a tunnel and the new design incorporates a hotel, car parks, new maintenance hangers and both existing runways will be extended by 600m. Oman’s Ministry of Transport & Communication is pushing ahead with expansion plans for airports at the capital Muscat and Salalah to raise passenger capacity to 7 million. Consisting of five phases, the ministry plans to develop airside facilities, an air traffic control tower, a passenger terminal, the redevelopment of Salalah airport and deliver updated airport IT systems. EPC contracts for new passenger terminals at Muscat and Salalah are expected to be awarded in July. For the capital, this will involve the construction of a 290,000m2 airport terminal. Work is expected to start in the second half of the year. Firms understood to have submitted bids are Joannou and Paraskevaides (J&P), TAV, Consolidated Contractors Company, KING ABDULAZIZ INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT, JEDDAH WILL BE UPGRADED. Bechtel and Larsen & Toubro. MAY 15–21, 2010 CONSTRUCTION WEEK

HIGH FLIERS CONSTRUCTION WEEK TAKES A LOOK AT THE COMPANIES CHANGING THE FACE OF REGIONAL AIRPORTS AROUND THE GCC By CW Staff

MAY 15–21, 2010 CONSTRUCTION WEEK

1997 AEROPORTS DE PARIS INGENIERIE ADPi has been one of France’s most successful mergers, now into its 10th year of working together backed by the historic Aeroport de Paris Group. Certified ISO 9001 since February 2003, ADPI has developed a global brand in architecture and engineering. Its chief success has been in the design for Terminal 3 at Dubai International Airport. Its success in realising all facilities for the airport - terminals, aircraft maintenance hangars, Control Towers, VVIP Pavilion, Business Aviation Terminal – has allowed it to expand into stadiums, theatres and performance halls, office towers, and urban development. This month it announced the completion of the concrete and steel works for the new control tower and air traffic facilities of Abu Dhabi International Airport, part of the $6.8 billion expansion of the project for which it was assigned work four years ago. The tower will enable the airport to handle up to 70 takeoffs and landings per hour and is part of a massive expansion of airport facilities.

300 THE COMPANY HAS WORKED ON 300 INTERNATIONAL SUBSTANTIAL PROJECTS IN THE LAST TEN YEARS

AIRMASTER EQUIPMENTS EMIRATES Few travelers would not have appreciated a pleasant atmosphere and temperature as they relax while waiting for a ﬂight, and they frequently would have Airmaster Equipments Emirates to thank. The company develops high quality outlets for air conditioning units, and is now into its 14th year selling into the Middle East. Its wide selection of 20

CONSTRUCTION WEEK MAY 15–21, 2010

IN 1997 AL ABBAR ALUMINIUM BECAME A SEPARATE DIVISION AND ACQUIRED THE PURPOSE BUILT OFFICE AND FACTORY using cutting edge CAD, 3D technologies that generate the product lines prior to delivery and installation. It takes an A to Z approach to all products, supporting projects from raw materials to ﬁnishing touches in close collaboration with main contractors, as well as architects. AL-ABBAR SUPPLIED CLADDING FOR DUBAI AIRPORT.

products comprises of many different grilles, disc valves and diffusers – among other products – to most effectively suit the outlet needed. It also provides steel sheet access doors into air conditioning systems that use rubber and fibreglass. The list of airports in the region in which it has sold its ISO9002 products is impressive. This include mandates for the expansions of the Doha, Dubai and Al Ain international airports, along with specific work on the cargo terminal in Sharjah, the extension of the duty free section of the airport in Bahrain, as well as the pedestrian access and arrival lounge in Dubai airport, as well as its VIP pavillion. It also has worked on the Emirates Engineering Centre. AL ABBAR ALUMINIUM Al Abbar Aluminium, part of the Al Abbar Group, has forced itself to the front of cladding and façade providers with a number of high profile and highly visible buildings in the Emirate. However, even within this broad spectrum of projects it earmarks its two-fold work on Dubai International airport as two of its special projects, after it was selected by Al Habtoor Murray and Roberts to provide the curtain walling for the iconic airport. A walk around its manufacturing facilities in Jebel Ali Industrial Zone gives some reason why the ambitious company was chosen. It has a purposebuilt, 300,000ft3 factory which houses both its manufacturing and fabrication units and an in-house design centre

AL FAROOQI ENGINEERING CONSULTANTS Al Farooqi has one of the broadest overall offerings of all airport providers. It made its name by providing concrete and steel structural work, as well as the piling and other enabling works. The Cypriot company knows time is of the essence when moving from drawing board to finished project, and fittingly the clock tower at Kuwait International Airport ranks among its most distinctive feats. Developers have continued to return to Al Farooqi for various construction aspects of the airport down the years based on its good reputation, including for its VIP terminal, which saw the company design and drawings for entirely precast structures, plaza canopy, plaza walls and drop-off canopy. The company has also been instrumental in the expansion of the airport. AL GURG FOSROC LLC (DUBAI) Fosroc’s global presence hints at a company always on the move, taking in business and working with contractors from Oman to Venezuela. The Middle East is one of its main focuses, however, and its involvement in the ambitious expansion of the Sharjah International Airport – set for a four-fold size increase – will be one of its top contributions to the aviation sector. More recently the company has worked on two concourses for Dubai International Airport. This included all the flooring for the royal hangars in the Emirates Engineering Centre for HH Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum.

The company’s primary provision is concrete block and brick manufacturing. However, it also has ancillary services around cement and other materials that ensure a project is built, reinforced and sustained to last – simply put, Al Gurg Fosroc can be on hand to complete the nimble jobs needed to keep large structures in perfect working order. This includes areas such as admixtures, surface treatments, grouts and cement additives.

250,000m2 THE EMIRATES ENGINEERING CENTRE NEEDED FLOORING OF 250,000m2. IT WAS COMPLETED IN SIX MONTHS IN 2006.

ALCATEL For a company thriving in the highly competitive mainstream telecoms industry, Alcatel has shown it is not neglecting drive and innovation in developing integrated systems for airports. Indeed, its edge on the competition has derived from its ability to use the innovations in more retail focused telecoms to meet the demands of airports increasingly diversifying their service offering to remain competitive. The company sells its technology to both existing terminals and those newly built. Essentially it has carved market share with an end-to-end communication system that helps securely link all parts of an airport for all staff and management – boosting security for passengers and reducing the cost of ownership with a uniﬁed system. It has invested in being able to grow the capacity of its communication platform in line with the increasing volume of facilities and passengers.

merge of Alico UAE (Aluminium & Light Industries Co) and Orascum Construction Industries that produced Alico Egypt, and the resulting company has thrived as a model for further deals between the two countries’ firms. By 2002 the company had accrued more than ¤70 million in orders, which could be met following the completion of its US $10 million, 12,000 m2 Ain Sukhna-based the previous year. The company has a three-fold expertise selling principally to architecture firms: aluminium fabrication, glass manufacture and paint products. Its portfolio of projects is grand, and includes the Nile City Towers and the Heliopolis Citystars complexes. ARINC ARINC is one of those classic organisations embedded in the evolution of airports themselves. The number of planes and airport projects it has allowed to get off the ground with its communications system is now innumerable, and its Middle Eastern operations targeted to traffic management and seamless communication rival those throughout the world. Its communications, navigation, surveillance/air traffic management (CNS/ATM) system is the interface between air traffic control and the flight crew through a variety of air-to-ground data link networks – providing position information to the controller. The Tower Data Link Service (TDLS) allows air traffic controllers to transmit vital information, and the FAA is using the system to issue over 350,000 predeparture clearances every month.

ALICO It is now 11 years since the smooth

FAST FACTS All senior management for the merged company was provided by Alico UAE ALICO WAS HEAVILY INVOLVED IN DUBAI AIRPORT.

ASSOCIATED CONSULTING ENGINEERS (ACE) INTERNATIONAL Few companies in this providers list enjoy the scale of ACE International, nor better balance its consulting expertise between architecture and engineering. The 54 year-old Lebanese firm was credited as being among the top 200 international design firms by Engineering News Record in 2005, and its multi-disciplinary consulting engineering activities for projects which had collectively exceeded US $50 billion. To a greater extent than perhaps all in this list, the company has been able to grow rapidly through targeted acquisitions, including SFSP, which helped increase its standing for consultancy engineering, and IMEG Oil and Gas, which allowed it to offer services for these two commodities. It has global offices and a significant presence in particular in Abu Dhabi, aiming to keep on top of the opportunities and workings of each area with a diversified staff and training programme.

ATKINS & PARTNERS OVERSEAS Atkins & Partners is in many ways indispensable from any tally of contributors to airport development in the GCC. The UK-based firm has nestled so comfortably into the business of the region over the last few years, managing to leverage its expertise accrued from its operations around the world and also from the different sectors it applies its design and engineering expertise. Perhaps uniquely in this study of providers, Atkins & Partners has established itself in three key areas of air travel innovation: aerospace itself, airports and air traffic management. Airport designing and building is perhaps the most exciting, ranging from a number of key infrastructure projects including operational improvements, runway reconfiguration and apron development to the full-blown design for Etihad Terminal at Abu Dhabi International Airport. However, its service for the air vehicles and air traffic should not be dismissed – the firm counts Airbus as a client on the one hand and a 20-year service developing its ATM System on the other. Its Doha-based office has only increased its local reputation. MAY 15–21, 2010 CONSTRUCTION WEEK

BAFCO TRADING LLC (DUBAI) Without doubt even the parts of the biggest airports in the world that are not first class or VIP need to meet high standards of comfort for the discerning traveller. The best designed and arranged furniture for an airport transform the travelling experience and are making up a greater part of the initial consultancy and design sketches. Dubai-based Bafco has sought to become the byword for simply providing the best, most appropriate office and lounge furniture, meeting the intricate specifications of what are overall intricate projects and contributing greatly to an airport’s competitiveness. Then in 2008 it was the choice for Dubai International Airport for its third terminal, the biggest in the world with over 1,500,000m2 (370 acres) of space. The contract was estimated to be worth AED11million (US$2.98 million). Bafco was tasked to provide majority of the workstations, executive desks, chairs needed in a short span of time. BK GULF LLC (DBBG) (DUBAI) An Emirati company now 32 years old, BK Gulf has the interesting dynamic of both working on overall projects and having narrow specialism. Allied with its building and engineering expertise is the company’s knowledge of electrical and mechanical design and fittings, and it is these last two elements in which it has found the majority of its work on airport projects. The most prestigious of these has been the cargo mega terminal at Dubai International Airport. Electrical specialisms include HV and LV switchgear and transformers, HV and LV power and control cabling, power generation systems, lighting and

FAST FACTS The company is a founder member of the Emirates Green Building Council.

CONSTRUCTION WEEK MAY 15–21, 2010

public address systems, the last one particularly useful if you’ve ever found yourself running to catch a ﬂight. Part of the Dutco Balfour Beatty Group, visitors to Dubain in particular has the company to thank for its engineering contribution to many of the most eye-catching sights, from the Burj Al Arab hotel to the magniﬁcent Lake Fountain beside the Burj Khalifa.

AIRPORT ACCESS REQUIRES FORWARD THINKING

CANSULT MAUNSELL AECOM The merger of Cansult, AECOM and AECOM’s Maunsell operation almost four years ago created an unusual but profitable combination of Arabian and North American expertise. The company has also been impressing financially with gains in revenues for both the last three months and the last six months up to the end of March 2010 compared to equivalent time frames a year ago. Since the beginning of the year it has seen revenues of $1,601,166, up from $1,498,058, and its six months gains reached $3,081,950, up from $2,950,686. Its key aerospace project in the region was for the ExecuJet Jet Hanger Facility in Dubai International Airport (DIA). CAVOTEC MIDDLE EAST FZE Cavotec Middle East FZE has been solving power supply problems for decades. Its chief areas include airports, ports and other maritime services, mining and general industry. For airports it supplies cables, connectors and towbars for aircraft themselves, crocodile systems for powering stationary crafts, as well as in-ground fuel and utility systems. It has provided fuel systems and fire hydrant systems to, respectively, Argentinian airports and Mumbai International Airport, and it is perhaps best known for its work on Terminal 2 (AX-272-F) at Dubai International Airport. However, it is on something of a roll in this region. Last month it signed an AED143.3 million deal with Bahrain Airport Company to integrate a comprehensive range of ground support

equipment for the Bahrain International Airport. These solutions will include 18 pre-conditioned air (PCAir) systems, in-ground pop-up units, transformer substations, 400Hz power supply systems, a Vacuum Evacuation System, a blue water supply system and a potable water supply system – and are set for a February 2011 completion. Further, it is one of the leaders in providing ecofriendly power solutions, and publishes environment brochures and details of its green policies.

15 THE COMPANY CELEBRATES ITS 15TH BIRTHDAY THIS YEAR

CEMEX Mexico-headquartered Cemex is a global brand for cement and other building materials with one of the longest histories in construction, now into its 104th year. It has one of the largest trading networks in the world and a presence in more than 50 countries, producing more than 97 million metric tonnes of the grey stuff every year. Despite a dip in net sales last year common to the sector (US $14.5 billion down from $20.1 billion), its total controlling shareholders’ equity actually increased by 17% to $16.3 billion – proving that it can be valuable in many ways. It is this scale which has

partly allowed it to capture market share in such a highly-competitive region for cement as the GCC. Further, it has perhaps nailed the concept of flexibility better than many other firms, with a ready-mix offering that is particularly adept at meeting specific requirements and a separate line in producing and exporting additives, a vital ingredient, meaning it is very much a suppliers’ supplier. Collaborations have also been a staple, not least for the expansion of the Dubai International Airport, when, in 2005, it partnered with Degussa Construction Chemicals Ranked to supply admixtures for the 2.4 million cubic metres of concrete, used for the Terminal 3 Building and an extensive upgrade for Terminal 2 and the construction of a mega cargo terminal. CLOISALL Cloisall Company was established more than 30 years ago to provide partitions and ceilings ranging in various designs and finishes for UAE developments. Today, it is a well-known firm in the UAE’s interior fitting and contracting sector, having built its reputation working on a number of large projects, in

both the government and private sectors. The company’s field of activity covers a broad spectrum of areas in interiors, while its capabilities include design development, engineering, fabrication and installation of all interior solutions. Among Cloisall’s projects are the expansion of the Dubai International Airport and adjacent facilities, and the development of the Air Traffic Control Tower at Jebel Ali International Airport city and the DWC Passenger Terminal and duty free section. For each project, Cloisall has been involved in the design and execution of interior fit-out solutions, providing ceilings, cladding, floors, finishings and MEP work for Dubai Civil Aviation, in partnership with consultant Dar Al Handasah and a variety of different construction contractors. The Dubai International Airport expansion contract alone was worth US $94.96 million (AED348.8 million). Cloisall is still reinforcing its presence in the region by focusing on quality control, quality products and superior execution and finishing quality. Cloisall operates from its head office in Dubai and established branch offices in Abu Dhabi,

FAST FACTS The Dubai International Airport expansion contract alone was worth almost AED 348.8 million.

Qatar and Oman. In line with growing demand for locally manufactured products, Cloisall has one of the largest factories in the UAE to support the regional growth of its operations.

AIRPORT INTERIORS PRESENT A DESIGN CHALLENGE.

MAY 15–21, 2010 CONSTRUCTION WEEK

DAIKIN Daikin Europe NV opened a Middle East branch ofﬁce in Dubai in an effort to respond to increasing demand for Daikin products and services in the region. It serves Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, Kuwait, Bahrain, Oman, Qatar and Sudan. Currently, Daikin is the only major high-ambient VRV player in the Middle East. Daikin air conditioners play active roles around the world, but particularly at locations such as hotels and international airports. The technology built in the air conditioning systems is also used to control delicate conditions for temperature and humidity. Recently, Daikin contributed to the supply of air conditioning systems at Dubai International Airport.

DAR AL HANDASA CONSULTANTS HAVE OVERSEEN THE DEVELOPMENT OF 25 DIFFERENT AIRPORTS

and a new control tower, complete with communications and navigations systems. The project is expected to be completed by the end of 2012. DOKA Doka is an international producer and supplier of prefabricated formwork used in concrete pouring. Founded in 1958, the Doka Group has approximately 4000 employees worldwide, with over 100

FAST FACTS Daikin serves Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, Kuwait, Bahrain, Oman, Qatar and Sudan

DAR AL HANDASAH CONSULTANTS Dar Al-Handasah Consultants is one of the largest engineering and design practices in the world, with multidisciplinary services. When it opened in the 1950s, it was funded on just US $3,500. After 50 years of successful business, it now has 111 ofﬁces across 42 countries and more than 6,500 employees. In the 80s, the company expanded globally, with a focus on the Middle East and Africa region. Over the years, the ﬁrm has provided master planning, design and construction supervision for more than 25 airports. Today the company is heavily involved in Phase 1 of the development of King Abdulaziz International Airport (KAIA) as project manager. Its responsibilities include overseeing the construction of the new 400,000m2 terminal complex and replacing existing North and South terminals, as well as the construction of 42 contact gates with air bridges 24

CONSTRUCTION WEEK MAY 15–21, 2010

at Abu Dhabi International Airport) and very recently Muscat International Airport. Other airport projects around the world include Changi Airport in Singapore, Indianapolis Airport Control Tower, a 46m-high Air Trafﬁc Control Tower in Munich, and the Midﬁeld Dock airport in Zurich where a total of 165,000m² (walls and ceilings) had to be formed.

DOKA HAS WORKED ON AIRPORTS IN KSA.

100 DOKA HAS OVER 100 BRANCHES ACROSS 60 COUNTRIES branches in more than 60 countries and revenue of US $1.06 million. The group offers products and services to cover a range of formwork challenges arising during different construction projects. In the Middle East, Doka has been involved in projects at King Abdul Aziz International Airport, King Khaled International Airport, Tabuk Airport, Prince Muhammad Bin Abdul Aziz Airport (all in KSA), New Doha International Airport in Qatar, the expansion of ADAT facility (the hangar

EMIRATES ELECTROMECHANICAL AND INDUSTRY (EMIRATES-EMI) Emirates Electromechanical and Industry (otherwise known as Emiratesemi) was established in 1995 to meet the electromechanical and industrial requirements of projects in the UAE. Specialising in providing services to clients in the heavy engineering industries, focusing on project development and management, the company is equipped to design, build, test, and commission electromechanical and industrial projects. One of the company’s biggest projects was the Dubai International Airport expansion, which involved the development of the main building and VIP terminal, as well as baggage screening and service compound areas. Appointed as the main MEP subcontractor, the scope of works completed by Emirates-emi included the supply, installation, testing and commissioning of all electromechanical and electrical works for the project. The project was worth AED9.6 million.

FAST FACTS Emirates-emi was MEP subcontractor for electromechanical works at Dubai International Airport

EMIRATES FALCON ELECTROMECHANICAL COMPANY (EFECO) Emirates Falcon Electromechanical Company (EFECO) has been servicing the MEP requirements of the

AED 2 BILLION EFECO’S ONGOING PROJECTS SURPASS AED2 BILLION construction industry in the Middle East since 2001. Over the last nine years, the company has set new standards in the fields of electrical, HVAC and plumbing installations, and in 2007, it became a member of Arabtec Holding, one of the biggest construction firms in the region. EFECO’s services involve designing, procuring, installing, testing and commissioning all associated MEP and infrastructure works. Over time EFECO has added many projects to its portfolio, including the development of the Air Traffic Control Tower at Jebel Ali International Airport (DWCIA), the Middle East’s tallest free standing Air Traffic Control Tower. As part of the project, EFECO and consultant Dar Al Handasah are currently involved in the construction of a 91m-high tower as well a technical block of 6000m2, to house offices, operations, technical rooms, flight simulator and a meteor observation cabin. EMIRATES GLASS Emirates Glass is a leading processor of architectural flat glass in the Middle East. In 2005 the company won the contract to supply high-performance

EMIRATES GLASS IS A LEADING PROCESSOR OF ARCHITECTURAL FLAT GLASS IN THE MIDDLE EAST.

FAST FACTS Emirates Glass has supplied its products and systems to Dubai International Airport Concourse 1 and 2

glass to Concourse 2 at Dubai International Airport, part of Dubai Civil Aviation’s airport expansion project. Dedicated exclusively to Emirates, Concourse 2 required a multi-level structure for departures and arrivals, incorporating 27 contact gates and 59 passenger-loading bridges. In addition, the company was involved in supplying glass for a 300-room hotel and health club, duty free area and restaurants. The company also successfully supplied glass for Concourse 1 at Dubai International Airport, and a number of other major airport projects across the globe. ENERGY INTERNATIONAL CORPORATION (EIC) Energy International Corporation (EIC) is a global company set up in 1979 to service the HVAC industry across the Middle East. Its main clients are contractors, consultants, municipalities, government agencies, airport and seaport authorities. As well

FAST FACTS EIC has four ofﬁces in the Middle East and company headquarters in the USA

as providing mechanical, electrical and ventilation equipment, the company also supplies and contracts parking systems, traffic management systems, traffic enforcement and control systems, electronic ticketing and vending products, and of course, aviation and airport ground support equipment. The services provided by the company include engineering, purchasing, installation, maintenance, financing, follow-up training and after-sale service. In the past, it has provided aircraft ground air conditioning units, fuel venting systems, aircraft potable water systems and aircraft service cables, receptacles and power supplies among other products for a variety of airport developments across the region. Some of their most well-known projects

include Abu Qir Airport in Egypt, AbuDhabi International and Al Ain Dubai International Airports in the UAE, Beirut International Airport in Lebanon, King Fahd International, Turaif and Medina Airports in Saudi Arabia, as well as Queen Alia International Airport in Jordan and Yerevan Airport.

FREYSSINET Freyssinet, part of the Freyssinet Group, is a global construction ﬁrm providing prestressing, deck construction, handling and lifting solutions, cabled structures, structural accessories and repair and maintenance work. With 65 years of experience in modern civil engineering and major transport contracts, the company has built up a strong portfolio of airport projects. In 2004 alone, Freyssinet was responsible for engineering a device used to lift a large metal frame for Bangkok airport, and for constructing a footbridge at Cairo International Airport – one of the ﬁrst times that Freyssinet used its stay cables. That same year, Freyssinet was also involved in building special arches to widen the runway at the airport in Melilla in Northern Morocco, as well as being responsible for completely restoring a water tower at Rolssy Charles-de-Gaulle Airport in France and lifting a 3,000 tonne steel roof at Brisbane airport.

FAST FACTS Freyssinet is a global organsation, world renowned for bridge construction

GEZE MIDDLE EAST Geze Middle East is part of Geze, a MAY 15–21, 2010 CONSTRUCTION WEEK

1996 THE COMPANY HAS BEEN ACTIVE IN THE MIDDLE EAST SINCE 1996 WITH THE OPENING OF A REGIONAL OFFICE IN AMMAN, JORDAN

German company established in 1863. For almost a century and a half, Geze has been producing state-of-the art door and window control systems around the globe, with numerous branches, subsidiaries and manufacturing plants. The company has been active in the Middle East since 1996 with the establishment of a regional office in Amman, Jordan. Since that time, Geze Middle East has become one of the biggest developers and producers of door and window control systems in the GCC region, and over the last seven years, has built up a solid network of business partners and dealers. In January 2003, the company moved to the Jebel Ali Free Zone Area in Dubai in an effort to improve customer service, particularly their ability to provide a more efficient delivery service and improved technical support. With a warehouse covering an area of approximately 500m2, the company is able to hold a large amount of stock and export to all GCC countries. A flagship project for the company was the development of the Cairo Airport Terminal 1 in Egypt. In partnership with consultant ECG and project manager Dar Al Handasah, Geze Middle East equipped the departure zone, arrival halls, VIP hall and presidential hall with Geze Slimdrive Automatic operators. GUNTERT AND ZIMMERMAN CONSTRUCTION DIVISION Concrete paving company Guntert and Zimmerman was established in 1942. In the early days, it was known for its innovative designs in canal, highway and airport trimming, as well as paving equipment, ship building, dredging and other specialised construction 26

CONSTRUCTION WEEK MAY 15–21, 2010

machinery. Today, G&Z’s focus is on concrete paving, though the company is constantly developing new technology and upgrading its existing product offering. Based on years of experience, Guntert and Zimmerman’s paving equipment has been designed specially to last under the rigors of job site use, transport and configuration changes, and to make users more productive. For example, some machines reduce the time required to transport, maneuver and change paving widths. Other products, such as the S1500 Slipform Paver, have been designed to meet strict smoothness specifications for markets that require paving widths, and are therefore ideally suited for concrete slipform paving on airport runways. The fact that the crawler tracks can be arranged to hydraulically pivot 90 degrees to the direction of travel in minutes, in either direction, renders this product extremely valuable on airport apron paving where they is usually only limited room for maneuvering. As a result, G&Z’s Pavers have become the equipment of choice in high profile airport paving projects. One of the company’s biggest contracts currently is the development of the New Doha International Airport. It involves the construction of two parallel airways, three parallel taxiways and 12 aircraft parking aprons.

DUBAI INTERNATIONAL UNDER CONSTRUCTION.

work, GHD provided architectural and engineering design services, as well as contract administration and project management services. The extension was designed and constructed on a fast-track basis, which enabled its completion within just six months. The new section has given Qatar Airways additional gate boarding lounges, a ﬁrst class lounge and cafeteria, increased check-in area capacity and additional baggage handling systems.

FAST FACTS Guntert and Zimmerman is currently working on NDIA

GHD MIDDLE EAST GHD, formerly Gutteridge Haskings and Davies, is an engineering, architecture and environmental consulting firm, with an international network of professional and technical consultants. In the Middle East, the company has offices in both Qatar and the UAE. In Qatar particularly, GHD has been involved in the general engineering and architectural design, project management and supervision of a number of high profile projects, including the expansion of Doha International Airport. Qatar Airways needed a two-storey extension to the existing departures terminal. Building on previous experience gained from similar

HALCROW CONSULTING ENGINEERS Halcrow delivers planning, design and management services for developing infrastructure and buildings worldwide. The company operates through a network of over 80 ofﬁces around the world with more than 7,000 employees and a turnover of approximately US $592 million. In terms of airports, Halcrow has been a key driver in the expansion of the Abu Dhabi International Airport and Sharjah Airport, though it has also

US $592 MILLION HALCROW HAS A TURNOVER OF APPROXIMATELY US $592 MILLION played a role in the development of other airports in the region and indeed, many across the globe. At Abu Dhabi, the company provided planning, design and construction supervision services for the provision of a second runway, taxiways and associated infrastructure to facilitate the rapid development and growth of Abu Dhabi’s Etihad Airways. To meet the fast-track programme Halcrow designed and supervised an advance bulk earthworks contract to cut and ﬁll 5,000,000m3 of material to achieve formation levels for the permanent airﬁeld works prior to award of the main contract. Project planning commenced in March 2005, earthworks commenced in August 2005 and the runway was

operational in October 2008 an overall period of only 43 months for planning design and construction. At Sharjah, the growth of low-cost airline Air Arabia and a steep increase in passenger numbers meant the airport authority required Halcrow’s help to boost capacity in the short term. Drawing on significant experience gained in Europe’s major airports, the company developed a series of operational approaches to make better use of the existing infrastructure and enhance the passenger experience. Using simulation modeling, they assessed passenger flows from both arriving and departing traffic, and proposed immediate measures to cost-effectively increase capacity. HOK Qatar’s main airport at Doha has undergone numerous expansion projects over recent years as the region runs to keep up with demand placed on it by international and domestic travelers. Planning took place in 2003 and construction began in 2004. The first

two phases are scheduled to open in January, 2012 while the third and final phase is scheduled for 2015. The airport will be built over 22km2 which half is on reclaimed land. Doha’s new airport will initially triple the eight million passengers it it currently handles. Once completed, it should process over 50 million passengers per year – which will make it one of the region’s busiest airports. Design work for the project was carried out in 2004 by HOK – the company behind the Terminal 5 project at Heathrow International Airport in London, as well as several other major projects in the USA. The Doha airport project, however, is their biggest to date. The design remit included the 140,000m2 passenger terminal, 800-car parking structure, mosque, central utility plant, separate royal terminal and other site improvements. The airport is also the first to be specifically designed to cope with the giant sized Airbus A380 – and will be able to accommodate up to six of these massive aircraft at any one time.

Decision makers from the healthcare industry come together from 1-3 June 2010

Will you be there?

HOSPITAL BUILD MIDDLE EAST Exhibition & Congress 2010

1-3 June 2010 Open from 10.00 – 18.00 hours Sheikh Maktoum and Sheikh Rashid Hall Dubai International Exhibition Centre Dubai - UAE

Open the door to knowledge and networking opportunities ily from on is open da The exhibiti 0. .0 18 – 0 10.0 r on r as a visito Pre-registe om lbuild-me.c ita sp ho w. ww ote ay 2010, qu before 25 M ional d have addit HB10VIS1 an daily prizes and n wi to s ce chan ize: the grand pr r TV! D 42” Colou A Philips LC

Other Hospital Build events: Hospital Build China 16 - 18 March 2011 - Beijing

Sponsors

Media Partners

Knowledge Partners

Ofﬁcial Hotel

Hospital Build Europe 4 - 6 April 2011 - Germany

Hospital Build Asia

10 - 12 May 2011 - Singapore

MAY 15–21, 2010 CONSTRUCTION WEEK

INVENSYS London head quartered global technology and controls group company Invensys has a wide range of specialist skills designed to help governments and transport organisations run and manage their operations. The company was formed with the objectives of establishing itself as a world leader in technology and controls, providing innovative solutions to customers around the world over a broad range of industries. There are three major areas the company focuses on: operations management – automating industrial processes to better manage costs and efﬁciency; Invensys Rail, which spearheads rail signaling and control software development; and Invensys Controls, which specialisies in controls systems and services used in commercial appliance, refrigeration, heating, ventilation and air-conditioning markets. The company has a branch ofﬁce in Jebel Ali, close to the Dubai World Central International Airport Cargo Terminal.

JOTUN In 2009 the Jotun Group had a total sales income of NOK 12,814 million, and today has 7400 employees. The Jotun Group is a manufacturer of paints, coatings and powder coatings. The group has 74 companies and 40 production facilities on all continents. Including the total network of legal companies, agents, branch ofﬁces and distributors, Jotun is represented in more than 80 countries. The company’s operations cover development, production, marketing and sales of various paint systems and products to protect and decorate surfaces in the 28

CONSTRUCTION WEEK MAY 15–21, 2010

residential, shipping and industrial markets. In 2009 the Jotun Group had a total sales income of NOK 12,814 million, and today has 7,400 employees. One of Jotun’s biggest projects in the UAE was The Dubai International Airport Terminal 3 project. Here the Dubai Civil Aviation contracted Jotun to provide all the necessary paint supplies. Towards the end of last year, Jotun India secured a double contract to supply paint for the expansion of Chennai airport and the modernisation of Kolkata airport from Airports Authority of India. This meant that several thousand square metres at the two airports would be painted with Jotun products.

KHATIB AND ALAMI CONSOLIDATED ENGINEERING Another regional airport that was redesigned to cope with an explosion in visitor numbers, Yanbu Airport – or Prince Abdul Mohsin Bin Abdul Aziz Airport to give it its full name – was an expansion project designed by Khatib and Alami in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. The $50m project not only included the design of a brand new 8,500m2 passenger terminal with connecting bridges (a first for a regional airport in the Middle East), but upgrading of the existing runway, the design and build of a parallel taxiway and apron, and all buildings and related services. It was a large project that also included the design of a new rapid-exit and endexit taxiways, an apron composed of flexible and rigid pavement large enough to accommodate three Boeing 777 and one Airbus A320 aircraft, new crash, fire and rescue road system, a dual access main road and new terminal roads system, drainage system, runway lights, security fencing and other ancillary design touches. KONE MIDDLE EAST Kone has operated in the Middle East for over 30 years and established its regional headquarters in Dubai in 1993. Since

then, the company has become a leading supplier of elevators and escalators – with more than 1000 staff at its bases in Qatar, Oman, Bahrain – and another nine countries served through authorised agents and affiliated companies. Kone was contracted to supply three of its machine-room-less ECO3000 escalators and 17 eco-efficient MonoSpace Elevators for the Sharjah International Airport expansion project. Installation was carried out in 2006 and the contract included a three year maintenance programme. The Kone MonoSpace elevators were selected because they eliminate the need for space-consuming machine rooms by placing the hoisting mechanism in the lift shaft itself. The Kone ECO3000 escalators were used because they can be tailored to customer needs, are exceptionally smooth and quiet, and have a power saving mode when not in use. Providing reliable, hard working and dependable products for constant use is a challenge, but something KONE is well versed in. The company is also involved in the King Abdul-Aziz Development in Saudi Arabia – a huge project designed to house 50,000 people - due for completion this year; the 75 floor twisting Infinti Tower in Dubai with in pioneering EcoDisc hoisting machine.

THE KONE MONOSPACE LIFT.

KUWAIT INSULATING MATERIAL MANUFACTURING COMPANY (KIMMCO), DUBAI Kimmco’s range of thermal and acoustic insulation materials is well known throughout the Middle East. Produced in Kuwait to exacting international standards, Kimmco’s pipe and duct insulation, building slabs, linings and coverings are used extensively throughout the region. The US $350 million Sharjah Airport Expansion project was a fairly major undertaking: with a rapid growth in passenger numbers ﬁltering through the airport annually over recent years, the airport needed urgent work to cope with the burgeoning demand placed on the regional terminal through budget airlines. Passenger numbers swelled from 3.4 million to 5.5 million between 2006 and 2008, prompting the work. The expansion project Kimmco was subcontracted by the Bin Laden Group to supply approximately US $272,242 (AED1 million) in thermal and acoustic products for the expansion project, including building slabs and other products.

FAST FACTS Insulation is as important in warm climates as it is in cold. Reducing reliance on limited resources not only cuts energy costs but also helps the environment.

LATICRETE There are very few manufacturers of tile and stone adhesives who are speciﬁed on most of the prestigious projects worldwide. LATICRETE is ranked number one among them. Airport projects around the world and

SEVERAL SUPPLIERS HAVE PROVIDED THEIR PRODUCTS FOR DUBAI INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT.

specifically in the Middle East are no exceptions. This shows the level of confidence the construction industry has put in Laticrete’s high-strength tile and stone installation system. Airport projects specification in the Middle East are of very high quality and usually good quality materials get approved. The challenge of heavy duty floors leaves no scope for unproven materials. Airport projects have to be right the very first time since they can’t afford remedial work; just imagine managing the challenge of remedial work in a busy airport like Dubai’s. Whenever low quality material manages to break in the stringent quality specification, the disasters are just waiting to happen. LATICRETEe provides warrantees for its products and the company’s tile, stone adhesives, grouts and waterproofing systems have been used from Singapore to the US. In the Middle East, all Dubai International Airport terminals, the Royal Terminal, hangars, and Emirates engineering facilities, already use LATICRETE products. The same can be said of airports in Abu Dhabi, Bahrain, Jeddah, and Riyadh. While currently, New Doha International Airport and Al Maktoum International Airport in Jebel Ali are using the company’s products too. LATICRETE revolutionised installation techniques. New materials piloted the ceramic tile market towards new horizons and when industry standards for the installation of ceramic tile and stone were established, in many countries, they were far below the capabilities of the LATICRETE System

Materials, the standards of which remain the highest in the construction industry today, 200-400% above most national standards. LATICRETE System Materials are marketed in over 65 countries around the world and the company has been active in the Middle East for the last 25 years. In 2004, in response to regional demand, the company set up a production plant at Ras Al Khaimah in a JV with RAK Ceramics. Both companies believe in providing a full solution for clients through a complete system approach. The single source responsibility and one stop service has resulted in more and more customers opting for LATICRETE RAK system products. LEVER BUILDING MATERIALS, LLC For large areas needing quality stone floor covering, Lever Building Materials has a product to suit most needs. Established in 1991, the company has a long and proud history of high-quality product supply through its close links with suppliers in Italy, France, the USA, Brazil and Japan – and their products are used extensively throughout the UAE. If you’ve ever spent time in Abu Dhabi’s duty free section, you’ve stepped on flooring supplied by Lever Building Materials in the city. Italian company Floor Gres, established in 1962 at Fiorano Modense (near the current Ferrari sportscar factory and test track) has pioneered several production techniques in broad use today. In 1981 Floor Gres developed the production of porcelain stoneware, a material that not only looked terrific MAY 15–21, 2010 CONSTRUCTION WEEK

FAST FACTS Lever designates a dedicated quality controller is assigned to every project, to ensure that speciﬁc standards are always met

but also outperformed traditional clinker tiles for technical quality and versatility. They were so popular that the company phased out extruded clinker tile production in 1995 in favour of the porcelain stoneware tiles. The Italian Mirage Granito Ceramico tiles are a synthetic recreation of marble and granite, produced under ultra high pressure and fused at between 1220-1260 before they are prepared in a choice of four surface finishes. They’re available in 79 colours, a range of sizes, eight different thicknesses and 30 trim pieces. LINDNER DEPA INTERIORS Three years ago Lindner and Depa separately saw the great potential for business, in the US $24.5 billion that was earmarked for investment in UAE airports. In a canny move the German and UAE firms – which are the biggest companies in their sector in Europe and the Middle East, respectively – partnered to create something of a powerhouse in interior fittings, facades and flooring. This has helped push venues such as Dubai International Airport to the next level. For some, that would be enough of a focus, but just six months after they combined forces Lindner Depa Interiors won the $102 million contract to work on the Dubai Metro. The two companies have been able to expand separately by the comprehensive list of skills, which also includes doors and ceilings, and the combination will be tough to beat in the

23% DEPA’S NET PROFITS LAST YEAR ROSE BY 23%, AND LINDNER’S CONSOLIDATED REVENUE TOTALLED APPROXIMATELY € 714,7 MILLION (AED3,331.7MILLION).

CONSTRUCTION WEEK MAY 15–21, 2010

future as airports and other transport hubs look for repeat business from trusted providers.

MAMMUT GROUP FZE Mammut Building Systems has built a long reputation as a manufacturer of pre-engineered steel buildings, so when the then Dubai World Central International Airport Cargo Terminal in Jebel Ali required a large scale 22,688m2 structure to handle cargo operations, there was only one company to draft in. Working for main contractors Arabtec and Max Bogl, Mammut Building Systems (MBS) - a subsidiary of Emaar Industries and Investments - completed the centre’s structure in 2008. The centre has the

10,000 MAMMUT’S DUBAI HEADQUARTERS WERE ESTABLISHED IN 1995 AND THE COMPANY HAS SINCE GROWN EXPONENTIALLY. IT HAS THE CAPACITY TO PRODUCE 10,000 METRIC TONNES OF PEB A MONTH.

capacity to process 12 million tonnes of cargo annually, making it the largest cargo hub in the world – three times larger than that of next largest, Memphis International Airport in the USA. Once completed, Al Maktoum International Airport will be ten times larger than Dubai’s International Airport and Cargo Village – able to handle between 120-150 million passengers annually.

MEINHARDT FAÇADE TECHNOLOGY Australian-based company Meinhardt has a long track record when it comes to aviation infrastructure planning and engineering. Established 50 years ago, the company has worked with airport authorities, airlines, maintenance and support organisations, investors, developers and government authorities in more than 15 countries to deliver strategic planning studies (master plans and feasibility studies), airport terminal facility planning and design – and an ever increasing range of other services speciﬁc to the aviation industry.

The company was commissioned by main contractors Bechtel/Takenaka to create detailed designs and engineering of Doha International Airport’s new terminal building major glazing work. Meinhardt was responsible for the design of the new glass walls, mosque glass dome, suspended entry canopies, skylights and roof lights, plus the ancillary building glazing and cladding to ﬁt with AREP (France) architect speciﬁcations. The project is due for completion this year. MOTT MACDONALD The Mott MacDonald Group is a management, engineering and development consultancy serving public and private sectors worldwide. Mott MacDonald’s business spans 120 countries with over 14,000 staff

2770 DOHA’S NEW ARRIVAL TERMINAL WILL BE ABLE TO HANDLE 2770 PASSENGERS EVERY HOUR AND IS SLATED FOR OPENING IN OCTOBER.

working in all sectors, including transport, energy, buildings, water and the environment, health, education, industry and communications. Aviation consultancy speciﬁcally is one of the fastest growing areas of Mott MacDonald’s global transport business. The company provides airﬁeld and building engineering services, surface access and environmental expertise, as well as capital delivery programmes, asset management and environment management for airports. One of the company’s renowned projects in the Middle East was the development of Kuwait airport. Mott

120 MOTT MACDONALD’S BUSINESS SPANS 120 COUNTRIES WITH OVER 14,000 STAFF

MacDonald’s primary role was to plan and design the operational areas including a 100,000m2 apron and hangars to be developed in phases for parking, storage and line maintenance. They were also required to support the operational needs within the terminal building and support GSE facilities.

ROBERT MATHEW, JOHNSON – MARSHALL (RMJM), DUBAI. The new Air Navigations Services Centre at Sheikh Zayed airport, Abu Dhabi, sets new standards in global air traffic control facilities. Designed for the General Civil Aviation Authority, the project covered two main buildings: the new Air Traffic Control Centre and the new Emergency Air Traffic Control Centre which contains a back-up operations room, service and air traffic control teaching facilities. The state-of-the-art US $81.6 million centre opened last November and was,

THE GENERAL CIVIL AVIATION AUTHORITY BUILDING.

in RMJM’s words, designed to create a high quality working environment which offered great interior workspace flexibility, while also delivering an exterior design befitting of the “prestigious government authority”. The facility includes a 600m2 main Air Traffic Control room with enough capacity to cope with projected air traffic growth over the next 20 years, handling up to two million movements, annually.

9 MILLION THE AIRPORT HANDLED 9,026,000 PASSENGERS IN 2008. BY 2012, ITS CAPACITY WILL DOUBLE.

SIEMENS I&S Siemens were key in developing the world’s largest baggage handling system at Dubai International Airport. Siemens Industry Solutions (I&S) supplies production, transportation and building systems around the world, namely, integrated hardware and software technologies and industryspeciﬁc solutions to customers in industry and infrastructure. In ﬁscal 2007, I&S generated sales of approximately US $50.8 billion with around 209,000 employees worldwide. With 21.7 million passengers in 2004 – an increase of more than 20% compared with 2003 – Dubai International Airport is now the most important airport in the Middle East. I&S had a key part to play in its expansion. In an initial renovation phase from 1998 to 2002, both I&S and Building Technologies divisions were awarded contracts for baggage handling systems, runway lighting and building technologies. Additional large contracts were awarded to Siemens for the second expansion phase. I&S were given the task of building a cargo centre that could accommodate 1.2 million tonnes of freight per year.

AL MAKTOUM AIRPORT’S PASSENGER TERMINAL IS SET TO BE CONSTRUCTED IN JEBEL ALI DUBAI.

MAY 15–21, 2010 CONSTRUCTION WEEK

STYRO INSULATION MATERIALS INDUSTRIES Anyone who has ever owned a chilly bin or cooler knows that Styrofoam is one of the best thermal insulation materials ever made. It’s a lightweight, easily workable product that has thousands of domestic and commercial uses – and it’s been used throughout Dubai’s International Airport to line cold storage units and pipes. Supplied by local contractor Styro Insulation Materials Industries and chieﬂy used to create cold storage units for the airport’s food courts. However, it’s not only in the food industry that Styrofoam has its uses. Styro also provides panels faced with plyboard or aluminium with Styrofoam at its core. They’re perfect for small building projects and mean builders don’t need to fuss with insulation products. According to Styro, the panels are ideal for residential buildings, museums and corporate venues. They’re ﬂame retardant and environmentally friendly Styro also makes products for the decorative pieces, pontoon buoyancy units and block inserts. All products are made locally at the company’s factory in Dubai which has a combined output capacity of 500,000m3. Since supplying Dubai airport with a range of products, the company has gone on to secure contracts with the Dubai Mall.

FAST FACTS TAV’s UAE branch in one of six outside its home country of Turkey. The branch has four ongoing projects, including several high rise towers.

contracted to construct the steel roofs of the seven hangars to house Emirates ﬂeet of Airbus A380 heavy aircraft at Dubai International Airport. As with any landmark construction project in the Middle East, the hangars needed to not only function exceptionally well, but also had to fit in with the airport’s modern design. The seven hangars are each 110m2, and more than 14,000 tons of structural steel was used in their construction. Work started on site in September 2003, and TAV finished the buildings in November 2005. TAV Construction is based in Turkey and has more than $6billion in airport projects on the go. TCTI COMPOSITES DUBAI There’s no escaping the fact that the Middle East is hot, and the sun is bright. As the summer months approach, the effect of the sun on travelers is only going to get worse – and they’ll be scrambling for every square inch of shade available.

Dubai-based ﬁbreglass specialists TCTI understands this, which is why its GRP sunshades take pride of place at Abu Dhabi’s International Airport. The current control tower is also topped with TCTI’s composite material, while GRP shades provide welcome respite from the UAE’s relentless sun in several public areas of the Dubai International Airport. The Dubai International Airport project was one of the company’s largest to date, with 72 large inverted umbrella shapes supplied in 1999 and used to decorate the roof supports.

FAST FACTS The Dubai International Airport was one of the largest projects undertaken by the company.

TEKLA MIDDLE EAST Tekla’s software has been used by major design firms around the world for 3D modeling, planning and cost management on major design and construction – and it’s credited with saving millions in project costs on a wide range of developments. When Murray Roberts was awarded the contract for the fit-out, finishes and MEP of Dubai International Airport’s Terminal 3, Concourse 2 and Car Park in 2004, Tekla’s software was used to

FAST FACTS Styrofoam is a trademark of the Dow Chemical Company but it was actually ﬁrst made by Swedish inventor Carl Georg Munters. Dow now has exclusive rights to the product.

TAV AERO Turkey’s TAV Construction opened its UAE branch in 2004 to seize on several key projects which were available at the time. The company, with PLL, was 32

CONSTRUCTION WEEK MAY 15–21, 2010

TCTI IS A FIBREGLASS SPECIALIST AND HAS PROVIDED ITS PRODUCTS TO ABU DHABI INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT.

60m TEKLA WAS FOUNDED IN ESPOO, FINLAND IN 1966 AND NOW HAS AN ANNUAL REVENUE OF €60M AND 450 STAFF WORLDWIDE.

successfully manage the project by keeping track of what was happening, what was required and what major costs needed to be met. By keeping a close rein on wastage, project development and timescales by using the software, Murray Roberts and local partners Al Habtoor Engineering (with Takenaka, Japan) was able to successfully manage 20,000 onsite workers and meet tighter deadlines. The software helped with logistics, which meant a more focused effort could be made on site safety. With over 136 million man hours dedicated to the project, time lost to worker injuries was minimal. In fact, at one point, 32 million man hours were logged without one lost time injury. THALES AIR SYSTEM, DUBAI Abu Dhabi International Airport’s impressive 20-storey, 109m tall control tower dominates the skyline at the airport – and is easily one of the most attractive buildings of its type in the world. But a building can only be as useful as the systems it contains, and for that job, Thales Air Systems was drafted in to ﬁt-out the centre with the very latest in air trafﬁc control and ground support control systems. Abu Dhabi Airports Company has

1893 THALES ROOTS CAN BE TRACED BACK TO 1893. THE COMPANY NOW DEALS EXCLUSIVELY WITH THE AEROSPACE, SPACE, DEFENCE AND SECURITY INDUSTRIES.

committed US $6.8 billion to the airport project in order to make it one of the most advanced in the world. The Air Traffic Control tower is its centre piece, and Thales’ latest generation gateto-gate Air Traffic Control systems are designed to enhance the airport’s operational capabilities. The systems cover all aircraft handling requirements, including en-route, approach and ground movements. THYSSENKRUPP ELEVATOR, UAE In a busy airport, the efficient flow of passengers is vital for smooth running operations. It’s not an easy job: with thousands of people needing to walk considerable distances between the check-in desk and their planes, or their aircraft to baggage claim, the need for swift passenger movements is vital. ThyssenKrupp’s reputation for producing escalators, lifts and moving walkways in heavily population pedestrian areas is unrivalled – and that’s why the company was brought in to assist with the largest airport project in the world, the Terminal 3 expansion at Dubai International Airport. It was a considerable project for the company, with 386 elevators (345 elevators, six truck lifts, six loading docks and 29 dumbwaiters), 170 customised escalators and 134 customised walkways. The project also required 125 Crystal Apron Drive Passenger Boarding Bridges (two and three tunnels), and a total of 25 Triple Stand PBBs to service the double-deck Airbus A380.

FAST FACTS Dubai Airport is the busiest international passenger hub in the UAE at present.

TYCO FIRE & SECURITY It has become imperative for any new or upgraded airport in the 21st Century - Gulf region or otherwise – to obtain the best security systems in the world. Tyco, which serves over 2 million commercial businesses has been a leader in this field. It also has a specialism for fire detection and safety, including fire alarm control panels and monitoring systems, sprinkler systems, emergency lighting as well as smoke,

80% THE COMPANY PROVIDES SYSTEMS TO 80% OF COMMERCIAL SEA VESSELS. heat, and carbon monoxide detectors and almost all forms of extinguishers. For something as large as an airport, it is no mean feat, but the companies investment in video and digital surveillance has seen it attract more customers. Through its subsidiaries it also provides anti-theft solutions and radio-frequency interrogations. When you’ve maintained the safety of passengers in 300 international airports so far, it is perhaps demonstration of a job most worthy of doing well.

UNIGULF DEVELOPMENT (DUBAI) As the thermometer creeps up to 50º outside in the next few months, it will most likely be applications from Unigulf Development that have to be installed to beat the heat. This distinctly Emirati company has grown to be a local leader for providing systems to cater for all temperatures, and therefore industrial end-uses: heating, cooling, refrigeration, ventilation and air conditioning. Its customers can be found in the Mall of the Emirates Hotel, Jumeirah Beach Residence and the ﬁrst two phases of Dubai Internet City. It is another company with an itch to expand, and now has showrooms in the UAE and Qatar, with customer relationships developing in Qatar, Oman, Bahrain, Kuwait and Jordan.

FAST FACTS Atco Rubber Products, Nordik Metalblok and Refco are among the company’s long list of business partners.

MAY 15–21, 2010 CONSTRUCTION WEEK

PRODUCT FOCUS BUILDING CODES

ADOPTING STANDARDS THE UAE IS A WORLD LEADER IN CONSTRUCTION PROJECTS, BUT LACKS A UNILATERAL SET OF BUILDING CODES AND STANDARDS FOR SUPPLIERS AND CONTRACTORS. IS IT TIME WE HAD ONE? By Carlin Gerbich

here may have been a slowdown in residenPart of that assurance comes from the approval process itself. tial and commercial construction projects British Standard building codes have been developed over decades in the UAE over the past 12 months, but – while testing standards on materials are strictly adhered to. project spend in the region remains buoy- Under British Standards rules, all materials are tested by a third ant as governments turn their attention to party, impartial to the outcome of the test process. Products either infrastructure work. meet the design, performance and test criteria for which they were But, as the UAE continues to set new stan- designed, or they don’t – and specifications can be easily traced dards in design, new international benchmarks in mega-project by customers for verification. construction and ambitious infrastructure work with tight deadContractors themselves are also regulated and, though the templines, the Gulf is also coming to grips with the need for a set of tation to use non-certified products during an economic downturn building codes developed specifically for the region. must be there, the cost of project failure, poor fit and the additional Until now, the absence of a comprehensive set of building codes cost of correction work means that sub-standard materials are drafted for the UAE has not been a real issue. Most codes and leg- simply a false economy. A certified product may cost 10% to 15% islation adopted in the UAE is derived from more than a non-certified product, but it’s British Standards which, themselves, have “THE SAFETY IMPLICATIONS better than having to replace it with someOF USING SUB-STANDARD been adapted by the US and Europe to betFIREPROOF AND RESISTANT thing that should have been used in the ter suit their local needs. With more than first place. In general, most international MATERIALS DOESN’T 85% of construction contracts awarded to construction firms and suppliers worth BEAR THINKING ABOUT, international companies, all working under their salt have undergone the rigours of PARTICULARLY GIVEN THE NATURE OF HIGH-RISE various building code standards from three ISO certification, which not only looks in to LIVING IN THE UAE” key international regions, it’s a complicated their management systems and procedures, system that needs to be straightened out. but also the standard and quality of products made. It’s something the UAE Contractors Association is keen to address. The safety implications of using sub-standard fireproof and resisWith suppliers, subcontractors and specialists using British, Euro- tant materials doesn’t bear thinking about, particularly given the pean or even American building codes as a basis, a uniform set nature of high-rise living in the UAE. The potential for catastrophe of guidelines would help smooth out any discrepancies in the is a very real threat, and using non-certified products carries little standard and legality of any work carried out, and the quality of comfort should the worst happen. A supplier may claim that its products meet fire specifications, but without third party approval building materials used.

CONSTRUCTION WEEK MAY 15–21, 2010

Renitherm and Intumex for fire protection! ®

FIRES IN THE GULF HAVE SPARKED CONCERNS OVER THE SAFETY OF WORKERS.

or company quality standards in place, no responsible developer would be prepared to risk using their products. However, it’s not only fire safety and materials in which construction standards are being driven. Ecologically sound developments are the current hot topic and US-based Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) is keen to promote greener construction projects around the globe. Sheikh Mohammed’s green building initiative, announced two years ago, highlighted a local desire for a move towards more environmentally friendly construction projects. While greener projects carry a premium over traditional building techniques and materials, LEED says customers are prepared to pay more for energy efficient designs and green building initiatives. Any unilateral building codes refined and implemented for the UAE would have to mirror these concerns. It’s no easy task, and not something that can be produced in a few weeks. Even if they could be rendered and refined for local adoption in a relatively short period, unilateral approval for them at government level would still take time. Though building codes and practices themselves would be based on British, European and US regulations, many architects believe the process of refining the codes and distilling them in to one, cohesive set of UAE Building Codes will take years to implement. The codes would not only have to be carefully worded and adapted, but they would also go through a lengthy approval process at central government level – and then be put in place, policed and appropriate documentation prepared. In the short term, contractors and suppliers continue to self monitor their processes to ensure the highest standards are maintained within the UAE’s construction sector. It’s a precarious situation but one in which contractors can’t afford to risk non-compliance. 

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FRONT FOCUS REGION WESTERN REGION

NEW DAWN FOR AL GHARBIA THE CHALLENGING ENVIRONMENT IN THE EMIRATE OF ABU DHABI WILL BE A HOTBED OF BUILDING OPPORTUNITIES By Ben Roberts

lansforthedevelopment of the Western Region in Abu Dhabi – now officially ‘Al Gharbia’ – is reminiscent of how many of the GCC’s most developed regions were a few decades ago. The near endless desert between the seven major towns has so far evaded significant development due to its extraordinary contribution to the world’s oil and gas markets and to Abu Dhabi’s gross domestic product – from a population roughly akin to Downtown Burj Dubai. The region is also remote and arid, with the fi rst challenge seemingly to be where to begin. Its landmass - 59,760 km2 – makes up 83% of the emirate. But the fact that Al Gharbia is something of a blank slate means that, ideally, developers and construction companies alike 36

CONSTRUCTION WEEK MAY 15–21, 2010

can apply the wisdom of the last few years accumulated from its own developments, those of neighbouring emirates and the Middle East in general. “Frequently the foremost problem for projects are scale,” the Urban Planning Council told CW in an emailed response. “Frequently there is a park or business proposed that is far too large. The result

“FREQUENTLY THERE IS A PARK OR BUSINESS PROPOSED THAT IS FAR TOO LARGE. THE RESULT IS WASTED SPACE” is wasted space, over-landscaping, or a small structure surrounded by sand or parking.” The UPC’s prospective sectors to develop for the towns and the space between them range from tourism, housing and schools

to oil and gas reﬁneries. Al Gharbia housing renovation has been well documented since last summer, with a two phase plan costing around US $1.1 billion (AED4

QUICK STATISTICS • 59,760 km2 • 83% of Abu Dhabi landmass • 120,000 population, 16,500 are nationals, 10% of resident population • Large land mass, low population density • Seven major city regions: Madinat Zayed, Mirfa, Ghayatti, Liwa, Ruwais, Sila’a and Delma (highest concentration: MZ and Ruwais) • Generates 40% of GDP, over AED1.5 billion annually • Fourth largest oil exporter by volume, 2.3 million barrels per day

US$ 1.1 BILLION WILL BE SPENT ON A TWO PHASE CONSTRUCTION PLAN

billion) by the Al Gharbia Municipality. First, there will be an upgrade to approximately 3320 houses. Second, older houses that cannot be renovated will undergo a technical report for municipality consultants. The fate of these houses is not yet clear. The UPC is working in collaboration with Western Region Development Council and Western Region Municipality. An estimated $26.67 billion has already been announced for infrastructure, tourism, and economic development projects in the region. It has identiﬁed seven aspects to keep in mind, including protection of the area’s culture,

TOWNS YOU SHOULD KNOW: Mirfa – small town of 15,000 located 60 km east of Abu Dhabi that is nonetheless a tourist centre for Al Gharbia. Developments in the 2030 project include: sports centre, maritime centre, abattoir and sheep farmyard, mosque and cornice facilities, schools, police department, central souk; ADNOC nitrogen plant; Mirfa hotel expansion; food distribution centre.

identity and its growing population and economic development. It is now two years since the ‘Design Charette’ that brought together architects, designers, engineers and others to thrash out formative plans for the Al Gharbia region. The UPC told CW that although the designs have remained roughly the same since then, there have been minor alterations: the reﬁnement of architectural design and detail; a revisiting of population numbers and economics related to the recent economic crisis; and a higher level of stakeholder involvement and buy-in. It could not elaborate at time of deadline as to what size of outside investment they had in mind for outside stakeholders, nor the criteria for their involvement. China Jiangsu Construction commercial manager Brian Chan said that this project is of great interest to his company.

“IF IT SEEMS LIKE WE CAN ADD VALUE THEN WE’LL EVALUATE IT IN OUR STRATEGIC TIMEFRAME” Naif Mahmood, branch manager for Sayah Construction in Al Ain, said that the company would potentially be interested in this project to extend the small amount of work it does in Abu Dhabi. Damac Group said it might consider investments in plots in the project, though perhaps not in the short term. “As an organisation Damac looks at all developments and if it seems like we can add value then we’ll

COMPANIES THAT COULD SEE REPEAT BUSINESS Aldar Properties – granted US $204 million contract from UPC for 1,000 houses in Al Ain Al Qudra – real estate arm won US $1 billion contract to build 5000 houses in Al Ain from UPC Mustang Engineering – won contract for carbon capture storage project from government for Masdar city

evaluate it in our strategic time frame,” said spokesperson Niall McLoughlin. “Our short-term agenda we wouldn’t discuss, but it is something we would consider looking at.” General Holding Corporation (GHC), the UAE’s largest industrial conglomerate and a prime mover in implementing the Abu Dhabi government’s industrial diversification policy, is likely to be one of the chief sources of funding initially. On its website it says it’s “pursuing an aggressive industrialisation programme focused on exploiting Abu Dhabi’s competitive advantages in developing energy and capital-intensive industries,” which may be fitting with the redevelopment of the oil refineries. However, there is no sign yet of specific investment plans for anything in Al Gharbia. 

Ruwais – a 30-year-old industrial town of around 16,000 and one of the hubs for the oil and gas industries, along with the most advanced health, retails and community services in the region. The oil reﬁnery and gas plant are both to be expanded, along with an expansion to the airport expansion and other industrial projects. Madinat Zayed – the regional capital with a population of around 29,000, situated 150 km southwest of Abu Dhabi City. Developments will include residences, solar power facilities and government and civil defence projects. DEVELOPERS PLAN TO APPLY THEIR WISDOM ACCUMULATED OVER THE LAST FEW YEARS TO AL GHARBIA.

MAY 15–21, 2010 CONSTRUCTION WEEK

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CONSTRUCTION WEEK MAY 15–21, 2010

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MAY 15โ 21, 2010 CONSTRUCTION WEEK

DIALOGUE NICHOLAS THOMPSON Back to the future CW caught up with Nicholas Thompson, CEO of architecture practice Aukett Fitzroy Robinson, which has recently returned to the region By Orlando Crowcroft

What motivated you to move back to the Middle East?

We looked at coming to Middle East some time ago but the mechanics of it didn’t really work, we couldn’t price ourselves into the market and we didn’t have a local partner. Although over the years we bid for work in Bahrain, Oman, Saudi and various places we never got close enough in terms of the economics to make it work. It wasn’t really possible for us until now. Now the whole ﬁnancial framework has changed. So what do you think has changed in recent years that have made this region so attractive?

dried up. I think government work is going to abate as well, because most of Western European countries have got pretty big debts, so governments can’t keep spending the money. But it’s an obvious place to come too, because Oman, Abu Dhabi and Qatar have all said they are going to increase their capital spending by 10% this year. That represents a huge amount of work. One of the criticisms levied at Dubai is that because of the short time architects were given to design and get things on the ground, quality has suffered in that city. What are your thoughts on whether Abu Dhabi are going to learn lessons from that?

The region has probably now raised its level above Our buildings at Yas Island were caught by the timescale everywhere else, whereas before it was probably below of the race day, if there wasn’t the race day they wouldn’t everywhere else. There has been a sea change, which you have been built. Had they been built can see in both the 2030 plan [Abu almost certainly it would not have “THE REGION HAS PROBABLY Dhabi] and its equivalent in Dubai. NOW RAISED ITS LEVEL ABOVE been on the same programme. I think To use Dubai as an example, the EVERYWHERE ELSE, WHEREAS on more recent projects that we’ve emirate seemed to be just trying BEFORE IT WAS PROBABLY looked at the programmes are still to do whatever they could before BELOW EVERYWHERE ELSE. ” what we would consider to be very the oil ran out, to keep the game short, particularly in the design phase. I think there is still going as long as possible. Whereas here in Abu Dhabi, and an assumption that you can get the beginning of the building also in Qatar, they’re taking a more realistic approach – phase in five months. If you do that, quality does suffer. they’re trying not to have so many high buildings, not to make development so dense. I think that’s good for the Did that belief have anything to do with your company’s environment but also I think it’s good for consultants decision to set up base in Abu Dhabi, rather than because it opens the market up. When you just put in highin Dubai? rise buildings, which have to be iconic, that tends to limit When we came here we decided who can work on developments. not to go and base ourselves in There is a feeling that because a PROFILE Dubai because we didn’t think that building is very tall the architect has Architecture and design practice Aukett Fitzroy market was sustainable. But we got to be a world-renowned name. Robinson may have only opened its Abu Dhabi If you come down in height it opens also decided we would build a hub office two years ago, but the global firm is by the market up to many other firms. up in Abu Dhabi for geographical no means new to the Middle East. In the 1970s I mean, it’s more competitive but reasons. It’s much easier to get from and 80s architects from AFR designed several from our point of view that’s quite a here to Oman, Dubai and Qatar as buildings on Abu Dhabi’s Corniche, including good thing.” well as North Africa, and Egypt and the Bank of International Commerce and Credit Libya are growing markets. So this and Bank of Oman buildings, as well as working In the last 12 months we have is really quite a hot spot, and even if on developments in Bahrain, Kuwait and Oman. seen a lot of UK architects moving there wasn’t any work in Abu Dhabi The firm’s most recent Middle Eastern foray to the region. Why is that? it would still be a good location, has been the development of two hotels on Yas It is true that in the UK the market because it is centrally positioned. As Island for Aldar. has slowed down quite dramatically a UK firm you can’t do things from and the financial side of projects has afar; you’ve got to be here. 40

CONSTRUCTION WEEK MAY 15–21, 2010

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