The Big Project

JANUARY 2012

PLUS New year new territory: famco, ccs and Hill international talk new markets

going digital: e-trading in the middle east

SUCCESS

STORY

Celebrating construction’s biggest names and achievements from The Big Project + BGreen awards

Riyadh P.O.Box: 753, Riyadh 1421 Phone: 01 491 4624 / Fax: 01 491 4404 E-mail: mdrsales@ruh.kanoosa.com Kanoo Machinery LLC P.O.Box: 290, Dubai, U.A.E. Phone: +971 4 3378400 / Fax: +971 4 3373660 E-mail: exec.assistant-machinery@kanoo.ae

Dammam P.O.Box: 37, Dammam 31411 Phone: 03 857 1265 / Fax: 03 857 7139 E-mail: mddsales@kanoosa.com

Jeddah P.O.Box: 812, Jeddah 21421 Phone: 02 263 6171 / Fax: : 02 263 2979 E-mail: mdjsales@jed.kanoosa.com

Bahrain Yusuf Bin Ahmed Kanoo WLL P.O.Box: 45, Manama KSA Phone: +973 17738200 Fax: +973 17732828 E-mail: ajit.s.nair@ybakanoo.net

www.kanoogroup.com/ kanoomachinery

January

Contents

28

REGULARS FEATURES

33

Editor’s letter 6

28 Onsite

News bulletin 9

Dubai developer Limitless give the grand tour of The Galleries, part of Downtown Jebel Ali

Talk 18 In a special extended edition, Hill International, CCS and Famco talk about the new geographical markets and business streams on the agenda for the next 12 months

38

Supplier hotseat 49 Ducab’s Colin Mckay talks about the manufacturer’s history and products

Supplier spotlight 66

33 Market explorer Is Abu Dhabi booming? The view from both sides of the figurative fence

38 Cover: Success story Extensive coverage of the gala awards ceremony held last month at Armani Hotel, Burj Khalifa

52 Supplier focus Mapei and Emirates Ceramics talk about working together

Tenders 69 Diary 73 Your shout 74

56 Roundtable: E-trading Will, how and when the Middle East may consider legislating electronic trading in construction

56

www.thebigprojectme.com | 3

You’re smart

You’re in the highly competitive construction industry. You are tendering while still overseeing existing construction projects, not getting information from all your sites on time. Accounts are battling to give you up to date reports. It’s seat of the pants stuff, and all the time... you are signing cheques.

BuildSmart is NOT a rejigged commercial accounting package — its SOLE PURPOSE is construction enterprise accounting.

BuildSmart shares information with Candy Estimating and Planning, producing a living budget that becomes a powerful project re-planning, forecasting and management tool throughout the life-cycle of the project.

BuildSmart can be deployed quickly and with a minimum of customisation.

BuildSmart uses MicroSoft.Net/SQL technology.

Timely and informed management interventions lead to improved margins and a competitive advantage. CCS presents BuildSmart, a customised construction accounting enterprise solution.

Now you can: • get REAL­—TIME financial control when you want it, where you want it.

• compare your REAL COSTS against your BUDGETED COSTS. • make informed decisions when a situation arises and intervene immediately.

• have FULL INTEGRATION of Costing, Procurement, Payroll, Project Management, Project Accounting and Enterprise Accounting.

All the tools you need...

Estimating, Planning, Valuations Cash flow, Forecasting, Earned Value, Drawings, Materials

Candy Estimating and Project Control software is used by hundreds of satisfied contractors in over 50 countries around the world. We build our international strengths while we build YOUR strength. We listened to your requests, as industry requirements changed. We built new software modules as you built dams, roads, bridges and towers. As you formed public/private partnerships, we integrated software that opens communication and cooperation with your colleagues... allowing all divisions and departments of your company to work seamlessly towards the same goal... giving you real control over your costs, streamlining your processes, improving your efficiency, enhancing your productivity and filling your order-books.

ESTIMATING: Pricing libraries, Take-off, Indirect costs, Free-format worksheets. Sub-contractor enquiry, comparison and award, Alternative Tendering, Mark-up, Production, manhour and wastage allowances and analysis, Reporting, Integrate the Estimate with the Program, Immediate forecast cash flow, Tender Finalisation

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

“New year; new you”

I

t’s around this time of year the crystal balls are dusted off and everybody from economists to soothsayers crawl from the woodwork to contribute their two penneth to the plethora of predictions for the coming year.

Type the words ‘economic predictions 2012’ into any good search engine and you will retrieve a raft of doomsday prophesies, on everything from the impact of politics on oil prices to the Mayan calendar. But, while it may be ‘that time of year’, what purpose does all this negativity serve?

This time last year we were on the crest of a political tidal wave that would go on to affect the entire world in one way or another. Nobody saw it coming. And yet, from where we stand today we see that such activism not only transformed millions of lives, but will in future create opportunity for a raft of social infrastructure projects across the region.

Last year saw more than its fair share of ‘once in a life time’ headlines that, once again, nobody could imaging the full extent of until they actually happened: The Eurozone crisis and

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

apocalyptic natural disasters, to name a few, were but the tip of the iceberg.

Then there were the really big stories: the long awaited confirmation that Saudi Arabia will build its Kingdom Tower; former record holder Taipei 101 was named the tallest LEED certified building in the world; Qatar signed its largest public works contract to date; troops left Iraq, beginning a new era in the country’s development; work began on the railways that will soon link together to create a GCC-wide network; and (quietly) Oman announced a property development budget of US $8bn.

While the rest of the world is formulating its plan B in the face of a double dip recession, Middle Eastern governments continue to award massive infrastructure contracts that will see us through the short to mid term.

Success stories are being told in the private sector, too.

The storm isn’t over yet. What the next 12 months will hold is anybody’s guess, but with a strength, resilience and quality not seen in the industry since before its turn-of-the-century heyday, the outlook is surprisingly positive.

Melanie Mingas Editor

Editorial director 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 Business development manager Stuart Roe Stuart@cpidubai.com TEL: +971 (0)4 440 9125 GSM: +971 (0)56 758 7710 Business development manager Rhiannon Downie rhiannon@cpidubai.com TEL: +971 (0)4 440 9152 GSM: +971 (0)50 554 0116 Designer/Photographer Marlou Delaben Photographer Cris Mejorada Webmasters Troy Maagma Jerus King Bation Erik Briones Printed by Printwell Printing Press LLC Published by

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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NEWS | REGIONAL NEWS

NEWS BULLETIN Tenders begin for Abu Dhabi’s nuclear power plant Capital Emirate releases first tender for workers’ accommodation

Construction of Dubai’s first theme park to begin ‘early 2012’ Meraas announces tourism megaproject

T

he Abu Dhabi based Emirates Nuclear Energy Corporation has released the first tender for its controversial nuclear power plant, for construction of workers’ accommodation. With a budget of US $410,000,000 , the contract is for the “construction of a village to accommodate the staff working on the first nuclear power plant.”

The village will be built at Braka, in the Emirate’s western region, close to the site of the new plant. According to tender documents “the development will be divided into six districts and work involves building accommodation and supporting infrastructure for 2000 residents.”

Upon completion, the units will be used by staff working on UAE’s nuclear programme that “involves building four reactors in Abu Dhabi.”

Emirates Nuclear Energy Corporation is said to be pre-qualifying contractors for the main construction contract to build the village.

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In March 2011 it was announced a $20 billion bid from “a South Korean consortium” was accepted to build four commercial nuclear power reactors, by 2020, according to a report published by the World Nuclear Association.

In December 2006, the GCC announced its intentions to explore the use of nuclear power as a clean energy source, with unspecified assistance from France and Iran pledged assistance with nuclear technology.

The project will make the UAE the first Arab nation to pursue nuclear energy on a commercial scale.

By 2020, it is projected that nuclear power will produce enough energy to contribute up to 25% of Abu Dhabi’s electricity requirements, with renewables such as solar power expected to contribute 7% .

Full tender information and project details can be found on page 69.

The Dubai-based real estate developer behind the AED350bn Jumeira Gardens and The Avenue has announced plans to build Dubai’s first cinema inspired theme park, Dubai Adventure Studios.

The eight million square feet complex, to be built with investments of AED2.2b will be constructed in three phases, with work due to commence in the coming weeks. The park itself will occupy two million square feet.

The park will be divided into five zones, with rides, games and hospitality areas.

It’s not the first time Dubai has been promised a cinematic theme park, the cancelled Universal Studios, on Al Ain Road, hit problems early in its development. Today only the trade mark Universal Studios gate remains on the site.

“Meraas recognizes the need for a theme park in Dubai that will complement the UAE’s growing popularity as a tourism hub,” chief business development officer Sina Al Kazim, is quoted as saying in regional media.

“Dubai Adventure Studios will offer a truly unique experience that will set a distinctive benchmark in the evolution of the theme park industry,” Al Kazim added.

Dubai Adventure Studios, due for completion in 2014 will be located on Meraas’s master development, close to Arabian Ranches.

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2014 expected deadline for the tranformation of ajman, uae, into a regional tourism hub

2020: The year of the mega tall Tim Johnson.

W

hile 2010 and 2011 marked the beginning of the ‘super tall’ era the record looks set to be surpassed within the decade, according to the Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitats.

According to the body, 2020 will see the bar doubled with eight buildings around the world, predicted to reach at least 600 metres into the sky.

The news comes only two years to the month since the record for the world’s highest building was smashed with the official launch of the 828 metre Burj Khalifa. It took the title from Taipei’s 508 metre Taipei 101, which during the ‘mega tall’ era will drop to 18th place.

Significantly, it will be the first time the top ten has been entirely located in the Middle and Far East. The new top 20 is location in 15 cities across seven countries, with five located in the Middle East: Kingdom Tower, Burj Khalifa, Makkah Clocktower, Doha Convention Centre and Tower and Dubai’s Pentominium.

Next year, in 2013, the new One World Trade Centre Tower in New York will become the tallest building in the Western Hemisphere, at 541 metres.

“With over 1.3 billion citizens and a rapidly urbanising populations, China is perhaps the country with the most obvious reason for building tall. The Chinese projects show great diversity in location, spread across seven cities.

Shenzhen’s Ping An Finance Centre is already under construction and scheduled to complete in 2015,” said newly appointed CTBUH chair Tim Johnson.

“Obviously a motivating factor in all the Middle East projects is to push the boundaries of technology and accomplish feats never before imagined,” Johnson added.

In 2000 the average height of new builds stood at 375m; in 2010 it was 439m and in 2020 the average height is set to reach 598m. Despite the rising trend, there are currently only 61 buildings in existence, topping the 300m mark – the CTBUH threshold for a ‘super tall’.

A poster of the top 20 is available from store.ctbuh.org

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Less than a decade from 598m average building height

CTBUH’s tallest 20 buildings in 2020 Kingdom Tower, Jeddah 1000m Burj Khalifa, Dubai 828m Ping An Finance Centre, Shezhen 660m Seoul Light DMC Tower 640m Signature Tower, Jakarta 638m Shanghai Tower 632m Wuhan Greenland Centre 606m Makkah Royal clock Tower 601m Lotte World Tower, Seoul 555m Doha Convention Centre and Tower 551m One World Trade Centre, NYC 541m Chow Tai Fook, Guanghzou 530m Tianjin Chow Tai Fook Binhai Centre 530m Dalian Greenland Centre 518m Pentominium, Dubai 516m Busan Lotte Town Tower 510m Taipei 101 508m Kaisa Feng Long Centre 500m Shanghai WFC 492m

the value of projects still to be awarded by the state of qatar ahead of the 2022 world cup

Ajman: the Future of UAE Tourism?

Al Zorah Resort to be delivered in four phases said HH Sheikh Rashid Bin Humeid Al Nuaimi.

“In addition to the thousands of jobs that the development will create, it will also power the evolution of several associated ancillary industries that, in turn, will generate many more indirect jobs. One of the most ambitious and large-scale developments in Ajman, Al Zorah Resorts will redefine the economic landscape of the emirate,” Sheikh Al Nuaimi added.

Al Zoreah Resorts is a joint venture between Solidere International and the Government of Ajman.

Sheikh Al Nuaimi

P

lans to develop the Emirate of Ajman as a tourist destination were unveiled on December 7 2011, in an onsite press conference in the presence of HH Sheikh Rashid Bin Humeid Al Nuaimi, chairman of Al Zorah Development Company.

The first phase of the four phase project will include a 5-star resort, tourist village, beachside village and international standard golf course. It includes five districts, with a 180 room tourist village.

The Al Zorah Resort will feature sandy beaches, lagoons and mangrove forest reserves, all within close proximity to Dubai and Sharjah airports. The area will aspire to be a tourism and hospitality hub for the region.

The project will be complete in 30 months with early 2014 set as a provisional opening date.

“Al Zorah Resorts is developed to catalyse the economy of Ajman with a focus on driving the tourism and hospitality sectors that will contribute to the Emirate’s all-round growth,”

Emaar signs US $1b financing facility Cash to be used to pay 2010 debts secured on Dubai Mall Emaar Propterties PJSC has announced the signing of a new Islamic and Conventional financing facility worth US $1billion, which will initially be used to pay an existing US$ 300 million facility taken in 2010, and secured on Dubai Mall. The signing with Dubai Islamic Bank PJSC, National Bank of Abu Dhabi and

Standard Chartered Bank was made on December 19 2011 and is part of the company’s over all debt management.

Net operating profit for the first nine months of 2011 reached US$ 340 million, while revenue over the same period was announced to have hit US$ 1.599 billion.

“Emaar has again been amongst the first to raise an 8-year financing in the regional markets with the assistance of our core partner banks, which reflects the superior value Emaar has created for its stakeholders through its iconic developments,” commented chairman Mohamed Alabbar.

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NEWS | REGIONAL NEWS

$106b

NEWS | REGIONAL NEWS

5% growth expected in saudi arabia’s real estate market over two consecutive years

Delegates at the conference.

GEZE hosts safety systems conference

Edmund O’Sullivan, Chaiman MEED Events

Qatar still to award projects worth US $106b

Fire safety and panic lock devices demonstrated Well known consultants, architects, designers and developers from the construction industry attended the Supreme Building Technology 2011 -2012 conference, organised by Dubaibased GEZE Middle East on November 29th.

The event’s aim was to highlight innovative new building safety systems and technologies that can save lives.

The technologies included: an automatic window system, emergency exit systems and a panic lock system.

The automatic window system facilitates smoke and heat extraction/dissipation in a building in the event of a fire, allowing people in the building longer access to oxygen supplies and give emergency services more time to help people to evacuate.

The emergency exit systems are designed to ensure the highest levels of public safety in the event of an evacuation.

Finally the ‘Panic lock’ systems which are increasingly favoured by organisations which need full control over access to sensitive building areas and by highly affluent individuals who want to ensure they have control over who has authorized access to their homes. These systems are web-based and allow full remote access.

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Door safety hinges on display.

Significant investment in oil and gas, heavy industry and social infrastructure

“As the Emirate of Abu Dhabi builds for its future, local demand is growing for safe and sustainable new buildings. This demand is being led by the Government which recognises the need for world-leading building quality,” commented Charles Constantin, Managing Director of GEZE Middle East.

“Safe buildings can help save lives. New technologies allow for complete control of a building, such as centralised control panels which open windows and close doors remotely in the event of a fire, containing the flames and heat produced and slowing the spread of resulting smoke, giving people inside more time to escape,” continued Constantin.

“Safer buildings can also be more environmentally-friendly buildings, such as efficient modern ventilation systems which can help reduce the amount of air conditioning needed and thereby reduce power consumption.”

Constantin concludes.

A report published by MEED has calculated the total value of projects still to be awarded by Qatar adds up to US $106b, with the oil and gas, heavy industry, electricity generation, water desalination, social infrastructure and transportation industries leading the way.

The world’s richest nation, Qatar’s GDP will reach $111,963 by 2016, according to the International Monetary Fund (IMF).

At the end of 2011, Qatar’s Public Works Authority “Ashghal” awarded its largest contract for QAR40 billion with Hyder Consulting, Parsons Brinkerhoff, Atkins, CH2M Hill and consortium WSP and Khatib Alami-Lebanon.

It is expected the US$20 billion expressway programme and US$35 billion QRail project – the largest railway programme in history – will begin tendering in 2012.

Commenting ahead of the Qatar Projects conference, MEED Events chair Edmund O’Sullivan called the construction programme ‘extraordinary’.

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40% contribution made towards saudi arabi’s real estate market by makkah and medina

LEFT: Mr Ziad El Chaar General Manager DAMAC Properties

Saudi Arabia to lead world’s real estate market in 2012 Rasmala bank predicts 5% growth in prices but caution advised ahead of legislation Saudi Arabia once again looks set to take advantage of the havoc created by the US sub-prime crisis with a 5% growth in real estate over the next two consecutive years, predicted by investment bank Rasmala.

Yet despite the positive outlook caution is stil

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advised in the absence of proper legislation, particularly in and around Makkah and Medina, say real estate advisory Alpha1Estates International.

The areas contribute 40% towards the total value of Saudi Arabia real estate market – US $120b over the next decade.

The firm proposed five critical pieces of legislation that focus on globalising the sector to nonSaudi Muslims.

“Our five main proposals for new legislation include: firstly, easing immigration and travel for non-Saudi Muslims; secondly, establishing a real estate regulatory authority to monitor buying and selling of real estate and prevent monopolies; thirdly, further empowering non-Saudi Muslim ownership, leasing and investment of real estate; fourthly, easing non-Saudi Muslims setting up a company, working or studying in the Kingdom, and fifthly, introducing and scaling Islamic mortgage financing in the Kingdom.’

The economic resilience demonstrated to date in the Kingdom has been buoyed by oil prices, which pushed GDP growth to 6.4% in 2011 – the highest in eight years. Corporate profits in the first nine months of 2011 increased 25% and net income from petrochemicals 55%, according to Global Investment House.

Responding to these findings, DAMAC Properties managing director Ziad El Chaar said the market could “easily” edge into the world’s top 10 in 2012.

“The European debt crisis is likely to constrain real estate prices across the Eurozone, the U.S market is still flat and with China and Hong Kong property prices tumbling, the Middle East is where investors are most likely to see growth in the New Year,” El Chaar said.

DAMAC was one of the first international developers to be granted a license to build in the Kingdom and is currently constructing Al Jawharah Tower on the Jeddah Corniche.

“The investment world is so preoccupied with growth from the BRIC countries and emerging markets that they are overlooking a major powerhouse economy right here in the Middle East.

Saudi Arabia is undergoing a once in a generational transformation, and property is an excellent vehicle to gain exposure to the Kingdom’s economic expansion” he added.

Despite the prediction it is largely believed the MENA region will experience slower economic growth over 2012 as oil production and prices fall to more moderate levels, in comparison to those seen in 2011.

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Best of ONLINE

National Day marks development of UAE

FAMCO announces Saudi expansion

Abu Dhabi’s Etihad Towers and new Fujairah highway launched

Acquisition of Al-Rehab Equipment & Machinery Company complete Vehicles and equipment dealer FAMCO has announced its expansion into Saudi Arabia with the acquisition of Al-Rehab Equipment & Machinery Company. The deal will make it the exclusive distributor for Volvo Construction Equipment in the Kingdom.

Already the official distributor for Volvo in the UAE, FAMCO was presented with the ‘silver partnership’ award by Volvo in May

this year. Upon that announcement Volvo vice president, Jonas Gardetun, said the brand was looking for greater exposure across Saudi Arabia’s lucrative industry.

The distributor will now have access to the Saudi Arabian market via five outlets, with the main branch located in Jeddah.

To read the full interview with Paul Floyd, turn to page 23

2012 pay rises predicted for key markets Average rises of up to 6% expected over next 12 months

Almost every company surveyed across Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the UAE plans to increase salaries and recruitment in 2012, according to global HR Consultancy Mercer.

More than 300 firms from all industries were surveyed for the report, predicting average salary rises of 5.5% in the UAE and 6% in Qatar and Saudi Arabia.

Yet despite the positive results, business

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culture is becoming increasingly cautious, due to the uncertainty in global markets.

“Broadly, economic activity across the MENA region has been solid in most areas but confidence and optimism has been buffeted by pockets of social unrest, in what has been a period possibly unique in the Middle East in the modern era,” said Zaid Kamhawi, head of Mercer’s regional survey practice.

“Combine that with uncertainty about events in Europe and the US economy, and it is unlikely that 2012 will bring about any change in the short term, although as always there will be pockets of prosperity like here in the GCC,” Kamhawi added.

In the UAE, the results also showed a remuneration gap between Abu Dhabi and Dubai remains with annual base salaries in Abu Dhabi averaging 7.5% more across all employee levels compared to Dubai. In Abu Dhabi, the average housing allowance is 21% higher.

There was also a gap between the salaries paid by local and international firms, with UAE firms paying an average 17% more than multinationals operating in the country.

Etihad Towers, Abu Dhabi’s latest mixed use development received a glittering launch from HH Sheikh Suroor bin Mohammed Al Nahyan over the National Day weekend, as part of the Emirate’s celebrations.

The five towers, constructed by Sheikh Suroor Projects Department (SSPD), range from 54 to 75 floors, reaching over 300 meters high and covering over half a million square meters.

Three residential towers feature a total of 884 apartments and penthouses, while Jumeirah at Etihad Towers features 382 elegant hotel rooms and suites, 199 luxurious serviced apartments, and leisure amenities. The fifth tower combines office space, designer boutiques and a 1900 sq metre ballroom.

“The country has evolved as a truly cosmopolitan community that welcomes people from all over the world and provides them the opportunity to prosper at work, while enjoying a truly world-class lifestyle,” Sami Al Khuwaiter, project director at SSPD, also commenting that the development is a “tribute to the progressive vision and growth outlook of the UAE and Abu Dhabi”.

On the same weekend, Fujairah’s much anticipated Sheikh Khalifa Expressway opened in the presence of Sheikh Hamdan Bin Mubarak Al Nahyan, Minister of Public Works, and a number of senior officials.

At a cost of Dhs 2 billion, the road will cut travel times between Fujairah and Dubai and Abu Dhabi to around 30 minutes.

“This is one of those projects that can make history and change the geography of the UAE by bringing Fujairah closer to Dubai and Abu Dhabi,” said director of Fujairah municipality, Mohamad Al Afkham.

“Fujairah is stepping confidently towards the future it aspires to because of the huge projects that already exist in the Emirate and the future projects anticipated in the next few years. These projects are included in the strategy of the UAE and they support both Fujairah’s and the United Arab Emirates’ economy,” Al Afkham added.

geZe middle east | Cayan Business Center | PO Box 17903, tecom, Al Barsha | Dubai, u.A.e. | tel: +971 4 4541434 | Fax: +971 4 4541474 | gezeme@ae.geze.com | www.geze.ae

SUPREME BUILDING TECHNOLOGY 2011 - 2012

29 November, 2011 Emirates Palace Hotel Abu Dhabi th

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Bewegung mit SyStem

TALK | HILL and internationaL

New ground As we welcome in another year, The Big Project hears from Hill International, CCS and FAMCO about the new territories they are entering and the messages they will take there

LEFT: Mohammed Al Rais.

Baghdad and Erbil and today Al Rais says major programmes are expected “by February at the latest”. Personally, he sees opportunities in the construction of hotels, airports, stadiums and apartments, with the Ministry of Sport one of the most active.

Fit for duty

Operation Iraq Hill International senior vice president and managing director of Middle East project management group, Mohammed Al Rais, explains how the firm is introducing the concept of project management to Iraq

A

long with the established markets of Saudi Arabia and Qatar, Iraq is increasingly tipped as the place to go. With immediate opportunities in affordable housing, social infrastructure and power projects, Iraq is the fastest growing construction market in the region. Since the 2003 invasion, the U.S. government has committed in total more than US $61 billion to reconstruction projects.

Such potential is reflected in the market reactions to news of new projects. In June 2011, upon the announcement of a US $1.5b social housing and infrastructure contract, the price of Hill’s shares rose 60%. The legacy of the three year contract will include 500,000 affordable homes with a market value of $200m, in association with subsidiary HillStone and project partner TRAC, a Korean developer.

“The strongest markets in the Middle East over 2012 will definitely be Saudi Arabia and by the end of 2012 we think that Iraq is going to be very close behind,” says senior vice president

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and managing director of Middle East project management group, Mohammed Al Rais.

“Major programmes will be initiated in Iraq and I think the country is reaching a stage where they finally have to actually start the project implementation rather than planning and talking, “ Al Rais adds, specifically referring to the need for ports, airports, bridges, railways, “the whole nine yards”.

Yet Hill’s involvement in the war-torn country doesn’t end at infrastructure development.

It was during a contract with one of the country’s ministries that Hill began to advise Iraq on how to operate tenders.

Recalling how the department challenged Hill to demonstrate how they could better handle the process, Al Rais says that after explaining the different process the ministry enlisted Hill’s help on another eight contracts.

Having entered through the American arm of the business almost a decade ago, it was in 2010 that regional offices were established in

The country’s urgent requirements are for functional, liveable cities, built to market demand, but with little external guidance managing those projects has proven difficult.

“Project management isn’t very well known in Iraq – they work like other markets did 50 years ago,” observes Al Rais, as he says that Hill’s construction projects will also encompass training programmes in project management.

“It’s simple, fifty years ago a project required a contractor who did it all. Thirty years ago it was a consultant who designs, supervises and controls. Again, project management is something they are not used to so we are having difficulty entering that market as a PM company, and explaining what PM is, the control systems, the process, procedures and so on,” Al Rais adds.

“It’s a big battle. But we are at a stage now where we not only execute projects for them, but set up systems,” he continues, elaborating that similar liaison occurs during projects with Saudi Arabia’s government, including the implementation of workflow systems.

In training the next – or first, in this case – generation of project managers, Hill uses a shadow technique, due to be trailed in Egypt and Libya until political unrest stopped projects last year. Pairing a professional consultant or project manager with a trainee counterpart, the two work together for a fixed amount of time, autonomously but under the professional’s guidance.

“The other stuff is where we come in and look at the system of how they actual procure and value contracts. We set up a process for a task so if they are going for contracts, we will standardise them and have elements that can be removed or added as seen fit, but there will be one form of

contract that fits all,” Al Rais says, reporting an “excellent” reaction to the initiative.

Praising the calibre of local talent, Al Rais says there is a lot of local talent to call on when it proves difficult to recruit from beyond the borders.

The next move

Noticing that Dubai was in danger of over-heating before the 2008 crash, Hill’s regional and global management took the decision to expand operations. While Dubai’s ambition and future potential is still held in high regard within the firm, the focus now is on the markets entered immediately prior to the downturn: Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Iraq and North Africa.

“When moving into different geographies

you need to be ahead of the game. You need to have an oversight of what is going to happen.

That is why in 2008 we didn’t wait for the bubble to burst. It’s about identifying the market and potentials,” he says, advising not to “go in blind” and to identify partners and circumstances in advance.

“Do your homework,” he adds, before advising on the move into new business streams, rather than new geographical markets. In such circumstances, Hill establishes sister companies to which it can sub-contract specialist work, an approach taken on the Bahrain Airport contract.

“Companies who come in are always within particular specialities, whether it’s architecture or infrastructure or whatever. It’s not so much

diversifying within as joining hands with others. If someone wants to go in and do something, the issue is to identify partners and build teams that work.”

“This is going to be the biggest thing where Iraq is concerned, there is a lot of work out there but the most important thing for companies who want to come in and do business is to really know the local market.”

“Know the local market, know the local conditions. As a firm, we have acquaintances who want to come into a certain market and set up, so we do the introduction but then let them move on. For us it’s important that the market carries the quality and that eliminates the cowboy outfits that hurt everyone at the end of the day.”

“It’s important that the market carries the quality and that eliminates the cowboy outfits that hurt everyone at the end of the day”

The regional hotspots Kuwait

“Things are regularly announced but many things never happen. Once things eventually settle down politically we predict Kuwait will have one of the biggest programmes. They have announced something in the region of $50 billion in projects that never seem to come online. They are O.K. security wise, so the issue isn’t security as much as establishing the democracy and plans.”

Oman

“Oman in picking up with the airport and port projects. We have a registration in Oman, our claims group is already there and we are now entering to look at opportunities. There are

Itatur sedit quatem vent

major projects in ports, airports, rail and infrastructure, but in scale nothing compares to Saudi at the moment.”

Libya

“There are companies who are still owed a lot of money. The hope is that once the dust settles and everything is clear I am sure everybody will be back. Libya will welcome those people back because they still need them to build the country.”

Dubai

“It will come back, mature. We have all learned and Dubai has learned and matured dramatically.

“With Dubai it just became too big in too short a time. They set up a pace in an Emirate that has everything you want. What they have achieved and the number of architects, constructors, contractors – it’s an example that still stands today in the Gulf and the attempts to imitate Dubai are still there.

“The way to reach the market is much more mature now and hopefully they will have all the by-laws in place for investors and so on.

Abu Dhabi

“In the Middle East the biggest market for us was Abu Dhabi and we had almost 600 people there in 2008. Today it is a little slow and nobody is really sure why.”

www.thebigprojectme.com | 19

TALK | HILL and internationaL

“It’s not so much diversifying within as joining hands with others”

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LEFT: Ian Hauptfleisch

Following the leader In contrast to the expansion strategies of other companies, CCS is led into new markets by clients; an organic growth strategy that has seen the company infiltrate 50 markets since 1978

“For us these are not conscious decisions we just follow where ever our users go”

I

f you ask CCS (Gulf) L.L.C. general manager Ian Hauptfleisch, he will explain that the premise is simple: once trained in the use of CCS’s Candy and Buildsmart software applications, clients cannot execute a project without them.

“It was Dutco, Balfour Beatty, Murray and Roberts, Habtoor Leighton and Carillion who brought the software to this region,” says Hauptfleisch.

“For us these are not conscious decisions we just follow where ever

our users go,” Hauptfleisch adds.

“Our marketing strategy used to be word of mouth – clients would take the product with them to a new project in another country, it would be used there and that’s how we entered the new markets,” adds international sales manager Kevin Dick.

“It has been a growth from our users. We now have a proactive marketing strategy to market our philosophy so people can understand what we are about,” he adds, elaborating to explain the growth as “organic” and driven

TALK | CCS HILL, CCS, and FAMCO

“We want to highlight the fact that our clients make more money on projects using our software.”

by the end users.

“We want to highlight the fact that our clients make more money on projects using our software.

That’s actually our focus,” he says.

CCS has been operational in the UAE since 2003, when a Middle East base was established, supported by distributors in Bahrain and Lebanon, with CCS Gulf established in 2008. The CCS story began in South Africa in 1978 and today 800 contractors use the Buildsmart and Candy software programmes across 50 countries.

www.thebigprojectme.com | 21

TALK | CCS “In South Africa, all of the stadiums for the 2010 World Cup, as well as the monorail and other infrastructure, was all managed on our software” want it and if so it will cost you more,” she adds.

Today Cooper works directly for CCS, where she is a senior consultant, supported by Dick on the Buildsmart side and Hauptfleisch on the Candy side.

Not for me ABOVE: Dubai Marina Mall.

Hauptfleisch says the company’s expansion to India was one such example of this expansion strategy, which occurred due to a gulf manager returning to his home country and wanting to take the software back for use there.

The proactive strategy and philosophy currently practised, highlights how clients can boost profit margins on projects, with Dick saying it’s about “outcome, rather than the functions of the system”.

“It wasn’t a conscious decision, our users are extremely loyal to our product and they need those controls offered by CCS. So when they get the opportunity to work on another project in another country, they actually phone us and say ‘I want your product’. Then they reach the point when they say we have X number of licences and now we want local support. Which is when we move over,” Dick echoes.

While changing market conditions have also boosted the popularity of cost control – as both an IT product and a concept – the scale and scope of projects in the Middle East has also had a hand.

“There are hundreds of software programmes but you may as well use an abacus because they don’t deal with construction issues. Over the two years of a project look at how much can change, for example steel prices, productivity, accessibility, political upheaval, the supply chain,” Hauptfleisch continues.

Client focus

When Alec first implemented CCS, it was the job of Pat Cooper to ensure that everybody was

22 | www.thebigprojectme.com

trained and competent enough to switch IT programmes; CCS’s biggest client in the region, Alec was already using Candy, but Buildsmart was not yet implemented.

Not only did Cooper change the way the 18,000 employee company worked in a record six weeks, but it was Buildsmart that went on to save the contractor US$80 million, when the software flagged up a discrepancy on the quoted and actual prices of a material during the Marina Mall, Dubai, project.

“With manufacturing the budget is static, but in construction things are always changing so this changes too,” she begins.

“When we worked on Marina Mall, Emaar made constant changes to the design. One day there was talk of having a pool on the 16th floor of the hotel, the next day they didn’t want it. In the end they added two floors. You have to deal with this on a day-to-day basis and you have to have the decisions and answers while you’re running,” she continues, recalling how an order was raised and signed off by the engineer, the project manager and contract director.

When CCS flagged the discrepancy an investigation was launched, which concluded the material on the order was of a higher specification than that on the original tender.

“The client would never have refused it because it is a higher spec than they requested, but that comes straight out of the margin of that job,” Cooper says.

“Having that opportunity gave the construction company the chance to say this isn’t what was included on the original tender, so do you

The transparency of the programmes isn’t for everybody and while CCS senior management is against selling to anybody who “wouldn’t benefit from the philosophy”, there are certain markets that cannot be sold to at all.

“If there are things to be hidden, there are too many controls in this system for that,” says Cooper.

“The Middle East and GCC has certain issues and it’s not transparent, people do excellent estimates in Candy but won’t make it available to those on site because their secrets will be out,” Hauptfleisch adds.

Despite these figurative brick walls, the active expansion strategy now in place identifies the next target markets as Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Lebanon, Turkey and Oman, with India reportedly “much stronger”.

With firsthand experience of World Cup stadia projects, CCS is also positioning itself to enter Qatar, with plans for educational seminars and product demos in the short term, and further events pencilled in for the coming year in Oman and Saudi Arabia.

“We are focussing very heavily on Qatar and in South Africa, all of the stadiums for the 2010 World Cup, as well as the monorail and other infrastructure, was all managed on our software. That’s a message we are taking to Qatar at the moment,” says Dick “Our opportunities also lie with our existing clients,” comments Hauptfleisch.

“For them, to maximise the benefit of using our product, like many things in life we find they are only using a small part of it. All the big companies want to do is focus on their core strength, which is construction. We want to be there to help them with that and that gets us into other countries.”

LEFT: Paul Floyd, Managing Director of FAMCO.

Ambition drive

Famco managing director, Paul Floyd, explains the company’s agressive expansion strategy that begins this year with the first steps into Saudi Arabia

“We believe that some of the things we do here in the Emirates and some of the standards we work to here we can replicate in the Kingdom”

L

ast month, Famco UAE became the exclusive distributor of Volvo Construction Equipment in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, when the multi-brand franchise acquired the Al-Rehab Equipment and Machinery Company.

No mean feat, it is the first step in an aggressive expansion plan, that will see five outlets multiply to 11 across Saudi Arabia, along with the introduction of Famco Oman and Famco Qatar to the family.

“The relationship we have with AB Volvo is very strong we have been distributors of Volvo products since 1985, including their bus, truck and construction equipment,” begins Paul

Floyd, Famco managing director.

“When the opportunity came along to take over the dealership in the Kingdom we were very interested because it’s a very big market and we believe that some of the things we do here in the Emirates and some of the standards we work to here we can replicate in the Kingdom,” he adds.

In the context of both Volvo and Famco, the expansion is huge. Floyd, who has worked with Famco for six years has extensive experience of the region, and it has been his vision powering the focus on new markets.

“We don’t collect brands for the sake of it, if we have a brand we want to be the number one,

www.thebigprojectme.com | 23

TALK | FAMCO

“We don’t collect brands for the sake of it, if we have a brand we want to be the number one, two or three in the market and that is a core belief of the business”

TALK | HILL, CCS, and FAMCO

“We’re not arrogant and we’re not sitting here claiming to know how to do everything”

two or three in the market and that is a core belief of the business. If we cannot be that we would rather not have the brand. We either do it properly or not at all. We are offered a lot of products, but believe in focusing on the best with the best principle brands,” Floyd says.

“It’s more about quality than quantity,” he adds, going on to comment on the potential of Oman and Qatar’s markets: “They are smaller markets but if we didn’t think that we can build market share then we wouldn’t be doing it.”

The acquisition of Al-Rehab Equipment and Machinery Company was the icing on

24 | www.thebigprojectme.com

a successful 2011 for Famco, which saw the company awarded silver partnership status by Volvo last May. The accolade made Famco only the second company ever to receive the award from Volvo.

“We’re not arrogant and we’re not sitting here claiming to know how to do everything but particularly that revolves around the support, service and parts that we have developed here.

“So in these markets, from what we see we don’t believe the dealership standards are as high as the UAE. There are some good markets but if you look at the standards, we believe that if we can apply similar standards to those seen in the Emirates then we can raise the bar in those markets. That’s what we are aiming to do,” he adds.

People power

Floyd credits the success of the company to the talent of Famco’s staff; motivated by career development opportunities within the company through its training schemes. Floyd also reports

that Famco exceeds nationalisation targets because it employs on meritocracy alone.

“When doing something like this you must surround yourself with the best talent you can, because moving into new markets is challenging. There are growing pains and you need to have the best people around you,” he says.

With a dedicated training centre and annual appraisal system supported personal development schemes evaluated with the ‘gallop system’, Floyd says such measures are crucial to managing not only people, but change, and that expertise is one of the greatest business assets.

“Having the ability to invest in that is important. You have got to make sure you understand the market you are going in to, define your objectives and don’t be over ambitious but stretch yourself. Be realistic.

“You have to have benchmarks and you have to know you can achieve everything you set out to. You can’t wander in without a very firm goal and a firm business plan,” he says.

Alumil Gulf fzc

subsidiary of ALUMIL in the Middle East

Technology Park, RAK FTZ, RAK tel +971 7 2444106, fax +971 7 2444107 email support.uae@alumil.com

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ON SITE | the galleries

Taking Jebel Ali to the limit

Dan McAlister tours The Galleries; a mixed use development by Dubai-based Limitless, that forms part of the 6.5 million sqm Downtown Jebel Ali

ABOVE: The amphitheatre.

30% of The Galleries’ total land area taken up by the plaza

28 | www.thebigprojectme.com

“We have approximately 8000 square feet of commercial and retail area spread over four identical buildings. We are trying to achieve a business hub in this area for the large multinational companies that want to create regional offices to service the whole region,” says Bahaa Abouhatab head of UAE projects for Limitless.

We’re sitting in the sunshine outside Oregano café; the outside seating area holds the fountains in the Jebel Ali Galleries complex and it feels that if this place is to catch on it could be something else. Time will tell if this will be the case.

To date multinationals including Craft, Ericson, Dubai World, Apollo Tyres, Nikon, Dycon, China National Petroleum and Siemens, have already signed up to have their head offices here, according to Abouhatab.

Combined, these tenants contribute to the near 75% occupancy of office and retail facilities announced October 2011.

One element of the 6.5 million square metre Downtown Jebel Ali, The Galleries forms a large part of the first phase – known as zone 1 – featuring eight of the first 13 buildings.

The project is located between Jebel Ali Free Zone and Techno Park on a 11km stretch of Sheikh Zayed Road, Dubai.

Divided into four zones, each has three districts; the business and entertainment hub Urban Centre; the Trellis District, with midrise buildings, shaded sidewalks, parks and plazas; and Medina, featuring Arabianinspired courtyards and cobbled streets.

Now five years into the project, phase two is waiting for residents to move in and three and four are on their way.

288

design, engineering and construction workers who delivered the project

square metres of steel frame shielding the plaza’s multimedia screen

BELOW: Some of the compelted buildings

An aerial view of the area.

“Limitless is working on a strategy to finish the second phase. It’s not clear yet but it’s a combination between residential and office space so it’s mixed use. When it comes to the zone almost 90% of the plots are sold to individuals or developers.

“Today we have twin towers that are under construction by Damac. They are estimating it should finish sometime during the third quarter of this year,” he says, adding that currently the focus is on completing the first phase to encourage more companies to establish offices there.

In zone one, construction is complete or underway on 13 buildings, including eight at The Galleries. Of those eight buildings, currently five plots are under construction by third party developers with three more developers currently finalising design plans; the buildings comprise six office and two residential towers.

Upon completion, the entire development will feature 326 buildings – 237 of which will be residential. The development is being built

45 minutes to drive to reach the plaza by road from Abu Dhabi

BELOW: The ‘social centre’.

at an estimated cost of US $13 billion (AED47.7bn).

Features

The Galleries’ social centre is a 20,000 square metre landscaped plaza; as big as three international football pitches placed end to end. It features 14,000 square metres of granite, and saves 4000 gallons of water each day through eco-friendly irrigation and cooling systems.

The focal point of the plaza is a 300 seat amphitheatre with a 105 square metre screen – to be housed in a steel structure the size of a tennis court. The amphitheatre will form a

venue for cultural, arts and social events and is surrounded by 200 trees, lawns, fountains, pools and shaded spots for relaxation.

Limitless has also completed the construction of a 300 metre, tree-lined, shaded walkway connecting the Jebel Ali Metro station to The Galleries at Downtown Jebel Ali. The company hopes to encourage walking and the use of public transport at its developments, and reflects The Galleries’ overall theme of shaded, walkable areas for tenants and residents. On April 18 last year, they held their own metro day for employees.

Around one third of the 3000 people who

www.thebigprojectme.com | 29

ON SITE | the galleries

300

ON SITE | The galleries

8

1700

LEED certified mixed-use buildings surrounding the plaza

low energy lights installed throughout the grounds

2 years of work to complete the plaza

ABOVE: Grant Salters.

ABOVE: The office towers visiable from Sheikh Zayed Road.

work within The Galleries’ commercial buildings, use Dubai Metro for their daily commute. In addition, many corporate tenants at The Galleries, notably Siemens, Arup and Kraft, encourage their staff with incentives to travel by metro instead of by car.

The company says the plaza encourages walking through its stair system.

They are heavily promoting the use of the metro as the Jebel Ali station is close to the complex and has a shaded walkway which has been installed to accommodate workers

by Limitless.

30 | www.thebigprojectme.com

Even the two underground car parks meet international environmental health and safety standards for base ventilation, access and fire escape routes. The basement level is equipped with two speed jet fans that can be monitored and controlled from the Building Management System (BMS). These jet fans are on during summer to increase air circulation.

The car parks include two basement levels and two podium levels, covering a total of 90,000 sq metres. The two underground levels cover 62,000 square metres and span the entire length and width of the development.

They have been designed for optimum accessibility to the buildings and efficient circulation.

Major road, seaport and metro line converge easy reach of Abu Dhabi and Dubai.

Also the soon to be completed Al Maktoum Airport will be handy for business and workers in the area.

Finally we are given a look at one of the developments being worked on by Damac. It should be ready next year.

Money may have slowed the building process down but here’s hoping The Galleries will be all set and good to go soon and be around for many years to come.

Downtown Jebel Ali • Location: Dubai, UAE • Size: 200 hectares • Population: 200,000

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MARKET EXPLORER | Abu Dhabi

Capital market Everybody has an opinion, but what is the real story behind Abu Dhabi’s development? Dan McAlister finds out

“Abu Dhabi was always a little bit more conservative with big money. It will most probably pick up next year, but slowly”

I

t may have been a victim of the same global conditions that shook the rest of the world, but the general consensus is that Abu Dhabi has demonstrated a resilience that protected it from the worst economic effects to ensure it remains a promising and lucrative market.

While there has been a dramatic downturn in the Emirate, today Abu Dhabi has many contractors, suppliers and designers preparing for the market to pick up fully.

Most recently the Emirate has mimicked Dubai’s tourism concept, launching many different kinds of projects, like the ‘leaning tower’ Capital Gate. The corniche has become an entertainment destination pulling in some of the biggest acts and sporting events, and Ferrari World hosting of the Formula One Grand Prix

boosted confidence furthter.

“There is some work going on,” says Joss Dare a partner in Ashurst’s global energy, transport and infrastructure department and head of the firm’s Middle East practice.

“But also a lot of projects have been re-scheduled or put on hold.”

At the moment, uncertainty remains and it is not easy to say exactly what is going to happen and when. If you drive around the city you will see there is work going on but also an impression that Abu Dhabi is prioritising projects better and weeding out some of the weaker ideas.

It has been a period of consolidation, now they are deciding what they want to do; some projects will move forward, like the nation-wide

www.thebigprojectme.com | 33

MARKET EXPLORER | Abu Dhabi Achraf Ibrahim.

“The 2030 plan is a very ambitious vision, and personally I believe Abu Dhabi will achieve all cited targets.

Nevertheless, it has no sense to pursue in a plan that was studied during booming time and based on international and local financial atmosphere”

Etihad Rail project and ADPC’s Kizad, while others will take longer or be shelved indefinitely.

“Transport planning, in the form of the Surface Transport Masterplan, was a big part of the 2030 plan, so the various rail projects mooted are a big part of Abu Dhabi’s future,” Dare explains.

“That’s still true, but it’s also fair to say that a lot of what was included in the STMP won’t get built for quite a while.

“In many ways that is perfectly sensible. They are still talking about a metro/LRT project and that’s been in serious planning for some time now. It will probably happen, but probably not immediately and on a more considered and deliverable scale than the scheme that was originally envisaged some years ago. I think the Mafraq freeway project will happen too but as a series of traditional procurements, probably in 2012,” Dare adds.

34 | www.thebigprojectme.com

Global reality

Progress also depends on what happens in the country, the region and in the world. We all had something of a rude awakening in 2008 when we realised everything was connected to everything else. That is a global reality that applies here just as much as everywhere else. So, if say, the euro collapses and triggers another global recession, that will send shockwaves everywhere, including the Middle East.

“It’s a very competitive market which demands high quality at very aggressive prices, especially when you consider the very few tenders available on the table and the big number of contractors in the plaza. Which force some of the contractors to under cost, creating the unhealthy market conditions,” says Achraf Ibrahim a business development director for GDM. “The market is heading toward infrastructural projects such as health care facilities,

educational buildings, and tourism related projects. You can add to that the industrial sector developments, as Abu Dhabi is committed to the diversification of its economy.

Let’s forget for a while the real estate development, unless we talk about housing for UAE nationals.

“The 2030 plan is a very ambitious vision, and personally I believe Abu Dhabi will achieve all sited targets. Nevertheless, there is little sense in pursuing a plan that was studied during booming time and based on international and local financial atmosphere, totally different from the global crisis we have today. That’s why, in my opinion, the rhythm of progression in actuating the plan slowed down. Prudence is the key word, and it’s understandable. A plan should have revisions and amendments.”

Uwe Tscharnke is the commercial director at Cladtech International. He has lived in the UAE since 1997 and has many years of experience working in Toronto’s construction Industry.

“The problem is an oversupply. I have been told that Abu Dhabi is more willing to invest in infrastructure,” says Tscharnke.

“As engineers we build buildings so that people are going to use them later on. The idea in Dubai was to sell built assets as fast as possible with big profits and afterwards people didn’t care.

“Abu Dhabi was always a little bit more conservative with big money. It will most probably pick up next year, but slowly. If you go to Al Reem Island there are many projects which have been stopped and just before the Al Raha Beach mall is a development with what used to be an elevator shaft, but no scaffolding, no formwork, work stopped around 2009.

“I know from big aluminum companies that had a healthy turnover last year or the year before of about AED300m that today nearly half are struggling for

MARKET EXPLORER | Abu Dhabi

“In regards to 2030 we should be asking where are all the people coming from who are going to be using all this and where are the workplaces who are paying salaries to fund people to live here?”

Joss Dare.

announced it is to lay off 25% of its staff and news that the Tourism Development and Investment Company (TDIC), responsible for the execution of many of the major projects, had its budget cut by 28% last year.

As the world’s fourth largest oil producer, Abu Dhabi will be able to depend on its oil revenues for the short term, staving off the ‘crisis point’ it is rumoured to be – quietly – facing.

But how the Emirate will buck the trends of global financial markets to execute the enormous vision of Plan 2030, remains to be seen.

Some of the elements of plan 2030 include: Capital 2030 Capital District work,” he continues. Yet, despite the gloom he positively addsthat the oversupply isn’t as high as in neighbouring Dubai.

“The difference with this region is they don’t need any credit to finance their work load. The money is there. In regards to 2030 we should be asking where all the people are coming from who are going to be using all this and where are the workplaces who are paying salaries to fund people to live here?”

Future focus

Abu Dhabi Education Council took a large step forward for education in Abu Dhabi this year.

There is a plan for the region to open 47 brand new private schools to cater for its growing private sector education needs. These are set to be completed in 2013.

A number of housing complexes designed specifically for Emirati families also continue to make strong progress. Abu Dhabi offers a higher salary for workers than neighboring Dubai and with Sheikh Zayed Road it is easily commutable by car. Abu Dhabi’s GDP is expected to have swelled by around 3.8% in 2011 with growth focused in the hydrocarbon and non-oil sectors, according to data by the Abu Dhabi Chamber of Commerce and Industry.

On the other hand, with estimates that construction has slowed by 30% since pre-2008, it was most recently announced that Saadiyat’s Louvre, Zayed National Museum and Guggenheim museums will all face delays – in a worst case scenario of up to five years.

Further blows come from Saadiyat Island developer Aldar, which also recently

Khalifa City B Mohammed Bin Zayed City Kizad Abu Dhabi airport Baniyas and Wathba Zayed Sports City Masdar Corniche Beach Development Shahama Bahia Revitalization Masterplan Al Gharbia 2030 Al Ain City 2030

www.thebigprojectme.com | 35

COVER | THE BIG PROJECT+BGREEN AWARDS PLATINUM SPONSOR

Last month, The Big Project + BGreen recognised the names leading construction and sustainability in the region at a glittering awards ceremony held at Armani Hotel, Burj Khalifa.

Awarding 16 categories from product suppliers to infrastructure projects, the ceremony was attended by His Highness Sheikh Dr Abdul Aziz bin Ali Al Nuami, municipality directors and the heads of the industry’s most significant companies.

38 | www.thebigprojectme.com

exclusive telecom sponsor

The nomination process began in August and over the space of a few months we received hundreds of nominations. Shortlisted

by The Big Project and BGreen team, our judges then made the final decisions on the winners. The judging panel comprised expertise from both the construction and sustainability arenas, with different judges responsible for different categories.

Our judges were: Niall McLoughlin, senior vice president

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DAMAC Properties; Adel Mohamed Mokhtar, senior architectural engineer and member of the Green Building Committee, Dubai Municipality; Salah Al Mashad, mechanical engineer and member of the Green Building Committee, Dubai Municipality; Thierry Paret, president, American Institute of Architecture; Gerard Couturier, chairman of BuildingSMART and branch director, Oger Abu Dhabi; Mohammed Al Rais, senior vice president and

managing director of Middle East Projects, Hill International; and Mohamed Al Noori, director general, The Environmental Centre for Arab Towns.

The event was supported by platinum sponsors Hyder Consulting; exclusive telecom partner Du and Shell Lubricants, BASF, Roca, Arminox, CCS, Causeway, Alumil, Plantation Capital, Al Qahtani, Zumtobel and Everest.

www.thebigprojectme.com | 39 www.thebigprojectme.com

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Category

Commercial Interior Design Firm of the Year

Winner Al Aqili Award presented by Caroline O'Halloran, regional marketing and proposal director, Hyder Consulting

Al Aqili has provided interior concepts and for projects ranging from Emirates Towers to the Shangri-La and even Armani Hotel. Al Aqili has diversified into fabrics, lighting and wall coverings and has a strong reputation in a number of regional markets. The company represents more than 60 international manufacturers and recently opened a new 15,000 square foot showroom in Doha, Qatar.

The shortlisted nominees Al Shaya trading Al Aqili Sanipex Casa Mia

Category

Middle East Construction Software Application of the Year

Winner CCS Award presented by: Torben Krebs, general manager, Arminox

CCS programmes Buildsmart and Candy have revolutionised how contractors can cost and manage projects, allowing for real time analysis of budgets, accurate procurement and invoicing and more streamlined working processes companywide. Originating in South Africa 30 years ago, the firm has grown into a global brand thanks to the loyalty of its clients.

The shortlisted nominees Causeway iTech Red Sky IT CCS

40 | www.thebigprojectme.com

ADVERTORIAL | FAMCO

Al-Futtaim Auto & Machinery Company (FAMCO) FAMCO offers a wide variety of products and services to a diverse range of industries and commercial businesses covering the transportation, construction, oil and gas, manufacturing, warehousing and marine sectors.

The company is well known and highly respected throughout the UAE for the supply and service of heavy vehicles and machinery including trucks, buses, construction machinery, marine engines, air compressors, diesel generators, light towers and material handling equipment.

With bases in Dubai, Abu Dhabi, Al Ain and Ras Al Khaimah, the company is the sole UAE distributor for Volvo trucks, Volvo buses and Volvo construction equipment. FAMCO is also the exclusive distributor for internationally renowned industry heavyweights: Linde, Himoinsa, Yanmar, Ingersoll Rand and Merlo.

With excellent service and parts back-up, and providing an exceptionally high standard of product support services through skilled and dedicated teams across all of its operations, FAMCO regularly receives performance awards from its major principals, competing on a global scale with other distributors.

Operating through five separate trading divisions, FAMCO also enjoys an excellent reputation for its turnkey industrial storage and handling solutions, including the design and installation of Dexion shelving and racking systems. It also provides innovative office designs including the supply of office furniture from Mobel Linea & Meco and space saving mobile shelving systems from Bruynzeel.

The company also distributes Ingersoll Rand pneumatic tools for industrial and automotive applications, together with Proto industrial hand tools and Fenner transmission products and Bott in-vehicle & workplace storage equipment.

FAMCO is committed to providing outstanding second-to-none service levels to its customers and to maintaining quality, safety and environmental standards at the highest possible levels. FAMCO is an ISO 9001:2008 (Quality Standard) and ISO 14001:2004 (Environment Standard) certified company.

Brand Volvo

For more information please visit: FAMCO website: www.famcouae.com Toll free 800 FAMCO (32626) Al-Futtaim Group website: www.al-futtaim.com

Products Volvo Trucks, Volvo Buses, Volvo Construction Equipment

Yanmar

Diesel Engines, Generators, Pumps

Dexion

Storage Systems

Ingersoll Rand

Air Solutions (Standard & Projects), Light Towers, Montabert Rock Breakers, Portable Compressors, Productivity Solutions (Air Starters, ARO Diaphragm Pumps, Automotive Tools, Cordless Tools, Grinders, Tools, Winches & Hoists)

Linde

Material Handling Equipment

Merlo

Telescopic Handlers

Himoinsa

Generators, Lighting Towers

Proto

Industrial Hand Tools

Fenner

Transmission Products (Chain Drives, Drive Couplings, Friction Belt Drives, Gear Drives, Motors & Inverters, Synchronous Belt Drives and Shaft Fixings)

Stertil

Dock Products

Hart

Door Systems

Nassau

Sectional Doors

Bott

In-Vehicle Storage Equipment , Workplace & Workshop Storage Equipment

Mobel Linea

Furniture

MECO

Furniture

Bruynzeel

Filing & Storage Systems

Jalema

Filing Systems

www.thebigprojectme.com | 41

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Category

Heavy Machinery Company of the Year

Winner Al-Futtaim Auto and Machinery Company (Famco) Award presented by Amr Adel - General Manager for Shell Lubricants

Category

Architecture Firm of the Year

Winner R.W. Armstrong Award presented by Kevin Lander, Director of Lighting Brands in the MENA region for the Zumtobel Lighting Group

Abu Dhabi Equestrian Club and headquarters of the Abu Dhabi Accountability Authority The firm was selected for its innovation and the vision demonstrated in conceiving and executing projects in the GCC. The two stand out projects selected by judges were renovations to the Abu Dhabi Equestrian Club and design of the Abu Dhabi Accountability Authority.

The Equestrian Club project included site development of the outdoor competition and training spaces, recreational spaces, plazas, water features, gardens, and green spaces.

Musanada appointed RW Armstrong to lead consultant for concept design through construction supervision for the new Abu Dhabi Accountability Authority Headquarters and meet their goal to create a “modern, innovative and memorable government building, with a progressive public impression”.

The shortlisted nominees AEDAS R.M.J.M. Architecture and Planning R.W. Armstrong Leigh and Orange Qatar LLC

42 | www.thebigprojectme.com

Famco’s market prominence in the UAE is unrivalled and the dealer is not only one of the largest in the region, but exclusive supplier of many brands, including Volvo, Linde and Himoinsa, Yanmar, Ingersoll Rand and Merlo.

In May 2011, Famco became only the second company in the world to be awarded Volvo’s ‘silver partnership’ status, for the support given to the Volvo brand in the Middle East and Famco’s clients who purchase their Volvo branded trucks, buses and construction vehicles.

The shortlisted nominees FAMCO Manitowok W.W.A. limited Al Bahar

LG Electronics MULTI V III is a new leader in the Commercial Air Conditioning (CAC) sector.

With its Greater Energy Efficiency and Eco-Friendly Benefits, LG’s VRF System, the Multi V III, has been Reaping Success in the Middle Eastern CAC Market

A

s a recent entrant into the Middle Eastern CAC market, LG registered US$125 million in sales in 2010 year and is expected to register $175.6 million for 2011, a 38% growth.

LG has enabled such impressive growth through collaboration with top-tier local sales partners as well as its strength in VRF systems which have far greater potential for future growth compared to conventional single commercial air conditioning products.

LG’s VRF system is led by the Multi V III, whose sales grew 500% this year compared to the overall single air conditioning market’s 21percent growth. The Multi V III has earned $15 million so far since it was released in the Middle East market earlier this year. The sales of this system still grow steadily as the expansion of the Middle East CAC market.

The reason behind LG Multi V III’s remarkable success has been its energy efficiency, particularly compared to conventional duct ventilation systems. Measured using a rating system known as coefficient of performance (COP), the Multi V III’s COP came in at a sharp 4.3, which translates into 30 percent reduction in energy

consumption. LG was able to achieve such energy efficiency in its VRF system by incorporating LG’s own proprietary technology, the high pressure oil return (HIPORTM) technology, which is used directly with the system’s inverter compressor, the V-Scroll.

The HIPORTM technology reduces energy loss by sending the refrigerant and oil directly into the V-Scroll under the same amount of pressure. The V-Scroll inverter compressor is 11 percent more efficient than conventional air conditioning inverter compressors.

It also improves energy efficiency by reducing energy loss from a phenomenon that engineers call slip loss, a normal occurrence in most induction motors. The V-Scroll produces lower noise levels (77dBA), and it has an extended operating range of 20Hz to 120Hz, up from 25Hz to 105Hz in previous models. All of this means that even with a large number of air conditioners in use inside a building, the V-Scroll ensures system stability, even in severe weather conditions.

Better still, the Multi V III covers more space

with a single pipe than traditional systems. Thanks to its use of inverter control and sub-cooling control circuit technologies, the Multi V III can use longer piping. This can also be done vertically over long distances, and elevation is not a significant factor. The larger capacity per unit and the extended piping lengths of up to 1,000m, as well as free four-way piping connections, all combine to make the Multi V III easy and convenient to install and operate.

In addition, the Multi V III has a mode called automatic test, which enables the unit to automatically perform a test run and create a test run report. Previously, installers had to switch on all air conditioning units separately to ensure they were working properly.

However, with the auto test run, all the installer has to do is press the trial run button and the test will run automatically before being saved.

This greatly reduces the time and effort spent by installation engineers. Better still, its “night silent” operation creates a quieter and more comfortable environment.

www.thebigprojectme.com | 43

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LG Electronics MULTI V III

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Category

Product Supplier of the Year

Winner LG Electronics Award presented by Rhiannon downie, brand manager and business development, bgreen magazine

Established in 1958, LG’s operations span everything from home entertainment to project sized operations across the Gulf. Since establishing its Jebel Ali office in 1996, LG’s portfolio has covered projects such as EMMAR Emirates Living villas, Arabian Ranches, The Sheik Mohammed bin Rashid housing programme, Mina al Arab in Ras Al Khaimah and Dubai Festival City apartment buildings.

The shortlisted nominees Byrne Rental Unibeton Ready mix L.G. Electronics

Category

Infrastructure Project of the Year

Winner RTA Award presented by: Ian Hauptfleisch general manager for CCS

Inaugurated by His Highness Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum on September 9 2011, the Dubai Metro Green Line affirms RTA’s commitment to sustainability by providing affordable transport for hundreds of thousands of commuters and tourists across a 23km stretch of Dubai’s busiest areas.

Adnan Al Hammadi, CEO of the RTA Rail Agency, expressed his delight at winning the award, saying it culminates the RTA’s efforts to broaden the scope of public transport and promote sustainable transport in Dubai.

The shortlisted nominees Abu Dhabi Ports Company, RTA, The Pearl Qatar, Hyder Consulting Category

Outstanding Development of the year

Winner Abu Dhabi Ports Company Award presented by: Caroline O'Halloran, regional marketing and proposal director, Hyder Consulting

ADPC has spearheaded the construction of and investments in Kizad, the Khalifa Industrial Zone and Port, since the project’s inception.

Part of the Emirate’s 2030 vision for economic diversification, Kizad will support the diversification of Abu Dhabi’s industrial base. The massive development will become one of the world’s most significant industrial zones and is divided into nine specific ‘clusters’ to allow proximity between different business, manufacturers and suppliers operating across a number of various industries.

The shortlisted nominees Abu Dhabi Ports Company DAMAC Properties Hill International Faithful and Gould

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Category

Contractor of the Year

Winner Arabtec Construction LLC Award presented by Christopher Chatzigeorgiou, managing director, ALUMIL Part of the history of Dubai Arabtec built the 17 storey Pearl Tower on Dubai Creek back in the 1970s, when it was then the UAE’s tallest tower.

The multi-disciplinary company has since gone on to work on the country’s most significant landmarks, including the Burj Al Arab and Burj Khalifa. An estimated 70,000 people are employed directly and in-directly by Arabtec’s projects and the company operates across 17 countries, including Qatar, Bahrain, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, Palestine, Pakistan and Russia, with further ambitions to move into India.

The shortlisted nominees Brookfield Multiplex Habtoor Leighton Group Arabtec Construction LLC Al Fara General Contracting

Category

Developer of the year

Winner DAMAC Properties Award presented by Paul Maderia , chief operating officer, Causeway Middle East.

Despite worldwide economic down turn, during 2011 real estate and freehold property developer DAMAC handed over more units in the UAE than its two biggest competitors combined. With a commitment to construction and delivery, the company has thrived in the region’s luxury property market and today has exclusive partnerships with Versace interiors in Jeddah and Dubai. At only ten years old this year, its achievements in the fields of construction, design and real estate have yet to be matched.

The shortlisted nominees

DAMAC Properties Abu Dhabi Ports Company United Development Company Emaar Category

Retrofit Project of the Year

Winner Dubai Chamber of Commerce Award presented by Ali Lalehparvar, head of sales and industry management in the Middle East for BA.S.F. Dubai Chamber knew it had to ‘green up; its Baniyas Road headquarters in Dubai in The project achieved a 77% reduction in water consumption, a 47% reduction in energy consumption and a further 37% reduction in green house gas emissions, and the measures have saved more than two million dollars to date.

The multi-functional high tech spaces resulted in a much more efficient workspace providing space for 45 instead of 22 staff per floor with improved air quality, use of eco-friendly furniture as well as segregated areas for printing and telephone conversations.

The project also achieved the Arab world’s first LEED certified existing building from the US Green Building Council (USGBC).

The shortlisted nominees Design International Selections Dubai Chamber of Commerce and Industry Grand Hyatt Dubai Laser and Electronics Middle East

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Category

The Best Water Conservation Initiative

Winner Hyder Consulting Award presented by Ali Lalehparvar, head of sales and industry management in the Middle East for BA.S.F.

Hyder’s innovative management systems have helped countries such as the UAE and Qatar to effectively manage demand, while reducing waste and meeting environmental objectives.

The shortlisted nominees Epic The Environment Agency Abu Dhabi Hyder Green Vision Category

Energy Efficiency project of the Year

Winner Abu Dhabi Port Company Award presented by Ali Lalehparvar, head of sales and industry management in the Middle East for BA.S.F.

In executing and managing the construction of Kizad and Khalifa Port, Abu Dhabi, ADPC made achievements in green IT, which have not only reduced energy consumption but reduced the overall carbon footprint of the company’s operations, through strategies that are crucial to the delivery of both the megaprojects.

The most notable energy savings have been made the provision of visualisation services and switchover to a virtual infrastructure means that considerable financial and energy savings are being made.

The number of physical servers has dropped from 60 to only five. ADPC has provided a virtual and green Data Centre, reducing the power consumption by 40%.

The shortlisted nominees Abu Dhabi Ports Company, Nuuon Trading LLC, Royal City Contracting, Wild Guanabana

Category

Green Building Project of the Year

Winner W.M.S. Metal Industries Award presented by Jasmit Singh, head of exports, Everest industries Ltd

W.M.S. Metal Industries won this award on recognition of the company’s AED3.8m contract Princess Norah University ENVIRO-Waste Separator in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.

The scope of works included the installation of a garbage Chute System with ENVIRO Waste Separator System. The separator was installed in 45 staff accommodation buildings at the site.

The shortlisted nominees H.D.R. Bovis Lend Lease W.M.S Metal Industries LLC K.E.O. International Consultants

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Category

Sustainable Interior Design Project

Winner Blanchard LLC Award presented by Victor Schoone, country manager Middle East, Roca

How can it be green and chic? Blanchard won recognition for their problem solving skills, providing stylish yet sustainable interiors to the local region since 2006.

Blanchard now also offers an architectural consultancy service, allowing clients the opportunity to develop their dream homes from the ground up.

The shortlisted nominees R.N.L. Design Inc Interiors R US Ibtikari Group LLC Blanchard LLC. Category

Sustainable Supplier of the Year

Winner Mapei Award presented by John Lincoln, vice president of enterprise marketing, du

Mapei has pioneered more than 150 products that assist the industry in achieving LEED certification. Every year Mapei dedicates 70% of its R&D to eco-friendly solutions including low VOC products, recycled and renewable materials and products that reduce energy consumption.

The shortlisted nominees Design International Selections ALDES Middle East Interface Floor Mapei

Category

Sustainable Communication

Winner du Award presented by Alex Bendiouis, director of business development The Big Project This special award was presented to du in recognistion of its active corporate citizenship policy and support of sustainable communications.

The company's Sustainable Development Report, aims to establish regional standards in fuel transparency, responsibility and accountability for a corporation’s actions, while providing inspiration for other companies to self-evaluate and adopt more sustainable development initiatives for the good of the UAE, and the Middle East.

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SUPPLIER HOTSEAT | DUCAB Production at Ducab’s Dubai plant.

Supplier Hotseat Colin Mckay general manager of sales and marketing for Ducab talks to Dan McAlister about the future for Ducab and laying cables – properly.

W

hen Ducab was established in 1979, no indigenous cable manufacturer existed in the GCC, let alone in the UAE and most product was supplied from overseas, particularly the UK. The British Insulated Callender’s Cables company (BICC), that was supplying to the region at the time, decided to reduce transportation costs by beginning to manufacture locally becoming known as Ducab, and operating as a joint venture between BICC and the Government of Dubai.

“It was roughly a 49/ 51 per cent split between us and the Government of Dubai when the GCC started getting into trouble in terms of cable construction,” explains Ducab general manager of sales and marketing, Colin Mckay.

“They [BICC] decided to sell off this business and ownership of Ducab became a 50/50 split between Dubai and Abu Dhabi’s governments.

“We’ll guarantee delivery anywhere in the UAE in two days”

ABOVE: Colin Mckay.

British Insulated Callender’s Cables – the biggest manufacture of cables at that time in the UK or indeed the world – announced it was to close down in 1999, renaming itself Balfour Beatty early in 2000.

“It used to be that we would go and negotiate in Tokyo with the oil and gas work but now we spend a lot of time in Seoul negotiating with Hyundai, Samsung, GS – these people who are increasingly winning volumes of gas work,” he says.

www.thebigprojectme.com | 49

Abu Dhabi & Western Region: Khalifa port, Abu Dhabi Al Falah Community, Abu Dhabi Cleveland Hospital, Abu Dhabi Yas Water Park, Abu Dhabi St. Regis Hotel, Abu Dhabi ADNOC Head Quarters, Abu Dhabi, Etihad Towers, Abu Dhabi Baniyas Sports Club, Abu Dhabi Al Flourine Complex, Abu Dhabi Nation Towers, Abu Dhabi Ruwais Housing Complex Al Shams Gate- Al Reem Island, Abu Dhabi ABOVE and RIGHT: Cables produced at the factory and the outdoor yard.

“Korean companies have a good track record, delivering on time and within budget, with a preference to buy.

“Fortunately for us when you look at transportation costs of cables they tend to be quite high and when you’re providing cables for the oil and gas industry quite often they need a led layer because they are buried in soil and can be contaminated with hydro carbons which eat through anything except the led layer.”

One of the company’s advantages is that they have a lot of capacity for led extrusion.

Led is very heavy so shipping it as a business stream is difficult.

“We have a good track record and contractors like dealing with us because it’s only a couple of days or a couple of hours to deliver to their sites. We’ll guarantee delivery anywhere in the UAE in two days “In terms of the actual cables themselves as you can imagine there are a lot of other producers not just nationally but globally. The fact is we deliver on reasonable short lead times and then the logistics of getting it from A to B are very short and we have large sites where we tend to buffer the stock. When the cable is brought it can be difficult to manage so we’ll manage that for them.”

Ducab is also trying to convince the utility companies of the UAE to stop leaving yards of drums on the sides of roads.

“It’s not caught on yet with utilities but it’s certainly caught on with oil and gas, where

Maintenance, Rehabilitation and Additional Works (Strategic Roads) - Western Region Al Salam Street, Abu Dhabi Zayed University Swimming Pool Block at Abu Al Abyad Island Watani Residential Developments- Phase 1 Takreer Project- Ruwais Arzanah Medical Complex

every penny counts and we can offer a very quick delivery service.”

Within Ducab’s operations, Mckay’s favourite programmes currently include Shamka South and Khalifa Port: “Because of the size of them they are major projects and they are probably the biggest ones that will occur outside the oil and gas industry this coming year.

“We are already supplying or have supplied to them,” he adds.

Most firms in the construction industry are after these projects at the moment as they are some of the biggest. Last year Ducab supplied Ferrari World.

“One that was nice for us was the solar intense project. We won that through a Spanish Contractor and we didn’t see the inquiry from ayone else at all in the UAE but we have a UK operation now located in Leicester and they got it for us.”

“We may not even have had a sniff at that one it would have gone to one of the European manufacturers but that one we delivered in 8 weeks with $9 million worth of cable,” he concludes.

Al Ain: Oasis Hospital- Al Ain Al Ain Mall, Al Ain Al Ain - Dubai - Highway Investigation & Drugs Buildings, Al Ain Oasis Hospital, Al Ain Ajman: Ajman Pearl, Ajman Al Zorah Development, Ajman Dubai: Conrad Hotel, Dubai Burj Dubai Development (Plot 29 & 30) Dubai Metro - various stations & Terminals Al Furjan Development, Dubai GEMS School, Dubai HS-127 The Bldgs. by Damanv

www.thebigprojectme.com | 51

SUPPLIER HOTSEAT | DUCAB

Projects supplied by Ducab

SUPPLIER FOCUS | MAPEI

Sticking with you Mapei and its newest dealer Emirates Ceramics explain to Dan McAlister how they make their young business relationship work and where the smart money is in 2012

”You need to take into consideration the money supply before a product is launched. There is definitely an increased awareness on quality and on sustainability” 52 | www.thebigprojectme.com

C

elebrating its 75th birthday this year Italian, family owned, Mapei reported a turnover of €2bn in 2010. With all but one of its 53 manufacturing sites worldwide 100% owned by shareholders, IBS – MAPEI managing director Stefano Iannacone, says the company has a philosophy to “be the prima donna”.

“What I mean is that we know we are good at producing construction chemicals, we have the application and know how, but without the right partners we

don’t believe we can be successful and that’s one of the reasons we decided to tie up a partnership – it’s not on one project, here’s the price, here’s the deal and everybody then goes home, but they have the same strategy of looking into long term profitable philosophy as we do at Mapei,” says Iannacone, while pointing to Emirates Ceramics executive manager Mohsen Hankir.

As a group, Emirates Ceramics has 60,000 employees and is a privately owned family company. “It’s the

SUPPLIER FOCUS | MAPEI

RIGHT: IBS - Mapei managing director Stefano Iannacone.

BELOW - Mapei product Ultralite S1.

The splash feature

biggest family owned company in the UAE. You have the Bin Laden family – we are bigger,” Hankir asserts.

“In the past year we had an idea in the market, knowing there was a change happening,” he continues to explain.

“There were segments we concentrated on; some of the segments ended up as ceramics. We are a local dealer and today we started the export for some of the local brands we do.”

Emirates Ceramics are agents of Mapei. They work in Turkey, have a manufacturing factory in Korea and have businesses in Italy from the people who invented the sonar mixer with several other brands. “We are looking for the right brands to give a full solution for what Steffano just told you,” says Hankir.

There is a confidence and swagger to the pair’s conversation and they form an interesting double act during the interview, boasting that they are the best in their field.

“The point is we are in the market because of good labour and a good product,” he adds.

”The area is hard to invest in. You have to plan up to a decade in advance” GCC Difference

For an internationally successful company to be known in different countries around the world is not necessarily a guarantee for success in this region. The GCC is a whole different ball game when it comes to setting up operations, as Mapei can testify.

“The reality is that people here are not as skilled as in other parts of the world, so we have to educate people that it’s not only about the product. The product has to be good, yes, has to fulfill certain specifics but it’s how you apply the product that makes the difference,” states Iannacone.

Modern markets

“A few years ago you could put a stall on Sheikh Zayed Road and sell a truck load there,” says Hankir.

“Now it is twofold, you need to take into consideration the money supply before a product is launched. There is definitely an increased awareness on quality and on sustainability. Now you have Estidama trying to regulate the market. In the past especially in the residential projects, they were bought by investors. Rents skyrocketed and in most cases companies would pay the rent,” he adds, continuing to assert the company’s sustainability policy incorporates the entire chain from sourcing materials to manufacturing products and recycling what can no longer be used in its current state.

“Companies in the UAE got greedy in the past three years. You know the survival of the fittest? We are now in that situation. The problem with the fittest is they think they are bigger than the market,” says Hankir, who explains that the “decent” companies which pay on time and complete projects can be counted on one hand.

Working on the prediction that Yemen is “finished” until its dust settles but that Iraq is bursting with potential, Hankir also sees potential in Lebanon.

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SUPPLIER FOCUS | MAPEI The splash feature

What advice would you give to the region’s newest commercial arrivals?

“Not to be arrogant coming into this market.

You can be big in Turkey and come here and think you are the king but it doesn’t work that way,” says Hankir, adding the right partners, advice and patience are crucial.

“The area is hard to invest in. You have to plan up to a decade in advance. It had been in the past that you could come here for one or two years, now if you come it’s for the long term.

Like they say…’when in Rome’,” he adds.

What are the main, legal considerations companies should make when establishing operations in the region?

“Find the right sponsor, this can be an industrial sponsor. There are many, obviously this is an independent sovereign country. To me it’s a place that yes there are investments with some restrictions because the fact that the parent company cannot own 100%. There are some

54 | www.thebigprojectme.com

ABOVE: Mohsen Hankir.

”We believe in being the prima donna”

restrictions regarding profit share but in terms of investing and innovating,” Iannacone begins.

“There’s obviously a transfer of ownership with the shareholders. So you need the ‘know how’ and that is the essence. I don’t see it as a problem as there are many ways of protecting your business.

“You will see the many different people whether you want to go to the UAE, or you want to go to Turkey or to another country.

Probably the challenge is to run the company here with that many nationalities under the same roof. That’s the challenge for the manager and that’s also the wealth that the companies have here.”

“Here you see every problem from a different perspective. If you look here at Lebanon, Italy, India, Ireland, we will be discussing a business issue with different opinions. So there are different ways to look at it. On the commercial side – you should always find the right partners that pay on time then you can go to sleep at night and not worry,” Iannacone concludes.

YOUR ONE-STOP GUIDE TO CONSTRUCTION DEVELOPMENTS IN THE REGION...

The Big Project is the Middle East’s leading monthly B2B magazine for the construction industry.

40,880 readers per month AVERAGE PROJECTED READERSHIP

CONTACT DETAILS Associate publisher Liam Williams liam@cpidubai.com TEL: +971 (0)4 440 9158

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

TRENDS XXXXXXXX | ROUND | XXXXXXXXXX TABLE

E-asy answers?

Since Carillion used Tradex to streamline its supply chain in the UK, e-trading advocates Causeway have been introducing the region to the concept of e-trading. Last month divisional director Tim Cole chaired a discussion with key industry characters to debate the adoption and future of an electronic trading concept that is already changing some of the world’s largest retail and construction markets Tim Cole: One of the big issues is that of change; the challenges that stand between where we are now and where we want to be.

Will the change happen through private or public sector support?

Photographs by Cris Mejorada

Bob Fields: Most of the major corporations in the US now auction their tenders and you don’t see any paper there.

“If your cloud can support that validation from one end to the other, you’re talking about a product that is really going to make a difference” 56 | www.thebigprojectme.com

TC: I was talking to a guy in America about a month ago and that is becoming more popular and even the invoicing and ordering is catching up. I think the idea of working in that environment is very strong.

Ziad Makhzoumi : The legal profession is already doing that.

Jonathan Davidson: The legal profession is

often very slow to catch up with as regulators, but you do have e-filing and electronic court documents.

TC: In a survey a few years ago it was shown the processes for manual invoicing in terms of the costs both financial and time elapsed were about AED66 and eight days. Electronically, that survey found that can be cut to AED26 and about four days.

PM: That was a converted UK study so it would be interesting to see the actual regional cost.

ZM: The saving would be less than that. Using a different exchange rate doesn’t tell you what the different cost is.

The Government of Dubai is very keen on e-trading and e-commerce and they do have a special department that could endorse or

TRENDS | ROUND TABLE

2012 enforce this. We do at Arabtec have electronically transferable information with our clients and suppliers, but is this product a platform we must develop as a community or an application?

BF: One term I haven’t heard is cloud-based computing, which is what we are doing. The question is who owns the cloud?

TC: In the UK presently, the cloud is actually operated by Causeway and then it’s used by the members. If you step back you can look at peer to peer operations.

BF: What is the advantage of sending invoices through a software programme rather than email?

ZM: They cut fewer trees in Europe.

TC: The Advantage of not sending an email is the application link. If you are a supplier sending through a platform, the information is already in that system.

We have hundreds or formats. In the 1990s we put a lot of work into adopting the standard, now we have lots of standards but nobody adopting them.

When I send an invoice through on paper, there are senders’ rules so information like addresses, names, tax references that has to be input each time, it’s stored on my stationery, not your accounts system. The last thing is receivers’ rules and this is where a lot of the value early on comes from.

If you’re a contractor receiving an invoice from your supplier, you have rules in process that say before your process that invoice through to me can you check that it has a valid

purchase order number, that the numbers add up, and based on the output of that you have to have an approval process in place, or you can just reject it – with reasons – and have another sent.

Now the benefits are for the suppliers, they send an invoice to get paid and if it has mistakes the earlier they know the quicker it is to fix.

It is absolutely is the case now that many companies key an invoice number in and within minutes that has been dealt with.

The retail sector was very forward in adopting electronic trading, but they all had different systems.

Creating a community

TC: There is a concept called the ‘four corner model’, which is that any company you connect to should be reachable on four corners. So you

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Photographs by Cris Mejorada

the year e-Invoicing will be introduced in Kazakhstan

VOLVO OCEAN RACE ABU DHABI STOPOVER DECEMBER 31 – JANUARY 14

€ 3.5 bn billion saving from sending electronic invoices reported on Belgian project JD: You could probably persuade a government entity to set up some sort of think tank or miniforum and you can see how it goes.

have a service provider and if you have a customer on another hub you connect them together and you have the four corners that connect, which means you can trade with any company.

PM: Certain companies, like Carillion in the UK, created their own community. They said we have 25,000 supplies who we manually trade with, we’re going to reduce the supply chain to 5000 and the way we are going to do that is by saying you have to electronically deal with us, by submitting information into a vendor management system. Then they said if you want to trade with Carillion in the UK we will only accept invoices electronically.

ZM: The concept is definitely attractive, the question is trying to identify the values. This is the first thing you are going to be asked. A lot of people are comfortable doing things in a specific way and you can’t change that without telling them why.

JD: The UAE is a civil law-based system so everything has to physically exist. When you want to collect an invoice, the only document the courts recognise is an original, the definition of which is with a coloured stamp and original signature.

“The amount of physical paperwork here is incredible.

There’s an incredible level of bureaucracy. It’s not necessarily bad, but it’s different” ZM: And it then has to be scanned and so on.

That is why I think it is important to go through the government in this and get them to sponsor you. If they give their approval – and they do have an e-commerce department pushing for services to go online – and if they adopt that as the standard to apply, companies will be eventually forced to do so.

The Government of Dubai is the most open minded on this and I am sure that if you talk to them you will overcome all the obstacles.

TBP: Would it be the government leading a change in the Middle East region?

ZM: If you go to DEWA for example and they say all clients have to use a certain system, then you have no choice.

Graham Russell: I think the cultural behavioural changes will only happen if it’s top down rather than top up. I am sure it can work here like everywhere else, but it’s that cultural shift.

ZM: As a debate this is definitely timely and you may even miss the boat if you don’t move quickly, because the government is going that way anyway. But my recommendation is not to tell them that this is a solution for you, see what they want and change the systems; add to it, redefine it, it is not an integrated system it is a process not a solution.

PM: Have there been any audit issues raised by tax authorities?

TC: There is a policy in Europe that says we have a harmonisation so invoices can flow freely between European states, but they didn’t quite get to suggesting how this should be done.

So every country in the EU slightly interpreted that differently.

The German view was to be absolutely clear, this invoice was from and to, and they used digital signatures. It was a folly in a way because you would take a data file, but in addition they would sign a digital copy of the invoice, which was invoiced and if there was a dispute they would use that second document. The driver now is that there should be an equivalent between paper and electronic and a rule set that should be common to both. A valid invoice document in the EU is taken as any collection of data that can be evidenced as authentic and validated by the two. So a trading hub in the eyes of the tax office is sufficient, because you have one system that says it sent it, another that says it received it and therefore an audit trail.

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TRENDS | ROUND TABLE

LEFT: Paul Gyles.

“There is a concept called the ‘four corner model’, which is that any company you connect to should be reachable on four corners”

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

www.hyderconsulting.com

trees could be saved through the adoption of e-Invoicing in the EU

LEFT: Jonathan Davidson.

Graham: Is there any proof that this can speed up the actual payment process?

The 21st Century folly

We all have computer systems that help us to do our jobs better. Whether we are buying, supplying, accounting or managing projects, we use technology to make that easier, better and faster. But we have completely forgotten that we need to communicate between those systems.

We are now in a situation where we have computers that do stuff, but if we want to communicate with somebody else’s computer it’s a case of ‘let’s print it out and put it in an envelope’, or maybe the document will be emailed, but it then has to be re-entered, often making mistakes and delaying the process.

There’s no visibility and no control.

The job now is retro-fitting that. E-trading is asking how can we take away that issue?

How do we get information from one computer to another reducing cost, delay or misunderstanding.

The cost benefit profile for e-trading has been shown generally to be very favourable, but if we are going to get there we have to address a number of challenges. We have to realise that not all the applications are the same and they don’t all talk the same language and even if the application is the same, we all have different process; the way we approve payments and procure services will vary from company to company.

People often ask if e-trading is so good, why is the whole world not there?

TC: We have a client that has improved their batching rate by 500% and their payment to the supply chain has increased too. The reason they came to us was because they knew they were getting into trouble with their supply chain.

They wanted a more efficient supply chain and they wanted clients to commit to that, an element they saw as being crucial to that was payment terms. Tradex took away their disputes; it gives visibility and it does have an impact.

GR: Payment issues here depend on where you are in the chain. I am sure that over the long term there is a benefit for the sector, and if you are owed money you are more likely to say yes than if you owe money.

ZM: The benefit is that you are more accurately defining what your liabilities are and

faster. On cost itself it’ll be probably different between the UK and the rest of the world and there is this culture and mindset to address and change and ideally you need regulation.

You can sell that feel good factor but you need to work with the regulators.

PM: If you look at other document collaboration systems, some companies have glued together organisations by allowing electronic collaboration, as a hosted hub.

BF: They artificially take responsibility for validating the documents you have received but it’s a false sense of security.

PM: Correct, however has that been adopted by major governments?

BF: But if I take a certain communication from one of these applications to the bank or a court to say somebody hasn’t paid me, does it have any value?

JD: There is a cultural gap between what the judiciary here is accustomed to seeing and they would normally appoint an expert to determine your systems and payment and if they could come back to verify that system and say there are terms and condition to which the buyer and seller have both agreed, eventually you would probably get to the same result.

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TRENDS | ROUND TABLE

€ 12 m

TRENDS XXXXXXXX | ROUND | XXXXXXXXXX TABLE

LEFT: Paul Madeira.

“You have to start with specific applications. I don’t think the market will change 100%. No system is used by everybody”

RIGHT: Graham Russell.

€ 238 bn billion potential savings in the EU over six years with full adoption of e-Invoicing, according to the Capgemini report

Photographs by Cris Mejorada

BF: But if an arbitrator or expert validates that the system was a legitimate activity then that is given weight.

JD: In arbitration that would take about 12-18 months in the courts up to three years.

ZM: Some companies are funded on overdrafts based on receivables and if they can’t use it they will not do it and they will not go for that system. If you cannot borrow in the receivable which is part of the collateral on the overdraft they will refuse.

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BF: What we anticipate is that property, development or asset – which is a form of collateral in the US – is going to become more and more responsible for the financial owing to the supplier. The contractors are going to have to certify, before they can get this month’s pay, who they have paid the month before.

If I’m a contractor and I keep on collecting funds, but none of my subcontractors are getting paid, I could go bankrupt and they’re left with nothing. The contractor has to validate that he has paid his labour fees, suppliers and sub contractors. That will be a critical component of the activity.

The data in the cloud belongs to the contractor, but the truth is that the property is the one who is going to hold the final responsibility. In the US if you don’t pay the small supplier the asset cannot be sold, until the financial obligations are met.

BF: The process of following on from the invoice is all hollow ZM: It has to be a full process. In contracting for example is you deliver material on site, you can invoice it that month. So I supply you the goods, present an invoice, you ignore it. You supply an invoice to somebody else, go to the bank and borrow money against it. Unless everybody in that chain is protected parties won’t be interested. They can’t prove anything because they’re number ten in a line.

BF: There has to be accountability from the original dollar to the last receipt. The economy is going to collapse over all if that system isn’t working; construction activity is 60 – 70% of the economy. That process here is a priority, it needs to go from the property to that last supplier for the full validation. If your cloud can support that validation from one end to the other, you’re talking about a product that is really going to make a difference.

RIGHT: Bob Fields.

TC: Tradex is typical supply chain finance.

What’s interesting is platforms like Tradex give that control and visibility from being able to process the invoices to start to say ‘ok we can evidence what is happening’, then the buyer saying ‘I have approved this for payment.’

You have the evidence of invoice, which some people can use to get finance, you have the platform to use a gatekeeper, there are platforms that have almost purely come in to address that finance and the liquidity that can be unlocked.

Tradex and e-trading generally allow more control but it doesn’t impact on how you want to get paid – that remains in your control.

ZM: Efficiency, no other reason. At this stage it could not be cost.

PG: Efficiency which would ultimately lead to cost savings.

GR: I think payment security could help BF: The danger is we lose the ability to manage the sub contractor. If we have no leverage over

BF: Does that mean that we are liable to pay for another legal mindset?

JD: No and the advantage is that there is the underlying legal system is doubling up and it’s much more acute and commercially sensitive, it would be like litigating in the UK or Europe.

The Panel

Tim Cole divisional director, Causeway Paul Madeira, chief operating officer, Causeway

that party and they know they are entitled to funding because the property has value then he isn’t going to perform as before.

JD: There is a law which is about to be enacted where anybody can contract in to the Dubai Courts. If any of these processes ultimately come before the DIFC Courts, it would be treated exactly the same as in the UK. That makes all sides of the procurement chain much more alive to the ultimate liability than they are at the moment if a case goes to arbitration where it lasts two to three years, or it goes to Dubai Court.

Phil August, head of international marketing, Causeway Ziad Makhzoumi , CFO, Arabtec Holdings Bob Fields, director of operations, Al Ahmadiah Contracting and Trading Graham Russell, CEO, Cemex regional office Paul Gyles (FCMA), finance director, ISG Jonathan Davidson, managing partner, Davidson and Co Legal Consultants

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Photographs by Cris Mejorada

ZM: I understand that but don’t say this is the solution for everything. Maybe identify other sectors on the trading side who can use this platform and if you want to take it further using this argument – which I don’t agree with entirely because of the culture of difficulties here, not the concept – you have to work with the regulators and Dubai is probably the best Emirate to start with.

The smaller Emirates have more accessible projects and Qatar is also very advanced in what it does. We will use it as an efficient document system but not to replace a control system, because it is not acceptable culturally, legally, in every possible way. If you really want to quantify the savings, it’s an interesting academic exercise but anybody will tell you those numbers don’t apply against the labour costs here.

TC: What are the one of two things that would motivate you in your business to turn to electronic trading?

TRENDS | ROUND TABLE

LEFT: Jonathan Davidson.

“There has to be accountability from the original dollar to the last receipt.

The economy is going to collapse over all if that system isn’t working”

TRENDS XXXXXXXX | ROUND | XXXXXXXXXX TABLE

LEFT: Paul Madeira.

RIGHT: Ziad Makhzoumi.

where we have to sign that SAP so it can be signed, scanned and sent back, then the next person prints it out and signs it. There’s an incredible level of bureaucracy. It’s not necessarily bad, but it’s different.

ZM: It gets worse. Abu Dhabi is worse than Dubai. Saudi is worse than the UAE, Qatar is somewhere in between. You have to get them on board – if they accept this it’s the way forward, I believe, but there are legal issues, financial, liability, ownership issues, and where does the liability stop in this process? I think ideally if the Government of Dubai and DEWA say that they want this, that’s perfect. If you go to a freezone company – I’m sure they have their own systems – then you have already taken big chunks of the community that accepted it as a standard.

Photographs by Cris Mejorada

TC: Within the processes you have, do you have issues with invoice processing with accuracy?

Whatever the costs, are there issues between buyer and supplier and other parties?

ZM: In construction there are two main issues: error because the person cannot read or write, or over invoicing. If a project takes two years to complete and you are producing monthly invoices, they are never ever accurate because you do some estimation on the work that is done. If you want to be accurate the cycle takes longer, but if you have a specific deadline it’s different.

For example, in our case Burj Khalifa at some stage had 6800 labourers every single hour of the day. It had possibly 500 suppliers supplying all sorts of things. We are the main contractor, so we collect on behalf of the joint venture and prepare the invoices. There is no way at all you can invoice everybody at the right time, accurately and timely – impossible. So there is always an element of estimation, which is what we call the CBRs and this is acceptable to the auditors and you have a value certificate based on the estimation. Providing you don’t go overboard it is acceptable.

The argument that this is accurate, since the

64 | www.thebigprojectme.com

TBP: Which markets in the region are most likely to be responsive to this?

BF: The bigger ones, the hospitals, schools, government contractors. source is not accurate, doesn’t stand. It can never be accurate, there’s always that estimation problem, one way or another BF: It always requires reconciliation ZM: Always. In any business in any case there is always variation. Reconciliation of accounts is a very important process and it’s unlikely to be able to do that on a monthly basis, you do it towards the end of the project because that’s the culture. We have to keep all these issues in mind.

GR: On the culture thing it’s relevant, as somebody who has been here just over a year, the amount of physical paperwork here is incredible. Internally we have an SAP, which is common across all of CEMEX’s operating territories, this is the only part of the world

TBP: Will that be a sector-led change or something that different geographical markets will react to individually?

ZM: You have to start with specific applications. I don’t think the market will change 100%. No system is used by everybody. In the old days you used to have Apple and IBM, now you still have those Apple devotees and even though it isn’t IBM any more, you still have those two players. People use the one for them and some people don’t even have a computer.

BF: I like the idea of a cloud and you are proposing an interface to that cloud. We’re still stuck on how we’re going to implement a lot of this, but it has to be done.

The discussion was held at Movenpick, JBR, Dubai. For bookings and information on the hotel’s business packages call +971 4 449 8888.

AD

SUPPLIER | NEWS

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

Jotun

Philips

RAK Ceramics

Powder coating manufacturer Jotun has announced the global launch of its new line of eco-friendly products: Guard Gaze, Guard Miles and Guard Miles+.

The new Guard product range is part of Jotun’s move to enhance value by increasing the “mileage” of products, their operating efficiency and performance.

The three new value powder coatings have been developed to meet the growing demands and requirements of industrial manufacturers for domestic appliances or metal furnishing and accessories.

The Guard products can be applied to refrigerators, AC, radiators, microwave ovens, washing machines, shelving units and light fixtures, commercial racks and metal furniture. Guard Gaze is available in a wide range of shades for manufacturers looking to enhance the value of their products through appearance, whilst being able to save energy and gain productivity through flexible and low temperature cure.

“We felt that it was time to introduce new products that can best cater to customers’ specific needs and at the same time offer them tangible value. We understand customers are looking for metal accessories and fixtures that can add value to their own environment’s aesthetic,” said Olaf Conreur, industrial category manager at Jotun Powder Coatings.

Philips’ lighting solution for hospitals designed to help care providers enhance the healing environment in patient rooms will launch at Arab Health 2012.

HealWell, will combine “the positive, regulating biological effects of light with the creation of a pleasant atmosphere for patients” according to the manufacturer.

In a nine month study conducted with Maastricht University Medical Centre cardiology department in The Netherlands, HealWell enhanced patients’ sleep duration and reduced the time needed to fall asleep during hospital stays, by imitating natural day-light patterns.

“At Philips, we combine our expertise in lighting and our knowledge of light’s effects on the body to offer hospitals a complete lighting solution adapted to their needs,” said Paolo Cervini, general manager of Philips Lighting Middle East and Turkey. Existing scientific research has shown that high light levels of light during the day helps regulate the human biological clock and sleep-wake rhythm. HealWell claims to re-create the benefits of natural daylight to regulate patients’ sleep and improve well-being to support the recovery process.

“The use of lighting to improve patients’ health and well-being is a new area of research but a more attractive environment definitely helps patients to feel better,” said Dr. Petra.

RAK Ceramics’ global profile has received a boost from world-renowned glass artist Jean Claude Novaro, who has signed an agreement to design an exclusive range of tiles for RAK Ceramics, the world’s largest ceramic tiles and bath ware manufacturing company.

Novaro is the latest in a line of global brands to begin operating in the Emirate. The partnership will also pave the way for the first designs in RAK Ceramics’ Luminous range.

Recognised as one of the greatest glass blowers of his generation, Novaro maintains a portfolio of top-tier clients that include Prince Albert II of Monaco, Sheikh Tariq Al Qassimi, Robert De Niro, Bill Cosby, Mike Tyson and Phillippe Monet.

He has also earned a spot in the Guinness Book of World Records for the largest hand blown coupe ever made.

“RAK Ceramics is excited with the opening of the new facility as it gives us direct access to such world-class expertise and unrivaled artistic genius that enhance our ability to create more stunning and award-winning designs and models,” said Dr. Khater Massaad, CEO, RAK Ceramics.

H.H. Sheikh Saud Bin Saqr Al Qasimi, Supreme Council Member and Ruler of Ras Al Khaimah, inaugurated the completed manufacturing facility last month.

New three part Guard series launched

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lighting solution enhances medical recovery

Artist Novaro signs exclusive deal

3 products in jotuns new ecofriendly powder coatings range

ENOC Lubricants

Emirates Steel

Meraas

ENOC Lubricants, a subsidiary of Emirates National Oil Company (ENOC), has introduced a top tier synthetic oil, Protec Flex Energy SN. The new product is the first of its kind in the Middle East and Africa, according to the producer.

The newest product has the highest certification in the region, and offers benefits such as improved fuel mileage, increased cooling efficiency, excellent engine protection and environmental friendliness, says the supplier.

Approved for API SN performance level, fuel economy ILSAC GF-5 and OEM General Motors dexos1, the product is formulated to satisfy all viscosity grades such as SAE OW - 20, SAE OW - 30, SAE 5W - 20, SAE 5W - 30 (Approved by GM dexos 1) and SAE 10W 30.

It is formulated to meet the requirements of all types of vehicles - from hybrid vehicles to model vehicles from America, Japan, Korea and Europe.

“ENOC Protec Flex Energy SN is a testament to ENOC’s mission of serving the community with top quality products while protecting the environment.

“It helps save up to 36% fuel consumption, and the exhaust gas let-out is environmentfriendly. It reduces friction effects, which improves engine output,” said Zaid Alqufaidi, ENOC’s managing director for marketing.

One of the largest integrated steel producers in the UAE, is to take its first steps into Saudi Arabia.

Emirates Steel has been named platinum sponsor of Metal and Steel Saudi Arabia 2012, to be held in Jeddah Centre for Forums and Events February 4-7, 2012.

Emirates Steel is a direct subsidiary of Abu Dhabi Basic Industries Corporation (ADBIC) which is in turn, wholly-owned by the General Holding Company (GHC). Established in 2001, Emirates Steel is currently implementing a comprehensive business development plan.

Strategically located in the Industrial City of Abu Dhabi (ICAD), some 35 kilometers away from the heart of the city of Abu Dhabi, Emirates Steel is the only integrated steel plant in the UAE, utilising the latest rolling mill technology to produce reinforcing bar and wire rod.

“This special edition of Metal and Steel promotes Gulf countries and Saudi Arabia in particular internationally, and we are proud to be part of it,” commented Saeed G Al Romaithi, acting CEO for Emirates Steel.

“Our participation and sponsorship comes as part of our marketing strategy to promote our range of products in the Kingdom and we could not ask for a better opportunity such is this to highlight our new expansions, products, and to identify future prospects for growth and development,” Al Romaithi added.

Al-Futtaim Carillion has been appointed project contractor for the first of a three phase Dubai-based project called The Avenue, by Meraas.

The agreement was signed between Omar Delawar, chief technical officer, Meraas, and Zafar Khan, finance director of Al-Futtaim Carillion. Senior officials from Dewan Architects and Engineers, consultants to the project, were also present. Launched at Cityscape Dubai 2011, phase one of the 1.1km project will take shape at the crossroads of Al Wasl Road and Safa Road. Upon its completion, due Q3 2012, the 350-metre retail strip will include retail brands, convenience stores and food and beverage outlets. The project’s three phases will extend up to Sheikh Zayed Road.

“We are pleased to award the contract for phase ones of the The Avenue to Al-Futtaim Carillion, a homegrown company that has overseen the development of many key projects in the UAE. Backed by their track record and experience, we are confident of shaping The Avenue into a distinctive project that will add a new dimension to Dubai’s worldrenowned retail landscape,” A spokesperson from Meraas said.

Meraas is a Dubai-based real estate company with operations and assets in the UAE and abroad.

New products have highest regional certification

Next stop Saudi

Project contractor appointed for Dubai development

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CAREER LADDER SUPPLIER | NEWS | Coryn Hellewell

“We combine our expertise in lighting and our knowledge of light’s effects on the body to offer hospitals a complete lighting solution adapted to their needs”

68 | www.thebigprojectme.com

UAE Project number MPP2559-U Project name Burjuman Shopping Centre Overhaul Works Project Territory Dubai Client Burjuman Centre (Dubai) Address Bur Dubai City Dubai Postal/ZIP 8022 Country United Arab Emirates Phone (+971-4) 352 0222 / 351 1311 Fax (+971-4) 351 0824 Email bjcmedia1@burjuman.co.ae Description Carrying out partial overhauling works of Burjuman shopping centre.

Status New Tender Remarks This shopping centre is located in Bur Dubai area. Scope of work involves overhauling of the old part of the mall, including refurbishment of the external facade, construction of a ground floor hypermarket, an enlarged food court, and a new cinema.

It is understood that contractors have submitted bids for the main contract.

Bidders include local Khansaheb Civil Engineering, UK's Laing O'Rourke and South Africa's Murray & Roberts Contractors (Middle East). UK-based Hyder Consulting has been appointed as the consultant.

Main consultant Hyder Consulting Middle East Ltd. (Dubai) Tender categories Housing Projects Leisure Project number MPP2560-U Project name Mixed-use Development Project-12 Territory Al Ain Client The Court of H.H. Crown Prince (Abu Dhabi) Address Bainuna Street City Abu Dhabi Postal/ZIP 124 Country United Arab Emirates Phone (+971-2) 668 6666 Fax (+971-2) 668 6622 Description Development of a mixeduse scheme comprising a 25,000-seat football stadium, a sports centre, a hotel, a commercial centre and residential buildings.

Closing date March 22, 2012 Period 15/12/2013 Status New Tender Remarks This project will be located on a site of 500,000 square metres in Al Ain at

the intersection of Zayed al-Awwal street and Hamdan al-Awwal street. The 25,000 capacity stadium has been designed as a new landmark for Al Ain and will be the new home for Al-Ain Football Club. The sports centre will have a health and fitness club for public use; three outdoor football pitches, a clinic, and a children's play area.

The commercial part of the development will face the central plaza and the stadium, and provide 10,500 square metres of office space, 656 square metres of food and beverage outlets, 345 square metres of shops and 1,712 square metres of parking.

The hotel will be four-star property with between 180 and 200 rooms having variety of facilities, including a gymnasium, spa, a swimming pool, food and beverage outlets, and high-end retail units. Contractors have submitted pre-qualification documents on November 20, 2011 and the first set of tender documents are expected to be issued soon to firms that have successfully pre-qualified. A further set of documentation will be released on February 05, 2012. A contract award is scheduled for April 2012. A team of local Sorouh Real Estate and Australia's Bovis Lend Lease is acting as the development manager for this scheme.

Design consultant Broadway Malyan (Abu Dhabi) Project manager Bovis Lend Lease International Ltd. (Abu Dhabi) Cost consultant Davis Langdon (Abu Dhabi) Tender categories Hotels, Housing Projects, Leisure Project number ZPR183-U Project name Fujairah City Centre Project Territory Northern Emirates Client Majid Al-Futtaim Group (Dubai) Address Majid Al Futtaim Tower, Deira City Center City Dubai Postal/ZIP 60811 Country United Arab Emirates Phone (+971-4) 294 9999 / 294 2444 Fax (+971-4) 209 3499 Email inquiry@mafgroup.co.ae Web http://www.majidalfuttaim.com Description Construction of Fujairah City Centre comprising a new shopping mall, including a 22-storey hotel, an ice rink, 6 cinemas and more than 100 outlets.

Budget 110000000

Period 15/09/2012 Status Current Project Remarks This project will be strategically located at the intersection of the new Fujairah - Dubai highway and the existing Masafi highway at the entrance of Fujairah City. The centre will add a new touristic attraction to Fujairah's map bringing a wide group of leading international brands such as Carrefour and Centrepoint. Local Commodore Contracting Company has been appointed as the Main contractor. Construction works have already commenced. Fujairah City Centre is a LEED registered project, currently targeting a Gold LEED rating under the USGBC Green Building guidelines. Upon completion, it is expected to be the first retail development to attain this rating in the Emirate of Fujairah. Local Khansaheb Civil Engineering has been awarded a $68 million contract to build the shopping mall in this development. Scope of work involves construction of a single-level mall, with a total built-up area of approximately 50,000 square metres. The mall will include about 100 shops, food courts and restaurants.

It will also include car parking for about 1,000 vehicles. Chilled water pipelines are currently being installed. Exterior tile cladding work is in progress.

Main consultant Hyder Consulting Middle East Ltd. (Dubai) Main architect Architectural Consulting Group - ACG (Abu Dhabi) MEP Consultants PHB Consultants (Dubai) Design consultant Hyder Consulting Middle East Ltd. (Dubai) Structural consultant PHB Consultants (Dubai) Project manager Mace International Ltd. (Dubai) Main contractor Commodore Contracting Company L.L.C (Abu Dhabi) MEP Contractor Transgulf Electromechanical L.L.C (Dubai) Main contractor 1 Khansaheb Civil Engineering (Dubai) HVAC systems and Equipment supplier ALDES Middle East (Sharjah) Cement and concrete products Fujairah Concrete Products (Fujairah) Elevators suppliers Otis Elevator Company L.L.C (Dubai) Paint supplier National Paints Factories Company Ltd. (Sharjah) Tender categories Housing Projects, Hotels, Leisure

Project number OPR513-U Project name Chedi Khorfakkan Resort Project Territory Northern Emirates Client Sharjah Investment & Development Authority (Shurooq) City Sharjah Postal/ZIP 867 Country UAE Phone (+971-6) 556 0777 Fax (+971-6) 556 0444 Email info@shurooq.gov.ae Web http://www.shurooq.gov.ae Description Construction of Chedi Khorfakkan Resort comprising three components - the fort, the hilltown and town square.

Budget 95000000 Period 2015 Status New Tender Remarks This project will be developed in Khorfakkan. The fort is located on the hilltop and will serve as the primary access point to the resort. It will contain restaurants, spa, gymnasium, business facilities and reception. The project has been carefully considered and thoughtfully planned to minimise the environmental impact, while maximising the social and financial sustainability of the scheme. Its accessibility to other emirates is expected to make the resort a prime destination.

Tender categories Hotels, Housing Projects, Leisure Project number ZPR542-U Project name The Avenue Retail Strip Development Project - Phase 1 Territory Dubai Client Meraas Development (Dubai) City Dubai Country United Arab Emirates Phone (+971-4) 511 4900 Fax (+971-4) 332 2707 Web http://www.meraas.ae Description Development of The Avenue retail strip spanning 350 metres comprising a dynamic mix of top retail brands, as well as convenience stores, food and beverage outlets - Phase 1.

Perios 2012 Status Current Project Remarks This project will be developed at the crossroads of Al Wasl Road and Safa Road in Dubai. It is part of a three-phase

ESTIMATING AND PROJECT CONTROL www.thebigprojectme.com | 69

MENA PROJECTS | TENDERS

TENDERS

Tenders provided by

MENA PROJECTS | TENDERS

scheme spanning 1.1 kilometres in a prime location and will extend up to Sheikh Zayed Road. Local/UK Al-Futtaim Carillion has been appointed as Main contractor to carry out Phase 1.

Main consultant Dewan Architects & Engineers (Dubai) Main contractor Al-Futtaim Carillion (Dubai) Tender categories Housing Projects, Leisure Project number MPP2563-U Project name Staff Accommodation Construction Project-6 Territory Abu Dhabi Client Emirates Nuclear Energy Corporation (Abu Dhabi) Address Al Muroor Road City Abu Dhabi Postal/ZIP 44442 Country United Arab Emirates Email enecinfo@enec.gov.ae Web http://www.enec.gov.ae Description Construction of a village to accommodate the staff working on the first nuclear power plant.

Budget 410000000

Description Construction of Al Khor Mall covering a total built-up area of 72,000 square metres from a 55,000 square metre area, consisting of a ground floor, first floor and a parking area for over 1,100 vehicles.

Budget 55000000 Status New tender Remarks This project will be located in the densely populated residential area at Al Khor in Qatar. 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 Arab Engineering Bureau has been appointed as the mechanical, electrical and plumbing (MEP) consultant.

MEP Consultant Arab Engineering Bureau (Qatar) Rubber and rubber products supplier Rubber World Industries L.L.C (Ajman) Tender categories Housing Projects, Leisure

Status New Tender Remarks This village will be built at Braka area in the Western Region of Abu Dhabi Emirate, close to the nuclear power plant site. The development will be divided into six districts and involves building accommodation and supporting infrastructure for 2,000 residents. Once complete, the units will be used by staff working on UAE's nuclear programme that involves building four reactors in Abu Dhabi.

Client is currently pre-qualifying contractors for the main construction contract to build the staff village.

Tender categories Power Generation & Distribution, Communications/ Telecommunications, Housing Projects, Potable Water Works, Public Works, Roads & Earthworks, Sewerage & Drainage

Project number MPP2455-Q Project name Doha Festival City Development Project 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.

Qatar

Budget 1600000000

Project number OPR470-Q Project name Al Khor Mall Project Territory Qatar Client EMKE Group (Abu Dhabi) City Abu Dhabi Postal/ZIP 4048 Country United Arab Emirates Phone (+971-2) 642 1800 Fax (+971-2) 642 1716 Email headoffice@ae.lulumea.com Web http://www.emkegroup.com

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. 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. It is understood that the financial close on debt funding is expected to be delayed to early 2012. According to project developers, the deal is almost ready to close, but there are still a few things to finish off with the documentation. Banks financing this development include Qatar National Bank, Commercial Bank of Qatar, Doha Bank and the International Bank of Qatar on the conventional tranche; and Qatar Islamic Bank, Qatar International Islamic Bank and Barwa Bank lending on the Islamic tranche.

Main architect 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 1 EC Harris (UK) Main architect 1 Brewer Smith Brewer Gulf (Dubai) Research and marketing consultant Portland Design Associates (UK) Research and marketing consultant 1 Coverpoint Catering Consultancy (UK) Main contractor Arabian Construction Company - ACC (Qatar) MEP Contractor Al Hamad Engineering (Qatar) MEP Contractor 1 Amana Steel Buildings Contracting Company (Qatar) Engineering consultant WSP (UK) Tender categories Housing Projects, Hotels, Leisure Project number MPP2440-Q Project name Northgate Shopping Mall Project Territory Qatar Client Al Afaq Real Estate Equinox W.L.L (Qatar) City Doha Postal/ZIP 409

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Country Qatar Phone (+974) 4465 1154 Description Construction of Northgate Mall comprising a podium with two levels of car park, a three-level shopping mall and (6 Nos.) five-level office buildings.

Budget 290000000 Period 15/03/2014 Status Current Project Remarks This project will be located in Doha and cover a built-up area of 375,000 square metres. Local/Australian Al Habtoor Leighton Group has been appointed as the Main contractor. US-based architectural firm Callison has designed the scheme.

Design consultant Callison Architecture (Dubai) Project manager Associated Consultants Engineers - ACE (Qatar) Main contractor Al Habtoor Leighton Group W.L.L (Qatar) Tender categories Housing Projects, Leisure Project number ZPR191-Q Project name Marina Mall Project Territory Qatar Client Mazaya Qatar Real Estate Development Company (Qatar) Address Al Mana Towers, 3rd Floor, Sheikh Suhaim Street, Al Sad Area City Doha Postal/ZIP 18132 Country Qatar Phone (+974) 4491 0100 Fax (+974) 4491 0101 Email info@mazayaqatar.com Web http://www.mazayaqatar.com Description Build-operate-transfer (BOT) contract for the development of Marina Mall comprising two floors and ground floor, surrounded with a hotel as well as office and residential space.

Status New tender

Budget 275000000 Status New Tender Remarks This project will be located in the Lusail development on the east coast of Qatar and will be spread over an area of 60,000 square metres. The mall includes three levels, with an additional 10,000-squaremetre hypermarket in the basement. It will also house cinemas, restaurants with terraces overlooking the marina, and spa facilities. Water will guide the visitors through the mall, leading to and from the marina, while internal waterfalls connect the different levels. Spaces between the five pebble-shaped islands

Egypt Project number OPR424-E Project name Mall of Egypt Project Territory Egypt Client Majid Al Futtaim Group (Egypt) City Cairo Country Egypt Phone (+20-2) 2520 4000 Fax (+20-2) 2520 4409 Web http://www. majidalfuttaimproperties.com Description Construction of Mall of Egypt comprising (350) stores, a 17-screen cinema complex, Magic Planet, an outdoor plaza, dining, and skiing facility

Budget 770000000 Status New tender Remarks This project is in Cairo and will cover an area of 160,000 square metres.

Ski Egypt, an indoor skiing facility similar to the one in Mall of the Emirates in Dubai, is planned in the mall. It is understood that the client has short-listed at least three groups for the main construction package.

They include: - UAE's Arabtec Construction / Local Industrial Construction & Engineering Company (Siac); - Athens-based Consolidated Contractors Company (CCC) / Local Hassan Allam Sons; - Local Orascom Construction Industries / Belgium's Six Construct.

Main architect RTKL Associates Inc. (Dubai) Tender categories Hotels, Housing Projects, Leisure

Saudi Arabia Project number SPR2618-SA Project name Saudi Stock Exchange

Headquarters Project - King Abdullah Financial District Territory Saudi Arabia Client Public Pension Agency (Saudi Arabia) Address Riyadh 11168 City Riyadh Postal/ZIP 18364 Country Saudi Arabia Phone (+966-1) 402 5100 Fax (+966-1) 405 3645 Description Design and construction of new 40-storey headquarters building, including a three-storey car park for Saudi Stock Exchange (Tadawul).

It is understood that construction works are ongoing and will be completed in September 2013.

Main architect Omrania & Associates Architecture & Engg. Consultants (Saudi Arabia) Project manager Rayadah Investment Company (Saudi Arabia) Project manager 1 Hill International Middle East Ltd. (Saudi Arabia) Main architect 1 Henning Larsen Tegnestue (HLT) Architects Middle East (Saudi Arabia) Main contractor Saudi Binladin Group (Saudi Arabia) Tender categories Prestige Buildings.

Budget 266000000

Bahrain

Period 2014 Status New Tender Remarks This project will be located at the heart of King Abdullah Financial District in Riyadh and cover a total area of 140,000 square metres. It is understood that companies are still waiting to receive tender documents for the main construction package. Client has now invited contractors to submit an expression of interest (EOI) for the mechanical, electrical and plumbing (MEP) contract, which involves carrying out MEP works on the 40-storey tower.

Main architect Nikken Sekkei Ltd. (Saudi Arabia) Design consultant Ramboll (Saudi Arabia) Project manager Mace Group (Saudi Arabia) Tender categories Prestige Buildings

Project number MPP2468-B Project name LPG Treating Plant Project Territory Bahrain Client Bahrain Petroleum Company (BAPCO) Address Industrial Area City Awali Postal/ZIP 25555 Country Bahrain Phone (+973) 1770 4040 Fax (+973) 1770 4070 Email nfo@bapco.net Web http://www.bapco.com.bh Description Engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) contract to build a plant for treating Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG).

Project number SPR2536-SA Project name GCC Central Bank Tower Project - King Abdullah Financial District Territory Saudi Arabia Client Public Pension Agency (Saudi Arabia) Address Riyadh 11168 City Riyadh 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.

Budget 100000000 Status New Tender Remarks This plant will be built at Sitra in Bahrain. Scope of work entails construction of two LPG treating sections. Two companies have submitted bids for the front-end engineering and design (FEED) contract. They are US' CB&I Lummus with a bid of $2.43 million and US' Merichem Company. According to Bahrain's Tender Board, the offer from Merichem has been suspended. The reason for suspension has not been cited. Companies will be invited to submit bids for the EPC contract in 2012.

Tender categories Hydrocarbon Processing, Storage & Distribution

Kuwait Project number S/MKE/17/2011-2012-K Project name Kuwait Cancer Centre Construction Project Territory Kuwait Client Ministry of Health (Kuwait) Address Arabian Gulf Street, Kuwait City

City Safat 13001 Postal/ZIP 525 Country Kuwait Phone (+965) 2486 3685 / 2486 3803 / 2486 3574 Fax (+965) 2486 5287 Email : health@moh.gov.kw Description Design, construction, equipping, furnishing, operation and maintenance of Kuwait Cancer Centre comprising (600) beds.

Tender cost US $17860 Status New Tender Remarks Tender No. S/MKE/17/2011-2012 This project will be located in the Sabah area of Kuwait. The cancer centre's main functions will be for diagnosis to complement an existing hospital for cancer treatment. Client has pre-qualified (17) groups for the main construction contract. They include: 1. RECAFCO - Local - Hyundai Development Company, Korea 2. Mohammed Abdul Mohsin Al- Kharafi & Sons Company - Local - German Medical Services (GMS) 3. First United General Trading & Contracting Company 4. Ahmadiah Contracting & Trading Company 5. Combined Group Contracting Company 6. Al Faluiji United Group General Trading & Contracting Company - Local Portakabin Shebered Constructora Sanjose 7. Burhan International Construction company - Local Dosan Engineering & Construction Company 8. Al-Hani Construction & Trading Company - Local - Deluxe Building Systems Inc. 9. Associated Construction Company Local - Studio Altieri & Others 10. Alghanim international General Trading & Contracting Company 11. Asico Construction - Local - Athens Construction 12. Kuwait Manager Real Estate Projects Management Company 13. Al-Sager General Trading & Contracting Company - Local - Shapoorji Pallongi 14. Bayan National Trading Company Local - Ozge + Limak 15. Kuwait Systems General Trading & Contracting Company - Local - Orascom 16. Hi-Slant Contracting & Trading Company - Local - Yuksel Insaat AS 17. International Buildings Company Local - Strabag Tender documents can be obtained from: Central Tenders Committee (CTC) Safat 13011, Kuwait.

Phone: (+965) 240 1200 Fax: (+965) 241 6574.

Bid bond is KD 4,300,000.

Tender categories Housing Projects, Medical

ESTIMATING AND PROJECT CONTROL www.thebigprojectme.com | 71

MENA PROJECTS | TENDERS

will be landscaped. Smaller outlying pods house will house additional retail, exhibition and entertainment space, such as a skate park and children's play area. The London office of HOK has revealed its design for this mall. The design is said to be inspired by natural forms created when water and land meet. Five interconnected retail islands link the mall to a body of water that runs through the centre of the scheme. The project is aiming for QSA 5, the top ranking in Qatar's green building index.

Main architect Gensler Associates (Dubai) Design consultant HOK International (UK) Tender categories Leisure, Housing Projects, Hotels

DIARY | INDUSTRY EVENTS

JANUARY

GLOBAL TRENDS

$8.6 bn value of the regional interiors industry

1.6 mn predicted footfall

at the underconstruction Doha Festival City Mall by 2014

49,000 participants at The

Big 5 2011 in Dubai

10,700

new apartments scheduled to enter Dubai’s residential market H12012

773,000 square metres office space to enter Dubai’s real estate market H1 2012

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DIARY MENA INTERNATIONAL Steel Fab

Sharjah, UAE: Jan 9-12 An exclusive trade show for the steel working industry displaying steel working machinery and hosting some of the world’s most well established brands in the industry and their regional distributors and agents.

WFES

Abu Dhabi, UAE: Jan 16-19 World Future Energy Summit is a global summit of leadership coming together to discuss key issues around sustainable and alternative energy solutions and technologies. An international exhibition also showcases the latest developments in future energy solutions allowing visitors to meet key decision makers within a growing industry.

Intersec Middle East 2012

Dubai, UAE: Jan 15-17 Featuring, security, safety and protection products, the 2011 edition will take place alongside the Intersec international conference, catering to regional and international participants and providing opportunity for the participants to meet buyers and industry professionals.

Beem Egypt

Cairo: Jan 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 to forge business relationships rooted in the implementation of the many new construction and development initiatives currently underway.

Deubau

Germany: Jan 10-14 The Deubau is recognised as one of the highly prioritised events for the construction industry, over five days and hosting more than 800 exhibitors from 16 nations.

Constro Pune

India: Jan 12-15 Materials and machinery displayed to an established a bench-mark of well organized effective presentation of multifaceted activities in Construction Industry.

Swissbau

Switzerland: Jan 17-21 An important meeting place of the Swiss building industry and one of the leading trade events in Europe, Swissbau presents the latest trends and innovations in the construction industry.

Ceiling Partition Wall Fair

Istanbul: Jan 19-22 The surging Turkish economy serves as a perfect backdrop for this sector, inviting construction firms from all over the country to the host city of Istanbul, over four days. More than 20,000 key decision makers and other professionals are expected to attend, with 200 exhibitors from 41 countries including Turkey, the UK, Romania, Belgium, Greece, Poland, Russia, Bulgaria, Iran, China, Hong Kong, Brazil, Bolivia, Egypt and United States.

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

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YOUR SHOUT | Where next?

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 Looking head for 2012, Dan McAlister’s asks guests at last month’s The Big Project and BGreen awards, which markets will be the biggest

Louai El Dandachly Media buyer, Optimedia

Everyone said that Qatar was going to be booming this year and now they are having a fear of having a very limited business but if you look at Abu Dhabi now they said that more tenders are going to be coming up there than Dubai.

In Saudi everyone is building new towers and new projects. There is always a surprise at the end of every quarter of every year.

There is good news at the beginning and you end up with bad at the end of the year. I have some engineer friends who were thinking about moving to Qatar as they had been offered good positions but they cut the packages and moved the project time back.

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Alan Lord Regional major bids and contracts director, Hyvder Consulting

The biggest markets are likely to be Saudi Arabia and Qatar. Clearly there’s enormous money being spent in Saudi by the government across all sectors. In Qatar we have large projects worth almost half a billion Qatar Riyals and we are seeing more and more coming up to the World Cup 2022 tournament.

I think Kuwait maybe a surprising market, Oman always has possibilities and Bahrain, with the injection of funds, is interesting.

To give your shout on next month’s topic, follow The Big Project on LinkedIn, Twitter and Facebook

John Conmy business development director, Causeway

Next year will show a continued focus on the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia whilst the United Arab Emirates will continue steady growth. Qatar will, hopefully, become busier for the contracting industry, as some of the work that is in the planning stage now will start construction.

Shiraz Zakeey Business development officer, Plantation Capital

I see the UAE and Saudi doing well in the New Year. Will Qatar emerge and then fall by the wayside? Who knows.