Big Project ME June 2015

www.meconstructionnews.com

JUNE 2015

ALSO INSIDE curing healthcare dubai wharf building envelopes dubai real estate

the power of a vision Ahmed Al Bassam lays out the plan for taking Al Rajhi Building Solutions Group to the next level

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CONTENTS

JUNE 2015 07 the big picture mall of qatar 70% complete, contractor says urbacon says that 4,176,000sqm mall is on track to open as planned in 2016

12 News aNalysis Building the Kingdom Jerusha sequeira speaks to Mounib hammoud, chief executive of Jeddah economic company, about how the Kingdom tower will impact Jeddah itself

16 iN profile the power of a vision gavin Davids sits down for an exclusive chat with ahmed al bassam, the ceo of saudi arabia’s al rajhi building solutions group

22 site visit - Dubai wharf wharf drive big project Me tours the Dubai wharf construction site on Dubai creek

28 sector focus - healthcare the evolution of healthcare examining the complexities and development of medical construction projects

34 top 10 - healthcare top 10 healthcare projects in the gcc listing the 10 biggest healthcare projects currently underway in the gcc

38 MarKet review - Dubai real estate focusing on the future craig plumb outlines the changing face of Dubai’s real estate market

46 coMMeNt - williaM whistler opening the envelope william whistler highlights the importance of building envelopes

56 coNstructive criticisM Big Project ME tours the Dubai Wharf construction site.

Jerusha sequeira says that the construction industry needs to offer more support to their female employees

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PAGE 22

a Balancing act

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INTRODUCTION

MEconstructionnEws.COm

Health is Wealth

Group Chairman and Founder Dominic De SouSa Group Ceo naDeem HooD

puBLiShinG direCtor RaZ iSLam

According to various industry reports, the GCC’s healthcare market is projected to be worth $69.4 billion by 2018, with Saudi Arabia, Qatar and the UAE leading the charge as the region looks to reinvent itself as a medical tourism hub.

Not only is this a good thing for a region that has historically lacked major healthcare infrastructure, but it’s also interesting to note the impact it’s going to have on how we approach the construction of these hospitals, clinics and research facilities.

Gone are the days when hospitals are bland, identikit, featureless concrete blocks. Architects and engineers now focus on turning these spaces into well-designed and planned structures that are also highly specialised and specified.

With investors keen to turn the GCC into a medical tourism hub, this approach is key, as patient comfort and well-being is just as important as performance and functionality.

With medical technology also moving forwards at a rapid pace, it becomes essential that these buildings are futureproofed so that they can adapt with the technology.

This is one of the biggest challenges facing engineers and designers and it’s pleasing to see that the industry is setting itself up to be a global leader in this regard.

This is highlighted clearly in our top ten list of healthcare projects in the GCC, which is a showcase of some of the most inspiring and well-designed hospitals and medical cities in the region, if not the world.

Given the amount of money and resources that are being poured into the healthcare sector, I’m confident that we’ll soon see this region emerge as a leading medical tourism destination, rivalling the likes of the UK, Canada and Singapore, especially since we have Africa, Asia and the Levant region right on our doorstep.

On a final note, the events over the last week at FIFA have raised some troubling questions. With international scrutiny greater than ever, Qatar needs to show strong leadership and vision. If, as it says, it has nothing to hide, then let it open itself up to the world and show that it means what it says.

raz.islam@cpimediagroup.com +971 4 375 5471 editoriaL direCtor ViJaYa cHeRian vijaya.cherian@cpimediagroup.com +971 4 375 5472 eDiToRiaL editor GaVin DaViDS gavin.davids@cpimediagroup.com +971 4 375 5480 reporter JeRuSHa SeQueiRa jerusha.sequeira@cpimediagroup.com +971 4 375 5477 SuB editor aeLReD DoYLe

aDVeRTiSinG CommerCiaL direCtor micHaeL STanSFieLD michael.stansfield@cpimediagroup.com +971 4 375 5497

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Gavin Davids Editor

JUNE 2015

while the publishers have made every effort to ensure the accuracy of all information in this magazine, they will not be held responsible for any errors therein.

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EDITOR'S CHOICE

READERS' COMMENTS

1

Egyptian national killed in Qatar crane collapse

At least three others were injured in fatal incident on busy highway in Doha.

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Atkins makes key appointments in Middle East property division

British consultancy announces senior architectural roles for Janus Rostock, David Tripney and Mark Kelly.

PHOTO GALLERIES

Dubai’s theme-park megaproject under construction MEConstructionNews.com paid a visit to the Dubai Parks and Resorts project near Jebel Ali. See photo galleries at: meconstructionnews.com/photos

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Futuristic bridge to Dubai’s Bluewaters Island gets green light

It is probably true that the UAE mortgage cap and registration fees have had a limited impact on the Dubai property market. But what is really causing prices to come down is fear of another property downturn and negative sentiment in the market. I’d characterise it as a ‘decline’ rather than a limit on the market ‘overheating’.

Ramsey Meyer, via email, ‘New UAE property regulations “prevent overheating in Dubai”’

A $130m contract has been awarded for bridge linking $1.6bn

READER POLL

island that is set to become home

Should contractors be obliged to provide mental-health support for workers?

to world’s largest Ferris wheel.

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Dubai outlines tender timeline for Route 2020 metro line

77% 11%

Construction of 15km route serving Expo 2020 site is scheduled to begin early next year, the Roads and Transport Authority said.

VIDEO

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Chinese construction firm builds 57-storey skyscraper… in 19 days

says it also wants to build world’s

Volvo Trucks launches auto traction control in FMX System will be standard on all FMX trucks sold in the Middle East with front-wheel drive capability.

tallest skyscraper in just three months.

See videos at: meconstructionnews.com/videos

Broad Sustainable Building Company

Yes: All firms should provide access to psychiatrists

No: Firms could voluntarily do so, but not forced to

5%

5%

No: Addressing such issues is up to the local government

No: This isn’t a major problem, there are more pressing issues

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

JUNE 2015

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THE BIG PICTURE

Work in progress The $1bn Mall of Qatar is 70% complete, the contractor in charge of the project says.

Billion-dollar Mall of Qatar is 70% coMplete, contractor says 4,176,000sqm mall is part of UrBacon’s rapidly growing retail portfolio ConstruCtion of the Mall of Qatar is 70% complete and the project is set to open in 2016, according to the contractor.

Qatar-based urbaCon trading & Contracting, headed by Mohamed Moataz Al-Khayat, has announced that it is making “great progress” in the construction of the mall. slated to open in the first quarter of 2016, the Mall of Qatar is set to serve an estimated 20 million customers a year, urbaCon said in a statement.

With 400 shops, a luxury hotel, family entertainment centre and more than 80 restaurants and cafés, Mall of Qatar will be “one of the largest shopping malls in the world”, said urbaCon. Built at an estimated cost of up to $1 billion, the 4,176,000sqm shopping centre will be adjacent to a 2022 World Cup stadium, and will have a dedicated

Mall of Qatar n $1 billion – value of the mall of Qatar

n 4,176,000sqm – total area of the shopping mall

n 20 million – predicted number of customers per year

n 1,750,000sqm – total area of leasable retail

station on Doha’s new metro line. the centre will have more than 162,580sqm of retail leasable space on three levels, along with underground and surface parking for 7,000 cars. in addition to the Mall of Qatar, urbaCon trading and Contracting has been involved in a number of major projects in Qatar over the last few years. its projects include the Banana island resort, the sheraton Doha hotel and Convention Centre and the Lekhwiya stadium at Al Duhail. the Banana island resort project opened its doors earlier this year and includes a 96-room hotel, 34 two- and three-bedroom poolside villas and 11 Maldives-style villas built above water on stilts.

Al-Khayat said the project would provide an “integrated family life, weddings and tourism with all services

in the sea for the first time in the Gulf”. “the resort is the first of its kind in the region which is held in the sea, and it is similar to the Maldives resorts. “the people who used to go to the Maldives can now save their time and money and come to Banana island resort which is as exactly as the Maldives resorts,” he added. the resort offers traditional Qatari hospitality and extensive facilities for families and romantic getaways. these facilities include an 800-metre private beach, a marina with 30 berths and many luxury entertainment options, including spas and a cinema, the contractor added in a statement to Big Project ME. the crescent-shaped island is only a 20-minute ferry ride from Doha or a 10-minute helicopter ride from the Doha airport, the contractor said.

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Big project me interviews ahmed al bassam, ceo of al rajhi building solutions group – Page 16 7

THE BIG PICTURE

MEconstructionnEws.Com

price check The mortgage cap and the doubling of registration fees has helped keep the market in check, Cluttons Middle East says.

real-estate regulations stopped duBai Market froM overheating clUttons middle east praises mortgage cap and doUBling of registration fees ChAnGes to the uAe’s realestate regulations have stopped the Dubai property market “overheating”, a Cluttons report has said. in its Spring 2015 Dubai Residential Market Outlook, the real-estate consultancy said widespread regulatory changes such as the uAe-wide mortgage cap and the doubling of registration fees in Dubai, both introduced in 2014, have helped contain the market. there was also a significant reduction in transactional activity due to the “upward creep” of project completions and the “slow-motion impact” of new real estate regulations and a “general dent to sentiment”, the report added. it said that villas were expected to bear the brunt of price declines, while the outlook for the remainder of 2015 was still “somewhat muted”. the first quarter of the year saw overall home values drop by a further 0.8%, thereby leaving average prices down by 0.5% from this time last year,

and 19.4% below the highs of Q3, 2008. “the federal Mortgage Caps have been in place for over a year now and the impact on the villa market has been particularly pronounced. “the anniversary of the gamechanging federal Law has passed relatively unnoticed, however this has had a positive, but powerful influence on the level of transactions,” said steve Morgan, chief executive of Cluttons Middle east, in the report.

With just under 1,300 villas changing hands in 2014, down 52% from 2013, transactions during Q1 2015 were down by 36% from the same quarter in the previous year, Cluttons added. the total amount of upfront equity required for the purchase of a $1.5 million villa in Dubai has gone up to 42%, from the 20% previously required, thanks to the introduction of the mortgage caps, the report showed. “the sustained growth in rents over the past 18 months has exacerbated the

Market figures n 0.8% – overall drop in home values in Q1 2015

n 0.5% – drop in average prices from same time last year

n 19.4% – drop in average prices from Q3 2008

n 1,300 – approximate number of villas that changed hands in 2014

challenges of amassing a deposit, while the cost of living has continued to rise. there may be some respite on the horizon as the dirham continues to strengthen, driving down inflation,” added Morgan. “the regulations have been instrumental in reining in the market and the slow-motion impact has been gradually amplified over the past 12 months. the result has been a much more subdued market, with the risk of another rapid correction being carefully managed away,” pointed out faisal Durrani, Cluttons’ international research and business development manager. the report also said that with supply levels continuing to rise, landlords are now wary of the threat of “longer void periods, due to the fear of an increased level of choice for tenants”. this may result in a period of ‘off-grid’ deals, where landlords and tenants agree to rents that are not in sync with rerA’s recommendations, the consultancy warned.

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Big project me tours the dubai wharf construction site on dubai creek – Page 22

JUNE 2015

THE BIG PICTURE

eMaar plans to Buy land in egypt after cairo ipo emaar misr, sUBsidiary of dUBai giant, plans to sell Up to 600 million shares eMAAr Misr, A subsidiary of the Dubai property giant, plans to buy land in egypt after an iPo on the stock exchange in Cairo, the company said on Wednesday.

An initial public offering could raise as much as $370 million, in what is likely to be the biggest share sale in egypt this year, Bloomberg reported. in a statement to the Dubai financial Market, where its parent company is listed, emaar Misr announced its intention to proceed with an offering on the egyptian stock exchange. the intention is to offer shares to both retail investors in egypt and institutional investors “in a number of countries,

ipo plans n 600 million – number of shares emaar misr plans to sell in ipo

n $370 million – estimated amount ipo could raise

including in egypt”, it said. “emaar Misr plans to use the net proceeds raised from the offering, together with its existing cash resources, principally to further the development of the non-residential areas of its projects under development, including primarily emaar square in uptown Cairo project, the planned international marina and hotels in Marassi project, and Downtown area in Mivida project (comprising both retail and office space),” it said. its intention to buy land would mark the first such acquisitions since the uprising in 2011, Bloomberg reported. “the company also intends to use a

part of the net proceeds from the offering to fund pre-launch expenditures and costs in relation to the development of Cairo Gate, as well as selectively growing its land bank through the potential acquisition of select land plots that match the investment criteria of emaar Misr,” the company said in a statement. “emaar Properties will retain its current holdings in emaar Misr, which is expected to represent a minimum of approximately 87% of emaar Misr’s total post-offer share capital.” emaar Misr “is currently in the process of finalising the required corporate approvals” over the iPo, the statement added.

ipo offering An initial public offering

by Emaar Misr could raise $370 million.

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Big project me examines the evolution of the healthcare sector in the gcc – Page 28 9

THE BIG PICTURE

MECONSTRUCTIONNEWS.Com

GoinG beyond safety

Big project me sits down with ian harper, president of the institute of occupational safety and health (iosh), to find out where the hse field is heading and what needs to change How Has tHe construction industry been evolving globally as far as HealtH and safety is concerned?

The construction industry has been getting steadily better and better. It’s always a frustration to me how people perceive the industry as being so poor because there’s a lot of people doing a lot of very hard work to improve the standards. We’ve got to this plateau now in some countries where we’ve actually managed some of the big safety risks [on construction sites], but now we’re turning our attention to perhaps the bigger risks that we haven’t seen before. can you comment furtHer on tHese otHer risks? wHat do you tHink are tHe biggest Hazards construction workers face on-site?

When we talk about actual statistics in construction, most people think the biggest cause of death is work at height. In reality, it’s dust. As an example, in the UK we had 133 people die of accidents at work (in 2013-14), but in reality, we have 8,000 people die of occupational cancer every year. It’s around every 45 seconds someone dies of an occupational cancer, so that’s a pretty big figure. I think we’re working so hard on safety; it’s just now making those links to the health issues as well.

HealtH in Mind Ian Harper says that mental health is an issue that the global construction industry struggles to understand.

or people who have mental health problems derived from their work activity. It’s a big issue and I think organisations do need to understand how it impacts their business.

tHere’s a lot of empHasis on pHysical HealtH and safety in construction, but does mental HealtH also deserve more attention? wHat is tHe iosH doing about tHis?

tHe gcc states Have come under tremendous scrutiny over safety and working conditions on construction sites, especially in mega-projects like tHe world cup. wHat’s your take?

It is an issue that we’re struggling to understand.

We’ve just been part of a major campaign with the Scottish parliament, where we’ve launched a part of a mental health awareness programme in Scotland. It’s quite important in the construction industry especially.

There are lots and lots of big accidents and disasters that are the result of people who are under stress who make poor decisions,

I worked on a number of high-profile sports projects, and I think sometimes the media like to have a negative story. I worked on the London Olympics project and the stories were all very negative, but we didn’t kill a single person on that site. The trouble is the media attention.

Moreover, with all the sponsorship issues around the World Cup, there’s a lot of money involved and so that gets a higher profile.

Sometimes, it’s demoralising to safety professionals like myself to continue to have that constant criticism of the work that we’re trying to do rather than some support. It’s the nature of our job but it’s very lonely sometimes. wHat are tHe cHallenges tHe middle east needs to overcome witH regards to Hse?

The Middle East is doing something right because we’ve got these big buildings.

You can’t build buildings without having management systems. The challenge is bringing a common standard, so while you’ve got the big contractors with a very good standard of safety, you don’t have to go very far to perhaps find lower standards on smaller projects. I think perhaps the challenge is to try and find a minimum standard to bring everyone up to.

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Big project me analyses the changing nature of the dubai real estate market – Page 38

JUNE 2015

NEWS ANALYSIS KINGDOM TOWER

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RecoRd-bReakeR Mounib Hammoud says that the 1km-high Kingdom Tower project will have a “direct impact on the quality of life in Jeddah”.

JUNe 2015

NEWS ANALYSIS KINGDOM TOWER

BUILDING THE KINGDOM

As the world’s tallest building takes shape in Saudi Arabia, Jerusha Sequeira sits down with Mounib Hammoud, chief executive of the Jeddah Economic Company, to find out what the developer’s Kingdom Tower project will mean for Jeddah metRopolItaN hUb The Kingdom Tower project is expected to create 50,000 jobs just during phase one.

“It wIll be a ma JoR soURce of Job oppoRtUNItIes foR saUdIs. we expect 50,000 Jobs oN offeR as we opeN shop foR phase oNe of the pRoJect”

“It will be a major source of job opportunities for Saudis. We expect 50,000 jobs on offer as we open shop for phase one of the project,” he says.

Job creation will be driven by the hospitality, retail, leisure and entertainment facilities coming up within the project, he explains.

The Kingdom Tower will feature a 200-key Four Seasons Hotel, 121 Four Seasons serviced apartments, 61 residential floors, 318 apartments and the highest observatory space in the world.

The overall project, comprising the tower and city, is expected to house 200,000 residents at the end of the first two phases, he says.

Apart from the economic benefits it will bring, the Kingdom Tower will cement the place of Jeddah as a major metropolitan hub in the region alongside cities like Dubai and Beirut, he adds.

When asked if he expects the tower to boost tourism in the city, Hammoud points out that Jeddah is already a tourist hotspot in the Kingdom. “Jeddah is the prime tourist destination in the Kingdom. It’s the gateway to Islam, so 1.3 billion Muslims will at least once in a lifetime have to visit Makkah and Medina, and they have to pass through Jeddah.”

Nevertheless, he does expect the project to usher in more visitors to the city, as the government also looks at investing in public transport infrastructure which will upgrade Jeddah’s tourism offering.

The city’s position as a tourism and industrial hub has also helped cushion it from the free fall of oil prices – a factor that has been raising concerns in the rest of the region. “Jeddah is the city which is least dependent on oil in the Kingdom because this is a tourism destination. It has a tourism economy, it has a religious visitation economy. It is the first business hub in the Kingdom. We have 40% of the largest trading companies in Jeddah.”

Currently, construction progress on the Kingdom Tower has reached the 14th storey,

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F

rom King Kong climbing the Empire State Building to Tom Cruise scaling the Burj Khalifa, Hollywood’s most popular scenes have often involved iconic buildings that soar above city skylines. It’s easy to see the grip that the world’s tallest buildings have over public imagination, and it’s certainly not difficult to see how they can put a city on the world map as a force to be reckoned with.

Soon to outrank Dubai’s Burj Khalifa for the title of the world’s tallest building will be the currently under construction Kingdom Tower in Saudi Arabia. Crossing the 1km mark, the tower will set a new precedent for the skyscrapers of the future as it rises high above the coastal city of Jeddah.

Last month, Finland’s KONE announced that it had begun installing elevators in the tower, which is currently under construction and slated for completion in 2018. The project is being built at a cost of $1.2 billion and has the backing of Saudi billionaire Prince Alwaleed bin Talal.

It is being developed by the Jeddah Economic Company (JEC), which was established in 2009 to develop the 5.3 million sqm Kingdom City, of which the Kingdom Tower will be the centrepiece. JEC’s principal financiers are the Kingdom Holding Company, Abrar Holding Company and Qila’a Jeddah Company, as well as primary contractor Saudi Binladin Group.

While it’s probably nice to beat the world record held by its neighbouring metropolis Dubai, what will the new tower really mean for the city of Jeddah? The project will have “a direct impact on the quality of life in Jeddah”, says Mounib Hammoud, CEO of JEC, in an interview with Big Project ME. Elaborating, he points out that besides shattering world records, the Kingdom Tower and City will significantly help boost the economy of Jeddah.

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NEWS ANALYSIS KINGDOM TOWER

MEconstructionnEws.cOM

“theRe Is No pRoJect wIthoUt challeNges. coNstRUctIoN, facade, hoIstINg, sUstaINabIlIty, fIRe safety, yoU Name It. bUt I thINk wIth the expeRIeNce aNd INgeNUIty of the desIgNeRs, the coNsUltaNts, the coNtRactoRs aNd my team, NothINg wIll be ImpossIble” and Hammoud expects the tower to cross 60 levels by the end of the year. Total construction area on the 170-storey tower is 465,000sqm, while total gross floor area will be 245,000sqm.

The building is cast in place with 85kPa cement, and is being built with 105m-deep piles with a diameter of 1.8m, he adds.

Meanwhile, on Kingdom City, the master-plan is complete and the design of the infrastructure will be complete soon, with JEC currently tendering for earthmoving on the mega-project, he says.

While the workforce on-site is currently

centred on the tower, worker numbers are expected to grow once earthmoving starts on the surrounding development.

Constructing the world’s tallest building is obviously no mean feat, and safety considerations for workers on-site are paramount, Hammoud adds.

“We have very, very strict health and safety regulations and we have Dar Al Handasa, our engineers, who supervise works on-site,” he notes, adding that HSE is also strictly looked after by the EC Harris-MACE joint venture providing project management services on the site.

Soaring towardS eFFiciency sustainability is a key driver for the Kingdom tower development, and one way the project will look at conserving energy will be through its elevators.

The tower will be equipped with 57 KONE elevators and eight escalators on the project, and pre-installation activities are already underway on the site. The elevators will be able to travel at a speed of over 10 metres per second to reach the highest liveable floor in 52 seconds. Additionally, the high-speed elevators will rise 660m to the observation deck, making it the world’s highest elevator rise.

KONE Areeco, the Finnish firm’s Saudi joint venture, is currently working on the fitting of the elevator system’s guiderails, which is expected to begin towards the end of this year. The installation of the guiderails, as well as the eventual installation of the elevator cars, will then progress as the Kingdom Tower’s central structure rises over the coming years.

The elevators will be built using KONE’s UltraRope, which has a carbon fibre core and special high-friction coating. The UltraRope, which is one-third the weight of conventional steel ropes, will consume much less power and make the elevators in the tower considerably lighter.

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UltraRope elevators offer a 60% reduction in moving masses and 15% reduction in energy consumption for an elevator with a travel height of 500m. For an elevator with a travel height of 800m, moving masses can be reduced by as much as 90% and energy use by 45%, according to KONE’s website.

JUNE 2015

NeedINg aN UltRaRope KONE will use UltraRope to build the elevators in the Kingdom Tower.

“The first order on any agenda of any meeting is health and safety,” Hammoud says.

Despite the precautions, he acknowledges that building the tower remains a tall order. However, the chief executive is confident his team is up to the task.

“There is no project without challenges.

Construction, facade, hoisting, sustainability, fire safety, you name it. But I think with the experience and ingenuity of the designers, the consultants, the contractors and my team, nothing will be impossible. We will overcome all challenges and all difficulties.” n

In ProfIle Ahmed Al BAssAm

MEconstructionnEws.com

the power of a vision

Big Project ME sits down for an exclusive interview with Ahmed Al Bassam, the CEO of Al Rajhi Building Solutions Group and the man tasked with expanding the reach of one of the largest building solutions providers in the GCC

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ong established as one of Saudi Arabia’s best-known business entities, Al Rajhi Holding has come to occupy a dominant position in the GCC construction landscape.

With interests and investments ranging from real estate development, industrial and construction ventures to mergers and acquisitions, the group has a considerable footprint across the region and is now expanding further into the Middle East, Africa and other international markets.

Al Rajhi Holding has four key business sectors or subgroups: Real Estate Development, Building Solutions, Industrial, and Contracting and Infrastructure.

Over the last three years, the Building Solutions group has enjoyed tremendous growth and success as it undergoes a revolution in terms of restructuring and focus. The group currently comprises nine independent companies that service both regional and international construction markets, covering all aspects of building solutions and more.

These companies are: Mada Gypsum, Mabani Steel, Precast Technologies (PreTech), Saudi Waterproofing (TechnoBit), Romeo Interiors, Unipods, CladTech International, El Sewedy Cables (a joint venture) and Electroputere, a Romanian international power provider.

With more than 3,000 employees and an annual revenue that hits the 10-digit mark, the group is clearly no ordinary subsidiary. As such, it requires leadership with a particular set of skills, a clear vision and an innate sense of the GCC market to lead the way.

Step forward Ahmed Al Bassam, a Saudi

JUNE 2015

Arabian with more than 22 years of extensive, cross-functional experience in a number of industries, including oil and gas, power generation, packaging, construction and speciality chemicals. Just the type of man required to lead a group with interests as diverse as Al Rajhi Building Solutions.

Having started his professional career with Schlumberger, a global technology services company for which he worked 11 years in Oilfield Services, supplying products, services and technical solutions to the oil and gas exploration and production (E&P) industry worldwide, Al Bassam soon established himself as an executive with a formidable array of skills and knowledge, allowing him to make invaluable contributions

“No oNe should uNderestimate the power of haviNg a visioN. if you doN’t have a visioN – for the short term, the medium term aNd the loNg term – theN you will Never be ready for tomorrow”

to the organisations he led over the years.

After more than a decade of globe-trotting, he decided to leave Schlumberger and return home to Saudi Arabia. There, Al Bassam took on the role of the head of a power generation organisation. Barely a year into this new career, he moved to a Saudi-based group with eight regional companies under its umbrella, where he was asked to join with a clear mandate to lead the restructuring process of the group.

It was in this position that Al Bassam says he honed his skills further, as he revamped the whole group and more than doubled its revenue within five years. By 2010, he had established the group as one of the market leaders in both its business streams – packaging and construction chemicals.

Keen for a new challenge, when the opportunity arose to take over as Group CEO of Al Rajhi Building Solutions Group, Al Bassam was quick to take the chance, even though he freely admits that he had no idea of the scale of the challenge he was facing.

“Unfortunately, at the time, all the eight businesses were coming out of a tough and challenging period of 2008 to 2010. We started work in 2012, we restructured company by company. Unfortunately, restructuring also involves casualties, we had to rebuild the whole team,” he relates during an interview with Big Project ME at a hotel in Dubai.

“It was really tough, but at the end of the day, it was worth it. We were restructuring and at the same time, we were solving vital issues – while also planning and making sure that we were leading the company forwards. You

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In ProfIle Ahmed Al BAssAm

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In ProfIle Ahmed Al BAssAm

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need to make sure that the time you spend isn’t wasted, that you move forward to achieve your goals – that you have one eye here and one eye there. This style of management isn’t easy, but with time it becomes part of your personality.”

As the Group CEO of Al Rajhi Building Solutions, Al Bassam’s role doesn’t stop with just restructuring and leading the companies to growth and sustainable profit, despite this being his original mandate. Sensing the enormous potential of the group, he has decided to implement an initiative that he believes will take it to the next level of its evolution.

Called ‘Vision 2020’, the new initiative isn’t just a roadmap for the group’s future success, it’s more than that, he says. “By 2013, we started moving in the right direction. People wanted to take part in our story. By then, we had returned to profitability and we were really looking to progress in 2014. So that’s when we started looking at the bigger picture – Vision 2020. That initiative came about when we were trying to cope with what was happening in the area and also trying to envision how we were going to look at the end of the decade.

“No one should underestimate the power of having a vision. If you don’t have a vision – for the short term, the medium term and the long term – then you will never be ready for tomorrow.

When we started restructuring in 2012, we set four years’ worth of visionary objectives for the group. They were very challenging targets – one of them was that every company was going to be in the top three in its industry.”

Stiff as these targets were, history proves that the firebrand CEO was right to challenge his team. As 2015 unfolds, most of the companies in Al Rajhi Building Solutions Group are firmly ensconced in the top three in their industries, while the likes of Mada Gypsum, Mabani Steel, CladTech International and Unipods are market leaders, with powerful solutions and regional market coverage.

The group ended 2014 with record volumes and significant material increases in revenue, profits and returns, according to figures released by the group to Big Project ME. There was a 30% increase in year-on-year revenue, while returns were equally significant.

With a project pool of more than $5 billion being pursued by the group’s companies, Al Bassam remains confident that growth will continue to be driven by GCC government investment. Over the course of the next decade, the GCC is expected to see huge investment in vital infrastructure sectors like education,

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yas mall Abu Dhabi, UAE Façade package by Cladtech International Co

Jeddah iNterNatioNal airport expaNsioN, saudia aerospace aircraft maiNteNaNce haNgars Jeddah, KSA Steel structure by Mabani Steel Co for 10 aircraft maintenance hangars

healthcare and transport infrastructure like airports, railways and roads. In addition, the burgeoning population in the region is expected to see increased investment in affordable housing, with Saudi Arabia likely to see the bulk of that growth. All these infrastructure development projects are expected to total a staggering $80 billion, analysts predict.

Given the market conditions, it comes as no surprise that Al Bassam is already looking to set up Al Rajhi Building Solutions Group to take advantage of this potential bonanza. “We need to take the group to the next level, to get everyone thinking that we’re much bigger than what we’ve been talking about. For them to believe this, they have to be part of this vision, and that’s what we’ve started to do. When the announcement was made for Expo 2020, I

thought that it was the perfect chance to get everyone thinking with me about Vision 2020.”

So what is Vision 2020? As Al Bassam puts it, it’s not so much his plan but rather a cooperative effort between the senior management of all the companies in the group. “I don’t have a ‘plan’, but I wanted us to all come together and put the plan together. So we started by putting together workshops about how we were going to do this, and what every business would look like by 2020. That’s when people started coming up with ideas, which was something I was really happy to see all come together.

“Our first workshop was actually a brainstorming session. We told each business to go into the international market and find the top two businesses from each continent, in their industry. And then they had to strip

In ProfIle Ahmed Al BAssAm

tamkeeN tower Riyadh, KSA Façade package by Cladtech International Co. Interior package

by Romeo Interiors

liviNg legeNds Dubai, UAE Joinery package by Romeo Interiors for 500 villas and towers

priNce mohammed iNterNatioNal airport Madinah, KSA Façade package by Cladtech International Co

“we eNded up with a big pool of iNformatioN, but the importaNt thiNg was that all of these people completely altered their miNd-set. makiNg them thiNk this way was a big success”

within the building solutions spectrum.

A stronger presence in the Middle East is a major part of the strategy, as is expansion of services and products into Africa and Europe. The ultimate aim of the Vision 2020 initiative is for group revenue to double by 2020, to more than $2 billion, while generating exponential profit growth.

The group’s expansion plans are quite ambitious, with Al Bassam revealing that there will be continuous investment in Al Rajhi Building Solutions’ mega-manufacturing facilities in Saudi Arabia and the UAE. “We have created a culture that strives to gain a competitive edge along the supply chain.

We focus on world-class standards and integrated product offerings. Our focus will be on market segmentations and cost control.

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them down to see what kind of business they are, what kind of profit they’re making and how we can track how they reached excellence. It was a very deep analysis and every business in the group had to do it,” he explains, adding that this process of benchmarking and strategy mapping paid tremendous dividends.

“We ended up with a big pool of information, but the important thing was that all of these people completely altered their mind-set. Making them think this way was a big success and then, one after another, the workshops started delivering big ideas.”

As a result of this change in thinking, the market will see Al Rajhi Building Solutions Group adopt a change in its way of thinking. 2015 will see the group begin investing in a number of different fields

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In profIle ahmed al Bassam

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“Our footprints are particularly visible in construction techniques and in construction processes. We aim to challenge conventional methods and drive the construction industry towards more automation, while also focusing on those areas and requirements that will add genuine value to clients’ operations and proffer solutions that will infuse technology and assure quality, convenience and speed,” he asserts.

Al Bassam explains that by spending time and assets on understanding the different selling propositions in the market, and thereby the related market perceptions, his group’s companies are now able to create propositions that add value for their customers.

“At the market level, generally speaking, the region is witnessing rapid development, with no scarcity of contracts in any segment.

From housing and utilities to transport infrastructure, the public spending is driving the contracting industry forwards.”

With infrastructure projects in the GCC expected to exceed $80 billion, and huge investments to be made in education, healthcare, transport infrastructure, airports and power and water, the market is ripe for investment and development. This rapidly evolving scenario has fostered a number of positive changes that Al Bassam is pleased to see happening, since it validates the work his group has already been doing.

“In terms of technologies, we’re pleased to see that 2014 was marked by a breakthrough in terms of the penetration levels of new construction concepts and technologies,” he points out.

“We believe in investing in state-of-the-art technology and in research and development, and we consider our human resources as vital.”

This is a significant opportunity for Al Rajhi Building Solutions, a fact that the company clearly recognises, given the heavy investment in its subsidiary, Unipods, which is expanding on two fronts. First, it will increase its manufacturing capacity in Ras Al Khaimah by 50% in an effort to meet local and export demand. Following that, it will also open a new factory in Yanbu, Saudi Arabia to cater to the growing market in the Kingdom.

“This announcement reflects our expectation for continued exponential growth and expansion, and it highlights our commitment to the market and to our clients. The same goes for Mabani Steel, which is expanding its current facility in RAK by 40% and planning on developing a new plant capacity in KSA during 2015,” Al Bassam explains.

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al waseel hills by sabic Riyadh, KSA 2000 bathroom pods by Unipods

paramouNt by damac Dubai, UAE Façade package by Cladtech International Co. Interior package

by Romeo Interiors

factory buildiNg at rak maritime city Saqr Port, Ras Al Khaimah, UAE. Pre-engineered building steel by Mabani Steel Co

In ProfIle Ahmed Al BAssAm

“we Need to take the group to the Next level, to get everyoNe thiNkiNg big aNd differeNt aNd that we could be much bigger thaN what we’ve beeN talkiNg about. for them to believe this, they have to be part of this visioN”

“In fact, there are a number of substantial expansions underway – Mada Gypsum, for instance, has recently announced a new $66.64 million environmentally friendly gypsum plant, which will employ around 200 employees. It will have an annual capacity of approximately 30 million square metres of gypsum plasterboards and related gypsum-based products and systems.

“The market today is very different, it’s much more demanding, competitive and open. However, there are significant building solution opportunities there, particularly in our core markets,” the CEO asserts.

Looking further ahead, Al Bassam says that there are a few markets he’d like Al Rajhi Building Solutions to target – namely the construction chemical market segment. “We are open to M&A opportunities in this segment. However, we believe that greenfield investment is a key option that we’re looking into as we speak.”

“An interesting trend that we are not only watching carefully, but playing a major role in shaping, is green and sustainable construction. Most of our solutions are green.

Off-site construction by nature is material- and resource-efficient and allows for the green benefits at the wastage, productivity and logistic levels. Unipods, for example, won the UAE Ministry of Environment and Water’s Outstanding Performance Award in 2013.

“The UAE is considered to be the biggest renewables market in the GCC, with $1 billion worth of projects under execution or in operation,” Al Bassam points out, highlighting the importance he places on the issue.

When it comes to his philosophy for success, the CEO of Al Rajhi Building Solutions is quick to sum it up – analysis and insights. Information provided by his team, and his own observations of the market, allow him to execute change management strategies and accomplish a “total turnaround” in previously struggling organisations, transforming them into high-paced and well-structured profitable enterprises.

“My main mandate is to lead the group and build a vision and strategy, to transform it into a leading and sustainable business that adds value to the industry and maximises returns to the shareholders. To do this, we have to build a world-class organisation that is up to international benchmarks and invest heavily into human talents and research and development.

“We always have a long-term vision and strategic goals to ensure that we’re ahead of the market. We tend to think big, and we look to the long term in everything we do.”

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loNg-term plaN Al Bassam says that he uses information and analysis provided by his team to create and execute change management strategies.

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Site ViSit DUBAI WHARF

MEconstructionnEws.com

Big Project ME visits the Dubai Wharf project, an $217.7 million mixed-use development being built along Dubai Creek as part of Culture Village

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WHARF JUNE 2015

Site ViSit DUBAI WHARF

PROJECT

Dubai Wharf Project

CliEnT

Dubai Properties

COnsulTanT

LACASA Architects and Engineering Consultants

COnTRaCTOR

Engineering Contracting Company (ECC)

PROJECT ValuE

$217.7 million

TOTal PROJECT sizE

370 hectares

PROJECT TyPE

Mixed-use (Retail and Residential)

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D R I V E 23

Site ViSit DUBAI WHARF

A

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s Dubai continues to grow, the demand for high-end accommodation continues to rise in tandem. As a result of this perceived demand, leading real estate developer Dubai Properties has launched a new residential tower at Dubai Wharf, a multi-million dirham mixed-use project in the heart of its much anticipated destination at Dubai Creek. The launch of the new tower comes at a time when major infrastructure works around the ambitious master development are almost complete.

With more than 200 units, including studios and one-, two- and threebedroom apartments ranging from 60 to 190sqm, the new tower will be part of an impressive development and Big Project ME was invited to tour the site for a first-hand look at the project.

In addition to the towers, there is a two-storey podium which will function as a retail hub for residents and visitors. They can also enjoy retail and entertainment offerings along the promenade that runs along the 28,695sqm Dubai Wharf plot area.

“Dubai Wharf project is a mixed-use development that comprises residential and retail areas. There are three basement parking levels, common podium floors at ground and first level, and four towers with residential levels starting from the second level, which also has a range of amenities including a state-of-the-art gymnasium, swimming pool and green spaces overlooking the canal,” explains Moataz Al Talla, senior project manager at LACASA. Dubai Properties has appointed Engineering Contracting Company (ECC) as the main contractor for the project. ECC is fully mobilised, and with a workforce of over 2,000 on-site, construction works are rapidly progressing in all towers simultaneously at different levels, with major infrastructure works also progressing rapidly and nearing completion. “The project team on-site is ensuring that highest standards are delivered in terms of quality and HSE requirements, following the authorities’ compliance,” states Al Talla.

On the infrastructure front, road networks, internal bridges and electricity substations (132/11kV) at the creekside destination have been completed.

Other work related to the infrastructure services is scheduled to be completed by

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MEconstructionnEws.com

full force There are around 2,000 workers on-site for the four-tower project near Dubai Creek.

Site ViSit DUBAI WHARF

EquipmEnt usEd

Design change Dubai Properties has instructed other consultants to follow the LACASA design theme for the projects surrounding the Dubai Wharf site.

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the end of June this year, Dubai Properties says. These include sewerage, irrigation, storm water drainage and potable water.

In addition, all permanent infrastructure work is now in place for plot owners and developers to commence work on their plots, the developer tells Big Project ME. By the end of the third quarter of 2016, most landscaping works will have been completed.

To support easy access to the site, Dubai Properties says there are three main access points to the master development, anticipated to be completed by the end of June, which will alleviate any congestion issues.

Dubai Wharf is part of a wider creekside destination which has a number of ongoing projects in development around

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crucial componenT The Dubai Wharf project will be a key feature of the Culture Village as it acts as a destination hub for Dubai Creek.

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“To supporT easy access To The siTe, Dubai properTies says There are Three main access poinTs To The masTer DevelopmenT, anTicipaTeD To be compleTeD by The enD of June”

the site. Therefore, the completion of these access roads will be a major boost to the Dubai Wharf development, Al Talla says.

Once complete, the first access road will complement the RTA’s Al Jadaf Metro Station on the Green Line, ensuring ease of access from anywhere in Dubai. Once the project is complete, this road will also play a major role in increasing traffic to the development.

One of the other roads will serve as a direct entrance to the upcoming Versace Hotel, in the heart of the destination, and the last access point will lead directly to the centre of the development. The master development around Dubai Wharf will also feature a 6km promenade, with 3.8km of the stretch set to be completed in the first phase.

SECTOR FOCUS HEALTHCARE

MEconstructionnEws.Com

THE EVOLUTION OF HEALTHCARE

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As GCC governments look to invest in healthcare facilities, Big Project ME looks at the complexities of building hospitals and how medical construction has developed over the years. Jerusha Sequeira reports

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SECTOR FOCUS HEALTHCARE

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Growth market The GCC’s healthcare market is predicted to grow at the rate of 12% per annum.

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SECTOR FOCUS HEALTHCARE

A

midst the glitz and glamour of shopping malls and luxury hotels coming up in the GCC, it’s easy to lose sight of the less exciting but equally important infrastructure the region will need to sustain its growing population.

Increasing urban development, combined with sedentary lifestyles and the associated health risks, have created a significant need for more hospital beds in the Gulf region.

According to a report last year by Alpen Capital, the GCC’s healthcare market is projected to grow at a rate of 12% per annum to $69.4 billion by 2018, with Saudi Arabia expected to be the largest market, followed

by Qatar and the UAE. Countries like the UAE

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are also keen on positioning themselves as medical tourism destinations, acting as a further driver for healthcare growth and investment.

But as governments look at building more medical facilities in the region, it’s worth taking a look at what challenges remain for contractors and consultants when working on healthcare projects, and how hospital design and construction is evolving.

According to Simon Bourke, director of healthcare at engineering consultancy BuroHappold, one of the key factors behind the complexity of hospital projects is that there are often several stakeholders involved. This can lead to a lengthy briefing period and approvals process, and part of the challenge is getting

the “right decisions made at the right time”.

BuroHappold addresses this, he notes, by briefing the client on the architecture and engineering aspects of the project at the same time, so as to get approval in advance for both. “Sometimes the clients can understand the architecture much easier than they can understand engineering.” To deal with this, the firm sets up dedicated briefing sessions to take the client through the engineering aspects in a user-friendly way.

Bishoy Azmy, CEO of Al Shafar General Contracting, agrees that hospitals require considerable coordination across hospital staff, design and construction teams. “The healthcare construction industry is complex,

“Careful planninG and deCisions must be made at early staGes and they Cannot ChanGe later in ConstruCtion, or at least not without severe ConsequenCes to the projeCt beinG Completed on time”

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mediCal tourism The UAE is keen to position itself as a medical tourism destination, acting as a further driver for healthcare growth and investment.

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SECTOR FOCUS HEALTHCARE

and shareholder and patient requirements often necessitate that projects are completed faster.” Moreover, planning processes are more complicated and must account for the intricate nature of healthcare facilities, he says.

The fact that several stakeholders are involved also means accounting for differences in culture and experience, while also trying to tackle unrealistic schedules, points out Martin McIntire, head of healthcare – Middle East at Arcadis.

WoRking ARound EquipmEnT

Stakeholders aside, the engineering complexity, technical requirements and, of course, ultra-expensive equipment associated with hospitals definitely bring their own share of challenges, the experts agree. To start with, there are massive differences across different departments, some more engineering-driven than others, Bourke says. “You have obviously the very acute critical areas like theatres and intensive care. You have to have very defined conditions, and you design for those.”

Other areas like diagnostics and radiology are more driven by equipment providers.

Because diagnostics and equipment are evolving so rapidly, an especially important aspect of hospital design now is futureproofing the facility, so that it can adapt to

“we have to really find a middle Ground in understandinG what best praCtiCe is for various types of hospitals”

changing technologies. “It’s quite challenging in terms of how you make the building flexible enough to ensure it’s not obsolete by the time you’ve actually finished constructing it.”

Azmy also echoes Bourke’s comments on the importance of future-proofing. “The growth of technology in the healthcare industry requires the construction of facilities that are adaptable and flexible in the long term and can easily accommodate new technologies that enter the industry.”

Moreover, MEP coordination is particularly difficult and requires a more detailed and calculated approach compared to construction in other projects, because building services and systems have to be designed around the equipment in hospitals, further complicating the process.

For instance, high-tech rooms like operating theatres and ICU wards may contain medical equipment fixed to the walls, ceilings or floors

and requires dedicated building services such as medical gases, power supply and IT connectivity. This means rooms cannot easily be redesigned and equipment can’t be moved around with the same ease that an office building can move desks and chairs, he points out. “Careful planning and decisions must be made at early stages and they cannot change later in construction, or at least not without severe consequences to the project being completed on time.”

The extensive planning around sophisticated medical equipment necessitates working closely with equipment providers. But even when one factors in the main considerations, it’s easy to get the little things wrong, Bourke admits, like installing the power supply in the wrong place for the machines.

The solution to this technology overdose is unsurprisingly more technology, namely BIM. Equipment providers can coordinate

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Preventing the sPreAd of infections Infection control is undoubtedly a vital aspect of healthcare design, and the industry is now developing new means to prevent the spread of disease. “While hospital environmental services departments continually strategise and provide physical processes of cleaning, it’s nice to see many of the leading medical equipment and furniture/interiors manufacturers have jumped in to support the cause,” McIntire says.

Many products are now manufactured with antimicrobial materials that deter germs.

Product designs are ensuring to eliminate cracks, crevasses and other elements that could otherwise become a source for gathering of germs or be difficult to clean.

Additionally, air exchange systems to get rid of dirty air have become a lot more sophisticated, and there is now also a big move towards single-bed rooms instead of multi-bed wards to prevent infection, Bourke says.

However, even with all the design elements in place, there’s no discounting the importance of healthcare providers in preventing the spread of disease. Ensuring staff pay adequate attention to hygiene is also crucial, Bourke points out.

“It’s a combination of design, engineering systems and also the staff within the building that contribute to infection control.”

MEconstructionnEws.Com

with architects and engineers over the service requirements for the equipment through a BIM model, Bourke says.

“The whole idea of BIM will be a massive benefit to the industry. We can ensure that from the equipment sheet all the way through to the installation drawings and the servicing requirements, it can all be coordinated more effectively.”

THE EvoLuTion of HospiTAL dEsign

While contractors and consultants may certainly appreciate the challenges of building and delivering healthcare projects, this is probably of little concern to the people these developments are built for: the patients.

Visiting the hospital is never an enjoyable process – how can medical facilities be built to provide a more nurturing and perhaps cheerful environment for patients to recuperate in?

Creating an environment focused on patient well-being as opposed to just getting technical aspects right is where healthcare design is headed at the moment, says Dr Nasser B Abdulhasan, principal of Kuwaitbased AGi Architects. The technical and engineering complexity that’s part and parcel of hospital design means a very extensive set of guidelines has been developed, particularly

in the US and UK. However, all standards and no creativity make a hospital a dull place, and following the guidelines to a T would inevitably make medical facilities everywhere look exactly the same, he notes.

“It’s actually like taking bits and pieces of an equation and plugging them together and building a facility out of it,” he says. For this reason, hospitals historically may have been technically good facilities but they simply did not factor in human needs. “We have to really find a middle ground in understanding what best practice is for various types of hospitals.”

Healthcare design is now much more about the human element, Abdulhasan stresses. He mentions a cardiac centre in Kuwait that his firm is working on, where the main driver is for patients to not feel like they’re in a hospital environment.

This is done by offering facilities such as a gym for rehabilitation, cooking and nutrition classes, and public spaces in the facility to better enable doctor-patient interaction in a relaxed environment.

McIntire also notes the increased focus on the patient at the centre of healthcare design, with comfort of patients driving many design elements in modern hospital rooms. “Everything from holistic, hotel-

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patient planninG Healthcare design is heading towards being more focused on patient welfare rather than just getting technical aspects right.

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Cultural foCus Hospital designers are now starting to take account of the cultural factors in the Middle East when it comes to designing their projects.

like interior designs and amenities, to family sitting areas with access to television entertainment and internet access.” Even elements that aren’t as visible, such as soundmasking technology in patient area corridors, can help enhance comfort, he adds.

Much of this is driven by the fairly recent concept of the patient as a consumer with the desire and ability to control their environment, as opposed to an invalid confined to bed, Bourke says.

Ultimately, however, what’s undeniable across the board is that hospitals have become more than just a place to treat illness.

“It’s not just about getting your treatment, it’s actually about everything that is pre and post getting the treatment,” Abdulhasan says. “Nobody who goes to the hospital is happy [about it]. The environment has to be fulfilling from both the staff’s point of view and the patients’ point of view.

That’s the only way for a hospital.”

Accounting for culturAl fActors in design Healthcare design in the Middle East needs to take into account cultural factors, such as higher numbers of people visiting patients compared with other parts of the world, Bourke and Abdulhasan say.

day and actually you might be getting eight. It could end up with big queues in the lobbies to get through up to the inpatient areas, so things like that you have to be very sensitive to,” Bourke says.

Although many aspects of hospital design, such as the size of operating theatres and diagnostic spaces, do not differ much across countries, this isn’t the case for patient bedrooms and some other areas, Bourke says.

Abdulhasan echoes Bourke’s comments about the importance of factoring in culture. “If someone is [having] surgery, there’s a much larger number of family members waiting outside for as many hours as needed because the societ y functions in that fashion, and that has to be addressed in any design.”

“As an international engineer, you have to be very attuned to specific cultural requirements,” he says, adding that in places like the Middle East and the Indian subcontinent, the idea of the extended family is extremely important. One can thus t ypically expect higher numbers of visitors on average, which in turn affects aspects of hospital design, such as the size of bedrooms or elevators.

“You could get it badly wrong if you’re only expecting two or three visitors per

Hospital design guidelines, which have been extensively developed in countries like the US and UK, do not factor in cultural requirements, Abdulhasan and Bourke note.

“If you’re using, for example, UK or American regulations for the Middle East, you have to be conscious of some of the thoughts behind those regulations and why they may need to be adapted,” Bourke says.

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“it’s quite ChallenGinG in terms of how you make the buildinG flexible enouGh to ensure it’s not obsolete by the time you’ve aCtually finished ConstruCtinG it”

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TOP 10 HEALTHCARE

MEconstructionnEws.Com

1O GCC HEALTHCARE PRoJECTS

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Big Project ME takes a look at some of the biggest healthcare construction projects coming up across the region

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TOP 10 HEALTHCARE

O1 O2 KING ABDULLAH BIN ABDUL AZIZ SECURITY FORCES MEDICAL COMPLEXES

CLIENT: MiNistry of iNtErior LOCATION: saUdi arabia BUDGET: $6.7 billioN STATUS: CUrrENt proJECt The King Abdullah bin Abdul Aziz Security Forces Medical Complexes is the largest medical project in the KSA and GCC. The project consists of two separate medical cities being built in Riyadh and Jeddah, at a total cost of $6.7 billion. Each city will be constructed on a total built-up area of 1.3million sqm, with medical facilities across 400,000sqm and residential units over 500,000sqm. The main contractor on the Riyadh complex is the ABV Rock Group, while the consultant is Dar Al Handasah. The project is slated for completion in Q3 2017.

SULTAN QABOOS MEDICAL CITY

CLIENT: MiNistry of HEaltH LOCATION: oMaN BUDGET: $1.5 billioN STATUS: CUrrENt proJECt Sultan Qaboos Medical City, being developed by the Omani government on a 5 million sqm site in Barka, will have five major hospitals. Specialist medical facilities will include an organ transplantation centre, a rehabilitation centre, a children’s hospital, a general hospital and a head and neck hospital.

Additionally, laboratories, a university research centre and a Medical Education City will also be housed inside the development.

Combined, the complex will have a capacity of over 2,000 beds. The project is tentatively scheduled to be operational in 2017.

O3 O4 NEW JAHRA HOSPITAL

KING FAISAL MEDICAL CITY

CLIENT: aMiri diwaN of KUwait LOCATION: KUwait BUDGET: $1.24 billioN STATUS: tENdEr stagE

CLIENT: MiNistry of HEaltH LOCATION: saUdi arabia BUDGET: $1.06 billioN STATUS: CUrrENt proJECt

The new Jahra Hospital is a 1,171-bed hospital about 32km west of Kuwait City. The Amiri Diwan and State of Kuwait commissioned TRO JB and PACE to design the upcoming hospital, which will function as a trauma centre for Jahra district. The hospital comprises seven individual buildings including the 426,000sqm main building, as well as a 20,000sqm dental centre with 104 clinics. The contract for construction was initially awarded to Burhan International, and then after retendering to Kharafi National.

Both companies lost out, however, after failing to pay the 10% bid bond. It is currently unclear when the next re-tendering will occur.

King Faisal Medical City, in the province of Asir, will have a built-up area of 262,836sqm and 1,350 beds. It will comprise a 500-bed main hospital, with the other 850 beds distributed across five specialty hospitals: cardiology, oncology, ophthalmology, neurology and rehabilitation. The master plan also includes a mosque, a hotel, administration and research facility buildings, a convention centre and staff residences. The contract for construction of the main hospital was awarded in 2012 by the Ministry of Health to Al-Fouzan Trading & General Construction Company, the Saudi Arabian construction company.

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HEaltHCarE iN foCUs The GCC is spending billions on healthcare projects as it looks to become a centre of medical tourism.

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TOP 10 HEALTHCARE

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O5 O6 O7 INTERNATIONAL MEDICAL CITY

HAMAD BIN KHALIFA MEDICAL CITY

KING ABDULLAH SPECIALIST CHILDREN’S HOSPITAL

CLIENT: apEx MEdiCal groUp LOCATION: oMaN BUDGET: $1 billioN STATUS: CUrrENt proJECt

CLIENT: pUbliC worKs aUtHority (asHgHal) LOCATION: Qatar BUDGET: $659.4 MillioN STATUS: CUrrENt proJECt

CLIENT: NatioNal gUards HEaltH affairs (NgHa) LOCATION: saUdi arabia BUDGET: $500 MillioN STATUS: CUrrENt proJECt

The medical complex being built at Hamad Bin Khalifa Medical City will feature a 243bed women’s hospital, an ambulatory and minimally invasive surgical hospital, a physical medicine and rehabilitation hospital, a scientific centre for medical research, and a bio-bank.

The project also includes construction of additional operating rooms for Hamad Medical Corp (HMC), to increase capacity of the existing Hamad General Hospital’s surgical department. The project is led by the Hyundai Engineering and Construction Company and was due for completion in 2014, but suffered delays. In January this year, Qatar’s Ashghal said work on the 227,000sqm site in Rumaila was more than 80% complete.

The King Abdullah Specialist Children’s Hospital in Riyadh will be a 350-bed facility, housed in a G+12 building located in the King Abdulaziz Medical City. The 85,000sqm development will be the first specialised children’s hospital in the Kingdom. It will have six wards, including one general, two surgical as well as an oncology, ICU and VIP ward with six suites. Each ward will have classroom and playroom facilities.

The complex will also have day treatment areas and other facilities such as conference rooms, library facilities and lecture halls, due to its status as an Academic Teaching hospital. The first phase of the hospital is scheduled to be open in 2015.

International Medical City in Salalah, Oman is a $1 billion healthcare project, with the first phase scheduled to open at the end of 2016.

Phase one, developed by Saudi-based Apex Medical Group, will have a 530-bed tertiary care multi-speciality hospital, along with three medical centres for organ transplant and dialysis, diagnostics and rehabilitation. Apart from the healthcare complex, the project, which is being built on 800,000sqm of land, will also have a healthcare resort and an education complex, to be developed in subsequent phases. The resort, to be built in phase two, will include a wellness centre, a four-star hotel, a conference hall, staff accommodation and other amenities. The educational complex will be completed in the third phase of the project.

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UNdErway Work on Hamad Bin Khalifa Medical City is nearly complete, with Ashghal saying that 80% of the project is finished.

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TOP 10 HEALTHCARE

largEst iN tHE gCC The King Abdullah bin Abdul Aziz Security Forces Medical Complexes is the largest medical project in the GCC.

O8 O9 1O ABU DHABI MEDICAL REHABILITATION CENTRE

CLIENT: bUrJEEl Hospital LOCATION: UaE BUDGET: $381 MillioN STATUS: UNdEr CoNstrUCtioN

CLIENT: abU dHabi HEaltH sErviCEs CoMpaNy pJsC (sEHa) LOCATION: abU dHabi BUDGET: $180 MillioN STATUS: CUrrENt proJECt

The Burjeel Medical City (BMC), part of Mohammed Bin Zayed City, is a 92,903sqm project on the Abu Dhabi-Dubai highway. BMC is being developed by Abu Dhabi’s Burjeel Hospital, a part of the VPS Healthcare Group.

When operational, the 400-bed hospital will be equipped with specialised departments like oncology and acute care, and will focus mainly on long-stay patients. The project is expected to be complete in 2017. Apart from BMC, Burjeel also plans to open four hospitals, five speciality centres and 10 medical centres, including one on Reem Island, the National reported last year. Three other hospitals will be built in Al Ain and another in Qatar within the scheduled timeframe.

The Abu Dhabi medical rehabilitation centre project is a 156-bed facility being built in Khalifa City A in Abu Dhabi. The new centre will be an 84,200sqm development, set to offer posttreatment services to people with conditions like cerebral palsy and arteriosclerosis, or victims of traffic accidents. Design began in 2010, with Allen & Sharif appointed to provide project and construction management services to the project. The construction schedule for the project comprises two basement levels, a ground floor and four additional floors. The developer of the new rehab centre, Seha, also has plans to build, replace or renovate 23 medical centres by 2018.

CANCER TREATMENT CENTRE, KING HAMAD UNIVERSITY HOSPITAL CLIENT: KiNg HaMad UNivErsity Hospital LOCATION: baHraiN BUDGET: $85 MillioN STATUS: CUrrENt proJECt The new oncology centre at the King Hamad University Hospital is a 120-bed facility aimed at bringing first-class cancer care and research facilities to Bahrain. Construction work on the 59,600sqm centre began in August last year, and the project is scheduled for completion in 2016. Design is by international design firm Hassell, in partnership with Bahrain’s Mazen Alumran Consulting Engineers and team members Aecom, Baker Willis Smith and MJ Medical. Last year, Bahraini contractor G.P. Zachariades Group bagged the contract to build the project, which will also include a 10bed bone marrow transplantation centre. n

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BURJEEL MEDICAL CITY, ABU DHABI

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MARKET REVIEW DUBAI

MEconstructionnEws.com

PhasiNg ProJEcts One of the most important lessons learnt from the previous crises is the importance of phasing projects over a considerable timeframe.

Craig Plumb, head of Research for JLL MENA, outlines how the Dubai real estate market is changing following the launch of major construction projects across the city

T

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he pace of construction activity has certainly picked up in Dubai over the past six months, with an increasing number of cranes gracing the skyline and worker buses filling the roads. A notable feature of the market is that much of the activity is taking place within already announced master-planned communities, with relatively few launches elsewhere.

Among the projects experiencing ongoing activity are Citywalk and the Dubai Theme Parks at Jebel Ali (undertaken by Meraas), Dubai Lagoons and Downtown (undertaken by Emaar), and Business Bay (Dubai Properties).

Elsewhere, one of the most significant new announcements is the Town Square project by Nshama, where the first residential villas and apartments have been released in what will be

JUNE 2015

a major addition to the city’s inventory over the next few years, with a total of 18,000 apartments and 3,500 townhouses.

One of the lessons learnt from the previous crash in the Dubai market is the importance of phasing projects over a considerable timeframe, which is certainly the case with most of the master-planned projects underway. This does not detract from the significant injection of supply that will complete across all sectors of the market over the next couple of years.

In the office market, as much as 900,000sqm of space could complete in 35 projects over the rest of 2015. Although in reality much of this space is likely to be delayed, there will certainly be a significant amount of additional space entering the market. Many of these projects are in master-planned projects, with the most

prominent being Business Bay (which could see the addition of more than 300,000sqm of office space this year). Perhaps the most significant addition to supply within the Business Bay is D3 (Dubai Design District), which has attracted a high level of pre-leasing ahead of completion later in the year. This TECOM project will be the first in Dubai to offer dual licensing (onshore and offshore) within the same building.

By definition, the residential market is more scattered than other sectors of the real estate market, with the 22,000 units due to complete in 103 projects in 2015 scattered across many different locations. Once again, there are significant completions scheduled within the existing master-planned locations, including Sports City, Dubai Silicon Oasis, the Liwa section of Dubailand, JLT, Business Bay and

MARKET REVIEW DUBAI

“oNE of thE lEssoNs lEarNt from thE PrEvioUs crash iN thE DUbai markEt is thE imPortaNcE of PhasiNg ProJEcts ovEr a coNsiDErablE timEframE�

Avenue by Meeras (Al Wasl Road).

Hospitality has been one of the strongest performing sectors of the Dubai real estate market over recent years, resulting in a number of new projects being undertaken. As with the office sector, a significant amount of this new supply has been within master-planned areas such as Business Bay (JW Marriott Marquis, Oberoi and Sofitel) and Palm Jumeirah (Waldorf Astoria, Sofitel, Anantara and Rixos).

There remains around 3,600 additional hotel rooms due to complete across Dubai in 2015, with this supply split between fivestar (upscale) projects such as the Langham (Palm Jumeirah), Rosewood (DIFC) and Hyatt Regency (Healthcare City) and threestar (midscale) projects from Hilton Garden Inn, Ibis and Auris Lodge, among others. n

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Downtown (where the Address residences, with over 550 units, is the largest single completion scheduled for 2015). As with previous years, most of the proposed new supply for 2015 is in the form of apartments (17,000) compared to villas and townhouses (5,000).

There have been no major retail malls completed in Dubai since Mirdif City Centre in 2010. This trend is expected to continue this year, with the majority of the 200,000sqm of new retail supply in the form of smaller community centres or extensions to existing malls, the largest of which is Phase 2 of Dragon Mart in International City (which will add more than 100,000sqm of retail space). Among the major new malls to open over the next two years are City Centre Meaisem by Majid Al Futeim (in IPMZ), the Agora Mall in Jumeirah and The

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INTERVIEW MARK GROGAN

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MEconstructionnEws.cOM

INTERVIEW MARK GROGAN

looking back, looking forWard

Mark Grogan, manager, contracts and quantity surveying at KEO International Consultants, has a freewheeling chat about his two decades in the UAE

Mark, you arrived in the uae several years ago. What Was the construction industry like before the freehold booM?

I arrived in the UAE in December 1993, working on a government scheme to provide low-cost housing for nationals in the Northern Emirates.

In August 1994, I moved to Dubai for what was one of the highest-value projects in Dubai at the time, budgeted for $60.98 million – the Trade Centre Interchange at the start of Sheikh Zayed Road – of course this was several years before the freehold boom in Dubai, and it was followed

by Emirates Towers. I also worked on the Jebel Ali Golf course, the first private golf course in Dubai, built in 1997-98. I spent a little over two years in Abu Dhabi – it was the start of the retail revolution, working on the Abu Dhabi Mall, which was also one of the first construction projects let as a design and build contract.

When I joined KEO ten years ago, it was the time of the freehold boom with us working on five towers in JLT and Dubai Marina, which included offices, residential and hotel towers.

arrival of the freehold boom, there was a drive by developers to turn things around quickly to maximise profit; this resulted in tight construction programmes. The other problem was a desire to build at a cost to maximise returns. A cost diagram shows a triangle of costquality-time; here we had situations that could result in the cheapest contracts to produce lower-quality buildings in the shortest time. hoW did keo fare during the booM and afterWards?

We actually did not do too badly during the recession and after, because we are a multidisciplinary practice. As we cover master planning to commissioning, as business in one division went down this was compensated by work in other divisions increasing. It also helped that our business is spread across the GCC and further afield. Even before the dip in Dubai, projects in Abu Dhabi, Qatar, Bahrain, Sudan and Malaysia were keeping the company busy.

Looking back to my first project here, the Trade Centre underpass, it was on a reasonable programme stipulated by the client, the Roads Department of Dubai Municipality. With the

In Dubai, things have changed for the better.

For instance, the Roads Department of Dubai Municipality in 1995 directed that the Civil Engineering Standard Method of Measurement

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so What Was the typical construction prograMMe like then and noW?

as a quantity surveying professional, can you tell us hoW the profession has evolved in the region since you started?

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INTERVIEW MARK GROGAN

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should be used to prepare the commercial tender documents for infrastructure works. This is an internationally recognised UK document that contractors welcomed with open arms, as it gives clear guidance on the pricing of items of work. More recently, Abu Dhabi and Muscat are now adopting the same standards as well.

However, on the building side, we are still using a document written in 1979 and unchanged since then. This was written for undeveloped areas around the world, which Dubai most certainly is not – you are seeing buildings here that are as complex as any in the world. Yet we still have a situation where, in terms of controlling cost, giving the client accurate cost information is difficult because we are using a document that does not really lend itself to today’s market. These are QS principles and not rules, which means they can be interpreted in different ways. Although they give guidelines, these are not as defined as the rules in a Standard Method/Rules of Measurements.

these are often over-subscribed. If you are a 30- to 35-year-old QS professional now, you can almost name your price. All the GCC countries need people, but at the same time not everyone wants to come to the Middle East.

Quantity surveying is like project management, in that it can cover a multitude of responsibilities. An RICS qualification in the UAE is not recognised by the labour laws in the UAE, while a degree is (though in Oman they recognise that RICS qualification is equivalent to a degree). The UAE labour code has a category of a “construction costs calculator”. The RICS now has a MENA region office in Dubai’s Knowledge Village to promote the profession, so in the future the RICS qualification will be recognised. of all the projects you have been associated With, Which have been the Most MeMorable?

tell us More about the evolution of the contractor’s role.

It has definitely evolved – but then again, it depends on the client. On the Atlantis resort, one of the early projects I worked on with KEO, the client, an international hotel operator, realised that the building was unique and he brought the contractors in very early on the project. We have seen contractors brought in early on other projects, but it is an exception rather than the rule. In Abu Dhabi, design and build procurement is now being implemented but has teething problems, as it is a new concept to the construction companies.

Bringing in contractors early on projects has the advantage of having their knowledge to improve constructability integrated into the design. The building should therefore be built more efficiently, in a shorter time and at more economical cost.

What is your overvieW of the state of the qs profession? have fees and Work opportunities increased?

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Let’s face it – the profession is not one that attracts many people. Construction careers do not rate highly to some people. We have a very limited market from which we can hire QS staff. At the moment, there is a shortage of qualified quantity surveyors. While the UK and countries such as Sri Lanka, South Africa and Australia follow recognised courses of education, there are few institutes and

JUNE 2015

governing guidelines Grogan says that there needs to be an update in the guidelines and documentation governing quantity surveyors in the UAE.

“Bringing in contractors early on projects has the advantage of having their knowledge to improve constructaBility integrated into the design.”

That is a difficult question to answer. Each project has its own challenges. One I worked on in Oman, a major redevelopment when it is finished, was master planned in 2007 and is memorable because of the time it has taken. The Trade Centre Interchange was built between 1994 and 1997 and it still works. If you look at the bigger picture, it was part of a farsighted plan by Dubai Municipality. The Qatayat Road interchange was under construction by Al Futtaim Wimpey (Carillion), the Wafi interchange was being built by Balfour Beatty, and Deira City Centre interchange was being built at around the same time. All these projects happened within the same span of four to five years. quantity surveyors are increasingly involved in value engineering, Which Many architects regard as a process that cheapens their design. What is your take on this?

Value engineering is another much misused and abused word. It is delivering the best value into a project, which is not necessarily about saving costs. In value engineering, you look at lifecycle costs. Put something cheap now and you pay for it later. We have one client who looks at lifecycle costs, because it is easier for him to get budget approval for lifecycle cost – but that is an international client. A lot of clients, particularly those who are building to sell [speculative projects], only look at the initial capital cost. When specifications are changed to simply reduce construction costs, it is not value engineering.

COMMENT Green BuildinG SolutionS

bigprojectMe.com

William Whistler

Opening the envelope William Whistler, CEO and owner of Green Building Solutions, explains the importance of building envelopes Your companY, Green BuildinG SolutionS, focuSeS on inSpectinG and teStinG the qualitY of the BuildinG envelope. What exactlY iS the BuildinG envelope?

This is often misunderstood because it is not simply the glass façade, the insulation, sealant or even the complete wall assembly or roofing materials. It is rather the combination of all those things plus mechanical and electrical service penetrations, connections between dissimilar wall construction types, the required flexible expansion joints, service shaft openings and even minor final details such as the installation of a handrail or signage on the building exterior.

The building envelope is actually a system, and a very complex one, with many, many points of possible failure. As you can also see, unlike other building systems such as the HVAC system, where most questions and concerns can usually be answered by two members of the project team, the HVAC engineer and the installer, the ultimate quality of the building envelope is the result of many, many participants of the project team, and isn’t finalised until the last gasket and wall fixture is installed.

What iS the moSt SiGnificant factor in conStructinG a proper qualitY BuildinG envelope?

The air / water vapour barrier, the vital

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“We need to challenge our thinking beginning With building architects and construction professionals, and go back to the basics to develop solutions for the regional extreme climate realities”

JUNE 2015

membrane that keeps the outside out and the inside in, is far more critical in our hot, humid area of the world than has been recognised.

Let’s talk about the significance of those two factors, air and water, one at a time: 1. The recently developed urban areas of the GCC region are in essence 24-hour, seven-days-a-week air conditioned indoor environments. Unlike many moderate climates, our outdoor air gathers dust, salt and biological spores as it travels the trade currents from distant subtropical land masses across vast deserts and high salinity bodies of water. The un-planned outdoor / indoor air exchange caused by poor building envelope system failure allows the desert inside, where it eventually accumulates in the A/C system.

The respirable particulates and microorganisms can become the constantly recirculated conditioned indoor air we breathe and negatively impact human health. For example, according to Dubai Statistical Centere data in the year 2012, the population of Dubai was 2,105,875 people and in that very same year the largest single category (by over two times any other category) was respiratory illness, with 520,726 medical clinic visits. Obviously, that number contains multiple visits by the same individuals; however, I believe it is worth noting since in fact nearly all the air we breathe here is mechanically produced air conditioned air.

2. The water vapour in our hot, humid climate is a more elusive and effective delivery system than rain for creating the corrosive effects of unplanned water inside the building envelope. Unwanted water inside our buildings causes material degradation and fosters mould growth.

The higher the air temperature, the more water vapour is in any given body of air.

Research ‘building details’ on the internet and you find many examples of how to keep rain – liquid water – from entering a building and causing internal damage – however, very

COMMENT Green BuildinG SolutionS

havinG oBServed air leakaGe in 90% of the BuildinGS You have inSpected, What deSiGn and conStruction practiceS contriBute to thiS?

In terms of building mechanical system design, there tends to be a standard practice of slightly over-pressurising the building by 5 to 10% in the belief that this will effectively guard against outside air entering the building – infiltration.

What is seldom recognised is that in real-

time conditions any breach in the integrity of the building envelope is either infiltrating or exfiltrating at any given time, depending on the localised atmospheric conditions.

To illustrate what I mean, let’s take a typical multi-storey office building where a large tenant has taken several floors. The A/C system capacity is calculated for the load by well-proven international codes and practices, and as a measure of safety the capacity is boosted to achieve a 7-10 Pascal positive pressurisation. That may counteract infiltration on any one given day, but what about at night when the system is reduced or shut off, or when there is an internal pressure imbalance because the surrounding floors are vacant with no active A/C to counteract the positive pressure? Or even more to the point, A/C capacity calculations often do take into effect the prevailing wind direction and the fact that

one side of the building may be at low pressure (inducing exfiltration) or at a high pressure (inducing infiltration); however, the real-time conditions don’t always follow the rules.

Here in the UAE, the yearly average wind speed is 19.4km/h, which converts to an average exerted pressure of 21.1 Pascal, and the extra positive pressurisation may be ineffective most of the time. Also important to note is that we have sand storms 20-50 days of the year.

Wind speeds during a common sand storm or Shamal are 40km/h and often go much higher.

40km/h equals 200 Pascal of pressure that will significantly increase infiltration or exfiltration if you have poor building envelope integrity.

The building‘s architectural design may also negatively enhance infiltration; an office building sitting on top of an open threefour floor parking garage often creates the perfect wind tower, where cooler air near

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few about creating an effective air barrier.

Meanwhile, here in the UAE we have 341 rainless days a year. From April to October the average temperature is 36º C and annual average relative humidity is 58.8%. The basic physics of the challenge we face comes down to the fact that the liquid water molecule is larger than the water vapour molecule and therefore much harder to protect against.

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COMMENT Green BuildinG SolutionS

the ground naturally flows upward through the building by the rising warmer air in what is known as the stack effect. As mentioned, architectural detailing and construction practices here have yet to take on the mindset of air tightness, and individual construction activities impacting the building envelope are not seen holistically as part of a single system to ensure a robust air and water barrier.

The fact of the matter is that you cannot adequately air condition a balloon with a hole in it; the envelope must be a sealed membrane.

reactionary process: it can only be efficient to the degree that the building‘s conditioned volume is efficient in reducing cooling load in the first place. Again, this is especially critical to our local condition of a virtually 100% air conditioned environment. Typical figures taken from many sources indicate that our residential, commercial and retail buildings consume over 40% of the electrical load in a developed country (in the US, for example, the latest US Environmental Protection Agency figure is 48%), and the built environment is often the single highest sector of power consumption.

What are Your thouGhtS on a StrateGY for future improvement on theSe iSSueS?

climate conditions we studied and learned in our home countries. Eventually legislation and building codes will evolve, but it must start with active local knowledge leaders; legislation is pretty much the last step in the process of creating progressive sustainable policy, and all legislation is a shell game unless there is viable realistic enforcement.

Also consider this. There are only two places in the world where significant testing of the building envelope air tightness is legally compulsory – northern Europe, where the oil crisis of the 1970s forced a movement toward conserving energy, and here in the UAE, where the vision of the founding father H.H. Sheikh Zayed Bin Sultan Al Nahyan has been ultimately translated into the 2030 plan of Estidama (Arabic for sustainability) and the specifics of the Pearl Rating System for Buildings and the now mandatory Dubai Green Building Regulations & Specifications.

This critical inspection and analysis is not mandatory in the US, China or India.

These two green codes have broken new ground and are based on the realities and thermodynamic stresses of our harsh extreme climate. I am pleased that this movement is spreading; the Qatar Sustainability Assessment System has recently evolved to the Global Sustainability Assessment System and now includes directives on air tightness for buildings.

The MENA region, and specifically the UAE with a five-year lead in creating mandatory sustainable green codes, is really a vibrant laboratory for the extreme climate change the world’s leading scientists agree is virtually unstoppable at this point, because the needed change for the future is bogged down in the politics of the present. With world-class institutions such as the Masdar Institute of Science and Technology and IRENA (the International Renewable Energy Agency) devoted to meeting the challenges of the increasing reality of climate change, I believe that we in the building industry are in the right place at the right time. n

We must develop a local knowledge base that reflects the unique conditions we find here, not the moderate climates that are the training experience of most of our current professional consultants. We need to challenge our thinking, beginning with building architects and construction professionals, and go back to the basics to develop solutions for the regional extreme climate realities which are vastly different than the weather and

William Whistler is the owner and managing director of Green Building Solutions (GBSI), an inspection and testing company for building envelope issues. Founded in 2010, GBSI has conducted over 300 airtightness tests in the region and is currently conducting building envelope verification services for the Louvre Abu Dhabi and the Four Seasons Hotel, Al Maryah Island, Abu Dhabi.

BuildinG envelopeS are thuS important to producinG liveaBle, healthY urBan environmentS. What aBout SuStainaBilitY and climate chanGe?

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I am in fact very, very optimistic. I believe that building envelope integrity is actually the most viable, politically neutral and lowest-cost strategy for the world to regain sustainability. A recent study conducted at Princeton University outlined 15 sustainability strategies that could each save 25 billion tonnes of CO2 annually. Most of the strategies are seemingly out of our current ability level of international cooperation, strategies such as “Stop All Deforestation”, “Increase Wind Power 80-fold to Create Hydrogen for Cars”, “Increase Solar Power 700-fold to Replace Coal”.

However, one strategy to save those same 25 billion tonnes of CO2 was simply: “Cut Electricity Usage in Homes, Offices and Retail by 25%”. If your building envelope does not leak, this is very achievable. The least costly way to reduce energy use is by building buildings that don’t waste energy. No one plans to design a leaky building, no one plans to build a leaky building and no one plans to buy a leaky building, yet they get built all the time.

Air tightness should not be an additional cost. The architectural detailing and construction practices to create building envelope integrity are in fact a fundamental expectation of any habitable built structure.

Another study by a leading global economics research organisation took into account the carbon emissions savings, financial cost and carbon emissions required to implement a given sustainability strategy and found that it is 10 times more efficient to improve the quality of the building envelope than to spend money and resources on increasing the efficiency of the HVAC system of a given residential or commercial building.

This only makes sense as HVAC is a

JUNE 2015

bigprojectMe.com

“the air / Water vapour barrier, the vital membrane that keeps the outside out and the inside in, is far more critical in our hot, humid area of the World than has been recognised”

Of that total power consumption in the GCC, air conditioning is by far the largest single use.

A published study by King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST) shows that buildings account for 80% of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia’s electrical usage and 70% of that power is consumed by air conditioning alone.

COMMENT Giles Perkins

Giles Perkins

What is the future for our cities?

It can be argued that transportation is the lifeblood of any city – a vibrant economy depends on the efficient movement of people, goods and data.

Giles Perkins, business development director, Intelligent Transport, Mouchel, explains

investment in technology to keep us moving.

Transportation will be viewed, even more than ever, as an essential utility driver for economic activity and growth. Innovation and technology will underpin an integrated and symbiotic network, operationally resilient, invisibly maintained, meeting evolving need and aspiration, and connecting people, places and activities. Our personal transportation agendas will soon become even more complex as vehicles become more efficient, connected, shared and autonomous.

Given the need for economically successful, attractive places to live, work and play, perhaps today’s consideration should be: “What does transportation look like in a connected, smart city?”

We all want an easily accessible, integrated, multi-modal transport network. Travel will be cashless, streamlining operations, improving flow and reducing journey times.

Customers will use real-time and predictive personal travel information to be financially rewarded for behavioural decisions.

Reduced congestion, improved safety, improved accessibility and reduced environmental impact will allow the reallocation of city space to the more productive functions

of commerce, retail, leisure, health and education, providing a real sense of place and well-being. Establishing carefully thought-out criteria for vehicles entering our towns and cities will help in part to realise such changes.

Perhaps the time is right to consider urban performance holistically, with transport, economy, place, health and social well-being all contributing to success – with success measured in terms of happiness as well as financially. The next 20-30 years will be a journey of collaboration to deliver transportation fit for all our futures.

At Mouchel, we recognise that things move quickly and, in order to develop efficient services and solutions which meet client needs and are fit for the future, we invest heavily in innovation. We are continually developing new approaches, solutions and partnerships using our knowledge and experience from the construction, technology, utilities and IT sectors.

We are leaders in the field of ITS, and whether clients need assistance solving specific challenges, realising aspirations or improving the efficiency of networks, we can help to develop robust, value-for-money solutions. n Giles Perkins is business development director, Intelligent Transport at Mouchel.

MAY 2015

MIDDLE EAST

A

ccording to the World Health Organisation, two in ten people lived in urban areas 100 years ago.

This had risen to over half by 2010, and it is anticipated that by 2050, 7 out of 10 people will live in dense urban areas.

With such growth anticipated, how can the quality of life be protected and enhanced from an environmental, social and health point of view? Different modes of transport have the ability to benefit or harm, and play a vital role in economic competitiveness and success at local, national and global levels.

There are also significant challenges in the movement of people and goods (particularly food) and the management of water, energy and information that need to be addressed if economic prosperity, social cohesion and improved environment are to be enjoyed.

What is clear is the role technology plays in everyday life – smart phones, smart ticketing, smart meters and even smart highways are essential features of our lives. These ‘smarts’ all play a major role in the connected, intelligent mobility agenda, providing networks with extra capacity, improving reliability and giving us more information ‘any time, any place, anywhere’.

Therefore, there will be a future need for large

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DIARY JUNE 2015

bigprojectMe.com

HealTHcare IN fOcuS Building Healthcare Middle East 2015 will bring together some of the best healthcare construction specialists from around the world.

HAPPENING THIS MONTH...

Big Project Me rounds uP the region’s Best events and conferences Building healthcare exhiBition and

Project leBanon

conferences

venue bEIrut INtErNAtIoNAl AND lEIsurE

category PluMbING, HEAtING,

venue DubAI INtErNAtIoNAl CoNvENtIoN

CENtrE

rEfrIGErAtIoN, AIr CoNDItIoNING

AND ExHIbItIoN CENtrE

location bEIrut, lEbANoN

location DubAI, uAE

start date JuNE 2, 2015

ceraMics china

start date JuNE 1, 2015

end date JuNE 5, 2015

venue CHINA IMPort AND ExPort fAIr

end date JuNE 3, 2015

category buIlDING tECHNoloGy,

location GuANGzHou, CHINA

category buIlDING tECHNoloGy,

MACHINEry, MAtErIAls, INtErIor

start date JuNE 1, 0215

MACHINEry, MAtErIAls, INtErIor

CoNstruCtIoN

end date JuNE 4, 2015

Project iraq

MAtErIAls, INtErIor CoNstruCtIoN

category buIlDING tECHNoloGy, MACHINEry,

CoNstruCtIoN

MIDDLE EAST

Building healthcare exhibition & conferences is the regional hub for healthcare facility planning, design, construction and management. the show attracts 150 exhibiting companies and 6,500 attendees and provides a key platform to discuss new healthcare projects, share best practice in design and construction and source technologies and services that will maximise facility operations and improve the patient experience.

50

end date JuNE 13, 2015

JUNE 2015

location ErbIl, IrAq start date JuNE 8, 2015

green architecture and construction

end date JuNE 10, 2015

Materials exPo

category buIlDING tECHNoloGy,

venue sHANGHAI NEw INtErNAtIoNAl

MAtErIAls, MACHINEry, INtErIor

ExPo CENtrE

CoNstruCtIoN

location sHANGHAI, CHINA

iraq hvac exPo

end date July 2, 2015

start date JuNE 30, 2015 location ErbIl, IrAq

category buIlDING tECHNoloGy, MACHINEry,

start date JuNE 10, 2015

MAtErIAls, INtErIor CoNstruCtIoN

TENDERS

tOP teNdeRS

surgical centre, a diabetes centre, eye hospital, long-term care centre, a rehabilitation centre, child and mother hospital, a dialysis centre, a clinical reference lab, a dental hospital and medical offices.

PerIod 2019 stAtus New tender

Project al ZaMil residential tower ProjeCt Budget $50,000,000 Project Number WPR622-SA reGIoN Al Khobar 31952, Saudi Arabia clIeNt Zamil group (Saudi Arabia) PostAl/ZIP code 9 PhoNe (+966-13) 882 4888 emAIl info@zamil.com WebsIte www.zamil.com descrIPtIoN Construction of a residential Project Cairo Monorail ProjeCt Budget $1,500,000,000 Project Number MPR1477-e reGIoN Cairo, egypt clIeNt Ministry of Housing & Infrastructure Address 1, Ismael Abadha Avenue descrIPtIoN Construction of a monorail

dubai Internet City PhoNe (+971-4) 391 0300 emAIl dubai@rpint.com WebsIte www.rpint.com descrIPtIoN Construction of a mixed-use tower comprising more than 100 floors stAtus New tender

Project MediCal Park ProjeCt – PrinCe sultan Cultural Centre

stretching 52 kilometres, including 17 stations

Budget $300,000,000

PerIod 2018 stAtus Current Project

Project rP one Mixed-use tower ProjeCt – sheikh Zayed road

Project Number WPR644-u reGIoN dubai, united Arab emirates clIeNt RP International (dubai) Address Building 1, Office 304,

Company Ltd (Saudi Arabia) Address Jeddah 21411 PostAl/ZIP code 15 PhoNe (+966-12) 613 2401 WebsIte www.pscc.com.sa descrIPtIoN Construction of a medical park comprising a general hospital, bone and joint hospital, wellness and ambulatory

Project infrastruCture & faCilities develoPMent – salalah free Zone Budget $40,000,000 Project Number WPR546-O reGIoN Al-Awqadain, Oman clIeNt Salalah Free Zone Company SFZ (Oman)

Address PC 217 PostAl/ZIP code 87 PhoNe (+968) 2321 2999 emAIl info@sfzco.com descrIPtIoN development of infrastructure and facilities in a Free Zone

PerIod 2017 stAtus Current Project

INTEGRATED ESTIMATING, PROJECT CONTROL AND ERP SOLUTION FOR CONTRACTORS www.ccsgulf.com | Tel: +971 4 346 6456 | info@ccsgulf.com

JUNE 2015

MIDDLE EAST

Budget $1,100,000,000

Project Number WPR639-SA reGIoN Saudi Arabia clIeNt Prince Sultan Cultural Centre

tower comprising three basements for car parking and 32 floors above ground, two of which will accommodate recreational activities and the remaining floors offering three types of 1-, 2- and 3-bedroom apartments PerIod 2016 stAtus New tender

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TENDERS

MEconstructionnEws.com

Middle east teNdeRS sPoNsored by

ProvIded by

tel +9712-6348495 Web www.Middleeasttenders.com email sales@Middleeasttenders.com

tel +9714 346 6456 Web www.ccsgulf.com email info@ccsgulf.com

uAe mIxed-use develoPmeNt Project – sAtWA

Project Number MPP2976-u reGIoN dubai, uAe clIeNt Al Fattan Properties (dubai) PostAl/ZIP code 747 PhoNe (+971-4) 321 8000 FAx (+971-4) 321 8880 emAIl info@alfattan.com WebsIte www.alfattan.ae descrIPtIoN development of a mixed-use scheme comprising three towers, including a hotel, as well as commercial and retail space stAtus New tender teNder cAteGorIes Hotels, Leisure & entertainment, Prestige Buildings teNder Products Commercial Buildings, High-rise towers, Hotel Construction, Retail developments

AIrcrAFt hANGAr Project – shArjAh INterNAtIoNAl AIrPort

Project Number MPP2957-u reGIoN Sharjah, uAe clIeNt gama Aviation (dubai) PhoNe (+971-4) 605 7500 emAIl info@gamaaviation.com

WebsIte www.gamaaviation.com descrIPtIoN Construction of a new aircraft hangar at an airport stAtus New tender teNder cAteGorIes Airport, Construction & Contracting teNder Products Airport Supply & Services, Construction & Addition Works

sAudI ArAbIA bAyAt PlAZA mIxed-use toWers Project budGet $50,000,000 Project Number WPR621-SA reGIoN Saudi Arabia clIeNt Manazil (Saudi Arabia) WebsIte www.manazil.co descrIPtIoN Construction

of two towers offering 272 luxury apartments, including duplexes and penthouses stAtus Current Project teNder cAteGorIes Leisure & entertainment, Prestige Buildings teNder Products High-rise towers, Residential Buildings, Retail developments

INTEGRATED ESTIMATING, PROJECT CONTROL AND ERP SOLUTION FOR CONTRACTORS

52

MIDDLE EAST

www.ccsgulf.com | Tel: +971 4 346 6456 | info@ccsgulf.com

JUNE 2015

TENDERS

North GAte mIxeduse Project

tItANIum sPoNGe PlANt Project

budGet $290,000,000 Project Number MPR1475-SA

reGIoN Riyadh 11496, Saudi Arabia clIeNt National Industrialisation Company (tasnee) – Saudi Arabia Address 7th Floor, tower 2, New Akaria Bldg, Sitteen Street PostAl/ZIP code 26707 PhoNe (+966-1) 476 7166 FAx (+966-1) 477 0898 emAIl general@tasnee.com WebsIte www.tasnee.com descrIPtIoN engineering, Procurement and Construction

(ePC) contract to build a titanium sponge plant with capacity of 15,600 tonnes a year PerIod 2017 stAtus Current Project teNder cAteGorIes Industrial & Special Projects teNder Products Chemical Plants

bAhrAIN

Natural gas (LNg) import terminal with initial capacity of 500 million cubic feet a day PerIod 2017 stAtus New tender teNder cAteGorIes gas Processing & distribution teNder Products LNg Plants

KuWAIt

lNG ImPort termINAl Project

FloW-lINes & source Well coNstructIoN Project – mINAGIsh oIl FIeld

budGet $500,000,000 Project Number SPR923-B reGIoN Awali, Bahrain clIeNt Bahrain Petroleum Company (BAPCO) Address Industrial Area PostAl/ZIP code 25555 PhoNe (+973) 1775 2995 FAx (+973) 1770 4070 emAIl info@bapco.net WebsIte www.bapco.net descrIPtIoN engineering, procurement and construction (ePC) contract to build a Liquefied

budGet $31,000,000 Project Number MPR1470-K reGIoN Ahmadi 61008, Kuwait clIeNt Kuwait Oil Company (KOC) PostAl/ZIP code 9758 PhoNe (+965) 2398 9111 FAx (+965) 2398 3661 emAIl kocinfo@kockw.com WebsIte www.kockw.com descrIPtIoN Construction of flowlines and a source well in an oil field stAtus Current Project teNder cAteGorIes gas Processing & distribution,

INTEGRATED ESTIMATING, PROJECT CONTROL AND ERP SOLUTION FOR CONTRACTORS www.ccsgulf.com | Tel: +971 4 346 6456 | info@ccsgulf.com

JUNE 2015

MIDDLE EAST

budGet $300,000,000 Project Number WPR647-SA reGIoN Riyadh, Saudi Arabia clIeNt Raseel Real estate (Saudi Arabia) PhoNe (+966-11) 288 5288 descrIPtIoN development of a mixed-use scheme comprising residential towers, a community centre, a fourstar hotel and villas PerIod 2016 stAtus New tender teNder cAteGorIes Leisure & entertainment, Construction & Contracting, Hotels teNder Products Community development, Hotel Construction, Residential Buildings, Retail developments

53

TENDERS

Oilfields & Refineries teNder Products Oilfields exploration & development

QAtAr mIxed-use boulevArd develoPmeNt Project

MEconstructionnEws.com

PerIod 2017 stAtus Current Project teNder cAteGorIes Construction & Contracting, Leisure & entertainment teNder Products Mixed-use developments, Retail developments

omAN budGet $330,000,000 Project Number MPR1473-Q reGIoN doha, Qatar clIeNt Lusail Real estate development Company (Qatar) PostAl/ZIP code 26060 PhoNe (+974) 4497 7770 FAx (+974) 4497 7775 emAIl info@lusail.com WebsIte www.lusail.com descrIPtIoN development of a mixed-use boulevard with retail and dining offerings

duQm beAch resort Project

budGet $500,000,000 Project Number WPR642-O reGIoN duqm, Oman clIeNt duqm Beach touristic Resort LLC (Oman) descrIPtIoN development of a mixed-use scheme comprising a five-star hotel and a fourstar hotel, restaurants and

entertainment precincts, residential dwellings, an international school and commercial space housing offices and retail stores stAtus New tender teNder cAteGorIes Construction & Contracting, education & training,

Hotels, Leisure & entertainment teNder Products Commercial Buildings, educational developments, Hotel Construction, Mixed-use developments, Residential Buildings, Retail developments

IrAQ bAZyAN IPP

Project Number MPP2952-IQ reGIoN erbil, Iraq clIeNt Qaiwan group (Iraq) Address 4th Floor, Sulaymaniyah Mall PhoNe (+964-53) 319 0248 emAIl contact@qaiwangroup.com WebsIte www.qaiwangroup.com descrIPtIoN Construction of a simple-cycle Independent Power Project (IPP) with capacity of 750MW PerIod 2016 stAtus Current Project teNder cAteGorIes Power & Alternative energy teNder Products Independent Power Plants (IPP)

INTEGRATED ESTIMATING, PROJECT CONTROL AND ERP SOLUTION FOR CONTRACTORS

54

MIDDLE EAST

www.ccsgulf.com | Tel: +971 4 346 6456 | info@ccsgulf.com

JUNE 2015

CONSTRUCTIVE CRITICISM

MEconstructionnEws.CoM

JERUSHA SEQUEIRA

A balancing act Consultants looking to boost gender balance in their workforce need to offer more support to female employees, argues Jerusha Sequeira

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MIDDLE EAST

A look Around any construction site – in the uAE, GCC or pretty much the world – reveals an undeniable fact about the workforce: regardless of how culturally diverse, the workers are almost all male.

While women have made great strides in several historically male-dominated professions, the construction industry doesn’t have the greatest track record for tapping into female talent.

That’s not to say there isn’t a significant number of women in the field. From architects to civil engineers and project managers, many female professionals have excelled in demanding roles. But across the board, in interviews with women working in construction, what has emerged with startling clarity is that there needs to be more support for women in the industry.

Traditional gender roles that persist in the region mean women still have to balance the demands of the household against workplace responsibilities – not an easy task in an

JUNE 2015

industry like construction. Additionally, many women in construction have to battle with perceptions that they are not as capable or competent as their male counterparts, often leading to their having to work twice as hard to prove themselves to colleagues and clients. one company working to tackle this is Atkins, which launched a Women’s Business network in the Middle East last year. The network, which now has 460 members, is open to all female employees of Atkins and its project and cost-management arm Faithful+Gould.

“What we’re trying to do here is to break the barriers so that women can reach their full potential,” says Jinsy Sunith, Hr advisor at Atkins, based in the uAE, adding that to help women cope better in the workplace, the WBn has introduced a number of projects and initiatives, including coaching and mentoring schemes, workshops and networking events.

What Atkins also appears to be doing right is the implementation of a more family-friendly work culture, where employees can adjust their

work timings to better juggle the responsibilities of home and the workplace. This is perhaps the easiest place to start for companies looking for more gender balance in their workforce.

For companies looking to do more, what women in the field have told me about their experiences is that they simply wouldn’t have been able to succeed without the guidance of mentors and belief of their employers, both male and female, in their abilities. Creating a supportive culture that recognises all employees and helps them succeed is what companies should really be looking at in the long term, to create a happier workforce.

The first step towards making this happen is simply showing female employees the company cares about their contributions and advancement. Initiatives like the WBn are a good starting point. As Becky robinson, business change leader at Atkins, says about the network: “It’s actually given me the belief that the business cares about the development of women into senior positions over a period of time.”

Jerusha Sequeira is the senior news reporter for ME Construction News and Big Project Middle East.

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