Big Project ME February 2014

FEBRUARY 2014

095 ALSO INSIDE HUNGRY FOR POWER SHARJAH AMPHITHEATRE SAVING THE KINGDOM ENERGY CONSULTANTS

PROVE THEM WRONG Yu Tao on why every Middle East project is a fresh start for China State Construction

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16-20 February 2014

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CONTENTS PAGE 20

M MIDDLE EAST

Big Project ME visits the Al Majaz Island Amphitheatre

FEBRUARY 2014 07 THE BIG PICTURE QATAR INVESTMENT AUTHORITY EYES INDIAN MARKET Residential property market to receive $200 million investment

14 IN PROFILE NEW BEGINNINGS CSCECME’s Yu Tao explains why every project is a fresh start for his firm

20 SITE VISIT DEADLINE DRAMA Big Project ME visits the site of Sharjah’s celebrations for its Capital of Islamic Culture 2014 celebrations

22 MAIN FEATURE POWER HUNGRY Big Project ME finds out why PPPs are the way forward for the GCC

30 INDUSTRY FOCUS SETTING NEW STANDARDS Energy consultants outline the impact of the new green building codes

32 COUNTRY FOCUS: SAUDI ARABIA SAVING SAUDI Analysing the new challenges facing the KSA construction industry

38 SPECIAL FEATURE: PAINTS PAINTING PREVENTIVELY Big Project ME looks at how paints can help eliminate health hazards

42 SPECIAL FEATURE: POST TENSIONING STRESSED OUT Is the industry is giving up on post-tensioning for better fire-resistance?

46 TIME & MONEY PRECAST PERFECTION Hard Precast tells us why their precast solutions are the way forward

48 TENDERS MIDDLE EAST TOP TENDERS Listing the Middle East’s biggest construction tenders of the month

54 HAPPENING THIS MONTH MIDDLE EAST ELECTRICITY 2014 Big Project ME previews Middle East Electricity ahead of the show

56 CONSTRUCTIVE CRITICISM WASTE NOT, WANT NOT Gavin Davids says the GCC embracing sustainability is a step forwards

Money can buy the land.

But ambition makes it a landmark.

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EDITOR’S COMMENT

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BIGPROJECTME.COM

Leisure suits The UAE’s hospitality sector has been relatively sluggish compared to other areas of construction activity over the past 18 months, despite quoted figures claiming that 11,000 rooms are under construction in the Emirate.

GROUP CHAIRMAN AND FOUNDER DOMINIC DE SOUSA GROUP CEO NADEEM HOOD GROUP C0O GINA O’HARA MANAGING DIRECTOR RICHARD JUDD PUBLISHING DIRECTOR RAZ ISLAM raz.islam@cpimediagroup.com +971 4 375 5483 EDITORIAL DIRECTOR VIJAYA CHERIAN vijaya.cherian@cpimediagroup.com +971 4 375 5472 EDITORIAL

It will be no surprise to long-time readers that most of the hotels that are underway have been re-starts of older projects.

Indeed, despite the economy of the UAE and Dubai, in particular, rebounding, news of new hotels has been few and far between. The problem, it would seem, has been red tape.

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 ADVERTISING

If Dubai needs hotel beds for 20 million people by 2020 then it is going to have to build a lot more 3-star and 4-star accommodation and thankfully last month saw a range of new measures that will overhaul the way hotels are planned, funded and operated.

Introduced by Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, the measures include the slashing of pre-approval processes to two months. The approval process for planning permission for all hotel establishments in Dubai will also be standardised through the Dubai Municipality. A range of incentives were also introduced, such as exemptions from the 10% Dubai Municipality Fee and, finally, a special committee has been formed to review the re-zoning of plots.

While the news may have passed many by, this approach should be welcomed by the construction industry because Dubai has just produced a blueprint for kick-starting a range of projects beyond hotels and resorts.

Given the limitations of existing infrastructure, the re-zoning should be especially welcomed, as it demonstrates that it is possible to re-think how limited space and resources can be used. Setting aside now unsound plans for buildings is a reassuring sign that past lessons are being learned.

Perhaps the best thing of all is that it has all been developed in co-ordination and collaboration with the private sector.

More of this joined-up thinking, please – it works.

COMMERCIAL DIRECTOR MICHAEL STANSFIELD michael.stansfield@cpimediagroup.com +971 4 375 5497 SENIOR SALES MANAGER YASIN ALVES yasin.alves@cpimediagroup.com +971 4 375 5496 MARKETING 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 DIGITAL SERVICES MANAGER TRISTAN TROY MAAGMA WEB DEVELOPERS JOEL AZCUNA JANICE FULGENCIO PUBLISHED BY

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Stephen White Group Editor

FEBRUARY 2014

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

QIA IN TALKS TO INVEST $200 MILLION INTO INDIAN MARKET

SOVEREIGN WEALTH FUND EYES OPPORTUNITIES IN INDIA’S GROWING RESIDENTIAL REAL ESTATE PROPERTY MARKET, WILL WORK WITH KOTAK MAHINDRA BANK’S REALTY FUND QATAR INVESTMENT AUTHORITY, the sovereign wealth fund of the Gulf state, is in talks to invest $200 million into residential property in India.

According to a Reuters report, the fund is holding conversations with Kotak Realty Fund, run by Kotak Mahindra Bank, which would manage investments on its behalf.

A source close to the deal, who declined to be named because the deal was not finalised, said that Kotak would also make a small investment and that it planned to focus on residential property developments in major cities across India, for QIA. Kotak has declined to comment, the report said, while QIA has not responded to emails or telephone calls.

Sovereign wealth funds and other long term investors are eyeing opportunities in India’s real estate sector, betting on property prices bottoming out after slumping this year on the back of the country’s slowest economic growth in a decade.

House sales in major Indian cities, including Mumbai and Delhi, fell by 22% in the quarter ended September 30.

House prices grew by 9% over the same period, compared with double digit increases in the year ago quarter, data released by property firm, Liases Foras.

Vikram Gandhi, founder of Delhibased VSG Capital Advisers, which has been retained by Canada Pension Plan Investment Board (CPPIB) to seek investment opportunities in the country,

INDIAN SUMMER: n Expected growth across all construction market sectors in India for 2014: 20%

n Estimated real estate demand in India: 2,000mn units

n Multiplier effect on the economy: 1.85 times the assets being created

n Growth potential for construction material in India: 7% to 15%

said the timing to invest in Indian property was ideal.

“If you have a long-term perspective and you believe that the need for capital in a country is quite high, which it is, and the supply is limited right now because people are not investing, then this is the best time to invest,” he said.

In November, CPPIB said it would invest $200 million to buy leased, income-producing office buildings in a joint venture with Indian construction company, Shapoorji Pallonji Group, which will invest $50 million.

QIA’s investment comes after the Abu Dhabi Investment Authority in July also appointed Kotak to invest $200 million in Indian real estate on its behalf, sources told Reuters at the time.

FEBRUARY 2014

MIDDLE EAST

BIG PROJECT ME SPEAKS TO YU TAO ABOUT CHINA STATE CONSTRUCTION’S RISE IN THE REGION – PAGE 14 7

THE BIG PICTURE

bigprojectME.com

Phase I of Union Museum Building Project begins RTA chairman says Phase I to be completed by the middle of 2014

Nakheel evaluates construction bids for The Pointe project 136,000sqm retail and entertainment project set to commence leasing in January 2014 Nakheel, the master developer of the Palm Jumeirah, has announced that it has received construction bids for its 136,000sqm The Pointe project.

Located at the tip of the Palm and opposite the Atlantis, The Pointe is a waterfront retail and entertainment project that will contain restaurants, boutiques and landscaped gardens.

Nakheel has started the evaluation process with the contract due to be awarded within the first quarter of 2014. The contract for ground improvement work at the site was awarded earlier, the developer said.

Ground preparation work included vibrocompaction, topographic survey and factual site investigation, Nakheel said, adding that it was now complete.

Leasing will commence in January 2014, with the project featuring over 200 retail opportunities. In addition, road access work and parking will also be developed.

The Pointe will also be accessible via the Palm monorail system which will soon be connected to the mainland tram system, while water taxis will shuttle visitors across the bay from nearby hotels directly to the mall’s marina.

The project is one of several new Nakheel developments underway at Palm Jumeirah.

Others include Nakheel Mall, The Boardwalk and Palm West Beach.

136,000 square metres Total size of the pointe project on palm jumeirah

Construction works on Phase I of the Union Museum Building Project have begun, the chairman of the Board and executive director of the RTA, has said.

Mattar Al Tayer said that the project will be constructed beside the Union House, which was the location that saw the signing of the constitutional document of the UAE, and the home of the second biggest UAE flag.

“Construction works of Phase I of the Project comprise preparing the site, shifting and protecting

artefacts and exhibits in the onsite buildings, constructing a six-metre high boundary wall, demolishing the aging buildings at site, inspecting and treating the soil, and shifting the utility lines,” he said.

“The construction firm has started site works and Phase I of the project is set for completion by the mid of this year.

Afterwards the RTA will award the contract of the main building of the Museum,” added Al Tayer.

“The Union Museum building consists of five divisions; with the first one highlighting the story of the region and the life patterns of the population in various (desert, coastal and hilly) terrains in the pre-federation era,” he explained further in a statement.

DSI Qatar wins $110m Mall of Qatar MEP contract Contractor will execute installation of all incidental electromechanical works on the mall Dubai’s Drake and Scull has announced that it has won a contract worth $110 million for mechanical, electrical and plumbing work at the Mall of Qatar, which is currently under construction in Doha.

Under the terms of the agreement, DSI Qatar will execute the installation of all incidental electromechanical works on the three-storey mall which will feature a hypermarket, a multiplex, five department stores and at least 20 restaurants.

In addition to the car parking accommodating 7000 cars, the mall will also have its own metro station. DSI Qatar is scheduled to start works on site in the first quarter of 2014 and the project is slated for completion in June 2015.

UrbaCon Trading and Development are the main contractors for the project, which is in the Al Rayyan district of Qatar. The project win is the latest in a series of multi-million commercial and residential project wins for DSI.

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bpme visIts the amphitheatre being built for sharjah’s islamic culture celebrations – Page 20

FEBRUARY 2014

THE BIG PICTURE

VACANT PLOTS BLOCKING HARAMAIN PROJECTS INCREASE

Authority plans to build towers above Union Metro Station Tenders will be released for the construction of the towers, featuring shops, restaurants, offices and residences in partnership with a private company.

“The project is aimed to raise the efficiency and users of mass transit systems through re-planning of districts around the metro stations,” said Mattar Al Tayer, chairman of the board and executive director of the RTA. “It focuses on providing high-class residential and office environment characterised by pedestrian-friendly roads, greens, vital utilities, retail outlets among others.”

The RTA will study transit-oriented communities and adapt to local conditions.

Number of plots blocking KSA rail project increased by 40.6% in last two months VACANT PLOTS BLOCKING the Haramain High Speed Rail project in Saudi Arabia have increased by 40.6% in the last two months, an anonymous source from the Ministry of Transport has revealed.

These plots, whose owners have not yet finalised expropriation procedures, are a part of

the Jawhara Thuwal Plan in north Jeddah, said a report by Arab News.

The rail project will go ahead despite these land issues, continued the source, and the ministry will address the Saudi Railways Organisation (SRO) to invite the owners of these lands for the same, he added.

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THE BIG PICTURE

BIGPROJECTME.COM

ABU DHABI DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORT ANNOUNCES FIRST GREEN ROAD IN ME

VOLUME OF KSA CONSTRUCTION MARKET TO HIT $300BN BY 2015

Five kilometre pilot project expected to begin construction by first quarter of 2015

Chairman of National Contractors Committee says sector is Kingdom’s second largest economic sector after oil

ABU DHABI’S DEPARTMENT of Transport has announced that it is set to begin engineering design for the first green road in the Middle East.

The 5km long pilot project will link the existing Abu Dhabi – Dubai Main Road (E11) and the new Abu Dhabi – Dubai Main Road (E311).

Construction work on the project is expected to begin by the first quarter of 2015.

According to a statement released by the Department of Transport, the project will serve as a benchmark for future-to-be-built roads in the Emirate of Abu Dhabi, as it will support the highest sustainable practices adopted worldwide, such as state-of-the-art technology and solutions to lower carbon emissions, as well as environmentally friendly construction material such as recycled asphalt/concrete aggregates and scrap rubber tires.

The green road project is one of the strategic initiatives undertaken by the DoT to attain the Surface Transport Master Plan (STMP) vision and its priorities by developing world-class and integrated road network that addresses the current and future needs of the Emirate of Abu Dhabi whilst setting an example of environment-friendly projects.

THE VOLUME OF Saudi Arabia’s construction and contractor market is expected hit $300 billion by 2015, the chairman of the National Contractors Committee has said.

Fahd bin Mohammed AlHammadi told the Council of Saudi Chambers that construction was the Kingdom’s second largest economic sector after oil.

In 2012, the sector contributed 16.5% of the gross domestic product compared to the private sector growth of 11.5% and GDP growth of 8.6% in current prices, he explained.

According to an Arab News report, the construction sector’s total assets are valued at $53.32 billion while the value of government contracts awarded in 2013 amounted to nearly $41.86 billion.

“We don’t have the correct figure of disrupted government projects,” Al-Hammadi said.

“We have to differentiate between delayed projects and disrupted projects.”

OMAN CANCELS CONSTRUCTION TENDER FOR RAS AL HADD AIRPORT No reasons given for the cancellation of tender package for terminal building Oman’s Ministry of Transport and Communications has cancelled a tender package for selecting a contractor to construct the terminal building at Ras Al Hadd Airport.

The date for opening the bids was set to be December 9, 2013, but the contracting firms that bought the tender document have been informed that the tender document has been cancelled, a report by local media said.

The ministry, which is overseeing the development of three green-field regional airports and the massive expansion of two international airports, did not give any reasons for cancelling the tender – which has been much delayed.

The report added that it was not known whether the ministry was contemplating a redesign of the terminal building, having already delayed the tender previously for the same reason.

115,000 CONTRACTORS THE NUMBER OF REGISTERED CONTRACTORS IN KSA AT THE END OF 2013

Since the beginning of 2013 to its third quarter, the Finance Ministry sanctioned 1,855 contracts worth $32.06 billion, he added.

“They included 627 contracts for operation, maintenance and cleaning with a total value of $6.46 billion,” Al-Hammadi pointed out, adding that government contracts accounted for 65% of the sector’s activities. The number of registered contractors in the Kingdom reached 115,000 by the end of 2013, the report said.

This figure is 41% less than the figure reached in 2010, when it was 280,000. Amongst them, 3,052 are classified contractors.

The firms licensed to provide contracting and maintenance services reached 3,487, which accounted for 77% of investment licenses in the Kingdom.

Al-Hammadi said that he expected the private sector’s contribution to nonoil GDP to stand at 58.75% in 2013 while estimating actual growth in the sector at 8.11%.

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BIG PROJECT ME LOOKS AT THE STATE OF THE POWER AND WATER INDUSTRIES IN THE GCC – PAGE 24

FEBRUARY 2014

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IN PROFILE YU TAO

FEBRUARY 2014

BIGPROJECTME.COM

IN PROFILE YU TAO

NEW BEGINNINGS

Big Project ME’s Gavin Davids sits down for a chat with Yu Tao, president and CEO of China State Construction Engineering Corporation (Middle East), who explains why China’s largest contractor is set for regional success its subsequent expansion into the GCC region.

By 2005, the company was formally established in Dubai and by 2008, it had ventured into other Emirates and established branches in Abu Dhabi, Sharjah and Ras Al Khaimah. During this time, the company expanded and became a diversified contractor with its own infrastructure and MEP divisions.

“The Palm Jumeirah villa project was a contract that, I believe, allowed us to concentrate – from the beginning – first on the finish,” Tao explains. “The project itself was big, it was so much bigger than any other advertised. So for the first three years, we focused only on the Palm Jumeirah contract. And after three years, we became the first one, or may the only one, to finish a contract with Nakheel (on time). The client spoke highly of our achievement and the ruler of Dubai, HH Sheikh Mohammed himself, visited our company, our projects and spoke about our achievements. The first sentence he told me was that ‘we’d done a great job’, ” he relates during the interview at his offices in JLT. “So we eventually had the breakthrough and it was natural for any company coming to a new market to have a learning curve. It’s a matter

of how we cut (that learning curve) short and ensure that we don’t run off track. That is very critical. Having a good start is important for any contractor in the world.

“Today, as China State, we’re probably the biggest building contractor in the world, but that doesn’t mean that we take projects easily or that we believe that our reputation is there (established) and we don’t need to spend much time on project management. This won’t work,” Tao asserts.

“I’ve been spending a lot of my time not just pursuing clients to award the contract, but also with my colleagues on the day-to-day operations.

I have been chairing operation meetings every month for the last ten years and I know most of the details for each project, so when the client asks me for details, I’m prepared and I know what we’re doing and where we need to improve.”

This approach is set to stand CSCEME in good stead as it steps up its plans for its GCC expansion. All told, the company has been awarded 35 projects (all three divisions included) in the UAE alone. Out of these, 21 have been completed, with 14 on going or kept on hold as per the owner’s request.

“SAUDI ARABIA IS A HUGE NEW MARKET AND MANY OF OUR CHINESE COUNTERPARTS WHO HAVE ALREADY WORKED THERE HAVE TOLD ME THAT IT IS EXTREMELY CHALLENGING, SO WE HAVE TO BE CAUTIOUS”

FEBRUARY 2014

MIDDLE EAST

W

hen you’re part of the third largest construction company in the world and have racked up a total revenue of $81.3 billion (in 2012), it wouldn’t be unreasonable to assume that you’d have a certain amount of swagger when you approach a new market, no matter how competitive it is.

After all, it’s not like China State Construction Engineering Corporation Ltd. is some sort of brash newcomer in the market. Having been established in 1957, the firm has seen its operations reach 27 countries and regions around the world, while it has conducted business in more than a 100. From 1982 to 2011, the corporation’s accumulated contract value stood at $661 billion, while turnover accomplished stood at $380.5 billion.

As staggering as those figures are, they hold almost no significance with Yu Tao, the president and CEO of China State Construction Engineering Corporation (Middle East), when it comes to his operations in the region.

He tells Big Project ME that as he sees it, CSCEC(ME) needs to convince the market of its own worth, irrespective of what its parent company has done over the years.

“It’s very natural. If they don’t know you, even though you have a very big name around the world, they’ll still have many questions to ask. To manage this situation, what we have done is to deliver,” he explains.

The company first started operations in Dubai in 2003, when it won the contract to build the Palm Jumeirah Garden Home Villas Project. The successful completion of that project underpinned its growth in the UAE and

13

IN PROFILE YU TAO

BIGPROJECTME.COM

“MY FEELING IS THAT THE GOOD YEARS ARE COMING. THE REASON I SAY SO IS BECAUSE THE CONFIDENCE IS COMING BACK”

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The project values that have been awarded since the company’s first assignment exceeded $3.2 billion in a time frame of ten years. The contract value of ongoing projects stands at more than $1.63 billion.

Given the wealth of experience under the belt, Tao feels that the time is ripe for CSCEME to expand its operations into the rest of the Middle East, especially given its initial success in the Qatar and Kuwait markets.

“In the region, we have experience in Kuwait, Qatar and Bahrain – where we’ve done two five-

FEBRUARY 2014

ONGOING VALUE China State Construction Engineering Corporation (Middle East) has a contract value of ongoing projects that stands at more than $1.63bn.

star hotels – and of course in the UAE. In these countries, we’re already established and it’s easier for us as our staff more or less understand the culture, the local practices and the network,” he says.

“However, for Saudi Arabia, it’s a huge new market and many of our Chinese counterparts who have already worked there have told me that it is extremely challenging, so we have to be cautious. We don’t want to be making any unnecessary mistakes. To make it successful, I believe you need a very good partnership. This is something I’m always looking for.

“You also need a reasonable project to start with. I use the word reasonable in the way that, as a foreign company, we can go inside – with our partner – and we can digest it. I don’t want to become a hero from the beginning, coming in and trying to declare ‘I’m coming! We’re number one in the world!’ Certain things won’t be good for us and we’re beginners in the market. Even if we’re number one in the world, in Saudi, we’re beginners, so beginners need some sort of ‘baby feed’ to start with,” he points out.

This ‘softly-softly’ approach is set to be extended to the wider Middle East, as Tao reveals that there are plans afoot to expand the reach of the contractor.

“For the last three years, China State Middle East has been the regional headquarters for regional operations. In general, we’re covering the whole operations in the GCC and also part of the other areas, like Iraq. If possible, we’d also like to target places like Turkey and Yemen, basically the whole region.

“We have other focuses, not only Yemen and Iraq, but generally, our main focus is in the GCC region. The UAE is of course our main priority, and we also have a presence in the Kuwait market. We’re building two major bank buildings there; the first is the Central Bank of Kuwait and the second is the National Bank of Kuwait,” he says.

“Kuwait is one of the main markets for us in the GCC. At the same time, we’re looking for opportunity in Saudi Arabia and Qatar. We believe that these two countries has potential.

First of all, the population of Saudi – they have a population of nearly 30 million, which is the biggest in the GCC. We believe that there is certainly demand and also the government is launching a lot of projects - residential, infrastructure, railway, metro. It’s a booming market,” Tao adds.

“But what we’ve observed is that even if it’s a booming market, that doesn’t mean that it’s easy

SKAI’S THE LIMIT China State Construction Engineering Corporation Middle East (CSCECME) has announced a $1bn investment in SKAI Holding’s Viceroy Dubai Palm Jumeirah project, which is the firm’s first Middle Eastern investment in its 61-year history.

CSCEC(ME) is the main contractor for the Viceroy Resort, and has formed a special purpose joint venture, ASSAS, with the Dubai based real estate firm, SKAI Holdings.

Yu Tao, president and CEO, says: “This is CSCEC’s first investment in a development project in the Middle East and marks a significant milestone in our growth in the region.”

“China has witnessed a surge in the number of individuals turning to alternative investments overseas as they look to preserve their wealth in light of its fast-changing economy. Dubai’s strategic location between Asia, Europe and Africa together with its burgeoning real estate sector is set to become a vital area of growth for Chinese investment.”

IN PROFILE YU TAO

BIGPROJECTME.COM

for us to penetrate. You need to be extremely capable to manage the resources and to move in the resources in time for you to deliver the project. It really poses a great challenge to any contractor in the world,” he insists.

The Kuwaiti projects illustrate CSCEME’s range of work, with the contractor working as a steel structure specialist for the National Bank and as a main contractor for the Central Bank.

Another project that is illustrative of the firm’s growing clout in the construction industry is the Midfield Terminal complex in Abu Dhabi, where it is also working as the steel structure specialist.

“It’s one of the most complex steel structure buildings in the world,” Tao says. “So far, it’s been good. We’re doing well and we’re two weeks ahead of schedule.”

He adds that the complexity of the building comes down to its size, with a single span reaching 180 metres, while the combined span is close to 300 metres. Another complication is the design of the building, which he terms as “three dimensional and changing all the time,” which creates complications for the fabrication and installation of the steel structure.

CSCECME is also heavily involved in the MEP area of operations, working on both the Abu Dhabi Midfield Terminal project and Dubai International Airport.

As complicated as these projects are, Tao says that he wouldn’t have it any other way, as he believes that succeeding at these massive, high-profile projects is the best way to cement CSCECME’s reputation and standing in the regional construction market.

“At China State, in general, we look for big projects in the building sector. What we classify as big projects – we’re talking about terminal

FINANCIAL ASSISTANT Yu Tao tells Big Project ME that CSCEC(ME) has recently begun focusing on bringing in project finance, in order to assist developers who are struggling to find the funds to complete their projects.

“Although the GCC countries generally have very high GDP, this doesn’t mean that project finance is not required. Recently we have been talking to a lot of clients, our partners, to provide support for project finance,” Tao says.

“We’re then bringing the project finance from the international banks or major Chinese banks. We facilitate the deals, in a way, to structure the funds provided, from the banking system to the client.”

“At certain times, we also become an investor, we started our investment on the Palm Jumeirah, where we’ve developed the Viceroy Hotel,” he adds.

buildings for airports, major stadiums, megasized hospitals, super-tall high-rises or a large amount of villa or residential developments, that’s the work we’re talking about in the building sector.”

“In the infrastructure sector, what we’re looking for is railways, metros, highways, those types of projects,” he asserts.

And it is these large-scale projects that Tao has in mind as he discusses his outlook for the coming year and the build up to two of the biggest global events in the Middle East’s history, the Expo 2020 in Dubai and the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar.

“My feeling is that the good years are coming.

The reason I say so is because the confidence is coming back. With the World Cup and the Expo coming, the infrastructure must be built up to support these events,” he says, adding that tourism numbers will continue to climb, which means that the tourism industry must be geared up and prepared for them.

“How are we going to line up to benefit from the opportunities? I think first of all, we need to set higher standards for ourselves, to deliver top class projects for clients. In the region, you’ll find that the fiercest competition is the so called ‘low-entry’ business. If there’s some ordinary job, you’ll find 40 to 50 competitors.

It’s only these niche projects which will require very skilful contractors who have the best technical staff and the most experienced project managers, who have the ability to control or put the resources together.”

“In those niche projects, we, as world class contractors, find something in our favour. We find that our service has become value added to the client,” he concludes emphatically.

THE TOP 250 GLOBAL CONTRACTORS

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MIDDLE EAST

“IT’S VERY NATURAL. IF THEY DON’T KNOW YOU, EVEN THOUGH YOU HAVE A VERY BIG NAME AROUND THE WORLD, THEY’LL STILL HAVE MANY QUESTIONS TO ASK”

FEBRUARY 2014

2013 RANK

2012 RANK

COMPANY

2012 TOTAL REVENUE (US$M)

1

2

China Railway Construction Corp. Ltd., Beijing, China

84,642.0

2

1

China Railway Group Ltd., Beijing, China

81,805.7

3

3

China State Construction Eng’g Corp., Beijing, China

81,366.8

4

6

Grupo ACS, Madrid, Spain

50,654.6

5

4

VINCI, Rueil-Malmaison, France

50,338.7

6

5

China Communications Construction Group Ltd., Beijing, China

47,327.3

7

7

HOCHTIEF AG, Essen, Germany

36,452.7

8

8

BOUYGUES, Paris, France

33,885.0

9

9

China Metallurgical Group Corp., Beijing, China

31,522.6

10

10

Bechtel, San Francisco, Calif., USA

29,436.0

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ON SITE AL MAJAZ ISLAND AMPHITHEATRE

Al Majaz Island Amphitheatre

Project Type

Mixed-Use Cultural and Retail landmark

Project Developer

Sharjah Government

Contractor

Emirates Stone Company

MIDDLE EAST

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Project Name

FEBRUARY 2014

BIGPROJECTME.COM

ON SITE AL MAJAZ ISLAND AMPHITHEATRE

TIGHT TIMES Contractors on the Al Majaz Amphitheatre are racing against time to complete the project.

DEADLINE DRAMA

Big Project ME visits the construction site of the 4,500 seat amphitheatre hosting Sharjah’s Capital of Islamic Culture 2014 celebrations. With an opening scheduled for March 2014, the clock is ticking, as Gavin Davids reports “The people will work day and night on the project and we’re trying to push them to finish before the 15th of February, because the other teams will need time to practice their show, and they need to inspect the place and the site.”

Part of a $74.32 million development of the area, the amphitheatre, man-made island and bridges connecting the two to the mainland will all have to be built within 90 days, the chairman of the executive committee for Sharjah’s Islamic Culture Capital organisation, Sheikh Sultan bin Ahmed Al Qasimi says.

“We have discussed with the contractors and they have agreed to deliver the project on time

“THE PEOPLE WILL WORK DAY AND NIGHT ON THE PROJECT AND WE’RE TRYING TO PUSH THEM TO FINISH BEFORE THE 15TH OF FEBRUARY, BECAUSE THE OTHER TEAMS WILL NEED TIME TO PRACTICE THEIR SHOW”

FEBRUARY 2014

MIDDLE EAST

L

ast year, Sharjah was named the Capital of Islamic Culture for 2014 in recognition of its contributions towards ‘preserving, promoting and disseminating culture at local, Arab and Islamic levels’. As a result of being awarded the title, the UAE’s third largest emirate has decided to launch a series of projects to celebrate its momentous achievement.

First amongst these will be the Al Majaz Island project, which will be the official venue of the Sharjah Capital of Islamic Culture 2014 celebrations. At the centre of the $38.1 million artificial island is an open-air amphitheatre, which is set to be the first of its kind in the region.

Early in December 2013, Big Project ME was invited by the Sharjah Media Centre, the implementers of the project, to visit the construction site of the 7,238sqm amphitheatre and its accompanying access bridge, which will link it to Khalid Lagoon Street.

Scheduled to be completed by February 2014, the pressure to complete the project on time is immense, says Saleem Saada, project manager for the Government of Sharjah’s Directorate of Public Works.

“There’s a team that needs time to start (the planning) for the show,” he explains. “The contractor is promising he’ll finish by the 15 February. He’s doing precast moulding in his factory and they’re working full time there. The buildings are, let’s say, 70% ready.

19

ON SITE AL MAJAZ ISLAND AMPHITHEATRE

and with a lot of efficiency,” he is quoted as saying in a local newspaper late last year.

Clearly, time is of the essence and the pressure is on, given that the first show is pencilled in for March 2014. However, if Jawdat Barqawi, Emirates Stone’s general manager is feeling the pressure, he’s hiding it very well.

“We are working 24 hours a day in the factory itself, in order to prepare all the precast elements.

We have also made extended shifts for the design team to prepare the design drawings for the factory,” says the general manager of the firm organising precast works for the amphitheatre.

“On site, we’ve also made them extend the shift work till midnight. That’s the plan as we’ve made it in order to finish on schedule, and hopefully we’ll make it, but I feel the plan may extend by a couple of weeks,” he confides.

“Definitely, when we come to the stage of finishing (on site), we’ll work shifts here to 24 hours. With the manpower that we have here, we can (easily) work two to three shifts to complete the project.”

“We’re used to fast-track projects; we’ve been doing them for 20 years, projects like this. When a job is required to be done in a few months, we plan ourselves to do it. We’ve done similar projects in Kalba and Khorfakkan, which were also done (within a) very short time,” Barqawi reiterates emphatically.

“What we’re doing is working in parallel with design, production and erection. So far, there is work going on in the design office. This is because our project contains more than 1,500 elements.

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MIDDLE EAST

“WE ARE LIMITED BECAUSE OF TIME, BUT THE PRECAST IS FINE, THEY’RE WORKING ACCORDING TO SCHEDULE. THE CHALLENGE NOW FACING EMIRATES STONE IS TO FINISH THIS SIZE OF BUILDING WITHIN A VERY SHORT TIME”

FEBRUARY 2014

The whole project is broken into elements and each element has to be studied in order to not have any problems later, when we erect it,” he points out.

The $32.6 million amphitheatre has been designed in the open-air Roman-style style, and will include several terraced seating areas that can accommodate up to 4,500 spectators.

Furthermore, there will be a centre stage which will be equipped with state-of-the-art audio and lighting systems. In addition, the amphitheatre will have conference rooms and

BIGPROJECTME.COM

galleries, and a number of shops, restaurants and green areas that will surround it from all sides, offering ‘panoramic views’ of the waterfront.

Sheikh Sultan Bin Ahmed Al Qasimi, chairman of Sharjah Media Centre, adds that choosing the design for the amphitheatre was a brief, if intensive, process.

“It was all done in a few days actually,” he tells Big Project ME during the tour of the Al Majaz Island construction site.

“We spoke to His Highness about the show and what we needed to do with a big production

ON SITE AL MAJAZ ISLAND AMPHITHEATRE

ACCESS ALL AREAS Halcrow and Emirates Stone have to work together to ensure both teams had access to the site at all times.

PROJECT SPECIFICATIONS n Total size of amphitheatre: 7,238sqm

n Number of seats available: 4,500

n Cost of amphitheatre: $32.6 million

n Cost of Al Majaz Island: $38.1 million

n Cost of bridge: $3.53 million

n Number of pilings for bridge: 44

n Number of precast elements: 1,500

Group and Al Darwish Engineering, says Saada.

The bridge is set to be another challenge for the project, with Halcrow and its construction team working overtime to ensure that the project is completed on schedule.

Achal Kumar, project manager (bridges) for Halcrow Group Middle East, says that 29 January was the main deadline for the project.

“Everything, the bridge and the access road, needs to be ready by then,” he tells Big Project ME during the visit.

“There will also be a small fountain, which will be ready by the end of February. Basically everything is going to be ready (by March), with the main components ready by the end of January,” Kumar asserts.

“I think the bridge will be done with no problems, we built the causeway early on so that the contractor could go on and build the building, while we’re building the bridge. Both parties are working together.”

FEBRUARY 2014

MIDDLE EAST

in March 2014. We started looking for places and we chose a few places where we had done several shows before.

“But His Highness said that we needed a place that can be a landmark, so to speak. So we looked around and His Highness decided on this area,” Sheikh Sultan explains.

“We wanted to have an open amphitheatre and I think when most people see an open amphitheatre, they link it to Roman architecture; but it’s an open air amphitheatre and we think it’ll be one of the biggest and best in the region.

“With regards to the show, we brought in an expert in the ‘creative areas’ so that if we have another show, we don’t need to do any more work on the theatre; it’s fully ready for anything.”

The contract for the Al Majaz Island project has been awarded to Gulf International Engineering Consultants and Emirates Stones, while the bridge linking the project to the mainland has been awarded to the Halcrow

21

ON SITE AL MAJAZ ISLAND AMPHITHEATRE

BIGPROJECTME.COM

CULTURE CAPITAL Sharjah was named as the Capital of Islamic Culture for 2014 by ministers of culture at an Organisation of Islamic Countries conference that was held in Azerbaijan’s capital city of Baku in 2009.

“The causeway is much wider than the actual bridge, just to give access to the contractor,” he adds, citing it as an example of the cooperation between the parties.

Costing $3.53 million, the bridge has 44 pilings, with depths ranging from 19m for the carriageway to 22m for the piers.

“For the pouring, we have had to use some soil stabilisation,” says Kumar. “The subcontractor for piling, Soiltech, has used stabilising (for the bridge). It is for both vehicles and pedestrians. We have walkways and a seven metre carriageway, with limited, VIP access.”

Expanding on the theme of cooperation, Jawdat Barqawi, explains that there was a need to widen the access point so as to allow access for the precast segments and heavy equipment.

“In the beginning, there was only a small access area to the site. In order to start the work here, we asked for access to the site from Al Darwish Engineering and Halcrow. They made the temporary access that we have here. The site requires heavy equipment, at the beginning we had to excavate the area, we had to push all the heavy equipment to move in, and later we had

Speaking at the time, Abdul Rahman Mohammed al Owais, Minister of Culture, Youth and Community Development, and the head of the UAE delegation, said that the UAE had a strong commitment towards Islamic causes and cultural issues.

He said that the title of Capital of Islamic Culture would provide a boost for Sharjah’s cultural development and came as a tribute to the emirate’s work towards spreading awareness of Islamic culture.

to move with all the precast elements, with all our trailers, which was done using the temporary access,” he explains.

Mousa Mansour, civil engineer and area manager for Emirates Stone, points out that about 30% of the precast work is now complete, while the foundation works has all been finished. However, in contrast to the bridge, he explains that his firm has to approach laying the foundations in a different manner.

“The soil is soft, so we couldn’t do piling,” he says. “So we did what we call ‘strut foundation’.

22

MIDDLE EAST

“WE’RE USED TO FAST-TRACK PROJECTS, WE’VE BEEN DOING THEM FOR 20 YEARS, PROJECTS LIKE THIS, AND SO WE’RE USED TO IT”

FEBRUARY 2014

The bearing capacity for it was very good. We were concerned, at the start of the project, that we would spend more time on piling, so we did the soil investigation and we designed our foundation accordingly,” he adds.

Finally, Saleem Saada says that given the express nature of the project, it has been necessary for the Directorate of Public Works to step in and ensure that the entire process is as smooth as possible.

“We are limited because of time, but the precast is fine, they’re working according to our construction schedule.”

“The challenge now facing Emirates Stone is to finish this size of building within a very short time. It’s almost, you can say, three months from the day they gave the formal order,” he says.

“This of course includes all the MEP work, all the fire safety, and the authorities’ approvals.

We’re helping them get that solution, we’re trying to remove all the obstacles for them.”

24

MIDDLE EAST

SPECIAL FEATURE POWER AND WATER

FEBRUARY 2014

BIGPROJECTME.COM

SPECIAL FEATURE POWER AND WATER

POWER HUNGRY

Big Project ME examines the scope of the Power and Water industry in the GCC and how private public partnerships could be the way forward. Gavin Davids reports necessary steps to ensure their long-term, sustainable growth. Some of these measures include: the introduction of energy-efficiency measures, investing in clean fuel and renewable energy supplies, improving water efficiency and investing in new water desalination capacity.

Big Project ME spoke to a few of the leading experts in the region to find out how these measures could be addressed and what more needs to be done. We also asked, from a construction point of view, how Private Public Partnerships could be beneficial to the completion of projects and their operation.

“If we talk about the GCC over the last ten years, we would see something like 2,000MW to 3,000MW installed every year. The trend has been quite the same and it is expected to increase significantly with Dubai Expo 2020 and with the Qatar World Cup in 2022. These are the two big areas of growth within the region and

FEBRUARY 2014

MIDDLE EAST

O

ver the next decade it is predicted that the GCC will see its population soar by 30% to more than 50 million people, a consequence of the region continuing its strong economic development and growth despite the various financial and political crises that have affected its neighbours.

What this population boom means is that the GCC’s existing supplies of electricity and water will be put under tremendous strain, given that the bulk of them were created for a significantly smaller population and demand. Thus it becomes vital for the region’s governments to face up to these challenges or face significant impacts to the quality of life and prosperity of their people in the decades to come.

According to a report published by the Economist Intelligence Unit entitled: ‘The GCC in 2020: Resources for the Future,’ the region’s governments have already begun taking the

25

SPECIAL FEATURE POWER AND WATER

26

MIDDLE EAST

3,000MW is almost the minimum that you’ll see every year, within the GCC,” says Francois Dao, Industry vice president for Gulf Countries at Schneider Electric.

However, Basseem El Halabi, the group business development director for Metito (Overseas) Ltd, points out that any expectations and predictions for the GCC’s power and water market are fraught with risk given the ever changing nature of the market.

“The problem with the GCC countries is that it’s difficult to tell. Every year you hear about forecasts and requirements and five-year plans and ten-year plans. But so far, I’ve not heard anyone stick to this. It’s always lagging or ahead of what has been publicised or known to the industry, specifically in countries like Saudi Arabia. The UAE is more or less stable, the market or the size of the water sector is known. What is coming up in the market, on the municipal side, is reasonably known,” he tells Big Project ME. “(However) there’s a problem in Kuwait.

Kuwait announces projects and cancels projects (abruptly), so you don’t know where you are in the market. They have their own reasons and that’s the way it is,” El Halabi muses, adding that the most active markets in the water sector are Saudi Arabia, UAE, Kuwait and Qatar, of which the latter is going through a major expansion in its water sector.

A report by Research and Markets, entitled: ‘Power and Water in the GCC: The Struggle to Keep Supplies Ahead of Demand’ claims that the GCC is facing an ‘unprecedented capacity building programme’, with an estimated 60,000MW of new capacity, which represents 80% of current installed capacity, required by 2015.

The report continues to state that desalination capacity will have to double to more than 5,000 million gallons a day to meet projected demand. Furthermore, the actual capacity requirements will be even greater if the planned decommissioning of existing capacity takes place.

It is against this backdrop that the GCC governments have been discussing the need for a region wide power grid that will meet the demands of a growing population, while also alleviating the demands on national grids.

“The GCC grid is a project that started at least five years ago, lines are being built and connected and I know at least two have been connected,” says Dao. “One is between Saudi Arabia and Bahrain and the other is between Saudi Arabia and Qatar.

I am not sure about Saudi Arabia and UAE, which is definitely one of the major connections where

FEBRUARY 2014

power would be exchanged. The UAE has built large power complexes closer to the Saudi border, which is definitely something that was made for it (the power grid), as well as the coming nuclear plants,” he points out.

“I think there is a clear political will amongst the GCC countries to interconnect, for sure.

Mains are being built and I think...I’m not sure about this...but trading agreements in all the various countries are being developed,” he says.

“But it definitely makes sense to connect these all together, to cope with this big demand, by sharing the spare capacity.”

On the water side of things, things are changing as well, with Bassem El Halabi saying that not only is the focus moving away from

BIGPROJECTME.COM

“EVERY YEAR YOU HEAR ABOUT FORECASTS AND REQUIREMENTS AND FIVE YEAR PLANS AND TEN YEAR PLANS. BUT SO FAR, I’VE NOT HEARD ANYONE STICK TO THIS”

SPECIAL FEATURE POWER AND WATER

WATER FOR ALL The GCC is looking at recycling of wastewater as an alternative source for providing water to the region.

Re-Sewerage Implementation Strategy (IDRIS), which is a master plan for the whole of the waste water treatment sector for Qatar. It involves huge pumping stations and they’re talking about tunnels for the future. So it’s clear that they’re quite active in waste water,” El Halabi asserts.

“It’s mostly about recycling water now,” he adds, pointing out that Qatar has the most stringent discharge requirements amongst the GCC countries, with even brine discharge into the sea not allowed.

“They’re now looking at how to treat brine rather than discharge it into the sea, even though it’s not a pollutant. So yes, it’s mostly wastewater and mostly about recycling. Thoughts are now going towards injection, where they treat the

wastewater and then inject it into the aquifer for future use. Qatar is a bit far ahead of everyone in the Gulf in that regard.”

“Water sources in the Gulf are scarce, it’s a semi-arid zone. We can’t rely on these resources, and they have to look at renewable resources, there’s no other way. Building desalination plants may not be sustainable in the future. You cannot build plants that will eventually have an effect on the marine environment. Whether it’s salty water or if you’re building thermal plants, you maybe discharging high temperature brine, in which case it may affect the marine environment,” El Halabi says.

“The whole idea is to have a sustainable resource and this is why they’re promoting

FEBRUARY 2014

MIDDLE EAST

generating potable water through desalination, but GCC governments are seriously considering pushing through wastewater treatment and recycling policies.

“We’re mostly in the wastewater phase, what is coming onto the market, apart from IWPPs and IPPs, is mostly waste water. In Qatar for example, there are several projects under prequalification for bidding. You have, for example, the Al Dhakhira plant, which is one of the major package plants. It’s being retendered on the basis of a major plant. This is for wastewater,” he explains further.

“You then have the Industrial City and Al Shamal, this is again wastewater. And then you have the ‘Master Plan’, which is called Inner Doha

27

SPECIAL FEATURE POWER AND WATER

recycled wastewater. You must rely more and more on recycled water rather than building desalination plants because firstly it’s cheaper and secondly the resource is there, so rather than wasting it, make use of it.”

Someone who is in absolute support of building water treatment plants and recycling plants is Nick Carter, director general of the Regulation and Supervision Bureau in Abu Dhabi. He points out that Abu Dhabi’s desalination capacity stands at 950 Million Imperial Gallons a Day (MIGD).

Carter says that part of RSB’s plans are to cap the amount of water that is being produced by encouraging the use of recycled water and ensuring it’s used more efficiently. Using water twice has a strong impact on the amount of water produced at the beginning of the supply chain, he says.

Speaking during a panel discussion at the Power + Water Leaders Forum 2013 in Abu Dhabi, which was held in November, he and other experts – Carl Sheldon, CEO of Abu Dhabi National Energy Company (TAQA) and Ali Al Barrack, president and CEO of Saudi Electric Company (SEC) – agreed that the privatisation of the utilities sector had been instrumental in meeting current demand, but that the system bred by this success is proving to be unwieldy in terms of meeting future demand.

“The load for power is much more seasonal than the load for water,” explains Sheldon. “In Abu Dhabi, all the power plants are combined cycle gas turbines with desalination attached.

This configuration forces us to run our plants part load during the winter because you need the water, but that’s also very inefficient.”

With Abu Dhabi planning to bring on line a couple of nuclear power plants, it is expected that 4,000MW would run as the base load, which Sheldon believes will assist with reducing the existing inefficiency.

“The idea then will be to build near to the water load, and powered with electricity generated by the nuclear plants so that the inefficiency associated with gas-fired plants

NUCLEAR LEADER Bassem El Halabi says KSA is leading research into using nuclear power to desalinate water.

producing all the water is eliminated,” he explained during the panel discussion.

Bassem El Halabi tells Big Project ME that this approach could be quite feasible, with the King Abdullah Centre for Atomic Research leading the research into building a nuclear power plant and using it to desalinate water.

“Each country is starting to look at its own options, what is feasible or viable to their specific country. Saudi Arabia has the resources, but it’s a matter of demonstrating that they own the technology and that they can develop it. For example, they’ve built the first solar desalination plant. That’s now producing 30,000m3. Other countries are now considering that, Abu Dhabi is considering a solar desalination plant and I think Masdar is leading the way with technologies for renewable resources in that sector.”

However, what both Francios Dao and El Halabi agree on is that there needs to be greater involvement with the private sector. For El Halabi,

28

MIDDLE EAST

“THE PROBLEM WITH THE GCC COUNTRIES IS THAT IT’S DIFFICULT TO TELL. EVERY YEAR YOU HEAR ABOUT FORECASTS AND REQUIREMENTS AND FIVE YEAR PLANS AND TEN YEAR PLANS. BUT SO FAR, I’VE NOT HEARD ANYONE STICK TO THIS”

FEBRUARY 2014

BIGPROJECTME.COM

the reasoning is simple. There’s an opportunity for money to be made here and private companies are hungry to take advantage of the gap in the market. By allowing them to do so, he believes that the governments of the GCC can free up resources to go to other, more necessary areas.

“What they need to do is involve the private sector more, the (government) money could be better spent on better needs for the people, like education and healthcare, rather than spending on water. They (the governments) could involve the private sector more because it’s hungry for this type of business in all the GCC countries,” he points out enthusiastically.

“You can see this interest in the Al Zur plant in Kuwait, which was recently signed, Saudi Arabia is also tendering a project now, an independent power plant – Rabigh II – and they’re tendering, or will be tendering Duba I and Duba II. That means that there is a private entity involved in that as well, so governments are becoming a bit more open towards the idea of private investments, but they need to do a bit more.”

Francois Dao adds that the model for developing all these power and water projects in the GCC were based on PPP schemes, typically with build and operate contracts running for up to 15 years.

“They started the GCC PPP scheme something like 15 years ago,” he tells Big Project ME. “Abu Dhabi is definitely the reference in the GCC for these things and till now financing has never been a big issue. Even when there was the crisis, during the Gulf Wars and during the financial crisis, a project would manage to get closed.

Definitely it would be at high costs and would take a little bit more time, but they definitely managed to close it.”

El Halabi adds that the necessary framework for PPPs now exists, but it’s now a matter of governments expanding their scope towards the water sector as well.

“The legalities are there, so as I said earlier, private investors are hungry, they’re aware that this is a good business for them. So yes, the interest is there, we can see it every time a project is tendered. We see the number of companies and consortiums involved, from all over the world,” he says.

“If there was an issue, you wouldn’t find these people interested in bidding. It means that they feel safe and that the legal framework is there and they will be getting the returns on their money.

It’s just a matter of the governments being a bit more open towards the idea of investments in the water sector, not just power.”

Project Qatar, stand no Y-33, May 6-9, 2013.

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ENERGY CONSULTANTS

BIGPROJECTME.COM

SETTING NEW STANDARDS Big Project ME talks to energy consultants about how the introduction of green building codes has changed the way buildings are being designed and built

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MIDDLE EAST

ith Dubai’s Green Building Code introduced in January, there has been a significant shift in the way developers have approached their construction projects in the Emirates.

Whereas previously developers, consultants and contractors would look at the bottom line and aim to get the best price, the introduction of the comprehensive green building codes in Dubai and Abu Dhabi means that they have to be more selective about the materials they choose.

FEBRUARY 2014

Nowhere is this more evident than in the selection of energy efficient materials, with standards such as LEED and Estidama now providing stringent guidelines that must be adhered to, as Mark Grogan, contracts and QS manager at KEO Consultants explains.

“Due to Estidama, Dubai’s Green Building Code, GSAS and LEED standards’ requirements, the consultants have to make projections, at concept design, on the energy and water characteristics of the buildings to comply with

the required environmental and sustainability targets,” he tells Big Project ME. “In order to allow flexibility on the architectural design development, there is not an actual ‘golden solution’ for all buildings; for this reason, KEO is always proactive on its design approach to minimise overall construction cost while achieving the highest environmental standards,” Grogan adds.

“For example, if the correct building envelope specifications are not integrated into the design

ENERGY CONSULTANTS

correctly and appropriately, expensive add-on sustainable technologies may be required to achieve the required Estidama’s Pearls, GSAS Star’s and LEED Certification standard,” he warns.

This approach is echoed by William Whistler, managing director of Green Building Solutions, an energy consultant that specialises in the building envelope.

“The key is inspections during construction,” he says. “The reasons why buildings leak is usually very small stuff (problems). It’s usually

not about the façade; façade engineers are very smart people who design these beautiful things that can withstand cyclone conditions. It’s about putting them together. It’s the gaps, it’s the joints and the shafts, the penetrations (into the building). It’s very simple things like that,” he explains during an interview with Big Project ME. Grogan adds that during the design phase, it is vital that energy consultants, in order to minimise energy consumption results, offer inputs about the selection of the entire façade system to ensure a cost-effective solution in terms of capital cost and life-cycle costing.

Convincing their clients of the value of life-cycle costing is an issue that a number of energy consultants face, given that the traditional attitude of developers in the region has been ‘build to sell’ with the aim of maximising profits.

However, this could be about to change, thanks to the introduction of the green building codes and standards.

“It’s becoming more frequent now,” says Grogan. “Clients are requesting that design achieves the environmental and sustainability standards of Estidama, LEED and GSAS. “As all of the standards focus heavily on energy efficiency, the industry is moving more towards higher targets during the design.

“Contractors are starting to understand such design obligations and there is an increased interest by informed contractors about good construction practices to achieve them.”

Although he agrees with this change, Whistler points out that it’s not as clear cut as it appears, citing his own personal experience to illustrate his point.

“The clients that come to my company are those looking to build a quality building,” he says.

“Now there are plenty of people out there that say, ‘oh I just need this test’. They’re not looking for inspections, they just want the test (to show they’re meeting standards). And guess what, 99% of them will fail.

“It’s like taking a course; if you don’t pay attention all year long, if you try to cram it all in at the end, you’re not going to pass.

“That’s the equivalent of putting silicon everywhere. By then, it’s way too late,” he adds.

However, both Grogan and Whistler remain very optimistic about the future of green building in the country and the role that energy consultants can play in the construction industry.

Comparing it to the USA, Whistler says the most promising thing for the UAE is that the federal government has pushed through these reforms and that there is going to be a uniform

approach going forward, with the governments of Abu Dhabi and Dubai leading the way towards green building.

“It’s a lot closer than most of the world. I’m not kidding. This place, I love that almost every third day that I pick up the newspaper, there’s something about green, renewable, saving energy projects and regulations. This place has a goal,” he enthuses.

“I come from the United States of America, which is completely haphazard at the moment.

You have 50 states, with a loose federal organisation and there isn’t a uniform approach.

In some states, such as Washington, Colorado and California, the regulations are well underway; but go to West Virginia, where they mine coal and they don’t even want to talk to you (about sustainability),” he relates.

Grogan adds that with regular conferences being held about sustainability and water efficiency, information is spreading through the GCC and clients are starting to respond.

“There are sufficient mandated regulations here that now exist for the design of energy efficient buildings. Design teams are designing energy efficient buildings based on the current codes,” he says.

“Appropriate and adequate construction supervision can ensure that the energy-efficiency design inclusions are actually constructed and fully commissioned. Qatar has also made progress with their minimum standards. Other GCC countries show signs of also enhancing their regulatory environment to mandate energy efficient designs,” Grogan concludes.

“THE REASONS WHY BUILDINGS LEAK IS USUALLY VERY SMALL PROBLEMS. IT’S NOT ABOUT THE FAÇADE. IT’S ABOUT PUTTING THEM TOGETHER. IT’S THE GAPS, IT’S THE JOINTS AND THE SHAFTS, THE PENETRATIONS (INTO THE BUILDING). IT’S VERY SIMPLE THINGS LIKE THAT”

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MIDDLE EAST

THE JUGGLING GAME Contractors have learnt to be ‘fair and balanced’ in their pricing, cost control and planning.

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MARKET REVIEW SAUDI ARABIA

BIGPROJECTME.COM

VISA ISSUES Contractors have said that the new laws have changed the dynamics of the Saudi construction industry.

SAVING SAUDI 32

MIDDLE EAST

Following a depletion of traditionally-abundant manpower in its construction market, Big Project ME’s Neha Bhatia explores the new challenges of contracting in Saudi Arabia.

FEBRUARY 2014

MARKET REVIEW SAUDI ARABIA

“

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MIDDLE EAST

VISAS! VISAS! VISAS!” is Raji Daou’s exasperated reply when asked about the challenges faced by Saudi Arabia’s construction sector. Daou is the deputy general manager at Emeco General Contractors, a multi-divisional construction company.

“Visas are a rare commodity,” he says. “The new law has changed the dynamics of the contracting industry and has flushed out the weaker companies. Any company now with visas is definitely in a very strong position.”

Daou’s views encapsulate the current state of construction in the Kingdom. The GCC’s largest construction market with nearly $81 billion in contracts under construction as per a study by MEED, the Kingdom’s strong position is also validated in global economies owing to the country’s bountiful oil coffers.

Local Saudi newspaper Arab News recently published a report saying the value of KSA’s construction market could reach up to $300 billion in 2016. According to Mohamed Al-Husaini, CEO of Dhahran International Exhibition Company, the construction sector’s contribution to the GDP in 2012 was 16.5%, second only to the oil sector.

Saudi Arabia has inexhaustible manpower and deep pockets – construction is a natural orientation. Nevertheless, even the world’s 13th largest country is naturally prone to facing drawbacks and challenges in its conduct of industry, as is best evidenced by its recent labour losses and ensuing contractor disputes.

Most of the stoppage in Saudi’s construction market is due to the latter – in their decisionmaking role, contractors play a pivotal role in construction activities across the GCC. Given the competitive nature of supply and the developing markets in the region, those with the most manpower and best materials survived and flourished – this was, until recently, the Kingdom’s trump card.

Numerous local and international reports have highlighted the causalities associated with the influx of illegal labour, nationals’ unemployment, foreign workforces and labour exploitation in Saudi Arabia over the years. An IMF report published in July 2013 explained the heavy reliance between foreign labour and the country’s private sector: “Easy access to low-wage, low-skilled foreign labour has meant that sectors such as wholesale and retail trade, personal services, transport, and construction have been the main engines of private sector growth. These sectors have not contributed to increased Saudi employment.”

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MARKET REVIEW SAUDI ARABIA

The government has, over the last few years, implemented a two-pronged approach to increasing Saudi representation in the country’s workforce – cleansing the country’s employment market of illegal immigrant workers (essentially the pool of ‘cheap labour’ in the market), and raising compulsory quotas for the ratio of local Saudis in the country’s private sector.

The Nitaqat scheme, launched in 2011 by the Ministry of Labour was a measure to ease exactly these concerns. Part of the country’s Saudisation drive, the policy involves the division of the country’s private firms across four categories based on the share of Saudis in the companies vis-á-vis total number of employees in the same.

Incentives or penalties are then handed out based on the category a company falls under.

Welcomed by scores of unemployed Saudi youth in the country, Nitaqat’s enforcement – and its impacts on construction activity – gained considerable flak through 2013 from the construction sector - private and governmental alike. In November 2012, Raed Al Oqabli, the

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BETTER SECURITY Experts have called for a solution to be found to the issue of illegal immigration.

FEBRUARY 2014

BIGPROJECTME.COM

“VISAS ARE A RARE COMMODITY. ANY COMPANY NOW WITH VISAS IS DEFINITELY IN A VERY STRONG POSITION”

deputy chairman of the Contractors Committee at Jeddah Chamber of Commerce and Industry had warned that the ministry’s decision could have a negative impact on the economy.

“About 90% of the one million workers in the contracting sector are foreigners. This is because most Saudis are not willing to undertake jobs offered by contracting companies as they have to work under difficult conditions,” he told local media at the time.

“This decision is going to affect all contracting companies in the Kingdom as there is no company that has an equal number of Saudi workers to foreign workers,” Oqabli cautioned.

True to his predictions, reports emerged late last year suggesting the contractors committee within the government was unhappy with the Nitaqat laws, which were now hindering their working-pace and completion schedules – reports say nearly half of the country’s certified 200,000 contractors shut shop in 2013.

Fahd Al Hammadi, chairman of the National Contractors’ Commission at the Saudi Chambers Council also claimed the country’s construction sector is suffering with stalled projects worth over $267 billion as of late last year.

“Large firms have no problems regarding foreign labour,” Hammadi told Saudi daily Al Hayat in November 2013.

“But the medium and small companies have started to suffer. Nearly 40% of them have suspended operations while all tiny firms have stopped,” he added.

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MARKET REVIEW SAUDI ARABIA

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NEGATIVE IMPACT The Contractors Committee has long warned about the damaging impact the Nitaqat programme could have on the industry.

“MOST SAUDIS ARE NOT WILLING TO UNDERTAKE JOBS OFFERED BY CONTRACTING COMPANIES AS THEY HAVE TO WORK UNDER DIFFICULT CONDITIONS”

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Unsurprisingly, industry giants from within the Saudi market, who wished to remain anonymous, told Big Project ME that the loss of labour has not affected them in any way.

“Construction is continuing as per schedule,” said a site officer who handles operations for a Saudi construction powerhouse. “Slowdown in operations is only up to 15%, which is a fairly negligible rate.

“Working with sub-contractors here will always lead to failure,” he quips.

This is not the first time doubts have been raised regarding the integrity of contractors in Saudi Arabia. A Saudi Gazette report in March 2012 claimed homeowners were “cheated by building contractors who use sub-standard roofing and waterproofing materials in construction to cut costs”.

“In this country, either the consultant or the contractor sacrifices quality for nominal savings in prices, thereby shortening the lifecycle of buildings,” Syed Abdallah Rizvi, president of Bitumat International Roofing Academy had said as per the report.

FEBRUARY 2014

Rizvi further added that ‘such cheating is often done by short-term contractors and consultants who leave the country after completing their construction work’.

Ammar Al Asam, executive director of Dewan Architects & Engineers believes the standardisation levels in Saudi’s construction also need an adequate level of governmental involvement, much like UAE’s.

“Countries as fragmented as Saudi Arabia require regulation. Construction in the Kingdom does not function under a centralised body, and each region has the freedom to operate with its own methods.

“To a large extent, construction in Saudi Arabia is the developer’s responsibility after relevant approvals have been procured, but there is no quality control on construction per se,” he adds. “It is largely the landowners’ choice whether they want to spend for a quality product or not.”

Explicably, then, the eradication of transient construction professionals became a priority for the Kingdom, which was also suffering in

remittances sent abroad besides employment opportunities and industry standards.

“Saudi has had illegal immigrants for generations and it’s a problem they need to resolve,” says Al Asam. “The country needed a programme to find solutions for the many immigrants who either illegally enter the country or stay back following the pilgrimage (Hajj).

“It is their right to insure themselves against a skewed demographic and potential threats to the country’s safety & security.”

Al Asam further elaborates on the need for Saudisation: “It will continue to affect the market in the short term; its resultant labour gaps need to be filled, and the government will have to consider the creation of a system that allows for ease of visa procurement for expats to work in the construction market, mostly for on-site work.

“However, the programme itself is about allowing the young population of Saudi Arabia to enter the market, and in the long run, should focus on education and income generation for those willing to work in the region,” Al Asam adds.

Despite the hurdles – perceived or real – in the Saudi construction sector, the need for infrastructure building in the country is undeniably large, and reduced foreign expertise in its projects could prove detrimental to the quality of its projects. Colin Morris, location leader for Saudi Arabia at EC Harris predicts a lack of expat accommodation could lead to a potential brain-drain as activity picks up in other Middle Eastern and Asian markets.

As the country seeks to move away from its oildependent economy towards a more diversified model, work on the ongoing rail and mining projects will escalate at an unprecedented rate.

“The need for infrastructure in the country is huge and can’t be estimated,” says Daou.

“Saudi Arabia is building to fulfil its current requirements in all sectors, whether commercial, industrial or residential. “The construction boom here is unstoppable.”

In a region of rapid rail development and major world events to look forward to in the next half-decade-odd, Saudi Arabia can safely presume it will retain its position as the market leader for construction activities in the GCC - by virtue of its size, economy or reserves.

Awaiting a break-even when the ratio between local and expat labourers reaches a sustainable and equitable point, Saudi Arabia and its many construction players – wealthy developers, government-owned companies and contractor alliances alike – have a fruitful year, if not decade, of massive nation-building to prepare for.

PAINT MANUFACTURERS

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PAINTING PREVENTIVELY

Paints manufacturers tell Big Project ME how their products can eliminate health hazards in populated regions. Neha Bhatia reports

D

ubai last month announced a new set of 79 regulations which will make up the Green Building Code endorsed by the Dubai Municipality. The latest attempt towards sustainability has received unanimous appreciation from across the country’s construction industry, and all eyes will now be on the various supplying components in the market – particularly, their ability to adapt to the new directives.

Paint manufacturers, though, it would seem, are already ahead in the race towards achieving their ‘green’ goals.

“Paint is one of the oldest construction materials,” says Syed Ameer Hamza Hasan,

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“THE NEED IS HIGH FOR A PAINT THAT LIVES AND THINKS. FOR INSTANCE, LOCATIONS SUCH AS DUBAI MALL REQUIRE PAINTS WITH EVOLVED CHARACTERISTICS TO ENSURE THE HIGH TRAFFIC DOES NOT PROMOTE SPREAD OF DISEASES”

FEBRUARY 2014

CEO of Kansai Paint ME. “It is a medium of communication and expression for the endusers, but essentially it’s been intertwined with life itself,” he adds, referencing the protective aspect of paints, which come into play during the lifecycle of a building.

Broadly speaking, three codes regulate the specifications and processes for paint products in the region.

Besides the extensive LEED and Estidama ratings, manufacturers often also work within the framework of the Master Painters Institute, an international body dedicated to accrediting and educating the global construction market about the paints industry.

At least two local and multiple international companies in UAE are household names, and their share in the regional market is large.

“The country’s market alone is worth 75 million litres per annum,” says Laurence Brown, the country manager for Hempel Paints Emirates.

“Our architectural and concrete coatings account for 5-6% of the current market share,” he adds.

PAINT MANUFACTURERS

FIGHTING THE FLU When bird flu hit Japan in 2003, the government sent out an SOS to the many industries in the tech-intelligent country.

LAURENCE BROWN, COUNTRY MANAGER, HEMPEL PAINTS EMIRATES “It is our policy as a company to ensure all our products are ‘zero-lead’.”

Kansai Paint, a homegrown Japanese paints manufacturer developed a product that eliminated the bird flu virus when it came into contact with surfaces and air supply in the room.

“The product was even accredited by the government,” Hasan beams.

process pertaining to the choice of paints.

Contractors, often in a bid to cut costs, may compromise on the functionalities and safety aspects of their buy – as might a layman customer. Hasan identifies this as scope for governmental activities to promote better construction practices.

“UAE is a thriving country on its road to bigger achievements in the next few years.

However, most global governments or national systems are typically not organised to realise the cost of expensive, multi-functional building products as a prevented loss of manpower or medication,” he says.

“Showing the construction industry and end-users the bigger picture through education is definitely something the government can undertake in the future,” Hasan adds.

The paints industry is an oft-forgotten one in the myriad of construction elements – its quality is an expense best calculated as profiting longevity or deteriorating health standards. As technology evolves to develop functionalities like temperature-reduction, bacteria-resistance and fire-safety, UAE’s market for paints will evolve into a critical one for the construction industry.

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MIDDLE EAST

75 million litres is a substantial number in a country that is rapidly moving towards glass façades, and paint manufacturers are now focusing on – much like their glass counterparts – increasing the functionalities of their products.

“Global companies are leading innovation in paints,” explains Hasan, “not only with a sense of altruism – although there are such companies too – but mostly to create a sense of brand differentiation.

“Therefore, the trend now is towards sustainability – vegetable-based resins have replaced oil-based ones, and there is a reduction, if not total elimination of solvents in products to avoid their associated fumes.”

Hasan’s point is a valid one – indoor paints, for all their advantages of economy, decoration and flexibility, are questionable for sensitive audiences, such as schools and hospitals.

“In schools, for instance, there are greater pollution levels due to the increased number of children, and the propensity to get infected is higher,” says Hasan.

“Unfortunately, most people (developers/ contractors) don’t use anti-bacterial paints in schools, despite the fact that high quality antibacterial paints are known to reduce bacterial elements by 99.99%!”

Brown lists the primary ingredients that go into the creation of audience-friendly paints.

“The two most important requirements from paints common across all rating and building codes are the use of non-toxic raw materials for production, and low rates of volatile organic content (VOC) in the final product.

“It is also our policy as a company to ensure all our products are ‘zero-lead’”, he adds, referring to the elimination of lead as a raw material to reduce the toxicity of applied paint.

While municipal codes govern the specifications of a product, competition ensures continuous research and development is undertaken to promote market share.

Returning to his argument about altruistic practices, Hasan adds, “augmenting the existing functionalities of paints has become essential, especially in countries like UAE where high footfall is a commonality.

“The need is high for a paint that lives and thinks. For instance, locations such as Dubai Mall require paints with evolved characteristics to ensure the high traffic does not promote spread of diseases.”

Undeniably then, the role of the government becomes crucial in the decision-making

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Al Garawi Group

Al Garawi Galleria, Al Orouba-King Fahad Highway Junction Olaya P.O. Box 41122, Riyadh 11521, Saudi Arabia Tel.+966 1 4196096 / 4195058 Fax. +966 1 4196101 / 4196103 email:algarawigroup@saudi.net.sa / www.algarawigroup.com

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P.O. Box: 17301, Jebel Ali, Dubai, U.A.E. Tel.: +971 4 881 8821 Fax: +971 4 8818944, Showroom: Al Kwakeb Building, (B-Block) Sheikh Zayed Road, P.O. Box: 2904, Dubai, U.A.E Tel.: +971 4 343 7400 / 343 7500 Fax: +971 4 3437600 email:medcodxb@emirates.net.ae

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SPECIAL FEATURE POST-TENSIONING

FEBRUARY 2014

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SPECIAL FEATURE POST-TENSIONING

FIRE WORRIES Post tensioning experts have expressed concerns about the fire-safety of post-tensioned slabs of concrete.

STRESSED OUT?

Big Project ME asks if the industry is giving up on posttensioning for better fire-resistance

E

arlier this year, Dubai Municipality announced that it would permit restoration work to be undertaken at Tamweel Tower in Jumeirah Lakes Towers. The building was completely gutted in November 2012, and eyewitnesses had claimed the fire raged on for at least two hours before it was entirely doused.

Various reports in local media at the time claimed the fire – which started on the building’s upper floors – only spread downwards into the apartments and parked cars due to the burning debris of disintegrating concrete.

Coupled with the Dubai Civil Defence’s new announcement last month calling for the installation of interlinked fire-alert systems in all the emirate’s new homes, Big Project ME has spent the last few months examining fire safety in UAE’s construction industry.

The raw materials that affect a structure’s flammability include the varied construction techniques that contribute – or take away – from the overall fire-resistance of the building.

The post-tensioning industry in the UAE, therefore, is one with ample responsibility to

ensure their products and techniques meet the local fire-resistance standards.

Post-tensioning involves the strengthening of construction materials, mostly concrete, with steel strands to increase the building’s tensility. The typical post-tensioning process focusses heavily on the tenacity of tendons – a critical element of post-tensioning – made up of a steel strand or bar covered with protective coating, contained within a sheathing. The resultant product is popularly known as ‘pre-stressed’ concrete.

Un-tensioned concrete can often result in cracks when subject to heavy loads, such as the weight of cars in a parking garage or high footfall in a shopping mall.

“Post-tensioned structures are typically lighter in weight due to thinner slabs, smaller beams and transfer girders, and smaller foundations,” says Miroslav Vejvoda, technical and certification director at the Post-Tensioning Institute (PTI), a Michigan (USA)-based body to study and regulate post-tensioning practices universally.

“These structures can accommodate a more rapid construction schedule when compared with

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MIDDLE EAST

“OFTEN, COMPANIES IMPORT LOW- PRICED, LOW- QUALITY PRODUCTS TO SAVE COSTS AND INCREASE THEIR MARGINS. THE MARKET’S COMPETITIVENESS IS GREATLY DEPLETED”

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SPECIAL FEATURE POST-TENSIONING

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conventionally reinforced structures,” he explains during a phone interview.

Ahmed Al-Rifai, head of business development at OVM MENA explains the advantages of the technique further. “Post-tensioning allows for ‘greener’ construction than traditional systems, due to the reduced carbon & steel quantities per square metre.”

“Furthermore, post-tensioning is the primary choice for watertight structures (such as reservoirs, water/LNG tanks, silos, etc.) due to its impeccable crack control,” Al-Rifai adds.

The long-lived technique has often faced flak for the supposed reduction in fire resistance it brings about in the construction process.

“Post-tensioned concrete construction has less mass than other types,” points out Al-Rifai.

“Reduced mass means less inherent fire resistance.

It also presents some hazards to firefighters. The tendons are made of tempered steel cable that fails when heated to 800 °F (427 °C), and weakens at lower temperatures. The tendons can whip when cut or broken, causing severe injuries.”

“The overall mass of concrete in a posttensioned building is reduced, inherently translating into more susceptibility to fire hazards,” adds Al-Rifai.

However, Engineer Mohammad Hisham of Fastech Prestressing, a local PTI-member company operating in UAE for over a decade offers an interesting counterpoint.

“Post-tensioning, like all construction techniques, follows the same principles as laid out by local municipal bodies and building code authorities. Fire-resistance is an aspect covered by the same.”

Broadly speaking, though, post-tensioning has been widely accepted for its many benefits to the construction process, most evidently those of time and cost reduction.

“Post-tensioned structures typically use less concrete,” says Vejvoda, “(They also) have smaller floor-to-floor heights, and use less cladding and finish materials which translates into a more sustainable structure.”

Hisham agrees about the affordability of post-tensioning. “Savings are primarily in costs of concrete and steel itself. The thickness of the concrete slab is controlled since its functionality of compression is used to the fullest, thus reducing the costs of concrete procurement.

“Slab layout is also completed quickly, which is an added advantage. For instance, the scaffolding can then be moved to the next level of the structure or to another site – this often comes handy for contractors who simultaneously work on multiple

FEBRUARY 2014

BIGPROJECTME.COM

“THERE IS AN UNQUESTIONABLE NEED FOR PREQUALIFICATION PROCESSES TO BE LAID OUT FOR SUPPLIERS OF POST-TENSIONING PRODUCTS”

projects,” Hisham tells Big Project ME during a phone interview.

Stephen Burke, deputy general manager for the Middle East operations of Swiss structural engineering specialists VSL International Burke is of the same view.

“Post-tensioning technology is a well-proven one that has demonstrated value addition for architects and engineers alike, besides showing a healthy track record of cost-reduction and increased flexibility.”

Post-tensioning is differentiated as bonded or un-bonded based on the type of coating used on the steel; grout as a coating attaches the steel to the

sheathing, making it a bonded tendon, whereas grease coatings allow the steel some freedom to move relative to the covering, resulting in an un-bonded tendon. Al-Rifai makes the case for bonded post-tensioning as a preferred choice in the region.

“Consultants/designers feel more confident with the wires being more safely held in place (in case of wire failure) making the risk/failure only localised at the point of cutting rather than for the entire area support by the failed wire.

“The wire is firmly held in place by the now hardened grout, which typically act as a conventional reinforced concrete structure. Also, the grout helps protect the wires from rust in aggressive environments, specifically at locations/ environments of high humidity and salinity,” AlRifai adds.

General industry consensus, though, is uniform across the bonded/un-bonded debate: posttensioning remains an extensive process requiring seasoned handlers to ensure safe completion.

“An experienced post-tensioning contractor must ensure that the tendons are placed accurately and held in place during concrete placement,” says Vejvoda, echoing Hisham’s views about the employment of “professional staff to keep posttensioning standards intact.”

Burke is also insistent regarding the basic quality of products employed in the posttensioning processes.

“There is an unquestionable need for prequalification processes to be laid out for suppliers of post-tensioning products,” says Burke. “Products and services employed need to be maintained to specified levels and regular audits must be undertaken to ensure they are sustained.”

Hisham takes the argument forward. “One often finds vast price differences in the local UAE market for post-tensioning products. Often, companies import low-priced – and therefore, potentially low-quality – products to save costs and increase their margins.

“Resultingly, the market’s competitiveness is greatly depleted, as is the quality of the final structure which is now in jeopardy due to poor standards of construction,” he adds, highlighting the need for a local post-tensioning committee in UAE on the lines of the PTI. “Not all engineers are necessarily equipped to design – let alone implement – post-tensioning in a building. Roping in local municipal bodies to handpick post-tensioning specialists will greatly aid the industry.

“That is what the post-tensioning industry should look forward to,” he concludes.

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On site construction assistance: control, problem solving and partial modifications or extensions of the initial project. Project control and supervision of projects done by other consulting ofďŹ ces. Calculations, drawings and bill of quantities are checked. Supervision often involves full recalculation of the structure. A global approach Besides Spain, SILGA has had the opportunity of working in countries such as USA, Saudi Arabia, Mexico, Puerto Rico, Mauritania, Peru, Bolivia and Portugal, and with several construction codes.

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TIME & MONEY HARD PRECAST BUILDING SYSTEMS

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Helping you make the smartest decisions

PRECAST PERFECTION 46

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Big Project ME speaks to Hard Precast Building Systems to find out how their precast modules provide a wide range of benefits to contractors and developers FEBRUARY 2014

WHAT IS THE CREATION PROCESS FOR YOUR PRECAST MODULES?

In the first stage a mould is prepared as per the exact dimensions of the required element & placed onto the casting table. The steel reinforcements & cast-in parts are then put in place & secured firmly so as to avoid movement during casting and vibration.

The concrete is prepared as per the required mix design and is then poured into the above mould. The element is kept in the curing chamber until it reaches 70% of the specified final strength and then demoulded using the overhead cranes.

TIME & MONEY HARD PRECAST BUILDING SYSTEMS

“ALL THE ELEMENTS ARE DESIGNED & PRODUCED IN A WAY SO AS TO MATCH THE ARCHITECTURAL REQUIREMENTS AS CLOSELY AS POSSIBLE” The panel is then moved to the demoulding area ready for transportation to the specific site.

HOW ARE THESE UNITS BENEFICIAL TO CONTRACTORS OR DEVELOPERS?

Precast offers a wide array of benefits both to the contractors as well as to the developers, some of them being: • On-site installation & off site manufacturing can be carried out, thereby reducing the overall project duration.

• Easy and hassle free installation process allows for much faster installation progress rate at site.

• Different finishes of panels can be achieved like Exposed Aggregate Finish etc… using aggregates; these finishes are almost not possible to achieve on site.

• As the production happens in a controlled environment, the quality of the finished panels is very good.

• Precast installation requires lesser site manpower and reduction in scaffolding requirement. Hence a huge cost saving opportunity for everyone.

delivery, built according to all the major international standards.

Our quality products and services are totally driven by an ISO 9001 Quality Management System and follow the highest QA/QC & HSE requirements, complying and contributing towards green building schemes, standards and codes set by LEEDS and Estidama.

HOW CAN THEY BE ADAPTED AND CUSTOMIZED TO INDIVIDUAL NEEDS?

HPBS employs a highly skilled design team which has the capability to propose and convert a traditionally designed project into a fully compatible precast project.

All the elements are designed and produced in a way that matches the architectural requirements as closely as possible, thereby reducing the rework on the project to minimal levels. As all kinds of openings and cast-in parts are accommodated at the design stage itself, hence the end product do not have many requirements for further civil activities. n

LATEST TECHNOLOGY HPBS utilises the latest precast technology from its European partners.

HOW MUCH DO THEY COST COMPARED CONSTRUCTED HOUSING UNITS?

Each project is really unique which will make it difficult to give a figure or percentage applicable for all the projects but it’s definite that precast saves time and reduce risks which will have a very good impact on the overall cost of the project.

IN TERMS OF PERFORMANCE AND DURABILITY, HOW DO THEY COMPARE?

We at HPBS utilise the latest precast technology from our European partners: Avermann (Germany), X-Tec (Finland), Wiggert+Co. (Germany), Konecranes (Finland) & other well regarded European brands. It is a fully computerised system, right from design to

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MIDDLE EAST

ONSITE INSTALLATION The precast segments can be installed onsite and manufactured offsite, saving considerable cost.

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TENDERS

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1,360,000 tonnes per annum of ethylene and polyethylene, as well as significant quantities of propylene, benzene, butadiene and linear alpha olefin, including a power, water desalination and water treatment plant

STATUS Current Project

PROJECT NAME: DHUBA 1 IPP

BUDGET $600,000,000 REGION Saudi Arabia CLIENT Saudi Electricity Company - Central Region (Saudi Arabia) DESCRIPTION Construction of an Independent Power Project (IPP) with capacity of 550 MW PROJECT NAME: MIXED-USE TOWERS PROJECT - LUSAIL DISTRICT

BUDGET $275,000,000

REGION Dubai, UAE STATUS New Tender CLIENT Mashreq Bank DESCRIPTION Construction of new headquarters building comprising (32) storeys for a Bank

REGION Qatar CLIENT Real Estate Services Group (Qatar)

STATUS New Tender DESCRIPTION Construction of two mixeduse towers comprising a 35-storey building, including a five-star hotel, restaurants, villas and apartments; and a 27-storey building featuring offices, retail and other commercial uses

REGION Egypt PROJECT NAME: MASHREQ BANK HEADQUARTERS - DOWNTOWN

BUDGET $150,000,000

BUDGET $250,000,000 REGION Kuwait

PROJECT NAME: PETROCHEMICAL PLANT PROJECT - AIN SOKHNA

BUDGET $3,600,000,000

STATUS New Tender

PROJECT NAME: MINA ABDULLAH WATER DISTRIBUTION COMPLEX PROJECT - PHASE 2

CLIENT Carbon Holdings (Egypt) DESCRIPTION Engineering, Procurement and Construction (EPC) contract to build a petrochemical plant with capacity of

CLIENT Ministry of Electricity & Water (Kuwait) DESCRIPTION Construction of a water distribution complex with pumping capacity of 335 million gallons of potable water in Mina Abdullah STATUS Current Project

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FEBRUARY 2014

Software Solutions for Building Owners, Developers and Program Managers Trimble offers comprehensive software solutions to confidently manage multiple construction, renovation and facility projects within a portfolio/program/project hierarchy to efficiently execute your capital plan. Trimble addresses today’s realities with a breadth of tailored solutions that deliver powerful tools and deep business insight. With this in hand, you can track, plan, oversee and collaborate with new levels of accuracy, cost savings and confidence.

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TENDERS

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MIDDLE EAST TENDERS SPONSORED BY

PROVIDED BY

Tel +9714 346 6456 Web www.ccsgulf.com Email info@ccsgulf.com

UAE ELITE DOWNTOWN RESIDENCES PROJECT - BURJ KHALIFA DISTRICT PROJECT NUMBER ZPR1271-U TERRITORY Dubai CLIENT Triplanet International FZC (Sharjah) CITY Sharjah PHONE (+971-800) 8747 52638 FAX (+971-6) 557 4317 Email info@triplanet-group.com

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

WEBSITE www.triplanetgroup.com DESCRIPTION Construction of a 26-storey residential building comprising (200) fully furnished apartments BUDGET $136,000,000 STATUS Current Project MAIN CONTRACTOR Triplanet International FZC (Sharjah) TENDER CATEGORIES Prestige Buildings TENDER PRODUCTS High-rise Towers, Residential Buildings

W HOTEL & RESIDENCES DEVELOPMENT PROJECT PALM JUMEIRAH PROJECT NUMBER MPP2870-U TERRITORY Dubai CLIENT Al Sharq Investments (Dubai) CITY Dubai PHONE (+971-4) 325 3338 FAX (+971-4) 325 3339 EMAIL alsharq@ alsharqinvestment.com WEBSITE www.alsharqinvestment. com

DESCRIPTION Construction of a hotel comprising (360) rooms, including two other apartment buildings with (75) luxury units STATUS New Tender MAIN CONSULTANT RMJM (Dubai) PROJECT MANAGER Mace International Ltd (Dubai) COST CONSULTANT Bruce Shaw (Abu Dhabi) TENDER CATEGORIES Construction & Contracting, Hotels TENDER PRODUCTS Hotel Construction, Residential Buildings

HAIL OFFSHORE OILFIELD DEVELOPMENT PROJECT PROJECT NUMBER MPP2864-U TERRITORY Abu Dhabi CLIENT Abu Dhabi Oil Company Ltd. (ADOC) CITY Abu Dhabi PHONE (+971-2) 666 1100 FAX (+971-2) 666 1327 WEBSITE www.adocauh.cts-co. net DESCRIPTION Engineering, Procurement and Construction (EPC) contract for the development of an offshore oil field

INTEGRATED ESTIMATING, PROJECT CONTROL AND ERP SOLUTION FOR CONTRACTORS

50

MIDDLE EAST

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

FEBRUARY 2014

TENDERS

Alawi L.L.C (Oman) MEP CONTRACTOR Voltas (Oman) FOUNDATIONS, ENABLING & PILING CONTRACTOR Douglas OHI (Oman) TENDER CATEGORIES Leisure & Entertainment, Construction & Contracting, Hotels TENDER PRODUCTS Hotel Construction

QATAR STATUS New Tender PROJECT MANAGER Mott MacDonald Ltd. (Abu Dhabi) TENDER CATEGORIES Oilfields & Refineries TENDER PRODUCTS Oilfields Exploration & Development

(309) rooms and (77) hotel apartments BUDGET $300,000,000 PERIOD 2015 STATUS Current Project INTERIOR DESIGN CONSULTANT Woods Bagot (Dubai) MAIN CONTRACTOR Carillion

INTEGRATION & CONSTRUCTION WORKS PRODUCED WATER TREATMENT & CRUDE OIL DESALTING PROJECT

PROJECT NUMBER WPR077-Q TERRITORY Qatar CLIENT NAME Doha Petroleum

Construction Company Ltd. (Qatar) ADDRESS Gate No 185, Street 25, Salwa Industrial Area CITY Doha PHONE (+974) 4460 0350 FAX (+974) 4460 1066 EMAIL dopet@qatar.net.qa WEBSITE www.dopet.com DESCRIPTION Integration and Construction Works for a Produced Water Treatment and Crude Oil Desalting (PWT/COD) project BUDGET $16,000,000 PERIOD 2015 STATUS Current Project MAIN CONTRACTOR Total E&P (Qatar) TENDER CATEGORIES Oilfields & Refineries TENDER PRODUCTS Offsites & Utilities, Oilfield Supplies & Services

OMAN KEMPINSKI HOTEL PROJECT THE WAVE DEVELOPMENT PROJECT NUMBER SPR527-O TERRITORY Oman CLIENT The Wave Muscat S.A.O.C (Oman) CITY Muscat PC 118 PHONE (+968) 2453 4400 FAX (+968) 2453 4709 EMAIL customerservice@ thewavemuscat.com WEBSITE www.thewavemuscat. com DESCRIPTION Design and construction of five-star Kempinski Hotel comprising

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FEBRUARY 2014

MIDDLE EAST

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

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TENDERS

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length of 123 kilometres and (147) stations, including major highways and smaller local roads STATUS New Tender PROJECT MANAGER Parsons Brinckerhoff International (Saudi Arabia) TENDER CATEGORIES Public Transportation Projects TENDER PRODUCTS Roads Construction, Roadways

IRAQ BAHRAIN WAREHOUSE DEVELOPMENT PROJECT - BAHRAIN INVESTMENT WHARF PROJECT NUMBER BIP146-B TERRITORY Bahrain CLIENT Majaal Warehouse Company (Bahrain) CITY Manama PHONE (+973) 1756 7553 FAX (+973) 1756 7554 EMAIL info@majaal.com WEBSITE www.majaal.com DESCRIPTION Construction of a warehouse spanning a land area of 252,000 square feet, which will serve as a new distribution centre BUDGET $45,000,000 PERIOD 2014 STATUS Current Project MAIN CONSULTANT Mohammed Salahuddin Consulting Engineering Bureau - MSCEB (Bahrain) DESIGN CONSULTANT Mohammed Salahuddin Consulting Engineering Bureau - MSCEB

(Bahrain) COST CONSULTANT: Baker Wilkins & Smith (Bahrain) MAIN CONTRACTOR Abdulaal Construction Services (ACS) – Bahrain TENDER CATEGORIES Construction & Contracting TENDER PRODUCTS Warehouse Construction

BASRA - HADITHA CRUDE EXPORT PIPELINE PROJECT

PROJECT NUMBER MPP2868-IQ TERRITORY Iraq CLIENT NAME State Company for Oil Projects - SCOP (Iraq)

ADDRESS Ministry of Oil Complex, Port Said Street CITY Baghdad PHONE (+964-1) 817 7000/ 817 7021 FAX (+964-1) 817 7119 / 876 3744 EMAIL scop@scop.gov.iq / pur. cus@scop.gov.iq WEBSITE www.scop.gov.iq DESCRIPTION Engineering, Procurement and Construction (EPC) contract to build a 680-kilometre-long crude export pipeline STATUS New Tender FEED CONSULTANT SNC-Lavalin International Inc. (Abu Dhabi) TENDER CATEGORIES Oilfields & Refineries, Gas Processing & Distribution TENDER PRODUCTS Crude Transportation, Storage & Distribution, Gas Export/Import Terminal

SAUDI ARABIA MECCA BUS RAPID TRANSPORT SYSTEM PROJECT NUMBER MPP1907-SA TERRITORY Saudi Arabia CLIENT Makkah Municipality (Saudi Arabia) CITY Makkah PHONE (+966-2) 573 9555 FAX (+966-2) 574 8633 EMAIL info@holymakkah.gov.sa WEBSITE www.holymakkah.gov.sa DESCRIPTION Development of Mecca Bus Rapid Transport (BRT) System covering a total

INTEGRATED ESTIMATING, PROJECT CONTROL AND ERP SOLUTION FOR CONTRACTORS

52

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

FEBRUARY 2014

Under the Patronage of His Royal Highness Prince Mansour bin Mutaib bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, Minister of Municipal and Rural Affairs.

THE LARGEST CONSTRUCTION EVENT IN SAUDI ARABIA

9 – 12 March 2014 ‫ﻫ‬1435 ‫ ﺟﻤﺎدى ا�ول‬11 - 8

Jeddah Centre for Forums & Events

Register for FREE entry at: www.thebig5saudi.com/cpi9 Under the Patronage of:

Supporting Organisations:

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DIARY MIDDLE EAST ELECTRICITY

BIGPROJECTME.COM

HAPPENING THIS MONTH...

POWER BOOST This year’s Middle East Electricity will see more than 1,200 exhibitors from 100 countries.

MIDDLE EAST ELECTRICITY

BIG PROJECT ME PREVIEWS THE MIDDLE EAST REGION’S LARGEST POWER, LIGHTING, RENEWABLE AND NUCLEAR ENERGY SHOW

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MIDDLE EAST

TAKING PLACE AT the Dubai International Convention and Exhibition Centre, Middle East Electricity focuses on the power, lighting, renewable and nuclear sectors, and featuring over 1,200 exhibitors from 100 countries.

The three-day event is strategically located in Dubai, a hub of regional economic activity, providing exhibitors the ideal platform to showcase their latest energy related products and services to more than 18,000 decision makers from around the world.

“One of the key drivers of the surging power demand in the MENA region is due to rapid population growth,” said Anita Mathews, director of Informa Energy Group, organisers of Middle East Electricity.

“Others include increasing urbanisation and lifestyle improvements that come with growing economic prosperity, further enhanced by the resurgent construction boom that has now returned to the region,” she added in a statement to Big Project ME.

FEBRUARY 2014

Middle East Electricity is co-located with Solar Middle East, the region’s most comprehensive gathering of solar technology providers.

The combined events feature two dedicated one-day industry conferences: the Green Energy Middle East conference on 11 February and the Solar Middle East Conference on 12 February. Also returning are the popular Middle East Electricity Awards on 11 February, celebrating the achivements of individuals, departments, teams or organisation that have contributed to the growth and development of the region’s energy industry.

MIDDLE EAST ELECTRICITY n n n n n

When: February 11-13, 2014, Dubai Contact: Team Middle East Electricity Tel: +971 4 336 5161 E-mail: meelectricity@iirme.com URL: www.middleeastelectricity.com

CONSTRUCTION MACHINERY SHOW 2014 DAMMAM, SAUDI ARABIA 16 – 20 FEBRUARY, 2014 The region’s biggest dedicated construction machinery show, returns, this time in Dammam, Saudi Arabia, following its successful run in Jeddah last year.

MIDDLE EAST RAIL DUBAI, UAE 4 – 5 FEBRUARY, 2014 The largest annual gathering of Middle East government officials and railway operators, Middle East Rail represents the best opportunity to access this $250 billion market.

BIG 5 SAUDI ARABIA JEDDAH, SAUDI ARABIA 9 – 12 MARCH, 2014 Saudi Arabia’s largest building and construction event, Big 5 Saudi 2014 brings together real estate developers, government bodies, contractors and investors for a four day event.

CONSTRUCTIVE CRITICISM

BIGPROJECTME.COM

GAVIN DAVIDS

Waste Not, Want Not Gavin Davids says that the GCC’s embrace of sustainability and renewable energy resources is a giant leap forward for the region

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THE OTHER DAY I came across some statistics that illustrate just how worrying the energy consumption situation is in the GCC. A report in Gulf News estimates that the average UAE resident consumes 8,271 kilogrammes of oil equivalent energy (kgoe) on an annual basis. As huge as that number is, it’s dwarfed by its neighbours Qatar and Kuwait who have a per capita energy consumption of 12,799 kgoe and 12,204 kgoe respectively.

To put this in stark contrast, the per capita energy consumption in the UK and the USA are 3,254kgoe and 7,164kgoe respectively, while on average, Indians consume 556kgoe per annum.

With figures like that, it’s no surprise that the governments of the GCC are pushing so strongly for a revamp of energy consumption habits and an upgrade of existing power and water infrastructure.

“The status quo of high income and low energy prices has created some inefficiencies, adding pressures on hydrocarbon resources and the environment,” Suhail Mohammed Al Mazrouei said ahead of the 5th Gulf Intelligence UAE Energy Forum, which was be held in Abu Dhabi on 13 January under the theme, Global Energy Outlook 2020.

“A general change in habits would help drive the region’s competitiveness and boost efficiencies in the longer term,” the minister added.

FEBRUARY 2014

With the projected demand for electricity in the UAE alone expected to rise by 9% per annum through to 2020, it’s becoming increasingly vital for governments in the GCC to look elsewhere for sources of power, which is why events such as the World Future Energy Summit have become incredibly vital for the future of the power and water industry.

By finding and using alternative sources of energy, not only does the region move away from being dependent on oil and gas for its growth, but it also provides a beacon to those who advocate the use of sustainable and renewable energy sources.

With plans for some of the world’s largest solar power plants already underway in the region, it’s clear that this technology is of considerable interest and viability for governments. Couple that with the investment

and investigations into nuclear energy, and we could very well see the GCC relinquish its dependence on carbon fuels within the next few decades or so.

Not only are we seeing the energy sector revamp itself, we’re also seeing it impact the water sector and help it embrace sustainability.

Metito’s Bassem El Halabi tells me that the governments of the region are looking to integrate both solar and nuclear power with desalination, a move that will considerably enhance sustainability efforts.

Furthermore, there is now considerable interest in recycling wastewater and turning it into potable, usable clean water. This experiment has been successfully trialled in places like Singapore and it seems like the GCC is now picking up on it.

El Halabi puts it perfectly: “Water sources in the Gulf are scarce, it’s a semi-arid zone. It’s scarce. We can’t rely on these resources, they have to look at renewable resources, there’s no other way.”

“WITH PLANS FOR SOME OF THE WORLD’S LARGEST SOLAR POWER PLANTS ALREADY UNDERWAY IN THE REGION, IT’S CLEAR THAT THIS TECHNOLOGY IS OF CONSIDERABLE INTEREST AND VIABILITY FOR GOVERNMENTS”

AFGHANISTAN FAMCO (Al-Futtaim Auto & Machinery Co. LLC) + 971 4 213 5100 (UAE) famco@alfuttaim.ae AZERBAIJAN Aztexnika Ltd + 994 502 452 555 a.yuksel@aztexnika.az BAHRAIN A.A. Bin Hindi B.S.C (c) + 973 17 703078 ciesales@binhindi.com GEORGIA Elite Motors Ltd + 995 577 769 615 zantelidze@elitemotors.ge

fast, stable, versatile

IRAQ Sardar Automobile and Machinery Trading Co. + 964 750 344 4701 ihsan@sardarmachinery.com KUWAIT Al-Zabin International Group Co. For Heavy Equipment + 965 2433 4721 alzabin@alzabinkuwait.com LEBANON AMTRAC (Abdelmassih Trading Company) + 961 3 425625 michel@amtrac-lb.com PAKISTAN VPL Limited + 92 42 111 875 875 uzair.shahid @panasiangroup.com QATAR Arabian Agencies Company WLL + 974 44 50 0925 araco@araco.com.qa OMAN GENSERV (General Engineering Services Est) + 968 244 90755 sales@genserv-oman.com SAUDI ARABIA FAMCO (Al-Futtaim Auto & Machinery Co. LLC) + 966 2 680 4444 famco@alfuttaim.sa SYRIA Nassib Saad Est. Trading & Import + 963 11 222 5432 i.saad@saad-syria.com TURKEY Ascendum Makina + 90 216 581 80 00 info@ascturk.com TURKMENISTAN Ez Aziya-Hyzmatdash + 993 124 37278 h.hangeldyev @aziya-hyzmatdash.com UAE FAMCO (Al-Futtaim Auto & Machinery Co. LLC) + 971 4 213 5100 famco@alfuttaim.ae YEMEN Elaghil Trading Co + 967 1 207 470 elaghil@y.net.ye

With rapid cycle times and road speeds of up to 36 km/h, the EW205D is built for productivity.

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