The Big Project

APRIL 2012

PLUS Achieving LEED Belhasa MD in profile Communicating change with du

Hyder land QAR98m clean water project ARCHITECTURE n ENGINEERING n CONSTRUCTION n FM n POWER n PMV

Five year phenomenon The Big Project takes a grand tour of Saadiyat Island; the Abu Dhabi hide-away that has been transformed from a mangrove reserve to world class cultural and leisure district in five years

APRIL 2012

Contents REGULARS Editor’s letter 6

20

News bulletin 9 Talk 20

34

Belhasa International Company MD, Majed Belhasa, on breaking out beyond Dubai

The full story behind Hyder’s second consecutive recordbreaking contract in Qatar

23 Career ladder Macair CEO Patrick Sweeney on witnessing the region’s growth

24 Event insider

Project update on the Abu Dhabi island that has gone from Mangrove reserve to tourist hotspot in five years

Project Qatar show director Michael Gebrael on 2012’s attractions

Taylor Wessing partner, Mark Fraser, on the lessons learned in real estate

Roundtable 42

28 The how to guide to LEED MECSD guidelines to meeting the most comprehensive green certification available

32Comment: iPad?

du hosts construction experts Hill, AECOM, CCS, Causeway and Taylor Wessing

Texpert Ryan Sutton Gee on how the iPad could change construction

Supplier news 54

UAE Gm Trine Finnevolden on new products, CSR and life after VOCs

Tenders 65 Diary 69 Your shout 70

54

16 News analysis

Cover: Saadiyat special 34

Comment: Real wakeup 41

42

FEATURES

54 Supplier profile: Jotun

60 Supplier feature Coating tomorrow; the “once in a decade” products transforming the coatings market

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.

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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.

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

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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 Associate publisher Liam Williams liam@cpidubai.com TEL: +971 (0)4 440 9158 GSM: +971 (0)55 310 9256

“Bigger, faster, more” T

here’s little doubt that transforming a 27 square kilometre island from nothing more than a mangrove reserve to a world class beach resort – complete with accommodation, road infrastructure and a series of cultural centres –in five years, is a huge achievement.

And with positive financial news to start 2012, that achievement is once again on schedule to grow further.

Abu Dhabi’s Saaidyat Island – a TDIC development – is back on track after project set-backs and accusations of human rights violations marred the development throughout 2011.

By 2020, the US$27.22bn site pioneered by the capital’s semi-government entity, TDIC, should be home to 145,000 people; the world’s largest Guggenheim Museum; and the first Monte Carlo Beach Club outside Monte Carlo.

Naturally, The Big Project had to visit and a full round up of the project with images of the completed phases are featured from page 36.

Record breaking is nothing new in the Middle East, and attitudes towards any development that falls below ‘world class’ on the project barometer (projectometer?), are notably blasé.

“Another cluster of supertalls to be built on reclaimed land in 12 months, complete with helipads and dancing dolphins? Has that not been done before?”

Editorial director Melanie Mingas melanie@cpidubai.com TEL: +971 (0)4 440 9117 GSM: +971 (0)56 758 7834 Reporters Praseeda Nair Praseeda@cpidubai.com Anoop Menon anoop@cpi-industry.com

Yet in spite of the danger of achieving a full on immunity to ‘wow’, some projects still have the capability to reach a scale that can only be described as mind boggling.

So, continuing the theme of huge projects being achieved in relatively no time at all, The Big Project also travelled at Qatar last month to witness Hyder Consulting’s second record breaking project signing in five months.

Contracted by Qatar General Electricity and Water Corporation, Kahramaa, Hyder will design and supervise construction of the world’s largest clean water reservoir project, due to be in operation in only three years.

The QAR 98million contract will cover the design and construction of 31 reservoirs, each storing 73 million imperial gallons and individually measuring 200 metres in diameter.

Speaking to The Big Project after the signing, Hyder chairman Sir Allan Thomas described the project as “pretty exciting project for the water sector, with some unusual characteristics, not least of all scale, timetable, water supply and security”.

Of course no such projects would be capable without strong communication; on site, in the boardroom and between teams based around the world. So to complement the theme of growth, we spoke to construction, communication and legal professionals about the importance of speedy, reliable and secure communication during projects.

Melanie Mingas Editorial director

Business development manager Junaid Rafiq junaid@cpidubai.com TEL: +971 (0)4 440 9150 GSM: +971 (0)50 104 7864 Business development manager Rhiannon Downie rhiannon@cpidubai.com TEL: +971 (0)4 440 9152 GSM: +971 (0)50 554 0116 Marketing Manager Carole McCarthy carolem@cpidubai.com TEL: +971 (0)4 440 9157 GSM: +971 (0)55 978 8605 Team Administrator Leila El Madalla leila@cpidubai.com GSM: +971 (0)50 912 7459 Designer/Photographer Marlou Delaben Photographer Cris Mejorada Webmasters Troy Maagma Jerus King Bation Erik Briones Joel Azcuna 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 2012 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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World’s largest water reservoir project signed by Hyder and Kahramaa Qatar water authority and Hyder’s Sir Alan Thomas launch QAR 98million project

I

nfrastructure giant Hyder Consulting has signed contracts worth QAR 98million with Qatar General Electricity and Water Corporation, Kahramaa, to design and construct the world’s largest network of clean water reservoirs.

The first phase of the project will see Hyder responsible for the design and construction of 31 reservoirs, individually measuring 200 metres in diameter and 12 metres deep, storing 73 million imperial gallons each. The project will require 200km of 2m diameter pipelines and five major pumping installations.

The concrete reservoirs will be spread over five kilometre square sites, and will have a combined capacity of 2200 million imperial gallons; enough for a seven day supply of clean water for Qatar.

Not only is the seven day reserve supply the largest in the GCC, each of the reservoirs is twice the size of the largest such structures ever built.

“I think this project is absolutely fundamental to the future of Qatar. At the moment there is some storage ability but not a large amount. This project is designed to give plenty of resilience to the system in the same way as in the UK you have natural reservoirs,” commented Neil Kemble, managing director MER utilities group, Hyder.

“The scale of this project is huge. It’s about water security and making sure a city with a current population of 1.7 million people isn’t suddenly devoid of water,” Kemble added.

By 2036, the project will be capable of supporting a national population of 3.4 million.

Designs are due to be finalised within months, and tenders issued by Q4 2012. Construction is scheduled for completion within three years.

“We advised and pitched on some strong

“I think this project is absolutely fundamental to the future of Qatar” ideas, which we were encouraged to do, and we put in a winning bid. We did want to extend our presence in Qatar beyond road and rail transport, where we have been very active here, and property,” commented Hyder chairman Sir Alan Thomas.

In November last year, Hyder signed the largest contract in the firm’s history when it committed to an interconnected infrastructure network valued at $591 million with the public works authority, Ashghal. Covering all five zones of the Gulf state, that contract, which is also a record breaker for Qatar, will be delivered by 2019.

Although Hyder has had active water projects in Qatar for 50 years, this project signals the first directly awarded clean water project for the firm in the country. Previously, Hyder has successfully executed clean water projects such as this one in Bahrain, Kuwait and Europe.

Not only is the new Kahramaa project a global record breaker, it marks a milestone for Hyder, as the firm now offers all its operation’s services in Qatar.

“The mainstay of water has always been part of Hyder. This project is an important step and I think this is a very interesting contract because these reservoirs are going to be

the biggest in the world and there are a large number of them. It’s a pretty exciting project for the water sector, with some unusual characteristics, not least of all scale, timetable, water supply and security,” Sir Thomas continued.

Kemble added: “I think that this proves if you put together an excellent proposal you can win work as an outsider in places like this, building on a strong reputation and track record.”

For a full breakdown of the project signing turn to page 16

Project stats 31 reservoirs 200 metre diameter 12 metres deep 5 sites measuring 1km² 73 million imperial gallons 3.4 million people supported by the capacity 7 day supple of clean water 3 year construction timescale

www.thebigprojectme.com | 9

NEWS | REGIONAL NEWS

NEWS BULLETIN

NEWS | REGIONAL NEWS

3.3% UAE’s economic growth for 2011; more than double the figured achieved in 2010

““Most of our distributors, for example in Portugal or Australia are ex-users of the software who have moved into new territories or become consultants“

CCS Gulf further strengthens Gulf footprint Support and demonstration forums held in emerging markets

C

onstruction software developer CCS Candy demonstrated its commitment to Qatar and Oman based clients by holding demonstration and feedback forums in Doha and Muscat last month.

The South African firm, which expands into new markets with its existing clients, took the decision to host the forums to give existing users technical support and potential new users, a platform on which to evaluate the software.

“The real aim is that we usually find people who are using our software aren’t using it to the full potential,” commented general manager CCS (Gulf) L.L.C, Dubai, Ian Hauptfleisch.

“There has always been a misunderstanding that the Candy software is only for estimating and we are looking for that

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knowledge that you can actually use Candy right the way through to final account,” he added.

With an established Middle East clientele served through an office in Dubai and distribution support in Bahrain, Hauptfleisch didn’t rule out a physical presence in other Middle Eastern markets in the near future, to allow greater support for users of its estimation and project control applications, Candy and BuildSmart.

CCS already boasts 10 offices and distribution networks in the UK, South Africa, Portugal, India, Australia and New Zealand and has an eye on emerging markets in Saudi Arabia, Lebanon and Jordan, as well as North Africa, in addition to Oman and Qatar.

Growth in the construction market in Qatar is predicted to hit 12% and the value of

projects in Oman is reported as “likely to exceed $27 billion by 2014”.

“What will normally happen when we expand into a new market is that it’s very difficult to just go there and set up shop.

“Our growth is led by our users who move into that market. They will call us and say ‘we are in India or Pakistan’ and they are looking for software. We’ll implement the software there and if there is enough critical mass we will look at establishing CCS there or partnering a distributor,” Hauptfleisch explained.

“Most of our distributors, for example in Portugal or Australia are ex-users of the software who have moved into new territories or become consultants using our software and now they do all the consulting and training in those markets,” he concluded.

The year Siemens delivered its first insulated switchgear for DEWA

Infrastructure prioritised in Kuwaiti NDP National Development Plan includes US$7bn metro plan

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uwait’s National Development Plan (NDP) will see the country’s infrastructure receiving huge investment over the coming five year development cycle.

The country’s massive 160km metro project has been valued at US$7bn

by Kuwait Financial Centre, Markaz, and was analysed by Ernst and Young during the Infrastructure Investment Summit on 26 March.

Officially referred to as The Kuwait Metropolitan Rapid Transit System Project (KMRT) it is hoped the project improve Kuwait’s public transport infrastructure and will involve the development, financing, construction, operation and maintenance of a three line network that will be developed over five phases.

The first phase and line will connect Kuwait’s southern metropolitan area with the centre and will run 25.8km through to the main university. The other four phases will be developed and constructed as demand grows.

The PTB has announced the appointment of a transaction advisory team of Ernst & Young, Ashurst and Atkins to prepare the procurement stage, including metro infrastructure, control system, rolling stock, depot and operations.

Siemens Energy wins €26 million contract to build high voltage Substation for DEWA

D

ubai Electricity and Water Authority (DEWA) has appointed Siemens Energy to build a 132 kV/33 kV high voltage substation in Mushrif, Dubai, to replace existing infrastructure.

Specifically serving the Dubai Royal Air Wing terminal and major shopping malls in the area, the new station will include an 132 kV gas insulated switchgear, the 8DN8 Enhanced, which is one of

the most compact solutions currently available in the high voltage range. The project, which will be completed over a year and a half, also includes a 132/33 kV 75 MVA power transformer, four 40 MVAr shunt reactors, complete balance of plant equipment, civil design and construction works.

“We have the necessary know-how and project experience for creating turnkey high-voltage installations,” commented Wolfgang Braun,

head of power transmission Middle East at Siemens LLC. “Depending on the project specifications we take on responsibility for the whole project; from planning, erection to commissioning and handover to the customer,” Braun added.

Siemens delivered its first insulated switchgear for DEWA in 1991.

Last month also saw the signing of a land lease agreement with Saudi Industrial Property Authority (SIPA) for the construction of a manufacturing and service facility in Dammam that will create qualified jobs and serve as a technology hub for knowledge transfer.

Under the agreement, Siemens Energy will lease a 220,000-square-meter plot of land – equivalent to about 30 soccer fields – in Dammam Industrial City and invest a threedigit million dollar figure in building a center for the local manufacturing of gas turbines, compressors and heat recovery steam generators as well as repair shops and service facilities for the Saudi market.

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NEWS | REGIONAL NEWS

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NEWS | REGIONAL NEWS

Al Futtaim Motors’ ‘president award’ from Toyota Toyota Material Handling International recognises distributor’s “exceptional sales”

Belhasa division wins projects totalling “more than $25 million” “Strong competition” reported by division CEO

T

he Federal Electricity and Water Authority (FEWA) has awarded a string of new project contracts to the Watertec division of Belhasa Projects.

The first, is a DN600 transmission pipeline stretching from Thouban pumping station to Masafi WDC. The company also won the contract for the design and construction of two 10MIG RCC Pre-stressed Water Tanks with associated piping at Burairat in Ras Al Khaimah and the bid for the design and construction of two 4 MIG RCC Pre-Stressed Water Tanks with piping components at Shokha Area , also in in Ras Al Khaimah.

“We won the contract against strong bids from other competitors,” said Belhasa Projects CEO Greg Garner.

“Our experience and history of working

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on similar projects in the past helped us to score a point. We have already started the work in Fujairah,” Garner added.

The combined value of the three contracts totals more than US$ 25 million.

“We faced tough competition to win the new projects,” commented Aziz Ayoub, business unit manager with Watertec.

“However, our proven expertise, comprehensive technical submission and the value we offered enhanced the client’s confidence in the quality of our work. This is a very clear reflection on the quality and high degree of service that we provide at all times,” Ayoub added.

Belhasa managing director, Majed Belhasa, shares his thoughts on new markets on page 20

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AE construction vehicle distributor Al Futtaim Motors has been awarded the ‘President Award’ from Toyota Material Handling International (TMHI), for the exceptional sales and aftersales performance the company recorded in 2011.

The distributor recorded the highest score among its global competitors, including companies in Philippines, India, New Zealand and South Korea.

“This is a great honor for Al-Futtaim Motors Toyota Material Handling Equipment to receive the President Award for 2011 TMHI Award Program, and achieve such a score, since it shows how strong our performance was,” said Vladimir Knezevic ,general manager for Al-Futtaim Motors commercial vehicle division.

Al Futtaim Motors scored 729 points; almost three times the average.

“This can only be the result of a great team effort, dedicated to exceptional performance,” Knezevic added.

Official delivery of the President Award will take place in September during the 2012 TMHI distributor conference in Japan.

Al Futtaim Motors Toyota Material Handling Equipment is the sole distributor of Toyota Counterbalanced Forklifts and BT Warehouse Equipment in the UAE.

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Best of ONLINE

Energy efficiency programme launched WSP Environment and Energy and Bayer MaterialScience to collaborate on “state-ofthe-art” solutions

“Overall sustained growth” predicted for GCC banking sector “Specific opportunities for banks that can manage a fast expansion” report states

WSP Environment and Energy and Bayer MaterialScience AG have signed an agreement to collaborate on the development of energy-efficient buildings, as part of the EcoCommercial Building Programme.

Aiming to integrate green building design, the programme will grant construction and design decision-makers access to leading experts and state-of-the-art solutions – custom-tailored to the region and across the entire range of applications from analysis and planning to energy efficient building material and technology suppliers.

The programme will specifically target architects, project developers and construction companies, property developers and real estate portfolio managers of large companies and organisations, such as supermarket or fast food chains and hospitals, for example.

“Using our management-based approach to the planning, design and implementation phases of a project’s life cycle, we deliver appropriate, affordable and workable solutions across a broad spectrum of industry sectors”, says Kent Pedersen, managing director for WSP Middle East.

“Therefore we are a perfect match to the EcoCommercial Building Programme’s holistic approach to increase the sustainability and value of green buildings,” Pedersen continued.

WSP Environment and Energy provides advice on all aspects of environmental, energy, sustainability, climate change, and business risk issues.

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A report from global management consultancy firm A.T. Kearney predicts favourable economic conditions for 2012, with “sustained growth” and “fast expansions” on the horizon, as banks return to pre-crisis levels of profitability.

Despite the positive outlook, A.T. Kearney still warns that banks will need to enhance their capabilities and customer service levels, following several years of low investments in an environment with a low cost-to-income ratio.

“While conditions differ from country to country and from bank to bank, we expect overall sustained growth. The key

challenge for GCC banks will be balancing growth aspirations with increasing cost pressure. But, there are country specific opportunities for banks that can manage a fast expansion,” said Cyril Garbois, partner and head of A.T. Kearney’s financial institutional practice in the Middle East.

A statement on the results of the study read: “Overall profitability of banks has now returned to pre-crisis levels in all markets, in spite of an overall slightly increased cost-to-income ratio for GCC banks.

The macro-economic environment remains favourable, despite the ongoing European crisis; growth opportunities exist in a number of geographies and sustained overall growth in GCC banking is expected.”

Despite this, asset growth remained subdued at pre-crisis levels in 2011.

To leverage opportunities, A.T. Kearney experts suggest banks invest in retail banking infrastructure and capabilities, address untapped opportunities in wholesale banking and redefine priorities for external growth and international expansion.

“Efficiency improvement can yield significant savings, for example a structured approach to sales effectiveness can have a bottom line impact of 15 to 20 percent,” confirmed Dr von Pock.

Adding to the findings, His Excellency Sultan Bin Saeed Al Mansouri recently announced that the UAE’s economic growth for 2011 stood at 3.3% – more than double the figure achieved in 2010.

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NEWS ANALYSIS| Hyder & Kahramaa

Hyder expand Qatar operations Last month Hyder Consulting signed a contract with Qatar’s Kahramaa to design and construction supervision of the strategic water mega reservoirs project, valued at QAR98 million. The Big Project profiles the world’s largest network of clean water reservoirs, due for completion in three years

“Each reservoir is at least twice the size of the largest ever reservoir built in the world”

N

o strangers to record breaking projects, on March 27 chairman of Hyder Consulting, Sir Allan Thomas, signed a contract worth QAR98 million with Qatar General Electricity and Water Corporation, Kahramaa, to design and construct the world’s largest network of clean water reservoirs.

Upon completion of phase one, the project will have a total capacity of 2200 million imperial gallons – enough to support a population projected to reach 3.4 million by 2036.

A statement from Kahramaa describes the mission and objectives of the project as being to “keep pace with economic and urban development, investment in

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human capital, environmental protection and the preservation of national wealth for future generations.”

The mega reservoirs project will see Hyder design and supervise the construction of 31 concrete tanks, 200 metres in diameter and 12 metres deep, spread over five sites – referred to as ‘farms’. Each farm measures 1km² and the entire network will be connected by 200km of pipeline, measuring 2 metres in diameter.

“Each reservoir is at least twice the size of the largest ever reservoir built in the world,” said Neil Kemel after the signing ceremony, further commenting that the project is “is absolutely fundamental to the future of Qatar”.

1 million m³

LEngth of 12 metre high reservoir walls

Total concrete requirement

“The scale of this project is huge. It’s about water security and making sure a city with a current population of 1.7 million people isn’t suddenly devoid of water” In their stride

Once designs have been finalised and tenders issues by the end of 2012, the phase one project timeline will last 24 months.

“If you start to work your way backwards and think about the amount of time to get the water to test one of these tanks, some of these criteria last a month and the water has to be moved to ground so you don’t use it again and again,” explains Kemel.

“When you think of the logistics of those relatively simple things, these tanks are going to have to be built very quickly,” he adds, describing both the construction and design phases as “intense”.

Design challenge

One of the most integral considerations in the project will be how to position the reservoir tanks. Kahramaa has already secured the land, however the in light of the desert climate, the depth at which the tanks will be built into the ground will dictate the amount of energy needed to cool and pump the water.

These complications will be solved by burying the tanks either in part or entirely, thus providing “thermal advantages”. Either option has potential to install solar panel “lids” in the future, to generate power.

“The focus for us will be the economic form; the balance between the founding levels and the

top of the tank level and where the tanks are positioned creates huge differences in cost,” Kemel explains.

“If we have the tanks completely underground, the hydraulic uplift is potentially huge, so the cost goes up,” he adds.

Hyder has produced the first phase report analysing the form, construction, and optimum positioning of the tanks from an operational, security and economic perspective.

With a strong track record of hydraulic modelling on tanks of various configurations, Hyder’s utmost focus will be on the safety of the water, with chlorination of the water both prior to entering and immediately after leaving the tanks.

Sir Thomas describes the project as not only being essential to Qatar and the prominence of Hyder’s reputation, but also securing the clean water supply for Qatar. Once completed, the tanks will provide Qatar with the largest clean water capacity in the region, with a seven day supply.

In context he explains that Saudi Arabia and the Emirates have a two day supply, and Oman and Bahrain – the latter being a previous Hyder projected completed in the 1990s – even less.

“We have a long track record of this sort of work in this region, but this is the first time it is happening on this scale, anywhere in the world,” Kemel adds.

Despite the scale and challenges that are being accounted for, the consultants and engineers deployed to the project are far from deterred.

“To me, this is a fairly simple project, it’s just a very very big project. The tanks, pipes, pumping stations, are all large, but there is nothing here that is alien to what we do,” asserts Kemel who describes various project elements as “simple” and “repeatable”.

“There degrees of repetition; every tanks is the same, the site we will keep as simple as we can,” he continues, adding this will also provide benefits during operation and maintenance.

“We do power plants and pumping stations elsewhere in the Middle East and while the tanks are of a scale that nobody has built to this size before, the actual techniques for design and construction are already proven and conservative,” he says.

The next step will be to showcase the technology developed on the Kahramaa project to other municipal bodies in the region, with a view to aligning the average storage capacity of GCC countries with international standards.

“Clearly the experience and expertise this project gives Hyder will be something of interest to other parties and will certainly enhance our credentials regionally,” says Kemel.

“I think that as this project moves through its last cycle, we will gain quite a lot of publicity and one of the reasons we want to talk to people now is that because within nine months we will have completed the designs, and within a year and half there will have been some substantial work achieved on site, so there will be some great interest in this project,” he concludes.

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NEWS ANALYSIS| Hyder & Kahramaa

20Km

TALK | MAJED Belhasa

Back in business

With news that one of its largest joint venture projects has restarted in Dubai and new work in Qatar, Belhasa International Company managing director, Majed Belhasa, tells Melanie Mingas about managing growth and breaking out beyond Dubai

T

he biggest lesson we learned was not to keep all the eggs in one basket,” reflects Majed Belhasa, managing director for Belhasa International Company, when explaining why the company is now looking for work beyond Dubai.

Belhasa Engineering and Contracting Company (BECC) was established in 1977 as part of the wider Belhasa Holdings PJSC, and today has four construction companies: Belhasa Six Construct, a joint venture with the Belgian firm Six Construct known as Besix; Belhasa Projects, specialising in sports surfaces; Belhasa Engineering and Al Tatweer Contracting LLC. When the Besix venture began in 1986, the mission was to “redefine the skyline of Dubai” and the resulting projects have included everything from Emirates Towers hotel complex to Burj Khalifa.

As the construction boom snowballed last decade, there was so much work in Dubai Belhasa didn’t even need to expand to Abu Dhabi and the construction operations within the entire group of companies generated “more than 50%” of its total worth.

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ABOVE: Majed Belhasa.

“Belhasa Projects has a lot of diversity so it survived the downturn without a problem, but Belhasa Engineering depends on large projects so if you’re operating in a single economy or sector, when that dies, you risk dying with it.

“Now we are thinking of expanding these operations to other countries to diversify the

“Now we are thinking of expanding these operations to other countries to diversify the income from different sources and we don’t want to stop there” income from different sources and we don’t want to stop there. We want to expand further because also we have to look at regions, and not just countries. So we have to look at every possibility,” he continues.

Following a US college education, which saw Majed studying civil engineering at Colorado

TALK | MAJED Belhasa

School of Mines, he joined the company in 1996 and is today managing director of construction and technology.

“I ask where were the companies I am managing now before I started, and where are they today? I don’t look at individual projects I look at the size of the company, what it was doing and where it was heading,” he says, drawing example from Belhasa Projects, which has diversified from swimming pools to sports stadium surfacing and facilities management and waste water treatment.

Similarly, Belhasa Engineering has grown from a medium sized company with “certain limitations” regarding the size of projects it could once execute, to a company with expertise in skyscraper construction and knowledge that can be exported.

“It is re-structuring and management that drives the business. Now we can handle large projects and diverse projects,” he comments explaining the investments made in accounting systems and engineering equipment that enabled Belhasa Engineering to execute larger projects.

Worst case scenario

Seeing trouble on the horizon, Belhasa began planning for a downturn mid-decade,

“Immigration changes, the municipality or police introducing regulations, this sort of stuff that comes like a lightning bolt and you still have to work” predicting the worst case scenario would hit in seven years. In reality it took only three.

“It was a little bit faster than expected, but it was expected and we managed to knock down a lot of the overheads for the company.

Had we not done that we would have labour camps right now that are very costly, equipments which would have cost hundreds of millions,” he says, adding that labour camps are written off in five years, rather than 20 and tower cranes in five years as opposed to “seven or eight”.

“The second strategy was to re-structure the company and redistribute the work to actively scale it down and maintain the delivery of the projects without expensive overheads.”

Looking ahead, Majed says there is enough growth and projects in the region for the company to regain its “heavy position” by next year, based on the opening of new offices in Saudi Arabia and last month Qatar, where he predicts the private sector will lead the market.

Today, the greatest challenges facing the industry are regulations. A topic Majed has publically shared his views on in the past, he says that while regulations are positive and necessary, the time given to contractors to implement them is unrealistic.

“We would work on a two year project and all sorts of government offices, such as labour, would release a law that comes into effect after one or two months and increases the costs for the contractor or put restraints on the contractor that makes it difficult to do the work.

“That’s where we are having problems,” he states, continuing: “If we’re on the tenth floor there are still 40 floors ahead and the price of labour is going up beyond the 10% a year it used to; these things are what hurt us most.

“Immigration changes, the municipality or police introducing regulations, this sort of stuff comes like a lightning bolt and you still have to work. The changes are coming too fast for the contractors,” he adds, while also urging such bodies to create a dialogue with the industry while developing such legislation.

Back in business

Now Dubai Marina’s Al Sufouh tram project has officially restarted, following a period of “almost green lights” and financial struggles, Besix equipment is back on site and a new completion date of 2014 has been confirmed.

In addition, two projects have been “okayed for the Burj Khalifa area”, and “several” new hotel projects are tendering.

“Tourism is going well and there is demand so people are moving back into that field and we are seeing the infrastructure for tourism and its related services, shopping areas, super markets,” Majed observes.

“Some of the big projects here in Dubai, we expect within the next couple of years, but there is some good potential in Abu Dhabi.

And of course there are always projects in infrastructure; it is still an active market in the UAE in general.”

www.thebigprojectme.com | 21

Over his 35 year career, Macair CEO Patrick Sweeney has seen the region grow from swathes of desert to a network of modern metropolises. Melanie Mingas hears how integrated services provided a logical response

N

ewly appointed Macair CEO, Patrick Sweeney, does not suffer the same pessimism as the rest of the industry; instead, Sweeney is ready to “develop Macair’s worldclass project capability”, goup MD Mike McGeever publically stated last month.

“To achieve this we are looking to recruit people from oversees, who can expose us to new technologies and new methods for doing things,” Sweeney explains.

“I think previously the company has been focused on traditional delivery and now we will bring in the expertise from overseas to expand that into other added value areas,” he says.

Beginning his career as an engineer in the UK, Sweeney moved to Dubai in 1976 to embark on what would become a 20 year tenure that saw his traverse the Middle East. After establishing new divisions and ventures in both Saudi Arabia and Qatar for former employer Carillion, Sweeney joined the Emirates-owned Transguard Group, and this year became CEO of its Macair business.

“Working in the Middle East is very much a relationship-based model and it’s about utilising those relationships to build a business,” he says.

“Regarding Macair’s operation here, the delivery side is very professional, there are great complimentary skills and there aren’t many companies that do the broad range of MEP, interiors and landscapes,” Sweeney adds.

Naming his top responsibility as heading Macair’s growth, Sweeney says that in order to build the business he will increase both the customer base and service offerings as well as priming the company for geographic expansion.

“I think the main focus will be on structure, cost control and growth opportunities. It’s a case of putting in a robust platform because the market is going to become very busy outside the UAE, so we will be putting in place good fundamentals to capitalise on that when it does happen.”

Those fundamentals will include a strong, diversified, and above all multinational workforce.

“We will be looking to draw in talent from other countries and we are part of a bigger group, so all the added value we bring in terms of resources means we can recruit people in about one third of the time it would take any other construction company that doesn’t have that resource,” he explains.

focus on physical changes on buildings and roads, but what has happened in the region is a huge cultural change. All the physical changes have had a big impact on lifestyles here. When you’re here for periods longer than five years, you see that impact much more,” he recalls while commenting that the Dubai he first arrived in had only “two sets of traffic lights”.

Describing the short to medium term future as exciting, Sweeney says activities in the GCC, its developing markets and the migration of existing and potential clients to new markets, will present many opportunities for Macair.

Next big thing

“I do possibly think that there is a lack of understanding of what will actually hit the country.

For me it’s déjà vu” Changing over time

Throughout the course of his career Sweeney reports witnessing seismic shifts within the industry and its business models, as well as the physical environment in which it operates.

“There have been a number of major changes; firstly the client has become more intelligent, secondly the terms and conditions and contract conditions have become much more professional and the biggest change would be that contracts are now tendered and not simply negotiated.”

Commenting on the industry before this time, he adds: “It was very much an easier place to work, it wasn’t as competitive and there were only a handful of contractors. Essentially what you end up with now is some very large and competent contractors and that’s a major change.”

Today, with an influx of western expats and a developing built environment, Sweeney says the most glaring difference is the change in lifestyle.

“All this progress in the Middle East; people

Turning his attention to Qatar, Sweeney describes the parallels between Doha and Dubai and warns that dynamics such as the supply chain and finite date could lead the country in a situation “much worse” than Dubai’s.

“I believe Qatar could be much worse than Dubai because the dynamics are very different.

There was a huge construction masterplan before they won the World Cup, so it was always going to be a busy place. The decision making over the last two years has been quite slow purely because they have had to re-prioritise projects, but because of the finite date the longer things are delayed the more there is to compress into this period leading up to 2022,” he continues to advise, saying that despite Dubai’s experience, Qatar will struggle to measure its development in a way that safeguards it from overheating.

“I do possibly think that there is a lack of understanding of what will actually hit the country. It’s going to be crazy there. For me it’s déjà vu. I remember Dubai being like this 25 years ago. Qatar may not look like Dubai in 15 years time, but it will be very different to how it is today,” he says.

Recalling that when he arrived Dubai’s World Trade Centre was only four storeys tall, Sweeny reports a sense of privilege at being part of an industry that built a region in a matter of decades, calling the opportunity “essentially unique”.

“Making those physical changes is testimony to the industry and it’s great to drive around and see things happening. When you’re on the ground here you don’t realise how much is changing and you take a lot of the projects and people you meet for granted,” he concludes.

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Career ladder | Patrick Sweeny

Witness to change

Event insider | Project Qatar

Qatar calling This month will see the start of the eighth edition of Project Qatar, beginning in Doha on April 30. Show project manager, Michel Gebrael gives The Big Project the inside information on the tiny state’s biggest construction show

How has Project Qatar developed since its launch?

The eight editions of Project Qatar series since its debut in 2004, have attracted hundreds of thousands of visitors, with around 5000 Qatari regional and international companies from 50 countries participating in the shows. Exhibition spaces at PQ expanded at an average rate of 20 percent per annum and we had to add two concurrent related shows: Heavy Max for construction machinery and Stone Tech for ceramic and stone products.

The shows succeeded in securing major deals for many participants, during and long after the shows were over.

Most companies participated repeatedly in the eight editions of the show while each year new companies and new countries joined the exhibition. Project Qatar shows included countries like Cyprus, Egypt, France, Germany, Greece, Italy, Korea, Kuwait, Lebanon, Malaysia, the Netherlands, Saudi

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Arabia, Singapore, Switzerland, Turkey, the UAE, UK, USA.

Are there any new features, focuses or attractions at Project Qatar 2012?

After breaking all records of size and business conducted in 2011, Project Qatar will be even bigger in 2012. The last edition of the show witnessed actually an overwhelming response both in terms of participation and attendance: The show hosted 1750 exhibitors, including more than 1000 international exhibitors coming from 42 countries, visited by around 43,000 professionals spread on a 50,000 sqm of exhibition area. This year’s edition will see the participation of more than 2000 exhibitors from a record-breaking 47 countries – some for the first time – covering a total space of 62,000 sqm. As mentioned, there will be two concurrent shows; Qatar Stone Tech and Heavy Max. Moreover, the event is supported by around

40 international trade associations and governmental entities. We are expecting even more of high-calibre visitors who will have the chance to explore the latest innovations in construction and its related sectors.

What are the factors that make Qatar a great destination for a construction boom?

Qatar Statistics Authority (QSA) had stated that it estimated the population in Qatar would reach 2.5 million by 2020, which equates to a population increase of approximately 4% per year over the next ten years. There are suggestions that population figures in Qatar could now reach 4 million people by 2020, equating to an increase of approximately 9% per annum.

Significant population growth will generate demand for infrastructure and real estate across all sectors.

The largest current project is the development of the $36 billion national rail system,

“The largest current project is the development of the $36 billion national rail system, which aims to relieve congestion in Doha“

which aims to relieve congestion in Doha. On the other hand, the government has earmarked $6.9 billion for the development of New Doha Port on the sea transport front. In addition, the $11 billion New Doha International Airport is expected to begin operations by 2012 and handle 24 million passengers a year. Once completed in 2015, it would have a capacity of 50 million visitors and 2 million tons of cargo.

Road transport is also getting a major boost, with plans to spend up to $20 billion on road development projects over the next five years.

Apart from transport projects, the $1.65 billion Doha Festival City is an important commercial development extending over an area of 433,837 square meters. In addition, Barwa Real Estate has developed Barwa Commercial Avenue, a very large retail and

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commercial project including 500,000 square meters of retail space scheduled to be completed by the middle of next year.

Another high-profile development is the Barwa Financial District (BFD), the planned headquarters of Qatar Petroleum. With completion planned for 2014, the BFD will comprise ten towers and a hotel in a central hub to meet the needs of local and international businesses in Doha’s West Bay, with the focus on A-grade office space. Also, one of Qatar’s major ongoing developments is the $1.35 billion Barwa City residential project located in Musameer just outside of Doha and extending over 2.7 million square meters.

With such huge scale projects, and all the governmental support received by the sector, Qatar is without any doubt more than a great destination for construction investments.

Case Study | LEED certification

2012

the first year the number of existing buildings has exceeded the number of new buildings being certified tal concrete requirement

A how-to guide to achieve sustainability Until all municipalities in the Emirates fully roll out their respective green building codes the United States Green Building Council’s LEED certification for Green Buildings remains the most comprehensive certification methodology for new and existing buildings. Thom Bohlen, Chief Technical Officer of the Middle East Centre for Sustainable Development, explains

T

he Middle East Centre for Sustainable Development (MECSD) is a multi-faceted sustainability consulting firm located in the Pacific Control Systems LLC (PCS) Headquarters Building in Techno Park, Dubai, and was established to promote sustainable green building development, including the introduction of LEED certified green buildings to the Middle East.

The development of green buildings is aligned to the Dubai Strategic Plan 2015, and has witnessed a surge in LEED certified projects over the last few years; the latest report on the count of all types of USGBC LEED Certified Projects in the U.A.E., most of which are in Dubai, stands at 47.

In total MECSD has currently LEED certified 27 projects, of which 2 achieved Platinum status, 13- Gold and a further 12- Silver.

Of these projects, 26 are in Dubai and include: • • • • • • • •

ESAB Middle East; Platinium, new construction TLM International FZE, Jebel Ali; Platinum, new construction Easy Hotel, Jebel Ali: Gold, new construction Nestlé Dubai Manufacturing LLC, Techno Park; Gold, new construction Cruise Terminal, Mina Rashid; Silver, new construction Prime Residency II; International City; Gold, new construction Scania CV AB Middle East, Jebel Ali; Gold, new construction LG Electronics Gulf; Jebel Ali, Gold, new construction

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MECSD has certified two mid-rise residential complexes – a first for the Emirate – and has a further 60 LEED projects in the active project pipeline, 20 of which are expected to achieve certification before the end of 2012.

Statistics compiled by McGraw Hill Construction show that while overall the total value of the green building market world wide will, by 2013, have tripled from its 2005 level, residential and non-residential projects will play an equal role in this.

Also, the USGBC announced earlier this year that 2012 is the first year during which the number of existing buildings has exceeded the number of new buildings being certified. This fact has important implications for the future of the greening of existing buildings in this region.

During the certification process of Nestlé Dubai Manufacturing LLC, ASHRAE standards were exceeded to reduce energy by 21% and of the resources used during construction, 33.36% were used with recyclable content and 26.46% were extracted and manufactured in the region.

Contrary to some concerns over initial increases in cost for the addition of green features, the construction costs for Nestle’s is reported as US $100/ square foot.

Jebel Ali’s Easy Hotel, certified October 2010, is the first hotel project in the Middle East to achieve the LEED NC v2.2 Gold Certification. With a construction costs of $274/ square foot, the hotel achieves energy savings of 19.3%; potable water use has been reduced 44.5% and sunpipes have been incorporated by harvest natural light.

“The business opportunities afforded by green building, even in the midst of a global economic crisis, are real and recognized by industry players,”

The LEED Certification process: •

Registration with USGBC

•

Eco-charrette and Feasibility Study, to establish Targeted level of Certification.

•

Technical Meetings with Stakeholders and Design Guidance- to develop the Certification Plan and ensure that the design includes desired green features and processes for a successful green building.

•

Building Energy Modeling Analysis, feedback, and Reporting

•

Water Use Analysis, Calculation, and Reporting

•

Daylighting & Lighting Calculations and LPD levels

•

Construction Guidance-Certification Plan, to ensure that the construction incorporates the green features and processes for completing the green features of the building as planned.

•

Collection of required supporting data and upload to LEED on Line

•

Fundamental LEED Commissioning

•

Clarifications and resubmission to USGBC

•

Final USGBC Award and Certification

•

Measurement and Verification of energy and water consumption reductions ongoing

•

Enhanced LEED Commissioning, post occupancy

•

Green Building Operation and Maintenance, post occupancy

•

LEED Existing Building and Operation Certification-on going, within two to 3 years after initial certification and then every five years thereafter

comments Harvey M. Bernstein, vice president of industry analytics, alliances and strategic initiatives with McGraw Hill Construction.

“Furthermore green building has great potential to tackle unemployment through green jobs, and can address other societal issues such as creating healthier places where we live and work,” he adds.

News

CASE STUDY: Prime Residency II Highly insulated mass walls Optimized glazing Efficient lighting Efficient HVAC systems

INDOOR ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY

FAST FACTS

LEED Certification: GOLD, New Construction (NC) V2.2 Square Feet: 251,176 sq ft / Residential Building Neighborhood: International City, Dubai, UAE Construction Cost: $78 / square foot Completed: March 2011 Date of Certification: 21 October 2011

BENEFITS

38.6% Savings on Energy Use 35.4% Savings on Potable Water Use by Water Fixtures 20.9% Materials Use with Recycled Content 43.9% Regional Materials Use

THE NEW BUILDING

Prime Residency II – is a new construction residential building project comprises of four floors with 41 flats in each floor and a total built-up area of 251,176 sq ft. It is a freehold apartment block, located in International City and enjoys a prime spot within a Spanish environment. Sporting Spanish architecture, the residency evokes a contemporary living environment within a breathtaking ambience of landscaped garden.

The new residential construction is designed to have access to the best health and leisure facilities,

from landscaped gardens to children’s recreation area. It is also sports an exclusive retail area comprising of boutiques, cafes and restaurants.

SUSTAINABLE SITES AND TRANSPORTATION

The project team sought to encourage responsible transportation, supported by the following strategies: The project site is located within 0.5 miles of 193 community services and an existing residential district Provides preferred parking and low-emitting and fuel-efficient vehicles on-site Provides car/van pool parking for 19% of the total provided non-residential parking spaces 100% of non-roof impervious surfaces on-site have been paved with highly reflective materials 100% of roofing materials meet the SRI requirement Installed water efficient landscaping

ENERGY EFFICIENCY

MECSD as a Sustainability Consultant for Prime Residency II, has created an energy model to evaluate the effectiveness of the building’s energy conservation measures, in compliance with ASHRAE Std. 90.1-2004 Appendix G methodology.

The following are the Energy Efficiency Measures incorporated in the project:

Case Study| XXXXXXXXXX | LEED certification XXXXXXXX

$78

construction cost per square foot of the site

The IAQ performance complies with the minimum requirements of ASHRAE Std 62.1-2004, Ventilation for Acceptable IAQ Increase in fresh air by 30% above minimum rates ASHRAE for healthy and good Indoor Environmental Quality Installed air flow monitoring device for each mechanical ventilation to monitor the freshair Installed CO2 sensors to monitor the carbon dioxide concentration in the densely occupied spaces Developed and implemented a Construction Indoor Air Quality (IAQ) Management Plan in reference to SMACNA guidelines Use of building finish materials with low emission of volatile organic compounds (VOC) for adhesives, sealants, paints and coatings Lighting and thermal controllability are available for all shared occupant spaces Provide direct line of sight views for 99.83% of all regularly occupied areas

OTHER GREEN FEATURES INCLUDES

Earned an exemplary performance in regional materials use Diverted 80.00% of on-site generated construction waste from landfill Provides appropriately sized dedicated areas for the collection and storage of recycling materials

THE TEAM

Owner: Prescott Investments Ltd. Design Consultant: National Engineering Bureau Contractor: Sobha Contracting Green Building Consultant: MECSD Chief Technical Officer: Thom Bohlen LEED AP BD + C LEED AP: Ashraf Ali Khan Patan & Melanie Bacho Commissioning Authority: PCS Photograph Courtesy of: Prescott & MECSD

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XXXXXXXX Case Study| XXXXXXXXXX | LEED certification

$38

construction cost per square foot of the site

CASE STUDY: TLM International FZE High efficiency glazing Reduced interior lighting power density Reduced exterior lighting power Solar water heating system Solar external lighting TLM installed 88 solar PV panels on-site to generate 123,552 Kwh/year of renewable energy that offset energy costs considerably wherein it has a bigger impact in reducing the carbon footprint in the Middle East Region.

MATERIALS & RESOURCES

75.01% of on-site generated construction waste diverted from landfill 11.04% of materials use with recycled content 68.83% of materials use manufactured locally Provide appropriately sized dedicated areas for the collection and storage of recycling materials

OTHER GREEN FEATURES INCLUDE

Exemplary performance for Site Development, Maximize Open Space Exemplary performance for On-Site Renewable Energy Exemplary performance for Heat Island Effect: Non-Roof. 100% of non-roof hardscape paved with highly reflective materials Exemplary performance for Regional Materials use

FAST FACTS

LEED Certification: Platinum, New Construction (NC) V2.2 Square Feet: 98,868 sq ft / Office & Warehouse Neighborhood: Jebel Ali Free Zone, Dubai, UAE Construction Cost: $38 / square foot Completed: January 2011 Date of Certification: July 20, 2011

BENEFITS

46.40% Savings on Energy Use 24.28% Offset by On-Site Renewable Energy 36.40% Savings on Potable Water Use

THE NEW BUILDING

TLM International FZE is a new office and warehouse building located in Jebel Ali Free Zone, Dubai. It has a total built-up area of 98,868 sq ft, consists of; warehouse with an area

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89,215 sq ft and office with an area of 9,653 sq ft.

The project has in-house infrastructure to manage all imports, logistics, clearances and associated services to support sales and distribution in GCC and Africa region.

The TLM International is part of a diversified group of companies engaged in the Renewable Energy Solutions that includes, but not limited to: Solar PV, Solar Thermal, PV Inverters and Charge Controllers, AGM Batteries and Wind Energy Solutions.

ENERGY EFFICIENCY AND RENEWABLE ENERGY

MECSD as a Sustainability Consultant for TLM International, created an energy model to evaluate the effectiveness of the building’s energy conservation measures, in compliance with ASHRAE 90.1-2004 Appendix G methodology.

Energy Conservation Measures: Improved thermal envelope

LESSONS LEARNED

Dedication to save the environment and sustainable practice has always been TLM International’s mission and with MECSD’s guidance and assistance is now a reality to this part of the world where we live. Furthermore in achieving such status on its certification, working relationship, teamwork, and cooperation plays a vital role towards a projects’ success.

THE TEAM

Owner: TLM International FZE Design Consultant: MAS Engineering Consultants Contractor: Roshan Construction LLC Green Building Consultant: MECSD Chief Technical Officer: Thom Bohlen, Architect, LEED AP BD +C LEED AP: Sheila Mateo & Loveleen Raval Commissioning Authority: PCS Photograph Courtesy of: TLM & MECSD

FOAMGLAS® FOAMGLAS® Insulation Insulation

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CoMMENT | construction IT

How the iPad will change the construction industry Following the launch of the iPad 3, co-founder and CEO of IT blog PlanGrid.com, Ryan SuttonGee explains the benefits is can bring the construction industry Why construction is inefficient

The basic process of any construction project goes like this: A person with a lot of money (called The Owner) decides that, for whatever reason, they want a building, and so they go hire an architect. This architect then in turn hires a bunch of engineers and all of them start furiously designing the building until The Owner seems happy enough to move forward. Once that happens, the design is printed on piles and piles of paper and then handed to the construction team who starts the actual construction.

This is of course a gross over simplification, but the interesting thing to note is that this entire exchange of information is digital up until the point where the actual construction takes place.

Because all the design information is digital, tons and tons of amazing software has been created to make that part of the process better and more efficient. In fact, architects and engineers have gotten so good at being efficient, that all together they now typically only make up 8% of the total cost of a building. Meanwhile, the poor guys in the field have, by many estimates, gotten worse and worse.

The iPad will be the thing that changes all this. Although the things it does better than laptops - smaller, more durable, longer battery life, doesn’t need a table to be useable - seem more evolutionary rather than revolutionary, in the context of construction field workers, it’s the difference between using a tool that almost

works and a tool that is able to get the job done. It’s basically the first computer that is usable in the field and as a result it’s starting to be rapidly adopted by construction companies. My guess is that the iPad 3 is only going to accelerate things, and so over the next few years we’ll undoubtedly start to see software that will transform construction as much as AutoCAD transformed architecture and engineering.

“No field computing, means no field data, which means you have no idea that your electrician, who you picked because he was 10% cheaper, is 30% slower than the other electrician you used last time” Here’s just a short list of some things that will transformed in the next few years as the iPad delivers computing to the construction site: •

•

ABOVE: Ryan SuttonGee.

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Adios Blueprints: The first thing that will disappear is paper. It’s expensive, always out of date, and with this new push for green buildings, The Owners are asking their contractors to ‘go paperless’.

Way better communication: Here’s a process that happens every time some guy in the field needs clarification from the architect on how to build something: He leaves the jobsite, heads to

•

the construction trailer, grabs his set of blueprints, heads back to the jobsite, looks at the problem and makes notes on his plans, heads back to the trailer, scans the plans, goes to his computer, opens his email, sends the scan to the architect, and then walks all the way back to the jobsite.

This takes at least 20 minutes everytime someone has a question! With the iPad, he just opens up his blueprint app, marks up the problem, and sends it out right there.

Hello analytics: One of the most frustrating things about running a construction company is that you are constantly writing these huge checks, but you have no idea what is actually going on in the field.

No field computing, means no field data, which means you have no idea that your electrician, who you picked because he was 10% cheaper, is 30% slower than the other electrician you used last time. The Google Analytics/Palantir for construction is going to really change how things are done.

And that’s just the beginning. My hope is that construction will become much more efficient and affordable in the next few years and that IT will be one of the things that helps to make that happen.

NOMInATIONS OPEN SOON This month, the BGreen Website is getting a major overhaul.

CONSTRUCTION & SUSTAINABILITY AWARDS OF EXCELLENCE

The BGreen Awards, held at the end of every calendar year, is the biggest event in our portfolio, recognising the contributions of thought-leaders in sustainable construction and its subsidiary industries, architecture and design.

Submit your nominations online to make your mark in this arena.

Visit www.buildgreen.ae and click on the logo

COVER STORY | Saadiyat King of the Island region

Five year phenomenon Five years ago, Abu Dhabi’s Saadiyat Island was 27 square kilometres of undeveloped sand dunes. Today it is master developer TDIC’s flagship project, bringing together world famous architects, developers and hotel chains to create the region’s most talked about cultural district, nature reserve and holiday destination.

Melanie Mingas visits

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T

he financial state of Abu Dhabi’s Tourism Development and Investment Company (TDIC) has been making headlines since budget cuts were announced in 2011. The amendments made to the master plan saw major elements of flagship project Saadiyat Island – including the much anticipated Guggenheim Museum – facing lengthy delays and in addition, boycotts and petitions from Human Rights Watch.

Then in January 2012, the tide turned when Abu Dhabi Executive Council said

hundreds of projects would be revived across the Emirate, including those on Saadiyat, which were funded by the council but being built by TDIC. Adding to the good news, last month TDIC’s first annual financial results were published and credit rating agencies Moody’s, Standard and Poor, and Fitch awarded investment grade ratings.

Despite the headlines, 2011 wasn’t all negative. St Regis Resort and Monte Carlo Beach Club – anchor leisure destinations that will instigate the island’s tourism

COVER STORY | Saadiyat Island The UAE Pavillion, designed by Foster and Partners and inspired by the surrounding sand dunes, was formerly located at Expo 2010 Shanghai.

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COVER STORY | Saadiyat Island

"From the very beginning, TDIC sought to bring the very best brands from the areas of hospitality, leisure and culture" 36 | www.thebigprojectme.com

industry – were officially opened and the year closed with AED2 billion cash on the balance sheet, according to CFO Shaun O’Connor.

The company isn’t out of the woods yet, and will need to raise up to AED3 billion annually to fund its outstanding projects, but this year will see the handover of a number of villas; the start of a retail development specifically for Saadiyat’s future residents and visitors; and the completion of the island’s main sewerage plant.

Saadiyat is at the forefront of Abu Dhabi’s vision to become a global destination, and features iconic cultural, hospitality and tourism attractions along with state-of-the-art commercial facilities and family-friendly communities,” says TDIC chief development officer Nabil Al Kendi.

“Saadiyat will cater to the commercial, residential, leisure, and tourism needs of Abu Dhabi,” he adds.

“Saadiyat, as a project, is being developed as an iconic international tourism destination.

Development on the island has been phased to incorporate its different facets, including hospitality, leisure, residential, and cultural projects.

These assets will attract visitors and tourists from around the world,” he continues.

“A number of projects are currently being developed on the island, namely the museums of the cultural district, a number of our residential offerings, as well as a New York University campus, which is being developed by Mubadala Development Company and is due to open in 2014,” he adds.

FROM FAR LEFT: The Louvre Museum, visible on a model of the Saaidyat Masterplan; The Monte Carlo Beach Club; And a private pool at the St Regis villas.

Construction

TDIC was formed in 2006 and began work on Saadiyat Island, its largest project, in 2007.

At the time the island was completely undeveloped and home to nothing more than mangrove trees and endangered wildlife, including turtles. By the end of this decade it will provide homes, jobs and leisure destinations for 145,000 residents and hundreds of thousands more tourists.

Construction began immediately with basic transport and utilities infrastructure completed under the supervision of Parsons. A power plant and four 132kV electrical substations, generating energy solely for use on the island, were also constructed and become fully operational in 2011.

“In terms of various developments and areas, the first priority was to construct the Sheikh Khalifa Bridge and the Sheikh Zayed Expressway as a roadway to the island. The second priority was to develop projects that cater to visitors, residents and tourists. This was done by developing the hotel resorts currently hosted on the island, in addition to the beach club, golf club and residential projects,” Al Kendi explains.

Tourism

Today, the island is connected to the mainland by two bridges, with the first opening in 2009 after 30 months of construction by joint venture ED Zublin AG and Saif Bin Darwish.

Eventually these will be joined by a third bridge, although planning for this is in the very early stages. Landscaping around the main expressway was completed in 2010.

Most recently completed were the deep services including sewers and storm water pipes for the cultural district, in the second quarter of 2011, paving the way for the opening of the first tourism attractions. A district cooling contract BELOW: Inside the island's residential show homes.

The homes are available in Mediterranean, arabic and contemporary interior designs.

has been awarded to a JV between Dalkia and Arcapita and will incorporate three plants, serving the entire island.

With the foundations in place, construction began on the most important attractions; St Regis, Monte Carlo Beach Club, villas and holiday homes, and of course the world’s largest single concentration of premier cultural institutions: Zayed National Museum, Louvre Abu Dhabi and Guggenheim Abu Dhabi.

“TDIC is now focusing on the delivery of various residential components on Saadiyat. In 2009, the first phase of Saadiyat Beach Villas

Upon completion, Saadiyat will feature nine five star hotels and resorts. Some chains already established in the beach district include: •

Toon Golf’s 72-par golf course, designed

by Gary Player

•

Monte Carlo Beach Club

•

Park Hyatt Hotel and villas: A 75,000 square metre site with 270 hotel rooms

•

St. Regis resort with 380 rooms and suites and branded residences, featuring 259 apartments and 32 villas

•

Shangri La chain of hotels will also develop a 400 room residence on the island

Residential •

Saadiyat Beach Villas: Available in three architectural styles – Mediterranean, contemporary or Arabic – with interiors designed to accordingly. Show villas are available to view on Jawaher al Saadiyat street.

•

Saadiyat Beach apartments: A total of 14 buildings across three neighbourhoods, located between the cultural district and Marina Village.

•

The Residences, St Regis resort: serviced residences available for rent or sale, following the introduction of ‘buy to lease’ legislation.

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COVER STORY | Saadiyat Island

"Saadiyat projects are being developed in a staggered manner, giving each property sufficient time to open and operate without logistical challenges occurring"

COVER STORY | Saadiyat Island

"Saadiyat, as a project, is being developed as an iconic international tourism destination. Development on the island has been phased to incorporate its different facets, including hospitality, leisure, residential, and cultural projects.

These assets will attract visitors and tourists from around the world"

was launched, which consists of 254 villas. In 2011 we also launched Saadiyat Beach Show Villas and Sales Centre - a collection of ten high-end, premium, fully furnished villas, which offer future homeowners a preview of what life on Saadiyat is set to be like,” Al Kendi comments.

The construction programme has only been divided into two phases so far, with the first seeing a focus on the Saadiyat Beach and Saadiyat Cultural districts and the second addressing the remaining five areas.

“Saadiyat projects are being developed in a staggered manner, giving each property sufficient time to open and operate without logistical challenges occurring.

“Logistical challenges were also avoided by developing the Sheikh Khalifa Bridge and Sheikh Zayed expressway early, which hugely facilitated ‘access to’ and ‘exit from’ the island,” Al Kendi continues.

The entire project is showcased at Manarat al Saadiyat, a 15,400 sqm visitor centre, gallery and museum that was built in six months.

Translating as “the place of enlightenment” Manarat tells the Saadiyat story in nine chapters for the island's visitors.

Culture

Saadiyat Cultural district is perhaps currently the most anticipated attraction in the entire master plan, purely due to fact that its projects read as a who’s who of the architectural world.

Comprising the Zayed National Museum, Louvre, Guggenheim, Performing Arts Centre and a number of smaller ‘arts pavilions’ for the exhibition of works by local artists, the spaces between will feature contemporary housing.

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Designs for all the museums were completed in the early stages of the Saadiyat project and have been used to generate interest and investment in the other elements.

The fifth Guggenheim museum, designed by Pritzker Architecture Prize winner Frank Gehry, will be the last of the museums to open, with completion pushed from 2013 to 2017.

At 450,000sqf, it will be the largest Guggenheim in the world and will feature special exhibitions including works from the Guggenheim Foundation’s collection.

The Zayed National Museum, dedicated to Emirati heritage, has been designed by Norman Foster of Foster and Partners; selected during a competition that saw 12 international firms competing for the prestigious contract.

“Inspired by flight”, Foster’s winning design is based on the wings of a falcon, with the tallest of these steel structures reaching 125 metres.

The museum will comprise five exhibition areas over two storeys and is due for completion 2016.

Abu Dhabi’s Louvre, has been designed by Jean Nouvelle and is due for completion 2015. The building has a perforated roof to allow for the light to “rain” in on the exhibition space below Performing Arts Centre, designed by Zaha Hadid, is inspired by the shape of the tulip flower. Inside, the centre will house five theatres and music, concert and opera halls over ten storeys.

While not located in the cultural district, the 20 metre tall UAE Pavillion is located opposite Manarat al Saadiyat and will be used to host cultural events. One of a number of iconic buildings on the island, it was one of the first in the Emirate to achieve a two pearl rating under Estidama.

FROM FAR LEFT: A model of the Performing Arts Centre; the Manarat Al saadiyat and a model of the Louvre. BELOW: A rendering of the completed Guggenheim , Louvre and Performing Arts Centre as they will be by 2017.

Districts Saadiyat Island is divided into seven districts, each with its own attractions and amenities:

Cultural District Land area: 2,430,000 m² Features: Museums, performing arts centre, art pavilions and housing. Final projects due for completion around 2017

Saadiyat Beach Land area: 5,275,000 m²

Designed by Foster and Partners and inspired by the surrounding sand dunes (see inset pg 37), was formerly located at Expo 2010 Shanghai for six months.

Down to business

No modern master plan would be complete without a dedicated business area and Saadiyat’s business District will be the only area on the island to feature high rise towers.

Also featuring the New York University – due for completion 2017 – the district will have a Maritime Museum, dedicated residential areas for the local Emirati population and berths for 1000 yachts and boats.

Lying only 500 metres offshore of Abu Dhabi island, the natural, 27 square kilometre (2700 hectare) island is one of the largest, single, mixed-use developments in the Arabian Gulf, and some of its projects are being developed in partnership with private investors.

“From the very beginning, TDIC sought to bring the very best brands from the areas of hospitality, leisure and culture,” explains Al Kendi.

“We developed strategic partnerships with these companies in order to help facilitate and add value to the delivery of our quality-driven projects.

“Together with brands such as the British Museum, Musee du Louvre, Solomon R. Guggenheim Foundation, Monte-Carlo SBM, Starwood Hotels and Resorts, and Troon Golf, we are creating a quality destination and enhancing the vibrancy of the island,” he adds.

Features: A 9km stretch of beach with nine fivestar hotels and residential areas. Phased opening began 2011

Saadiyat Marina Land area: 3,700,000 m² Features: Business district featuring the island’s only skyscrapers and New York University

Saadiyat Reserve Land area: 4,680,000 m² Features: Championship tidal golf course designed by Robert Trent Jones II and a selection of luxury low-rise residential waterside living

Saadiyat Promenade Land area: 931,000 m² Features: A family orientated boardwalk with cafés, restaurants and leisure area

Saadiyat Lagoons Land area: 3,500,000 m² Features: Private housing built into the ecosystem, stretching from the north-east coast to the central region

Saadiyat Retreat Land area: 750,000 m² Features: Billed as secluded and exclusive, this area is reserved for boutique hotels and spas and shoreline homes

www.thebigprojectme.com | 39

COVER STORY | Saadiyat Island

"In terms of various developments and areas, the first priority was to construct the Sheikh Khalifa Bridge and the Sheikh Zayed expressway as a roadway to the island. The second priority was to develop projects that cater to visitors, residents and tourists"

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COMMENT | Real Estate

ROOM FOR IMPROVEMENT After the shock of the property collapse in late 2008, has Dubai’s real estate market learned any lessons? The benefit of hindsight is a great thing but what is changing and is there scope for improvement? Taylor Wessing partner, Mark Fraser, examines the systems and practices in place in Dubai to see how they score.

M

y old headmaster was the doyen of the withering look, the shake of the head and the jaundiced assessment that there was “room for improvement” in our work.

So indelibly etched in my mind are these words that I wonder how he would view real estate practices in Dubai.

In the heady days prior to the collapse of the market in late 2008, it was perhaps understandable that the quick gains to be had would generate a laissez-faire, gung – ho attitude to the acquisition of property. Now that the party is over, and with the benefit of hindsight, is there a case for overhauling or regulating more clearly some of the more questionable practices and systems?

For a kick-off, the unique feature of the Dubai market, whereby a purchaser has to settle the outstanding balance on the seller’s mortgage before a sale completes, is ripe for change.

Why should there be a period during which the seller has transferred funds but does not have title to the property? In the United Kingdom, the solicitors for the seller and purchaser interact whereby the purchaser’s funds are remitted to the seller’s solicitor and the loan/mortgage is discharged at the same time as the title documents are exchanged. Hardly rocket science but the practice has, in-built, a satisfactory level of protection for the purchaser when making such

“For a kick-off, the unique feature of the Dubai market, whereby a purchaser has to settle the outstanding balance on the seller’s mortgage before a sale completes, is ripe for change” a significant investment. As part and parcel of Dubai’s development, is it too much to expect such a practice to evolve here?

Then we have all the fuss over service charges and additional charges which came back to prominence when Nakheel and the shoreline occupiers locked horns somewhat publicly on the access to the beach and its facilities.

Unfortunately, much of the confusion results from poor documentation. If the Sale and Purchase Agreement (SPA) has been drafted properly the position should be clear but often the SPA is deficient in this regard. We really need to reach the position where no property in Dubai is rented out without the landlord proving payment of service charges. However, that will require cooperation and coordination of tenants, landlords, developers and agents but the appetite for such cooperation has been

somewhat lacking.

Finally, there is the old chestnut of Dubai’s Strata Law which, although it came into force on April 1 2008 with specific directions being issued in 2010, has not been rolled out successfully into the projects in Dubai. Enacted to establish the subdivision requirements for buildings with a multiple ownership and to provide machinery to govern management, the Strata Law is well-intentioned but there has to be proper implementation for the system to work. The Strata Law would also benefit from simplification as implementation may be being hindered by complexity. As a result there is still much uncertainty about how the strata regime will be implemented.

On reflection, I can just picture my headmaster’s assessment of current practices and systems in the Dubai, Room for improvement indeed!

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ROUNDTABLE XXXXXXXX || Communication XXXXXXXXXX

Communicating change Technological development has reached an unprecedented pace and is changing how the industry works and communicates, both on site and off. Exploring the issues and opportunities this brings, The Big Project introduces IT directors and senior software developers to UAE telecoms provider du What have been the major technical innovations in your line of work and how has communication developed over the course of your career?

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Mark Fraser: If I still had my way we would be speaking Latin and using quill pens. I remember when fax was introduced. You used to be able to send a letter, get a problem off your desk, then focus on something else for a few days. Suddenly fax came in and we then had email and things became much more instant, but one of the dangers is that people sometimes answer things more quickly than they should and you can see people getting into hot water.

The way technology has advanced is breath-taking and the difficulty is technology advances more quickly than legal systems can keep up and that creates its own challenges and risks to manage and deal with.

Marshall Amoa-Awua: While we used to communicate with project partners by post and currier, now everything is digital and we can access everything all the time on a shared platform. It makes the project quicker and the work flow smoother, and we can control information better.

MF: But the speed at which you now have to develop

design and create designs, does that not pose inherent risk of there being a potential deficiency in that design? Creativity is being held back in that way is it not?

MA: On the contrary. We simply have information that needs technology to be communicated effectively.

Aziz El-Mutwalli: From a service provider point of view, communication has really helped a lot of the architects, project managers and other people key to the project, to be alerted to things ahead of time.

Where the challenge is, is that in the Middle East the cost of this still hasn’t really dropped to the levels of the US and Europe. But I think that in the UAE itself with the introduction of du as a service provider, the trend will have to be to pay less and I think the TRA will definitely be sure that the consumer and the business customer benefits from the reduced costs.

That’s one of the key elements that helps connect all people together. It’s no good to have all your data in one place if you can’t get to it in an instant.

ROUNDTABLE | Communication

“The way technology has advanced is breath-taking and the difficulty is technology advances more quickly than legal systems can keep up” time for technology in construction.

Pat Cooper: There are pros and cons to the way technology has changed, because we have got to a stage now where we demand instant gratification. You will send an email and if there’s no response within half an hour, you wonder what the other person is doing. This mentality actually puts pressure on everybody.

The other thing is with the global financial crisis, and work being short in other areas, the world has become a lot smaller. People and companies are diversifying into other areas at a huge speed and are going into new frontiers.

For that you need online communication even more so. Web-based systems are a priority and those document management systems and all the collaboration and the integrity of your data is all very very important. You need to be able to sit in your office and watch your store keeper sat in Jeddah and that’s a very important part of providing web-based services. paper-centric, excel focussed and email-centric.

In the UK the average profitability on a construction job is 3 to 4%. In the last 18 to 20months the opposite has happened, whereby the profitability in the Middle East is greatly reduced. So a lot of our sales in the UK are to do with supply chains, document management, collaboration and mobility solutions. But we never sold any of those traditionally in the UAE. In the last 12 months, we have seen a change where supply chains, vendor management, communication, online tendering, digital signatures and collaboration is starting to come into force.

This shift happened in the UK probably about four or five years ago. It’s an interesting

How has communication helped to develope your sector?

AM: A lot of the communication is important now because you have virtual teams around the globe. You have designer that might cost you less in a certain geography so communication is critical for those virtual teams and more and more a lot of projects are utilising that.

They are bringing big teams in a specific industry to work on a specific project for a length of time and that will help them. But I do agree with Paul – we are looking at new tools to see how to make a difference and how to reduce costs and deliver a better service at the end of the day.

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Photographs by Cris Mejorada

Email has set an expectation, SMS has set another expectation mobile devices set another expectation and now we have iPad. The role of these tools has evolved how designers do business, how project managers do business and it is really important that it continues to develop because it will give the client the information they need at their finger tips.

But you still have to go back to people; technology is a tool.

Paul Madeira: As a software developer, I think that our greatest competitor in the Middle East is still excel spreadsheets and paper. We have been fascinated to find that although we sell to developers, consultants and contractors, the form of communication between them is still a

Photographs by Cris Mejorada

ROUNDTABLE XXXXXXXX || Communication XXXXXXXXXX

LEFT: Aziz El-Mutwalli.

PM: Picking up on Marshall’s point, another massive shift in construction has been the introduction of BIM. Just to open that up a little bit it’s a massive change in the way the platforms operate. So typically you would have a CAD drawing and you would use a pen and digitise it, that’s now moving to 2D drawings which can be shared – if they’re allowed to be – to 3D, which is the sharing of data. So if you can get that information into a model, that data then can be dispensed into any application.

There is a global industry body called BuildingSmart, and BuildingSmart is talking to governments around the world about the sharing of information to connect the supply chain from the architect to FM. So interoperability between systems is now the number one key point and sharing of data on a collaborative platform has now changed construction. People are talking about BIM. There are still legal, contractual, security, transparency issues, a lot of teething issues, but the industry is now talking about sharing data.

That’s big.

MF: That’s incredibly refreshing in a construction environment that traditionally has been very confrontational and if this is a brave new world that technology is shaping in terms of sharing and collaboration, could it be the case that things improve as a result of technology?

PM: What is driving this is reduction in claims, reduction in costs, reduction in variances and changes, so people are aware of things before they are actually done. To back up the statement that this is now happened fast, the UK government has just mandated that by 2016, any construction in the whole of the UK worth more than £5million has to be done in a collaborative manner, otherwise you won’t be awarded the project.

In Singapore, the government body for construction, BCA, has mandated that unless it’s BIM certified you won’t get anything awarded and if it is BIM certified you will be given 50% of the purchase cost of the system from the government.

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“Certain governments say the data has to sit locally and that we have to own the server.

Sometimes a server is a very costly thing, but regionally there still isn’t that trust yet.”

MF: How clear is BIM certification?

PM: Not very but you have to take your software to it and ask if it complies with the interoperability; is it able to share, and going back to what I said, the holistic view of everybody living together in this manner is in its embryonic stages. But in aviation BIM has been used to complete projects on time and on date for years.

What are the threats that you can identify currently and how are they changing the environment?

AM: There are so many. As a global company, AECOM has data across the globe. It would be relatively easy for a hacker to potentially gain

“I think the word social is going to change because it’s actually not social anymore.

It’s a seriously good business tool.”

access to that if they chose to attack our systems.

Going back to BIM it is a great move forward if construction happens to build on this more because that data becomes useful for other things. We are able to see a lot of data about our projects but again it is a concern from a legal perspective, it is a big important part to ensure that threat is mitigated and controlled and it’s a scary world because a lot of people are getting a lot smarter in terms of breaking into things.

Organisations like Wikileaks and Anonymous are a big threat and there have to be ways to try and control that.

PM: We find that the question of where the data is hosted is asked a lot. We use data centres in the UK, but selling to a company in Abu Dhabi where the data is in the UK, isn’t easy. We will have to start to use data centres in the Middle East.

AM: In Qatar we have similar requirements where we have applications based out of the US, but certain governments say the data has to sit locally and that we have to own the server.

Sometimes a server is a very costly thing, but regionally there still isn’t that trust yet.

If they want the data held locally we have to make sure that option is there or they own it themselves and say this is what you need and

ROUNDTABLE XXXXXXXX || Communication XXXXXXXXXX

LEFT: Paul Madeira.

this is how we will implement it and they will own that software.

But there are companies that have managed to break that trend and I’m surprised that one of the most important parts is just sales force.

Companies that manage to break into the region, people begin to trust that brand and you’re trusting a provider with all your leads and all your accounts, so that’s a great achievement when they give that to you.

Photographs by Cris Mejorada

What are the challenges you observe from cost, security or availability perspectives?

Jatin Sahni: All this puts pressure on the company in an area that is not related to its core business. Construction companies don’t want to have to spend time on these issues and put a department around it. So there are two observations du has made; companies don’t want to manage the data centre and they don’t want the data to be held somewhere else for security reasons. They would want us to manage the data within their company and that is something we have seen a huge demand for over the last 18 months.

AM: The need for a data centre to handle files of a certain size and the problem with that last mile connectivity, the cost of that is still very prohibitive for companies like ours to outsource.

I went through a whole exercise a year ago to look into hosting and it was simply much cheaper for us to just set up our own data room and unfortunately I don’t want to manage the data. It’s an old way of doing things and like you said our core business is not IT. I would rather pin an SLA on you because when something goes wrong I can come back to you. Until we have that connectivity that’s always going to be a challenge for companies.

JS: The UAE is a very unique environment.

The demand from when we started in 2007 has increased massively but in the last 18 months I think operators have been moving away from pipe-based operators to the service-based market.

PM: Earlier Pat spoke about being in Dubai and

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“When you’re working in Excel, you’re taking a risk as a company. I have seen some of the most magnificent spreadsheets that are better than some computer programmes, but that employee leaves and it’s gone.” having a conversation with someone in Jeddah, the interesting thing there is that although we are moving towards browser and web-based applications, you turn up on site and the Jeddah office doesn’t have the bandwidth. Bandwidth has been an issue on our more remote sites.

PC: When there was building on the marina a few years ago, you couldn’t even get cell phone reception in the basement of buildings.

Going back to the hosting environment, you also have to look at the various business models; applications are scalable both down and up so you also have the small contractors, sub contractors for example. They don’t have the infrastructure to manage this; they don’t have the skills or budget in house. So they want to give a contract and make that somebody else’s responsibility.

That is critical to the small contractor and even more so the small contractor is starting to play a major role to the industry in the UAE. As

a problem and lastly they need a software provider. All this can come from a one stop shop and those are the discussions we are having.

That will drive the economy in terms of connectivity. If you’re looking at bandwidth, the last three years or so we have seen up to a 90% drop in prices compared to what they used to be when we came into the market.

It is moving in the right direction but it is a point of having the right infrastructure in place.

Are there any legal loopholes that pose a threat and does the legislation exist to protect companies?

MF: Technology is developing so fast the law cannot keep up with it, so you have understood legal principles, which may not fit the speed at which the technology is advancing. One major consideration would be the attitude of thought

“If you’re looking at bandwidth, the last three years or so we have seen up to a 90% drop in prices compared to what they used to be when we came into the market.” the work is changing there aren’t those major jobs anymore and so the major companies sub contract work out.

That’s the problem the industry is facing, the margin isn’t there anymore and you have to have the tools to protect that margin; that is the key regardless of the software you are using.

JS: Recently we have been working very closely with the Khalifa Fund to make sure that any SME that gets a licence, actually has the capability to drive the economy. So IT infrastructure is becoming a prerequisite to get a business licence.

PC: It’s not cost effective for the SME to have this whole IT department.

JS: Exactly and they have a different person managing their laptop, they go to the servie provider for connectivity, they have somebody not on the pay roll to be called out when there’s

RIGHT: Mark Fraser.

working for you and the IT team will turn their email off. All that information is in a PST file, and the contents aren’t given to the successor, the address is just turned off. So every email written has been locked in and cannot be accessed.

Our applications are now helping to move those old emails into a central data repository so they can be indexed and you search on that data to get information out that was submitted by email. That’s massive.

MF: Imagine if you were to be faced with a major litigation or arbitration and all of that material may be disclosable.

PC: That’s where you need these document control management systems where you can load email directly from your server to the document management systems, particularly for the litigation reasons.

Your day to day happenings on a project are recorded as are the drawings and all those things become critical in a claim so to have that document management system recorded, live and available is imperative.

When you’re working in Excel, you’re taking a risk as a company. I have seen some of the most magnificent spreadsheets that are better than some computer programmes, but that

The Panel Pat Cooper senior consultant, CCS Vice Chairman, Emirates Green Building Council Graham Braybrooke technical consultant, CCS Paul Madeira COO, Causeway Mark Fraser partner, Taylor Wessing Dubai Aziz El-Mutwalli director of information technology, AECOM Marshall Amoa-Awua senior technical manager, Hill International Ali Al Ali director, direct sales, commercial, du Jatin Sahni senior director marketing (enterprise segment) commercial, du

Photographs by Cris Mejorada

to the limitation of liability and loss of profit should the service be interrupted.

For example, if you have a bank and its services are interrupted or data is lost, it could wipe billions of its market value. The question is, if you are the service provider in that situation it is too big a risk to take on and is actually uninsurable. So the primary legal issue is how to allocate the risk.

The golden rules of risk allocation is to allocate it to the party best able to deal with it. But the disaster recovery point is probably one of the most topical issues at the moment.

MA: One of my concerns is that we put all our information in one place. If it goes down, it takes out the whole business.

AM: Usually a service provider will have a data centre in another city or country and that’s just making sure that a company’s data is secure and recoverable. For a construction company, what if you have a multi-million dollar project and the system goes down and the data is gone or corrupted, that has to be costed.

PM: We have a client in Abu Dhabi and their challenge is that there is so much data on email and they need to be able to search and index it.

Intellectual property is a massive thing here in the Middle East, whereby somebody will stop

ROUNDTABLE | Communication

LEFT: Ali Al Ali.

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Photographs by Cris Mejorada

ROUNDTABLE XXXXXXXX || Communication XXXXXXXXXX

LEFT:Graham Braybrooke.

“The role of these tools has evolved how designers do business, how project managers do business and it is really important that it continues to develop because it will give the client the information they need at their finger tips.”

employee leaves and it’s gone. When you have registered, outsourced, software applications and hosting, all those applications that guarantee the integrity of your data, for those litigation problems and the day to day management of your company, is a critical process.

The volume of documentation on projects is huge; each revision has to be logged.

easier for the ex-QS to explain that transition, than an IT specialist.

Graham Braybrooke: We have discussed all the technical aspects of this but haven’t touched on the human aspect of it. There is a massive pool of experienced people in the industry around the world, who are unwilling to make technological transitions and evolve with us.

Where do you see the future of communication technology?

In reality, considering the pace of technological development, do they have that choice?

AM: If you look at the future, text is going away. At some point, maybe not during my lifetime, but people won’t even write any more. So again the amount of information you will have to be able to store and manage and transfer is going to be tremendous. Video is the way now.

MF: That hits the nail on head – the practice of quantity surveying used to describe in text how a building was going to be procured and constructed and Aziz you say that you think text is going to go out of the window.

MA: Everything will be visual.

PM: We have employees who were quantity surveyors, helping people who are quantity surveyors move away from manual processes and use cost cloud estimating, because it’s

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GB: Even if the policies and procedure exist within the company it really doesn’t matter. It’s a big concern and it happens a lot. People don’t want to change with technology.

PM: The carbon footprint in the Middle East on the tender process is the highest, because when a job comes for tender there are probably 30 to 50 contractors going after it. Our software is being used for the tender process to generate the numbers that then have to be printed and stored in stacks of folders. Each of these 35 or 40 folders to go the airport, hospital, wherever and the first thing is to try and get to the cheapest price. So 28 for example are binned. Only then, are they happy to get onto a collaborative document management system to share data.

So one of the challenges is trying to remove the paper from the tender process. If software could have a stamp, it would be perfect!

MF: The interesting thing here is that you are in a civil code environment and until that changes, and that is a big change, the requirement for stamps and signatures and legal formalities is much higher than in a common law environment.

Ali al Ali: I think is one of the government’s aims to go for e-systems in every sector. I think that we need to have a very strong construction association in this country to facilitate that development. This isn’t at the same level as the more advanced countries here.

That’s where we face an issue with construction companies. We are trying to go with the less wasteful approach, but certain companies’ finance departments do not allow us to send e-billing.

PM: We are selling systems that scan the invoice so you can still do internal processes. So document management systems, when an invoice comes in still requires an approval process.

AM: The problem is people stay with their existing processes and that’s a big challenge.

When you’re collecting applications or solutions, you have to change your process to improve that but in most cases those processes aren’t changed. You still go through six steps because that’s how it’s done.

PC: At that level, the change management can happen in your processes in the business, but not above that. And it’s actually going to probably take a generation to change that.

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ROUNDTABLE XXXXXXXX || Communication XXXXXXXXXX

LEFT: Pat Cooper.

Regarding change management, what are the key drivers and how do you sell ‘change’ to people?

PC: First of all you have to be in favour of change. To me that’s the challenge; you have to be excited about it. People want an easy life and people are generally lazy; you can work long hours, but when it comes to processes you want those processes to be easy.

That’s what I portray to get the change across: ‘I’m going to make your life easier; I’m going to make your job better’.

With this whole information overload, we can’t get to the information that’s available to us on a day to day basis, there’s just not enough time. You have to get through that it’s not just the information, it’s how to use it.

That’s the critical thing.

AM: If it’s going to make life easier, change is realistic.

We have spoken at length about security, but who here has conducted an independent assessment of their own systems?

Photographs by Cris Mejorada

“The UK government has just mandated that by 2016, any construction in the whole of the UK worth more than £5million has to be done in a collaborative manner, otherwise you won’t be awarded the project.”

AM: We have internal and external audits and have ISO certifications, which are very important; clients demand it as a business requirement. You have to have checks and balances.

MA: We have procedures to manage our projects, so we have regular audits to monitor and check what we are using and also our company procedures.

AM: Hosting and doing all that is very important because it takes away that responsibility from an IT perspective and it becomes the provider’s responsibility, for example, to give their certification, because it costs money. For example for us, we would have to have a generator in our data centre to meet some of the requirements. Not every company can keep doing that.

JS: I think the biggest challenge we face is not knowing that there may be a security issue. Top companies are being attacked on their own servers and that isn’t about where the server is.

Within the domain you have firewalls and other applications present but the problem is are these up to date? How are you monitoring your security against the latest attacks that are happening globally?

We have a secure data centre that monitors threats on a global scale. The point is that we have to move away from thinking we are secure and begin to make those checks.

50 | www.thebigprojectme.com

AA: We visited a logistics company and sat with the IT director to explain the security aspects and importance of them. He said the company is secure and they have no issues, so we asked to do a test to see if he was right. We did the test and he was shocked when he found out there was an attack on his information.

Another time we received a call from an aviation client and a new attack was beginning in the region. The website was down and globally nobody could access it. We found out there was a huge attack just starting and we were able to clean it up. It is very very important for every medium and large company in this country. On a personal note 35 to 50% of all your emails is spam. 70 to 75% of your personal email is spam as well.

PM: We are rolling out an application with a client with cost planning for their clients globally. The application we have is a generic application and one of the things we are being drawn to is data protection around the client information and also permissions and auditability.

AM: There has been a huge increase of targeted phishing, spear phishing as they call it now, where a COO or GM is targeted specifically. For us we have our own security out there and in the US we have captured a lot of attempts.

“For a construction company, what if you have a multi-million dollar project and the system goes down and the data is gone or corrupted? That has to be costed”

What do you look for when selecting ICT and communications partners?

MA: We are looking for a partner that can give us the support we need and is able to grow as one of us. Ability and flexibility are very important when you need to communicate world-wide.

AM: One of the challenges is that because we operate similarly in many geographies, the reach is critical. Unfortunately that isn’t available yet here in the Middle East and you have to change providers and networks as you move geographies. This isn’t just a Telco issue, but the ability to host also.

The other challenges are that there is still an element of sell and forget. The commitment is fulfilled but going forward there will be challenges.

PC: Your relationship with any service provider, especially software, needs to be strong. You have to have a partner and not a service provider. In any software purchase no matter what size, somewhere down the line you are going to need support in the implementation process.

Communications is the same. You are going to need support from the person who supplied that bandwidth or the security hosting.

ROUNDTABLE XXXXXXXX || Communication XXXXXXXXXX

LEFT: Jatin Sahni.

RIGHT: Marshall Amoa-Awua.

Are there any legal complications that companies should be aware of when choosing a communications partner?

MF: It touches on Aziz’s point, if there isn’t depth in the market the information must be kept somewhere else to enable you to move to another supplier or provider. The three buzz terms from a legal perspective are security, access and location.

How has construction reacted to cloud computing and social media?

AM: I think it’s just a change of term. It has been around for a long long time. The new buzz word is SAS, software as a service. From AECOM’s perspective this is a direction we are going in and we are doing our own private cloud for the region.

PM: Our investment over the last year for technology has doubled around applications built for cloud. The concept of hosting your information in the ether now, even just via apple, is phenomenal. Everything is synchronised and social media is huge here.

AM: I would add to that point, social media and corporate social media is a growing trend.

PC: Social media in the corporate world is an untouched source.

MF: It’s a massive risk. As an example, you have almost everybody in this room using and connecting on LinkedIn. Some traditional companies where the value is the client base and contacts they have built up over the years, that’s known as a trade secret. So we have an employee on LinkedIn and a lot of that trade secret is built into that trade network and you have the bad people who can join the dots and access and use that company information. It’s a massive risk. The other danger is the element of trust. Because you know somebody you communicate much more openly and the bad people can set systems up to entrap people.

Photographs by Cris Mejorada

“The cost of the bandwidth is still too high and as a company we may know what we want but when I take that cost to our CEO, his jaw drops.

Especially compared to prices in other geographies”

52 | www.thebigprojectme.com

PM: But it’s also an excellent business tool.

PC: But it has to be used properly.

MF: One of the biggest risks of social media is from a defamation point of view, so govern yourselves accordingly. You need to have a social media policy that is communicated clearly through training and implemented. If you don’t and you want to take a disciplinary measure, you have prejudiced your situation.

AM: It is the future, and I think email is going to go away and be replaced with social platforms.

PC: I think the word social is going to change because it’s actually not social anymore. It’s a seriously good business tool.

AM: From an innovation point of view you get instant feedback on an idea. The internet took off quickly compared to television, for example, but the rise of social networks is happening a lot quicker.

PC: The body of information that is available is phenomenal. If you post a problem on a forum for example, you have people around the world giving you potential solutions. That sharing of information is fantastic.

AM: And I think that soon we will move from a

typed communication to video and interactive modes.

PC: Conference interviewing and training is another major breakthrough especially when headhunting talent from around the world.

MA: If you want to see the person you are interviewing for a project before making any commitments and they need to be interviewed by us and by the client, video conferencing is absolutely the way to do that.

JS: When the volcanic ash cloud stopped flights in Europe two years ago there was a huge rise in the demand for video conferencing.

AM: One of the challenges we face is that people have their computer and communication tools but as the IT department we have to compete with that expectation to allow people to talk to each other. It works in their homes, but they don’t understand the complexity we face as IT directors to deliver collaborative communication tools for business purposes.

The cost of the bandwidth is still too high and as a company we may know what we want but when I take that cost to our CEO, his jaw drops. Especially compared to prices in other geographies. The price has come down a lot but the infrastructure to drop those costs is paid for and I think it’s time to pass that on.

JS: When talking about the bandwidth, the cost we pass on is directly proportional to the bandwidth you take. So if the bandwidth is small your costs are higher, then you look at globally the Googles and the Yahoos have such high bandwidth the cost comes down.

The discussion was held at du’s Dubai head office

SUPPLIER | NEWS

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

MAF Dalkia

Grohe AG

Schoeck

Energy and facilities management provider MAF Dalkia has received four ‘best in class’ certifications under the ISO scheme introduced last year.

The certifications include three new recognitions: ISO 14001 for environmental management, ISO 50001 for energy management, OHSAS 18001 for occupational health and safety management. In addition the ISO 9001 quality management certification has been renewed.

MAF Dalkia say the award of the ISE 14001 and ISO 50001 are the first such certifications for a business in the Middle East; the latter certification was introduced mid 2011.

“The ISO and OHSAS status enables us to set new benchmarks in the delivery of our services across the Middle East region, and creates a higher standard to which we can track, measure and continually improve our performance,” said CEO said Alex Mussallam.

The OHSAS 18001 certification demonstrates MAF Dalkia’s commitment to employee health and safety, and minimising risk or accidents in the workplace. The new OHSAS 18001 provides a framework that MAF Dalkia started to implement across the Middle East.

“We’re pleased to be the first business in region to receive this recognition, and MAF Dalkia will continue to operate as a socially responsibly business that exceeds stakeholder expectations,” Mussallam added.

The providers projects span healthcare, aviation, banking, commercial, hospitality and telecommunications.

Sanitary fittings provider Grohe has unveiled a new concept, in Lebannon called Grohe Spa, specifically for the Middle East and Africa Market.

Designed to transform the bathroom into a “personal haven”, Grohe says the new spa range can be cutomised to suit a range of design and experience preferences.

“Grohe Spa has been developed in direct response to an emerging trend; people are investing more effort and dedicating more space to creating a relaxing bathroom experience,” said senior VP of design at Grohe, Paul Flowers.

“The concept is about evolving a traditionally rational space for cleaning and grooming into an emotional space that enhances wellbeing,” Flowers added.

The collection is available in three styles: Ondus, Allure and Atrio.

At the launch Simon G. Shaya, General Manager and President, GROHE East Mediterranean and Middle East and Africa commented: “Unlike a commercial spa, your home spa can be tailored specifically to your needs. Set your ideal water temperature and pressure and indulge your senses. With this new Spa collection we aim to help you escape to your personal sanctuary every day and enjoy water.”

Grohe AG is Europe’s largest sanitary fittings supplier and currently the company holds a market share of roughly 8%, among the world’s leading manufacturers of sanitary fittings.

The company is headquartered in Hemer, Germany, with a corporate centre in Düsseldorf, and currently employs 5400 people.

Sandwich walls can now be created quicker, cheaper and with a higher grade of energy-efficiency then previously, following Shoeck’s introduction of Combar thermal anchor in the Middle East.

With the Schoeck ComBAR thermal anchor the outer shell connects to the bearing shell of prefabricated walls. The product can be used to build cellars and walls of freestanding single family houses, multi-storey construction and in industrial buildings.

In high-rise engineering, the use of prefabricated walls is also on the increase. Better thermal insulation U-values of the exterior walls result in a better energy balance of the building.

The new Schoeck ComBAR thermal anchor offers a range of advantages in thermally insulated prefabricated walls. In comparison, reinforced steel has a lambda value (thermal conductivity) of 60 W/mK, stainless steel has 15 W/mK while ComBAR has 0.5 W/mK. In addition, the tensile strength of ComBAR is more than twice as high as that of steel. Along with the technical advantages, ComBAR thermal anchor offers a more affordable price in comparison to the stainless steel lattice solution.

“Thermal insulation is a key consideration in any building in the UAE and Middle East and we believe, with the ComBAR thermal anchor we have developed another product that is not only perfect for our region due to value and quality, but more viable in this economic climate as well,” commented managing director of Schoeck Middle East Dipl.-Ing. Christoph Spitz.

‘Best in class’ certifications awarded

54 | www.thebigprojectme.com

New concept launched to MEA

Combar thermal anchor released in Middle East

38 Production facilities operated by Jotun in 39 countries

Jotun Coatings

Al Sayegh

Al Reyadah

Jotun’s coating systems have been certified as passing the IMO PSPC for COT tests, with the new rules expected to come into effect in January 2013.

Focused on maintaining the long-term integrity of tanks, the new standard requires that all coatings used in the tanks must provide long-term protection against the corrosive effects of crude oil. Jotun says its systems “performed well in these vigorous tests”.

“Jotun welcomes the IMO regulations as they ensure a given standard for the whole coating process, from steel preparation to control measures,” said Ulf Skovly sales manager marine Jotun UAE. “Type approval for coating systems ensures that our customers can trust they are selecting appropriate and high-performance coating systems, fit for purpose,” Skovly added.

The tests were undertaken at an IMOapproved test institute, COT in the Netherlands, on several tank coating systems.

The first test simulates the composition of the vapour phase in crude oil tanks both in ballast and in fully loaded condition. The second test simulates immersion in a crude oil tank with a model liquid developed to replicate some of the most corrosive crude oils.

Worldwide Jotun has 70 companies and 38 production facilities spanning 39 countries on all continents, and agents, branch offices and distributors in more than 80 countries.

Jotun’s total sales in 2010 were NOK 13,452 million, and have today 7,800 employees. The Jotun Group has four divisions.

Al Sayegh Brothers Trading Group (Al Sayegh) and LG Electronics (LG) have marked 10 years of their distribution partnership with an event in Dubai.

“We’ve had a very fruitful partnership with LG over the past years and we look forward to creating a wider presence and demand for both companies,” said al Sayegh Brother director, Mansour Al Sayegh.

“At Al Sayegh, consumer satisfaction is the top priority and LG products are a perfect fit to meet those demands. The arrival of Mr. D.Y. Kim goes hand in hand with the strategic alignment and expansion plans that we anticipate and we look forward to our continued partnership,” Al Sayegh added.

Mr. D.Y. Kim, president LG Gulf FZE also commented saying “We are delighted to have Al Sayegh as our strategic partner and sole distributers in promoting LG’s presence in the UAE. We share the same company values and innovative foresight and the drive to offer our customers the latest in advanced and innovative technology.

Through this we aim to achieve greater growth and expansion in 2012 and beyond.”

The company’s operations diversify into sectors called; consumer electronics, home appliances, fashion and lifestyle, oil and gas services, IT integration services, restaurants and catering services, in addition to marine recreation. The success of Al Sayegh Brothers Trading Group is directly linked to its committed partners, loyal customers, dedicated staff and vast retail networks that ensure delivering world-class products and services.

Al Reyadah has won a contract to manage AC installations in luxury villas belonging to B2B Hotels and Properties LLC. B2B Hotels, a joint venture between TDIC and Al Fahim Group, appointed Al Reyadah for their “high technical expertise and their full dedication”, in addition to their round the clock technical support.

“We take pride that all the components of our B2B complex has a strikingly unique architecture while the beachfront aspect offers the highest level of aesthetics and elegance,” said B2B’s Abdul Wahid.

The complex is a half a million square feet development that includes AAA commercial tower, the Fairmont Bab Al Bahr Hotel and 19 state of the art contemporary villas, strategically located at the mainland gateway to Abu Dhabi, UAE. “Moreover, the well planned landscaped areas across the property, the F&B outlets and the abundance of parking spaces enhance the leading position of the complex not only in the UAE but also across the region,” Wahid added.

Al Reyadah’s general manager Engineer Mohammed Swairjo, said that the demands of such clients can be challenging, but in house operations ensure these demands are met.

“We are delighted to be appointed by a leading hospitality group to manage the AC system at these luxury villas. The demands of customers are challenging, however, we follow a well rounded customer service system that allows us to streamline and cater to individual requests,” Swairjo said.

Systems pass IMO PSPC for COT tests

Decade in partnership with LG celebrated

AC management luxury villa contract

www.thebigprojectme.com | 55

CAREER LADDER SUPPLIER | NEWS | Coryn Hellewell

“We’re pleased to be the first business in region to receive this recognition, and will continue to operate as a socially responsibly business that exceeds stakeholder expectations”

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SUPPLIER PROFILE | Jotun Paints

Warehouse will empty in 7 days if we stop production.

Corporate care Following the successful promotion of its existing green activities, Jotun UAE general manager, Trine Finnevolden, talks about CSR and new product launches

O

ver its 40 year Middle East history, the name Jotun has become almost synonymous with the word paint, but one thing it hasn’t promoted is its green activities.

With much of the company’s R&D activities coming from its global headquarters in Norway, the environmental standards adhered go above and beyond anything specified regionally. This year, Jotun – which is also the only Masdar approved paint supplier in the UAE – will be shouting about its sustainable achievements with a marketing campaign called Green Steps, which covers the five elements of Jotun’s green activities.

“We have been operating in Europe, the Middle East and South East Asia so it means it is different legislation in different parts of the world so we comply to the highest standard in

ABOVE: Trine Finnevolden.

“We have a whole set of testing procedures for interior and exterior paints. In these tests we have particular standards to be passed and it’s often international standards”

www.thebigprojectme.com | 57

SUPPLIER PROFILE | Jotun Paints

Quality and safety testing equipment.

product range and project portfolio, the marketing drives behind these are becoming ever more inventive.

Social media and smart phones have become key in marketing to the consumer clientele in Europe, with colour matching apps and the ability to send friends colour suggestions via Facebook. The success of both allow future Middle East launches also.

“Social media is more and more important to share inspiration with people and when the recession hit we made the decision not to cut back on product launches and advertising,” comments Finnevolden.

If production stoped, this warehouse would only be able to meet demand for seven days.

each area, and if those standards aren’t very high, we follow our own company standard,” comments JOB TITLE Trine Finnevolden.

“We also have a HSE standard and policy that goes across our global regulations,” she adds, also commenting that Dubai Municipality’s introduction of new standards to improve environmental safety and human health, will help raise awareness of the hazardous elements of paint.

Last year Jotun launched its heat reflective JotaShield Extreme; fully acrylic formulation with heat reflective capability to extend is durability and cool the building.

“It is a paint that is more than a paint because it doesn’t just give the colour and protection. It has been very well received in all Middle East markets and we expect that to continue to increase because it’s the perfect timing to launch this product,” Finnevolden explains.

Saying that green products require green factories to have any real impact, Finnevolden begins to list the steps that have been taken during Jotun’s manufacturing process for the last 20 years, including the use of recycled water to clean tanks; the reuse and recycling of metal drums and other waste metal, plastic and carton packaging.

Factory operations are automised to also reduce waste and raw materials transferred transported and stored in 40,000 gallon tanks to remove the need for 200 litre drums.

Jotun has an internal goal to reduce the environmental impact of the factory process; due to yield results in 2012, Finnevolden adds.

58 | www.thebigprojectme.com

“We also have a HSE standard and policy that goes across our global regulations” “When it comes to partners, business customers and even our own employees they are all very concerned about the environment. Our employees like to say that they work in a company that takes this seriously,” she says.

“This is especially true in the large projects where we have consultants, architects and clients from all over the world. They are maybe used to working to more strict legislation elsewhere and they source materials that match the highest regulations.”

It’s not just care for the environment that is promoted; the local community is also on the corporate radar as demonstrated through the 12 year partnership with Dubai-based special needs school Al Noor.

Jotun donates paints for art classes and decorative purposes; the company’s interior architects helped design the class rooms and one of the school’s former pupils is employed in Jotun’s warehouse, an element Finnevolden describes by saying: “The best CSR initiative that we have is that we can help a person and their family.” In addition, the company actively conducts charity work over Ramadan.

In the midst of these drives, Jotun is still producing paint and with an ever expanding

In order to ensure the products themselves are also market leaders, R&D is conducted in both Norway and Dubai and existing products are continually tested both in house and in independent laboratories such as those at Dubai Municipality – for whom Jotun supplied all interior and exterior paint for Dubai Metro – and Masdar – where Jotun provided all paints and gained recognition on the institute’s FutureBuild programme.

“We have a whole set of testing procedures for interior and exterior paints. In these tests we have particular standards to be passed and it’s often international standards.

So there are specialist instruments used to test each of the products and different instruments are used for exterior and interior products,” Finnevolden explains “We test for flexibility, scratch resistance, hardness and durability of the paint, the force required to remove the paint. For example, for corrosion resistance we have six months of testing, which is equivalent to three to four years of outdoor exposure,” she continues.

“At Jotun we have a slogan saying ‘Jotun protects properties’ and our paint can be used to beautify and protect,” she concludes.

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SUPPLIER XXXXXXXX FEATURE | XXXXXXXXXX | COATINGS

“Over the next decade we see much growth, but the icing on the cake could come from MDF.”

Coating tomorrow Following the Middle East Coatings exhibition last month, The Big Project speaks to coatings pioneers Jotun about the next step in coating Ram Ramnath, general manager, Jotun Powder Coatings

What’s the current status of the powder coatings industry in the region?

Ram Ramnath: In this region, PCs constitute only about 5% of the coatings and painting market. It’s a small niche, but even so it’s a fairly large market in absolute size. If you look at the whole Middle East region, it’s probably a billion dirham market just for powder coatings.

With our strength as a market leader across MENA, we believe we are well positioned for growth even if the last couple of years have been a bit flat. Saudi Arabia and Qatar are booming now but Abu Dhabi is promising also.

Are there any specific trends you have witnessed in the market recently?

RR: We saw fantastic growth from 2004 to 2008. In the last two or three years the projects market has shifted to Saudi Arabia and Qatar.

There is construction and the use of powder coatings is increasing because there is more and more metal and glass, rather than concrete and wood, and wherever there is metal there is a role for powder coatings.

Photographs by Jay Colina.

How do you promote the versatility of powder coatings to architects?

RR: We meet with them regularly and have good relationships with all the leading firms in the region.

Some of the projects we have done have been with really top class international architects, such as Foster and Partners, RMJM, SOM. But architects are quick to see the benefits of powder coatings because it gives them a lot of flexibility to meet the aesthetic needs of the building. Secondly, they have seen the track record of powder coatings for buildings here for a number of years and they know it is a product that performs well in local weather conditions.

60 | www.thebigprojectme.com

Thirdly, they know there are products now that will even help to improve the sustainability rating of buildings. There are number of factors under performance, aesthetics, sustainability; in all three areas powder coatings score over other technologies and in application is it a solvent free product.

We are also planning to launch some products that will reduce the amount of energy used to apply the product and cure the powder coating. These products reduce the temperature at which you cure the powder coating.

How do you see the powder coatings market developing over the coming decade?

RR: I think the construction, oil and gas and general industrial applications will continue to be the main market for powder coatings.

Wherever countries are getting more and more industrialised, powder coatings will grow, so at the moment there is a lot of growth in China and India, in line with the growth in industrial applications.

What we are really hoping for is a breakthrough from substrates other than metal, especially with MDF. If we can apply powder coating to a piece of wood or MDF like this then it opens up a whole new world of powder coatings.

The research has been going on for quite a few years now and we have recently launched a few products, including Eracoat, to specifically target the MDF market.

There are still some limitations; the quality of MDF is variable, which affects the finished effect of the powder coating. That is why the technology has not really grown to the extent we wanted it to.

Over the next decade we see much growth, but the icing on the cake could come from MDF.

How is Jotun’s R&D conducted?

RR: A lot of research is focussed on firstly improving performance of the products in humid conditions, without losing their colour,

ABOVE: Ram Ramnath, general manager, Jotun Powder Coatings at the Dubai production plant.

gloss, finish and otehr properties. The focus has been on improving the durability of these coatings; if you look at our first, second and third generation products, really the most important thread that runs through all of this is improving the durability and resistance to the elements.

Also we have done a lot of work on improving the aesthetics of the coating; part of it is not just improving the functionality, it’s about looking good for a number of years. So we have launched matt and metallic effect colours; wood effect such as the surfaces on the Madinat Jumeirah – that’s just coated aluminium.

Now the focus is on sustainability and helping to reduce the carbon footprint of products.

We have a product for the aluminium industry called Cool Shades, which is basically a heat reflective powder coating. It reduces the amount of heat that gets into a building and therefore the AC load and ultimately the carbon footprint.

In the same way we have done things in the oil and gas industry that can perform better at higher and higher temperatures, because you need products that can withstand up to 110˚C in operation.

“Architects are quick to see the benefits of powder coatings; flexibility to meet the aesthetic needs of the building and knowledge that it is a product that performs well in local weather conditions”

SUPPLIER FEATURE | COATINGS

Once in a decade

Anton G van Beek, VP and general manager DCM EMEA and Dr. Ilham Kadri, general manager advanced materials MEA tell The Big Project about the innovation that has brought the company to launch a “once in a decade” product

Anton G van Beek: Evoque is an absolute mega platform. It’s the kind of product you invent once every ten years and we are very fortunate to be in the middle of launching that technology. It improves the performance of the paint, has extremely low VOC levels, and is the best performing paint in terms of lifecycle analysis.

On top of that we are launching a traffic paint here called Fast Track and thirdly we are launching PACKARDY.

Which is Dow’s biggest market currently and how are trends changing?

AB: The biggest market in the world for us is Saudi Arabia because of the oil production and they demand very highly resistant anti-corrosion technology.

Demand is very strong and there is continuous investment in construction, so from the demand perspective we see a tremendous future and are investing locally in a complete regional management framework.

The second element on the growth agenda is that people are very willing to work with us to explore how to substitute solvent-based for water-based technology.

There are two elements of growth; the first is the growth itself and secondly within that the additional growth of water based technology.

How have science and technology developed to help Dow meet these changing demands in the market?

AB: That’s really, from the moment we start to design a product it’s ultimately a sustainability agenda. We have really been working on sustainability for decades and today we have real innovations to address the topic. For example we are launching very new paints with no odour.

We have a new technology called Evoque that doesn’t need components that are negative in life cycle analysis. Those are our collaborations in the industry and that topic is globally the same; it is not a topic just for Scandinavia or Germany or California. This region embraces that and there is no difference in sustainability

between the Middle East and Scandinavia, or China for example.

What is Dow’s definition of sustainability?

Dr Kadri: If you Google the word sustainability, you will find a different definition with every click. It is a buzz word today, but the best definition I have found in our company is coming from our founder Herbert Dow back in 1897.

He said: “If you cannot do it better, why do it at all”. So it’s all about doing things better and that is doing more with less. And by ‘more’, we mean in terms of performance with fewer materials that are negative in terms of product lifecycle.

That is science and we are a science company.

For example in terms of our methods of water treatment, if you can reuse the waste it is no longer waste, because the waste is a resource.

AB: The good thing is if you are only trying to use sustainability as a market gimmick it isn’t going to work. The beauty we have in this region is that we have scientists translating sustainability into concepts.

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Photographs by Jay Colina.

Can you explain a little about the technology behind Evoque?

SUPPLIER XXXXXXXX FEATURE | XXXXXXXXXX | COATINGS

LEFT: Ram Ramnath at the Jotun coatings storage and warehouse. BELOW: Dr. Ilham Kadri, Dow.

IK: If you look at the history of this region, people are excited about suitability but there is no regulation there. Compared to Europe or the US we are still an unregulated market.

Our customers are prepared, we are prepared, we are making sustainable products right here in the region, but the market needs a framework to support the end user. It’s our duty to raise the awareness of sustainability among our end users.

In this region we are using four planets per person on average in terms of resources, in Europe they are using about 2.5. It isn’t sustainable with a growing population. Our land has been blessed with oil but not water so you need to save valuable resources. Therefore we need a regulator to step up and put the frame work around sustainability AB: Because people are not willing to pay more for sustainable products all the products we are launching are at least cost effective compared to normal systems so you get sustainability as a bonus. That’s in every region we operate in.

Photographs by Jay Colina.

IK: Our products are based on water based technology and we continue to invest in technology which allows people to substitute like for like products. Today we can meet and exceed performance without the use of solvents, for example in traffic paint.

“The market needs a framework to support the end user.

It’s our duty to raise the awareness of sustainability among our end users” 62 | www.thebigprojectme.com

How does a lack of regulations affect your sustainability agenda?

IK: I think sometimes you need to stand up and lead by example. Twenty years ago in Europe it was the same situation and if you look at our history we grew because of legislation. We are not into colour and the fancy elements, we are into the scientific side of binders and additives which increase the performance of the paint.

I have no doubt that the same will happen here, this is a journey and we will make it happen.

What has happened over the last ten years and more recently with the new technology in materials, some customers have begun to self regulate and they are the innovative leaders with whom we collaborate.

How does Dow work with clients to innovate its product range?

AB: We have been working with our clients like this since we arrived in the region 30 years ago.

In this society things are all about how things go from idea to the market place.

If you think about how Dow likes to work globally, innovation is something you need.

We have close collaborations with customers around the world and what is interesting to see is that we find this type of collaboration in this region.

Customers are incredibly curious to have this dialogue and to work together side by side on an innovation agenda.

That kind of conversation we can skip, you quickly go into a conversation that says yes this is the right thing to do and you take a lot of waste out of the value chain.

You go quite rapidly into a very professional way of collaboration.

The other interesting thing in this region compared to Europe, is that it’s more dynamic, and more direct and the feedback you get on whether your innovation is on the right track or not is almost instant.

22-25 April 2012 Jeddah Centre for Forums & Events Kingdom of Saudi Arabia Co-located with

Saudi Building & Interiors Exhibition

The region’s largesT heavy equipmenT show hosTed in Jeddah Time is running out to book space at the Construction Machinery Show, the largest heavy machinery event in the GCC. With over 90% of the total 20,000 sqm now sold, this could be your last opportunity to participate in 2012’s best event dedicated to bringing together the region’s key manufacturers, distributors and buyers.

We’ve listened to the industry and created an event with the biggest names in construction machinery combined with the Arab world’s most prominent players.

Distributors and dealers are key exhibitors at the event, and only at the Construction Machinery Show will you find the huge variety of heavy equipment, machinery and generators that will be vital in building a bright future for the GCC.

Gold Sponsor

Official Media Partner

Co-located with SBIE, the Saudi Building and Interiors Exhibition, the Construction Machinery Show takes place at a location that is at the very heart of Saudi Arabia’s booming industry. Jeddah is primed to become one of the most important cities in the region and this is your chance to build your business in this exciting market.

Power and Lighting by

We will be in Jeddah this April. Will you?

Find out more. Visit www.constructionmachineryshow.com ORGANISED BY

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. © 2011 Corporate Publishing International. All rights reserved.

INTRODUCING

the BGreen online Directory This month, the BGreen Website is getting a major overhaul

BGreen Magazine’s comprehensive online directory, serves as a one-stop resource featuring corporations who offer sustainable solutions and services in the MENA region and beyond. The directory also lists government bodies, media sources, NGOs and Charities that embody the green values that drive our magazine.

To ensure your company stands out within our directory of thousands, please contact a member of the BGreen Sales team, rhiannon@cpidubai or liam@cpidubai.com, who will assist you with costing and duration for a featured listing.

Visit www.buildgreen.ae and click on BGreen Online Directory

UAE Project name Dubai Modern Art Museum & Opera House District Project - Downtown Dubai Project number MPP2624-U

than 1,200 shops as well as 160 food

- An iconic Las Vegas-style 'aqua' theatre;

3 stages. To be located on a beachfront

and beverage outlets. This expansion will

- A French provincial-inspired garden; and

site, it will eventually contain a water

increase the size of mall development by 8

- Food and beverage venues. Local/

park and extensive gardens. The design

per cent from its current 12 million square

Australian joint venture Habtoor Leighton

is derived from the folding of traditional

feet. It will involve the addition of further

Group (HLG) has been awarded a $515

Islamic fabrics and patterns. The complex

retail outlets and hotel rooms.

million contract on this scheme. Under

consists of a series of wings arranged

Tender categories Hotels, housing projects,

the agreement, HLG will be responsible

around a central covered festival space. A

leisure

for construction of the integrated hotel

feature of the design is a series of large

complex comprising a five-level podium,

fabric roof forms derived from the petals

a 36-storey tower and a 25-storey

of a flower. These roofs are made from

tower within a total gross floor area of

a unique pattern using 2 types of PVC

350,000 square metres. Demolition of the

fabric; a solid fabric and a translucent lace

existing Metropolitan Hotel is scheduled

fabric. This design allows for areas of shade

Project number MPP2570-U

to commence by end of March 2012,

and areas of natural light. The facades of

Client Al Habtoor Group L.L.C. (Dubai)

with early works likely to begin in June

curved walls contain a distinctive window

Territory Dubai

2012. The development is scheduled for

patterning. This pattern is based on the

Address Near Metropolitan Hotel, Sheikh

completion in second half of 2016.

branching pattern of foliage and is derived

Zayed Road

Design consultant Khatib & Alami

using computer-generated 'L-System'

City Dubai

Consolidated Engineering Company

modelling. Local MCM Group has been

ZIP 25444

(Dubai)

appointed as the Main contractor. Local

Country UAE

Main consultant Al Habtoor Leighton

Urbanism Planning Architecture has

Phone (+971-4) 343 1111

Group (Dubai)

completed schematic design for this

Fax (+971-4) 343 1140

Tender categories Hotels, prestige

development. The project is currently

Email habtoor@emirates.net.ae

buildings

being documented and construction will

Territory Dubai Client Emaar Properties PJSC (Dubai) Address Emaar Business Park, Bldg. No. 3, Near Interchange No. 5, Shaikh Zayed Road City Dubai ZIP 9440 Country UAE Phone (+971-4) 367 3333 Fax (+971-4) 367 3000 Email enquiry@emaar.co.ae Web http://www.emaar.com Description Construction of Dubai Modern Art Museum and Opera House District comprising a modern art museum, an opera house, cultural facilities, including two hotels, studios and leisure facilities.

Status New Tender Remarks This project will be located next to Burj Khalifa development in Downtown Dubai area. The Cultural District is part of Dubai’s efforts to expand the cultural infrastructure Tender categories Hotels, housing projects, leisure

Project name AlHabtoor Palace Hotel Project

Description Construction of 36-storey Al-Habtoor Palace Hotel comprising a 226-room luxury hotel, a fashion hotel with (424) rooms and a 996-room hotel, including a five-star spa, a sports academy, multiple theme restaurants, meeting facilities, a shopping arcade and a theatre showing productions from Broadway and

Project number MPP2598-U

Address Emaar Business Park, Bldg. No. 3, Near Interchange No. 5, Shaikh Zayed Road City Dubai ZIP 9440 Country UAE Phone (+971-4) 367 3333 Fax (+971-4) 367 3000 Email enquiry@emaar.co.ae Web http://www.emaar.com Description Carrying out expansion of Dubai Mall by more than one million square feet.

Status New Tender Remarks The mall is located in the downtown area of Dubai, next to Burj Khalifa Tower, and currently has more

Project number OPR532-U Client Family Development Foundation (Abu Dhabi) Territory Abu Dhabi Address Al Mushrif City Abu Dhabi

Main consultant Urbanism Planning Architecture (Abu Dhabi) Main contractor MCM Group (Abu Dhabi) MEP contractor El Mech Electromechanical Works L.L.C (Abu Dhabi) Tender categories Housing projects, leisure

Description Construction of Abu Dhabi Ladies Club comprising two storeys plus

Project number MPP2625-U

basement, including sports facilities, beach

Client Mubadala Development Company -

Period 2016

services, playground, swimming pool, gate

MDC (Abu Dhabi

Status Current Project

house and plant building.

Territory Northern Emirates

Remarks This hotel will be located on

Status Current Project

Address Al Muroor Road

Sheikh Zayed road in Dubai. It will be

Remarks This project will be located at

City Abu Dhabi

built on the property that is currently

Plot No. (P1-a), Sector (W53) on the

Country UAE

housing the Metropolitan Hotel, opposite

waterfront in Abu Dhabi and cover

ZIP 45005

Al Safa Park. The new hotel will comprise

an area of 50,000 square metres. It

Phone (+971-2) 413 0000

two basement levels, a ground floor,

will contain cultural, recreational and

Fax (+971-2) 413 0001

mezzanine floor and four-level podium

educational facilities for women in UAE.

Web http://www.mubadala.ae

with a 36-storey tower covering a total

The Club will include a conference hall

Description Construction of a liquefied

built-up area of about 372,000 square

and accommodation, multi-purpose

natural gas (LNG) terminal with capaCity of

metres. Once completed, the complex will

auditorium, indoor and outdoor sports

1.2 billion cubic feet of gas a day.

be one of the region's most luxurious hotel

facilities, indoor and outdoor swimming

Period 2014

and entertainment developments. The

pools and a spa facility, women's health

Status New Tender

landmark development will include:

facilities, craft and education facilities as

Remarks This project is in Fujairah. The

- 1,600 hotel rooms, spread between three

well as children crèche and recreation

scheme is being implemented in joint

hotels (lifestyle, luxury and main);

areas. The project is being constructed in

venture with International Petroleum

Country UAE Phone (+971-2) 409 0169

Budget 1300000000

Territory Dubai Client Emaar Properties PJSC (Dubai)

Project name Abu Dhabi Ladies’ Club project

Project name LNG Terminal Construction Project

Las Vegas.

Project name Dubai Mall expansion project

commence in April 2012.

Web http://www.habtoor.com

ESTIMATING AND PROJECT CONTROL www.thebigprojectme.com | 65

MENA PROJECTS | TenderS

TenderS

Tenders provided by

MENA PROJECTS | TenderS

Investment Company (IPIC), to receive

Country Qatar

MEP contractor Drake & Scull International

building comprising a 39-storey office

shipments of liquefied natural gas (LNG). It

Phone (+974) 4443 4857

(Saudi Arabia)

block with three levels of basement

will allow Abu Dhabi to import gas without

Fax (+974) 4443 6291

Tender categories Hotels, prestige

parking at King Abdullah Financial District.

tankers through the Strait of Hormuz,

Description Design and build (DB) contract

buildings

which separates the Country from Iran.

for the construction of Doha Grand Park.

Gas demand is increasing in the Country

Status Current Project

due to the construction of new power

Remarks This project is in Qatar. The

plants and energy-intensive industries such

project involves developing a park similar

as metal and petrochemicals. By building a

in design to New York’s Central Park

Project number OPR518-SA

terminal outside the Strait of Hormuz, the

and London’s Hyde Park. The scheme

Client Makkah Municipality (Saudi Arabia)

Country can import LNG regardless of the

will include food and beverage outlets,

Territory Saudi Arabia

actions of Iran, which has threatened to

museum and other amenities. It will be

City Makkah

close key shipping routes amid diplomatic

built on the area stretching from Al-Rayyan

Country Saudi Arabia

tensions with the USA and European

road to the tennis centre and from the old

Phone(+966-2) 573 9555 / 573 5134 /

Union (EU). The scheme is currently in

British Embassy to the road leading on to

573 5228

engineering phase.

the Corniche. Local Urbacon International

Tender categories Hydrocarbon Processing,

Fax (+966-2) 574 8633

has been appointed to develop the

Email info@holymakkah.gov.sa

Storage & Distribution

scheme. Local KEO International is acting

Web http://www.holymakkah.gov.sa

as the consultant on this scheme.

Description Development of Cultural Oasis

Qatar

Main consultant KEO International Consultants (Qatar) Main contractor Urbacon International

Project name Premier Inn Hotel Project Education City

(Qatar)

Project number MPP2614-Q

Saudi Arabia

Territory Qatar

Tender categories Leisure, housing projects, municipal services

Client Qatar Foundation Address Qatar Foundation Bldg., Al Wajba

Project name Cultural Oasis Development Project Makkah Gate

Engineering & Contracting has been appointed as the Main contractor. The contract involves building the structure and basic fit-out of the office building and a three-storey car park. Construction work is progressing and will be completed in 2014.

Engineering consultant Buro Happold (UK)

Budget 10000000000 Period 2027 Status New project Remarks This project is in Saudi Arabia

Phone (+974) 4454 0000

(Saudi Arabia)

Fax (+974) 4480 6117

Territory Saudi Arabia

Email info@qf.org.qa

City Jeddah

Web http://www.qf.edu.qa

Country Saudi Arabia

Description Construction of three-star

Description Construction of 60-storey

Premier Inn Hotel comprising four storeys,

Assila Towers comprising a five-star hotel

including (200) rooms.

with (242) rooms and (104) serviced

Period 2013

apartments

Status New Tender

Status Current Project

Remarks This project will be located within

Remarks This project is in Jeddah and

the Education City development on the

will cover a built-up area of 46,949

western edge of Doha in Qatar and cover

square metres. The tower will consist of

a total area of 14 square kilometres.

two basement levels below ground. It is

UAE-based Dewan Architects & Engineers

understood that the hotel will be managed

has been awarded a consultancy contract

and operated by Rocco Forte Hotels.

to design and supervise the construction

Local construction company Al Saad

on this scheme. The hotel is set to open

General Contracting has been awarded

in 2013.

the main construction contract on this

Project name Headquarters Building Project - King Abdullah Financial District

Design consultant Dewan Architects &

scheme. Dubai-based construction firm

Project number MPP2297-SA

Engineers (Dubai)

Drake & Scull International (DSI) has been

Client Samba Financial Group (Saudi

Tender categories Hotels, housing projects

awarded an estimated $37 million turnkey

Arabia)

contract to carry out the mechanical,

Territory Saudi Arabia

electrical and plumbing (MEP) works.

City Riyadh 11421

Main architect Mohammed Harasani

Country Saudi Arabia

Architects (Saudi Arabia)

ZIP 833

Design consultant Perkins & Will (USA)

Phone (+966-1) 479 9088

Main contractor Al Saad General

Fax (+966-1) 477 4770

Contracting (Saudi Arabia)

Web http://www.samba.com

and will be spread over an area of 83 square kilometres. The scheme is being implemented in joint venture with local Al Balad Al Ameen Company for Urban Development and Sumou Real Estate Company. Scope of work will also include construction of residential districts, government buildings, a university called Hudaibiya University, a medical City, administrative district, and recreational centres.

Main architect Sidell Gibson Architects (UK) Design consultant Design Worldwide Partnership - DWP (Bahrain) Tender categories Leisure, hotels, housing

Main contractor El Seif Engineering

Project name King Fahad Medical City Expansion Project Project number MPP2619-SA Client Ministry of Health (Saudi Arabia) Territory Saudi Arabia Address Old Airport Road City Riyadh 11176 Country Saudi Arabia ZIP 21217 Phone (+966-1) 401 5292/ 401 2220/ 401 5555 Ext. 1277 Fax (+966-1) 402 6944/ 402 9876 Email info@moh.gov.sa Web http://www.moh.gov.sa Description Carrying out expansion of King Fahad Medical City, with additional 850 beds.

projects, medical and healthcare

Description Construction of headquarters

ZIP 23723

ESTIMATING AND PROJECT CONTROL 66 | www.thebigprojectme.com

110,000 square metres. Local El-Seif

Main architect Foster & Partners (UK)

Client AMIAS Real Estate Company Ltd.

City Doha

and cover a total built-up area of about

Gulf (Bahrain)

Country Qatar

Client Private Engineering Office (Qatar)

the outskirts of Riyadh in Saudi Arabia

apartments outside the Makkah Gate.

Project number NPR002-SA

Territory Qatar

Remarks This project will be located on

Main consultant Davis Langdon Arabian

ZIP 5825

Project number MPP2604-Q

Period 2014

convention centres, shops, hotels and

City Doha

Project name Doha Grand Park Project

Status current project

mixed-use scheme comprising museums,

Project name Assila Towers Project

Area

Budget 240000000

Budget 587000000 Closing date May 5, 2012 Status New Tender Remarks This City is located in the Sulaimaniyah area of Riyadh in Saudi Arabia. The expansion will add (850) beds to the existing capaCity. It is one of the five medical cities planned to be built or expand by the Client. The complex is one of the largest healthcare facilities in the Kingdom, with a current capaCity of 1,400 beds. It currently treats 50,000 inpatients and more than 600,000 outpatients annually. Client has invited contractors to submit bids for the main contract on this scheme.

Baghdad on the site where former Iraqi

(Osman Ahmed Osman & Company) - Egypt

(Kuwait)

medical and healthcare

president Saddam Hussein had planned

Tender categories Housing projects. hotels

City Safat 13001

Lebanon

to build the largest mosque in the Middle East. Shortlisted companies interested in a contract to design the building are

Bahrain

Project number MPP2616-LE Client Council for Development & Reconstruction (Lebanon Territory Address Tallat al-Serail City Beirut ZIP 116-5351 Country Lebanon Phone(+961-1) 981 252/ 981 253 / 980 096 Fax (+961-1) 981 431/ 981 434 / 981 252 Email info@cdr.gov.lb

April 2012. Client is expected to invite companies behind the three top-ranked designs to bid for the design contract

by July 2012 with an award expected by the end of 2012. Some of the shortlisted companies include; France’s ADPI; UK’s Assemblage; London-based Zaha Hadid Architects; Local Al-Khan Engineering Consultancy with Canada’s Adamson; UK's Davis Langdon and UAE-based Dewan Architects & Engineers.

Tender categories Housing Projects

Egypt

Project name JW Marriott Hotel Construction Project Bahrain Bay Waterfront Development Project number MPP2597-B Client Remza Investment Company (Bahrain) Territory Bahrain Address B63 Al-Qadisiya Avenue City Manama ZIP 684 Country Bahrain Email info@remza.com

Description Carrying out restoration of

Description Construction of 50-storey

& urban development project.

Tender cost 500 Closing date May 8, 2012 Status New Tender Remarks This project is in Southern Lebanon. Client has invited contractors to submit bids for the main construction contract on this scheme. Italian Government will be funding the scheme.

Tender categories Housing Projects

Iraq

Project name Nile Ritz Carlton Hotel Refurbishment Project Project number MPP2571-E Client Misr Hotels Company (Egypt) Territory Egypt Address 28 Hussein Wassef St., Dokki City Giza Country Egypt Phone(+20-3) 761 0586 / 761 0587 Fax (+20-3) 761 0246 Web http://www.misrhotels.com.eg Description Carrying out refurbishment/ modernising of the existing 13-storey Nile Ritz Carlton Hotel.

Project name Baghdad Parliament Building Construction Project Project number MPP2212-IQ Client Ministry of Construction & Housing (Iraq) Territory Iraq City Baghdad Country Iraq Phone (+964-790) 177 5368 Email moch@mochiraq.com Web http://www.mochiraq.com Description Construction of Baghdad Parliament Building.

Status Current Project Remarks This project is in Cairo. The hotel covers a total area of 64,000 square metres. A joint venture of local Orascom Construction Industries and local Arab Contractors has been awarded the main contract to carry out structure rehabilitation works. Lebanon's Arabian Construction Company (ACC) has been awarded a contract to carry out the interior finishing as well as the mechanical, electrical and plumbing (MEP) package on this development. The $90 million contract will involve work on interior cladding and finishing for all rooms, outlets, public places and the

Budget 1,000,000,000

Description Carrying out expansion of Kuwait International Airport involving construction of a new 85,000 square metre terminal building aimed at increasing initial capaCity to handle 13 million passengers a year, with the flexibility to increase this to 25 million passengers in the next phase and an ultimate capaCity of 50 million passengers a year, including extension of the existing runways, construction of a hotel, car parks and associated aprons and remote stands.

Budget 21000000000

development.

Period 15/11/2016

Status New Tender

Status Current Project

Period 2016

Remarks This project involves building

Remarks This project will be located in

a second passenger terminal at Kuwait

Bahrain Bay Waterfront Development.

International Airport (KIA). It will be linked

It is being implemented by local Khaleej

to the existing terminal via a tunnel and

Capital a joint venture of Qatar-based

connected to a new access road from the

Business Trading Company and the local

south. The airport's current passenger

Remza Investment Company. The scheme

capaCity is 6 million. Both the existing

will consist of a 50-storey tower on top

runways will be extended by up to 600

of a 5-storey podium, with three floors of

metres to enable the next generation of

underground parking. The development

aircraft to land. New maintenance hangars

will cover a total area of 97,000 square

will also need to be built and an existing

metres. East side of the tower will contain

fuel station moved. This development will

276 hotel rooms and related facilities and

have modern facilities and also enable it

the west side will contain 96 serviced

to receive the new Airbus A380 super-

apartments. Five-storey podium will

jumbo. Local Mohammed Abdulmohsin

contain the banquet hall and meeting

Al-Kharafi & Sons Company has been

facilities, lobbies and common areas, in

awarded a $565 million contract to carry

addition to 200 car parking spaces. The

out Package 2, which involves construction

underground car park will contain 220 car

of an administration building, car parks

parking spaces. Contractors have been

and two fire stations. It is understood that

invited to pre-qualify for the main contract

the airfield package is currently under

on this scheme. Local YDA & Associates is

Tendering and bidding.

acting as the Design consultant.

Main consultant Dar Al Handasah (Shair &

Design consultant Yousif Dawood Al

Partners) - Kuwait

Sayegh Consultants (Bahrain)

Design consultant Foster & Partners (UK

Tender categories Hotels, leisure

Project manager Ineco (Spain) Design consultant Gulf Consult (Kuwait)

Kuwait

Master plan consultant Dorsch Consult GmbH (Germany), SSH International Consultant (Kuwait)

Status New Tender

(Egypt)

Remarks This project is in Iraq. It includes

Main contractor Orascom Construction

construction of apartments, offices, a

Project name Kuwait International Airport Expansion Project

Industries (Egypt)

Project number MPP246-K

mosque and gardens. The new parliament

MEP contractor Arabian Construction

Territory Kuwait

building will be constructed in downtown

Company - ACC (Egypt) Arab Contractors

Client Directorate General of Civil Aviation

Project manager Hill International Ltd.

Email pr@kuwait-airport.com.kw

JW Marriott Hotel on a waterfront

casino. The contract is scheduled to be completed in (18) months.

Phone (+965) 2471 9847

Phone (+973) 1782 2122

Web http://www.cdr.gov.lb Saida Castle, as part of a cultural heritage

Country Kuwait Fax (+965) 2472 0711

expected to present their designs in

Project name Saida Castle Restoration Works Project

ZIP 17

Main contractor Mohammed Abdulmohsin Kharafi & Sons (Kuwait) Tender categories Housing projects, hotels, public works, roads and earthworks, airport

ESTIMATING AND PROJECT CONTROL www.thebigprojectme.com | 67

MENA PROJECTS | TenderS

Tender categories Housing Projects,

03:00 pm. - 10:00 pm.

vISIT

The highesT Number of exhibiTors uNder oNe roof

FOR FAST ENTRANCE TO THE SHOW, REGISTER ONLINE Don’t forget to bring your e-badge or your e-badge number to avoid queuing and entrance fees at the registration www.projectqatar.com PEARL SPONSOR:

INTEGRITY SPONSOR:

SILVER SPONSORS:

For the updated list of Exhibitors, please visit www.projectqatar.com

News

DIARY GLOBAL TRENDS

US$10bn The value of debt

Dubai is expected to repay this year

20% The rate at which

bilateral trade between the UAE and Korea is due to increase in 2012

62% Of global executives

believe using emerging markets’ local service support centers is a winning strategy

9.4% The predicted rise in

consumption rate to face Saudi Arabia’s cement industry

2083 The total number

of exhibitors due to attend Project Qatar, in Doha , from April 30

MENA INTERNATIONAL

CityScape Abu Dhabi

Abu Dhabi: April 22-25 International property investment and development exhibition and conference with networking opportunities, focusing on all aspects of the property development cycle. www.cityscapeabudhabi.com

World Eco Construct

Abu Dhabi: April 22-25 Unlimited business opportunities for showcasing various building and construction related items in addition to interactive networking and conference sessions, held alongside CityScape. www.worldecoconstruct.com

Construction Machinery Show

Jeddah: April 22-25 Construction Machinery Show is one of the largest and most prestigious shows dedicated to construction machinery. Hosted by the city of Jeddah in Saudi Arabia, this event is co-located with the Saudi Building Industries Exhibition. www.constructionmachineryshow.com

Infrastructure Arabia

Abu Dhabi: April 22-25 The region’s first dedicated exhibition and conference for the civil engineering community. www.worldecoconstruct.com

Infrastructure Libya

Tripoli, Libya: April 23-26 The top global infrastructure trade event in Libya, the show focuses on the overall infrastructural development of the country and brings into focus several critical technological processes. www.infrastructurelibya.com

Project Qatar

Doha: April 30 – May 3 Project Qatar is now established as Qatar’s most important exhibition for highlighting the latest products and services needed for Qatari’s fast growing construction sector and has become a destination of choice for regional and international industry professionals www.projectqatar.com

DIARY | INDUSTRY EVENTS

APRIL 2012

Green Expo Korea

March 28 – 30 More than 400 companies from 25 countries are expected to attend Korea’s massive energy exhibition with 45,000 visitors set to attend. Combined the exhibition halls and outdoor space cover 27,000m² and the event has grown 45% since the inaugural expo in 2004. www.energyexpo.co.kr/eng/

Intermat

Paris, France: April 16-21 Held every three years, this 375,000sqm show welcomed almost 1500 visitors in 2009 and 2012 will also see the event coming to the Middle East. http://en.intermat.fr/

My House, My Castle

Ustecky Kraj, Czech Republic: April 4-8 A showcase of building materials and home appliances, demonstrating the quality of construction materials to attendees as well as the latest construction technologies used. www.biztradeshows.com

Expo Build China

Shanghai New International Expo Centre: April 9-12 Expo Build China has a 17-year successful history offering solutions for the exhibitors to show high quality products and build up unique and comprehensive contacts through the event and conference programme www.expobuild.com

Global Water Summit

April 31 – May 1 Rome, Italy The Global Water Summit is the only event of its kind – an agenda defining conference that brings together the highest level delegates from around the world, while maintaining the open and intimate atmosphere of a boardroom meeting http://www.watermeetsmoney.com/

www.thebigprojectme.com | 69

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

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

Your Shout With the launch of the new ipad and a constant stream of other new technology flooding the market, The Big Project asked about the single piece of technology revolutionising how you work

Harun M.P. Quantity surveyor

The construction technology has benefitted us enormously in terms of speeding up our work but most importantly our efficiency. Efficiency is the most important factor when looking for reasons and ways to change how we work.

M.V. adhakrishnan Senior qs: tenders

Computers. Man can do everything a computer can do, but when a computer is able to take on tasks that used to be completed manually, those programmes and software work faster and more effectively than a human.

Samuel A. S. Operations Project Manager

I would have to say that virtual meetings, screen share, has been a huge time saver and productivity improvement. Microsoft live meeting or Go To Meeting are excellent tools.

On a conference call you call you can screen share a document, give control to the others on the call and reduce the confusion on the call. rather then sending faxes or PDF’s back and forth, one screen share and you are all on the same page.

The other tool I am starting to use is QIK on my

70 | www.thebigprojectme.com

smart phone. I can send a video in real time to a web site and anyone I want to see the video in real time can enter the URL and view as I film. This is great for site walk-throughs when I show part of a site and someone viewing the video will ask me to get closer and explain what I’m seeing, or take still shots and e-mail them to them.

at the press of a button; for example you can get reports for management that you don’t have to compile manually. We used in a sector with very confined and demanding deadlines.

Sanders T. Gunaratnam Senior quantity surveyor/ estimator Aktor

Digital imaging equipment and software for document management. I first began scanning for my environmental consulting business circa 1995. To have almost instant access to an extensive self-actuated collection of administrative docs, technical docs and projects docs, among others, is powerful.

The programmes on computers in my work help a lot, such as the Candy programme by CCS. It saves a lot of time and I would say about 50% in my experience. You can get a lot of reports and

Pawel Woloszyn Pacific Environmental Management, Inc., San Francisco