Big Project ME December 2013

DECEMBER 2013

ALSO INSIDE AWARD ROUNDUP AL JAHRA ELEVATED THE YOUNG TURKS DEVELOPING DUBAI

OUT OF THE SHADOWS Hill International’s head of international project management operations Raouf Ghali on why he and you can look forward to 2014

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DE M ON ST RA TI ON S

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Raz Islam Islam Raz PublishingDirector Director Publishing raz.islam@cpimediagroup.com raz.islam@cpimediagroup.com Mobile:+971 +97150 50451 4518213 8213 Mobile:

OCTOBER 2013

Michael Stansfield Stansfield Michael CommercialDirector Director Commercial michael.stansfield@cpimediagroup.com michael.stansfield@cpimediagroup.com Mobile:+971 +97155 55150 1503849 3849 Mobile:

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CONTENTS

PAGE 20 M MIDDLE EAST

Big Project ME visits the Al Jahra Road Development project in Kuwait City.

DECEMBER 2013 05 THE BIG PICTURE IMF CAUTIONS DUBAI OVER ANOTHER PROPERTY BUBBLE Concerns expressed about over-optimism in property market

12 NEWS ANALYSIS THE COUNTDOWN BEGINS Big Project ME looks at the possibilities open to Dubai ahead of Expo 2020

16 IN PROFILE AHEAD OF THE CURVE Wael Allen sits down with Big Project ME to chalk out his plans for Hyder

20 SITE VISIT ELEVATED SOLUTION Big Project ME pays a visit to the Al Jahra Road Project in Kuwait City

26 COVER STORY KING OF THE HILL Stephen White flies to London to talk to Raouf Ghali, head of IPM at Hill

36 AWARDS ROUNDUP A CELEBRATION OF EXCELLENCE Celebrating all the winners at the Big Project Middle East Awards 2013

42 COUNTRY FOCUS: TURKEY THE YOUNG TURKS Why Turkey could be the next big player in the GCC construction market

46 SECTOR FOCUS: MASTER DEVELOPERS OVERCOMING FEARS Master developers explain why investors in Dubai are over their fears

50 SPECIAL FEATURE PREFABRICATING THE FUTURE Why prefabricated construction could be the way forward for the industry

56 TOP TENDERS AL HABTOOR CITY UP FOR BIDS Listing the Middle East’s biggest construction tenders of the month

62 THE BIG 5 REVIEW BIGGER AND BETTER Big Project ME reviews the biggest The Big 5 show in years

64 CONSTRUCTIVE CRITICISM PRE-EMPTIVE MEASURES Why a Ministry of Labour initiative has set the standard for governments

EDITOR’S COMMENT

M MIDDLE EAST

BIGPROJECTME.COM

Onwards and Upwards The last week of November was a breathless one for the Big Project ME team as we took on The Big-5, our Big Project ME Awards and greeted the news that Dubai is going to host the Expo 2020 extravaganza.

I spend my life writing words and we heard many words last month. Challenge. Value. Dubai. Saudi Arabia,Iran, reward, partnership, but one word I heard above all is opportunity.

The Big Project ME Awards was an opportunity to thank all of our readers who participated in the process and offer a well done to all that were shortlisted or won an award. And this month’s comment is an opportunity to thank the judges who freed up valuable time for us.

The shortlist was a pretty useful barometer of the opportunities we have seen in the last two years.

Infrastructure, rail, roads dominated the judging and it will be fascinated to see if the list will evolve in the next 12 months, especially when Qatar and Dubai start construction in earnest.

With the news of the Expo win ringing in our ears, I spoke to many people at The Big-5 who were genuinely afraid that we may see another 2008, and unfortunately another 2009 and 2010 if we fail to heed the lessons of the past. I believe the industry has an opportunity to prove these people wrong. Prove that when we say we will deliver. We will. When we promise to fulfill all the obligations on our contracts.

We do. We can control what’s in our grasp. We just need to grasp the opportunity.

PUBLISHER DOMINIC DE SOUSA GROUP COO NADEEM HOOD MANAGING DIRECTOR RICHARD JUDD EDITORIAL GROUP EDITOR STEPHEN WHITE stephen.white@cpimediagroup.com +971 55 795 8740 DEPUTY EDITOR GAVIN DAVIDS gavin.davids@cpimediagroup.com +971 4 375 5480 REPORTER NEHA BHATIA neha.bhatia@cpidubai.com MARKETING & ADVERTISING PUBLISHING DIRECTOR RAZ ISLAM raz.islam@cpimediagroup.com +971 4 375 5483 COMMERCIAL DIRECTOR MICHAEL STANSFIELD michael.stansfield@cpimediagroup.com +971 4 375 5497 SALES DIRECTOR CARLO MENEZES carlo.menezes@cpimediagroup.com +971 4 375 5495 MARKETING MANAGER LISA JUSTICE lisa.justice@cpimediagroup.com +971 4 375 5498 MARKETING ASSISTANT BARBARA PANKASZ barbara.pankasz@cpimediagroup.com +971 4 375 5499 DESIGN ART DIRECTOR SIMON COBON JUNIOR GRAPHIC DESIGNER PERCIVAL MANALAYSAY CIRCULATION & PRODUCTION CIRCULATION AND DISTRIBUTION MANAGER ROCHELLE ALMEIDA rochelle.almeida@cpimediagroup.com +971 4 368 1670 DATABASE AND CIRCULATION MANAGER RAJEESH M rajeesh.nair@cpimediagroup.com +971 4 440 9147 PRODUCTION MANAGER JAMES P THARIAN james.tharian@cpimediagroup.com +971 4 440 9146 DIGITAL WWW.BIGPROJECTME.COM DIGITAL SERVICES MANAGER TRISTAN TROY MAAGMA WEB DEVELOPERS JOEL AZCUNA JANICE FULGENCIO online@cpidubai.com +971 4 440 9100

When the temptations of the past and the bad habits start to come back. We refuse and seize the opportunity to drive forwards and upwards.

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Stephen White Group Editor

DECEMBER 2013

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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THE BIGGEST PICTURE

IMF CAUTIONS DUBAI OVER EFFECTS OF ANOTHER PROPERTY BUBBLE

CONCERNS EXPRESSED ABOUT ‘OVER-OPTIMISM’ IN THE PROPERTY MARKET AS PRICES AND EXPECTATIONS RISE IN THE EMIRATE

DUBAI MEGAPROJECTS n Mohammed Bin

Rashid City, value: $100 billion – Launched November 2012 n Akoya by Damac, value: $2.5 billion – Launched April 2013 n Bluewaters Island, value: $1.6 billion – Launched February 2013 n Viceroy Palm Jumeirah, value: $1 billion – Launched May 2013

THE IMF HAS cautioned investors in Dubai against over-optimism regarding its property market boom as prices and expectations rise in the city.

Masood Ahmed, IMF’s director for the MENA region said: “When you begin to see very rapid increases in any asset prices, then you just need to be prepared to act.

“The government of Dubai is already beginning to act,” he added.

According to a Reuters news report, Ahmed said that measures needed to be taken to avoid the mistakes that led to the property bubble of 2008.

“Singapore has a one-time tax of 15% if you resell the property within six months,” he explained.

“So there are instruments that can be done (used). Going forward, just make sure that fundamentals continue to drive it, do not let yourself be overtaken by a degree of exuberance.”

The UAE’s property market has been on a high since developers began launching new projects last year, expert and this bullishness was also proved by the popular success of Cityscape Global 2013, recently held in Dubai.

House prices in the emirate have jumped by more than 20% over the last year, a surge that prompted the IMF to warn in July of this year of the risk of another property bubble forming after the crash that lasted from 2008 to 2010 and almost brought state run companies to a halt.

Early this year, Dubai said that it would double a registration fee charged on real estate transactions, from 2% to 4%, to prevent excessive speculation.

The chief of the city’s land department told Reuters that Dubai would strictly enforce existing rules and if necessary, set up new ones to prevent another property bubble.

Concerns regarding the need for a coordinated plan by state-linked property developers continue to linger, though.

“That’s what we have lacked in the run-up to 2008,” explained Farouk Soussa, Citigroup’s chief economist for the region at the Cityscape Global event. “There was too much competition between the big state developers and that’s what I fear we are running into again.”

Since 2012, state-linked developers have dusted off projects shelved during Dubai’s 2009-2010 debt crisis and unveiled new ones. Some $51 billion worth of projects is estimated to have been announced in between January and September. The UAE central bank imposed limits on mortgage loans last month and its governor insisted that he was not worried about a new house price bubble.

DECEMBER 2013

MIDDLE EAST

BIG PROJECT ME TALKS TO WAEL ALLEN OF HYDER CONSULTING ABOUT HIS EXPANSION PLANS – PAGE 16 5

THE BIG PICTURE

BIGPROJECTME.COM

ABU DHABI FINANCE TIES UP WITH RICS TO REGULATE PROPERTY VALUATIONS

greater regulation of valuers will help build confidence in the market.”

ADF understands artificially elevated property valuations can overheat the property market and can impact investor confidence from outside of the region. It is therefore hoping the collaboration with RICS can help contain this market uncertainty.

“By working with RICS Registered Valuers, ADF can help promote consistency and transparency in the UAE valuation profession, and thus limit the risk faced by investors and those buying their own home,” said Taylor.

RICS developed the regulatory monitoring initiative, known as Valuer Registration (VR) following the last global financial crisis to ensure the consistent application of professional valuation standards worldwide.

Hope that transparency in the UAE property market will boost investor confidence In an effort to ensure better regulation of property valuations, Abu Dhabi Finance (ADF) has signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS).

ADF hopes that transparency in the UAE property market will boost investor confidence and increase foreign direct investment (FDI) into the country.

“Home owners, investors, regulators and lenders all want to see a consistent, professional approach to valuations,” said Chris Taylor, CEO of ADF. “A move towards

KINGDOM CRACKS DOWN ON ILLEGAL WORKERS Round-ups of workers fall under the Nitaqat programme, authorities say SAUDI AUTHORITIES HAS rounded up thousands of illegal foreign workers at the start of a nationwide crackdown ultimately aimed at creating more jobs for locals, a Reuters report said.

Thousands of workers left the country following a grace period, during which expatriates were asked to fix their legal status to avoid leaving the Kingdom or facing jail.

These exercises – broadly falling under the country’s Nitaqat programme – are efforts on behalf of the government to increase employment for locals in the country.

Currently, official Saudi numbers estimate an unemployment rate of 12%, a number that nevertheless excludes a large number of citizens who say they are not seeking a job.

Police carried out raids on businesses, markets and residential areas to catch expatriates whose visas are invalid because they are not working for the company that ‘sponsored’ their entry into the kingdom, added the report.

Raising private sector employment in a country where most Saudis are in government jobs and where businesses employ more foreigners than locals is a major challenge for the Kingdom.

Reports as Big Project ME went to press, suggest more than 140,000 foreign workers have been arrested across the Kingdom, and126,000 have already been sent back to their home countries since the beginning of November.

12 PER CENT

OFFICIAL SAUDI UNEMPLOYMENT RATE

ARABTEC RESULTS SHOW STRENGTH IN CONTRACTOR UAE contractor beats analyst predictions as net profits triple FINANCIAL HIGHLIGHTS (AED M, UNLESS OTHERWISE STATED) 9MTHS 2012

9MTHS 2013

CHANGE

Q3 2012

Q3 2013

CHANGE

AED (M)

AED (M)

%

AED (M)

AED (M)

%

BACKLOG

18.167

23,500

29%

18.167

23,500

29%

REVENUES

4,007

5,080

27%

1,395

1,937

39%

GROSS PROFIT

493

605

23%

152

232

53%

MARGIN%

12%

12%

-

11%

12%

1%

EBITDA

308

457

48%

103

184

79%

MARGIN%

8%

9%

1%

7%

9%

2%

NET INCOME

145

367

153%

52

162

212%

NET MARGIN%

4%

7%

3%

4%

8%

4%

EARNINGS PER SHARE

0.07

0.13

86%

0.02

0.03

50%

NET PROFIT

108

256

137%

35

101

189%

CASH FLOW FROM OPER-

179

234

31%

-

-

-

BACKLOG-TO-REVENUE

3.4x

3.5x

-

-

-

-

ARABTEC HAS RECENTLY announced a hike in its third quarter net profits, beating analyst predictions.

Involved with building a branch of France’s Louvre museum in Abu Dhabi, the company made a

Q3 net profit of $27.4 million. The figure is not only almost thrice its 2012 Q3 net profits of $9.5 million, it is

also better than analysts’ predictions that Arabtec’s quarterly profit would be $17.4 million.

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BIG PROJECT ME TAKES A TOUR OF THE AL JAHRA ROAD DEVELOPMENT PROJECT IN KUWAIT – PAGE 20

DECEMBER 2013

THE BIG PICTURE

200 ABU DHABI BUILDINGS DEMOLISHED TO IMPROVE PUBLIC SPACES

MAKKAH TO BEGIN WORK ON TWO METRO SYSTEMS IN THE FIRST QUARTER OF 2014

90 buildings were evacuated and more than 55,000 workers moved to worker accommodations

Work on first phase expected to cost $6.7 billion and will begin by the middle of next year

ALMOST 200 BUILDINGS were demolished by the Municipality of Abu Dhabi following their failure to meet public health and safety standards.

Since 2010, 881 buildings were marked out as requiring improvement, of which 685 were refurbished, 16 were demolished and 57 are currently under maintenance.

90 buildings were evacuated and more than 55,000 workers moved to worker accommodation in the city’s suburbs after 99 offences were recorded during the same period for buildings housing a large number of workers and bachelors in residential neighbourhoods. 755 of the 41,000 workers, who have been occupying 2,700 villas in residential neighbourhoods since 2010, were also evacuated.

Undertaken between 2010 and 2013, these demolitions were carried out after building owners were informed, a report by Gulf News said.

More than 12,500 warnings were issued in 2011 for building, public health, and roadside violations, which reached 17,700 in 2012 and 10,500 by the end of September 2013. Commercial and administrative entities operating from villas in residential districts were also evacuated by the Municipality.

THE FIRST PHASE of the $16.5 billion-worth integrated public transport project will see the establishment of two metro systems in Makkah under the aegis of Makkah Governor Prince Khaled Al-Faisal.

A metro line of seven stations beginning at Jamrat region in Mina, running 11km westward and along the northern side of the Grand Mosque, King Abdul Aziz Road and Haramain Railway’s main station in Rusaifa before ending at the Makkah-Jeddah Expressway will be the first project under the development.

The second metro, a 33km line with 15 stations will start at Madinah Road, north of Taneem Mosque and move southward to reach the western side of the Grand Mosque as it passes by King Abdulaziz Towers and Azizia Street, before turning to Taif-Karr Road to reach Umm Al-Qura University.

L&T SECURES OETC CONTRACT WORTH $72MN Contract involves the construction of two 132/33kV grid stations in Amerat and Mabella-2

12,500 WARNINGS ISSUED IN 2011 FOR BUILDING, PUBLIC HEALTH AND ROADSIDE VIOLATIONS

Work on the first phase is expected to cost around $6.7 billion and will begin by the middle of next year and require three years for completion, said Makkah Mayor Osama Al-Bar. “We will begin procedures this week for the qualification of contractors to award contracts in the first quarter of 2014,” said Saad al Qadi, CEO of Makkah Trains Company.

He added the first phase would be carried out in three contracts involving civil work, control implementation, signal systems and importing trains and carriages.

Most of the first metro line and part of the second will operate through underground tunnels.

The Makkah transport project involves four metro lines that will span at total of 114km over 88 stations and is expected to improve pilgrim transportation throughout the city.

L&T (Oman) LLC, a subsidiary of Indian engineering giant Larsen & Toubro Ltd, has secured an order worth $72mn from Oman Electricity Transmission Co (OETC).

“This is an engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) contract,” said Surendhra Babu, chief executive of L&T (Oman), adding the contract involves the construction of two 132/33kV grid stations in Amerat and Mabella-2, along with the installation of 132kV overhead lines and cables in Muscat governorate.

The company estimates the project will be completed in 20 months.

“We have landed an electrical job after a long time. We are also trying to get more such projects in Oman which are in the tendering process. There are projects in the infrastructure sector and we will be bidding for more contracts,” Babu added.

DECEMBER 2013

MIDDLE EAST

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THE BIG PICTURE

BIGPROJECTME.COM

GCC ON TRACK FOR $194BN RAILWAY BOOM Railway is region’s largest capital projects market

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$194

H1 2015

MONTHS

BILLION

TIMELINE FOR A MASSIVE BOOST IN THE REGION’S RAIL MARKET

Value of rail projects that are planned or underway in the GCC

JEDDAH METRO EXPECTED TO BE AWARDED

$30 $108 BILLION $22 BILLION Value of rail sector projects awarded so far in 2013

Total value of projects awarded in 2013 so far

BILLION

Value of the Riyadh Metro Project

39 PER CENT

FOREIGNERS IN OMAN’S TOTAL POPULATION

EMAAR LAUNCHES $3 BILLION DEVELOPMENT IN ERBIL Kurdistan region of Iraq regarded as an attractive investment hub Keeping with current market interest in Iraq’s infrastructure markets, Dubai-based Emaar Properties launched a $3 billion development, called ‘Erbil Downtown’, in Erbil, the fast-growing capital of Kurdistan region of Iraq.

Relatively unaffected by the political instability that interferes with infrastructural development in the country, Kurdistan region is viewed as

an attractive investment hub, especially in the energy sector.

The project is expected to reach completion in three stages over a period of five years or sooner, if market factors permit so. Covering an area of 541,000sqm near the city centre, the development will include residential apartments, hotels and a shopping centre.

OMAN’S MINISTRY OF MANPOWER TO SUSPEND FOREIGNER-RECRUITMENT Ministry seeks to eradicate illegal workers as a mode of creating job opportunities for the national workforce OMAN’S MINISTRY OF Manpower is reportedly going to suspend the recruitment of foreign workers for six months, as part of its labour market regulation measures.

Oman News Agency reported the Ministry will restrict small construction and cleaning companies from employing expatriates until April 2014, at the earliest. The move is also to enable a review of the actual needs of the labour force across different sectors.

The ministry seeks to eradicate illegal workers as a mode of creating job opportunities for the national workforce. The Omani government had also said, earlier this year, that it would limit the total number of foreign workers and raise minimum wage for locals as an attempt to increase the employment of its citizens.

Foreigners comprise 1.3 million – almost 39% – of the total 3.3 million population in the country, most of whom are South or Southeast Asian workers brought in to do skilled or strenuous jobs in infrastructural sectors such as oil, construction and service industries.

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MIDDLE EAST

FIND OUT WHO THE WINNERS WERE AT THIS YEAR’S BIG PROJECT MIDDLE EAST AWARDS – PAGE 30

DECEMBER 2013

Winner of

USE

SAVE and

TREES

Excellence and Ideas in Plastic Conversion for Building and Construction sector

NEWS ANALYSIS

BIGPROJECTME.COM

THE COUNTDOWN BEGINS As the dust settles on Dubai’s celebrations on receiving hosting rights for the Expo 2020, Big Project ME looks at the various possibilities this result has opened up for the country’s construction sector

T

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here was always a sense of its arrival.

Even as reports suggested the UAE’s burgeoning property markets could be headed for ugly downturns, thinkers, doers and leaders across the construction sector remained largely positive about Dubai’s Expo 2020 bid, and the after effects of what looked like a sure-shot victory.

DECEMBER 2013

As this piece goes to press, it’s been about a 100 hours since the announcement that Dubai defeated Yekatrinberg (Russia), Izmir (Turkey) and Sao Paolo (Brazil) with massive margins to win the hosting rights for Expo 2020 – and the city is not done celebrating just yet.

Burj Khalifa provided the backdrop for an extravagant display of fireworks that were set

off within minutes of the announcement, while a national holiday was declared for educational institutions across Dubai.

Celebrities posted congratulatory messages on social networking forums, and a video of Dubai’s Crown Prince, Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum’s celebrations, went viral.

NEWS ANALYSIS

Additionally, the CBRE report, released prior to the announcement of the bid results, said that market sentiment in support of the Expo in Dubai could further inflate the cost of living in the city, stating it could “compound a situation where residential rents have already grown by an average of 23% during the last year.”

The construction industry too, it is believed, will have to bear the brunt of the highly opportunistic market.

“I was discussing the impacts of Dubai winning the Expo 2020 bid with one of my cement suppliers last week,” said Stefano Iannacone, managing director of IBS Mapei, Dubai. “He told me there was a good chance

EXPO 2020 NUMBERS: n 438ha

Size of Dubai Expo site in Jebel Ali

n 277,000

Jobs expected to be created as a result of the win

n US$8.1billion

Investment in new infrastructure to host the event

“REGULATORY BODIES ARE STRICTER NOW, WHICH IS HEALTHY, BUT WE’LL HAVE TO CLOSELY WATCH THE TRENDS AND PATTERNS. I HOPE THE MARKET HAS LEARNT A LESSON”

DECEMBER 2013

MIDDLE EAST

GRAND DESIGNS The Expo 2020 celebrations continue as the real work starts to begin.

Crowds poured into the streets in their cars, and the jubilation was clearly visible across the city. For that moment, the possibility of a property bubble, expanding rental rates and rising commodity costs were all but forgotten.

The Expo’s effects on Dubai have been circulated in various reports – financial and consumer – since the announcement. The impact can broadly be divided into four sections across the city’s economic landscape, and the region’s construction sector stands to undergo major alterations.

The most obvious impact of the run-up to the Expo is job creation. “Dubai Expo 2020 will spur significant employment, trade and investment opportunities for the entire MENASA region, leaving a lasting economic impact,” said HE Reem Al Hashimy, UAE Minister of State and managing director of the UAE’s Higher Committee for Hosting the 2020 World Expo in Dubai.

An Oxford Economics study about the Expo’s impact has revealed that 277,149 jobs will be created between 2013 and 2021. As much as 40% of these will benefit the travel and tourism sector alone.

While employment-generation and hiked salaries maintain the celebratory atmosphere in the city’s employment market, concerns are raised on the other side of the transaction cycle, with reports pertaining to rising property prices and inflation doing the rounds.

Early last month, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) had warned Dubai against the possibility of a property bubble as the market boomed due to increased valuations across the city.

With the Expo now confirmed to be held in Dubai, these prices are likely to continue their up-growth, and there is already talk of increased residential rates in the market.

A report by local daily Gulf News has revealed increased property transactions at Dubai World Central.

“Projects such as the construction of the Dubai Metro Purple Line and the work in and around the Dubai World Central — the actual site of the expo — are likely to be expedited,” said Mat Green, head of research and consultancy UAE, CBRE Middle East as per the report.

“The new airport (Al Maktoum International) would also become a catalyst to development of the air transport infrastructure — a key driver for the sustained economic growth of the emirate.”

13

NEWS ANALYSIS

that the materials would get costlier by about 10-15% if the results favour Dubai.”

“It doesn’t necessarily need to happen, but I’m very concerned about rising material prices,” he adds.

Nevertheless, residents and construction professionals alike can be assured that an extensive infrastructure boom is headed Dubai’s way.

Dubai Metro’s red line is expected to be fasttracked into completion in time for the Expo 2020. The world’s tallest planned commercial tower by the Dubai Multi Commodities Centre, named ‘Burj 2020’ on the eve of the bid results, will also be constructed as part of the preparations for 2020.

“There is scope to build in the emirate,” says Iannacone. “The Expo will facilitate the hospitality sector, and with a huge influx of visitors and potential employees expected, there will also be a high demand for residential units, schools, hospitals and so on.”

“Dubailand currently needs more accessibility from across the city, so there is a possibility of new roads being constructed that lead into the site itself,” he adds.

“It all scares me a little bit, though, because I’m afraid that the market will repeat its mistakes from 2008,” he adds, echoing earlier market reports that consistently claimed UAE – and Dubai, in specific – would have to tread carefully amidst its trade boom.

The Expo bid win was announced within the same week as UAE’s national day, giving young Emiratis and expats alike more than one reason to celebrate.

BIGPROJECTME.COM

DUBAI BID SUPPORTERS “Dubai is the perfect candidate to host the Expo because it is a universal city. It is already globalised and it’s so connected to the world. We are very ready to contribute our Expo experience and learnings from the Milan Expo and have a very important bridge between the two Expos.”

Giorgio Starace, Italian Ambassador to the UAE “Dubai’s bid for the World Expo 2020 demonstrates how large cities can rise to the challenges of the future, which is relevant to Lyon’s own international development plan. Hosting the World Expo constitutes an important and natural progression for Dubai, which has made its tourism strategy the engine of its economic reconversion.”

Gerard Collomb, Senator-Mayor of Lyon and President of Greater Lyon “Dubai is a city that shows how different cultures and peoples can converge behind common goals, living and working side by side. I am proud that the UK has played a part in this and delighted to be making the case for this city to get the global recognition that Expo 2020 would bring.”

David Cameron, Prime Minister, UK “Canada believes it is time for the Middle East to host at a time of such hope and challenge in the region. Dubai is best placed to bring together the most diverse group of peoples from around the world, to share ideas, aspirations and solutions for the future. Canada’s support for Dubai reflects our commitment to the dynamism, hope and future of emerging economies in the region and beyond.”

Canadian Foreign Affairs Minister John Baird

PRICE RISE WARNING Steffano Iannacone, Mapei, warns that material prices are under threat but is excited by the potential.

While social networking websites are busy with users dissecting the pros and cons of the Expo 2020 in Dubai, reports explaining the positive impact of the event on the city’s many economic sections, such as SMEs, hospitality, infrastructure, construction and so on continue to emerge, proving that despite the victory, Dubai has a long way to go in proving itself to its doubters - well-meaning as they might be.

The government’s role will be more decisive than ever hereon; Dubai’s bid committee has constantly placed emphasis on the need for partnerships - a facet also visible in the number of countries who came out in support of the emirate’s bid in the run-up to the announcement.

Locally, though, the government will have to continue its efforts in economic rejuvenation and regulation to ensure the city is braced well to host the Expo 2020, and sustain itself in the process as well.

“Regulatory bodies are stricter now, which is healthy, but we’ll have to closely watch the trends and patterns. I hope the market has learnt a lesson,” Iannacone concludes. n

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“MATERIALS WOULD GET COSTLIER BY ABOUT 10-15% IF THE RESULTS FAVOUR DUBAI. IT DOESN’T NECESSARILY NEED TO HAPPEN, BUT I’M VERY CONCERNED ABOUT RISING MATERIAL PRICES”

DECEMBER 2013

IN PROFILE WAEL ALLEN

BIGPROJECTME.COM

AHEAD OF THE CURVE

Big Project ME sits down with Wael Allen, the new group chief operating officer at Hyder Consulting Middle East, for a wide ranging and insightful chat.

Gavin Davids and Stephen White report

“

We always believe that change is a healthy thing to do and we encourage our people to take on different roles and grow within the company. I think that having someone in the same position for a long time is probably not the best for them and for the company.”

It’s probably a good thing that Wael Allen is a big fan of change, because he’s about to embark on a big one. Currently the regional managing director of Hyder Consulting Middle East, he is about to be named as the group chief operating officer and chairman of the Middle East. He is set to assume his responsibilities in the New Year.

In late November of this year, he sat down with Big Project ME to outline his vision for the engineering consultant giant and explain why he believes that the Middle East region will come to play a major role in the fortunes of his company and the industry.

“It’s a new role actually. Hyder is always keen to create opportunities for its employees.

As we grow in scale and complexity of projects, we’re shifting ourselves into the multinational

model where we can scale up fast and use all the resources of the company to execute all of our mega projects around the world,” Allen explains, holding court at Hyder Consulting’s offices in Dubai.

“It’s not about us catching up with other organisations or emulating ourselves. I think the role is specifically about making sure that our clients receive the best possible service.

And that is through bringing all of the resources of the company to bear on a specific project (if necessary). I think we’re unique at Hyder in that we’re truly multinational.”

“What I mean is that we’ll actually bring the right resources in, no matter where they are from, for a job – independent of location.

So actually, you see an execution of projects and giving value to the client even when the locations of the client and the project team are not necessarily in the same place. Doing that is the true multinational model,” he points out.

This multinational model that Allen speaks off is set to be one of Hyder’s trump cards in the Middle East, given the rapid expansion of the

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MIDDLE EAST

“WE’LL ONLY TAKE ON PROJECTS WHERE WE THINK OR STRONGLY BELIEVE THAT WE CAN PROVIDE A GOOD SERVICE. THERE HAVE BEEN MANY TIMES WHERE WE WILL GO TO OUR CLIENTS AND SAY, ‘ON THIS OCCASION, UNFORTUNATELY, WE WON’T BE IN A POSITION TO GIVE YOU THE BEST SERVICE’”

DECEMBER 2013

consultancy’s regional project portfolio. Over the next few years, Hyder will be taking on a variety of projects, from the Riyadh Metro to the Kahramaa Water Security Project in Qatar.

The scope and variety of these projects makes it essential for Hyder to be on the ball when it comes to delivering them to their clients. Not only are expectations high from the client’s side, but Allen says that he’s determined to ensure that Hyder Middle East meets much higher expectations: his own.

“I think I have a very clear mandate on what I need to do. It’s basically assessment and allocation of the right resources to the right projects, supporting and managing what we call ‘group projects’. Some of the projects are large enough that they are given the connotation of being ‘group projects’ rather than ‘regional projects’.”

“What I mean by that is that if the Hyder Group is interested in the project, it’s reviewed at the highest level and all resources and support from other management is given to ensure that those resources are given to these projects. With group projects, all the company’s resources, efforts and support is actually provided.”

“We have our global excellence centres and part of my job is to make sure that they’re scaled up properly and that we capitalise on the right technology and lessons learnt from all projects.

We have a library of data that is available to all regions which makes sure that we’re not ‘reinventing the wheel’ and that we’re giving

DECEMBER 2013

MIDDLE EAST

IN PROFILE WAEL ALLEN

17

IN PROFILE WAEL ALLEN

good, maximum value to our clients,” he explains. “Looking at the global design centres, that’s where we can scale up fast. Those are the elements. Integrating all the regions into our multinational model allows us to make sure that we can operate consistently.”

“As a company, we always strive to ensure that we have a sustainable business model.

When I say sustainable, I mean having the diversity in the type of projects that we undertake. While the last four years have seen a heavy emphasis on infrastructure and serving the public sector, we’re very keen within the company to have a good balance between the public and private sector,” he adds.

Allen continues, pointing out that this not only affords Hyder’s people the opportunity to work on different projects and diversify Hyder’s portfolio, but that it also helps the company spread out its risk.

“We consciously evaluate and assess the work, and we’ll only take on projects where we think or strongly believe that we can provide a good service. There have been many times where we will go to our clients and say, ‘on this occasion, unfortunately, we won’t be in a position to give you the best service’ and decline to take part in the project,” Allen admits.

“The first thing we want is to be able to provide the right resources to create the appropriate impact,” he says.

This reluctance to offer anything other than the best to clients is something that Wael Allen is convinced will set Hyder apart from its competitors in a massive $119.6 billion infrastructure market.

As one would expect from such a seasoned campaigner in the Middle East, Allen is quick to assess the market and identify how Hyder can best take advantage of the opportunities on offer.

“I think the challenges across the globe are the same. It is water resources, energy and environmental issues. We’re in all three aspects.

The challenges across the globe are the same.

Economies are in recession and for them to

BIGPROJECTME.COM

WAEL ALLEN PROFESSIONAL BIOGRAPHY Wael Allan joined Hyder Consulting on 1 April 2009.

He has a strong background in multinational business management having worked for a number of major engineering and construction companies including Raytheon Engineers and Constructors.

Wael, who is fluent in Arabic, has extensive experience in running global businesses through his work in Saudi Arabia, Japan, Germany, the UK and USA. He is also skilled in delivering sustainable business growth through a balanced approach to operations and business development.

Prior to joining Hyder, Wael held the positions of Executive Vice President for Skanska USA Building Inc and CEO of their pharmaceutical group.

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MIDDLE EAST

“AS A COMPANY, WE ALWAYS STRIVE TO ENSURE THAT WE HAVE A SUSTAINABLE BUSINESS MODEL. WHEN I SAY SUSTAINABLE, I MEAN HAVING THE DIVERSITY IN THE TYPE OF PROJECTS THAT WE UNDERTAKE”

DECEMBER 2013

recover, they’ll need good infrastructure. That’ll be through communication, transportation, and logistics. We’re in all these sectors that will make a difference to the viability of water resources, as well as sustainability and energy,” he asserts.

“In Qatar, we’re fortunate to have won many significant projects from Ashghal, where we’re enhancing the whole road and transportation infrastructure, as well as looking after the security of water. We’re looking after what is probably one of the largest mega-reservoirs in the region.”

This is the Kahramaa Water Security project which will see Hyder working with Qatar General Electricity and Water Corporation on a water project that will provide seven days of strategic water storage within its network. Its

IN PROFILE WAEL ALLEN

“WE FOCUS ON DOING THE RIGHT THINGS AND GROWTH SHOULD BE THE OUTCOME OF DOING THE RIGHT THINGS RATHER THAN THE OTHER WAY AROUND”

“Because we use resources from other regions and areas, and bring them to the Middle East, we can scale up very fast. It’s that ability that differentiates us from others. I’m sure the Expo 2022 will be great for the region and the Arab World. It’ll be a catalyst for growth and stability. It will bring more jobs and more opportunities for everybody.

“We identify it as a great opportunity - what kind of projects we would be able to do? Are we able to cater for some of these potential projects, within our current structure? Believe it or not, the answer is yes. Because we can scale up through our multinational model that others may not have,” he muses.

But it’s not all about Dubai and Qatar for Hyder. Saudi Arabia is also set to play a major

DECEMBER 2013

MIDDLE EAST

objective is to help cope with the new, more challenging developments in the country while also securing contingency in reserved stock in case of a severe nation-wide water supply interruption. Currently, water reservoirs in the country last just a few days.

The project will entail the construction of five mega-reservoir sites and some 200km of large diameter ring mains. Each reservoir site will ultimately comprise up to ten reservoir modules, each of which may be the largest of their type in the world.

The reservoirs and pipeline network, with associated pumping stations, will provide up to 15 million cubic metres of strategic potable water storage. Commenced in February 2012, completion is expected by the first half of 2016.

role in its plans over the next few years. In July this year, the consultant was appointed to help build the $22.5 billion Riyadh Metro project.

Furthermore, the company also recently opened a ‘Global Centre of Excellence’ in Amman, Jordan as part of a drive to tap into the growing opportunities in the Levant region.

Being of Jordanian heritage, this is a project close to Allen’s heart and he tells Big Project ME that he believes it’ll be crucial to Hyder’s operations in the Middle East as it gives them access to a young, educated, multi-lingual workforce from the region.

In fact, given the plethora of opportunities available in the Middle East, he says that one of the most important roles he’ll have to play is to say ‘no’ to projects that come up, keeping in mind what Hyder will have to offer their clients.

“We are opportunity-rich as a company and the challenge is knowing when to say no and when to say yes. We’ve so many opportunities, globally, but the challenge is picking the projects where we can excel and make sure that we have a happy client at the end,” he explains.

“So it’s really about matching our existing capabilities and what we can do with our client needs. That is the challenge going forward.”

“I really think that the risks are the same: You’ve got to be able to identify and understand your clients well. Their ability to pay, their ability to execute these projects,” Allen asserts.

“So again, that’s why I talk about selectivity of a project and the fundamentals of a particular project. In the past, people went out of control.”

“We don’t really focus on growth for the sake of growth. For us we focus on doing the right things. Growth should be the outcome of doing the right things rather than the other way around,” he concludes, highlighting once again, his clear vision for his company. n

19

ON SITE AL JAHRA ROAD DEVELOPMENT PROJECT

Project Name

Al Jahra Road Development Project

Project Value

$936 million

Project Developer

Kuwait Ministry of Public Works

Contractor

Arab Contractors Company – Othman Ahmad Othman

Project design and supervision consultants

Louis Berger and Pan Arab Consulting Engineers

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PROJECT UNITY The Al Jahra project comprises five phases, including elevated motorways. Once completed it will form a 21km unified route.

DECEMBER 2013

BIGPROJECTME.COM

ON SITE AL JAHRA ROAD DEVELOPMENT PROJECT

ELEVATED SOLUTION

Big Project ME finds out why the Al Jahra Road Development project will be Kuwait’s most important infrastructure project. Gavin Davids reports

N

early 1,000 days ago, the Kuwait Ministry of Public Works announced that it had reached all the agreements necessary to announce the launch of one of Kuwait’s largest ever infrastructure projects.

The Al Jahra Road Development Project is not just another run of the mill road expansion project, the likes of which we’ve seen all over the GCC. Far from it in fact. It is currently ranked as one of the largest elevated road projects in the world and given its significance to Kuwait, it could be one of the most important projects ever undertaken by country.

The project began construction in September 2010, says Engineer Yasser Boudastour, the project engineer appointed by the Ministry of Public Works to supervise the project.

He tells Big Project ME that work on the $936 million road project started after an agreement was reached with the firms Louis Berger and the Pan Arab Consulting Engineers (PACE) to be the

project design and supervision consultants. The Arab Contractors Company (ACC) – Othman Ahmad Othman, were appointed as contractors, he adds.

“Most of the old roads in Kuwait are simple three lane roads. The Ministry of Public Works intends to develop these roads. The Al Jahra Road project will be one of many projects that will transform these roads into a grand unified highway for 21 kilometres, which will extend from Jahra Gate Roundabout to United Nations Roundabout,” he explains during an interview with Big Project ME. “The project will include building, construction and maintenance of roads and elevated motorways. It will comprise five phases of improvement, which will include the major utilities works such as sewage systems, overpasses, telecommunications, electrical systems and storm water drainage, amongst other things. It (the project) is considered to be a solution for

DECEMBER 2013

MIDDLE EAST

“THE AL JAHRA ROAD PROJECT WILL BE ONE OF MANY PROJECTS THAT WILL TRANSFORM THESE ROADS INTO A GRAND UNIFIED HIGHWAY FOR 21 KILOMETRES.”

21

ON SITE AL JAHRA ROAD DEVELOPMENT PROJECT

BIGPROJECTME.COM

ELEVATED THINKING n 80.4% Structures n 8.6% Others n 4.1% Electric cables relocation

n 3.4% Water lines relocation

n 3.6% Roads Jahra Road Development is one of the largest elevated road projects in the world in which The Ministry of Public Works (MPW) in Kuwait plans to invest $936 million.

The expected timeframe is five years to full completion in September 2016. The project’s mainline length is

PROJECT PROGRESS n Piers: 258 out of 479

A CAST OF THOUSANDS More than 180,000m 3 of concrete has been casted for the project.

(54%)

n Piles: 3687 out of 4579 (81%)

n Pile cap: 313 out of 499 (63%)

n Detours: 90% n Diaphragm: 46 out of 250 (18%)

n Segment fabrication: 1805 out of 8395 (22%)

n Segment erection: 817 (10%)

n 10 million safety hours without injuries

n This project leads to a big change in the length of the lanes.

After the project will finish it will be extended from 80km -220 km.

traffic jams and will address the growing road congestion crisis,” he adds, pointing out that the Al Jahra Road Development project will connect with Kuwait’s other highways in a huge network that will ultimately help improve traffic safety and security.

With an estimated 2.25 cars per person in Kuwait, the need for a modern road network that can handle heavy volumes of traffic is crucial if the country is to achieve the aims set out by its government. In 2004, it was estimated that 85% of Kuwait’s roads were paved, so clearly the task ahead for the government remains huge.

As a result, the number of stakeholders involved in the project are high, with not just the Ministry of Public Works involved, but also bodies like the Ministry of Electricity and the Ministry of Interior. As a result, complications can arise over the course of the project, as Boudastour explains.

“For any major project, there are always challenges you’re going to face, and we face them every day,” he says. “Especially when it comes to the coordination needed for any detour

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MIDDLE EAST

“ACTUALLY, BEFORE THE TENDER, DURING THE DESIGN STAGE, WE GOT ALL THE MINISTRIES AND UTILITIES TOGETHER. THE PROJECT WAS THEN DESIGNED ON THEIR GIVEN MATERIALS (INFORMATION).”

DECEMBER 2013

11.4km comprising three lanes with link roads in each direction and one lane for emergency. The total length of ramps is 7.2km and the total length of service roads is of 17.3km. it also contains one 57m long section of depressed roads having two roundabout bridges.

in traffic. This project is also related to many ministries, which means a lot of coordination and official letters that need to be signed before taking any steps forward.

“Thankfully, we are now in coordination with all dealers to solve these problems and we’re trying to manage the traffic.”

With a scheduled completion date of 2015, the massive project is currently slightly behind schedule, but Boudastour is confident of making up the shortfall over the coming months.

“The expected timeframe for the project is five years. Right now we’ve reached 45% to 47% of work done. We’re a little bit behind schedule, but we’re trying to mitigate it and follow the schedule in the coming months,” he says.

“We’re behind schedule by about 6%, which is not that big a percentage. But as you know, we’re dealing with so many services and ministries. Also, some times, especially when you’re working underground, you cannot see what’s there. When you’re doing excavations and all, you can sometimes find utilities. So we needed to divert them and for that, we needed to contact all the ministries to get permission.

That creates a delay. So far, we’ve done all these things and we just have to have a recovery plan for this percentage, so as to meet the deadline at the end of the project.”

Keeping this in mind, the project overseers have stepped up their efforts to complete their work on schedule. At present the workforce consists of 2,600 men on site, working in three shifts.

ON SITE AL JAHRA ROAD DEVELOPMENT PROJECT

Two gantries are working and the third will be installed by the end of the year.

Meanwhile, the cutting bridges are divided into four categories, with each one manufactured to be installed in the work area; these segments are formed from four types – each is erected according to the specific location, and their weight ranges between 58t to 85t , Boudastour adds.

He’s quick to point out that the complexity of the project was alleviated by the comprehensive pre-planning undertaken by all the stakeholders. This in turn has made their job much easier, though not without complications, he says.

“Actually, before the tender, during the design stage, we got all the ministries and utilities together. The project was then designed on their given materials (information),” explains Boudastour. “But, even so, when you’re at the site, it’s different. Sometimes the dimensions aren’t clear enough or something is different, so it can happen (that there are delays and changes).

“But right now, we’re underway in all phases and we’re going to have a partial handover of the project if we reach the completion of Phase II

by September 2014,” Boudastour promises. “It’s going to be going on according to schedule, and we’ll open other phases in that time,” he insists.

“This project will raise the state of infrastructure in Kuwait and it will be the first step towards new modern roads in Kuwait. The government is expecting it to reduce traffic jams, especially as it’s located in a central part of Kuwait. It’s the intersection between a number of hospitals and Kuwait University and Kuwait Port.

“All parties involved in the project are excited to see the future of the project and see it achieve the goals that are planned.” n

“IT (THE PROJECT) IS CONSIDERED TO BE A SOLUTION FOR TRAFFIC JAMS AND WILL ADDRESS THE GROWING ROAD CONGESTION CRISIS.”

ROAD EXPANSION PROGRAMME ROAD

EXISTING LANES

ROAD LENGTH

FUTURE AT GRADE LANES

ELEVATED LANES

ROAD LENGTH

JAHRA ROAD

4

11.3 KM

6

6

11.3 KM

HOSPITAL ROAD

4

0.6 KM

4

4

1.5 KM

GHAZALI STREET

8

0.8 KM

6

6

1.3 KM

AIRPORT ROAD

4

1.0 KM

4

4

1.6 KM

2ND RING ROAD

4

0.9 KM

6

-

0.6 KM

4TH RING ROAD

4

1.2 KM

6

-

1.2 KM

RAMPS

-

-

-

2

TOTAL LANE LENGTH

80 KM

14.8 KM 220 KM

DECEMBER 2013

MIDDLE EAST

The project has achieved 8.5 million safety hours without injuries, he adds, claiming that this is a result of the team’s commitment to secure all necessary equipment, such as safety helmets, footwear and belts for workers to protect them from injuries.

In addition, workers attend weekly presentations and lectures to educate them about the ways to prevent accidents and how to act in the work areas to stay safe and protected.

At present 80% of the pilings, 15% of diaphrams, 45% of abutments, 61% of pile cap, 51% of piers are completed, in addition to erecting 590 segments that were fabricated in the precast yard, Boudastour says during the interview, with a partial handover of the project scheduled for September 2014, when Phase II is completed.

Jahra Road will be carried on new pre-cast pre-stressed segmental viaducts. The precast segments are short concrete sections connected together to form the carriageways of the bridges.

These segments are fabricated in pre-cast yard, which is a large plant fully utilised with moulding machines and worker’s offices for the production of the pre-cast segments.

The yard is set up on remote land located near the Camp Doha areas, with a total surface area that covers 150,000m2.

It accommodates large-scale pre-casting facilities such as mould production frames, different cranes, water tanks, storage and curing chambers.

Employing the system of segmental pre-casting provided both production speed and a bigger work space in a congested environment. This ensured the production of the highest quality of segments, while maintaining colour consistency, meeting strength requirements and establishing a bridge that requires little maintenance.

The project engineer explains that the installation of bridge segments are erected using a launching gantry that was design especially for this project.

The gantry weighs 560t and a length of 140m and is capable of carrying a segment bridge that weighs 85t and is filed over the bridge.

23

COVER STORY RAOUF GHALI

KING OF THE HILL 26

MIDDLE EAST

Raouf Ghali talks to Stephen White about running the international project management arm of Hill International

DECEMBER 2013

BIGPROJECTME.COM

COVER STORY RAOUF GHALI

“THERE WAS AN AVERAGE OF THREE HOURS PER DAY. WE USED WHATEVER WE COULD GET OUR HANDS ON! WE GOT BATTERIES TO KEEP THE COMPUTERS RUNNING, BUT WE GOT IT DONE. WE GOT THROUGH”

INTERNATIONAL PLAYER Ghali has been instrumental from growing Hill’s PM presence in Europe, the Middle East and Africa.

While the University of LaVerne Masters graduate was instrumental in preparing and issuing the international tendering procedures that helped to secure much-needed equipment at competitive prices for the fledgling Armenian government; helping to scale-up a country’s power supply where it was in short supply wasn’t without its challenges.

“For a while we didn’t have electricity,” he recalls. “There was an average of three hours per day. We used whatever we could get our hands on! We got batteries to keep the computers running, but we got it done. We got through.”

As he oversees Hill International’s operations beyond the US market almost two decades later, he is able to empathise with teams based in farflung and remote locations. When talking about those currently helping to bring power and roads to Afghanistan, there is an appreciation of the efforts it takes to be effective.

“Afghanistan is an extremely challenging place to be. I can understand the difficulties they are going through. I think it’s much harsher than what we had to go through,” he explains. “All these experiences over time add up to providing certain aspects where you can do your work much more efficiently.”

The last ten years has seen tremendous growth for Hill. For the past six years of that decade, Gahli has served as its president and he reveals that it is currently earning $300 million in turnover (“from consulting fees”), and employs a 2,800 strong workforce. The head office for the International Project Management arm of Hill is in Athens, it’s a different and surprising location, considering the Western Europe/US-centric nature of most global consultancies. Ghali says that it is a consequence of its Balkan-centric growth.

“If you look at where we operate, the Middle East is by far our largest region. Geographically we also have North Africa (a very important region for us). When you look on a map, Athens is right at the entrance to the Middle East,” he remarks. “It’s right across from North Africa (Cairo is at centre of our operations there). It’s also at the heel of the Balkans.”

DECEMBER 2013

MIDDLE EAST

R

aouf Ghali has just stepped off the red-eye from New York and walked straight into an interview with Big Project ME at Hill International’s London offices – a smart, charismatic and witty interviewee – if he’s jetlagged he’s certainly not showing it.

“How did I grow my career?” When asked. “I started my career, I say, a little bit on the wild side!

I was completely crazy. I went into places that others didn’t.”

The new countries that emerged after the collapse of the Soviet Union in the early 1990s were desperately short of infrastructure and desperate to modernise. However where most were daunted by the challenges incountries such as Georgia, Romania and Bulgaria presented, Ghali saw an opportunity.

“When I went into the CIS and the Balkans in 1993/94 the infrastructure wasn’t even there to do business,” he says. “It put things into perspective.

(Construction) can positively impact the economy; it creates jobs; even after completion it requires maintenance, operation, etc. Most of all, you’ve left something behind, a structure for better living or a production facility, etc.”

For Ghali, the country that arguably best typifies those early years.

“I started with Hill in Armenia, when Armenia was pretty much at war with Nagorno-Karabakh,” he explains.

The repercussions of the conflict over the Nagorna-Karabakh territory in southwestern Armenia are still being felt today, and the experience he picked up there continues to shape Ghali’s approach to running the International Project Management arm of Hill, two decades down the line.

“That was probably one of my best, key years.

Difficult years, but I learned a lot and met a lot of people,” says Ghali, who was responsible for project and financial control for procurement on the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development-funded 300MW thermal power plant in Hrasdan. “It went back to the basics.

Relying on yourself – technology wasn’t there, communication wasn’t there.”

27

COVER STORY RAOUF GHALI

The Middle East contributes 40% to 50% of the Group’s annual turnover with other markets growing in importance to complement Dubai and Qatar, where it first made its mark.

“Now the driving force is really Abu Dhabi, Saudi Arabia, Oman and Qatar. Four points/ markets that are very strong. And also very different. In the Kingdom, as an example, we’re involved in healthcare, infrastructure (with our recent win in rail), and education facilities. In Qatar we are seeing more and more large projects in the infrastructure sector rather than the highrise buildings we would traditionally see.”

Expanding on Qatar, he reviews the impact Hill International has had on the country.

“We are quite involved in Qatar,” he enthuses.

“We went through a major development (stage) and now Qatar is upgrading the infrastructure.

We are working on the Green Line of the Metro, the Qatar National Museum; and continue to have several private developments. There is still quite a lot of local private money being invested – and we are confident it is sustainable.

“You cannot do all that development for just the FIFA tournament. Even with pre-trials and everything else it is only going to be a threemonth period. It is the post-games period (which is the most important). Qatar has a plan of how they are going to sustain this expansion – they also need the infrastructure to go with it.”

Oman, often ignored by a UAE and Saudicentric media, is another market that excites.

“There’s a lot of activity there: it’s a totally different ball game. We are working on the airport, on hotel development; we’ve just been awarded a project to support the Minister of Defence and we’re also participating on Oman rail,” he reveals. “We’re still in the evaluation stage but we’re hoping that they will finalise it by the end of the year or the first quarter of 2014.”

Oman is a major component in the establishment of a Gulf-wide rail network but has slipped behind the efforts seen in Qatar (Q-Rail), the UAE (Etihad Rail) and Saudi Arabia with its investment in high speed inter-city rail.

“Once we, or whomever else, gets on board, they will need to start looking at a realistic

BIGPROJECTME.COM

schedule,” he says. “You can open certain segments of the rail (for instance), it does not have to be the entire corridor.

“I think mass transport has been ignored for a very long time in the Middle East and the realisation that you need it to become sustainable as a country and an economy is starting to come. Mass transport never used to be a feasible profitable business. It requires volumes and there is no alternative for long-term viability and environmental constraints.”

This is especially true in newly created urbanised areas where fuel is still cheap. How do you sell it as a proposition?

“Traffic. Time, convenience and environmental protection. If you are going to be travelling between one city to the other, and you have to go by air, you need to be there one hour before; you land at the airport; and it is usually way out of the city – and you have to drive back in. Whereas a train can take you from centre to centre. Look at Paris-London. Who would fly to Paris now from London?

“We are building some of the great airports of this century, right now. There’s Dubai, NDIA, Oman, etc. And you’ve got Midfield Terminal too.

We are part of the CM team on that as well.”

When people see the word consultancy, they often imagine teams of desk jockeys, but you get the impression that, as an organisation, Hill International is much more than that.

“We are very well engaged in managing activities on all stages,” says Ghali. “It depends on what our scope is and this varies from client to client, from project to project. We can be involved in the master planning and the implementation.

Sometimes we come in at a much later stage.”

While most of the global players in design and project and construction management that are active in the region are able to draw on expertise from teams based across their offices, Ghali has encouraged deeper involvement within Hill International. The company even runs its own peer review system which frequently sees teams drafted in from Europe to probe, analyse and advise on projects in the Middle East – and vice versa. This cross-fertilisation of ideas and

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MIDDLE EAST

“WE ARE LIVING IN SOME EXCITING TIMES. I STRONGLY FEEL THAT WE’RE SEEING A GOOD SEVEN TO EIGHT YEARS OF PROSPERITY AND A LITTLE BIT OF PEACE, I HOPE!”

DECEMBER 2013

GHALI LOOKS AT THE YEAR AHEAD “I think in general 2014 is going to be a year where we will see economic improvement globally. Spain is really waking up; there’s been a lot of transactions; the banking system is starting to show signs of life again. I’m not telling you it’s going to be booming, but the contraction is stopping. It’s been six/seven years since the recession started, so this is not going to be an overnight change. But prices of assets have come down; there is a huge amount of cash that needs to be invested and investors are eager to get back in the game early to take advantage.

“You’ve got markets like Egypt – if it continues to stabilise, you’ve got the UAE and Kingdom pledging money that has to go into construction – you’ve got Libya which I think will hopefully start off in 2014.

“Then you’ve got Iran that seems to be coming towards the western countries. You’ve got scepticism but on both sides. I think it’s positive however. The tension that has been clouding us over the last decade is lifting. If both sides start showing some trust and faith, then things can start to get better. Now how does that effect oil prices? I’m not an expert, but logic would show that is going to be pressure on prices coming down.

“Look at what Iraq has done. We have just signed a $53 million contract with the government of Basra. The contract scope is to review Barsa’s masterplan needs and implement them. We expect a mixture of projects to include educational facilities, roads, bridges, etc. With Iran calming down. Everything calms down. We are living in some exciting times. I strongly feel that we’re seeing a good seven to eight years of prosperity and a little bit of peace, I hope!”

practices is essential as Hill International strives to push the quality of execution upwards.

“You’re being reviewed and the next time you are reviewing somebody else. It not only keeps everybody on the edge but it is an efficient way of sharing knowledge amongst teams,” he explains.

“Take Latvia Library, for instance, and the Grand Egyptian Museum: two different worlds but yet there are a lot of things that are in common, the uniqueness of the building, for example. Latvia Library, for instance, is not just a library but they have put a lot of old artifacts such as old books, etc,” he continues. “That means that you have to have climate control rooms (for example). It has to be user-friendly and wellengineered. Both are public buildings. Both have

COVER STORY RAOUF GHALI

than stretching out the project management process, Ghali argues – convincingly – it has to be said that the reverse is often the case.

“It speeds things up. You find out that the guy – and I use this only as an example - who handled the Qatar Museum is talking to the guy on the Egyptian Museum and asked whether he had a similar problem, do you know of somebody that can help? Yeah, I’ve got somebody on the team. Can you spare him for a ten days? Sure.”

Backing up the project teams is a technical core team for each region. Ghali describes them as the ‘back-office’. They act as another level to Hill’s quality control.

“They shadow most of the difficult projects when they are in the early design stage. They have

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high security – and yet you have to allow free movement and flow for the guests. There are a lot of common similarities people would not always think about.”

The peer review meetings bring the top three people from two or three projects together with Ghali and the regional manager joining the meeting: “The team comes in and present the project status and the major challenges they are facing. Then, as a team ,we explore ideas: have you tried this?, or, we had a similar problem and we found this solution worked.”

With full site visits frequently required and the removal of key personnel from projects essential, it would be understandable if the peer reviews placed drag to the pace of construction. Rather

seen a lot of these projects and bring in a lot of lessons learned to the table,” he says. “This is part of our service – we typically don’t charge for it. It is also part of our own quality plans.”

Creating continuity and understanding between the teams has been an asset as the International PM Group has grown. He adds for any given country, Hill has now reached a size where it has enough staff from that country to form the nucleus of its project teams.

“This is the starting point and then we start slowly recruiting. In Turkey, for example, we’ve probably got a good 60 to 80 Turks working for us.

If we get a new project then I can transfer them back into Turkey with international experience and the “Hill culture”.

Hill’s progress in the Middle East is notable for its two centre beginning. Straddling both Dubai and Doha, Ghali says that the move was a deliberate attempt to mitigate against risk.

The company also started pushing into North Africa in 2006 just as every project manager and consultant with a passport descended on Dubai.

“Never have your business be dependent on any one specific location or client,” he says. “I always try to go where everybody else is not! In 2006, everybody was flocking into Dubai and the UAE. We were there – and I thank my lucky stars we were – but that’s when we made a strong push for North Africa. If everybody is going to one place, it is going to get crowded and you need to be thinking of going somewhere else. If you’re in at the beginning you take a lot of the work initially but then you share. That’s how the market moves.”

He adds: “We’ve been quite successful in spreading throughout the Middle East; very successful in spreading out in North Africa. We are present in all of the North African countries now with the exception of Tunisia where we are now looking at entering. We’re doing very nicely in Algeria with great growth potential.”

He was told about Dubai’s successful Expo 2020 bid as he was leaving New York. He believes the win is well deserved.

“It’s very, very exciting. I believe they already have infrastructure for it. Nothing was really moving until they secured bid, now it’s going to be like the horse races where everybody starts (gestures to signify the start of the race). Look at what Dubai has done. The 2020 win is a vote of confidence by the international community that the international markets still believe in Dubai. It has become a major city of the world over the last 15 years. They’ve done a great job so far, and I’m sure they will do a great job of this event.” n

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BIG PROJECT ME AWARDS 2013

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A CELEBRATION OF EXCELLENCE

Big Project ME hosted its annual awards dinner at the Jumeirah Emirates Towers Hotel, bringing together the great and good of the regional construction industry

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n 25 November, 2013, Big Project Middle East celebrated the achievements of the regional construction industry in a glittering ceremony at Jumeirah Emirates Towers Hotel.

The Big Project Middle East Construction and Sustainability Awards of Excellence 2013 saw more than 400 industry professionals from all across the Middle East gather together to celebrate the achievements of more than 60 nominees across 17 categories.

The awards saw some of the region’s most exciting and dynamic construction projects and

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firms recognised for their contribution towards Held alongside the biggest The Big 5 show the growth and development of their industry, in recent memory, the awards were perhaps while the sterling work done by individuals in the symbolic of Dubai’s triumphant return to the industry were also recognised. spotlight of global construction.

“WE DON’T WANT TO BUILD JUST ANYTHING, WE WANT TO BUILD BUILDINGS AND STRUCTURES THAT DISTINGUISH THEMSELVES FROM THE REST OF THE MARKET”

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BIG PROJECT ME AWARDS 2013

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Grand Mosque extension, Mecca, Saudi Arabia Architect Dar al Handasah Construction 2012, ongoing Application FOAMGLAS® FLOOR BOARD T4+, 50 mm, about 125,000 m2, loose laid as inverted roof Finish Marble tiles

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BIG PROJECT ME AWARDS 2013

ICONIC STRUCTURE OF THE YEAR WINNER: ETIHAD TOWERS BY HILL INTERNATIONAL The winning structure is a five-tower colossus that has quickly become one of the defining landmarks of the Abu Dhabi skyline.

Not only is it a good looking structure, it is also a great example in how to build at scale.

Under the guidance of the project management consultancy: the project owner, contractor, facility manager, hotel operator, district cooling services provider, bank/financier and real estate/property manager were all involved from the initial planning stages; resulting in a successful project “We’ve been very successful building some of the landmark structures in the region,” says James Duncan, vice president of Hill International.

“We want to build on our successful presence in Abu Dhabi, which we’ve had for the last 25 years.

There is a lot of exciting news coming forward,” he tells Big Project ME, confidently predicting a fruitful and exciting few years ahead for the project management consultancy as it looks to ride the wave of optimism generated by Expo 2020.

OUTSTANDING DEVELOPMENT OF THE YEAR WINNER: SOWWAH SQUARE – GOETTSCH PARTNERS The winner of this year’s outstanding development of the year features over 290,000m2 of office space and clocks in at a mammoth 450,000m2 in total area.

It is also the new headquarters for the Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange, making it a central hub for business in the UAE capital.

Surrounded by four office towers and overlooking the Abu Dhabi coastline, Sowwah Square certainly possess the ‘wow’ factor to be called ‘Outstanding Development of the Year.’

“It’s outstanding that a commercial development has been recognised,” says Matthew Burgland of Goettsch Partners after collecting the award on the night.

“It’s been about a year since the tower was established and it’s now central for business in Abu Dhabi,” he adds.

“As partners, we’ve worked extremely hard in Abu Dhabi and the quality of projects that we’ve done

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speaks for themselves.”

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ENERGY EFFICIENCY PROJECT OF THE YEAR

BIGPROJECTME.COM

CONSTANT FOCUS Ahmad Bin Shafar says Empower’s success has been built on constant focus on improvement.

WINNER: EMPOWER By tackling the challenge of offering green power and water to a large community, Empower has helped save 32.1 megawatts and 147,000 tonnes of CO2 per annum in Dubai.

Empower’s work on DIFC’s district cooling systems was not a coincidence, CEO Ahmad Bin Shafar tells Big Project ME. “I strongly believe that our company is always focused on improving our work, on focusing on research and development,” he says.

“We recognise ourselves doing things in a way that is better than the way that others are doing things. We look to save time, save costs and save management. That’s how we see ourselves. We don’t want to do things the regular way. We want to do it in a better way.”

BEST WATER CONSERVATION PROJECT WINNER: PETROLEUM DEVELOPMENT OMAN Petroleum Development Oman is currently installing a series of systems inside and outside a managed a 35% reduction in interior water use and a 50% reduction in potable water use as it heads for LEED certification.

It is also using Xeriscaping, a landscaping method that makes routine irrigation unnecessary, setting a standard for large educational campuses across the region “This award is a great achievement for the project team.

The whole industry is aiming for sustainability and this new school for the company addresses all the aspects of sustainability, such as water conservation, landscaping and creating a better future. We are looking to work on master plans that include more houses following a similar design.”

CIVIL DEVELOPMENT OF THE YEAR WINNER: CHINA STATE CONSTRUCTION ENGINEERING CORP – IMPROVEMENT OF EMIRATES ROAD The winner has made a significant impact to the completion of the city of Dubai’s aspirations of becoming a major logistical hub as well as putting down the groundwork for growth potentially spurred on by the EXPO 2020.

The billion dirham work included 33km of roads, two interchanges plus a series of upgrades “This project is not just ‘science’. We believe it’s confirmation of the effort we’ve put in as a team, with the client, RTA and the consultant, SBS Smith,” says Yu Tao,

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president and CEO of CSCEC Middle East.

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BIG PROJECT ME AWARDS 2013

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ARCHITECT OF THE YEAR WINNER: TABANLIOGLU ARCHITECTS Tabanlioglu has successfully executed the design for projects across the entire Middle East region.

The architecture firm has worked on a wide range of building types from housing, offices, mixed-use, public and cultural buildings and industrial projects to high-rise.

Having recently established an office in Dubai, the firm recently won its first project in the Emirate, the Crystal Towers on Jumeirah Beach Residence Walk.

“It feels good to be awarded,” says Mustafa Alper Alhan, project services, Dubai Representatives Office. “This is our first Dubai project so it’s a big surprise.”

“We’ll be focusing more on Dubai in 2014 and will also be looking to get more projects in the region started. We have the Qatar Lusail Museum in Doha as well, so we have plenty to do,” he adds. “While 2013 was good, we expect more in

GREEN BUILDING PROJECT OF THE YEAR

2014.”

WINNER: AECOM AND THE PASSIVHAUS VILLA The judges chose to reward a company and project that can be replicated and scaled up across the region for this year’s Green Building Project of the Year award.

Drawing on engineering and design from Germany, the result is an ultra-low energy building that requires little energy for space cooling and is the first of its kind in Qatar.

“There has been growing awareness and momentum lately when it comes to sustainability,” says Jason Smith, environmental planner, Design+Planning, Abu Dhabi, for AECOM. “It’s not just ‘nice to have’, it’s become a must-have.”

“I think what seperated us from the other nominees was that we had a small scale project that was easily understood,” he tells Big Project ME. “The project we’ve won the award for will be the benchmark for other projects.”

GROWTH PLANS Mustafa Alper Alhan says Tabanlioglu Architects will be focusing more on Dubai in 2014.

DEVELOPER OF THE YEAR WINNER: SINO GULF This year’s winner is a developer who has made its mark on the Abu Dhabi skyline by bringing to fruitition a number of ‘A-grade’ commercial properties that can happily claim to be at close to full occupancy.

“We’re very happy to win this award,” says Andrew Clout, managing director of Sino Gulf. “We’re sure we’re deserved winners.” “(This award) is about what we want to achieve going forwards, in terms of more Grade A buildings in Abu Dhabi and Dubai and other markets,” Clout adds.

“We don’t want to build just anything, we want to build buildings and structures that distinguish themselves from the rest of the market. And hopefully, we can come back to win two or

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three awards next year!”

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BIG PROJECT ME AWARDS 2013

SUSTAINABLE SOLUTION OF THE YEAR WINNER: ASTAD ASTAD has contributed the only LEED platinum student housing in the world which features two complexes with a total of twelve (12) buildings remain to date.

They also represent one of the highest concentrations of independently registered LEED platinum buildings in the world.

“It’s a great feeling to win this award. It counts as one of our achievements for this project,” says Ibrahim Faisal Al Haidos of the Qatar Foundation.

“This is the vision of the Education City, to have a world class sustainabile city. We are going to have minimum certification for our projects and this project is trying to promote the message of sustainability to students.”

CONSULTANT OF THE YEAR WINNER: HYDER CONSULTING The winning consultancy is truly active across the region and

GLOBAL KNOWHOW Mario N Pishiri, MD of Property, says Hyder’s global excellence base has kept it ahead of its compeition.

now counts on the Middle East for almost a third of its total business.

While other practices are moving more and more into project management, this consultant has concentrated in enhancing the region’s infrastructure bringing global knowhow to the local market.

“We measure ourselves against our peers. There are a lot of good consultants out there,” says Mario N Pishiri, managing director – Property, at Hyder Consulting. “Winning this award is testament to Hyder’s position in the market place.”

“With Expo 2020 awarded, the World Cup in Qatar, and Saudi Arabia’s development plans, there are plenty of opportunities to succeed, but our focus will remain on our core within core territories with our key clients and partners.”

CONTRACTOR OF THE YEAR WINNER: ALEC The winner of this year’s award scored multiple successes as it series of projects reached completion, including the completion of the Arrivals and link tunnel within Abu Dhabi International Airport. Furthermore, the contractor passed three million man hours without any lost time due to injury on Concourse 4 in Dubai International Airport.

It sets a wonderful example of putting safety first and still delivering high quality projects.

“As a company, we’ve achieved good understanding of what our clients need. We do it in a simple way, and not make it complicated,” says Kobus Dreyer, commercial director at ALEC, the Dubai based contractor.

“2013 was a good year for us, but it could have been better. There’s a lot of positive sentiment about 2020 and we’re in the final process of signing up some really big projects. It’s shaping up to be an exciting time for us.”

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competencies of engineering and architectural project delivery,

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MEP CONTRACTOR OF THE YEAR WINNER: ETA STAR ENGINEERING AND CONTRACTING ETA Star Engineering and Contracting has delivered and is delivering world class projects as per the clients requirements and contributed to client success, working alongside some of the GCC’s biggest main contractors such as AECOM, Hochtief and on projects for Barwa and Lusail.

“ETA Star has had a great year in Qatar,” says Ashok Agarwal, senior executive director at ETA Star Engineering and Contracting. “This award is a kudos to the people involved in the making of iconic structure. We are one of the biggest contractors in the Middle East and India, so we’re hoping for many such awards in the future!”

QUANTITY SURVEYOR OF THE YEAR

YOUNG ACHIEVER Conall Doherty, from Buro Happold, picked up the award for Young Engineer of the year.

WINNER: KEO CQS Comprising a team of 1,700 staff which have provided pre and post contract cost consultancy services on a series of buildings, infrastructure projects, KEO CQS also has the distinction of working on the first major stadium in Qatar.

One of our selling strengths is that we’re part of a multidisciplinary practice. So when we’re working as quantity surveyor’s within KEO, it means that we just have to go to the next desk to get the information. but also, acting as an independent quantity surveyor, we’ve always got backup technically. If we don’t get answers, we can go to our own,” says Mark Grogan, manager – contracts and quantity surveying services division, at KEO International Consultants.

“We’ve got great depth in Middle East experience,” he adds, highlighting it as a reason for KEO’s regional success

YOUNG ENGINEER OF THE YEAR WINNER: CONALL DOHERTY FROM BURO HAPPOLD Doherty has only been a structural engineer for three and a half years but has been described as an integral member of the site supervision team at the Louvre, Abu Dhabi and has ongoing involvement in the design and construction of a number of projects in the King Abdullah Financial District, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.

“I think this award is generally testament to the opportunities that are on offer in the region. It’s been fantastic coming here as a young engineer, the projects and experience that they can provide, along with the general exposure, has been fantastic,” enthuses Conall Doherty. “It’s such a privilege and I’m quite shocked to be presented with such a prestigious

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award.”

DECEMBER 2013

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BIG PROJECT ME AWARDS 2013

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OUTSTANDING ACHIEVEMENT IN PROJECT MANAGEMENT AWARD WINNER: ANDREAS GEORGIOS ILIOVITS OF MOSART Iliovits led his team at Presidential Palace of Abu Dhabi which were subcontracted to produce the natural stone for the project. Dealing with high volume in a short time of execution, the winner demonstrated the ultimate in quality control and project management.

“It’s been very hard work,” Iliovits says. “Especially in the award for project management. It’s been a very sophisticated job, with very big quantity of stone. We’ve very happy to be here and to have the award.”

“We’re fully booked till the end of 2015 with residential and other palaces, as well as with work on pipelines for Abu Dhabi International Airport and other prestigious projects.”

OUTSTANDING PROJECT MANAGEMENT CONSULTANCY WINNER: HILL INTERNATIONAL This year’s award was given to a major player in the market that has delivered the very best project management services to large scale developments. Hill International has received new commissions to provide services for some exciting new developments, including the Qatar National Museum, Jabal Omar Development, Riyadh Metro, Qatar Metro Green Line and Abu Dhabi’s Midfield Terminal in 2013 and most impressively, managing the Oman International Airport project which is well on track to reach its completion date.

“I hope we can keep on performing,” says Mohammed Al Rais, managing director of Hill International. “Our next focus will be on 2020.”

QUALITY CONTROL Andreas Georgios Iliovits of MosArt, poses with his award.

FAMCO was awarded the Construction Equipment Company of the Year by Big Project ME’s sister publication, Construction Machinery Middle East, in recognition of its constant efforts to improve people, processes and machines. It has acquired businesses, invested in new facilities, expanded to new countries and also improved principal’s offering for the region.

“We did a great job this year. All the plans and goals we had, we put them into reality. We’re on the right track and we’ve invested a lot in our facilities, people, expansions and acquisitions.

It’s been a year to remember for FAMCO,” says Mamdooh Diyab, divisional manager, Rental and Leasing Division at FAMCO. “There are some plans to be announced soon,

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and also the East Africa business (to focus on).” n

DECEMBER 2013

AREAS OF OPERATION: UAE

|

OMAN

|

QATAR

|

MONTENEGRO

AIRPORTS | THEMED PROJECTS | HOTELS | RETAIL | COMMERCIAL | RESIDENTIAL | HOSPITALS

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MARKET REVIEW TURKEY

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THE YOUNG TURKS

Big Project ME finds out why Turkey’s construction is determined to crack the GCC market and why they’re confident of doing so. Gavin Davids reports

E

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ver since the GCC began its building boom back in the late 1990s and early 2000s, the region has become something of a honeypot for the global construction industry, with both the international giants and the regional minnows making a beeline for the cities of Dubai, Doha, Riyadh and Jeddah.

Following this surge in investments from the region’s governments, there have been the inevitable problems that crop up when the pace of construction reaches warp speed. When this culminated in the collapse of the residential market bubble and hundreds of delayed and ‘on-hold’ projects it became clear to the authorities that the old ways weren’t working any more.

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Of course, we’ve since seen a sea-change in the way projects are undertaken, with increased government regulations and greater caution from both developers and contractors. And while the situation has undoubtedly improved, we still see occasional differences of opinion and conflicts that need legal recourse.

What most construction stakeholders put this down to is a lack of understanding between all parties. While they may speak the same language and share the same objectives, it’s often difficult for contractors and developers to relate to one another.

However, it now appears that there is a segment of contractors and construction companies that have noticed this gap and are rushing to fill it.

Having already snapped up some of the most prestigious mega-projects in the UAE, Turkish construction firms are well on their way to making themselves the preeminent force in the regional construction market.

A recent report published by a senior researcher at the International Institute of International Political Studies found that since the early 2000s, the relationship between Turkey and the Gulf states has improved significantly, with cooperation developed in a number of domains.

One of these domains is the construction industry, says Valeria Talbot, the senior researcher at ISPI who wrote the analysis.

With Turkey being the second largest exporter of construction in the world (after

MARKET REVIEW TURKEY

TURKEY AND QATAR: n $200 billion

Qatar infrastructure investment ahead of FIFA World Cup 2022

n $1 billion

Total value of Turkish contracts in Qatar (2012)

n $25-$30 billion

Projected worth of construction projects for Turkish firms ahead of FIFA World Cup 2022

What has been noticeable is that the trade relationship between the GCC and Turkey is one that flows both ways, with $6.5 billion invested from the GCC into Turkey, with the UAE leading the way with 56% of the investment, a report by the Oxford Business Group has said, quoting the National Commercial Bank of Saudi Arabia.

Interestingly, Turkey’s investment into the GCC has arguably been more significant, with the UAE alone receiving $6 billion.

Leading this investment charge has been the construction sector, which has zeroed in on the huge number of infrastructure projects that are in various stages of development.

Bora Can Yildiz, president of EID Construction, tells Big Project ME that it’s no surprise that the GCC has emerged as one of Turkey’s main markets, given the long history between the country and the region.

“We have two faces, an Asian face – a Middle Eastern face – and we have a European face.

“TURKISH PEOPLE ARE MORE FLEXIBLE THAN EUROPEANS WHEN IT COMES TO TOUGH, DIFFICULT CONDITIONS. IT DOESN’T MAKE US AFRAID”

We used to live together with our brothers for hundreds of years. So, for all Turkish companies, including construction, machinery, export, agriculture – whatever – the GCC is of big interest,” he explains.

“Although Turkey has a strong relationship with the European Union, we were not accepted in ‘the club’ in previous years and we were always on hold. This gave Turkey a chance to remember what it had forgotten before, a chance to turn back to its roots.

“So, we’ve grown our economic relations over the last two decades with the Middle East, and this has brought fresh and strong economic growth to Turkey,” Yildiz asserts.

The figures bear this out, with estimates showing that there are some 500 Turkish companies that have operated in Saudi Arabia, where in the first half of 2012 they worked on projects worth $12.1 billion. Meanwhile, in Qatar, by the end of last year, Turkish firms had carried out projects worth another $12 billion.

That’s not all. Now that work on the World Cup projects has begun, there has been significant interest from Turkish construction firms in the gas-rich Gulf state.

Projects estimated to be worth between $25 billion and $30 billion are up for grabs over the course of the next decade, the president of the Turkish Contractors Association (TCA) says.

“Considering Qatar’s share among Turkish contractors’ business volume has been around 5% for the past 40 years, according to an optimistic scenario, it is possible to estimate that Turkish contractors will undertake a total of $25 billion to

TURKISH DELIGHT The GCC is considered the next major growth market for Turkey.

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China), there has been a growing sense that the GCC could be the next major growth market for the Eurasian state.

“In an era of euro zone crisis and trade contraction with the European Union – which is the main Turkish trade partner and source of foreign direct investment – Middle Eastern markets represent a significant alternative for Turkey,” Talbot explains in her analysis.

“Trade volume with Gulf countries, and the Middle East in general, is expected to increase as economic and trade relations have great potential to be capitalised on, also taking into account the demographic growth that both Turkey and Saudi Arabia, the biggest market in the GCC, are experiencing.”

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$30 billion worth of business in the Qatari market,” Emin Sazak says.

As mentioned previously, Qatar was already an important market for Turkish contractors looking to expand their overseas presence, as evidenced by Qatar’s 5.2% share among the projects undertaken

by Turkish contractors between 1972 and 2012.

However, by the end of 2012, the total value of Turkish contractors’ projects approached $1 billion, Sazak says.

Qatar’s infrastructure investment spending ahead of the FIFA World Cup in 2022, estimated by leading professional services group Deloitte to reach around $200 billion, has opened up new opportunities for other Turkish business people as well.

The Qatari government has already invited Turkish contractors to participate in the construction of a number of infrastructure, stadium and hotel projects planned for the giant international event.

“Frankly, the UAE, Qatar and Saudi Arabia are the most promising markets for us Turkish firms,” says Burak Kizilhan, the business development manager for AE Arma-Elektropanҫ, a Turkish MEP firm that has worked on a number of major projects in Dubai.

“We’re looking to be awarded mega-projects and for the last few years, only these countries have a lot of them. Apart from that, there are of course a number of Turkish companies who are active in Kuwait, Oman and Bahrain, but it is these (first) three countries that are the most important markets for us.”

Yildiz agrees with this and adds that from a personal point of view, moving to either Dubai or

DECEMBER 2013

BIGPROJECTME.COM

TAV WIN Dubai-based real estate developer Damac Properties said it has awarded a $288 million contract for the construction of a hotel complex to the Dubai branch of Turkish builder TAV Construction.

As the main construction contractor for the project, Dubaibased TAV Tepe Akfen Investment Construction and Operations will build the complex, including a luxury hotel and serviced residences, in the Burj area of Dubai in 33 months, Damac Properties said in a statement.

This is the largest single contract that Damac Properties has awarded for one of their projects.

UNDERSTANDING Burak Kizilhan says that shared culture is important for an industry dealing with “manpower not computers”.

TURKEY AND QATAR: n 70% increase

in H1 2013 Turkish building and contracting sector

n $11.6 billion

in H1 2013 Total Projects value

n $27.2 billion

Value of projects realised in 2012

n 101

Countries served by Turkish construction

Doha made sense for his firm as it not only gave them access to the three major markets in the region, but also allowed them to set up a base from which they could target other expanding markets, such as Iraq and North Africa.

“We didn’t want to stay only in Turkey, we wanted to take our business outside. We had projects in Kazakhstan, Russia and recently, in Libya. But then we went to Basra City and we began to grow there. We now have $250 million worth of ongoing work in Iraq,” he explains.

“What we did in previous years was that we opened a contact office in Dubai and we did try to manage our relationships. We’re still doing that through our Dubai offices. It is a good base for us, because not only are there Middle Eastern companies (there), but also international companies that are working in the Middle East, they have their bases there. So it’s very easy to communicate and carry on the relationship with these countries, from Dubai.”

So what is that allows Turkish firms to succeed in the GCC? Both Yildiz and Kizilhan have strikingly similar theories on this.

“Actually, everybody asks me this question,” says Kizilhan. “First of all, it’s our culture. That is, Turkish and Middle Eastern culture. That’s important for the construction industry, where you’re dealing with manpower and not with computers,” he explains.

“The most important thing is that we can literally decide in seconds. We don’t deal with a lot of paper, we focus on the construction on the operation. We finish earlier than others and you can see examples of this all across the GCC.” Yildiz points out that Turkey’s biggest natural resource is its pool of young, educated manpower that is ambitious and flexible enough to work in conditions that might phase older, more cautious competition.

“We have a very big body of educated manpower in Turkey, and this competitive environment of construction, and the international expertise gained after the 70s and 80s has taught Turkish firms to be competitive, to be fast and to work with a young organisation. When we brought this experience to the Middle East, it helped and it worked,” he asserts.

“Turkish people are more flexible than Europeans when it comes to tough, difficult conditions. It doesn’t make us afraid. In any part of the world that you go to, in the Middle East, in North Africa, in Mid-Asia, you’ll find Turkish companies and especially Turkish construction companies, because of their challenging, brave approach and their ability to adapt.” n

MASTER DEVELOPERS

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OVERCOMING FEARS

Big Project ME talks a number of master developers in Dubai to find out how the real estate market is going to change in the wake of the awarding of Expo 2020.

Gavin Davids reports

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rior to the announcement that Dubai would be the host city of the World Expo in 2020, the common consensus was that the city’s real estate market would see a significant upswing in terms of valuation and pricing.

While it can be argued that this was always going to be the case, with the market already climbing back up after the collapse in 2008, it’s equally difficult not to say that the Expo will have a major impact on the market.

With hundreds of thousands of jobs expected to be created over the course of the next seven years, across all walks of life, there are going to be a lot of people in Dubai flush with cash

DECEMBER 2013

“LOOK AT THIS MARKET WHEN IT WAS PREMATURE, YOU HAD A LOT OF SPECULATORS, A LOT OF RISK ELEMENTS. TODAY, THE WHOLE SITUATION IS DIFFERENT”

and looking to spend it. This obviously hasn’t gone unnoticed, and already the rumours and whispers about rent increases and property prices have begun. So prevalent were these concerns, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) was compelled to issue a statement warning Dubai’s government to make sure its property market is being driven by ‘fundamental factors’ and not speculation.

“When you begin to see very rapid increases in any asset prices, then you just need to be prepared to act,” says Masood Ahmed, the IMF’s director for the Middle East and North Africa.

With housing prices in the emirate jumping by more than 20% over the last year, perhaps

MASTER DEVELOPERS

“WE ALL TALK ABOUT THE CRISIS IN 2008, BUT JUST AS THE BOOM WAS EXCESSIVE, THE FALL WAS ALSO EXCESSIVE. PRICES FELL FAR BELOW FAIR VALUE BECAUSE OF THE PSYCHOLOGY OF FEAR”

the IMF is right to warn of the risk of another ‘property bubble’ being formed.

Further compounding fears after the Expo announcement was that the massive megaprojects being planned and announced would cause prices to be raised as landlords and developers took advantage of the rekindled interested in the market.

Therefore, Big Project ME thought it would be interesting to hear from master developers themselves to find out how they view the situation and how they intend to react to it.

Kabir Mulchandani, the CEO of SKAI Holdings, is a man who has seen it all, having faced allegations of fraud at the height of the

collapse, to rebuilding his empire with mega property deals worth more than $1 billion. His latest venture is the $1 billion Viceroy Dubai Palm Jumeirah.

He tells Big Project ME that what’s happening with the property market isn’t so much a revival as it is a natural correction.

“Obviously there are many reasons that contributed to the revival, but let’s start with where the problems were. We all talk about the crisis in 2008, but just as the boom was excessive, the fall was also excessive. Prices fell far below fair value because of the psychology of fear. Just as greed tends to add irrational exuberance, the excessive fear caused an excessive depression of

DECEMBER 2013

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FINDING ITS FEET Kabir Mulchandani says that the market has moved towards fair value for all.

prices,” he explains. “I think, between 2010, 2011 and the growth in 2012, the market once again found its feet when people got out of the fear psychosis and we moved towards fair value.”

It’s an interesting school of thought, and one that real estate agents appear to agree with.

According to a Cluttons report, the buoyancy in Dubai’s residential market persisted through the third quarter of this year, with average capital values rising by 8%, following on from the record 23% growth in values in the second quarter.

The latest increase leaves values 25.7% below the Q3 2008 market peak, 47.6% above the bottom of the market in Q2 2009 and 52.3% higher than this time last year.

Meanwhile, the emirate’s rental market has also continued to record positive growth, albeit at a slower pace than that experienced during Q2. In Q3, average residential rental values rose by 3%, following on from the 8.2% increase in Q2.

“Looking forward to the end of the year, with Dubai winning the rights to host the World Expo in 2020, we expect to see heightened investor interest as Dubai’s real estate recovery drives further inward investment, particularly from the GCC region and broader Middle East,” the report explains.

“We have already seen this trend materialise in the results of our 2013/14 International Private Capital Survey, with HNWI from Manama and Muscat favouring Dubai over London as a primary global real estate investment destination.”

Mat Green, head of research and consultancy for the UAE at CBRE Middle East, points out that the last edition of the Expo, held in 2010 in Shanghai, attracted around 73 million visitors, a record for the event.

“The USA pavilion alone attracted over 7.3 million visitors during the six month period, more than Dubai’s total hotel guests during the whole of 2007,” he says in a CBRE report.

“However, according to Chinese Government figures the vast majority of visitors to the Expo

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BIGPROJECTME.COM

ESTATE LIVING Yousuf Kazim says there are changes to the way developers approach projects.

event were Chinese nationals, with only roughly 6% of the estimated 73 million visitors were actually foreign tourists.

“Whilst this is still a significant number of visitors, it does suggest a need for caution in respect of Dubai’s future development plans which must remain anchored to actual supply and demand dynamics, rather than building just for a single event,” he warns.

Mulchandani adds that while Dubai’s growth has been compounded by the UAE recovering as a whole from the slump, he says that a lot it can be attributed to a natural recovery.

“As I said, in some point in 2012, we reach fair value. Now the growth has come in because of the general optimism in the UAE. The real economy, the other sectors besides real estate, are seeing a massive recovery across the board. That’s lead to the recovery in the last one year,” he explains. “(The Expo) is going to have an impact.

It’ll have a real impact on the economy. On a conservative estimate it will create 250,000 fresh jobs. People are optimistically talking about even a half a million jobs or 750,000 jobs.

“Those jobs will lead to demand for residential units, office space, all of that will come in. So there will be a real benefit. I think of course that this will lead to some speculation as the market will have a bump, just on the announcement of the Expo itself.”

This concern over speculation is a common worry amongst real estate experts. However, Yousuf Kazim, the general manager of Jumeirah Golf Estates, another master planned development in Dubai, says that he’s seen a shift

MASTER DEVELOPERS ‘Like’ us on

in the way investors and the government are approaching projects, which will alter the way developers will be doing business.

“I looked into this market a long time and I’ve seen all the cycles. I believe that with RERA and the regulations that have been put in by the Land Department, it’s now really well regulated.

The market is now more mature, the customers are more mature, the developers and the subdevelopers, they’re all more mature.”

“Look at this market when it was premature, you had a lot of speculators, a lot of risk elements.

Today, the whole situation is different. There’s more reality, more realisation of the project. It’s definitely a win-win for the developer, it’s a win for the customer. It’s even a win for the master developer,” he asserts.

“I believe that RERA is doing a great job, and by having a regulated real estate market in Dubai, that will put us in a very good position, and I believe that this is a very important and crucial element in Dubai’s success.” n

INVESTOR INTEREST According to Cluttons, the Expo will encourage inward investment.

SPECIAL FEATURE PREFABRICATION

BIGPROJECTME.COM

PREFABRICATING THE FUTURE

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With construction activity prepared to witness an alltime high in the Middle East, Big Project ME looks at the oft-overlooked construction technique that proponents feel will go a long way in preparing the region for the mega-events of 2020 and 2022

DECEMBER 2013

SPECIAL FEATURE PREFABRICATION

SPEEDY BUILD The 30-storey Broad Sustainable Building in China was built in a mindtwisting 360 hours.

T30 Chinese construction company Broad Sustainable Building (BSB) was globally acknowledged in January 2012 for its construction of a 30-storey hotel in 360 hours in the country’s Hunan Province.

The 17,000sqm hotel, teports claimed, withstood earthquake resistance tests from magnitudes of 7.0-9.0 on the Richter Scale, and works based on the principles of energy conservation to complete air filtration.

standards and deliver within the deadline – this can’t be done traditionally,” Abuagla continues.

Speed, it would seem, is the driving factor behind shifting to pre-engineered products.

“Pre-engineered products are much faster to complete,” says Amr Shahbour, district manager for Dubai and Northern Emirates at Zamil Steel.

“Even a large project (in terms of size) can be completed within a span of four to five months.”

Wastage, Abuagla claims, can be massively reduced through the use of prefab.

“We can install up to 20 pods – this goes a long way in saving the time taken up by construction,” he says. “The supply chain is drastically shortened too, since all products are available with a single manufacturer who will install them for you, as against the need to reach out to multiple suppliers.

“Moreover, since all units are produced in the factory and made to exact specifications, material wastage is significantly reduced.”

Quality remains the deciding factor in the implementation of prefab construction, with the market consensus often leaning towards general disapproval for the method, which is believed to result in low-quality modules due to fasterthan-traditional delivery time periods. Abuagla, however, feels it is to the contrary.

“You cannot compare product quality with time parameters. With Unipods bathrooms, for example, the final output will not compare with traditionally built ones, simply because the processes are so varied.

“We don’t always have the opportunity to check factors, such as waterproofing, on site.

But because all the installed units are factoryproduced, there is the confirmation that each of them is consistent and adheres to client specifications.”

Another derived advantage of the method is the convenience of adjustment. “Maintenance is very easy with pre-engineered structures; say, for instance, steel members in a building,” says Shahbour. “Relocation, extensions, upkeep are all simplified processes when it concerns prefabricated pieces.”

The aim at Shabour’s company is the complete elimination of concrete slabs, which are replaced by steel members to allow for easy modifications.

Abuagla believes the market is gradually opening up to prefab alternatives.

“If I have a client using my product once, chances are good they will return – and they do often. It is undoubtedly difficult to convince and convert those contractors in the region who have

DECEMBER 2013

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A

recent study by EC Harris, titled ‘Middle East Major Construction Programmes: Mitigating the Delivery Risk’ has identified more than 117 projects, worth over $1 trillion, across the GCC region, planned for completion by 2030.

These developments are primarily in the retail, real-estate, leisure, health and education sectors, and will it require 1.2 million additional labourers to deliver these projects between 2014 and 2019.

Some of the noteworthy mega-projects to fall under this bracket include the unified GCC rail network and the infrastructure required by Qatar to host the FIFA World Cup 2022 (and we can now add the Expo 2020 to the list).

Dubai’s need for infrastructure is massive.

Sheikh Ahmed bin Saeed Al Maktoum, head of Dubai’s Supreme Fiscal Committee had, at the Dubai Airshow last month, revealed the emirate would require an investment of $8.1 billion if the city won the bid to host the Expo 2020.

With less than a decade left for Qatar and UAE to host the respective world events that will shape and define their global positions in the future, there is a rising demand for speedy, good-quality infrastructural development in both countries.

This could, potentially, exert pressure on the region’s construction sector, and it becomes essential that traditional construction practices work in conjunction with modern, evolving techniques to fulfil the demand placed on the industry.

Prefabricated construction could fill that gap. Used extensively around the world for decades now, off-site fabrication refers to, as the name suggests, the manufacture of building components at a place away from the actual site of construction – usually, a factory that specialises in the creation of modular systems.

Generally viewed as an effective cost-cutting measure, prefab is now considered to be an ideal option for the creation of units such as bathrooms, hangars, factories, sheds and even fully-furnished buildings.

“I truly believe there will be a time when construction for Expo 2020 and the FIFA World Cup 2022 will have to be sped up,” says Sadig Abuagla of Unipods LLC, a company that specialises in offsite turn-key solutions for bathrooms and kitchens in residential and commercial developments.

“To meet the construction demands as soon as possible, prefab structures will be the preferred choice to ensure quality construction is provided in the given, limited period. To maintain product

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SPECIAL FEATURE PREFABRICATION

been using traditional construction methods for, say, 20 years. We are often asked if this method will help in cost-reduction.

“The onus is on us to educate them about quality, value for money and so on. There are various intangibles involved in the use of prefab – it is hard to put a price on supervision, reduction of wastage and other such factors.

“That is the reason we have so many returning customers. It is a big weight off their shoulders, to have the option of prefabricated products at their disposal, without too many concerns about quality,” Abuagla adds.

Prefabrication is not a recent phenomenon; reports have suggested it was the preferred method of housing during the World War II, and many European countries and the USA have in the past used prefabricated modules for housing and small commercial purposes as well.

Today, prefabricated units are vastly popular across the globe. More than ten residential units were built between 1994 and 2004 in Hong Kong city, for instance.

In 2001, global fast-food joint McDonalds gained attention for the use of prefab technology to build their new outlets, setting a record for an outlet that was built and open for business within 13 hours of starting construction on prepared ground-works.

Prefab structures are also viewed as solid temporary housing solutions for unforeseen situations, proven by their extensive use in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina in USA, 2005.

“The use of prefabricated and pre-engineered products is not restricted just to commercial units like factories, sheds, hangars and so on,” explains Shahbour.

BIGPROJECTME.COM

HURRICANE KATRINA When Hurricane Katrina hit America in August 2005, the state of Louisiana heavily suffered a loss of housing in its famed city, New Orleans.

Over the next couple of weeks and months, prefab housing units were set up for those displaced by the mishap, with government support extending to almost $900mn to set up close to 25,000 mobile and modular homes for the residents. Such was the demand for prefab housing, that, nearly a year later, reports pertaining to the traditional housing market’s decreasing preferability began to emerge.

OPPORTUNITIES Pre-fabrication building has the chance to establish itself as a “green” alternative.

“We have, in the past, provided preengineering solutions for residential complexes and parking lots in Bangladesh. There is surely ample residential scope with prefabricated construction.”

As the UAE moves towards sustainable business practices, prefabricated construction has the chance to claim stakes in what could revolutionise ‘green buildings’ across the region.

Prefab construction centres around the concept of off-site production, which means most units are brought in from factories and only assembled on-site, thus reducing the wastage and energy consumption that is a notable facet of traditional construction.

As Abuagla concludes, “most prefab structures, such as pods, are built from scratch and to exactly given standards. In a way, prefab construction is already an eco-friendly method.” n

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“THERE WILL BE A TIME WHEN CONSTRUCTION FOR EXPO 2020 AND THE FIFA WORLD CUP 2022 WILL HAVE TO BE SPED UP. TO MEET THE CONSTRUCTION DEMANDS AS SOON AS POSSIBLE, PREFAB STRUCTURES WILL BE THE PREFERRED CHOICE”

DECEMBER 2013

TIME & MONEY EASYPANEL

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Helping you make the smartest decisions

EASY DOES IT 54

MIDDLE EAST

Big Project ME speaks to Nazar Shahinian, VP of Business Development at TSSC, about the new EasyPanel wall system DECEMBER 2013

H

arwal Group is a holding company for a diverse group of manufacturing companies spread across the United States, the Middle East and Europe. The group provides high quality products across a range of sectors.

Headquartered in the UAE, the group has an annual conversion capacity of 200,000mt of plastic and 20,000t of aluminium.

Although the Group’s primary business is based on plastic, metal and wood conversion in the building materials industry, it also has a wide range of finished products for some very diverse sectors. One recently launched product

TIME & MONEY EASYPANEL

“EASYPANEL IS LIKE A TRADITIONAL BLOCK WALL, BUT MUCH BETTER” that draws special attention is the ‘EasyPanel’ range of cement walls developed by TSSC, a group company.

Big Project ME spoke to Nazar Shahinian, VP of Business Development at TSSC, to find out just why these panels are so special and how they can assist contractors and developers when it comes to building large scale residential projects.

HOW ARE THESE UNITS BENEFICIAL TO CONTRACTORS OR DEVELOPERS?

With high demand for housing in the region, contractors and developers are looking for ways to build a large number of houses rapidly. Using the conventional block and cement approach to building takes too much time and has proved to be too costly.

As we see it, developers cannot meet the huge market demand for housing using these traditional block walls.

On the other hand, contractors are looking for materials that look, feel and work like traditional block wall. This is where the EasyPanel comes in, as it does it all.

IN TERMS OF PERFORMANCE AND DURABILITY, HOW DO THEY COMPARE TO TRADITIONAL BLOCK WALLS?

HOW MUCH DO THEY COST COMPARED TO TRADITIONALLY CONSTRUCTED UNITS?

When comparing the cost of building a wall using the EasyPanel versus a traditional wall with blocks and cement, the EasyPanel offers a 20-25% savings in building a house.

Furthermore, the savings increase once you factor in the additional cost of plastering both sides of the block wall to make it ready for painting.

But perhaps the greatest savings is in the reduction in time needed to build a finished home. The savings in energy costs attributed to the insulation the EasyPanel offers adds to the cost saving.

HOW CAN THEY BE ADAPTED AND CUSTOMISED TO INDIVIDUAL CONTRACTOR/ DEVELOPER NEEDS?

EasyPanel is a conventional material that can be customised, designed, cut and fabricated by contractors on the job site similar to block walls.

So there isn’t a huge learning curve or hurdle to overcome. EasyPanel makes the building process fast and easy. n

CUSTOMISATION EasyPanel is a conventional material without a huge learning curve, making building fast and easy.

SO WHAT ARE THE OTHER BENEFITS OF THESE PANELS?

Other than the fact that EasyPanel feels like and does pretty much everything a block wall does, perhaps the next most significant performance advantage of the EasyPanel is the insulation

DECEMBER 2013

MIDDLE EAST

EASY DOES IT EasyPanel installs much faster and is more costeffective than traditional block wall.

Traditional walls are made from blocks that are cemented onto each other and then plastered before finishing. This is a slow, inefficient and labour intensive way of building homes. The EasyPanel was designed to overcome all this.

EasyPanel is a solid cement wall panel made of cement board and filled with cement foam making it light enough to be easily carried and installed. It installs faster than traditional block wall, is easy to cut and fabricate, is prefinished and costs less than a traditional block wall.

The EasyPanel wall system was designed to be a new age cement wall to replace the blocks being used throughout the region. It’s just like a traditional block wall but much better.

factor which is vastly superior to block wall.

The impact of this is substantial when it comes to the cost of cooling homes and the cost of the cooling infrastructure to support each home.

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TENDERS

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TOP TENDERS CLIENT North Oil Company (Iraq)

DESCRIPTION Construction of Al Habtoor City comprising three luxury residential towers, including multi-level penthouses, in addition to three hotels, a 1,400-seat Las Vegas-style aqua theatre, three large basement levels, ground and mezzanine levels and a large car park

REGION Iraq

STATUS Current Project

PROJECT NAME: KIRKUK - HADITHA CRUDE OIL PIPELINE PROJECT

BUDGET $500,000,000

DESCRIPTION Construction of a 180-kilometre-long, 40in crude oil pipeline for connecting an oil field to distribution and storage facilities

PROJECT NAME: CAIRO AIRPORT CITY DEVELOPMENT

CLIENT Egyptian Holding Company for PROJECT NAME: AL HABTOOR CITY PROJECT

BUDGET $3,000,000,000 CLIENT Al Habtoor Group LLC (Dubai) REGION Dubai

STATUS New Tender

PROJECT NAME: BAHRAIN - SAUDI ARABIA RAILWAY LINE PROJECT

BUDGET $5,000,000,000

BUDGET $14,000,000,000

STATUS New Tender

in planning stage. The Airport City will include a new trade free zone, cargo village, factories belonging to the civil aviation for packaging and food terminals

Airports & Air Navigation - EHCAAN (Egypt)

REGION Egypt DESCRIPTION This project will be developed next to Cairo International Airport in Egypt and cover an area of up to 10 million sqm.

It is understood that the project is currently

CLIENT Bahrain Government REGION Bahrain DESCRIPTION Construction of a 90-kilometrelong railway line linking Bahrain and Saudi Arabia. This new railway line will form part of the $15.5 billion GCC-wide railway network and help alleviate increasing congestion on the existing King Fahd Causeway linking the two countries

STATUS New Tender

PROJECT NAME: JEDDAH METRO PROJECT

BUDGET $9,300,000,000 CLIENT Jeddah Municipality (Saudi Arabia)

REGION Saudi Arabia DESCRIPTION Construction of Jeddah Metro light rail transit system spanning 108 kilometres comprising three major lines STATUS New Tender

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TENDERS

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PROVIDED BY Tel +9712-6348495 Web www.MiddleEastTenders.com Email sales@MiddleEastTenders.com

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UAE PETROCHEMICALS STORAGE TANK TERMINAL PROJECT PROJECT NUMBER MPP2843-U TERRITORY Northern Emirates CLIENT NAME Middle East Tanking Solutions FZC (Fujairah) CITY Fujairah COUNTRY UAE PHONE (+971-9) 223 5264 FAX (+971-9) 223 5265 EMAIL rpilani@gmail.com WEBSITE www.middleastanks.com DESCRIPTION Engineering, Procurement and Construction (EPC) contract to build a new petrochemicals storage tank terminal.

STATUS New Tender FEED CONSULTANT MUC Oil & Gas Engineering Consultancy (Fujairah) TENDER CATEGORIES Industrial & Special Projects TENDER PRODUCTS Storage

RUWAIS SURGE DRUM PROTECTION & BATTERY LIMIT ESD VALVES PROJECT PROJECT NUMBER WPR051-U TERRITORY Abu Dhabi CLIENT NAME Abu Dhabi Gas

Industries Limited (GASCO) ADDRESS Tower H, Corniche, Near Al Ain Palace Hotel CITY Abu Dhabi POSTAL/ZIP CODE 665 COUNTRY UAE PHONE (+971-2) 603 0000 FAX (+971-2) 603 7414 EMAIL info@gasco.ae WEBSITE www.gasco.ae DESCRIPTION Engineering, Procurement and Construction (EPC) contract for surge drum protection and battery limit ESD valves at a refinery BUDGET $7,000,000 PERIOD 15/05/2015 STATUS Current Project

TENDER CATEGORIES Gas Processing & Distribution, Oilfields & Refineries TENDER PRODUCTS Modification, Repair & Refurbishing Services, Oilfield Supplies & Services, Oilfields Exploration & Development, Valves & Fittings (All Types)

OMAN STEEL PRODUCTION PLANT PROJECT - SOHAR INDUSTRIAL ESTATE PROJECT NUMBER WPR067-O

TERRITORY Oman CLIENT NAME Moon Iron & Steel Company (MISCO) - Oman CITY Bahla 612 POSTAL/ZIP CODE 307 COUNTRY Oman PHONE (+968) 2541 9595 EMAIL support@mesteel.com WEBSITE www.mesteel.com DESCRIPTION Engineering, Procurement and Construction (EPC) contract to build a steel production plant with capacity to manufacture 1.2 million tonnes per annum of steel billets PERIOD 2015 STATUS Current Project MAIN CONTRACTOR SMS Meer

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TENDERS

GmbH (Germany) MAIN CONTRACTOR(2) SMS Concast Italia SpA (Italy) MAIN CONTRACTOR(3) Essar Projects Ltd. (Oman) TENDER CATEGORIES Industrial & Special Projects TENDER PRODUCTS Steel Mills

QATAR KATARA TOWERS PROJECT LUSAIL MARINA DISTRICT PROJECT NUMBER WPR059-Q TERRITORY Qatar CLIENT NAME Katara Hospitality (Qatar) ADDRESS Formerly Qatar National Hotels Company, Katara Hospitality Bldg., C Ring Road CITY Doha POSTAL/ZIP CODE 2977 COUNTRY Qatar PHONE (+974) 4423 7777 FAX (+974) 4427 0707 EMAIL info@katarahospitality. com WEBSITE www.katarahospitality. com DESCRIPTION Construction of Katara Towers comprising a luxurious five-star hotel and a luxury hotel, including branded apartments, consisting a total of (614) rooms PERIOD 2017 STATUS New Tender DESIGN Consultant Kling Consult (Dubai) FOUNDATIONS, ENABLING & PILING CONTRACTOR Al Habtoor Leighton Group W.L.L (Qatar) TENDER CATEGORIES Prestige Buildings, Hotels, Leisure &

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Entertainment TENDER PRODUCTS High-rise Tower, Hotel Construction

INDEPENDENT WATER & POWER PROJECT-4 PROJECT NUMBER MPP2844-Q TERRITORY Qatar CLIENT NAME Qatar General Electricity & Water Corporation (Kahramaa) ADDRESS Corniche Street, Number 61, Sheraton Roundabout, Dafna Area CITY Doha POSTAL/ZIP CODE 41 COUNTRY Qatar PHONE (+974) 4484 5484/ 4484 5555

FAX (+974) 4484 5496 EMAIL contactus@km.com.qa WEBSITE www.km.com.qa DESCRIPTION Engineering, Procurement and Construction (EPC) contract to build an Independent Water & Power Project (IWPP) with power generation capacity of 2,400 megawatts (MW) and 30 million gallons a day CLOSING DATE February 6, 2014 PERIOD 2016 STATUS New Tender TENDER CATEGORIES Power & Alternative Energy, Water Works TENDER PRODUCTS Independent Water & Power Plants (IWPP)

INDEPENDENT WATER PROJECT - RAS LAFFAN INDUSTRIAL CITY PROJECT NUMBER MPP1487-Q TERRITORY Qatar CLIENT NAME Qatar General Electricity & Water Corporation (Kahramaa) ADDRESS Corniche Street, Number 61, Sheraton Roundabout, Dafna Area CITY Doha POSTAL/ZIP CODE 41 COUNTRY Qatar PHONE (+974) 4484 5484/ 4484 5555 FAX (+974) 4484 5496 EMAIL contactus@km.com.qa WEBSITE www.km.com.qa DESCRIPTION Construction of

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DECEMBER 2013

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an Independent Water Project (IWP) using reverse osmosis (RO) technology, with capacity of 45 million gallons a day (g/d) STATUS New Tender TENDER CATEGORIES Water Works TENDER PRODUCTS Independent Water Plants (IWP)

SAUDI ARABIA HOSPITAL CONSTRUCTION PROJECT - AL KHOUD

IRAQ DUHOK INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT PROJECT - PHASE 1

PROJECT NUMBER ZPR360-IQ TERRITORY Iraq CLIENT NAME Civil Aviation Authority (Iraq) ADDRESS Baghdad International Airport, Babylon Terminal, 2nd Floor CITY Baghdad COUNTRY Iraq PHONE (+964-1) 813 2467 / (+964-790) 531 9779 FAX (+964-1) 543 0689 EMAIL ops@iraqcaa.com WEBSITE www.iraqcaa.com DESCRIPTION Construction of an international airport in Duhok with annual capacity of 328,000 passengers - Phase 1 PERIOD 2015 STATUS Current Project DESIGN CONSULTANT Dar Al

Handasah (Shair & Partners) – Iraq DESIGN CONSULTANT 2 Aeroports de Paris - AdP (France) MAIN CONTRACTOR Makyol Construction Industry Tourism & Trading Company (Turkey) MAIN CONTRACTOR 2 Cengiz Holding (Turkey) TENDER CATEGORIES Airport, Construction & Contracting, Roads, Bridges & Infrastructure TENDER PRODUCTS Airports Development & Management

BAGHDAD MONORAIL PROJECT

TERRITORY Iraq CLIENT NAME Baghdad Governorate (Iraq) ADDRESS Near Al Khalani Area CITY Baghdad COUNTRY Iraq PHONE (+964-5) 377 676 / (+964-7) 4002 2618 EMAIL admin@baghdad.gov. iq WEBSITE www.baghdad.gov. iq DESCRIPTION Development of 25-kilometre-long monorail on a viaduct comprising (14) stations in Baghdad BUDGET $1,500,000,000 PERIOD 2018 STATUS Current Project

PROJECT NUMBER MPP2381IQ

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PROJECT NUMBER WPR066-O TERRITORY Saudi Arabia CLIENT NAME Shifa Al Jazeera Medical Group (Saudi Arabia) ADDRESS Batha CITY Riyadh COUNTRY Saudi Arabia PHONE (+966-1) 412 4900 / 412 2455 FAX (+966-1) 409 2028 EMAIL admin@shifaaljazeera. com.sa WEBSITE www.shifaaljazeera. com.sa DESCRIPTION Construction of a super-specialty hospital comprising (100) beds PERIOD 2015 STATUS New Tender TENDER CATEGORIES Construction & Contracting, Medical & Healthcare TENDER PRODUCTS Hospital Construction

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SHOW REPORT THE BIG-5 2013

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BIGGER AND BETTER

Big Project ME was on the ground at the 2013 edition of The Big-5 to find out the prevailing market sentiment ahead of what looks to be a stellar year for the GCC construction industry

F

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ollowing its inauguration by HH Sheikh Hamdan bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Deputy Ruler of Dubai, on 25 November, 2013, The Big-5 show in Dubai kicked off with a bang that saw record crowds flock to the region’s largest construction show.

With a history of more than 33 years in the region, this year’s event has grown by 10% compared to the 2012 edition, with more than 2,500 exhibitors coming together from 65 countries. Organisers estimated that more than 60,000 construction industry professionals were onsite over the course of the four days of the event.

Also opening alongside the event was Middle East Concrete – the largest event for the concrete industry, showcasing concrete products, technical seminars and live product demonstrations – and PMV Live, an interactive event for the plant, machinery and vehicle industry that highlighted the latest in heavy vehicles and related equipment.

“The event continues to grow with each edition and is still considered the region’s most important event for the building and construction industry. This year, The Big-5 once again gave architects, interior designers, contractors, developers and all other construction professionals, access to the full spectrum of products. Our education programme also expanded this year, giving our visitors access to hundreds of free seminars, workshops and

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BEST IN YEARS Uncomfirmed visitor numbers suggest that more people went on the first day than the whole of 2012.

BIG 5 NUMBERS: n 2,500 – estimated

exhibitors this year

n 60,000 – expected visitors

n 65 – countries represented

n 10% – growth in

floor space at this year’s event

SHOW REPORT THE BIG-5 2013

“THIS YEAR, THE BIG-5 ONCE AGAIN GAVE ARCHITECTS, INTERIOR DESIGNERS, CONTRACTORS, DEVELOPERS AND ALL OTHER CONSTRUCTION PROFESSIONALS, ACCESS TO THE FULL SPECTRUM OF PRODUCTS” impact in the wake of the announcement: “The Big-5 is an excellent opportunity for the industry to unite on the eve of the Expo 2020 result announcement. A lot of deals have been signed and the Expo announcement will only further this activity.”

Andy White agreed, adding that this could be seen throughout the exhibition.

“We congratulate Dubai and the UAE on their successful bid. The optimism in the industry has certainly been seen on the show floor. This year has surpassed attendance expectations,” he commented. “Winning the Expo bid was a fantastic way to round off this year’s show.”

Other exhibitors were equally impressed with the turnout at this year’s The Big-5, with Jeff Orme of Thrislington Cubicles, remarked to Big Project ME that his stall had seen a surge in interest as compared to previous years.

“We came here two years ago and we were a bit disappointed with the show. But we don’t come to shows to sell jobs, but for branding and presence, and this year we’ve found that it’s been much busier. People are showing a lot of interest and we think that the market is going in such a way that we’ll benefit very strongly in 2014 and into 2015,” he pointed out.

“We’re already seeing it in other Gulf countries such as Qatar and Saudi Arabia. At the moment we’re doing the King Abdullah Sports City and the Doha Convention Centre, we’re involved in the Heart of Doha, the World Trade Centre in Doha, so we’re building a nice portfolio of projects.”

“We haven’t had that much work in Dubai and Abu Dhabi recently, we did years ago, but we’ve not had as much work recently, but we’re hoping on the back of this show, that over the course of the next 12 months, we see the fruits of that,” Orme added.

CK Raju, research and development manager at Rubber World Industries, was also very enthusiastic about the resurgence of the show, following what many deemed to be a lacklustre 2012 edition.

“It’s been a huge success. You see the number of stalls. People are here from all over the world.

So not only places like China, which is what we’ve seen previously, but also from Turkey,” he asserted. “Last year when I came, I only saw a few, but this time, I’ve seen dozens. That’s a new development. Even from Saudi Arabia, India, Brazil, there are so many stalls that I’ve seen from all over the world. There’s a lot of optimism in the market.” n

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MIDDLE EAST

regulatory updates,” said Andy White, group event director for the show.

One such regulatory update was the presentation by Dubai Municipality about the new Building Code Guidelines. Kamal Azayem, mechanical engineering expert at Dubai Municipality, told seminar goers that there were currently 40 buildings in Dubai that were in line with the new Green Building codes, with two already complete and certified.

Contractors present at the seminar were taken through what they could expect from the codes and given examples of how these were already being put into practice.

The new guidelines will enforce a number of construction and operational specifications that are meant to make buildings more sustainable and efficient, Azayem added.

However, what had everyone talking was the announcement of the Expo 2020, which was awarded to Dubai on the 27 November, on the penultimate day of the show. Quite obviously, exhibitors were optimistic about its impact on the local construction industry and what it would mean for them.

Stefano Iannocone, the managing director of Mapei, said that he expects there to be a positive

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CONSTRUCTIVE CRITICISM

BIGPROJECTME.COM

GAVIN DAVIDS

Pre-Emptive Measures Gavin Davids is optimistic that Dr Ali Salem’s drive to educate his health and safety inspection teams could set the standard for the rest of the GCC

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LATE LAST MONTH, as part of my responsibilities at The Big 5, I attended a panel discussion hosted by Big Project ME’s very own group editor, Stephen White. While the panel discussion centred on the issues of working safely at heights and the training of workers on construction equipment, there were a few topics of discussion that really stood out for me.

We had the director of Occupational Health and Safety at the Ministry of Labour, Dr Ali Salem as part of our panel and he said something very fascinating about how he expects his department to conduct its affairs and duties.

Dr Salem pointed out that he views it as a matter of necessity that his team of inspectors are up to date with all the kit and equipment that are being used on construction sites across the UAE. To this end, he insists that they go on mandatory training courses set up by IPAF, so that they learn – not only what the equipment is used for – but also how it’s erected and disassembled.

Not only does he ensure that his teams do this, but he himself also goes along to these training sessions to make sure that he’s just as up to date as his inspectors.

It’s quite refreshing to see a senior

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government official take such a proactive role and it’s an example that I think more government ministries around the GCC should follow. While I’m sure they’re very good at their jobs, it’s always useful to have first-hand knowledge of the equipment and conditions that workers on the ground are facing.

With Dubai now confirmed as the host of the Expo 2020, the pace of construction is only set to grow and with this comes the number of construction workers on the ground. It’s estimated that the Expo will create something like 277,000 new jobs. I’d imagine that a large section of those jobs would be new labourers brought in to work on the projects that will be announced.

Given the scale of the task that the Ministry of Labour will be facing, I think it’s quite perceptive of Dr Salem to push for his

inspection teams to have a greater awareness of the hazards and challenges that workers will face.

Hopefully, with these pre-emptive measures in place, we could see the number of fatal onsite accidents kept to a minimum. Of course there are things we can’t account for, but with proper planning and training, we’ll be able to prevent incidents such as the recent fire on a construction site on Al Khail road, which saw panicked workers climbing down scaffolding and ropes, while unfortunately one died after he jumped from the third floor.

Traditionally, as we enter a new year, it’s a time for reflections and resolutions, so let’s hope that the Ministry keeps to this one, and that we as an industry do our utmost to help them achieve it.

On that note, I’d like to wish all our readers a Happy New Year and a very prosperous 2014!

It’s been a tremendous year for Big Project ME and personally, I’ve learnt so much from all of you. I hope we’ve repaid that and I look forward to continuing our association in the New Year. n

“WITH DUBAI NOW CONFIRMED AS THE HOST OF THE EXPO 2020, THE PACE OF CONSTRUCTION IS ONLY SET TO GROW AND WITH THIS COMES THE NUMBER OF CONSTRUCTION WORKERS ON THE GROUND.”