The Big Project

DECEMBER 2011

PLUS Arabtec CFO Zaid Makhzouni Qatar: one year closer to 2022

hyder’s massive new project ARCHITECTURE n ENGINEERING n CONSTRUCTION n PMV n POWER

The developments that shaped a nation and captivated the world

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December

Contents REGULARS

29

Editor’s letter 6

29 Market explorer

News bulletin 9

Qatar’s progress to date, one year after the 2022 World Cup award

Talk 19

40

Arabtec CFO Ziad Makhzoumi on balancing the balance sheet and being part of the history of Dubai

News analysis 24 The scoop on Qatar’s largest public works contract from the firm with the largest share

Trends 56

42

Regional fit out contractors attend our monthly round table discuss the business of interior design

Supplier hotseat 63 Featuring heavy lift giants Kanoo

Supplier news 64 the latest launches, expansions and developments from the region’s suppliers

Tenders 77

56

FEATURES

Diary 81

34 Case Study Byrne Rental and Algeco explain their strategic partnership alliance

40 Project update Capital Gate chief architect Jeff Schofield on the reaction to his leaning tower

42 Cover story: 40 years of the UAE A reflection on the achievements of the most ambitious country on the planet and a look at the projects still to come

50 The Big 5: post-show round up The stories and interviews from the show’s biggest edition to date and the first Green Build Congress

70 Career ladder Stars of Science contestant Bilal Al Dokhan explains how his invention could change construction

Your shout 82

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VALUATIONS: Job Modelling, Sub-contract control and payment, Monthly valuations, Analytical variations pricing, Allowable vs Cost reconciliation, Engineering information, Cost to complete by cost rate resources and cost worksheets, External Cost import for cost vs allowable reconciliation and cost at completion FORECASTING: Integrate the Bill of Quantities with the Program, Forecast the bill and resources, Summarise into Project Codes ( With, What & Where), Forecast summary cost codes ( When), Base forecast, Monthly allowable, Collect costs, Forecast allowable and costs PLANNING: Critical path planning, Resourcing, Organising, Progress, Information schedules, Integrate schedule with the Estimate, Time/ location CASH FLOW: Payments, Receipts, Nett Present Value, Currencies and exchange rates, Integration with the Bill and Program

EDITOR’S COMMENT

Publisher Dominic De Sousa Chief operations officer Nadeem Hood

“Reasons to celebrate”

D

ecember is traditionally a time to celebrate, but December 2011 holds even more reasons.

The month begins with the UAE’s 40th National Day celebrations; marked in this anniversary edition with a reflection on the country’s most significant developments and interviews with Abu Dhabi’s UPC, Dubai Municipality and Fujairah Municipality’s director general.

The UAE is not the only GCC country with reason to celebrate. On November 23, The Big Project travelled to Qatar to witness the signing of an historical document that will lay the foundations for the 2022 World Cup. The country’s public works authority, Ashghal, has signed up Hyder Consulting to pioneer the largest phase of its biggest infrastructure project to date.

The $571m contract sets the wheels in motion for a project that will take seven years to complete, and on page 19 we bring you the post-signing

Associate publisher Liam Williams liam@cpidubai.com TEL: +971 (0)4 440 9158 Director business development Alex Bendiouis alex@cpidubai.com TEL: +971 (0)4 440 9154 GSM: +971 (0)50 458 9204

interview with Hyder’s top managers Ivor Catto and Wael Allan.

In our December issue market explorer, we then take a look at the progress made so far with commentary from the industry on the first year of planning.

Also in our last issue of the year, we talk balance sheets and bad journalism with Arabtec CFO Ziad Makhzoumi, who also comments on being ‘part of the history of Dubai’ and chief architect of Abu Dhabi’s leaning tower – the soon to be opened Capital Gate – explains the design concept, reaction to his most famous project, and what the tower means for Abu Dhabi.

As we finish this year, The Big Project team has its own reasons to celebrate as not only did 2011 mark our most successful year to date, but this month will also see the great and the good awarded at The Big Project + BGreen Awards, December 6, Burj Khalifa.

Until next year, all the best

Editor Melanie Mingas melanie@cpidubai.com TEL: +971 (0)4 440 9117 GSM: +971 (0)56 758 7834 Assistant editor Dan McAlister dan@cpidubai.com TEL: +971 (0)4 440 9118 Editorial contributor Marwan Noueihed Business development manager Rhiannon Downie rhiannon@cpidubai.com TEL: +971 (0)4 440 9152 GSM: +971 (0)50 554 0116 Business development manager Nayab Rafiq nayab@cpidubai.com TEL: +971 (0)4 440 9153 GSM: +971 (0)55 542 6032 Designer/Photographer Marlou Delaben Photographer Cris Mejorada Webmasters Troy Maagma Jerus King Bation Erik Briones Printed by Printwell Printing Press LLC Published by

Melanie Mingas Editor

Head Office PO Box 13700 Dubai, UAE Tel: +971 (0)4 440 9100 Fax: +971 (0)4 447 2409 Web: www.thebigprojectme.com © Copyright 2011 CPI. All rights reserved.

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.

6 | www.thebigprojectme.com

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Ashghal and Hyder announce $571m World Cup infrastructure projects Regional giant to help pave the way to 2022 Qatar today took its most significant step yet in preparations for the 2022 World Cup when the ministry of public works, Ashghal, signed infrastructure deals valued at $571m with Hyder Consulting Middle East.

The agreement, the highest value in the history of Qatar and the largest single contract in Hyder’s 50 year history, covers a massive interconnected infrastructure network that will be delivered by 2019; covering all five zones of the Gulf state.

Parsons Brinkerhoff International and WS Atkins and Partners Overseas were appointed general engineering consultants for design and supervision of the Doha south and Doha west projects, respectively.

Hyder’s projects will focus on establishing road networks and wastewater treatment facilities as part of Qatar’s National Development Plan, which lays the foundations for meeting development targets ahead of the 2022 World Cup. “This is an important milestone in the infrastructure of the state of Qatar. I think this strategy and the value of the agreement we have signed today with leading consultants, shows the commitment of the state of Qatar towards developing the infrastructure of the country,” said president of the public works authority, Engr. Nasser Ali Al-Mawalawi.

“It’s really important because these are framework agreements over five to seven years to develop the design and then supervise and manage all the infrastructure projects that relate to the public works,” Al-Mawalawi added.

Hyder chief executive Ivor Catto told The Big Project after the signing in Doha, that a team had already been mobilised in the country and is working closely with the authorities and project partners.

“It’s a complex project, firstly with regards to the time scale and secondly with regards to the intricacy of doing the work within a current

built environment,” said Catto.

“It requires trust and integration of the teams, both with Ashghal itself, and with how we work with the authorities in making sure we make these projects as seamless as possible and minimise the impact on the local population,” he continued to comment.

The projects to be executed include interchanges, bridges, new highways, changes to the integrates transport systems, utility diversions and the Doha expressway system; of which managing director for the Middle East Wael Allan, commented “minimising disruption for the local population will be key”.

Hyder will draft in its project specialists from

around the world, including Middle East director of transportation John Spiers, Burj Khalifa project director John Mills and highways specialist Fraser Davidson.

Allan told The Big Project that Hyder has already mobilised a local team and that the multinational firm has 240 people there, with aspirations to double the number within a year.

Commenting on the firm’s 50 year history in the region, Catto commented: “We’ve been working with Ashghal for many years and we see these projects further cementing the relationship.

“We want to work with them to realise their ambition for the country and we feel very privileged to be a part of that. We want to make a difference to the clients and the built infrastructure and Qatar,” he said.

For the full story and exclusive interview with Ivor Catto and Wael Allan turn to page 24. Wael Allan will also speak at The Big Project + BGreen awards on December 6

www.thebigprojectme.com | 9

NEWS | REGIONAL NEWS

NEWS BULLETIN

NEWS | REGIONAL NEWS

$489m Paid by trimble to acquire the finnish tekla following commercial collaborations

du agrees CSR drive with Heliocentris subsidiary Pledge to reduce C02 in mobile network base stations

Hatem Bamatraf, Senior VP, Network Development and Operations, du

Private construction firm in suicide bomb attack Herat site strike kills two

Two people were killed and four injured, including an Italian soldier, when a private construction company was attacked by militants in west Afghanistan.

10 | www.thebigprojectme.com

Telecoms provider du last month announced a framework agreement with German company P21 GmbH, a subsidiary of Heliocentris Energy Solutions AG, to help reduce carbon dioxide emissions from mobile network base stations.

The drive – in line with the telecom’s Corporate Social Responsibility initiatives – will see P21 supply, install and commission smart energy management systems, to control diesel generators, in selected mobile network base stations in 2011-2012. The company will also provide maintenance support on a five year contract.

“We place a high emphasis on operating in as eco-friendly a way as possible,” said Hatem Bamatraf, senior vice president of network development and operations for du.

“Our Corporate Social Responsibility is not only geared towards developing our nation and promoting our heritage in numerous ways, but in improving the environment by taking steps towards becoming more green across all aspects of our business operations. We chose to partner with P21 on this initiative because we believe it will allow us to significantly decrease our carbon footprint, thereby contributing to our overall environmental friendliness,” Bamatraf added.

Tests conducted prior to the agreement saw the technology decrease diesel consumption by 54%, reducing run times by up to 74%. Combined, this cuts operating costs and carbon emissions.

The incident, which happened on November 3 in the city of Herat targeted Esko International Construction Company with a suicide bomb and gun attack according to media reports.

Following the explosion, insurgents stormed the company compound provoking a gunfight with Afghan soldiers, the Associated Press said.

The site of the incident is located close to Nato’s Herat headquarters, on the main road leading to Herat Provincial Airport.

It is still not clear if those who died were working for the firm at the time.

According to Esko’s website the firm is currently working on the construction of a field hospital and aircraft facilities in the city, in addition to a number of projects in Kabul, Kosovo and Niger.

In a second attack last month, a roadside

bombing near the central town of Abu Ghraib and several explosions in the centre of Baghdad killed at least 15 people and wounded 20 others, according to Iraqi officials.

As reported on Al Jazeera.com, at least eight people were killed and 13 injured on Saturday after a minibus transporting construction workers hit an improvised explosive device near Abu Ghraib, an interior ministry official has said.

The ministry official commented that the road where the attack occurred is frequently used by the Iraqi armed forces.

A health official at Abu Ghraib general hospital confirmed the casualty figures, while a police source said that two bombs had exploded minutes apart in the village of al-Zaidan.

“It was a roadside bomb that went off near a pick-up carrying construction workers in Zobaa village west of Abu Ghraib,” he said.

predicted value of gcc port expansions from 2011-2016

Tekla acquired by Trimble Deal worth US$ 489 million secured between firms The Finnish Tekla Corporation has been acquired by Trimble Navigation Limited in a deal worth US$ 489 million.

The two construction IT giants will collaborate on new products, building on the “BIM to field” approach.

“Obviously we will be looking for product integration as much as possible,” said Laurence Smith, director of worldwide sales for Trimble.

“We want to make sure that what we are offering customers is a workflow improvement, from BIM to field. It has to be more integrated so the solution is better for the contractor. Of course looking for natural integrations will be key to how we will move forward,” Smith continued.

The two companies have been cooperating commercially over the last five years and have

US $15bn predicted for GCC port expansions Growth of 8% witnessed in 2010 The six countries of the GCC are predicted to ring fence US $15b for port expansions for the period 2011-2016, according to Kuwaiti financial centre, Markaz.

The money will be spent on the region’s 35 major ports, to increase capacity and operational facilities, following growth of 8% in 2010. The figure equates to 25 million TEUs. The use saw the largest growth with 59%, with Dubai leading the way by container volume; reaching ninth place in the world’s top 10 ports last year. Despite the strong performance it ranked seventh in 2007 and 2009.

“These projects are all due for completion within the five-year period from mid-2011 to mid-2016,” Markaz is quoted as saying in regional reports.

already shared ideas and data on products.

No official announcement has been made regarding new branding and both parties have confirmed that the deal will not affect Tekla’s Open BIM approach.

“Over the last three years we have been at the forefront to move BIM forward in the Middle East, but our strengths have always been in construction. Having the added strength of Trimble and its product lines, we are able to offer the complimentary product lines that we need and now we can widen our products from MEP to hardware, which is a must on site. So it’s of huge benefit to us,” commented Tekla director in the Middle East, Tahir Sharif.

Laurence Smith, Trimble

To read the full interview with Tahir Sharif and Laurence Smith go to The Big Project online

Emaar Retail and NBAD partner on new Dubai Mall theme park Agreement sees NBAD serve as “grand partner” Emaar Retail LLC, has signed an agreement with the National Bank of Abu Dhabi whereby the leading financial institution will serve as the “grand partner” of SEGA Republic, the first and largest of its kind indoor theme park in the Middle East located in The Dubai Mall.

Emaar Retail CEO Arif Amiri and Suvo Sarkar of NBAD signed the agreement at SEGA Republic.

National Bank of Abu Dhabi cardholders stand to gain an array of benefits at SEGA Republic, one of the most popular theme parks in the region managed by Emaar Retail, for one year, starting from September 1, 2011.

“The leisure attractions of Emaar Retail ensure that our partners can reach out to a wide audience, covering the entire spectrum of the society,” said Amiri.

www.thebigprojectme.com | 11

NEWS | REGIONAL NEWS

$15bn

NEWS | REGIONAL NEWS

34,000 items sold by ritchie bros to customers in europe and middle east q1 - q3 2011

Ritchie Bros to close 2011 with six auctions in Europe and Middle East Auctioneer positioned to tap end of year upgrades

HRH Prince Andrew, the Duke of York, reviews the plans

Praise for Msheireb Downtown from British royalty Duke of York attends senior executive’s meeting HRH Prince Andrew, the Duke of York, has attended a high level meeting and presentation with senior executives from Msheireb Properties at the Msheireb Enrichment Centre.

The Duke’s second visit to the site, developer Msheireb Properties says he is keen to promote bilaterial trade between Qatar and the UK, naming Arup, Allies and Morrison, Adjaye Associates, John McAslan and Partners, Mossessian and Partners, Jovin Manko Studio, David Collins Studio, Drake and Scull, and Gensler, as being among the “British interests” represented in the project.

Msheireb, which aims to transform the old Doha into a “vibrant, cohesive and culturally active city centre”, will combine traditional principles of design and urban planning to create a pedestrian neighbourhood with minimal “distinctive Qatari contemporary culture”.

“We are delighted by the Duke of York’s keen interest in the project and vision of Her

12 | www.thebigprojectme.com

Highness Sheikha Mozah Bint Nasser for a sustainable community,” commented Msheireb Properties CEO, Eng. Issa M. Al Mohannadi.

“It makes us proud that the project is gaining international recognition. Msheireb is committed to the principle of knowledge sharing, sustainability and community development, which we see as essential to achieving the Qatar 2030 Vision of creating a truly sustainable economy,” he added.

The British press reported earlier this year that government-level talks had cast doubt on the future role of Prince Andrew as an unpaid ambassador for British trade. According to the Palace, he seeks “to enhance business’s ability to create prosperity for the UK”, working with charities, patronages and initiatives to enhance “social entrepreneurial activity”.

January issue of The Big Project will carry a full analysis of Msheireb Downtown

One of the world’s largest industrial auctioneers has pledged to conduct six unreserved equipment auctions in Europe and the Middle East in the last weeks of 2011.

The American Ritchie Bros. Auctioneers, is to sell more than 7000 items at the auctions, with more equipment and trucks being added in the coming weeks. Every item will be sold without minimum bids or reserve prices, including heavy construction and earthmoving equipment, heavy haulage and transportation items (trucks and trailers), agricultural tractors and equipment, cranes, lifting equipment and many more used and unused industrial items.

“Many companies upgrade or re-align their fleets before the end of the year and our upcoming auctions are great opportunities to do so,” said Guylain Turgeon, managing director EMEA, Ritchie Bros. Auctioneers.

In the first nine months of 2011, Ritchie Bros. sold more than 34,000 items to online and on-site bidders at auctions conducted in Europe and the Middle East. Ritchie Bros. typically sells more equipment in the fourth quarter of each year in this region.

Upcoming auctions include Moerdijk, Netherlands, November 24-25; Ocana, Spain Decemver 1-2; Athens, Gree, December 6; Caorso, Italy, December 6-7; and Dubai, December 13-14.

A complete auction calendar, equipment details with high-resolution photos and more information is available at www.rbauction.com.

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Drake and Scull announces 77% YOY net margin growth New income reached AED 60m

Drake and Scull International PJSC (DSI), has announced a two-fold growth in profits compared to 2010, despite a “challenging” macro-economic environment.

Specialising in integrated design, engineering and construction disciplines for MEP, civil contracting and water and power, quarterly revenues reached AED 847 million and net income stood at AED 60 million – compared to AED 432 million and AED 34 million respectively, that was reported for the same period of 2010.

The figures indicate a YOY increase of 96 % in revenues and 77 % in net income. Earnings per share (“EPS”) now stand at AED 0.03, compared with AED 0.02 recorded in Q3 2010.

“We are satisfied with DSI’s solid performance across all our subsidiaries in the third quarter

despite a challenging macro environment,” commented CEO Khaldoun Tabari.

“We have managed to grow our quarterly revenues and profits vis -a- vis 2010 by approximately two folds. Our AED 2.23 billion revenues for the first nine months in 2011 have already exceeded the total revenues of fiscal 2010 which reached AED 1.85 billion. This quarter earnings reflect our operating capability, portfolio strength and financial flexibility,” he added, saying continued growth was expected for Q4.

On a quarterly basis, Revenues and net income recorded increases of 15 % and 10% respectively when compared with Q2 2011 while the total projects awards announced year to date reached AED 3.6 billion.

“Quarter three was understandably a slow

ABOVE: DSI CEO Khaldoun Tabari.

quarter with the seasonal effects of both summer and Ramadan which to an extent constrained productivity, affected the backlog growth and rendered the bottom line margins slightly lower in comparison to Q2 2011,” said CFO Osama Hamdan.

“Additionally, we expect a pickup in our backlog in the fourth quarter as we anticipate new project announcements. Strategic cost reduction remains a key management focus and our increasing operating profit margin is a clear evidence of our constant efforts to control costs and optimise productivity,” Hamdan concluded.

Ready-mix cement production declines 26.7%

Arabtec CFO responds to rumours

Supply demand balance fluctuates

Zaid Makhzouni on the “new major contract”

The average use of cement has increased overall in ERMCO countries since 2008, despite production declines of more than a quarter.

Declining 6% in 2010 alone, the European ready-mix concrete market has declined by a total of 26.7% since 2008, led by countries such as Ireland, with a drop in production of 62% 2008-2009 and 28.9% 20092010; Spain (-29.1% in 2009 and -20.1% in 2010); and Greece (-22.7% in 2009 and -22.4% in 2010).

The figures, published ahead of the ERMCO Congress to be held next year in Verona, showed net production of all European and non-European ERMCO countries still at 463 million cubic metres in 2008 and 380.3 million cubic metres in 2010. Countries which showed a particularly positive trend include Turkey, up from 66.4 million cubic metres in 2009 to 79.7 million in 2010, an increase in two years of

20% compared to 2008. Israel also achieved a positive result: from 9.5 million cubic metres in 2008 and 2009, it produced 11 million cubic metres in 2010 (+15.8%).

“These recessionary years have, however seen, an increase in the average use of cement,” according to a statement released with the information.

In 2008, the average cement content of ready-mixed concrete in European Union countries was 288 kg per cubic metre. In 2009 it was 293 kg, and by 2010 the average figure had gone up to 295 Kg. Thus, in two years, the quantity of cement per cubic metre of ready mixready-mixed concrete has gone up by 2.6%.

“These figures indicate a trend towards an increased demand for more durable and more fluid concrete that better responds to the needs of environmental impact,” the statement added.

14 | www.thebigprojectme.com

Arabtec CFO Zaid Makhzouni has responded to rumours that saw the firm’s shares rocket last month.

It was reported on November 13 that a “new major contract” had been awarded to the multi-disciplinary conglomerate.

“Yesterday, for some reason, we were just over 50% of the whole market trading. There were rumours, which are incorrect and I basically had to explain to the people that if there is anything to declare to the market, we will,” Makhzouni told The Big Project, adding that he throught the rumours were “absolutely funny and ridiculous”.

Arabtec’s current project backlog stands at “around AED 12-16 billion” for the coming year, including of “acquiring new projects and delivering projects” according to Makhzouni. Adding that while Arabtec is looking to

expand “at some stage” globally, no official announcements have been made for new projects recently.

“It’s a very healthy margin of backlog in the sense of that it’s probably about two and a half years of work. But it doesn’t work in that sense, because analysts assume you should be building a certain amount per month. Some projects are one year some projects are five years, so it’s not a case of taking that number alone. We give them these breakdowns to help them come to a more logical scientific conclusion,” Makhzouni continues, adding that he has encountered many problems with the press in the past.

“They draw their conclusions on assumptions that in some cases are not true and they can just as easily verify just by asking,” he adds.

Turn to page 19 for the full interview

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Causeway scoops awards hatrick Company of the year among accolades won in UK International construction IT supplier Causeway, has won three awards in the 2011 Construction Computing Awards. Causeway picked up company of the year, E-commerce product of the year and superbrand of the year.

Causeway’s telematics integrated vehicle tracking solution was also a finalist in the mobile product of the year category. It was the third year running the company received E-commerce product of the year.

The awards aim to showcase the industry’s leading software providers and solutions, with winners decided by the readers of the UK-based Construction Computing magazine, customers of nominees and other construction professionals.

The company of the year

category is the highest honour in the awards and reflects Causeway’s performance in all areas of operations, from innovation through to delivery and support – nationally and internationally.

“These results are a tribute to our ongoing commitment to delivering innovative solutions that add real value to our customers’ businesses,” commented Paul Madeira, COO of Causeway Middle East.

“The fact that our Tradex eTrading solution has now won the E-Commerce category for the last three years is especially pleasing as Tradex delivers significant cost savings in supply chain management at a time when the industry needs to work smarter and reduce its overheads,” Madeira added.

The ‘hat trick’ for Tradex follows a year of hugely successful rollouts,

including Carillion, Lend Lease and McNicholas. Tradex is an electronic document exchange service that eliminates the need to print, handle and re-key paper trading

documents. Superbrand of the year was a new category recognising the innovative use of a range of media within marketing, as well as a commitment to brand messaging.

More than 200,000 people work at the Jebel Ali Port, of which around 80% commute to the site every day.

DAMAC Properties is constructing two further residential projects within the corridor, Suburbia in Downtown Jebel Ali, and Amber Residences close to Dubai’s new airport.

Carillion, Lend Lease and McNicholas. Tradex is an electronic document exchange service that eliminates the need to print, handle and re-key paper trading documents. Superbrand of the year was a new category recognising the innovative use of a range of media within marketing, as well as a commitment to brand messaging

DAMAC TOPS OUT ‘SUBURBIA’ Development addresses residential demand in Jebel Ali The Middle East’s largest private developer, DAMAC Properties, has announced it has topped out its ‘Suburbia’ residential development in Downtown Jebel Ali; one of 14 projects in its current pipeline.

Surbubia is a multi-tower development, with the two tallest towers topped out at level 17. Work will now begin on the external cladding of the project. All main packages including joinery, aluminium and metal works have been finalised and relevant works are progressing on site.

“Now that the super-structure of Suburbia has been completed, we can really begin to focus on the facade and the interiors. Topping

out a building is always a significant milestone in the development of high rise towers,” said Niall Mc Loughlin, Senior Vice President of DAMAC Properties.

According to figures released by the Dubai Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Dubai’s logistics sector is booming on the back of trade conducted in Jebel Ali. The free zone includes Jebel Ali Port, the sixth-largest container port in the world; Jebel Ali Free Zone, host to more than 6500 companies; and Dubai World Central, home to Al Maktoum International airport, which upon completion will be the world’s largest airport in both size and volume.

16 | www.thebigprojectme.com

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TALK | Ziad Makhzouni

Part of the story of Dubai Arabtec CFO Ziad Makhzouni talks to The Big Project about world economics, rumours, awards and the history of one of the UAE’s first construction companies

ABOVE: Zaid Makhzouni.

L

ABOVE: Burj Al Arab.

“If you look at the balance sheet now you see more cash than borrowing for the first time in three years”

ast month Arabtec Holding’s shares leapt to new heights when, on November 13, it was “announced” that a “new major contract” had been awarded to the multi-disciplinary conglomerate.

“For some reason we were just over 50% of the whole market trading. There were rumours, which are incorrect, and I basically had to explain to the people that if there is anything to declare to the market we will declare it,” Makhzouni says, adding that the rumours were “absolutely funny and ridiculous”.

It’s not the first time it’s happened. When there was the possibility of an investment from Aabar, Makhzouni says the rumours went into overdrive, despite the firm being bound by regulations that stated all announcements must officially be made via ESCA and the Dubai Financial Market (DMF).

In his three years with the firm Makhzouni has not only transformed the balance sheet, but prides himself on his transparency with shareholders, via both the board and media.

Recent winner of the ‘most admired CFO’ award, and other accolades including ‘revolutionary CFO’ – joking that it’s because “I scare the hell out of people” – Makhzouni’s background is in finance, rather

than accounting, with experience of structuring finance in operations, acquisitions and start ups.

Having previously worked as a strategy consultant, he also headed one of the biggest funds in the UK. Approached by Arabtec senior management to take on the role of CFO in 2008, Makhzouni says he was recruited to develop investor relations, restructure operations and also to fine tune the all important balance sheet.

“If you look at the balance sheet three years ago, the borrowing was extremely high and the cash extremely low. There were big amounts of receivables.

If you look at the balance sheet now you see more cash than borrowing for the first time in three years.

This is the second quarter and I think the trend will continue,” he comments.

Makhzouni says payments and receivables now match and that the average age of the receivables has gone down “drastically”.

“This is exactly what I said to the board three years ago, and that was the priority. Not to grow and not make a profit or concentrate on margins, because the market was going through extreme uncertainties and anyone who can achieve high margins, good luck to

www.thebigprojectme.com | 19

TALK | Ziad Makhzouni

70,000 people employed directly and indirectly by Arabtec

Arabtec has been involved in the UAE’s most significant projects.

them because that will be a fluke,” he continues to say of the successful strategy.

“We can see the world economies are shrinking, but what helped is that we moved, in my view very quickly, into new markets. You can’t move quicker. You can’t move 10,000 people to Saudi Arabia over night because of the visa issues,” Makhzouni adds.

Yet despite his and the board’s aims being achieved – and publically recorded in black and white – Makhzouni says the reporting of Arabtec’s success hasn’t always been factual.

Attributing the trend to the youth of both the market and its fourth estate, Makhzouni says the reporters and analysts covering the decade old DFM assume conclusions that don’t reflect reality.

Explaining that the media covering a developed market has the experience and background necessary to do so accurately, Makhzouni says he has experienced cases where he has featured in an “interview” that didn’t even take place.

“Some analysts read the press and assume it’s correct, but the press want to excite people and the headline may not have any relation to what’s in the analysis and there are many examples of

20 | www.thebigprojectme.com

“We are very proud of what we have done” “Reporters would say ‘now that Nakheel is paying its bond Arabtec has a lot of cash’. But you can’t jump from one situation to another overnight, you have to look at the balance sheet because the balance sheet doesn’t lie. It’s all facts and figures.”

Growth and maturity

that. If it’s critical I correct them, if it’s not I laugh, because it doesn’t make any sense.”

Using the example of events in Q4 2008 and Q1 2009, he says media analysis contradicted both itself and the balance sheet.

Established in 1975, Arabtec’s first project was the 17 storey Pearl Building on Dubai Creek, then the tallest building in Dubai. From there, founder Riad Kamal built the technical partnerships and alliances that 30 years later saw Arabtec Construction LLC play a vital role in the world’s tallest building, Burj Khalia.

Today, the public limited company has around 7000 shareholders and operates across 17 countries including the UAE, Qatar, Bahrain, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, Palestine, Pakistan and soon India, with work also

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predicted to be delivered by the end of Q4 2011

Makhzouni, ruling out Turkey because of the strength of local companies and the ability to tender competitively against them.

Today, the backlog margin is “healthy”, with about two and a half years of work in real terms. A predicted AED5 billion will be delivered by the end of Q4 2011, averaging betweel AED 1 billion and AED 1.5 billion per quarter, yet Makhzouni comments “we can deliver much more”.

Acquisition and delivery predictions for 2012 stand at AED 12-16 billion.

On a subsidiaries level the backlog stands at AED 14 billion for the last three quarters, due mainly to the strength of the oil and gas sector.

Of the projects that are now at a standstill, Makhzouni says the company is now in talks with project partners to explore the opportunities to re-structure, rather than enforce the legal agreements partners may have breached.

“We are part of the story of Dubai. Many of the monumental landmarks we were involved with in one way or another such as the Burj Al Arab and the dome of Emirates Palace in Abu Dhabi,” he says, adding: “We are very proud of what we have done.”

Playing down his success, when it came to weathering the global economic storm Makhzouni says the company and board “already knew what needed to be done”.

“When things were bad I said we cannot just walk and leave. You have to work and help Dubai through these difficult times. If a member of the family needs help our culture would go in and help. It’s not easy, but we all went through this and I think we came out better and stronger in my view.”

compelted in Russia. In addition there are a number of subsidiaries covering electromechanical, engineering, steelworks, concrete and construction equipment.

With 70,000 people employed directly and indirectly by Arabtec, when world economies crashed, the strategy was to restructure and re-position in markets that would “give immediate opportunities, without us investing big amounts of capital”.

Saying the approach was a combination of market predictions and quick reactions, the priority was a healthy balance sheet, without which “you cannot do anything”.

Currently filling more than 8000 visas in Saudi Arabia, those other markets include Qatar and Abu Dhabi and new ventures in India, with future bets depending on the security situations in Iraq, Egypt and Syria.

“It’s a marathon, not a sprint,” comments

TALK | Ziad Makhzouni

aed5b

“We are part of the story of Dubai. Many of the monumental landmarks we were involved with in one way or another such as the Burj Al Arab” www.thebigprojectme.com | 21

NEWS ANALYSIS | HYDER’s big project

Laying the foundations

As Qatar commits itself to infrastructure projects worth US $571 million, The Big Project speaks to Hyder Consulting’s chief executive Ivor Catto and regional managing director, Wael Allan, as the firm undertakes its biggest project to date

“It’s very important that we always recognise there is a greater meaning for any construction project” 24 | www.thebigprojectme.com

O

n November 23 2011 an historic document was signed at the ministry of public works in Doha. Ashghal, the public works authority, set the ball rolling for the largest infrastructure project ever undertaken in the tiny Gulf state, as preparations for the 2022 World Cup gathered pace.

The signing also marks the largest contract to date for Hyder Consulting, a multinational, multi-disciplinary firm with extensive experience in general engineering consultancy (GEC) and design consultancy for infrastructure and mega projects around the world. Valued at QAR 459 Hyder’s own record breaking stake in the project will see it taking charge of the GEC and design supervision for Doha North.

“We see this contract as a sort of trust in our abilities and one that we really want to rise to,”

says chief executive Ivor Catto in an interview after the signing.

“Yes these are very much the sorts of contracts that we focus on, that are core to us as a company,” he adds.

Selected over 32 others in a competition that began over a year ago, Hyder will call on its best people from around the world to work on the next step; the execution of the project.

“We are very different to other consultants and engineering and design firms, in that our focus on our key clients generates great trust between us and the committees we work with,” comments Catto.

“The size of the contract today is proof of the trust Ashghal has in Hyder. We were awarded the largest contract today and that is really because of our focus on our clients

people employed globally

and understanding of their needs and their opportunities,” he adds, highlighting that the presence of the firm’s CE, regional MD and country director, also demonstrated commitment to the client.

All hands on deck

Hyder has already mobilised its Qatar team, with 22 experts brought in from projects and offices around the world, to be supported remotely by a further 150. In total, regional MD Wael Allan says Hyder has 240 people in Qatar and will double that over the next year.

“Because we grew up as a multinational, rather than striving to be one, we are already multinational,” explains Catto, adding that the executive board includes six nationalities – a fact that: “makes working across the group on these important projects much easier.”

“Engineers love sharing their ideas, which is good. In some professions people really guard their intellectual property, but engineers want to tell everybody when they have had a brilliant idea. And that is great because not only is it interesting but there’s the impact they have on society – they’re interested in the contribution they can make that will enhance a community. There’s a lot of personal reward for that,” he adds.

Allan says that since the bidding process began there has been a tangible atmosphere of excitement in Hyder’s offices around the world, which he interprets as indicative of a “great

year” in 2012 for Qatar and for Hyder.

With operations in Australia, China, the Middle East and Europe, the firm will be pooling its dream team from a number of projects in these areas to join the assembled team and employ their best practice models.

It’s all part of ‘understand the client’s vision’ – a core principle among the companies employees.

“We have to understand the priorities of the client in terms of their objectives and align ourselves with that. We are putting a plan together to achieve those priorities and highlight all the critical issues they need to be aware of, working in conjunction with the authorities,” says Allan, with Catto adding: “It’s very important that we always recognise there is a greater meaning for any construction project.

“Yes, maybe a bridge or new road needs to be built but what is that trying to achieve?

Therefore, we always want to know, what are we trying to achieve here? If we understand that we can optimise the design and that is crucial to what we do and is demonstrable of why we have repeat clients,” he continues, saying there is a need to always “view the project through the eyes of the client.”

“That is critical throughout this whole project so we can bring innovation and ideas and recognise what is wanting to be achieved, rather than ‘what sort of tarmac do you want?’” he asks.

Ivor Catto, chief executive This is an important project for the 2022 World Cup, but the key thing for us is that we look more at client relationships. Projects are just stepping stones in that. We look for clients to whom we can really bring our international skills to support. We’ve been working with Ashghal for many years and we see this as further cementing the relationship. We want to work with them to realise their ambition for the country. We feel very privileged to be a part of that and that’s what gets us excited. We want to turn up and make a difference to the clients, the built infrastructure and Qatar. These sorts of projects are very demonstrable ways in which our staff can make a difference. That’s the good thing about engineering- there’s quite a bit of social good.

Wael Allan, regional managing director “Since we have been invited to bid for this project there has been great excitement in the offices, especially in Doha, but also in our other offices around the world, because they are participating with us in realising this. Morale is high especially in these economical times, we are on the ascent in terms of the cycle of economy and we really think 2012 will be a great year for Hyder and for Doha.” www.thebigprojectme.com | 25

NEWS ANALYSIS | HYDER’s big project

4000

NEWS ANALYSIS | HYDER’s big project

72%

of all revenue comes from outside UK.

Deadline 2019

Although divided into five geographical zones, Qatar’s existing infrastructure is interconnected, complicating the country-wide upgrade works.

The scope of the works is huge and one GEC contract has been awarded for each of the five

26 | www.thebigprojectme.com

geographical zones. Hyder has been awarded the largest of these contracts, valued at QAR 459 billion; a sum reflective of the complexity of the programme.

The other contracts awarded for GEC in design supervision were to WS Atkins and Partners Overseas, Parsons International and a joint venture between Khatib and Alami and WSP. CH2M Hill Has been awarded the contract for programme management services in the QAR10 bn IDRIS wastewater programme.

“There is a uniqueness required, but we are working for clients in other territories and we can bring ideas because we are innovating in each of our geographies and no other competitor is so equally spread,” Catto asserts.

“There will be a number of construction programmes operating in the run up to the World Cup and we are making sure you are planning not just for what is here but for what will be here so that will be an important consideration for the design team – to be able to interface with other designs that are going on and to make sure that the future that we are recognising will affect current designs,” he comments on the challenges of executing such an enormous project.

The total project for the road infrastructure totals QAR 30bn over a 5 year timeframe and

IDRIS, the Inner Doha Re-sewerage Implementation Strategy to be completed by 2019, rounds off the investment demanding an investment of QAR 10bn.

“The key part for us is to be proactive. Where we see potential points of clash, to not only raise those and let it be somebody else’s problem, but to raise it with a proactive solution.

Because we buy into the vision of 2022 we think in that way. We are very well placed in understanding how systems operate in reality and being able to work with that system in what will be a large project,” Catto pledges, adding: “We don’t just sit in silence, but we work with the wider design team and we say to each other that we need to connect and work together to make this successful and contribute,” while Allan also adds that minimising disruption to the local communities will be key, too.

Hyder’s approach to the problem solving and coordination of the project has been to call on the likes of John Mills, John Spier and Fraiser Davidson from such previous work as Burj Khalifa and the UK’s M25 upgrade.

“I think Ashghal ran a very good appointment process and has shown skills and attention to what they want to achieve. One of the key things for me to say is that it’s a great privilege for use to be working for them in this role,” Catto says.

Hyder’s high profile portfolio incorporates some of the world’s most iconic projects Burj Khalifa Sydney Harbour Bridge Tower Bridge, London Taiwan High Speed Railway Experience

Dependent on experience: 150 years in Europe 100 years in East Asia 70 years in Australia and 45 years in the Middle East.

“There is enough cultural and social awareness about BIM that it will eventually become part of our daily work process. Tekla has been BIM even before the name was created. And with its sound position in the automation back-end of the construction process, Tekla is on the leading edge of innovation.�

- Professor Charles M. Eastman Director, Ph D Program for the College of Architecture at Georgia Tech, US

TEKLA WAS BIM BEFORE BIM WAS INVENTED Bob, Steel Fabricator

Dave, Precaster

Ellen, Structural Engineer

Professionals of various disciplines working in a construction project are faced with the challenge to communicate and agree on the design in detail. They need a tool that enables effective centralization and control of all stages. Sharing the Tekla model allows them to stay in the building information loop, real-time.

Tekla Structures BIM (Building Information Modeling) software provides a data-rich 3D environment that can be shared by contractors, structural engineers, steel detailers and fabricators, and concrete detailers and manufacturers. Choose Tekla for the highest level of constructability and integration in project management and delivery.

John, General Contractor

Market Explorer | QATAR

LEFT: The race is on to meet Qatar’s World Cup ambitions.

Qatar – One Year On This month marks a year since the announcement that Qatar is to host the 2022 World Cup. Dan McAlister looks at how the tiny Gulf state is stepping up to become the first in the region to hold the world’s biggest football tournament

ABOVE: Steven Miller.

“Qatar will be a very different place in very little time to what it is now, culturally, socially, it will have to be a different place”

I

t’s December 2 2010 and FIFA is announcing the host nations of the 2018 and 2022 World Cup tournaments. Watching the announcement at a bar in Liverpool the disappointment in the air was palpable. With a bid backed by David Beckham, Prime Minister David Cameron and even Prince William, England believed football was ‘coming home’.

Spectators and fans thought it controversial when the first tournament was awarded to Russia, but when it was revealed that the Middle East would host its first World Cup, the critics went into overdrive.

One year on and preparations, albeit slowly, are beginning to completely transform both the look and perceptions of what essentially is a very small country in the Gulf. Of the work planned, the

number of hotel rooms is set to double; three stadiums will be refurnished with nine new ones to be constructed; the troubled Friendship Bridge, linking Qatar to Bahrain, is said to be underway again; and regenerations to the tune of $25 billion are underway at Doha Port. Further regeneration of downtown Doha and retail and leisure projects continue to make progress.

In July 2012 the first invitations were announced for contracts in the $35bn Q Rail programme — the largest railway programme in history. In addition, Qatar is starting to select contractors for its $20bn expressway programme, probably the most ambitious the world has ever seen. Yet the predicted pace a year ago was much greater.

“The impact from the bid of last year actually hasn’t hit as yet,” says Laura Warren, a

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Market Explorer | qatar ABOVE: Grant Salters.

“This is the calm before the storm.

There are a lot of projects that have been slowing down and now are speeding up” Doha-based construction lawyer, who has lived in the city for the last five years.

“There are certainly more people coming into town. There’s a lot more foreign investment and essentially it is all connected to the construction industry,” she observes.

“Physically I haven’t seen very much work going on but there’s a lot of interest from people, a lot of plans for expansion, everybody’s trying to compete,” she continues, adding that she believes the country to be in its ‘quiet before the storm’, but that sufficient infrastructure must be in place to ensure timely delivery of all the necessary projects.

“The opportunity is there to create something here that was never here before. I think the opportunities will be huge in construction and its related sectors, such as material supply.

“This is the calm before the storm. There are a lot of projects that have been slowing down and now are speeding up. If they can get the materials into Qatar as quickly as they need them, will there be the infrastructure present to construct what they actually need to construct?

30 | www.thebigprojectme.com

I think it’ll be a constraint if they can’t get that ready in time,” she adds.

On the right foot

Qatar is one of the world’s richest nations per capita and the IMF lists Qatar’s domestic product per capita at US$88,221, forecasting this to grow to US$111,963 in 2016. The country currently forecasts economic growth of about 16% for 2011 and expects a budget surplus of $6.1 billion this fiscal year.

However the financial view from Grant Thornton’s Grant Salter is a little more dubious as he believes that it is down to the country to decide whether they want to cash in for the long term on this event.

“Getting stuff into Qatar is going to be quite a challenge. The fact that so much is going into

such a small place is likely to have a fairly substantial impact. The cost of delivery and the client demand squeeze from now on will create a challenge,” he says, adding that the legacy of the event will also have an impact on longterm gain.

Grant Salter worked with the 2022 Bid Committee to analyse the economic benefit of the bidding strategy and advise on the work required for the event itself and supporting infrastructure.

“You really need to provide a substantial amount of accommodation and a substantial amount of infrastructure that is unlikely to be used efficiently again,” he explains, elaborating that the country will undergo massive alterations both socially and culturally as a result of the games.

For anybody who really cares about this region the number one place for anybody to be thinking about is Iraq and the number two place has got to be in Saudi; across both countries right now there are 50 million people and that is infrastructure demand,” he affirms.

There is an air conditioning debate that rages on in the media with some claiming such plans will be scaled back to cut costs while others say players will not be able to compete with the desert heat without it.

At least one thing is certain – no other major tournament will have you arriving at the game by water taxi in traditional dhows, and England could never offer a view of the Arabian Gulf from the fan’s stadium seats.

Counting on Qatar Life after the hype

While the traditional footballing nations voiced their disappointment in the decision, the Middle East’s construction industry on the ground applauded the win – commentators, analysts and professionals from every discipline welcomed the opportunity to work in a new, vibrant market that was easier to break into than the region’s primary market, Saudi Arabia.

Not all believe the hype though.

“I think it’s a very awkward situation that’s going on there. It’s the tail leading the dog,” says Steve Miller FAIA, RIBA and currently MENA regional manager for Perkins Eastman, when asked about the pace of development,

coordination and planning of projects.

“They are being told that the infrastructure needs to be done and companies win competitions, but at the same time things don’t get done. Projects don’t get awarded,” he continues.

“There are parts of the infrastructure that literally need nine years to construct and then at least two years before to run. That’s 11 years.

That’s now.”

In contrast to 2014 hosts Brazil, Qatar’s plans are on a far smaller scale, with 12 stadia due to be built in a country of fierce climate that, at just 4416 square miles, is smaller than the combined landmass of the Falkland Islands or Connecticut state in the US. “It’s like every other day their plans change.

•

Covering only 4416 square miles Qatar is smaller than the Falklands and Conneticut state, US

•

The $35bn Q Rail programme is the largest in history

•

2030 is the final deadline to complete the projects included in Qatar’s strategic future vision

•

Qatar’s recently announced infrastructure programme is valued at US$ 517m

•

The population of Doha has grown 128% since 2004

www.thebigprojectme.com | 31

Market Explorer | qatar

“There are parts of the infrastructure that literally need nine years to construct and then at least two years before to run. That’s 11 years. That’s now”

CASE STUDY | BYRNE and algeco

Stronger together Byrne Equipment Rental is one of the largest of the plant hire companies operating throughout the region. So what made them decide to create a strategic partnership with competitors Algeco? Dan McAlister finds out

“We’ve chosen to partner up with Byrne because they are the leader in the region”

S

trategic partnerships in the GCC are nothing new but it isn’t easy to get the balance of both party’s interests right.

Over the past year Byrne Equipment Rental LLC and Alegco both gained ground in the region thanks as a result of their joint effort in dealing with their clients, say the companies.

Yet business isn’t always about working against your competitors as these two companies can testify.

“The GCC is more complicated than Europe and this just allowed us to get in here with volume and impact so while we’ve done it in the past with other companies, this traditionally will be of a much bigger scale for us,” Algeco general manager Jim Muldoon begins. ”The we are working with Byrne today, is because we’re looking at expansion in 2012 and in the current climate not many companies

talking like that,” he continues.

“That’s where the partnership really goes because there is that clear focus for growth and I think the thing that compliments us is we can assist in that growth with our products and the delivery of our products and financially it benefits both companies too,” he adds.

“We are the rental arm of Algeco with a distribution agreement,” explains Patrick Fallon, chief operating officer for Byrne.

“We have a sales operation here which is totally independent and through that we get rental enquiries and every rental enquiry we get we pass right onto the Byrne team. Rental is our core business globally, we do no rental here whatsoever,” agrees Muldoon.

“While there has been a downturn and people are more conscious of their money we see this as something we are looking at now

www.thebigprojectme.com | 33

CASE STUDY | BYRNE and algeco

work we’ve introduced is very much long term, four to six months plus. It’s dealing with a premium product to add onto your fleet. For us to do that, there’s obviously an advantage to dealing with Algeco, because it’s a hire arrangement so there’s no CAPEX involved.“

Onwards and upwards ourselves and it’s a very big market rental is a much better option than buying in this current economic climate,” he adds.

Both companies have worked under similar arrangements in the past, under ‘rehire relationships’, although such partnerships have always been struck with business operating in different sectors. . Yet Fallon continues to explain that this arrangement was designed to complement something that Byrne already provided.

“Algeco came up with a product we regarded as being superior to just about anything anybody already had in this region at that time,” Falon says.

“Generally speaking the nature of the product is one of which allows us to present it in bulk rather than one or two units. The type of

Byrne has experience particular growth in the GCC over the past five years, with its acquisition through HSBC Equity, which facilitated the expansion of operations across 11 depots in the UEA, Qatar, Oman and Saudi Arabia, serving the construction, oil and gas, marine industrial and project and events sectors.

Byrne’s product range covers everything portable and power generating, even including mechanical and non-mechanical plant and rentals.

“Long before Algeco we were dealing with all sorts of possible buildings serving a variety of industries for camps and offices in the construction sector for off-shore accommodation in the oil and gas sector and then for the projects and events of business for concerts, sporting events and all sorts of sanitation facilities, dressing rooms and storage areas,” says Fallon.

On the other hand, Muldoon says Algeco has been eyeing the Middle East for the last four years and that the two companies have met regularly to discuss the opportunities, eventually signing contracts a year ago.

“Algeco is based out of Europe and we’re the world’s largest space rental company and the fifth largest by revenue globally.

“We operate throughout Europe in more than 23 locations and this year we’ve had a massive acquisition in Australia where we’ve bought the largest model construction company there,” states Muldoon.

“We’ve chosen to partner up with Byrne because they are the leader in the region,” he continues.

“We’re almost the same sectors, which make it a great partnership. When you have got such a strongly identifiable brand as Byrne, if you speak to anybody – especially the rental of events equipment — I’d be very surprised if they’re not aware of the brand.

The advantages for us is to come in and get some exposure and it allows us to get our products out there and currently we are meeting our expectations,” Muldoon adds, saying the key is product flexibility.

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CASE STUDY | BYRNE and algeco New ground

For companies looking to launch in the GCC a strategic partnership is seen as one of the ways into the market.

“We have had similar relationships with other companies like that in the past, completely unrelated product lines but we have dealt with them in the past more or less. Where we would decide on a particular route to go, on a particular product but we would need the product itself in cases,” states Fallon.

Recalling a successful year Muldoon says Algeco is lucky to be able to talk about expansion at a time when other businesses are facing some of their toughest business decisions.

“We have this agreement and we’re talking about expansion, and it’s fair to say that we probably would have looked at Qatar for next year, not this, but there has been such a positive response to Byrne’s product that we’ve probably grown our fleet by 40% in 2011. We’ll close the year in a very good position,” he says.

Already operating across most the GCC, Fallon says the next big opportunity is likely to be in Kuwait and Libya, with Byrne already “taking a look” at Iraq recently. Since the 2007 HSBC acquisition, Byrne has been focused on the growth of its product lines. Muldoon sums up the opportunity provided in partnerships as “the most cost effective way to start a project”.

36 | www.thebigprojectme.com

“There’s obviously an advantage of dealing with Algeco because it’s a hire arrangement so there’s no capex involved” “You can build an office for 50 people, but that number is the peak, you may only begin with 20 people. In the old days, people would have bought the whole office for 50 people, whereas with what Algeco and Byrne can offer, you rent the space required and you extend to suit future needs.

“Now that’s great – you flex up and you can flex down – so when you get to 100 people in the office overnight you can just extend that office. The same can be done in reverse,” Muldoon asserts.

“The big cost saving is do you want to spend 10 million dirhams building an office or do you want to spend 100 thousand renting it?” he asks.

The Byrne group also has a sister company, Space Maker LLC, also manufacturers of

portable buildings, yet all parties report that even this overlap doesn’t knock the Byrne Algeco partnership out of balance.

“Spacemaker’s scope and their market is a bit different to the ones we operate in and they’re dealing with a completely different product line in many ways but they have capacity that would compete directly with Algeco on the sale of modular buildings. Again for Algeco, you have to understand that for our entire non-buildings fleet, which is probably 20 different types of buildings that we rent out to the market for all sorts of different reasons, we are just one line.

“So we have to obviously work with our sister company Spacemaker - they’re our manufacturer, they’re our supplier for those buildings that we buy into our fleet,” Fallon explains.

“The situation with their sister company has never involved any sort of conflict whatsoever.

The important thing is the word ‘product’, but again we get back to the flexibility of that product and adapt that,” says Muldoon.

“Globally we want to narrow down our scope of how many different types of buildings and modules we provide, so this is why we have chosen what we call the 4000KD to bring it into the market. Currently Byrne rent it for accommodation and the same unit is rented as an office. That just shows you the adaptability and flexibility of it,” Muldoon concludes.

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COMMENT | EC Harris

A shift towards asset performance management For most businesses the three biggest outlays on their balance sheet are people, technology and property. EC Harris head of property, Paul Foster, observes businesses re-adjusting their focus to maximise financial returns

A

cross the MENA region today a shift is beginning to take place with investors and occupiers more and more aware of the vital role property can play in a business’ overall commercial performance. Increasingly, a wider understanding is emerging that enhancing asset performance can play a key role in delivering increased capital value and a greater return to real estate investors and the businesses that operate from within their buildings. At a time when many property values have reduced across the region, taking a more strategic approach to how built assets are managed will build investor confidence and help provide a cushioning against an ever challenging financial climate.

Central to this shift is a growing appreciation of how real estate asset management compliments the more traditionally understood functions of property and facilities management.

Building operators across the region have tended to implement largely defensive property and facilities management approaches which focused on protecting their investments on a reactive basis. Nowadays there is a growing awareness that the value of those assets can actually be enhanced by a more proactive approach to asset management.

The dynamics of the current economic environment has been a primary driver in leading many international businesses to re-evaluate their property and facilities management capabilities and their approach to asset management.

Sadly however, all too often this has resulted in reduced internal resources, often without being supplemented by outsourced capability, thus failing to improve asset performance. This lost opportunity in today’s market has never been more important as operators work with lenders and investors to ensure the best possible return from their assets and to ensure their approach is

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ABOVE: Paul Foster.

“Nowadays there is a growing awareness that the value of those assets can actually be enhanced by a more proactive approach to asset management.” structured to match capital and debt funder requirements.

With liquidity still a major issue in many property markets, including those across the Gulf, developers are struggling to access capital to fund new-build schemes heightening the need to generate more from the assets they already own and operate. This ability to create additional revenue will be particularly welcome in areas such as the commercial office sector where a saturated market can lead to “zombie buildings” such as those that have been seen in Dubai’s Business Bay area. These unoccupied

buildings become under-maintained and depreciate rapidly in market value, making life tougher for their owners in an already tight market. To counteract this danger, some owners take defensive steps to retain tenants, such as reducing rent or agreeing rent-free periods, taking the view that any tenant is better than none, yet this drop in lease value inevitably sees an overall reduction in the asset’s overall worth.

Many buildings in the MENA region have been built to a global specification in terms of systems, finishes and controls yet outside of a few mature markets, such as UAE, KSA and Qatar, supply chain robustness is often inconsistent and ill-equipped to support the complexity of real estate already built, let alone the aspirations of the schemes being planned and created today. This raises the threat that not only could these buildings be under-maintained, but their asset value could also diminish rapidly rather than being enhanced. By adopting a more strategic approach to how that asset is operated these risks can be identified from the very outset and appropriate steps taken to mitigate them.

With multiple factors combining to impact commercial property valuations, changes in accounting standards and ongoing liquidity problems are placing property investors under increased pressure. There will inevitably be greater scrutiny of balance sheets and increased pressure on maintaining or improving asset values requiring a more structured approach to improving revenue capture, cost compliance and cost reduction.

When you consider that most real estate should be expected to last five or six decades the benefit of asset management cannot be underestimated. A focus on the whole life costs and capital value of these assets is critical to achieve long-term value to investors.

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PROJECT UPDATE | capital gate

The tower stands at 160 metres and has been build with a westward incline of 18˚

Flash and dash Capital Gate chief architect Jeff Schofield tells Melanie Mingas about the tower’s significance to Abu Dhabi and local reactions to its record breaking design

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”This is what we can do with steel and concrete and it’s an expression of where we stand right now in building technology and real estate development”

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ne day a well known local man drove onto the construction site from the highway and said ‘look at your tower, it’s leaning’. We were half way up at the time so you could clearly see the structure. I was on a site visit a week later and the guys were telling me this story and I said ‘clearly you didn’t listen to the guy, it’s still leaning’,” recalls Capital Gate’s design phase chief architect, Jeff Scholfield, of RMJM. “People don’t expect it they really don’t.”

The world record holding tower stands at 160 metres and has been build with a westward incline of 18˚. Relaying that the client ADNEC “love” the tower, Schofield says the wider reaction to such bold design has been mixed, with blog sites – and even Schofield’s non-industry friends – fixated on the sharp lean and ‘splash’ canopy feature.

“What the tower is really expressing is the state of technology right now, here in 2011,” he explains.

“This is what we can do with steel and concrete and it’s an expression of where we stand right now in building technology and real estate development.

We’re ‘pushing the envelope’ if you will. Literally. So that is how I would answer the blog sites who criticise the tower and say it is all flash and dash.”

Schofield is no doubt incredibly passionate about his work, describing the tower’s enigma and “urban presence” at length; adding how different it looks from each angle.

“It’s a very intriguing tower for people and I think that might be one of the most interesting things about it and as you get closer you discover more and more about it and as you get closer you want to see more and

experience it. This is the reaction we seem to be getting and I’m satisfied as an architect that we’re bringing some delight into people’s lives that way.

“I think it’s going to be stood on that skyline, pretty much isolated for a few years to come. Maybe that’s the best contribution that it’s making to the city as a recognisable landmark standing there on the edge of the peninsula,” he continues, adding: “I’m really proud of my tower.

Capital Centre isn’t an entirely new development, it’s partly a regeneration of a grand stand that has existed since the 1950s and from which, Sheikh Zayed himself used to watch the National Day parades.

Now a protected national monument, the grandstand had to be incorporated into the Capital Gate design; a feat Schofield achieved by integrating the new tower and old with the splash canopy that now shades them both.

“It’s our way of incorporating the old but announcing the new, so it really is a passing of the generations in Abu Dhabi. We’re hoping as architects, that people will sense that there is both the old and new together with this tower,” he clarifies.

Techs and challenges

Already working on ADNEC’s exhibition halls in the wider Capital Centre area, RMJM approached Abu Dhabi Municipality to pitch an idea for the iconic centre piece they felt would finish the development.

“This twisting, turning form was to be a counterpoint to all the low-rise exhibition halls and the straight up and down sky rise developments the client

PROJECT UPDATE | capital gate

wanted to do. It’s very important to make the big iconic tower right there on the edge of Abu Dhabi where everyone can see it and it’s really supposed to be a landmark for the whole area,” Schofield explains.

In 2006 the twisting, leaning concept was granted permission – the only high rise in an area, which at the time, wasn’t even zoned for towers – after a summer spent fine tuning the feasibility of the project.

“It was a seminal project in developing that middle part of the Abu Dhabi Island to bring along more density to the entire ADNEC site,” he comments.

Yet despite the seminality, achieving the curve was no mean feat.

To create the curve, floor plates were stacked vertically until the 12th storey then staggered until the 29th by 800 to 1400mm, in relation to the shell. From the 9th to 35th floors they ranged between 900mm and 300mm, in line with the facade. The overturning moment created is the countered by the large podium footprint. Complicating things further, some of the piles were in tension, some compression, depending on the lean.

That’s the theory, yet in practice Schofield was adamant the structure would also be environmentally sound. From the diagrid to a single core as opposed to internal columns, the design was intended to reduce the use of steel and concrete. All this was tested with 3D modelling software throughout the process.

The glass was the next most significant challenge, with no two panes the same. The tower form was constructed from triangular pieces, four metres high and divided into nine panes of glass per structural triangle, to create smaller facade pieces. These were created by an Austrian firmthat was given only a 20mm margin for error.

Again approach sustainably, there is a double facade in the upper half of the tower – where the hotel is located, complete with an atrium that reaches from the 18th floor to the top of the tower – and run the cool air taken from hotel rooms through the gap to cool the hot air from outside. As this rises to the ceiling it is brought back through the AC system and reused. The method reduces cooling costs by between 5-10%. The splash acts as a shade, blocking up to 30% of the sun’s rays, further reducing the cooling load.

With the building and design challenges addressed, Schofield recalls explaining the

The splash feature

”It was a seminal project in developing that middle part of the Abu Dhabi Island to bring more density to the entire ADNEC site” structure to the municipality and fire department in terms of MEP, safety and the day to day running of the tower.

With the design and logistics settled, Schofield says the next challenge was construction – a phase that lasted almost four years.

“The only thing that really overcame that was with really good team building and we used a system called partnering. ADNEC brought in some specialists to help the teams partner and go beyond the contract to get people to help each other out, even if it was beyond the responsibility of their role.

“It may be the contractor’s responsibility to deliver the building correctly, but O still have to show him how to do the steel erection and welding 400mm beyond where he should be, knowing that it’s going to come back to where it belongs later on,” he says as an example, adding: “I’m sure we would have had many more problems had we not had that system in place.”

Once in a lifetime

Recruited by RMJM in 2005, Schofield has worked on a number of high end luxury developments for the real estate and hospitality sectors in Dubai and Abu Dhabi and across the wider Gulf region, including Dubai Towers in both Jeddah and Doha, and the Palm Jumeirah, aiming to “stay modern, or at least contemporary” on all, most recently delivering Dubai’s American School.

In addition to the work with ADNEC, where the firm’s contact is Sheikh Sultan, RMJM is also involved in competitions for TDIC and Aldar, in work that spans commercial and municipal projects.

“It’s not often you get a chance to build something like this. ADNEC loves it and they really are behind this tower 100%. I want to give them full credit for funding this project and making it happen and bringing it into the vision of the entire ADNEC site.

“Hyatt Hotels were contacted at the end of 2006 and they too were really eager to occupy this tower with the new Hyatt @ brand of boutique hotels, starting with Hyatt @ Capital Centre.”

Schofield adds: “I have 25 years working on high profile projects throughout the world and I’m glad to be working on those things here and I accept the controversy that comes with it. In fact it’s good to have because you are making people think.”

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News

As the UAE celebrates its 40th year, The Big Project looks back on the seminal moments in its development, the driving force behind a nation’s ambition and looks ahead to the projects still to come

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he unparalleled success of the United Arab Emirates has not only made it a talking point around the world, but a hotbed of activity in almost every economic sector.

The old adage may claim Rome wasn’t built in a day, but the pace of development since the first National Day 40 years ago this month, has seen a desert nation transformed into a diversified country that holds so many world records, that’s a record in itself.

While there has been much debate about the pace, sustainability and ambition of development, it has been the leadership of the UAE’s rulers that has driven the vision. Not

only providing a springboard for future development but driving GDP to US $301.9 billion in the process. The UAE is home to manmade islands, a theme park so big it can be seen from space and of course the world’s tallest building.

When The Big Project asked Burj Khalifa project director John Mills, why he thought the UAE had chosen to build its reputation on such a heady mentality, he answered “because they can”.

“With Burj Khalifa, the money was there, the desire was there. You try and do anything like this in the UK or Europe and you’re bogged down with bureaucracy,” he continues.

XXXXXXXX | XXXXXXXXXX COVER | 40 YEARS OF THE UAE

"A nation without a past is a nation without a present or future" Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan

“Effectively the driving force in Dubai is the Maktoum family. If they say yes, you can do anything and Dubai has grown phenomenally,” he adds.

And Dubai, along with Abu Dhabi, Sharjah, Ras Al Kaiman, Ajman, Fujairah and Umm al-Quwain, continues to grow. Flagship projects around the country include Dubai Pearl – the largest single development currently under construction; Kizad – an industrial zone and port three quarters the size of Singapore, the Etihad Railway, which will link all seven emirates by rail for the first time; and the continued development of Abu Dhabi’s Capital District and islands.

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COVER | 40 YEARS OF THE UAE Eng. Amer Al Hammadi

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iterally translating as ‘father of the gazelle’, the UAE’s capital city Abu Dhabi accounts for about 86% of the total land area of the UAE and currently holds the lion’s share of the US $350 billion worth of active construction projects in the country.

Diversifying the economy has seen recent development focus on the financial hub, Capital District; cultural stronghold Saadiyat Island; and leisure destinations including Reem Island and Yas Island; and the world’s fist sustainable city, Masdar.

Although more ‘conservative’ in nature than its most famous neighbour, Abu Dhabi

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still succumbs to the same heady glitz of Dubai, with ADNEC’s capital gate holding the world record for furthest leaning tower, and other attractions including Ferrari World, the largest indoor and first Ferrari theme park.

With development today over seen by the Urban Planning Council (UPC), Abu Dhabi is being developed according to Vision 2030, which incorporates plans for infrastructure development and economic diversification in line with the strict environmental principles of Estidama.

It’s a plan which UPC director of planning Eng. Amer Al Hammadi, describes as “touching every aspect of life in the city of Abu Dhabi and wider Emirate”.

“The realisation of Vision 2030 will occur by developing masterplans for new areas in the Emirate and revitalisation plans for existing ones,” Al Hammadi explains, saying the UPC was established to ensure sustainability, infrastructure capacity, community planning and quality of life were integrated in these developments, in 2007.

“Additionally, the UPC is working closely with communities to plan for the necessary facilities to create vibrant and complete communities for a sustainable future for the Emirate. In fact, over the coming years and decades, Abu Dhabi citizens will see a positive transformation within the communities, towns and cities in which they live.

“The UPC will continue to actively deliver well-connected, safe and vibrant places with the utmost respect for the environment, cultural heritage and rich social

fabric that will remain the key assets of the Emirate,” Al Hammadi pledges.

Perhaps the most significant development in Abu Dhabi in recent times has been the introduction of Estidama, the Pearl Rating System developed by the UPC to achieve the late Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan’s ambition of a “truly sustainable” Emirate.

“Abu Dhabi’s physical environment has evolved at a phenomenal rate since the 1960 and 70s, and as such, a culture of long range planning was developed, even from the early days,” Al Hammadi says, adding the Emirate aims to be a “catalyst for sustainable world-class 21st century cities in the region” “Through my work at the UPC I’m incredibly proud to be playing a role in developing the comprehensive regulations, guidelines and policies that are helping to guide planning and development in the Emirate,” Al Hammadi comments adding that the project closest to his heart is the Emirati housing programme for 13,000 new homes to be built across the Emirate .

“Such principles and objectives are transforming Abu Dhabi – for the better – and to have a part in it is incredibly rewarding.

Our work is helping to provide a better and brighter future for the Emirate’s citizens – more employment opportunities; an attractive, well-connected public realm; a greater range of educational and healthcare institutions; more vibrant, active, walk-able communities; and a more economically sustainable environment for the generations to come,” he adds.

COVER | 40 YEARS OF THE UAE

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ince its heyday of record breaking excess, Dubai’s economy has taken a beating. The city that rose from almost nothing over a decade was finally overcome by the bubble it created, forcing it to reassess, and in some cases cancel, hundreds of projects.

But even in the slower times, Dubai is still developing. This year the Dubai Metro green line was inaugurated, Jebel Ali has seen a number of new investors and developments and construction of the Al-Maktoum International Airport continues.

It may be that the private projects have stopped – a fact even RERA CE Marwan bin Ghalaita admits – but the factories keep producing to meet international demand and the biggest names in contracting, development and consultancy still have offices in the Emirate.

Today, behind the scenes plans are in motion to ensure the Dubai that comes back will be mature, measured and properly regulated, not only economically, but environmentally too, with new green building codes included in the plans.

In October of this year, the 2020 masterplan was unveiled by Dubai Municipality to define how land will be allocated and developed.

"We have to know what we are going to do and what is our requirement for these lands and how we need to develop it," Hussain Nasser Lootah, director general of Dubai municipality was quoted as saying after the announcement. This master plan has taken all the aspects – residential, industrial, commercial, schools, hospital and even infrastructure – into consideration," he said.

"The rapid urban development and modernisation that has taken place in the city of Dubai in the past few decades have influenced the physical urban fabric of the historic area,” says Lootah “The people of the UAE have experienced dramatic change in the few short years since the state was established, change that has provided them with all the benefits of a modern, developed society, but at the same time, this

change have distant them from their local and traditional environment.

As a result, most of the historic buildings were abandoned and crumbled. These challenges have been one of the main concerns of Dubai Municipality; to revive the historical and cultural significance of Dubai though initiating a long term project to revitalise the historic centre of Dubai," he continues.

"The main aim of the project is to revitalize the life line and the heart of Dubai historic centre, to generate a sense of pride in the city and to create a unique sense of place," he adds.

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COVER | 40 YEARS OF THE UAE

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Mohamad Al Afkham.

"Fujairah is stepping confidently towards the future it aspires to because of the huge projects that already exist and the future projects anticipated in the next few years"

lending tourism and industry, Fujairah will soon become the hub of the UAE’s new construction programmes on the back of developments that will cover everything from leisure and retail complexes – including a Us $116m ‘city centre’ leisure complex, complete with 22-storey hotel – to the new 480km oil pipeline and strategic infrastructure developments, such as the 35 million square feet Al Hilal city housing projects in Sekamkam that will accommodate 70,000 people by 2016.

This month marks the official inauguration of the Sheikh Khalifa Expressway, which will cut travel times between Fujairah, Dubai and Abu Dhabi will be integral in paving the way for the wave of new projects. Described by municipality director general, Mohammed Al-Afkham, as the project he is most proud of, the AED2 bn highway came in pursuance of the directives of His Highness Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan, President of the UAE. “Due to the UAE’s wise leadership and the support and vision of His Highness Sheikh Hamad bin Mohammad Al Sharqi, Supreme Council Member and Ruler of Fujairah, and because Fujairah is offering a lot of advantages and facilities to investors, the Emirate

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has witnessed great economic boom in the last few years,” reports Al-Afkham, who has direct involvement in all the strategic projects “The government is continuously enhancing the infrastructure of the Emirate which no doubt plays a pivotal role in its development,” he adds, explaining Fujairah is unique due to its location, resources and potential to enhance the economy of the whole country.

“The expressway is designed according to international standards and will have a positive economic effect for the region, especially in the anticipated boom era that Fujairah will witness in the near future,” he continues.

Located on the Strait of Hormuz, the Emirate is already a re-export hub, providing strategic links between Arabian Gulf markets, the Indian subcontinent, the Middle East and Europe.

Economic diversification has been achieved on the back of the local bunkerage industry – in which the Emirate holds the title of second most significant city in the world. The industry has facilitated many economic and commercial partnerships on an international scale and propelled Fujairah to be one of the most important economic centres in the Gulf.

In addition, Fujairah plays a strategic role in the UAE’s food security, with warehouses and specialised silos constructed to store grains. Fujairah’s second industry, tourism, is further driven by cultural attractions spanning everything from archaeology to the arts, promoting the Fujairah brand worldwide.

Speaking to The Big Project earlier this year, Al-Afkham said that part of his ambition isn’t just to rejuvenate the local building stock but the image of the Middle East on the world stage, through culture and art.

“There are a lot of big business and developmental projects that the government is considering for the future of Fujairah.

“Some of these projects are already approved and will see the light soon and some of them are still under study,” Al-Afkham continues, further adding that the Emirate is “stepping confidently towards the future”, due the scale and ambition of projects both existing and planned for the short term.

“The UAE's seven Emirates complement and support each other, and they all spare no effort to provide the best infrastructure and the best life for their people and Fujairah of course is an inseparable part of the UAE,” Al-Afkham says.

COVER | 40 YEARS OF THE UAE

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ff the beaten track, the northern Emirates – Sharjah, Ras Al Khaimah, Ajman and Umm Al Quwain – are the little known getaways that also provide opportunities in affordable housing as well as retail and leisure offerings, as their populations increase on the back of the success of local free zones and industry.

While basic infrastructure such as roads, are still in need of development, each Emirate has its own success story.

In Ras Al Khaimah’s that story is its free zone, which over the last decade has grown to host 5000 SMEs from 116 countries worldwide, with 413 registered in Q3 2011 alone.

In spite of the success it is this industrial development that causes the Emirate’s most pressing social issue. The growing industrial and pharmaceutical sectors demand 40-55% of the total energy produced for the Emirate, causing regular power shortages.

Pioneering solutions in line with both its

own requirements and the greater goals of sustainability the country promotes, it was last year reported that solar islands, to be floated off the shores of the Emirate were in their second year of testing.

RAK’s built environment benefits from cheap materials and with extensive space and demand for new developments driving a boom of sorts in recent years, it is the local light industries that have particularly benefited from manufacturing glass, cement and ceramics. In the future an average population growth of 5% is predicted to sustain demand for affordable housing but not address the oversupply of higher end residential developments.

Sharjah’s flagship development is the Heart of Sharjah, lead by Sharjah Investment and Development Authority (Shurooq). Works began September 2010 and the five phase project is making good progress according to reports; phase one is due before Sharjah Biennial in April 2012.

Sharjah Corniche Road will also undergo intensive redevelopment, while Bank Street will be redesigned in order to serve the new master plan of the whole project. Completion is due 2025.

At just 260 square kilometres, Ajman is the smallest of the Emirates but the second after Dubai to offer freehold property. It is currently the only emirate in the UAE offering investors of any nationality 100% freehold ownership on real estate, which has boostd the number of investors and spurred development.

Yet it hasn’t been immune to the slow down and in 2010, Aqaar’s centrepiece attraction Ajman One was re-evaluated, following the completion of infrastructure works and ahead of construction of the 26-27 storey towers.

Today, Aqaar is looking ahead to completion of the 12 freehold towers, due by the end of 2011.

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COVER | 40 YEARS OF THE UAE

Abu Dhabi

Nationwide

Etihad rail network Al Maktoum International Airport Abu Dhabi International Airport terminal expansion Sheikh Khalifa Expressway

Saadiyat Island Sowwah Square Masdar City Lulu Island Etihad Rail Ghantoot Green City Reem Island Festival City Danet, Abu Dhabi Marjan Island AlGhadeer Capital District Bloom Central Mafraq Hospital Kizad

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The UAE may already have its share of world famous developments, but many more will be delivered over the coming years Dubai

Habtoor Island Resort and Spa Dubai Pearl Arabian Ranches Falcon City Business Bay Deira City Centre, Burjuman renovation

Fujairah

A 480km crude oil pipeline project to with a capacity of up to 2.5 million barrels per day Al Hilal city housing projects in Sekamkam to accommodate 70,000 by 2016 Mina Al Fajr Real Estate Project on the shores of Diba Al Fujairah A number of major shopping malls, due to begin open soon Five-stars hotels under construction in the Al Aqah and Faqit areas

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Larger than any other Big 5 show, The Big Project caught up with some of 2011’s biggest exhibitors to find out their thoughts on this year’s exhibition

Bayer Material Science

Duke of York attends senior executive’s meeting

Photographed by Marlou Delaben

Event insider | The Big 5 2011

The Big 5 2011

The Big 5 2011 was officially inaugurated on Monday November 21 by H.H Sheikh Hamdan bin Rashid Al Maktoum, deputy ruler of Dubai.

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While material scientists Bayer attend some exhibitions to increase new business, others are a promotional exercise to keep their brand name in the mind of buyers.

This year Bayer enjoyed renewed interest in their environmentally friendly products due to the Green Build Congress taking part during The Big 5.

“Energy savings and insulation is a hot topic and the material we have is an expensive but high-tech and highperforming material. It can be used in district cooling for example. Our products give a similar effect but with a lower width compared to standard products,” said CEO Feroz Saleem.

“The Green Build Congress helps increase the demand for these products in general but it also helps to give us the chance to speak with our customers about issues such as the phase out of blowing agents in the region and HCFCs and provide the technical know how we can offer,” Saleem added.

Global formwork suppliers Doka showcased four products at the show, the DokaFlex 50, DokaDeck 30 and Staxo40 and Staxo100.

“As a global formwork supplier and one of the leading suppliers, we have to exhibit the new developments made for this market because we believe the demand for these products are only going to increase,” said Doka Gulf general manager Peter Vogel.

“We also want to communicate with our clients and potential clients the advantages which Doka provides, because we are not only selling formwork systems, we are providing a full pitch of services as a part of the construction industry.

“The services we provide you cannot find with any other supplier,” Vogel added, elaborating that he expects “slight” growth in the region in the immediate future and that the regional infrastructure projects currently being planned and initiated across the Middle East provide the “ideal circumstance” for new projects for Doka.

“This region is politically stable, but we are still suffering from the financial crisis but the market is stable now,” he said. Most recently Jubail. The product has been on the market in Europe for eight years and came to the Middle East four years ago.

“The customers here are very interested.

Our main customers to speak to are the project owners who are going to build new projects in the near future, or the consultants who are making the plans and specifications,” Spits added.

Honeywell Fighting the case against rogue refrigerants in the Middle East, Paul Sanders, managing director for Honeywell Flourine Products in Europe, Middle East, Africa and India, attended The Big 5 to help spread the message that cheap does not mean cheerful.

“We have tested the fake materials ourselves.

They are toxic and flammable and don’t work as well as the originals. One of our reasons to be here is to draw attention to the use of fake refrigerants in the Middle East.

“The problem is well known in the market and now people are becoming more concerned about

it. At the end of the day if you’re running a car garage or supermarket or anything where you are purchasing energy efficient refrigerants, you don’t want your workers being exposed to a flammable product or being exposed to a toxic product,” he continued, adding that there is now equipment available to test and verify suspicious products.

“Also if you have new equipment you don’t want to be jeopardising your warranty or performance,” added Sanders, who reports Honeywell’s work to tackle the issue has been ongoing for four years and has included a warehouse raid where 20,000 cylinders were recovered.

Tekla Following the news that Tekla has been acquired

by Trimble in a US $489 million deal, The Big Project caught up with Tekla’s director Tahir Sharif and Trimble director of worldwide sales, Laurence Smith at The Big 5.

“Over the last three years we have been at the forefront to move BIM forward in the Middle East, but our strengths have always been in construction,” said Tahir Sahrif.

“Having the added strength of Trimble and its product lines, we are able to offer the complimentary product lines that we need and now we can widen our products from MEP to hardware, which is a must on site. So it’s of huge benefit to us,” Sharif added.

According to the companies the acquisitions will enable further expansion across the region, following a five year period of prior collaboration between the two.

The two didn’t rule out a change of branding

in the future and said R&D could now also be conducted collaboratively “Obviously we will be looking for product integration as much as possible. We want to make sure that, as Tahir mentioned, what we are offering customers is a workflow improvement, from BIM to field. It has to be more integrated so the solution is better for the contractor. Of course looking for natural integrations will be key to how we will move forward,” Smith said.

A full interview with Tahir Sharif and Laurence Smith can be found online at www.thebigprojectme.com

Event insider | The Big 5 2011

DOKA

Event insider | The Big 5 2011

Rubber World Established in 1993, Rubber World Industries has been an anchor exhibitor at The Big 5 for a decade.

“At that time we were the only manufacturer of rubber in the UAE. This year at least 15 products are being introduced,” said managing director Fareed Majeed.

“We buy the best and most expensive chemicals from Korea, Taiwan, China, France from everywhere in the rubber and chemical industry. You know in the world that China is

the best source but we are buying only certain chemicals. Most of the chemicals we buy are either from Europe or Korea. Korea is one of the best manufacturers. Our main products are good because we keep our standards. The difference is we do not compromise.”

Majeed attributes the success of RubberWorld to continual R&D, which sees the product catalogue regularly updated and the high tech machinery used in the manufacturing process.

Schock

Flying over from Germany, Christph Spitza and his team attended this year’s exhibition to speak with project owners and consultants to promote their fibreglass rebar, ComBar. “You can use the Combar whenever there is a special need or requirement for corrosion problems for beach or seaside projects – all material has a corrosion resistance for more than 100 years in any environment and is equivalent to the highest grade stainless steel,” explained Spitz.

“The Combar is non-magnetic and electrically non-conductive, which means it will not conduct electricity. This is ideal for transformer buildings and hospitals,” he added.

ComBar has already been specified for three major aluminium factories in Dubai, Qatar and most recently Jubail.

The product has been on the market in Europe for eight years and came to the Middle East four years ago.

“The customers here are very interested. Our main customers to speak to are the project owners who are going to build new projects in the near future, or the consultants who are making the plans and specifications,” Spits added.

Danube Following a year of record profits, family-run materials chain Danube used The Big 5 to launch a water heater and automatic sensor faucet with single welding to reduce the chance of leaks. The product is available in capacities ranging from 10 to 150 litres and comes with a five year warranty.

Currently working with Apollo and Fiori, managing director Anis Sajan, said The Big 5 was also an opportunity to strengthen Danube’s growing network.

Following record profits, which saw the company increase revenues 21% in H1 2011, 15 branches are planned for the coming months. Danube is also aiming to reach a revenue target of $1b per annum by 2015.

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Proud to be associated with the first LEED Gold Accredited Building in the Middle East Mirdif City Centre Developed and Managed by Majid Al Futtaim Properties

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CONSTRUCTION | Green Build Congress

Building Green Cities and Connections When the Green Build Congress debuted at this year’s Big 5, Marwan Noueihed rubbed shoulders with the leading players to hear about the issues behind our cities

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fter more than 30 years of successful shows the Big 5, the Middle East’s largest construction exhibition – with over 2500 exhibitors from over 70 countries –hosted the first Green Build Congress, in Dubai.

The event saw more than 40 speakers and leading players from the private and public sectors come together to exchange ideas in lively round tables discussions, workshops and over 100 free to attend seminars and product showcases over three days.

The Green Build Congress opened with an address by H.E. Dr. Rashed Ahmed bin Fahad, Minister of Environment and Water, UAE. In his speech he highlighted the steps the UAE has taken to reduce its ecological footprint in light of the fact that the country has the world’s highest per capita ecological footprint.

One key step was the launching of the Al Basma Al Beeiyah Initiative in October 2007, which allowed the UAE to monitor consumption patterns in the country and address its footprint. The UAE is only the third country to embark on such in-depth research, after Switzerland and Japan. Other proactive initiatives highlighted included the development of the Estidama Pearl Rating System and Abu Dhabi’s Masdar City.

However, the minister said the most pressing need is to change people’s habits and behaviours, which will require education and take time.

Across the panels, there was a general consensus that building sustainably is no longer an option, and that it should not be more expensive than non-sustainable building if it is planned for in the design stage. Mario Seneviratne, who as Director of Sustainability at Green Technologies, has designed many net zero carbon buildings, takes an inside-out approach to design, with more open spaces and materials that reduce heating, cooling and lighting costs.

Adrian Smith, the architect behind iconic structures such as the Burj Khalifa and Kingdom Tower in Saudi Arabia, in his keynote speech stressed that the key to sustainable cities would be in retrofitting old buildings so they comply with new green standards. This is because new buildings only account for 1% of the world’s total building stock.

“A green building by itself does not create a sustainable community. But a sustainable

54 | www.thebigprojectme.com

xxxxx.

community needs green buildings,” Paul Bierman Lytle, director of sustainability, IMCC Green said in summary of the conundrum.

However, on a more fundamental level, Andrew Olszewski, AO director, International Urban Strategies, said: “While buildings are important, it is the system that has to be sustainable.”

For cities to become more sustainable, planning cities has to move from an administrative planning model, which includes the master plan – a method that is popular in the UAE – to an urban management model, which encourages interconnectedness, transparency and constructive public-private partnerships. A case in point is Melbourne in Australia, which turned itself around when faced with an economic crisis and has been ranked The Economist’s most livable city of 2011.

Convincing businesses that operating sustainably is not more expensive, remains a big challenge. “ Sustainability is not a cost, it’s an opportunity,” said Dr. Nawal Al Hosany, associate director of sustainability, Masdar City.

Continuing to point out that the top companies are also the most sustainable, she referred to Johnson & Johnson, the international consumer health and medical devices company, which placed sixth according to Newsweek’s 2011 green rankings of sustainable US companies.

Even though participants at the Green Build

Congress might have had different approaches to sustainability, they did agree that building and living sustainably is no longer an option, and that the UAE is taking bold actions in this direction.

Rewarding Sustainability

The fourth annual Gaia Awards, supported by Build Green, recognised construction products that have successfully demonstrated exceptional sustainable and energy efficient features This year’s Gaia Awards were more intense than ever, because for the first time nominations were open to non-exhibitors at The Big 5. There are also no categories – only one gold, two silver, four bronze and 13 finalist awards. Presenting the awards were Burj Khalifa and Kingdom Tower architect Adrian Smith and The Big 5 show director Andy White.

Nuuon Trading LLC was rewarded with gold for its EnOcean wireless technology, while Blade Room Group Ltd and Red Engineering along with Carlisle HVAC/Trimac Inc took silver. Bronze was awarded to Waterpro S.A., Enolgas Bonomi S.p.A., Cocomosaic Indonesia and Smart Box Industries LLC, while 13 finalists were also recognised.

TRENDS XXXXXXXX | ROUND | XXXXXXXXXX TABLE

The business of design In the final round table of our design series, some of the region’s best known fit-out contractors talk about taking control in a changing business climate, integrated services and emerging markets What are your core markets and what trends have you seen recently?

Photographs by Cris Mejorada

RIGHT: Steve Kiernan.

“The scale they are working at puts elements of Dubai to shame and there is nowhere near the amount of people needed to build the place.”

56 | www.thebigprojectme.com

Steve Kiernan: We have a wide ranging customer base and I would say over the last 12-18 months the most business has been in retail. Banking, hospitality and hospitals have also formed the main core of work recently, which has changed a lot compared to three years ago, when we were doing a lot of yacht interiors. We have seen hotels become reluctant to pay for quality and more focussed on cheapest price. They are happy to have us do the mock-up room but when it comes to the actual job they are happy for it to go to some Mickey mouse company. These are five start brands and they are compromising.

We used to do mock-up rooms almost at cost, because when people saw the quality of what you can do they will consider you at the tender stage. Now, forget that; they just want the cheapest Joe Savage: Our business is also diverse at the moment. We are doing some retail, we are working with the banking sector. The largest amount of our work is in the commercial office sector where we are doing some good projects largely for Abu Dhabi-based government clients but we have a number of significant current projects in the hospitality sector. Leisure is also a large part of what we are doing, but the lion’s share is the commercial office sector. We also have our own joinery and MEP divisions.

The industry over the last 12 months has become more challenging, but having said that Dubai has begun picking up very recently.

SK: I have seen that over the last few months JS: A big part of our business going forward is Qatar.

Darren Taylor: Being part of a small business that has moved from a start off phase to a new business, you’re hands on deck with everything from business

development to the collateral. We are a Qatar-based business and began there, we now have operations in Dubai but we have more work in Qatar. There are bigger projects there. We have just completed projects for JP Morgan, Credit Suiss. The degrees of separation in Qatar are much smaller – you get in and deal with the bigger companies much quicker than you do here and also in London, where I come from.

I agree that Dubai has come back, but it never went away. It just corrected itself and levelled out. Abu Dhabi had a moment where all the work was there, but then people realised that they prefer to live here.

What we have noticed here is that there is a huge amount of projects sub 5000 feet, that many companies don’t want to touch. A lot of projects recently like Rolls Royce, Harley Davidson., Aston Martin for example, they are all 5000feet and less. There are some stats coming through from the real estate sector that show over 80% of the transactions done over the last year in Dubai are under 5000 square foot. So there seems to be that demand, then a void, then the larger projects.

We are well placed to pick up to 2-10,000 square foot jobs. A number of companies that we have never heard of before will come in and whip work away from you for crazy prices. If you have a relationship with the client you will meet in the middle.

SK: Relationships with the client for repeat business is the key thing. It hasn’t been picking up to multi-million dirham projects, but maintaining relationships.

That’s for two reasons, they are difficult to get hold of and secondly because it’s very difficult to get the final payment, even with reputable companies.

If you have repeat business you don’t need to have massive amounts of business, what you need is regular cash flow. That’s what keeps you going.

RIGHT: Lurdes Silva.

TRENDS | ROUND TABLE

“A lot of the deals are done late at night at the Majlis and there isn’t a wealth of competition among the consultants”

DT: It’s the bread and butter jobs that keep you going, while you’re looking for that nice 15-20,000 square foot project. We primarily deal with commercial, we all migrate from an office background, but we will do larger.

SK: I think our business needed something changed. I remember the glory days when you didn’t think a client would agree to a price, but they did. It wasn’t about the cost, it was about the programme. At that time there were a huge amount of cowboys and it gave the sector a bad reputation. The recession has cleared a lot of that out but unfortunately it has also taken a lot of very good companies. What has happened now is that the client is much more aware of costs but is employing people to bring down costs and trying to get your work at a loss.

JS: People were prepared to work at a loss just to keep cash turning over. What has happened is that people are now in the bad habit of believing that you can do that. A lot of companies traded at a loss just to keep cash moving over a period of time in the hope that a big project will come along and save the day.

have been from wealthy Qataris who got stung here, they are also watching and being very mindful of the market place. Everybody is anticipating the World Cup, but that is coming at a point in time. We’re fit out contractors, not roads and bridges. If you look at it from a hotel and leisure perspective, a lot of businesses tend to recycle their design every three to five years, if they do it now they will be doing it again before the World Cup, so a significant amount of that won’t happen.

DT: You find things are tied up early doors. You see a certain amount of consultants involved and you can pretty much dictate where that is going to go.

JS: The Middle East is not too different now to what it probably was 20-30 years ago. Qatar, from that I am hearing, is in some ways mimicking the Dubai market of 15 years ago where it is the development of relationships and the deliverability that is the key to getting work, as opposed to just the commercial considerations.

I think once Dubai moved away from that with the onset of a significant amount of western expat management consultants, I think Qatar hasn’t matured to that level yet and the market there is about developing the right relationships and team of people who can deliver, as it is about the commercial considerations.

DT: A lot of the deals are done late at night at the Majlis and there isn’t a wealth of competition among the consultants. Dubai is saturated with competition, but with Qatar there are a lot of professional consultants who dip in and out again.

Hamilton’s Joe Savage.

How long before that possibly changes?

DT: I’m not sure. I have lived there and even a couple of years ago people had an eye on that market because of its natural resources and wealth. And with that market you can’t help but feel that they are just waiting for something to happen. You would walk around their financial centre in West Bay and you’re wondering where it is. There are companies moving there but there isn’t the same buzz, energy or dynamic you get in Dubai.

SK: Is that because they’ve learnt from Dubai and are being more cautious?

JS: I think the mistake is that they are waiting.

Qatar is trying to use the experience of Dubai, but to think that a significant amount of the investment in Dubai over recent years would

Regarding the fit out cycle, do you predict a slow down before the final World Cup demand?

JS: It’s speculation, but I think there will be two elements. In the UK main contractors do their own fit out, they don’t employ companies like us. In this part of the world, companies like us are nominated to the main contractor from the consultant or they are employed by the main contractor. What I think will happen is that there are new hotels to be built and there are also the usual refurbishments to be done and that is one of the factors holding up the leisure industry in Qatar at the moment – there are at least two cycles of refurbishments between now and the World Cup. From a commercial perspective they certainly built an awful lot of developments that need to be fit out but I think what is going to happen in Qatar is that all of a sudden when it starts it’ll be a gold rush. There are infrastructure issues in terms of our business, as opposed to that being the roads and so on, in that the

www.thebigprojectme.com | 57

Photographs by Cris Mejorada

SK: The big projects now are so difficult to get.

There are things going on behind the scenes.

TRENDS XXXXXXXX | ROUND | XXXXXXXXXX TABLE

LEFT: Darren Taylor.

SK: This region has always been about who you know anyway.

LS: The difficulty is finding that right partner.

How do you find the right partner?

DT: It’s a bit trial and error.

suppliers and sub contractor supply chain is not there. There are other issues with the whole labour market there; issues with visas that need to be resolved.

Things change week to week depending on their mood.

SK: Some nationalities are favoured over others and you can’t build everything with only limited human resources.

JS: I think that once the demand is there, the political will be there as well. At the moment there isn’t as significant a demand as during the gold rush of Dubai 15 years ago.

Photographs by Cris Mejorada

SK: I’m finding more and more interest from Qatar of late. We have had a trade licence there for a while and I have seen people I have known for many years move over there. It is going slowly and it never seems to be the rush that people expect, but every time I turn around I see somebody I have worked with for 10 years now moving to Qatar.

We kept our full staff over the last few years and now we need more, but we can’t find that talent because so many have gone to Qatar. A few have gone to Oman and quite a few to Saudi Arabia.

What opportunities does Saudi Arabia post for you?

SK: In the banking district in Riyadh there are around 118 towers going up at the same time; the scale they are working at puts elements of Dubai to shame and there is nowhere near the amount of people needed to build the place.

The only thing with Saudi Arabia is getting

58 | www.thebigprojectme.com

“My concern is when you’re going with a local partner in Saudi Arabia or Qatar, do they have a vested interest or are they trying to do a numbers game where they just get partners with as many people as possible” out there, finding a partner. You can’t go out there blind, you need a partner and the partners want a 60% cut in your business. Over time they will realise that people won’t go out there for that; it should be at least on an even 50/50 basis.

Lurdes Silva: It’s the best market and it’s stable.

You can make a lot of money there.

SK: I know people who went a decade ago, lived in the compounds, enjoyed having a sense of society around them, and I know people who have gone recently and work seven days a week because there is nothing else to do there. They are stuck in hotels and there is nothing for them.

JS: The Saudi Arabian market is interesting and like we have said, the key to success is your partner. The mind set is completely different to what happens in Dubai. It is all about the power of what they have, what they can do and how much money they have. It’s challenge enough to get paid in the UAE, but one of the biggest challenges if you don’t have the right partner there, getting paid is a big problem. The Saudi market is one where you have to have your wits about you.

SK: I met a guy who came out here and he had a great portfolio and so on. We travelled over together and we were going to go to a video call tender meeting and when I arrived they didn’t have a clue. They had boxes of tender drawings that they admitted they hadn’t checked. They said they didn’t need to. I had to advise our MD to walk away from it because with projects like that the result can damage your brand. Your name is soiled internationally. But before that the company had looked great.

You need to get your local partner involved.

If you’re not GCC Arabic, which you have to be to know the nuances we don’t even pick up, you’re at a disadvantage. If they switch to Arabic you’re excluded from the conversation.

JS: It depends; our company has been actively involved for 20 years and we have managed to forge many relationships over that time but the business climate is a very different place today.

Our partner in Qatar is a very significant sponsor and partner and that relationship has developed. At the end of the day, nobody is going to hook up with you unless you’re capable of doing the job.

SK: What you have there is a local partner. We have gone in there on our own because our sponsor, who takes an active interest in our business, isn’t involved in everything. Is that a right move? The jury is still out. You could lose up to 40% of your profit working with partners, but if you increase your business then it’s a good deal.

JS: We have taken a similar view to the methodology Richard Branson takes when he develops the Virgin Group, in that he brings partners on board who have a vested interest in bringing partners on board who have a vested interest in being as successful as he wants to be.

Therefore you are going to get more out of the equation.

SK: My concern is when you’re going with a local partner in Saudi Arabia or Qatar, do they have a vested interest or are they trying to do a

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TRENDS XXXXXXXX | ROUND | XXXXXXXXXX TABLE

LEFT: Joe Savage.

“Some of the biggest brand names in the world who we work alongside are still going for cheapest price. It’s phenomenal.”

numbers game where they just get partners with as many people as possible, get you a trade license then get up and go?

You want somebody who will fight for the business and get your business.

JS: We have a partner, rather than sponsor, which is a big difference. Our partner has a vested interest in developing new business. That is the fundamental difference.

SK: When you get one like that happy days, but there are a lot of potential sponsors out there who will guarantee all sorts, but the fact is they are making that same deal with 20 other companies, signing the papers en mass and if you don’t make any money, so what.

DT: We have moved the other way round – we started in Qatar and have moved here. We have a principal sponsor who sits at the top of an investment bank who is behind a lot of the deals we have in the UK over the last few years and his business partner runs a successful French investment bank here and they helped us to set up here. So now we’re flying the nest so to speak, but if those guys hadn’t been close associates it would have been a bit of a struggle.

Regarding new territories we have just set up a framework agreement for a serviced offices company in Saudi Arabia, but the only way we could do that is to piggy back on that project and enter the market that way. We would do it through the connections we have got or not at all. I think the market is right to get it wrong at the moment. If we spend a significant amount of our time and money at the moment going to Saudi and we get it wrong, we will be out of that for five years and it will have a major impact on our operations here.

Photographs by Cris Mejorada

JS: The projects there, and in Qatar, are big projects and if you are trying to grow into a reasonable size, targeting Saudi even with a healthy turn over, is not something we are looking to do in the short term. We are trying to consolidate and strengthen our business in the UAE. SK: Is that because of Dubai’s signs of recovery?

JS: We have a strong client base of government customers in Abu Dhabi and a steady flow of work from them. We have ongoing relationships with Aldar and have projects with other entities and we have just won the ADFCA head quarters, which is 20 floors in Abu Dhabi.

60 | www.thebigprojectme.com

We have developed those relationships and those good size projects have kept us going.

That comes from delivering. We have a good solid base in the UAE that we are not intending to move from. We still see a significant amount of business, even if the market is getting tighter, based on relationships.

It’s getting tighter for main contractors, but from our perspective there is still work. We were working with FGB on eight of their projects. They’re not huge projects, but they’re good projects.

With respect to diversifying business operations, how and when did your companies decide to branch into MEP and joinery and how have you found the experience of staffing these operations?

SK: The beauty of having those divisions in house is when you commit to a project you’re not holding to somebody else. There are two things that can ruin a project MEP and joinery and if either of those let you down there is no way you can recover. You can patch certain things up for an official opening and fix them afterwards, but if the MEP isn’t working or the reception desk is missing you can’t get away from it.

Having those two things in house give you the control. The only thing is there can be a drain on you if you don’t pick up full turnkey projects.

We have our own glass and metal work divisions, we have our own solid surface division, MEP, upholstery, hand carving, but unfortunately they also have a lot of overheads. It’s a 50/50 call sometimes, but when it comes to last

minute problem fixing you have your own people to depend on.

JS: We have gone through quite a metamorphosis over the last year and have scaled down our MEP division and over time that probably turned out to be the wrong thing to do as a business. We did it for all the right business reasons but from the MEP business perspective, we are now building that back up again. We do design operations and coordination, but we scaled it down from an operations perspective but to be honest with you, the biggest challenges from a fit out company is that the biggest challenges in any type of job is that part of the work is MEP, even more so than joinery.

In my experience, when things fail here it is about MEP. That’s the back bone of any project because you are building around an MEP structure whenever you build anything. Invariably up to 80% of delays can be attributed to MEP in some form.

SK: That’s often the case with high-rise buildings.

JS: We have just finished projects where we were reliant on other MEP contractors and every one of those was delayed.

I genuinely believe that if you have a good, deliverable MEP organisation, you can be very successful in this country because there are few who perform well.

SK: The reason we get the business is that we might be more expensive but we get the job done on time.

JS: It was once said to me that quality is

SK: As we said at the start, this is where these companies come in and do work cheaply, which on handover day is difficult to judge the quality of, but six months later. I have seen some work by companies that don’t invest in the proper equipment and machinery.

How do you overcome the problems that arise when liaising on outsourced MEP works?

DT: We have people in-house coordinating to take us to a certain level and then we sub contract out. As a business, we are a young business, a lot of people have had up to a decade sub contracting experience here and they have their own contacts and experience of quality control.

We’re not at the point where we can draft in our own department, but we do have years of experience in our people.

It’s a mixed experience at the moment but the biggest challenge we have got is trying to sell that premium and piece of mind. Some of the biggest brand names in the world who we work alongside are still going for cheapest price. It’s phenomenal.

You always hear the bad stories and it astounds me that there don’t seem to be the big penalties here that you see in the London market.

The companies we work with don’t impose any of those. In London it’s fixed price, fixed contract and daily penalties for going over. Here, the stories of bad delivery over good delivery are massively in favour of doing that. People have had bad fit outs in the past and have missed deadlines.

SK: We obviously work with companies where the penalties are there, but the small companies on the small jobs don’t do it.

to be present in meetings even if I don’t know as much as somebody else. It’s when you can hand that over that you don’t have to micro-manage.

JS: It depends on the projects. In a lot of cases those penalties are the entire margin and delays are a problem for many companies especially in the contracting business. The challenge here is that there is a culture of almost acceptance of non-delivery and it is a challenge on every level, from your own staff to client expectations.

What we have found is that clients are becoming more savvy.

We are working with big names and main contractors and by their very nature are contractual, they very much hold you to what you say you are going to do. They are also very proactive in following that up. The culture in the UAE, which I do see is changing, where in order to achieve what we are going to achieve we must micro manage every element of what will happen.

It’s not just the UAE, I spent ten years in Ireland and also the UK and where there is a significant demand and a smaller amount of supply, you will work with what you have got. In some cases you have no choice but to accept this culture of nondeliverability just to get things done.

The whole of Dubai grew out of that culture and there was enough work for companies to jump from one project to another over night.

Dubai is a far more mature market than some of the ones around it and a culture of accountability and dependability is coming in. But it is a question of developing an organisation with that ownership.

JS: The UAE by its nature is a process driven entity but you need that balance between the right people and the right processes to get it done and I don’t think that is ever going to change. The reality is with the right people and processes in place, people who can – and are allowed to – think will make the difference.

The key to success going forward is that if you develop the right kind of model that has a culture of deliverability within an organisation, then you have something you can market and something that is useful and that makes you unique in this market.

SK: I have found that regardless of qualification, it is only certain nationalities that are listened to by some clients. That means that I have

The discussion was held at Movenpick JBR’s dedicated business centre. For reservations information on Movenpick’s business travel packages and meeting rooms contact +971 4 449 8888

The panel Darren Taylor, TEC Joe Savage, Hamilton Steve Kiernan and Lurdes Silver, Bond Interiors

www.thebigprojectme.com | 61

Photographs by Cris Mejorada

remembered long after the programme is forgotten. We are in a high end fit out market it’s what we generally do and you need to produce high end all the time, every time. Unfortunately there is a price to pay for that.

RIGHT: Steve Kiernan.

TRENDS | ROUND TABLE

“Qatar, from that I am hearing, is in some ways mimicking the Dubai market of 15 years ago where it is the development of relationships and the deliverability that is the key getting work”

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SUPPLIER HOTSEAT | KANOO

Anything you Kanoo Azam Ahmed talks about 120 years of heavy lifting history and the growing demand for ever bigger equipment

T

he Kanoo Group of companies has been in the Middle East market for over 120 years with interests in various sectors.

Kanoo Machinery, a part of the Kanoo Group, is one of the leading materials handling solution providers in the Gulf region for more than 60 Years. Recently, Kanoo Machinery also made inroads into Qatar, Yemen and Oman markets through joint venture companies.

Kanoo Machinery has been catering to diverse industrial sectors with a wide range of equipment and consumables from the world’s leading manufacturers of materials handling, industrial and maintenance products.

“The products offered by Kanoo Machinery are backed by strong support of an efficient after sales service network of workshops, parts and mobile service facilities throughout the Gulf and the Arabian Peninsula,” says marketing manager for Kanoo, Azam Ahmed.

Kanoo machinery sells Grove cranes, Hyster forklift trucks and Perkins engines – all big sellers in the region’s major markets.

“In the crane Industry there is an increasing demand for larger lift capacity cranes with longer booms. These are required for the heavy and high lifting jobs encountered in the building of new refineries and the petrochemical sector.

“There is also a growing need in the market for crawler lattice boom cranes.”

“In the materials handling world the growth of the logistics and 3PL industry has created a big demand for warehouse equipment, which is met through Hyster’s range of machines as well as new technology products such as the articulated fork lift truck from Aisle Master.“ Grove rough terrain cranes are built in the United States. They are robust, reliable and easy to maintain machines that can perform in the roughest job sites that are used in some of the most hostile environments of the Middle East.

Grove also manufacture a full range of all terrain cranes in Germany, which incorporate

Azam Ahmed

cutting edge technology giving them the capacity to move quickly between jobsites and efficiently carry out lifting operations.

Hyster’s product range is the most extensive and complete offering on the market today with 140 models covering the complete spectrum of load handling requirements from hand pallet trucks to counter balanced big trucks and reach-stackers capable of handling loads up to 52 tonnes.

Perkin Engines UK, is one of the largest independent diesel engine manufacturers in the world.

Ranging from 5-2600HP, Perkins’ engines power more than 5000 different applications from over 1000 major equipment manufacturers in the construction, power generation,

“In the crane industry there is an increasing demand for larger lift capacity cranes with longer booms” materials handling, agricultural and general industrial markets.

Kanoo also markets construction equipment from Bobcat, Hitachi and Sullair compressors. The company’s major principal Grove cranes have introduced a “state of the art” assets management system, called CraneSTAR. “CraneSTAR gives the most updated crane fleet information to a central location utilising either the GPS satellite or GSM (mobile phone) networks. CraneSTAR enables crane owners to view ‘real time’ crane data from any PC or web-enabled device with an internet connection, irrespective of where the crane is located,” explains Ahmed.

The mapping function allows users to know where the assets are at all times. Users can also define a jobsite boundary, a virtual geo-fence, which will alert them or can be setup to disable the crane, if an attempt is made to take it out of the assigned area.

“Crane owners can remotely monitor the working conditions of the cranes, plan maintenance, and lifting schedules thereby maximising the company’s efficiency, productivity and profitability,” he goes onto say.

With recent highlights including the increased opportunity seen as a result of the oil and petrochemicals industries outsourcing equipment requirements, Kanoo also reports long term contracts with Saudi Aramco and SABIC, with Azam saying: “Kanoo Machinery has been growing rapidly and has extensive expansion plans for Oman, Yemen and Kuwait and the Indian subcontinent.”

“Kanoo Machinery is also introducing new products such as concrete and heavy earth moving equipment in its traditional markets,” he concludes.

www.thebigprojectme.com | 63

SUPPLIER | NEWS

Suppliers in the spotlight A round-up of the latest news and announcements from industry suppliers in the Middle East

Armstrong

LG Electronics

Unique Maritime Group

New digital promotion

LEED gold certification achieved

Diving project receives saturation system

Ceiling and flooring provider, Armstrong has introduced a digital promotion campaign for the newly launched Armstrong Atelier.

The online platform includes a digital flip book and the Atelier 360 Degree website, both designed to visually showcase the potential of the Atelier service.

The digital platforms include project videos and downloadable brochures for the new island and metal products.

Designed to take the relationship between architects, designers and building interior solutions providers “to unprecedented levels”, the Atelier concept was launched in September at the UK’s 100% Design exhibition.

Armstrong describes the concept as: “Atelier comprises a specially identified and recruited team of CAD designers, project managers and technical sales representatives providing customised ceiling and wall solutions for the most challenging of creative and technical briefs.”

“The Atelier interface promises to engineer designers’ creative vision, and since it has been fine tuned with the help of architects in the UK, France and Benelux over almost two years, it already has a number of flagship case studies under its belt.”

The Atelier digital flipbook can be accessed via the 360 Degree website, at: www.armstrong-atelier.eu

LG Electronics’ Jebel Ali Freezone facility has achieved LEED gold certification; the first company in the Middle East to do so for multiple buildings like warehouses and offices.

The ‘LG Building’ saves21.5% in energy, 31.8% potable water, 91.7% diversion construction waste from landfills, compared to data before conversation measures were implemented.

Such measures include building envelope insulation, and efficient AC units, fans, and motors, PV Solar panels and LED lighting. It also uses building finishes with low VOC paints, coatings, adhesives, and sealants.

“Beyond producing energy efficient products, LG is looking to play a leading role in reducing its carbon footprint and act as a corporate model,” said LG Electronics Gulf FZE president, H.S. Paik.

The project is a local initiative that fits into LG’s global environment plan to become one of the world leaders in reducing the impact of climate change. LG aims to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by almost 14 tons by the end of 2011, an increase from the 12.9 million tons reduced in 2010.

“We believe responsible companies must contribute to sustainable growth by minimizing the environmental impact caused by their business activities, and the LEED Gold Certification is an acknowledgement of our efforts,” Paik added.

A Unique Maritime Group company, has recently been awarded a $5.2 million contract to supply a 12 MAN ABS Classed saturation system and 3 air diving systems for the Leighton Offshore diving project, based in the Middle East.

Unique Maritime Group will provide their 12 MAN ABS classed saturation system, complete with SPHL for subsea construction work activities and will deploy its equipment, consumables and skilled diving personnel on board client-designated vessels for the project.

The Iraq Crude Oil Export Expansion Project (ICOEEP), phase 1, is being undertaken for Iraq’s South Oil Company, by international EPCIC contractor Leighton Offshore in a US$799 million contract.

The ICOEEP phase 1 includes the following scope of work on a full engineering, procurement, construction and commissioning basis; installation and commissioning of two 48” parallel pipelines, 20km onshore and 120km offshore.

“We are delighted to be involved with Leighton Offshore PTE. LTD. We will be working closely with them to help complete this agreement efficiently. We are looking forward to a long and productive relationship” said Ian Huggins, Unique Maritime Group’s general manager.

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$799m value of the The Iraq Crude Oil Export Expansion Project by international EPCIC contractor Leighton Offshore

SolidPOOL

Laufen

Abu Dhabi UPC

Modular swimming pools

Bagno Alessi One collection launched

New GIS systems introduced

French manufacturer SolidPOOL has released its modular swimming pools solution, built from blocks, which make it possible to build a reinforced concrete pool in a very short time, of any size or shape and with any kind of finish: liner, reinforced PVC or tiles.

The “tile” block has a V-shaped perforated front that allows a small amount of concrete to get through, thus providing fixing for the tiles.

With SolidPOOL®, it is possible to produce pools that are partly or fully above ground.

SolidPOOL® is a genuine freestanding structure, free of any struts, which helps optimise the available buildable area, thus representing an ideal solution for small gardens and indoor pools.

SolidPOOL “Tout Pour l’Eau” PRAT was initially involved in building hydraulic pumps, and gradually went on to specialise in the world of swimming pools, filing a host of patents, till reaching the point today when it can offer a highly comprehensive and very innovative range of swimming pool kits that meet any requirement and are technically understandable to anyone. The SolidPOOL® formwork block is made up of two polypropylene plates, 20 “insert” screws and two clips, placed top and bottom. The SolidPOOL Carrelage® (Tile) block has a “V” shaped perforated front which lets the concrete through, thus allowing the tile fixation.

The luxurious Il Bagno Alessi One collection from Laufen, has been extended to include new shapes and furniture.

Central to the range is the countertop washbasin complete with handy ceramic shelf, which is fired from one piece using a traditional fine fire clay technique to create a rippling effect that also offers the option of combining with complementary furniture.

This is joined by a new 400mm high ‘Tam Tam’, without a taphole or overflow, which can be combined with new washtops in various widths, plus a new semi-recessed washbasin and washbasin bowl characterised by a flat, oval design and practical wide rim.

For the smaller bathroom there is the new ‘half Tam Tam’. New colours have also been added to the range. There are also new additions to the range’s wellness collection, including a new shower cabin with an overhead shower running diagonally above, a wide door for comfortable access and a frameless structure for an unobstructed view of the bathroom beyond. The collection also now includes new washbasin bowls and a new bathtub that fits snugly into a new range of furniture, which itself makes an excellent seating area or storage space for towels and toiletry items.

Part of the Roca group, Laufen also works with Palomba, Wiel Arets and Phoenix Design.

Coinciding with World GIS Day, Abu Dhabi UPC has announced the launch of two new systems, GeoPlanner Version 2, an updated addition of the Council’s GeoPlanner technology, and GeoPad, comprising state-of-the-art planning software especially for use on the iPad “The UPC regards GIS technologies as an essential element of the planning process and we therefore continue to drive forward in ensuring that we have the latest capabilities and tools at our finger tips,” said director of planning and infrastructure, Eng. Amer Al Hammadi. “These latest initiatives take our GIS abilities to a new level and they will be of benefit not only to our internal team here at the UPC but to all our key stakeholders as well.”

The just-launched iPad app, GeoPad, has been developed by the UPC’s Spatial Data Department to allow managers and planners to easily view projects, plans and maps on their iPad device. Through online synchronisation with the UPC’s spatial database, the app allows users to access such updated data from anywhere and at anytime. GeoPlanner is an internal web portal, developed by the UPC’s Spatial Data Department, that enables the Council’s planners to easily identify masterplans, planning policies and regulations for any location or area and to visually track the development proposal review and approval process.

www.thebigprojectme.com | 65

CAREER LADDER SUPPLIER | NEWS | Coryn Hellewell

“The UPC regards GIS technologies as an essential element of the planning process and we therefore continue to drive forward in ensuring that we have the latest capabilities”

COMMENT | GYPROC

Stay ahead of moisture

Whilst moisture control is a key issue for any building designer it is especially important in the UAE, where the inter-action of hot humid outdoor air and mechanically cooled interiors creates a recipe for internal, structural and condensation problems. Gyproc’s technical development manager, Jason Hird, examines the part played by wall and ceiling linings in preventing moisture damage in buildings.

W

orldwide, an estimated 75% of building failures are caused by water – either as a result of atmospheric moisture penetrating the structure through construction flaws or poor design, or condensation forming within the structure or on internal surfaces due to temperature imbalances.

Although rainfall is not a problem here, we have to contend with high levels of humidity in the external air, compounded by artificially high temperature differentials between the interior and exterior of buildings due to extreme use of air-conditioning systems, both of which conspire to force moisture into buildings.

But as well as moisture entering the building from outside, it will be created within a building due to the activities which take place – people breathing, or activities such as bathing or exercising in a gym.

Effect of moisture

Without effective control, moisture can cause a whole host of problems within a building – from ugly staining and mould growth on internal walls and ceilings to deterioration of the building structure itself due to damp and decay caused by hidden ‘interstitial ‘condensation within the external wall and roof structure.

This condensation is involved in corrosion of steel components, chemical deterioration of gypsum lining boards, ceiling tiles etc and deterioration of concrete and masonry. Even without the physical damage, it can affect the performance of the external fabric by reducing the thermal effectiveness of insulation and other construction materials. Perhaps more important, however, is the effect that condensation and mould growth on building

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ABOVE: Jason Hird.

“Condensation is involved in corrosion of steel components, chemical deterioration of gypsum lining boards and deterioration of concrete and masonry” components, furnishings and carpets can have on the health of building occupants. Damp, humid atmospheres create ideal breeding grounds for fungi, bacteria and dust mites which promote asthma and lung problems.

Addressing moisture issues There are a number of ways in which the designer can reduce the likelihood of moisture problems occurring in a building, for instance by incorporating constant fresh air handling systems to reduce the amount of expensive air conditioning needed. Reducing the opportunities for external warm moist air to penetrate the building through the use of controlled ventilation systems, using airtight construction techniques and vapour barriers in the external wall and roof construction to seal any construction gaps and cracks, and creating positive pressure within the building to reduce moist external air filtration through open doors and windows, will also reduce the amount of moisture penetrating from the outside.

This is not the complete answer, however, as it does not address the other issues such as construction moisture which is gradually released as the building dries out. One of the most common contributors to construction moisture is the use of poured concrete and blockwork with sand and cement render which continues to release moisture into the building for many months as they dry out. This can cause damp, decay, mould and bacteria. These issues can be addressed by using appropriate dry construction techniques rather than traditional ‘wet’ trades, such as internal dry partitions and linings, wherever possible.

Internal thermal linings with plasterboard finishes cool or change temperature more quickly than masonry equivalents, so there is less delay in achieving room comfort conditions, and lower risk of condensation as lining responds quickly, changing temperature at a similar rate as the room air.

COMMENT | GYPROC

There may also be instances where, during construction, internal dry lining commences before the building is fully weathertight. If external environmental conditions are extreme and relative humidity (RH) is continually above 70%, it may be necessary to use moisture resistant (MR) versions of the specified Gyproc plasterboards – i.e. Gyproc Moisture Resistant in place of standard plasterboard, or Gyproc FireStop MR or DuraLine MR in place of the standard grades. This will ensure that the boards do not degrade, bow or sag due to the humidity, especially on ceilings, and will help prevent moisture penetrating the structure until the building is properly closed off.

Lining selection

Gyproc’s range of performance plasterboards make perfect internal linings for any masonry external wall as they quickly adapt to changes in internal room temperature, helping to maintain a constant internal environment.

Further improvements can be achieved using a wall lining system, such as Gyproc GypLyner – a metal frame lining system that can incorporate a separate insulating layer of glass wool, polystyrene or phenolic foam within an adjustable cavity. By choosing different insulants, the lining can be engineered to provide different levels of thermal performance and can minimise condensation risk in each area of the building.

By significantly improving the thermal performance of the outer envelope, less energy is needed to maintain a comfortable and constant indoor environment and the demand for expensive air-conditioning systems is reduced – possibly even leading to smaller air-conditioning installations, all of which helps to further cut condensation risk.

Pay attention to tiled surfaces

Particular attention must be paid to wet rooms and kitchens where traditional tiled finishes can be at risk when surface water penetrates to the underlining board. Problems are often not

realised until tiles fall away from the wall surface, by which time the lining is generally saturated and must be replaced – bringing disruption and considerable repair cost.

It is often assumed that expensive tile backer boards or cementitious boards are the only option for tiled applications, but Gyproc Moisture Resistant board has been industry proven for decades, and will provide a much more cost-effective solution.

When applying tiles to Gyproc Moisture Resistant, all that is needed is to use a 15mm thickness board and reduce stud centres to 400mm. This construction is perfectly suitable for most tiled backgrounds, with tile thicknesses up to 12.5mm and a tile weight up to 32kg/m2. Heavier tiles and marble cladding can also be easily accommodated using direct mechanical or batten fixing – further guidance on tiling applications can be found in the Middle East White Book Tiling section.

What is Gyproc Moisture Resistant?

Specially developed for tile backing and high humidity environments, Gyproc Moisture Resistant board is regular plasterboard but with

special moisture repelling additives in the core and paper liner, giving it excellent moisture resistance.

The same technology is applied to a range of performance boards so that properties such as impact resistance and fire resistance can be coupled with moisture resistance in a single board. Typical examples include Gyproc FireStop MR, which combines excellent fire resistance with moisture resistance and Gyproc DuraLine MR, the popular high impact lining but with additional moisture resistance properties – ideal for school changing rooms, hospitals, clinics and other similar applications where a range of performance is important.

All Gyproc MR quality boards will provide resistance to moisture up to a certain level, as defined by several international standards, such as ASTM C1396, BS 1230 and EN 520. The general requirement is defined within these standards as the sampled plasterboard having absorbed no more than 5% of water by weight after two hours full immersion in water.

Whilst the Gyproc Moisture Resistant plasterboards are not water proof as such and are not suitable for fully exposed external applications or for use as a water barrier, they are perfect for most internal or ‘semi-exposed’ building applications, such as bathrooms , kitchens, wet rooms, semi-exposed soffits, where excess humidity or occasional wetting may be apparent.

The next level

Our innovation and development team is continuously working to develop new and improved products for every area of performance, and moisture resistance is no exception.

They are currently working on a new generation of board that will provide high levels of protection against both moisture and mould growth – making it ideal for a range of damp environments.

Based on new technology from the US, the new board achieves the highest possible score for mould resistance against ASTM D3273, as well as meeting GREENGUARD environmental standards in key ‘Indoor Air Quality’ and ‘Children and Schools’ categories.

If you would like further details on Gyproc’s moisture resistant range of boards please contact the Gyproc Technical Team or see the new Gyproc White Book online at online at www.gyproc.ae/literature.

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COMMENT | Aconex

Let’s work together The average number of documents generated during a two year construction project can reach as many as 800,000. Hervé Hamelin EMEA general manager for Aconex, explains the correlation between online collaboration and streamlined project delivery

O

n any major construction or engineering project, a crucial task is getting numerous organisations – contractors, consultants, engineers and suppliers – to communicate efficiently. However, two industry trends are making this more difficult, impacting productivity and budgets as a result.

Trend 1: Project teams are becoming more dispersed

Project teams routinely have members based across several cities and even countries, often far removed from the project site. This can make cross-company collaboration complex and expensive.

The challenge is well illustrated by Mr. Couturier, A&E Division Director at Oger. The company’s Abu Dhabi Financial Centre project involved 80 companies in nine countries. Mr. Couturier said, “This project involved a large, dispersed team that included specialist consultants from around the world.

The shop drawing review process included companies from the US, the UK, Germany, Austria, France, China, Italy, Saudi Arabia and Lebanon. There was a large volume of documentation being exchanged between participants – and, with tight project deadlines in place; this needs to be done efficiently.”

Trend 2: We’re drowning in data

While software and technology advances have made it easier than ever to communicate and exchange information, the downside is that people, organisations and projects are often drowning in documents and email. As a project ramps up, with more firms joining the project, the number of drawings, RFIs and variations created increases exponentially. After 24 months, typically around 270 organisations are engaged and have generated 800,000 documents and correspondence items.

This sheer volume of data creates more challenges: Can team members quickly access the information they need? Can project managers identify bottlenecks in the drawing review process or view which RFIs are outstanding?

Traditional tools don’t cut it

The limitations of many commonly-used tools make the task of managing

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“Nowadays there is a growing awareness that the value of those assets can actually be enhanced by a more proactive approach to asset management.” project communication even more difficult.

Hard copies, shared drives, email and internal document management systems were designed for single enterprises, rather than the multiparty project environment.

As well as slowing down the flow of information between participants – the lifeblood of any project – this can also lead to crucial data not being captured. Of more concern is that these tools often provide no audit trail of what’s been committed to and agreed. All of this can reduce efficiency and increase firms’ exposure to risk.

An example of this is given by Mr Steve Worrell, Director of Mixed Use Development at ALDAR, who supervised the delivery of the YAS Island project, a $40 billion mixeduse development that needed to be fasttracked to be ready for the inaugural Abu Dhabi Grand Prix.

Mr Worrell said, “The problem with using an email system like Outlook on such a project is that a lot of data is held on personal computers and not in a retrievable filing system. This project has seen hundreds of contractors, subcontractors, engineers and consultants come and go, and if you can’t find the information you need, it makes life very difficult.”

A solution built for construction projects

There is clearly a gap between what’s needed to manage project information and the capabilities of traditional tools most often used today.

As our industry is primarily project based, it seems logical that our tools for communicating should also be.

Becoming increasingly prevalent, particularly on large projects, online collaboration systems allow the entire project team to access,

distribute, track and store their documents and correspondence using a single platform.

At any time and from any location, project members can instantly access their data using a secure login. Documents of any size that can be electronically transmitted to other project members and then the status of reviews and approvals can be tracked.

In practice, firms see a sharp drop in their print and drawing distribution bills, as the use of hard copies is significantly reduced. Also, there is less time wasted searching for files, as information can be retrieved within seconds by using a Google-style keyword search or other criteria. Particularly on large-scale projects, the time and bottom-line savings can be significant – Oger recently reported that it saved US$550,000 in print costs by using a collaboration system and also cut drawing review cycles by 20%.

Although these figures are impressive, companies often find that the most significant benefit of using a collaboration system is risk reduction. With collaboration systems, all data is securely archived and cannot be deleted or accessed by unauthorized personnel. Throughout a project, the systems maintain an audit trail of ‘who did what and when’ to provide transparency and accountability.

Most importantly, collaboration systems hold project information on a neutral, independent platform. Access rights are set for all companies and firms retain full ownership over the information they’ve created. This creates a level playing field where no party has more control over the other. This, as much as anything, drives high adoption and usage, and supports open collaboration between companies.

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Director business development Alex Bendiouis alex@cpidubai.com Director business development TEL: (0)4 440 9154 Alex +971 Bendiouis GSM: +971 (0)50 458 9204 alex@cpidubai.com Director business development TEL: (0)4 440 9154 Alex +971 Bendiouis GSM: +971 (0)50 458 9204 alex@cpidubai.com TEL: +971 (0)4 440 9154 GSM: +971 (0)50 458 9204

Editor Melanie Mingas melanie@cpidubai.com Editor TEL: +971 (0)4 440 9117 Melanie Mingas GSM: melanie@cpidubai.com Editor+971 (0)56 758 7834 TEL: +971 (0)4 440 9117 Melanie Mingas GSM: +971 (0)56 758 7834 melanie@cpidubai.com TEL: +971 (0)4 440 9117 GSM: +971 (0)56 758 7834

Assistant editor Dan McAlister dan@cpidubai.com Assistant editor TEL: +971 (0)4 440 9118 Dan McAlister dan@cpidubai.com Assistant editor TEL: +971 (0)4 440 9118 Dan McAlister dan@cpidubai.com TEL: +971 (0)4 440 9118

CAREER LADDER | BILAL DURHAN

Star of construction science Last month, civil engineer Bilal Durhan rose to fame on the Arabic television programme Stars of Science.

He tells Dan McAlister about the plastic mix additive he invented and his brush with fame

“My theory controls the temperature of concrete moulds in production facilities and increases the effectiveness of production”

How did you hear about the show?

One of my university professors proposed the idea of taking part and after roaming the show’s website, I was invited to meet the committee in Syria. I qualified then to the Doha round, until I was admitted to the laboratory to prove the theory around which I developed my invention.

How easy would it be to roll your theory out across the industry?

My theory controls the temperature of concrete moulds in production facilities and increases the effectiveness of production by using a cooled controlled system for prefabricated slabs.

The main goal of inventing building moulds that control the temperature of concrete during implementation is to neutralise the impact of the weather conditions from the concrete mix, or the impact of the natural obstacle

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Bilal Dr. Farouk El BAZ

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CAREER LADDER | BILAL DURHAN Dr. Farouk El Baz.

represented by hot environments on manufacturing the concrete slab.

Concrete slabs are known for their sensitivity towards weather conditions and the heat emanating from the cement especially in the first stage of preparing the mixture. This is due to the role of temperature in setting the specifications of the primary and finished concrete slab.

The temperature of concrete slabs is controlled by the walls hosting the concrete slabs mix in the form of a liquid heated to a set degree, allowing the temperature to be transferred from the liquid to the walls, according to a diagram establishing a link between the correct temperature degree and the time elapsed from the start of pouring the concrete mix because each phase of concrete preparation has its own optimal temperature degree.

What are the benefits?

The method results in concrete slabs that are free from any weather induced defect, such as the excessively high or low temperatures or heat exchanges, thus eliminating the pulling forces and heat induced fissures inside the concrete slabs.

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How did you first become interested in engieneering?

ABOVE:Bilal.

The concrete slabs are fully rigid, due the interaction of all the cement quantity used in making the slabs and it also eliminates the need to pour water on the slabs to cool them.

The method also extends the longevity of the concrete slabs because they control the temperature of the interactive environment (PH), in a way that prevents the emergence of a corrosion conducive environment, due to controlling the temperature of the interactive environment.

It’s an economical method to save energy because it uses solar powered heaters in the heating phase.

The engineering phase was one of the competition’s toughest because it involved serious work and represented developing all the basic details of the concerned inventions. Every one of us was required to develop the structures of their inventions in a way allowing them to impeccably perform their engineering functions.

Since this phase was difficult, successfully passing it was even more difficult. Dismissing four of the participating inventions was not a mean feat, especially that all of them were highly efficient and distinguished.

Academic studies Civil Engineering Scientific background: Bilal has an interest in building technology and scientific research. He developed a theory of concrete heat management and has invented an additive for plaster mix that promotes its resistance to humidity and its rigidity.

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UAE Project name: Phoenix Mart Project Project number: ZPR425-U Territory: Dubai Client: Name : Meraas Development (Dubai) City: Dubai Phone: (+971-4) 511 4900 Fax: (+971-4) 332 2707 Web: http://www.meraas.ae Description: Development of Phoenix Mart comprising a shopping mall, a five-star hotel and car parking facilities.

Budget: 545000000 Period: 2013 Status: New Tender Remarks: This project will be located next to Dragon Mart on the outskirts of Dubai and cover an area of eight million square feet. The five-star hotel is set to be three times as large as the existing Dragon Mart complex. The Phoenix Mart will comprise 6,000 outlets with the vast majority new brand names from China.

Client has signed a Build-Operate-Transfer (BOT) agreement with Chinese investment company Longines.

70% of the investment will be provided by the Chinese government and 30% by Longines. They will operate the mall for 30 years before transferring the project to the Client. Construction work is scheduled to commence this year and completed within two years.

Tender categories Hotels, housing projects, leisure

Project name Four Seasons Hotel Resort Project - Jumeirah Beach Road Project number MPP2475-U Territory Dubai Client Bright Start Holdings (Dubai) City Dubai Phone (+971-4) 221 5333 Description Construction of five-star Four Seasons Hotel Resort comprising guestrooms, a ballroom, spa, fitness centre, main hotel restaurant and bar, a roof top bar and lounge, including recreational facilities such as tennis courts and swimming pools, retail facilities and other small cafes along with food and beverage outlets.

Period 2014 Status New Tender Remarks: This project will be located on the old Jumeirah Beach road in Dubai and cover a total built-up area of 65,000 square metres. The new hotel will replace the existing Jumeirah Beach Club. The hotel will include basement parking. Ground level will include a valet parking, parking facilities and operational facilities.

Guestrooms will be located on the first five floors. Client has already opened the pre-qualification process for the main construction package in April 2011. In early April 2011, an enquiry was also sent to piling contractors for foundation work on the planned development.

The main construction package will involve structural and civil works, architectural and mechanical, electrical and plumbing works. Construction work is scheduled to take two years to complete. The hotel will be operated by Four Seasons. South Africa's DSA Architects International is the architect, while local HH Investment & Development is the development manager for this

project.

Main architect: DSA Architects International (Dubai) Project Manager: HH Investment & Development L.L.C (Dubai) Tender categories Hotels, housing projects, leisure

Project name Capital District Development Project Project number MPP2236-U Territory Abu Dhabi Client Abu Dhabi Urban Planning Council City Abu Dhabi Postal/ ZIP 62221 Phone (+971-2) 409 6000 Fax (+971-2) 443 2903 Email info@upc.gov.ae Web http://www.upc.gov.ae Description Development of Capital District scheme, which aims to create a civic and cultural centre for the federation peppered with monuments and iconic architecture

Budget 40000000000 Period 15/03/2015 Status New Tender Remarks: This project will be located between Mohammed bin Zayed City to the south and Khalifa City A, and Abu Dhabi International Airport to the north. It is one of the key developments of Plan Abu Dhabi 2030 urban master plan and will cover an area of 4,900 hectares. The master plan of Capital District has several key elements. The capital boulevard will lead into the heart of the development via a tree-lined thoroughfare with extensive landscaping and botanical gardens. It is proposed that the boulevard will then pass under seven arches representing UAE's seven emirates and be flanked by diplomatic buildings. At the centre of development will be a circular area comprising mid-tohigh-rise government and civic buildings, together with a central market. Capital District will also have residential zones and a centre for commerce. It is expected to have a population of 240,000. Developments will provide 1.9 million square metres of office space, 300,000 square metres for retail purposes and 5,500 hotel rooms. The project will also have housing for Emiratis (nationals).

The residential areas will be low-rise buildings spreading out to the southeast, and will also include sports complexes, universities and medical centres. It is understood that tenders for the infrastructure works for Package 3 and Package 4 of the Emirati neighbourhoods in this development will be issued this month. Client has prioritised these sections of the mixed-use project.

Geographical work has been 75% completed, while the design is 98% complete and supporting infrastructure is 75% complete. A total of 42 kilometres of roads has already been completed over the past few months in order to facilitate construction.

Design Consultant Mott MacDonald Ltd. (Abu Dhabi) Project Manager: AECOM Middle East (Abu Dhabi) Infrastructure consultant KEO International Consultants (Abu Dhabi) Master plan consultant Busby Perkins + Will (Canada) Tender categories Housing Projects, leisure

Project name Habtoor Island Resort & Spa Project Palm Jumeirah Development

Project number BPR071-U Territory Dubai Client Habtoor Hotels (Dubai) Address Dubai National Investment Bldg., Sheikh Zayed Road City Dubai Postal/ ZIP code 25444 UAE Phone (+971-4) 343 1111 Fax (+971-4) 343 1140 Web http://www.habtoorhotels.com Description Construction of Habtoor Island Resort & Spa comprising 330 luxury rooms, including swimming pools, tennis courts and a spa.

Budget 275000000 Period 2013 Status Current Project Remarks: This project will be located on the Crescent of Palm Jumeirah in Dubai. Dubai-based Al Habtoor Engineering has been appointed as the Main contractor on this scheme. Construction works have commenced.

Client is set to appoint a luxury international hotel brand to manage the resort.

Main Consultant Khatib & Alami Consolidated Engineering Company (Dubai) Main architect: Dar Consult (Dubai) Design Consultant RSP Architects Planners & Engineers Pvt. Limited (Dubai) Project Manager: Turner International Middle East (Dubai) Main contractor Al Habtoor Engineering Enterprises L.L.C (Dubai) MEP contractor Al Habtoor Engineering Enterprises L.L.C (Dubai) Cement and concrete supplier UniBeton Ready Mix (Abu Dhabi) Foundations enabling and piling contractor Zetas Foundation Technology (Dubai) Tender categories Leisure, Hotels, Prestige Buildings

Project name Das Island Facilities Upgrade Project Project number MPR1367-U Territory Abu Dhabi Client Abu Dhabi Marine Operating Company (ADMAOPCO) Address Corniche Road City Abu Dhabi Postal/ ZIP Country United Arab Emirates Phone (+9712) 606 0000 Fax (+9712) 626 6005 Web http://www.adnoc.com Description Engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) contract for upgrading the facilities on Das Island.

Budget 84000000 Status Current Project Remarks: This project is in Abu Dhabi. Athens-based Consolidated Contractors Company (CCC) has been awarded the EPC contract. Scope of work will include upgrading facilities that will help increase production capaCity on the lower Zakum offshore field by 100,000 barrels a day (b/d). CCC won the contract ahead of local companies National Petroleum Construction Company

(NPCC), Adyard Abu Dhabi LLC and India's Larsen & Toubro. US firm Mott MacDonald has undertaken the front-end engineering and design (FEED) work.

British engineering company Penspen will conduct the procurement management consultancy.

Project Manager: Penspen International Ltd. (Abu Dhabi) FEED Consultant Mott MacDonald Ltd. (Abu Dhabi) Main contractor Consolidated Contractors International Co. Ltd. - CCC (Abu Dhabi) Tender categories Hydrocarbon Processing, Storage & Distribution, oilfield development

Project name Umm Lulu Offshore Field Development Project Project number MPP1557-U Territory Abu Dhabi Client Abu Dhabi Marine Operating Company (ADMAOPCO) Address Corniche Road City Abu Dhabi Postal/ ZIP 303 Country United Arab Emirates Phone (+9712) 606 0000 Fax (+9712) 626 6005 Web http://www.adnoc.com Description Engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) contract for development of the offshore Umm Lulu field to produce 100,000 barrels a day (b/d) of oil.

Budget 1500000000 Period 2013 Status Current Project Remarks: This project is in Abu Dhabi. Upon completion, the field will produce 100,000 b/d of oil and connected to the existing production facilities at Umm Al Dalkh field. Scope of work includes: - Early production facilities (EPF) - Construction of wellheads, pipelines and platforms - Supply and installation of gas-oil separators, slug catchers, gathering network, and pumps.

India's Larsen & Toubro (L&T) has been awarded two EPC contracts totalling $450 million, covering early production facilities for the first phase of this scheme and Nasr offshore field. L&T will now build four wellhead towers and a manifold tower platform, connecting bridges and associated sub-sea pipelines.

Specialist Consultant Mott MacDonald Ltd. (Abu Dhabi) Project Manager: Shaw Stone & Webster (Abu Dhabi) FEED Consultant Technip (Abu Dhabi), Tebodin Middle East Limited (Abu Dhabi), Fluor Mideast Company Limited (Abu Dhabi) Main contractor Larsen & Toubro Ltd. (Abu Dhabi) Tender categories Hydrocarbon Processing, Storage & Distribution, Oilfield Development

Oman Project name: Fort Hotel Project Project number OPR496-O Territory Oman Client Oman Tourism Development Company S.A.O.C (Omran)

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MENA PROJECTS | TENDERS

TENDERS

The latest tenders and project updates for developments in MENA region

MENA PROJECTS | TENDERS

City Muttrah PC 114 Postal/ ZIP 479 Country Oman Phone (+968) 2477 3700 Fax (+968) 2479 3929 Email enquiries@omran.om Web: http://www.omran.om Description Development of five-star Fort Hotel comprising (120) suites as well as six spa suites and eight luxury villas, including a host of high-end restaurants, spa and leisure facilities and a 100-seat amphitheatre.

Period 2014 Status New Tender Remarks: This hotel will be located about 25 kilometres southeast of Muscat International Airport and 3 kilometres from Al-Khuwair in Oman over an area of 12 hectares. To be managed by Ritz Carlton, the five-star hotel will expand the range of tourist offerings available away from the beach resorts currently available in the Sultanate. The design will be inspired on Oman's heritage and culture, and based on the forts in Oman.

It will provide high-quality facilities not only for tourists but for locals as well. The project is expected to be completed by end of 2014.

Project Manager: Beca International Consultants (New Zealand) Quantity surveyor Baker Barton & Lawson (Oman) Tender categories Hotels, housing projects, leisure

Project name MPP2069-O Project number Muscat Convention & Exhibition Centre Project Territory Oman Client Oman Tourism Development Company S.A.O.C (Omran) City Muttrah PC 114 Postal/ ZIP 479 Country Oman Phone (+968) 2477 3700 Fax (+968) 2479 3929 Email enquiries@omran.om Web http://www.omran.om Description Construction of Muscat Convention & Exhibition Centre

Budget 500000000 Period 15/06/2014 Status New Tender Remarks: This project is in Oman. The convention centre will be located in Muscat, about 4 kilometres from the airport. Local Al-Awazi International has been awarded a $7 million contract to carry out site preparation and enabling works package on this scheme. Client has invited contractors to submit bids for first of the four main construction packages on this development.

Pre-qualified contractors have until November 28, 2011 to submit bids for the roads and utilities infrastructure package. The other contracts to be tendered include packages to build the 25,000-square-metre exhibition hall, car parking and energy centre, the 3,000-capaCity convention centre and a five-star hotel.

Main Consultant RMJM (UK) Design Consultant RMJM (UK) Quantity surveyor Hanscomb & Company L.L.C (Oman) Environmental consultant Geo-Resources Consultancy (Oman) Foundations enabling and piling contractor Al-Awazi International L.L.C (Oman) Tender categories Hotels, leisure, housing projects

Qatar Project name Barwa Al Khor City Project

Project number OPR471-Q Territory Qatar Client Barwa Al Khor Company (Qatar) Postal/ ZIP 27777 City Doha Phone (+974) 4499 8888 Fax (+974) 4499 8801 Description Development of Barwa Al Khor City comprising villas and townhouses, terraces, flats and mixed-use areas, 2 sprawling hotels - one being a fivestar and the other four star, a superior shopping mall, 4 top schools, 250,000 square metres of office space, a mosque and an international golf course, including amenities such as a clinic, library, information centre, public and private beaches.

Budget 8000000000 Period 2015 Status New Tender Remarks: This project is in Qatar and will cover an approximate area of 5,459,168 square metres. The scheme anticipates offering 24,114 units as homes to the elite with 5-star quality services to surround them.

The development will showcase fine architecture that merges unobtrusively with the beautiful environment.

The developing homes are set to accommodate a massive population of 60,000 people. The location of the site will offer a panoramic view of the City of Al Khor. A marina has been exclusively built in to the project in order to celebrate the natural harbour that Al Khor possesses. In order to uphold the Client's commitment to offer 360 degree solutions to those who occupy living spaces designed and built by them, they have also provided a range of sporting facilities in the scheme. UAE-based Rubber World Industries (RWI) has been awarded an estimated $11,000 contract to supply rubber insulation and adhesive products for this development. RWI will provide rubber insulation tubes and tapes that are environmentally friendly, cost effective and ready to use with minimal wastage. Local Urban Planning & Design Authority (UPDA) has been appointed as the mechanical, electrical and plumbing (MEP) consultant MEP Consultant Urban Planning & Design Authority UPDA (Qatar) Rubber products supplier Rubber World Industries L.L.C (Ajman) Tender categories Hotels, housing projects, leisure

Project name Doha Festival City Development Project Project number MPP2455-Q Territory Qatar Client Al-Futtaim Group Real Estate (Dubai) Address Dubai Festival City, Al Rashidiya Area City Dubai Postal/ ZIP 159 Country United Arab Emirates Phone (+971-4) 213 6213 Fax (+971-4) 232 5550 Email af.realestate@alfuttaim.ae Web http://www.afrealestate.com Description Development of Doha Festival City comprising a retail centre, an entertainment park, two hotels and an auto park made up of car showrooms.

Budget 1600000000 Period 2014 Status Current Project Remarks: This project is in Qatar. The multi-use scheme will be located 15 kilometres north of downtown Doha on Al Shamal Road, one of the main arterial routes

to the City centre and connecting Doha with Bahrain.

The complex will cover a total area of 433,847 square metres, while construction will be divided into three phases. Brands set to open stores in this development include IKEA, Marks & Spencer, Toys R Us, Ace Hardware, Intersport and other major regional retailers.

The first retail phase is scheduled for completion in 2012. The remaining two phases are expected to be completed by 2015. Local developer Bawabat Al Shamal Real Estate Company has appointed UK-based built asset consultancy firm EC Harris to provide commercial management services for the shopping mall in this development. The international firm will be assisting in delivering of the project across its two phases. Out of the 2.5 million square metres set aside for retail space, 28,000 square metres is to be an IKEA store, 32,500 square metres will be an entertainment and leisure complex, with the rest of the space divided between a supermarket, other major international and local brand tenants, hotels, cinemas and conference facilities. Construction works have commenced on this development. IKEA, part of UAE's Al-Futtaim Group, will be developed under the first phase of construction and the 32,000 square metre store is set for completion in fourth quarter of 2012, with the remaining elements of Doha Festival City due for delivery two years later.

Local Qatari Arabian Construction Company (QACC) and Amana Qatar Contracting Company have been appointed as the general contractors for IKEA, while a joint venture of local Hamad Engineering and UAE's Mohammed Al-Futtaim Engineering is carrying out the MEP package.

Main architect:/ Design Arab Engineering Bureau (Qatar) Design Consultant DP Architects Pte. Ltd. (Singapore) Project Manager: Mace Limited (UK) Financial consultant Qatar Islamic Bank - QIB (Qatar) Project Manager: EC Harris (UK) Main architect: (1) Brewer Smith Brewer Gulf (Dubai) Research and marketing consultant Portland Design Associates (UK) Engineering consultant WSP (UK) Research and marketing Coverpoint Catering Consultancy (UK) Main contractor Arabian Construction Company - ACC (Qatar) MEP contractor Al Hamad Engineering (Qatar), Al Futtaim Engineering L.L.C (Dubai) Main contractor Amana Steel Buildings Contracting Company (Qatar) Tender categories Hotels, housing projects, leisure

Project name Headquarters Building Project-17 Project number MPP2427-Q Territory Qatar Client International Bank of Qatar (IBQ) City Doha Postal/ ZIP 2001 Phone (+974) 4447 8000 Fax (+974) 4447 3745 Email enquiries@ibq.com.qa Web http://www.ibq.com.qa Description Construction of 32-storey, 225-metre-high headquarters building, including five basement levels for a bank.

Budget 137000000 Status Current Project Remarks: This project is in Doha. The tower will be built on Al-Taawon Street, near the Qatar Olympics building and cover a total built-up area of 35,000 square metres.

A joint venture of Greece's Aktor and local Redco International has been awarded the main construction contract on this scheme. The building has been designed by US-based architecture firm Kohn Pederson

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Fox. Doha-based KEO International Consultants is acting as the consultant.

Main Consultant KEO International Consultants (Qatar) Design Consultant Kohn Pedersen Fox Associates (USA) Main contractor AKTOR (Qatar), Redco Construction (Qatar) Tender categories Prestige Buildings

Saudi Arabia Project name Al-Manafie Towers Project Project number MPP2486-SA Territory Saudi Arabia Client Al-Manafie Real Estate (Saudi Arabia) Description Construction of Al-Manafie Towers comprising (12) buildings, each with a maximum height of (27) floors, consisting of hotels, apartments, retail facilities, medical facilities, car parking and a bus station.

Budget 800000000 Period 2015 Status New Tender Remarks: This project is in Mecca and will cover a total built-up area of more than 1 million square metres. A key element of the scheme will be a monorail, which will link the development with Mecca's mosque. Client is expected to tender the main construction packages on this scheme by first quarter of 2012. It has not yet been decided whether the 12 towers will be tendered as one contract or separated into smaller packages.

The excavation contract is expected to be tendered in the next four to six months. Design of this mixed-use development is expected to take 10 months, ground excavation work six months, basement and podium construction work 18 months, and the towers and hotel apartments 36 months. Invitation to bid (ITB) for the main construction packages are expected to be issued in 2012. A joint venture of US-based Hill International and Dubai-based TPM Engineering Consultancy has recently been awarded a four-year contract worth an estimated $22 million to provide project management services on the development.

Design Consultant Zuhair Fayez Partnership Consultants (Saudi Arabia) Project Manager: Hill International Middle East Ltd. (Saudi Arabia), TPM Engineering Consultancy (Dubai) Tender categories Hotels, housing projects, medical, prestige buildings

Project name Jenan City Mixed-use Development Project Project number OPR458-SA Territory Saudi Arabia Client Jenan Properties (Saudi Arabia) Address Office 604 & 605, Al Saeed Tower, Dammam Khobar Highway City Al Khobar 31952 Postal/ ZIP 3884 Phone (+966-3) 814 7000 Fax (+966-3) 814 6990 Email info@jenan.com.sa Web http://www.jenan.com.sa Description Development of Jenan City comprising residential, commercial, hospitality and retail, covering an area of 288,000 square metres.

Period 2013 Status New Tender Remarks: This project will be located in the heart of the east coast business hub of Al Khobar in Saudi Arabia.

The site is situated next to the main thoroughfare into Al Khobar and a short distance from the City center. It is divided between commercial, adjacent to the highway, and residential, at the opposite end of the site. It will

Project name Headquarters Building Project - King Abdullah Financial District Project number MPP2297-SA Territory Saudi Arabia Client Samba Financial Group (Saudi Arabia) City Riyadh 11421 Postal / ZIP 833 Phone (+966-1) 479 9088 Fax (+966-1) 477 4770 Web http://www.samba.com Description Construction of headquarters building comprising a 39-storey office block with three levels of basement parking at King Abdullah Financial District.

Budget 240000000 Period 2014 Status Current Project Remarks: This project will be located on the outskirts of Riyadh in Saudi Arabia and cover a total built-up area of about 110,000 square metres. Local El-Seif Engineering & Contracting has been appointed as the Main contractor. The contract involves building the structure and basic fit-out of the office building and a three-storey car park. Construction is expected to commence during the second quarter of this year, with the final fit-out package being awarded once external construction is complete. UK firms are acting as the consultants on this scheme: Foster & Partners is the architect, while Buro Happold is the engineer and Davis Langdon is the consultant.

Main Consultant Davis Langdon Arabian Gulf (Bahrain) Main architect: Foster & Partners (UK) Engineering consultant Buro Happold (UK) Main contractor El Seif Engineering Contracting Establishment (Saudi Arabia) Tender categories Prestige Buildings

Project name GCC Central Bank Tower Project - King Abdullah Financial District Project number SPR2536-SA Territory Saudi Arabia Client Public Pension Agency (Saudi Arabia) City Riyadh 11168 Postal/ ZIP 18364 Country Saudi Arabia Phone (+966-1) 402 5100 Fax (+966-1) 405 3645 Description Design and construction of GCC Central Bank Tower comprising (53) floors.

Budget 55000000 Period 10/09/2013 Status Current Project Remarks: This project will form a part of King Abdullah Financial District in Riyadh. Local Saudi Binladin Group has been appointed as the Main contractor. It is understood that construction works are ongoing and will be completed in September 2013 Main architect: Omrania & Associates Architecture & Engg. Consultants (Saudi Arabia), Henning Larsen Tegnestue (HLT) Architects Middle East (Saudi Arabia) Project Manager: Rayadah Investment Company (Saudi Arabia), Hill International Middle East Ltd. (Saudi Arabia) Main contractor Saudi Binladin Group (Saudi Arabia) Tender categories Prestige Buildings

Project name Methyl Prepanediol Plant Project Jubail Industrial City

Project number ZPR415-SA Territory Saudi Arabia Client Al Jubail Petrochemical Company - Kemya (Saudi Arabia) Address Al Jubail Petrochemical Company Bldg., Street 183, Jubail Industrial Area City Jubail 31961 Postal/ ZIP 10084 Country Saudi Arabia Phone (+966-3) 357 6000 Fax (+966-3) 358 7858 Email kemya@kemya.sabic.com Description Engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) contract to build a methyl prepanediol plant with associated facilities, as part of the Elastomers project at Jubail Industrial City.

Budget 100000000 Period 2013 Status Current Project Remarks: This project is in Saudi Arabia. Feedstock will be provided by the Ministry of Petroleum & Mineral Resources as well as other sources. South Korea's GS Engineering & Construction Company has been appointed as the EPC contractor. Construction work is expected to commence in the fourth quarter of 2011.

The scheme is due to be completed in fourth quarter of 2013.

Main contractor GS Engineering & Construction Company (Saudi Arabia) Tender categories Industrial & Special Projects

Project name Riyadh PP10 Power Plant Conversion Project Project number MPP2469-SA Territory Saudi Arabia Client Saudi ElectriCity Company - Central Region (Saudi Arabia) Address Burj Al Faisaliyah Bldg., Floor 22, King Fahad Road City Riyadh 11416 Postal/ ZIP 22955 Country Saudi Arabia Phone (+966-1) 461 9030 / 461 9009 Fax (+966-1) 403 2222 Email informus@se.com.sa Web http://www.se.com.sa Description Engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) contract for the conversion of 3,400 MW PP10 simple-cycle power plant to a combined-cycle facility by adding 1,250 MW of capaCity.

Budget 1500000000 Period 2015 Status Current Project Remarks: This project is located at a site 80 kilometres west of Riyadh in Saudi Arabia. It involves converting five blocks (A1, A2, B1 & B2 and C1) from simple-cycle to combined-cycle. Scope of work includes: - Installation of 10x125MW steam turbines.

- Heat recovery steam generator.

- Transformers.

- Switchgear.

- A fuel treating and conditioning unit.

Local Arabian Bemco Contracting Company has been appointed as the EPC contractor. Construction of the plant is expected to commence in March 2012 and completed by December 2015.

Main contractor Arabian Bemco Contracting Company Ltd. (Saudi Arabia) Tender categories Power Generation and Distribution

Jordan Project name St. Regis Amman Hotel & Residences Project Project number OPP330-J Territory Jordan Client Al Maabar Abdoun Real Estate Development Company (Jordan) Address: C/o. Al Maabar Jordan International Investments Bldg., Capital Governorate City Amman 11185 Postal/ ZIP 850878 Country Jordan Phone (+962-2) 406 7777 Fax (+962-2) 642 8424 Email info@almaabar.com Web http://www.almaabar.com Description Construction of St. Regis Amman Hotel & Residences comprising (270) guestrooms, including (91) suites, four restaurants, a cafe, destination bar, pool and pool bar, fitness centre and signature spa along with (80) residences Period 2014 Status New Tender Remarks: This project is in Jordan and will cover a builtup area of 86,000 square metres. The development will be made up of two towers, one to include St. Regis and the other to be a high-end brand apartment facility. The mixed-use scheme will also include extensive boutiques.

Client has signed an agreement with Starwood Hotels & Resorts to operate and manage the hotel. Design work has commenced on this development and this is expected to be completed in fourth quarter of 2011. .

Project Manager: KEO International Consultants (Jordan) Interior Design Consultant Forrest Perkins (USA) Engineering consultant Arabtech Jardaneh (Jordan) Tender categories Hotels, leisure, housing projects

Project name Marsa Zayed Mixed-use Development Project - Phase 1 Project number SPR2341-J Territory Jordan Client Al Maabar Abdoun Real Estate Development Company (Jordan) Address C/o. Al Maabar Jordan International Investments Bldg., Capital Governorate City Amman 11185 Postal/ZIP 850878 Phone (+962-2) 406 7777 Fax (+962-2) 642 8424 Email info@almaabar.com

Web http://www.almaabar.com Description Design and construction of 3.2 squarekilometre Marsa Zayed mixed-use development comprising a 33-storey tower, 263 Village Flats that will be serviced by a neighbourhood retail and community centre, a grand mosque that will accommodate 2,000 worshippers, 146 townhouses and all infrastructure works - Phase 1.

Budget 10000000000 Period 2014 Status New Tender Remarks: This project will be developed at Aqaba in Jordan. It will be implemented in several phases and involve development of 3,320 hectares, with a new 2-kilometre waterfront. When complete, the development will offer premium residential villas, townhouses, apartment units and hotel rooms as well as business, leisure and tourism facilities. It is understood that design work has started and expected to be completed in fourth quarter of 2011. Bids for the infrastructure contract are under evaluation and this is expected to be awarded in June 2011. Infrastructure works are expected to be completed in March 2012 and construction of buildings is expected to commence. The Sheikh Zayed Mosque is expected to be completed in December 2012.

Design Consultant Maisam Architects & Engineers (Jordan) Project Manager: Hill International Middle East Ltd. (Jordan) Infrastructure consultant Arabtech Jardaneh (Jordan) Master plan consultant Callison Architecture (Dubai) Cost consultant Hanscomb Consultants Inc. (Dubai) Tender categories Housing projects, hotels, leisure, prestige buildings

Iran Project name Azar Oil Field Development Project Project number MPR1369-IR Territory Iran Client National Iranian Oil Company (NIOC) Address: Central Bldg., 5th Floor, 8 Johmouri Avenue, Yaghma Alley City Tehran 15837 Phone (+98-21) 890 1051-9 Fax (+98-21) 890 1051-8 Email nioecpr@nioec.org Web http://www.nioc.org Description Development of the onshore Azar oil field to produce 50,000 to 65,000 barrels of light crude a day.

Budget 2000000000 Period 2017 Status Current Project Remarks: This project is in Iran. The field lies on the border to Iraq and holds an estimated two billion barrels of oil. Local Oil Industries Engineering & Construction Company (OIEC) has been award the main contract.

The oil field will be developed in six years and produce 50,000 to 65,000 barrels of light crude a day for a Period of 25 years. Russia's Gazprom carried out evaluation of the project's technical and economic feasibility.

Main contractor Oil Industries Engineering & Construction Company - OIEC (Iran) Tender categories Hydrocarbon Processing, Storage & Distribution Oilfield Development

ESTIMATING AND PROJECT CONTROL www.thebigprojectme.com | 79

MENA PROJECTS | TENDERS

include the following: - A 200-room Hilton Hotel with 98 service apartments - A residential tower with 60 apartments - A 40-storey waterfront office tower - 22,000 square metres of retail area - 385 residential units - Car parking space for 2,000 vehicles.

First designed by Canada's Norr Consultants one year ago, this new concept has reduced the height of the largest buildings from 200 metres to 88 metres and reduced the overall floor plate from 330,000 square metres to 290,000 square metres, or around 15% of the original size. The scheme is currently awaiting approval from Al Khobar Municipality.

Main architect: NORR Group Consultants International Ltd. (Dubai) Engineering Consultant NORR Group Consultants International Ltd. (Dubai) Tender categories Hotels, leisure, prestige buildings, housing projects

BOOK YOUR STAND NOW! With over 20,000 sqm of space showcasing: Crawler Cranes, Mobile Cranes, Tower Cranes, Graders, Loaders, Compressors, Crushers, Fork Lifts, Skid Steers, Piling Rigs, Excavators, Access Platforms, Bull Dozers, Concrete Pumps, Cement Mixers, Grabs, Trucks, Material Handling Equipment, Front Shovels, Cherry Pickers, Rollers, Communication & Navigation Systems, and more...

Contact Us +971 4 440 9129 info@constructionmachineryshow.com

The region’s largest heavy equipment exhibition The Construction Machinery Show will be the largest heavy construction machinery event in the region. There will be a wide variety of products on show ranging from heavy equipment to machinery and generators including service providers. There are plans of a live auction and demonstration area for visitors to get a real idea of the capabilities of the equipment. This event is dedicated to the construction machinery sector and will provide an invaluable platform for customers in the Arab world bringing manufacturers, distributors and buyers together.

In 2012 the Construction Machinery Show will be co-located with the Saudi Building & Interiors Exhibition. SBIE is an ideal business platform to find out about the latest building and interiors industry developments, assess the competition and network with specialist contractors, equipment and material suppliers, as well as solution providers.

We will be in Jeddah next April. Will you?

Find out more. Visit www.constructionmachinery.com The Construction Machinery Show and Construction Machinery Middle East and their entities are registered trademarks.

The Construction Machinery Show is held alongside the Saudi Building and Interiors Exhibition under the patronage of the Saudi Ministry of Municipal and Rural Affairs. Š 2011 Corporate Publishing International. All rights reserved.

ORGANISED BY

GLOBAL TRENDS

1,414

primary health care centres planned throughout Saudi Arabia

$184 bn value of the carbon credits market

DIARY MENA INTERNATIONAL

International Real Estate and Investment Show

Abu Dhabi: December 7-10 Dealing exclusively with the real estate and finance sectors, the show highlights the potential of growth of the real estate industry in the property markets of the country supported by a series of topical seminars.

Roadex Railex

6

the number of bids received to date for the construction of the new mid-field terminal at Abu Dhabi Airport, due to begin 2012

$184 bn estimated regional

construction spend for the period to 2015

$20,000

fine imposed on Kim Barker Construction, after a worker drilled into a 415volt cable in the UK

Dubai: December 12-14 Highlighting the economic importance of the road industry in the Middle East and demonstrating its achievements. The exhibition is dedicated to roads, tunnels, bridges, traffic and parking and promotes various development prospects and address key issues related to the region’s national networks.

Beem Egypt

Cairo January 19-21 Beem Egypt has played an important role in the infrastructural development of Egypt as a whole. Showcasing the latest achievements, best practices, innovations in design, products, services and solutions for the construction and building industry, Beem Egypt provides a forum for professionals to network and learn.

Smart Buildings Expo

Kuwait: January 29- February 2 Prominent international institutions, companies of good standing and parties with proficient careers join the event offering the privilege to meet with chief specialists and decision makers. There is also ground to examine the latest ideas, up to date schemes, objectives and developments.

Deubau

Essen, Germany January 10-14 Deubau is a five day event, with more than 800 exhibitors from 16 nations displaying their products and services.

Haus

Nordrhein-Westfalen January 13-15 Haus (House) is the Eastern Westphalia’s largest construction trade fair. This show will be focused on construction, renovation and refurbishment, furnishing and home accessories. More than 400 exhibitors will participate

The Economic Times ACETECH-Bangalore

Karnataka, India: January 20- 22 One of the largest exhibitions in the country for architecture, construction, engineering and building materials.

Exhibitors have a focused and relevant visitor mix of prospective buyers and opinion leaders.

Der Hauslbauer

Austria Feb 3 – 5 Covering building, renovation and energy conversation, Der Hauslbauer provides the opportunity for home builders, buyers, corporate organisations and institutions to meet professionals from all sectors.

Building Fair Chemnitz

Germany Feb 3 – 5 More than 10,500 visitors will gather in the show with around 250 exhibitors participating. Building Fair Chemnitz is not only for the industry professionals but also for the public to easily find out solutions for problems related to residential construction; for example choosing the right material for houses.

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DIARY | INDUSTRY EVENTS

DECeMBER

YOUR SHOUT | 40 years of the uae

Get involved: Visit: www.thebigprojectme.com Follow us on Twitter: METheBigProject Become a group member on LinkedIn Or become a fan on Facebook: Thebigproject ME

Your Shout Celebrating 40 years of the UAE, we ask readers which project they think has been most important to the development of the country Feroz Khan Prime Co, sales manager

“The most important project built for the country is Burj Khalifa and Dubai Mall which has positioned the UAE as a bench mark for such developments. It is also an important tourist attraction, more so than The Palm and other projects on Sheikh Zayed Road. Burj Khalifa and Dubai Mall are important for investments coming to the country and help the economy.”

Ratheesh Kother Arabian Factory, sales and marketing executive

“Burj Khalifa is the number one building in the world and has great facilities also.”

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Roberto Sampson Al Fajer Establishment, landscape architect

“Burj Al Arab. In my eyes it’s even better than the Burj Khalifa, purely because of the special design and especially because it is has such great leisure facilities.”

Samer Mavani Al Jihan Gulf Horizon

“Burj Khalifa changed the way people look at Dubai. Of course Dubai was growing but something of this stature coming into Dubai completely took the country to the next level. It has completely changed the image of Dubai.”

Safdar Badami Al Muqarram Insulation Materials Industry L.L.C., managing director

“Burj Khalifa because of the infrastructure, scale of the project, the whole development, the height and obviously being the tallest tower in the world.

It was a major achievement for Dubai with the development and really put Dubai on the map.”

Mustaf Amjed Are It, asset manager

“I prefer the basic floor plans where you can maximise leverage to the commercial towers in this country. Burj Khalifa is a very nice landmark and is good to have as well.”

The Promise...

A selection of buildings delivered by DAMAC Properties.

DAMAC Properties has completed 36 buildings to date with 7,374 units and spanning 13,132,484 sq feet.

Marina Terrace Dubai

The Waves Dubai

Lake Terrace Dubai

Lake View Dubai

Executive Heights Dubai

The Crescent Dubai

Park Towers Dubai

Lago Vista Dubai

Ocean Heights Dubai

XL Tower Dubai

Business Tower Dubai

Smart Heights Dubai

The Progress...

A selection of buildings across the region under construction by DAMAC Properties.

DAMAC Properties also has a further 50 buildings at various stages of progress.These consist of 9,849 units, spanning 16,886,151 sq feet.

The Residences at Business Central, Dubai

Lake Side Dubai

Suburbia Dubai

Burjside Boulevard Dubai

Executive Bay Dubai

Capital Bay Dubai

The Corner Dubai

Park Central Dubai

Marina Bay Abu Dhabi

Oceanscape Abu Dhabi

The Heights Jordan

Al Jawharah Jeddah

Green Park Dubai

Amber Residence Dubai

Damac Heights Dubai

Madison Residences Dubai

Lincoln Park Dubai

Water’s Edge Dubai

The Courtyard Jordan

The Piazza Qatar

Commercial Square Dubai

DAMAC Tower Lebanon

Park Avenue, Sheikh Zayed, Egypt

We deliver on our promises...

These pictures say it all.

www.damacproperties.com

Call: 800 32622