The Big Project

JULY 2012

PLUS

In profile: Steven Miller changing colours: a VOC free middle east? inside qatar’s programme management jv

ARCHITECTURE n ENGINEERING n CONSTRUCTION n FM n POWER n PMV

Q A R I

o t n I

. ent m elop the v e d no break d n e es a be th v r e d l res q coul or i o f e a ssiv how Ir aiting a le, m hears ry is w p o f pe oject indust o s ion Big Pr l l i M he T

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JULY

Contents REGULARS

20

Editor’s letter 6

16 News analysis

News bulletin 9

Ashghal appoints Mace and EC Harris JV for building programme management contract

In profile 20 Steven Miller FAIA RIBA, talks about his international architecture career and why he will never retire

Business brief 32 As RWI prepares to open its new plant, Rizwan Shaikhani talks about recovering business in the wake of disaster

25 46

FEATURES

Roundtable: 46 Environmentally responsible paint manufacturers discuss the new Dubai Laboratory drive to phase out VOCs and heavy metals in paints

Supplier news 60 Tenders 65

25 Legal comment Legal columnists Mark Fraser and Farah Zafar explain project finance and GCC real estate laws

36 Cover story: Into Iraq With more potential than any other market in the region, The Big Project looks at the main opportunities and the funding behind the rebuild of Iraq

54 Career ladder Macro’s newly appointed director of operations, Gary Moss, on why cheap isn’t cheerful

57 Supplier profile Algeco general manager Jim Muldoon on the advancement of temporary modular buildings

Diary 70

57

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

“New frontier” O

n paper it has it all: revenue streams, massive demand and no foreseeable market saturation. Government spending is projected to reach $98.5bn this year with priority allocated to housing and roads. After half a century of minimal development and war, ports, airports, power plants and even telecoms infrastructure are all urgently needed, as are the new oil refineries required to double oil production in order to fund the whole building programme. The scale is breathtaking.

In 2011 Iraq attracted $52bn investment and the International Monetary Fund projected real GDP growth to hit 12.2%. To put that in context, it predicted China’s to be 9.2%.

In reality however, barriers to entry and the perception of a politically unstable and dangerous country have prevented many construction companies from tapping the opportunities Iraq provides.

The stories from inside Iraq paint a picture of a country that will soon be more important to the regional industry that Saudi Arabia or Qatar,

Online editor Gavin Davids Gavin@cpidubai.com +971 (0)4 4409118

with Iraqi architect Amaar Al Assam predicting there is enough work for 50 years or more.

The CEO of the country’s largest employer Al Fayha Group, Sarmad Al Khudairi says there is so much potential and actual work that he is enlisting recruitment firms across the region in order to build up a workforce that is already 1200 strong.

Iraq’s universities may be full of the next generation of engineers, but they cannot rebuild the country alone.

This issue The Big Project covers the opportunities and latest projects that every company should know about.

Also in this issue architect Steven Miller FAIA RIBA talks about his career – past, present and future – his thoughts on the region’s competing capitals and why he will never retire; Middle East regional leader for EC Harris, John Williams, talks about the company’s latest JV with Mace to undertake the programme management of Qatar’s building programme; and legal experts Farah Zafar and Mark Fraser share the latest developments on real estate and project finance legislation.

Melanie Mingas Editor

Business development manager Junaid Rafique 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.

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“Hundreds of Ashghal signs infrastructure contracts millions” of worth $384m Euros set to flood Nine contracts for roads, sewage, nurseries and schools Middle East The Qatari Public Works Authority Ashghal has announced the signing of nine contracts worth a total of $384m for local development and infrastructure projects.

The deals will include two contracts worth $118.9m for the construction and development of roads and infrastructure, while five contracts (worth $146.3m), will be signed for sewage projects. A further two contracts worth $117.8m were signed to build nurseries and schools, a report in Qatari newspaper Al Raya said.

While speaking to the paper Ashghal president Nasser Al Mawlawi, said that local companies were now securing the largest share of contracts each year.

Some of the other major work that will be

“Several institutions” eye regional investment

T

he Middle East is set to welcome an influx of money from European investors in 2013, as key opportunities in their home markets continue to flag.

Euros in their “hundreds of millions” will flood Middle East markets, most likely via Dubai, as the Eurozone crisis continues to undermine western markets, according the managing director of commercial and real estate advisory CBRE, Nick Maclean.

“There are several institutions looking cautiously to deploy hundreds of millions of Euros here and their first point of entry will most certainly be Dubai,” Maclean said, commenting the amounts were “significant”.

As the Euro crisis continued it was reported that as much as €700m had been withdrawn from Greek banks ahead of last month’s elections.

Earlier the same week Spanish default insurance costs reached a record high and it was announced that German consumer prices fell 0.2% in May, taking annual inflation to its lowest rate since December 2010, at 1.9%.

“Europeans are looking here because they can get the kinds of returns they can’t get at home, they have to come to new markets and therefore we are going to see some activity from European investors into the UAE for the first time since I have lived here, during the course of next year,” Maclean added.

undertaken will include a 16km stretch of highway, known as the Huwailah Road Project, which will link the Ras Laffan Industrial City and areas of the country’s north-east.

According to the Gulf Times newspaper the Bin Omran Trading and Construction Company has been awarded the Huwailah road project. However, the upgrading of Rayyan Road has been awarded to a consortium of HBK Contracting and QBS International.

Last month Ashghal also awarded it’s programme management contract to a JV between EC Herris and Mace. EC Harris regional director John Williams explains on page 16

Iraq to be the next big thing, Dewan Architects head predicts Demand will outstrip KSA and Qatar Iraq’s construction market will provide a lifeline for international construction firms as government scrambles to release multi-billion dollar projects that will rival those of Saudi Arabia and Qatar.

The prediction, made by executive director for Dewan Architects, Amaar Al Assam, in an interview with The Big Project, is based on huge demands for housing, social and hard infrastructure, retail and commercial development and leisure facilities.

“In theory Iraq has work for the next 50 years. It’s a massive market. There are barriers to entry right now, but in five years time the situation will get better and it will be the prime market in the region along with the UAE and Saudi Arabia,” said Assam, whose company currently has 20 active projects in the country in architecture and urban and social planning.

“Qatar has a huge construction boom now, but it is geographically small. Iraq is a real country with real demands,” he added.

According to recent reports by Bloomberg, the Kurdistan region will require annual investments in the region of $172 million to meet

housing needs alone and, speaking at a conference last month, Iraq’s minister of housing and construction, H.E. Mohammed Al Derajy revealed the country plans to double oil production by 2015 to fund the projects.

“With the global market being in trouble, Iraq represents a market that is almost a life saver for some of these companies,” Assam continued.

“There is a huge line of foreign investors waiting for security to improve and they will jump at the Iraqi market. There are 30 million people, the second biggest oil reserves in the world and it’s a country that needs everything,” he added.

Turn to page 36 for the full story.

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NEWS | REGIONAL NEWS

NEWS BULLETIN

NEWS | REGIONAL NEWS

KSA anti-corruption unit probes industrial city delay Site handed to successful bidder in 2001 Saudi Arabia’s Anti-Corruption Commission has asked that the Ministry of Municipal and Rural Affairs launch a probe into the causes of a 12-year delay in implementing an industrial city project in al-Kharj.

In its report, the commission cited negligence from alKharj municipality and the contractor who won the bid to implement the project. They asked that the ministry determine who is responsible for the delay and take penal measures, as well as clarify action against the contractor after they were issued a final warning over a year ago.

In 2000 a tender was floated, and in 2001 the site was handed to the successful bidder, only to have work disrupted several times after that. In 2006 the project was handed over to another contractor as the initial investor could not meet the obligations set out by the contract.

The second contractor also failed to execute the project as stated by the contract, and the al-Kharj municipality did not actively follow up on the project or the investor over the period of the contract. They also ignored a canal on the west side of the city that had been converted into a waste dump.

Having conducted their own probe, the commission is awaiting the ministry’s investigations and enforcement of the law against whoever is found responsible in the market, the regulator said.

Arab Contractors to bid for $150m Oman projects Sanitation and water projects to be announced

by October The Arab construction firm Arab Contractors will bid for two sanitation and water projects in Oman worth a combined $150m, a senior executive announced last month.

Bid winners for the Al Amerat Waste Water project, which is worth $88m, will be announced before October 2012, said Housam Fayed, project manager for Arab Contractors.

He added that Haya Water plans to build a 316km northern area sewage and treated effluent pipeline to enhance the network in the Al Amerat region, according to Zawya Projects Monitor.

In addition, the Musandam Water Distribution Network is expected to be built over two years by the Public Authority for Electricity and Water. The winners of this bid will be announced before the year end, Fayed said.

The project involves the laying of 190km of water pipes and is worth $52m. It is part of a water distribution network in Daba, Lima and Ar Rawdah in Oman’s Musandam governorate.

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JODC signs $1.3bn loan for Mecca megaproject

Saudi Arabia based Jabal Omar Development Company, has signed a $1.3bn loan deal to fund a property development project near the Grand Mosque in the Holy City of Mecca.

The joint loan agreement, signed with a group of local banks, will see the company pay back a $359.9m bridge loan that was secured last year, so as to fund the first phase of the Mecca megaproject, which will include ten hotels being built at the site.

The loan has a tenor of 12 years, with a four year grace period on repayments, the company said in a filing to the Tadawul, Saudi Arabia’s stock Exchange.

A Reuters report added that seven local banks, including the providers of the original bridge loan, were involved in the fund-raising. These banks included: Al Rajhi Bank, Bank Al Jazira, National Commercial Bank, SABB and Saudi Hollandi Bank.

Alinma Bank and Bank AlBilad were also believed to have taken part in the new funding round.

The project will have nine towers overlooking Ibrahim Al Khalil Street and Um Al Qura Street, the company said.

Arkan agrees $381m debt refinancing deal with UAE banks Material company’s debts refinancing agreement finalised UAE material supplier Arkan Building Materials Company has completed the refinancing of its existing debt to enable it to fund a pipeline of new projects in the UAE. The new 78 month loan consists of a secured $381.1m credit agreement with a number of Middle East banks. The majority share of the loan lenders are: First Gulf Bank, Union National Bank and Emirates NBD. “I am extremely happy that we were able to come to an agreement with the participating banks on a more favourable refinance package. With a definitive agreement now formally signed, Arkan is poised to execute its ambitious growth plan which will reinforce our market

leading position,” Suhail Mubarak Al Ameri, chairman of Arkan, said.

“With the ongoing upturn in the region’s construction sector, Arkan is superbly placed to deliver long-term value to our shareholders,” he added.

The refinancing package will generate significant savings in interest charges for Arkan over the repayment period of the loan, Al Ameri explained.

As such, the new credit facility is in line with Arkan’s ongoing expansion programme, which will see the launch of launch three new business units within the next three years, and a number of new projects, including Al Ain Cement Factory, Arkan Lime Plant and Arkan Dry Mortar.

New 26,000m2 passenger hall to be functional by 2014 Morocco’s Office National des Aeroports (ONDA) has completed 60% of the expansion of the Fez-Saiss Airport, a senior executive said last month.

The expansion will see the passenger terminal increase its current capacity of 500,000 passengers per year to the three

million passengers mark, Bouzaine Hassan told Zawya.

“The new 26,000m2 passenger hall will be working at full capacity in 2014, and will also have many more boarding gates, as the current two are not enough,” the head of ONDA’s technical office said.

RTA awards Saudi Bin Ladin Dubai road contract SBL bid a 17% lower price than competitor Darwish Engineering Saudi Bin Ladin Group (SBL) has won a contract from Dubai’s Roads and Transport Authority (RTA) for rehabilitation works on the Jebel Ali-Lehbab road.

The highway is a vital part of the emirate’s road network, as it takes traffic from Jebel Ali port and the surrounding industrial areas out of Dubai and onto roads

Abu Dhabi steps up fire inspection visits on construction sites Civil Defence initiative after fire incidents rise and sites closed due to poor standards

connecting to other parts of Dubai and other emirates.

SBLG was the lowest bidder for the contract last December when it submitted a price of $19.5m, around 17% lower than the local Darwish Engineering’s bid, according to Meed. The consultant for the contract is the US-based, Aecom.

Linder Depa NDIA contract terminated $245m contract was for interior fit out of 17 NDIA lounges Dubai based interior fit out contractor Depa Limited, has announced its joint venture, Linder Depa, has had its contract with New Doha International Airport terminated.

News of the termination comes after an announcement on June 20 that said that the joint venture’s performance bond and advance payment guarantee were pulled, due to its refusal to accept new “nonfavourable” contract terms and conditions.

The contract performance bond and advanced payment guarantee were worth $26.13m and $22.05m respectively.

Set up in conjunction with Germany’s Linder AG, the joint venture was told that it had to drop all extension of time costs and acceleration costs. In addition, it was

denied full access to the project site to perform its contract scope of work for the first nine months of the 16 month project.

As a result of this, the company says it has not been able to meet its original contract completion date.

Originally worth $245m, the contract comprised the interior fit out of all 17 lounges at the New Doha International Airport, Depa Limited said.

It added that it was in discussions with its lawyers in order to assess the situation and consider its options.

While the New Doha International Airport was the biggest project in Depa’s portfolio, the luxury fit out contractor said that it was still working on more than 200 projects across the Middle East, Africa and South East Asia. This brought its total portfolio value up to $816.7m.

The Dubai firm operates principally in the luxury fit out industry, and its main areas of business cover luxury hotels, infrastructure and public sector amenities such as hospitals and airports, high-end residential properties and retail outlets.

Abu Dhabi’s General Directorate of Civil Defence has stepped up inspection efforts on construction sites in the emirate in an effort to curb occurrences of fire related accidents, officials announced on Monday.

With incidences of fire increasing in high rise buildings, Civil Defence units across the country have begun looking for ways to mitigate the associated risks. As such, Colonel Mohammed Al Nuaimi, acting general director of Civil Defence, said that regular inspections on construction sites would ensure that fire hazards were kept to a minimum.

He revealed that a number of fines has already been imposed on construction companies after it was found that they had faulty fire safety measures in place. He added that work had been halted on some sites that showed repeated offences and that they would not resume work till the necessary safety procedures were taken.

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NEWS | REGIONAL NEWS

Morocco’s Fez-Saiss Airport expansion 60% complete

NEWS | REGIONAL NEWS

KSA moves to reduce cement supply risk Government spending to remain “key driver” of consumption

Saudi Arabia’s cement demand is being fuelled by government expenditure on infrastructure projects, a new report issued by NCB Capital has claimed.

Recent intervention by the Saudi Arabian government to reduce the price cap and provide fuel to new expansions has aided the supply of

cement and reduced prices, the report explained. However, it warned that supply constraints would be the key concern over the coming years.

With the government aiming to spend more than $207bn on railway, airport and other major infrastructure projects over the course of the

year, the NCB Capital report says the demand for cement will increase. It added that government spending would continue to be the main driver for the sector in the medium term.

“On March 18, a Royal Decree instructed Saudi Aramco to provide fuels to all cement expansions temporarily for six months. At the same time, a committee was formed to analyse the current cement situation and forecast future demand,” the report said.

“The committee has to report its suggestions within six months. Moreover, the government has reduced the price ceiling from $66.6 per ton to $63.9 per ton, following the recent significant increase in prices. In addition, the Ministry of Trade announced that it is actively monitoring cement prices and that violators would be fined.

In fact the ministry fined Najran Cement for not complying with the new price limit.”

Strong demand in the Western Region in 2012 is being fuelled by the size and urgency of the projects in the region. These include Jeddah airport, Haramain Railway and other major projects such as Rabigh Port.

As a result, Central and Eastern Region cement companies have increased their sales in the West either directly or indirectly by selling cement or clinker.

Furthermore, this also means cement companies that already focused on the Western Region are best positioned to the demand momentum of the sector.

Saudi steel buying consortia proposed National construction firms spurred by declining metals prices Saudi construction firms are considering the likelihood of forming consortia to buy steel from abroad, encouraged by the decline in international steel prices and the lack of response from local manufacturers to follow suit.

Prices of ferrous metals continued to fall for the second consecutive week to $630 per tonne on June 12, compared with $650 a week earlier, partly as a result of the continuing euro crisis and anticipations of Greek exit from the EU. The price of billets has stabilised at $600 per tonne on June 5. Scrap prices also dropped to $365 per tonne on June 12 from $390 on June

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5, while the price of cast iron stabilised during the first week of the month at $495 per tonne.

Saudi Arabia’s steel production is forecast to grow by a CAGR of 9% between 2012 and 2015, RNCOS said in its Saudi Arabia Steel Industry Forecast to 2013 report, earlier this year.

Last month, it was revealed that the Indian state run steelmaker, Rashtriya Ispat Nigam Ltd, was in talks with Saudi Arabia’s Rajhi Steel to set up a 3 million tonnes per year plant in the Kingdom.

According to a Press Trust of India report, the gas fired plant would require an investment of $3.5bn.

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Chinese contractors quit KSA market over “quality standards” KSA minister argues quality improvement requests caused rift

S

audi Arabia’s Eastern Province Chamber of Commerce and Industry (EPCCI) has reported that “several Chinese contractors” have withdrawn from the Kingdom after facing difficulties in project execution arising from the Kingdom’s rules and regulations.

EPCCI’s Environment Committee member, Abdullah Al-Sayed, attributed the failure to the updated systems and high quality building materials being used in construction projects.

“When Chinese contractors were asked to improve the quality, they argued that the costs were too high and asked for amendments to be made to their contracts,” Al-Sayed said.

“This put their prices on par with their American and European counterparts, which are far more experienced and produce high quality buildings. They also offer superior aftersales service,” he added.

Another member of EPCCI’s Contracting Committee, said low cost leads to low quality and called for more support to be extended to national construction companies.

“If you want high quality, you have to pay for it. Our national companies have a lot of experience and better knowledge of the construction industry, which is a great contributor to GDP,” said Abdullah Al-Hazza.

New Doha Port to see construction costs increase to $8.24bn Material price rises behind 20% hike

Lebanese cement sector to see solid future despite decline Projections for “less than 100,000 tonnes” for export in 2012, say private sector

The cost of building a new Doha port is expected to increase by 20% from $6.86bn to $8.24bn, due to the global prices of materials and supplies rising, an official associated with the project has said.

In an interview with Zawya, the official, who declined to be named, said that The New Doha International Port would be developed in three phases. It would be linked to the mainland via a 8.5km long trestle bridge.

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Phase three of the project would include the building of a container terminal, berths and an administration and customs complex. A tug and pilot boats berthing area would also be developed, the source said.

Scheduled to be completed by the year 2030, the NDIP will have a final capacity of six million TEUs and will be expected to support industrial development in the area.

Lebanon’s biggest cement producer, Cemmenterie National has said it remains upbeat about the future of the sector despite a decline in local demand and exports.

Demand for Lebanese cement has been falling on both local and international markets, due to regional instability and euro zone economic woes, Pierre Doumet, the chief executive of Cemmenterie National, told The Daily Star.

Exports have fallen drastically in 2012, with Spain and Portugal halting cement imports from Lebanon, while deliveries to Syria have become much harder to make and more expensive, Doumet noted.

“Instead of the hundreds of thousands of tonnes we usually export to Syria every year, we will export less than 100,000 tonnes this year,” he said.

This has pressured cement prices which are expected to drop by as much as 20%, compared with last year.

However, despite the slowdown, the Lebanese cement sector retains major strengths, Doumet said.

“Lebanon enjoys very clean limestone deposits, the key natural resource for our industry. We are also very wellsuited on the Mediterranean for export and import activities,” he said.

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NEWS ANALYSIS | EC Harris

Qatar programme management contract awarded Last month, Qatar’s Public Works Authority, Ashghal, appointed the latest in a string of massive contracts for its buildings project. Middle East regional leader John Williams of one half of the successful JV, EC Harris, tells The Big Project about the multi-million dollar contract and working in partnership

A

s far as projects go, Qatar’s current building program is probably one of the largest and highest profile in the world and last month a joint venture of EC Harris and Mace signed a contract with Qatar’s Public Works Authority, Ashghal, worth an estimated $113million over five years for the program management of social infrastructure building projects across the Gulf state.

Under the 50/50 venture both companies will deploy their highest ranking experts to undertake all program management activities for the planning, procurement and management of design, supervision and construction contracts for projects that will span education, healthcare, ports and waterfront developments, public tourism facilities, public sports and assembly facilities and recreational facilities.

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“One of the benefits of the Ashghal projects is that there are several PMCs” “The reason we brought our two companies together for this specific opportunity is that, in partnership, we have a formidable and un-paralleled track record in delivering the breadth of asset types which make up the Ashghal

portfolio,” explains EC Harris Middle East regional leader, John Williams.

“We have a tried, tested and very successful long term relationship with Mace which gives us phenomenal capacity and expertise to undertake

a program of this content and scale,” he adds.

“One thing we also have is reach. With Qatar wanting to build world class facilities we have project experts around the world working on exemplar projects which affords us the opportunity to harness global leading edge expertise and deploy it here.

“For this reason we are attracting our best people from all over the world to Qatar to work on this incredible program with a pure focus on best in class project delivery,” Williams continues.

A key component of the major projects portfolio to be executed under the management contract will be healthcare and schools with current activities concentrated on feasibility studies and prioritisation planning.

Williams explains that whilst many of Qatar’s major projects have been in the gestation stage for quite some time, the recent focus on preparations for the country to host the FIFA World Cup in 2022 is beginning to channel these projects to market.

“One of the major benefits of the Ashghal program portfolio is that there are several world class PMCs engaged by Ashghal who are all communicating and knowledge sharing across their respective programs. Fundamentally we are all working together with a mission to ensure that we design and implement best practice here, working in full collaboration with our Qatari partners. In this regard it truly is a fully integrated team structured around knowledge transfer and legacy,” Williams says.

Working together

The decision to execute under the JV model is gaining popularity in the region today with names such as Saudi Aramco, Dow Chemical,

“Firstly that you have to be very aligned as an organisation” Suttons, Teejan Group and Imdaad all announcing agreements in recent weeks.

Yet these announcements come in the wake of news that Leighton Holding’s chairman “regrets” the company’s JV with UAE-based Habtoor Construction. Chairman Stephen Johns publically admitted to shareholders in May that financial losses have been an embarrassment to the company in front of its shareholders.

EC Harris has worked in joint ventures on several major projects for clients internationally and in the Middle East. With Mace they have worked in joint venture together on major programs for EMAAR in Dubai as well as many examples where they simply work as part of the same client chosen team.

Williams describes the partnering approach as that of the ‘best athlete’, pairing key people from both organisations to leverage capability and create balance between the parties.

“The mechanics of a JV are that you have to be clear in setting out what both parties are trying to achieve from the outset. Both EC Harris and Mace are deploying significant program management resources for Ashghal to achieve all of their objectives and we have a very clear JV contractual framework that will make sure we deliver,” he explains.

“I think, firstly, that you have to be very aligned as two organisations and that might sound simplistic but we have worked with Mace for around 20 years. We know each others’

strengths intimately and we complement each other very well indeed. Fundamentally we structure our JV relationship to align with the clients specific program needs and critical success factors” Williams continues, naming client affairs management as a key skill forged between the two companies.

“We have worked really hard to make sure we are both incentivised to meet objectives. If we felt the mechanics were becoming unequal, that would have to be addressed,” he adds, continuing to describe the venture as benefitting from a combination of expertise and a single point of responsibility for the client, in a way a single company could not achieve.

“We also have good governance in the agreement with a JV board clearly stating how they are structured and what the support team on the ground can expect from us,” he reiterates.

The building programme

Currently, EC Harris and Mace are engaged in the establishment of their Qatar-based office before embarking on the five year programme – which could extend by a further two years.

First class resources are being drawn from each company’s pool and will mobilise from major programs such as London 2012 and King Abdullah Sports City.

“This appointment is a unique opportunity to facilitate the development of the public works landscape across Qatar and we are thrilled to be part of the delivery team,” Mace deputy CEO, Mark Reynolds, comments.

Mace entered the Qatari market in 2009 on a project, cost and construction management contract at the New Doha International Airport (NDIA) and has been working with EC Harris for 20 years including the region’s second largest mall, Doha Festival City.

“The size and scope of the infrastructure projects will provide the opportunity to demonstrate how collaboration and partnership can produce a scheme of innovation that places the country’s society at the heart of the project,” Reynolds continues.

Among those projects, Williams says there will be a strong focus on major social infrastructure in healthcare and educational establishments, in order to lay the foundations for the country’s future beyond 2022.

“One of the major things is that we are training for legacy, so we are effectively building best in class skills and capability within the Ashghal organisation which will enable our client to continue to operate on a sustainable basis well into the future,” Williams concludes.

www.thebigprojectme.com | 17

NEWS ANALYSIS | EC Harris

“With Qatar wanting to build some pretty impressive buildings, we need to have project experts around the world in healthcare and education projects”

Life begins Reflecting on almost 50 years of professional experience, award winning architect and AIA luminary Steven Miller FAIA, RIBA, tells Melanie Mingas about his career; past, present and future

G

ABOVE: Steven Miller.

20 | www.thebigprojectme.com

entlemen, let me tell you something. You’re babies. In architecture you are babies, it’s infantile that you should have licences.

You will never be a great architect until minimum you have your 50th birthday.”

It was during his first professional job that Steven Miller was given this advice by then mentor Edward Durell Stone; senior designer of the Rockefeller Centre Music Hall, National Geographic Society Building, the Kennedy Centre in Washington D.C. and the US Embassy in New Delhi India – considered one of the finest embassies in the world.

At 26 years old, Miller was one of six principal young designers at Stone’s townhouse studio in

New York, facing the same professional uncertainties and struggles as his counterparts.

Now MENA regional manager for global architectural powerhouse Perkins Eastman, Miller may have an esteemed career of his own under his belt, but still reflects on his time with Stone, commenting: “It’s very interesting because everything happened after I was 50 years old.”

The year of his 50th birthday, Miller moved to what was then Czechoslovakia to be a developer and architect in his own firm. Staying 12 years in the Czech capital he worked on historical renovation and European hotel projects, including the continent’s first Park Hyatt in Milan, the planning for the Mandarin Oriental and

Augustine hotels in Prague and the Four Seasons hotel in Florence. Recalling how the experience changed his life, he says his career from then “just always went up”.

Educated at New York’s Columbia University and the University of Colorado, the list of architects Miller counts among his mentors, tutors and friends, reads like an architecture hall of fame.

He has completed projects in the UAE, India, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Indonesia, Morocco, China, Hong Kong, the Czech Republic, Hungary, the Ukraine, United Kingdom, Italy, and US. During his eight years in the Middle East alone he has worked with and for Emaar, FX Fowle, KPF and Perkins Eastman.

Yet his professional drive isn’t rooted by the fame his pedigree brings but the achievements he has made in his field.

“Less than 2.5% of all American architects

ever get a Fellowship. So that means, considering the percentage of architects in the world, less than 3.5% of all the architects in the world get a Fellowship,” he explains.

Fellowship aside, Miller’s top three career highlights – as ranked by himself – include: The Urban Land Institute’s ‘Best International Project’ award in 1999, after which he was quoted in The Prague Post as saying “The world has fantastic taste”. The following year the same project – an historical renovation of the Vinohradsky Pavilon mall – won a MIPIM award and a second MIPIM was presented to Miller the year after.

A past President of the AIA Continental Europe Chapter, today Miller’s expertise is lent to the AIA Middle East Chapter, of which he is founder and director, as well as the College of Fellows, to which he is the international Fellows’ Representative.

“So the Fellowship very importantly, the 12 years I spent in Prague being a developer/ architect gave me this master builder kind of feeling, which I really liked. Winning those very coveted awards I feel at MIPIM was

“When you’re an architect you’re used to solving problems, you’re used to being with people. It’s the kind of profession that allows that. I don’t even know what I would do otherwise” www.thebigprojectme.com | 21

IN PROFILE | STEVEN MILLER

“I worked for some really great architects when I was younger”

IN PROFILE | STEVEN MILLER important to me, the ULI was even more important,” he elaborates.

“The next thing was probably coming here and being able to move in a period of eight years with four different companies,” he continues.

Dubai

Although proud of his achievements, it seems Stone’s lessons in humility still resonate with Miller. At 71, the globally recognised and award winning architect, urban planner and business man has no intention of indulging in retirement, instead splitting his time between Dubai, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Iraq, Libya, Egypt, Morocco and Jordan, for Perkins Eastman.

Originally brought to the UAE to work for Emaar, Miller spent the next eight years moving through architecture’s highest realms. From managing director of FX Fowle’s Dubai branch office; to MENA regional manager at Perkins Eastman; via a 10 month stint as consultant for KPF, a New York and London-based firm in need of his expertise; and a short trip to design a hotel in Zanzibar, for his own planning and design consultancy company.

“Because I really came here to start working

“I thought I was busy with the other two firms, I’m even busier here because of the way we do our business” 22 | www.thebigprojectme.com

for Emaar, and in each case moved to a better and better, and I think even better job, for my expertise, never missing a beat; which says to me that I have succeeded in my career, because that’s through the downturn. I never missed a beat through the whole thing,” he recalls.

Now technically based in Dubai, Miller says

“They’re drilling for the second avenue subway underneath New York City right now. This is a city that has lived with subways since the beginning time and people are leaving because they just can’t stand the noise any more during the day.

Turning his attention to the world’s next skyscraping record breaker – Jeddah’s Kingdom Tower – Miller points out of his office window facing Dubai’s Burj Khalifa and continues to say: “ They’re going to top that? Who’s going to go inside it? I hope it works as I hope to be part of the teams designing the buildings in the master plan around it.”

“But Dubai is the financial centre between Shanghai, Hong Kong, Singapore and London. It’s Dubai. Dubai is New York City, Abu Dhabi is Washington D.C. and Doha is – well, we’ll see.”

The architect’s entrepreneur

it’s a place that has fulfilled the objective of becoming a “proper city” “It’s a city of 2.1 million people that does what is has to do and the reason it prevails over every other city in the region is because Sheikh Mohammed had the infrastructure almost done before everything else.

“The only cities that can succeed are those where the infrastructure is ahead of the developers,” he asserts.

After his home city of New York, followed by London and Hong Kong, Miller now even ranks Dubai as his fourth favourite globally; a remarkable complement for such a discerning architect and urban planner.

Today, Miller’s professional eye is closely watching the other Middle Eastern cities looking to emulate Dubai’s success.

“The region cannot have another Dubai. They think people will want to go to Doha, Riyadh and other cities when there is all this here? It’s just never going to happen. Some of the richest people in the world are in these cities and they still come to Dubai. So Doha has all these high rises now that are mostly vacant, and after building all the high rises they’re going to drill underneath and put in metros and so on.

During his time in Prague, Miller took on a hybrid role that blended both the developer, architect and business man; an approach that changed the path of a career, which until that point had been, purely focussed on architecture.

“I worked for some really great architects when I was younger,” he reflects.

“After Stone I worked for the great Bauhaus fellow in America, Marcel Breuer, then I opened a firm with an older guy who needed a young designer and I became a small partner. And the intriguing thing was that he needed me to be a ‘renaissance’ architect and somebody who can touch all the pieces of architecture.

“Then I got into the business of architecture and I guess it’s proved itself over the years.”

Saying that currently “around 20%” of his time is billable, Miller’s responsibilities for Perkins Eastman cover new business, problem solving for ongoing clients, pre-architectural services, PPP modelling and client matchmaking, while also “playing professor” as needed on hotel and urban planning projects.

With a portfolio of medical projects on Perkins Eastman’s table, more senior medical project specialists are due to be brought to the Dubai office after Ramadan to cope with the growing workload.

“The hospital work I do but it’s not my thing.

I’m a luxury hotel designer and I like luxury apartments,” Miller admits.

He counts private beach houses, world renowned hotels and more than 20 historic renovations. But it isn’t the projects that define Miller, it is his all encompassing and encyclopaedic industry knowledge.

Spotting business opportunity in social trends, economics and even urban failure, Miller’s anecdotes cover legal wrangles, international postings and incidents that can only be described as “academic disagreements”.

Concentrating today on personal design projects while he balances the life of a jet-setting business man it may feel logical to ask if he will ever slow down. Don’t.

Explaining how Louis Kahn died sitting up in a railway station en route to a meeting, Miller says: “Brad Perkins is around my age, I believe there about three architects in the firm who are in their 70s. You go to a convention and I’m meeting with Daniel Libeskind who is my age and Gene Kohn and Michael Graves, and everybody works.

Architects don’t really retire.”

Recalling how his mother still practices interior design – and drives – at 94 years old, Miller says: “When you’re an architect you’re used to solving problems, you’re used to being with people. It’s the kind of profession that allows that. I don’t even know what I would do otherwise.”

Perkins Eastman Established by Brad Perkins in 1981 – who has also authored a number of books including the influential “International Practice for Architects” – Perkins Eastman specialises in courthouses, healthcare, hotels, resorts, residential and educational developments.

The firm’s Middle East portfolio includes the KAEC’s World Academy; the UAE’s Al Maktoum Hospital, RAK Hospital, Dubai Medical Spa, St. Regis Hotel, Al Raha Beach Hotel, Park Hyatt Saadiyat Beach, Megastar mixed-use development, Abu Dhabi Court; Egypt’s Fairmont and Renaissance Golden View, both in Sharm El Sheikh, the Renaissance Alexandria and Madinaty City Center, Madinaty; and The Hyatt Regency, Port Luxus, Morocco.

This year it has been announced that construction has begun on the Lekhwiya Sports Complex in Qatar for 2013 completion and a number of UAE projects are due for handover in the coming weeks.

Miller was appointed to regional manager in November 2011, ahead of COO, J. Scott Kilbourne’s, prediction of “tremendous growth” in the region.

www.thebigprojectme.com | 23

IN PROFILE | STEVEN MILLER

“This is the financial centre between Shanghai, Hong Kong, Singapore and London. It’s Dubai”

LEGAL | MARK FRASER

ABOVE: Mark Fraser, partner, Taylor Wessing.

The future of project finance in the gulf in the wake of Basel III

Although there is a massive need for infrastructure development in the Gulf region, how is it going to be financed? Mark Fraser considers how these projects can go forward against the backdrop of Basel III

B

e it rail, road, air or sea, the need for infrastructure in the region remains undiminished. In Qatar alone, it is projected that there will be 80 new hotels, 15 new stadia, internal railroad development to connect with the GCC rail network, a new port and major road networks. Nine of the 10 biggest projects in the region are rail projects and they require substantial investment. Although commentators have conjectured as to the scope for hybrid public private partnership models as a way forward, such models still require external

“Although commentators have conjectured as to the scope for hybrid public private partnership models as a way forward, such models still require external financing to be available� www.thebigprojectme.com | 25

LEGAL | MARK FRASER

“In order to finance the needed infrastructure, developers may well have to turn to their well-heeled neighbours and local currencies rather than their traditional funders”

financing to be available. So, against the backdrop of continuing financial instability in the United States and Europe, has Basel III added yet another hurdle?

that the long tenures required (often in excess of 20 years) consume too much capital, under new rules. The result is the emergence of project bond structures where the more traditional long term investors, such as pension funds and insurers, are involved, as well as sovereign wealth funds.

What is Basel III?

How are UAE banks placed?

Basel III provides for major reform measures for banks around the world. It is essentially a reflection of Basel II’s failure to protect the world’s financial institutions from the crises experienced in the last decade. Basel III sets a new key capital ratio of 4.%, more than double the current ratio, as well as an additional 2.5% protective cushion. The objective is for banks to hold more capital against their loans.

However, from a project finance perspective, a knock-on effect is that many international banks are tightening their lending to fit with these new capital requirements. In other words, there will be less of a financing resource available for projects.

We should also be aware that this is not just a function of Basel III. A lot of banks that would have lent into the sector are having to scale back dramatically, in particular the French, Spanish and UK banks, simply because they are running out of capital whichever way you care to measure it. Although the Japanese banks are still in the picture, other lenders are finding

26 | www.thebigprojectme.com

The refreshing fact is that UAE banks are amongst the best capitalized in the world, therefore, compliance with the requirements of Basel III should be relatively painless.

Likewise, Islamic banks in the region are already highly capitalized.

The impact of Basel III

Not all project finance in the region is derived from local banks and it is highly unlikely that the local resource could make up for any shortfall occasioned by a withdrawal of international financing. In order to finance the needed infrastructure, developers may well have to turn to their well-heeled neighbours and local currencies rather than their traditional funders.

Whereas some developers may stick with US dollar or Euro- denominated loans borrowed from lenders now demanding higher returns, those developers with established relationships with cash rich neighbours may be well served to maximize the value of those contacts.

It is not clear whether Islamic financing will

be a cure. The financing available from the Islamic banks in the region has its own complications, in particular the divergence between conventional project tenures and those of Sukuk bonds. The difficulty with Sukuk bonds in the case of project financing is that they mature in 10 years whereas conventional projects may need between 15 and 25 years of funding, making it problematic in the long term.

Another option for developers in the region is to look East where the Asian banks have expanded their interest in the Gulf.

Japanese banks in particular have the funding to invest abroad in projects of the type promoted by local developers.

Conclusion

It is imperative for the continued development of the region that the proposed infrastructure projects proceed. The sovereign debt crisis has already led to a drastic scaling back of infrastructure funding by European banks and the impact of Basel III will exacerbate that trend.

All is not gloom and doom, however. The region is blessed with cash rich states and sovereign wealth funds and the interest in the region held by Asian banks may well help to plug the gap ……… until the capital markets return to fund projects?

VOLVO OCEAN RACE ABU DHABI STOPOVER DECEMBER 31 – JANUARY 14

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

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

JUNE 2012

PL

US Interm at Pa Qa excLUS tar tender re rIS Ive: Fam Po co FInan rt cIaL tHe toP 5 moS neW InFr t exPenSIve aS ProJectS trUctUre In tHe Gc c

40,880 readers per month Average projected readership

infrastruc ture aBc

From th e

region ’s most expens models ive new and ma the big projec chines ts, to th projec requir t look e Finan ed to s at al cial l things build them, inFras tructu re

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

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Marketing manager Carole McCarthy carolem@cpidubai.com TEL: +971 (0)4 440 9157

News

Tanween chief legal officer, Farah Zafar, writes an exclusive analyses for The Big Project on the factors that poise the GCC real estate market for recovery

T

“Dubai is now attracting a secondary market of sophisticated investors, such as institutional investors and major international funds who are actively looking for developments in which to invest in and support and income generating assets”

he real estate markets in the GCC region are well placed to emerge from the global financial crisis due to various factors, one of which could be, the establishment of a robust legal framework and comprehensive regulation.

After the global financial crisis, investors are now more sophisticated; due diligence is no longer an afterthought, but a pre-condition; and investors expect greater transparency and accountability. Maturing investors are also expecting greater protection and reassurance from the existing legal framework.

This article will briefly consider the real estate markets in the Emirate of Dubai, the State of Qatar and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, and some of the legal initiatives that have been introduced to further encourage foreign investors and provide confidence in the real estate market.

Dubai

Prior to the global financial crisis, Dubai experienced an unprecedented growth in its real estate market, in part due to the fact that Dubai was the first country in the GCC region to liberalize the ownership of freehold and leasehold property for expatriates in Dubai in designated areas. It was also the first in the region to establish a regulatory body - the Real Estate Regulatory Agency known as RERA – legal regulations, and a legal framework specific to the real estate market to offer transparency to the investor.

RERA implemented a comprehensive and effective legal framework to regulate the market and introduced legal initiatives to ensure transparency, such as the requirement for escrow

XXXXXXXX LEGAL | Farah | XXXXXXXXXX Zafar

Will legal frameworks assist recovery in the real estate market? accounts, compulsory registration of developers, projects and off plan sales agreements, strata laws and so on.

Due to established laws and regulations being in place and such laws being tried and tested through the courts and arbitration, in my view, Dubai is now attracting a secondary market of sophisticated investors, such as institutional investors and major international funds who are actively looking for developments in which to invest in and support and income generating assets.

More recently, the extension of the jurisdiction of the Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC) Courts now allows foreign investors the opportunity to submit to an independent, common law judiciary based in the DIFC, in the English language, with a jurisdiction covering civil and commercial disputes. This is a significant and positive step for Dubai as foreign investors now have the comfort and security of having a dispute heard and resolved in the English language and in a familiar setting and this will further encourage major international players to look at the Dubai real estate market again in a positive light.

Qatar

Qatar has emerged as one of the fastest growing economies in the GCC region and its successful bid to host FIFA World Cup 2022 will have a positive impact on Qatar’s real estate market and infrastructure.

Qatar has adopted laws and regulations governing freehold and leasehold ownership in certain designated areas and has further encouraged foreign investors by enacting Law

www.thebigprojectme.com | 29

LEGAL | Farah Zafar

“Uncertainty with respect to Shariah and local laws, together with no real transparency of the laws and regulations surrounding land ownership, sale and transfer, cause many developers to think twice before entering such a market despite the growing demand for residential projects in the country”

No. 2 of 2006, which allows expatriates who have purchased property in Qatar to obtain residency permits; and Law No 4 of 2008, which establishes a rental dispute committee.

Qatar is already attracting corporate investment, joint ventures, construction and development companies that wish to establish themselves in Qatar and all who wish to be part of Qatar’s success story.

Saudi Arabia

Saudi Arabia’s real estate market will continue to show remarkable growth over the coming years, attributed to the country’s domestic population of 27 million – most of whom are under the age of 30, with an estimated 60% not owning their own home.

The government is focusing on affordable residential housing projects to bridge the widening demand- supply gap together with

30 | www.thebigprojectme.com

the implementation of various laws to address the market.

The proposed mortgage law is expected to address five key areas, mortgage registration, real estate funding, finance companies, financial leasing and enforcement, setting out clear steps for the facilitation of repossession of properties and bank ownership. The delay in issuing the much anticipated mortgage law is due to the social and religious impact it may have and the requirement that such law needs to be compatible with the existing Sharia laws, custom and practice.

Uncertainty with respect to Shariah and local laws, together with no real transparency of the laws and regulations surrounding land ownership, sale and transfer, cause many developers to think twice before entering such a market despite the growing demand for residential projects in the country.

However, it is anticipated that the mortgage law will act as a catalyst to increase supply in the market as local and foreign developers will see this as a further tool to sell and promote their developments to the Saudi market and should in turn create a competitive and buoyant real estate market.

Farah has thirteen years’ legal experience advising on all company and commercial legal matters including corporate investment and structuring, mixed-use real estate projects and developments, mergers and acquisitions, corporate finance, project finance and dispute resolution. She has been permanently based in Dubai for 11 years was recently and appointed chief legal officer of the Qatari based development company Tanween WLL (whose shareholders are Qatari Diar and Barwa). One of her legal functions is to support the Qatar 2022 Supreme Committee.

AD

XXXXXXXX Business Brief | XXXXXXXXXX | Rubber World Industries

“If we can achieve the same sales we were having before 2010 that will be a double digit growth already on the 2011 figures”

Rising again Two years ago Rubber World Industries’ SIZE factory in Ajman was destroyed by fire. Following the launch of the new facility last month, MD Rizwan Shaikhani tells The Big Project about the company’s plans to regain its market share

I

n May 2010 Rubber World Industries (RWI) was the Gulf region’s primary rubber insulation manufacturer and supplier, enjoying pre-approved brand status on 90% of all UAE projects and actively exploring international markets.

Then in June that year the unthinkable happened when the company’s factory and warehouse, located at New Ajman Industrial Zone, was destroyed by a fire that caused AED50 million worth of damage.

After enjoying multi-million dirham regional

32 | www.thebigprojectme.com

sales since 1993, production was halted for two months and overall capacity affected for more than a year.

“The fire affected the business in more than one aspect; our production was hurt, our customers who were with us regularly were hurt.

Everything was affected,” recalls managing director Rizwan Shaikhani.

“Our key success factor was our warehouse because we were able to fill our orders in a short lead time. That was our strength. We had two months of inventory stored there,” he continues.

time because glass wool was the popular insulation type before people realised that rubber insulation actually has a longer life and requires less space, because it is higher density and therefore thinner.

“We came to the industry and a lot of rubber of insulation was used during the construction boom because the product was widely available at that time. Now, because space equals cost, rubber insulation has become a preferred choice,” he explains.

Beyond 2012

Shaikhani says it took only two months to regain the production rate but that the sales lost in that short time have yet to be regained.

In the immediate aftermath of the fire, the company was forced to prioritise its client base and reduce supply to smaller clients, but the strategy paid off and today RWI has recovered enough to set ambitious growth targets for 2012 and beyond.

“It has been tough,” Shaikhani admits.

“Production resumed but we never went back to the same level of sales as before. We prioritised servicing our loyal customers and we contacted our market to establish a conversation with the people we had the longest relationships with, so they could still source products.

“That worked for us because we were able to retain those customers and now we are going for the new markets again,” he says.

Growth trajectory

The aim now is clear; according to an official announcement made in May, RWI aims to achieve double digit growth by the end of 2012.

Already today supplying 56% of the region’s rubber insulation product requirements, the first step is the inauguration of the new factory, which will double current production capacities.

From there the strategy is to restructure – and eventually double – non-labour teams in order to tap the markets that were on the radar two years ago. “If we can achieve the same sales we were having before 2010 that will be a double

“It has been tough.

Production resumed but we never went back to the same level of sales as before” digit growth already on the 2011 figures,” Shaikhani explains.

There are also plans to open a chain of new showrooms across the region to increase market exposure of the company’s existing and new products, such as Gulf-o-Flex.

Adding that brand strength is key to the company’s claim of regional “brand leader” status, he adds: “Now we want to leverage that with other offerings. People know Gulf-O-Flex already so they will buy other offerings from us because we keep the same promise of our brand; we are a quality manufacturer with competitive prices.”

Based on the market success of the Gulf-OFlex range of foam insulations, the firm will leverage its existing pre-approved brand status in the UAE and newly approved status across its GCC neighbours: Qatar, Saudi Arabia and Oman, where Gulf-O-Flex has been approved for use in almost half of the country’s construction projects.

“It was very difficult in the beginning because Gulf-O-Flex is a very specialised product and you need to have expertise in the manufacturing. It had a very niche market at that

Celebrating RWI’s 20th birthday next year, the growth strategy will continue well into 2013 with further product launches and even more “double digit growth” planned.

“We want to adjust with the changes that are happening in the market. In 2013 we will have a bigger plant, our new teams will be settling into the business and it will be double digit growth again; more than 15%,” Shaikhani says, explaining the growth will continue to be dependent on the new geographical market reach, new products and increased invoice value these will create.

“We are excited about 2013 because all the operational issues will be over, so we can focus on our growth more. We are targeting even more greater next year than this, with new products in a range of areas, like the XPE insulation” he reveals.

Explaining the strategy as “two dimensional”, Shaikhani says RWI projects span hospitality to healthcare and residential and that the company deals directly to its UAE, Saudi Arabian, Omani and Qatari projects, with distributors utilised elsewhere.

Adding that the new teams are staffed by people originating from RWI’s target markets, Shaikhani concludes: “We will return to our original sales and then grow even more over the next three to four years.”

The Gulf-O-Flex range Insulation tube and coil Insulation sheets Insulation sheet rolls Insulated duct Glue and tape Trading products

www.thebigprojectme.com | 33

Business Brief | Rubber World Industries

“We will return to our original sales and then grow even more over the next three to four years”

COVER STORY | IRAQ King of the region

Q A R I

O T IN 34 | www.thebigprojectme.com

COVER STORY | IRAQ It has a population of more than 30 million people, the fifth largest oil reserves in the world and has seen little development in decades.

As construction companies around the world struggle for business, experts tell The Big Project that Iraq could provide the break the industry is waiting for.

O

n May 23 Iraq’s construction and housing minister, Mohammad Al Darrajsaid, addressed a packed hall of industry professionals in Abu Dhabi, urging them to invest in and build up the war torn country.

Al Darrajsaid opened by telling the room that Iraq will need 2.5 million houses and 7000km of new roads by 2015.

But it’s no easy job when the country’s entire budget for 2012 stands at $112bn and the outside world still perceives the country to be a risk in terms of

investment and security. With a plan to increase oil production by 100% over the same period, current projections see $2bn allocated to social housing over the next two years; $2bn on low cost housing; and a further $5.8bn on roads.

The largest projects currently underway include the new 1830 hectare city within Besmaya, 10km south east of the capital, Baghdad. A $7.75bn contract for the project was signed between the Iraqi government and South Korean conglomerate Hanwha Group on May 27 for a seven

www.thebigprojectme.com | 35

COVER STORY | IRAQ Broadway Malyan's New Sidr City, a sustainable community for 500,000 residents.

100,000 Jobs could be created by the 1830 hectare Besmaya mega project

29 of Iraq's 104 airports do not have paved runways

36 | www.thebigprojectme.com

year construction period that will cover roads, water supply and sewer systems as well as 100,000 Islamic traditional and modern houses of 100, 120 and 140m2, for which 30,000 people have already registered.

The Besmaya project will also provide more than 100,000 jobs to support the growing economy, according to Baghdad governor Salah Abdul Razzaq.

It is complemented by other mega projects such as New Sadr City, the Broadway Malyan concept masterplan for a sustainable community of 500,000 inhabitants, designed to ease the overcrowding in Sadr City as part of the 10x10 Iraq development scheme, which itself was originally projected to cost $10bn over a 10 year delivery timeframe.

“In theory Iraq has work for the next 50 years,” asserts Amaar Al Assam, executive director for Dewan Architects; the family run regional firm that was established in Iraq almost 40 years ago.

“It’s a massive market. There are barriers to entry right now, but in five years time the

situation will get better and it will be the prime market in the region along with the UAE, Qatar and Saudi Arabia,” he continues.

Dewan currently has 20 active projects in the country covering architecture and urban and social planning, all executed from its five offices. “On paper it’s probably the most difficult market to operate in and it does have its challenges, but it’s also the most lucrative and if you know how to go about doing business there, it’s not as difficult as people think,” he adds.

Opportunity

Once active in the country, opportunity seems to knock at every corner; for example the country has 104 airports, of which 29 have unpaved runways. There is an Emergency School Construction and Rehabilitation Project (ESCRP), approved in 2004, to build new

schools, replace those which are unsafe and “rehabilitate” schools in need of repair through community labour. The project will cover 36 school building projects but is dependent on international funding.

“The country needs everything and anything, mainly power to boost its manufacturing industry,” says Al Fayha Group CEO Sarmad Al Khudairi, whose company is the largest employer in the country with 1200 staff on its books. “There are severe shortages in qualified resources in Iraq and with the rules currently in place you cannot deploy foreign workforce easily so you must rely on the local market,” he adds.

Currently planning a 250,000sqm residential project in the country � which describes as being “only the start” � Al Khudairi says he is looking to other GCC markets for the talent Al Fayha's projects require.

Having himself recently returned to share expertise gained from 16 years in other markets, he explains the decision by saying: “There has never been a private sector lead in these types of projects, so by employing Iraqi architects from outside the country we get the cultural understanding and expertise.”

Al Assam adds: “Local architecture firms in Iraq don’t necessarily have that experience because they have been cut off from the world for 30 years.”

Some of the companies that have managed to tap lucrative opportunities in Iraq include Metito, Habtoor Leighton Group, Drake and Scull and Dewan Architects' Basra project . Al Assam says Dewan is wel positioned for such projects as it has international expertise and experience of the local culture.

Hill International. Between them the companies are covering oil and gas, water projects and project management consultancy and advisory.

For new companies looking to enter Iraq, the World Bank and International Finance Corporation advises that it takes an average 187 days to obtain a construction permit, going through a total of 13 procedures covering everything from the payment of paving and inspection fees to the local municipality, to the

Iraq – the latest tenders Project Number MPP2660-IQ

Project name Central Processing Facility Construction Project (Phase 2) - Majnoon Field Territory Iraq Client Shell Group (Netherlands) Address 5201 AN The Hague Postal/ ZIP code 162 Country Netherlands Phone(+31-70) 377 9111 Description Engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) contract to build a central processing facility (CPF) with a capacity of 200,000 barrels-a-day (b/d) at Majnoon Field.

Status New Tender Remarks This project will be located in the South of Iraq. It will include separation facilities for 200,00 b/d of crude oil, along with treatment of 250 million cubic metre a day (cf/d) of natural gas. EPC contract is expected to be tendered by the end of 2012. Client is expected to tender three further contracts, which include: - Construction and installation of a 160-kilometre, 42-inch crude oil export pipeline from field to the Al-Fao storage facility.

- Storage tanks and a tank farm.

- Enabling and civil works including roads and flyovers.

Main consultant Tender categories Gas Processing & Distribution, Oilfields & Refineries Tender products Oilfields Exploration & Development

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COVER STORY | IRAQ

" There has been a sizeable increase in foreign investment in Karbala and Najaf, in particular over the last year."

COVER STORY | IRAQ

" It’s a massive market. There are barriers to entry right now, but in five years time the situation will get better and it will be the prime market in the region along with the UAE, Qatar and Saudi Arabia" acquisition of local clearances and guidelines and obtaining a telephone connection.

“Every market has different ways of working but for us Iraq represents about 25 percent of our business. By the end of the year we expect that to have risen to around 35 percent and in two or three years time it could be 70 percent of our business,” says Al Assam.

Trade growth

Iraq’s religious and historic wonders attract up to five million visitors annually, with tourism from Europe increasing 98% between January and September 2009. Yet the most popular destinations, Karbala and Najaf have no hotels rated three stars or above under international standards.

“Religious tourism in Iraq is on a growth trajectory,” says chairman of the Iraqi National Businessmen Council, Ibrahim Al Baghdadi.

“There are absolutely no hotels in Karbala and Najaf which would be graded three star or above by international standards. Coupled with the growing number of pilgrims, a number of large scale developments are required to ensure this ‘gap’ is addressed. We require at least 500 hotels based on the current influx of pilgrims to be built in Karbala,” he adds.

Some of the projects to have been announced recently include the $175m, 12 storey Rawdatain Residences, in Karbala; a hotel and separate hotel apartments complex by the J.W. Marriot chain in Erbil, with investment on the latter exceeding $100m; and a Rotana hotel in the same province, for an undisclosed amount.

“There has been a sizeable increase in foreign investment in Karbala and Najaf in particular over the last year. In 2010, foreign

Vital statistics

oil economy contribution to government revenue 90%

land area 438,317 sq km

oil production 2012 2.6mb/d (+0.4 from 2011)

total population 31,129,225

labour force8.9m

baghdad population 5.751 m

Land use 13.12% arable/ 0.61% permanent crops, 86.27%

urbanisation (% of population) 67 access to improved water source (% of population) 77

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other

population growth rate 2.345% oil economy contribution to foreign exchange earnings 80%

firms and investors reported $42.668b in investments, service contracts and other commercial activities across Iraq — an estimated 48.7 percent increase in total deal value over the previous year,” says Dunia Frontier Consultants’ emerging markets managing director, Kyle Stelma.

Currently the UAE is Iraq’s primary trading partner with trade in 2012 predicted to reach values of $7bn. In 2011, this figure stood at $6.5bn; $4.5bn of which came from oil and gas. Other trade primarily covers building materials and human resources, the latter of which was buoyed by an announcement earlier this year that low cost carrier FlyDubai is running new services to Baghdad.

As one of the firms that was forced to wind down

$7bn predicted trade value between Iraq and UAE in 2012, up from $6.5bn in 2011, mostly from oil and gas

48.7% increase in foreign investments deals between 2009 and 2010

7000km of new roads need to be added to the current network of 40,000km bu 2015

Iraq – project update Tender products Chemical Plants

"We require at least 500 hotels based on the current influx of pilgrims to be built in Karbala"

PROJECT UPDATE Project name Independent Power Plants Project Description Build-own-operate (BOO) contract for the development of (4 Nos.) independent power plants in different locations with total capacity of 2,750 megawatts (MW).

Budget NULL

operations in Iraq during the war, Dewan is now highly active in the market and is winning work on hospitals, schools, hotels, master planning and infrastructure. Al Assam says that although staff are permanently based in one of the five active offices in the country, many do commute from the UAE. “The government is developing the country and there is a huge line of foreign investors waiting for security to improve before they

jump at the Iraqi market,” observes Al Assam.

“It’s a big market and it’s a country that hasn’t been developed for 50 years or so. Iraq needs everything and with the global market being in trouble it represents a market that is almost a life saver for some of the construction companies who are struggling elsewhere,” he adds.

Echoing his point, Al Khudairi adds: “This is only the start; we need to build everything.”

Client Ministry of Electricity (Iraq) Updated on 20-Jun-12 Latest comment Turkey’s Gama and Germany’s Metka are understood to be the front-runner to build a 500MW power plant at Samawa. Contracts to build Amawa and Dewaniy power plants are currently under tendering stage.

www.thebigprojectme.com | 39

COVER STORY | IRAQ

" Iraq needs everything and with the global marker being in trouble it represents a market that is almost a life saver for some of the construction companies who are struggling elsewhere"

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Bewegung mit SyStem

News

Unibeton technical director Christopher Stanley explains the science behind the manufacturer’s Portland-free concrete and concrete wood

W

hat would you think if someone told you that they could build you a concrete building or structure without using Portland Cement. Probably say stop wasting my time and rapidly show them the way out.

In the 18th and 19th centuries many important civic buildings were built using a medium strength limestone from Portland in Dorset which was fairly easy to quarry and carve, but was it was very expensive and could only be used for the most prestigious buildings. The inventor Aspdin tried to re-create this stone artificially with a totally new type of cement, which he called Portland Cement. Although his invention was at the cutting edge of technology, it took almost another 40 years to gain acceptance in England’s very traditional construction industry. Now it is time for a game changer again.

In recent years it has become important to reduce the carbon footprint of concrete in order to enhance the environment for future generations. This can be accomplished by partially replacing some of the cement in the mix with waste materials, such as powdered slag from steel making; ash from electrical power generation and rice husks from agriculture.

These materials are not cementitious in their own right, but when mixed with cement, have similar properties of strength development together with enhanced durability.

In order to enhance the environment, there is a need, where possible, to reduce the amount of cement used in the construction process, without compromising either the strength or long term durability of the concrete. To a

“These materials are not cementitious in their own right, but when mixed with cement, have similar properties of strength development together with enhanced durability”

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certain extent we are restricted by minimum cement contents, set out originally in BS Code of Practice CP110 for structural concrete, which have never been revised in the light of modern advances in concrete technology. The available options are therefore to include a variety of cement replacement materials in the mix, which do not compromise the engineering properties of the concrete.

UNIBETON is leading the new revolution is sweeping through the construction industry, making durable, strong concrete, without using any Portland cement. These concretes use naturally occurring waste products and newly developed polymer compounds.

UNIBETON are now manufacturing environmentally friendly concrete without Portland cement that has compressive strengths up to about 75MPa together with

XXXXXXXX| |unibeton comment XXXXXXXXXX

Concrete without cement?

You must be joking

improved durability and greatly enhanced fire resistance. These concretes can also have a carbon footprint of only 7% compared to traditional concrete where Portland cement is used, and are very suitable for use in precast concrete and some in-situ concretes which require a higher initial strength for the early demoulding of formwork.

Another interesting advance is in the manufacture of concrete wood. It is now possible to make concrete that can be sawn, drilled and screwed in the same way as traditional timber but which saves cutting down valuable forests which have the ability to absorb large amounts of carbon dioxide and convert to back into oxygen. The other advantage of concrete wood is that it does not rot or get eaten by beetles; and all these products can now be produced for the same price as traditional concrete.

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Supplier Comment | GYPROC

Another level for internal finishes With the launch of their new range of gypsum finishing plasters, drylining specialist Gyproc Middle East has now made it easy to achieve the high quality flawless wall and ceiling finishes demanded for today’s prestigious building interiors, as company business development manager for plasters, Michael Monaghan, explains

“In the UAE, however, painterapplied putties or stuccos are currently the more popular finishing method, and the many benefits of plaster finishes have yet to be fully recognised”

W

hilst buildings today are getting ever more complex and sophisticated, contractors are now coming under increasing pressure to build faster and at lower cost.

Something has to give, and while structural integrity must remain paramount, it can be the structural finish quality that suffers. Transforming rough internal finishes into high quality modern building interiors has therefore become something of a science – which is where modern finishing systems come into their own.

Gypsum-based plasters are one of the oldest finishing solutions around – dating back to the times of the Pharaohs in ancient Egypt – and are today still the preferred finishing option for homes, commercial buildings, hospitals and schools throughout Europe and in many other parts of the world.

In the UAE, however, painter-applied putties or stuccos are currently the more popular finishing method, and the many benefits of plaster finishes have yet to be fully recognised.

The drawbacks of finishing putties

Ready mixed putties are popular because of their low skill requirement, ease of application and ability to achieve an acceptable finish for many non-critical building applications.

However, their thin coat structure – typical application thickness is just 190 microns, or about 0.2mm – and application technique, mean it can be difficult to achieve a smooth and blemish-free finish without multiple coats.

Even then the finish achieved is often unsatisfactory for critical light areas and other demanding applications, for instance where dark coloured paints are used.

Gypsum is made for the job

The unique properties of gypsum make it an ideal base for modern finishing plasters. When mixed with water, gypsum plasters become pliable and exhibit a strong bond that will adhere to a range of backgrounds. They are easy to apply and provide excellent coverage. They harden in two stages – setting first by a

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Supplier Comment | GYPROC The new GypFine finishing plasters range incorporates three different formulations

chemical process before they dry out. This unique property of gypsum plasters means that, unlike sand and cement renders and lime-based plasters they do not shrink and crack as they dry – leaving a smooth, high quality even surface for decoration.

A typical application thickness of 2mm means that just two coats will build to a thickness of 4mm – more than enough to cover any minor imperfections in the underlying background.

World leading technology

Gyproc’s parent group, Saint-Gobain, is world leader in gypsum technology and manufactures plasters in many countries around the world.

Gyproc has therefore been able to call on a wealth of expertise in plaster formulation when developing its new GypFine range.

It has combined this with local knowledge of building and finishing techniques to develop plasters which are not only ideal for the extremes of temperature and humidity encountered in the UAE, but which are easy to apply using the techniques and skills already available in the local market.

The key properties of GypFine are: easy-sand finishes, allowing semi-skilled tradesmen to produce excellent finished results; a finished thickness of 2mm, reduces onsite time and cost, by achieving the same results as several applications in critical light areas of putties or stuccos, in only two; and a white finish acting as a perfect base for a wide range of different colour finishes.

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“A typical application thickness of 2mm means that just two coats will build to a thickness of 4mm ” Getting you up to speed

As already stated, GypFine plasters do not require a high level of skill to apply, although obviously, the more experienced the applicator, the quicker the plaster will be mixed and applied, and the less sanding will be needed to achieve the required level of finish.

For contractors undertaking larger contracts, requiring high volumes of plaster finishing, Gyproc has developed a new training module covering skimming with GypFine finishing plasters. This one day specialist training module is designed to familiarise installers with the new range, and get them up to speed quickly through best practice training on background preparation, mixing, application and finishing.

Further details of the new GypFine range can be found on the Gyproc website www.gyproc.ae/ page/products Training course bookings can be made via www.gyproc.ae/page/sitetraining and demonstrations arranged by calling 800 GYPROC

GypFine - Ultra Skim has been specially formulated to provide a high quality finish to both plasterboard and masonry backgrounds, and therefore gives maximum versatility and speed, particularly where a mix of backgrounds are involved. For jobs involving large areas of jointed plasterboard, GypFine - Board Skim is the preferred finish, and GypFine - Multi Skim, a plaster for finishing over backgrounds such as sand and cement render, gypsum basecoats and fair face concrete, completes the current range.

GypFine - Ultra Skim which gives the plasterer the ultimate versatility, is expected to provide the preferred solution, where its ability to be applied on various backgrounds will reduce mixing, cut waste and save valuable time when faced with both plasterboard and masonry backgrounds. It is also specially formulated to remove the need for a primer coat prior to decoration, saving further time and cost on the job.

GypFine - Board Skim on the other hand, has been designed specifically for application to low-medium suction plasterboard backgrounds.

It is applied once all board joints have been filled and reinforced, and is formulated to exhibit a strong, permanent bond to plasterboard linings, and will not crack or break away as it sets. It is therefore ideal for jobs involving large expanses of plasterboard wall and ceiling.

GypFine - Multi Skim has been designed for finishing over a range of backgrounds from high suction dry or damp gypsum undercoat plasters to low suction masonry and rendered surfaces. It is not suitable for finishing plasterboards.

Photographs by Cris Mejorada

Changing colours Following the announcement that Dubai Central Laboratory is to begin regulating the VOC content of paint, Dow Coating and Bayer Material Science meet at The Movenpick, JBR, Dubai to discuss their work to green one of the most hazardous materials used in modern construction

46 | www.thebigprojectme.com

How strong a platform has the work of Dubai Central Laboratory given you to promote environmentally responsible products?

Bilal Ghalani: As part of the Advanced Materials Division, Dow Coating is active on the sustainability front and introducing solutions that meet environmentally sustainable targets. Across all our businesses, the common denominator is sustainability.

Our most recent achievement in terms of local regulations, under the guidance of H.H. Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid AL Maktoum, is to sign the MoU with Dubai Central Laboratory in June.

We as Dow have been talking to DCL for quite some time and now we will join efforts to develop

How has the focus on new regulations helped to promote Dow’s own activities and products?

Subramanian KSS: Bayer is committed to sustainability and in this regard we aim to be energy efficient in our production and also environmentally friendly in the end product to

minimise carbon footprints globally. We are creating green chemistry to minimise carbon footprints globally and produce green products.

We are not involved directly with DCL, but all our customers are in terms of the VOC regulations.

There are two aspects here; the VOC and the sustainability factor. We are striving hard to provide products that are closer to solvent free and zero VOC. We are also promoting the EcoCommercial Building concept, which is a concept to reduce the energy consumption of a building, for example through polyurethane insulation materials. In this regard we also have a building in India certified LEED platinum, for this very reason.

The progress is good, but we need to see how

The panel Bilal Ghalani commercial manager Dow Coating Materials, Middle East and North Africa Subramanian KSS regional marketing manager Bayer Middle East FZE Dinesh Patel regional technical manager CAS Coatings, Adhesives and Sepcialities Bayer Material Science

www.thebigprojectme.com | 47

Photographs by Cris Mejorada

sustainable solutions as far as paint material is concerned.

Today you have, somehow, an unregulated market when it comes to paint manufacturing.

People are doing their best to provide between [guidelines], good quality paints. However you still need regulation in place. From Dow’s perspective there was a real need to join efforts with DCL in order to put in place regulation and legislations that govern the design requirements for environmentally friendly paint and paint products.

Dow perceives DCL as the authority that will put the next wave in regulation in place.

ROUNDTABLE | paints & coatings

“The VOC topic is very important for Dubai Central Laboratory and they do understand the need to reduce VOC content in paint. On their roadmap for the next three years is regulation for the VOC content of all paint in government buildings then to phase it out in the private sector”

ROUNDTABLE XXXXXXXX || paints XXXXXXXXXX & coatings

“This gives you an indication of their awareness but overall the region will change and it will be driven by regulation”

LEFT:xxxxxxxxxxx

Photographs by Cris Mejorada

the DCL will create an environment here that pushes the paint companies to move to lower VOC levels. I don’t see it in the present stage basically – there is still time in this region.

How do regulations here compare to the regulations you must meet in other territories?

Dinesh Patel: If you consider the coatings industry around the world, there are three elements to consider. Firstly is the environmental hazards of the raw materials; secondly, the carbon impact of the manufacturing process; and then thirdly, the carbon impact of the application.

Also there is end user specification. For

48 | www.thebigprojectme.com

example, in Iran they are manufacturing cars and they have specifications that mean more water-based paints are now being used to paint them.

So there are a few different ways to control the carbon efficiency of paints and the environmental impact. These are the places where government can help raw material manufacturers, applicators and end users.

BG: We have covered VOCs, carbon footprints and regulations. So firstly, regarding regulations these can be enforced by governments and for example in the Province of Quebec all non water-based decorative paints were banned.

And guess what? Everybody is following, you

cannot find those paints in Quebec.

Basically, this exercises a certain form of authority and Quebec is not the only place to do that. The VOC topic is very important for Dubai Central Laboratory and they do understand the need to reduce VOC content in paint.

On their roadmap for the next three years is regulation for the VOC content of all paint in government buildings then to phase it out in the private sector.

Change takes time but eventually it will happen. They do realise they cannot continue the way they are doing things today.

If regulation is enforced it can work and there are examples. There is more awareness of VOCs today and if you look at Saudi Arabia

everything from the safety of storage to the quality and condition of the resulting paint job, depending on the material you want to cover.

There are many benefits to water based products. Some of the substrates are not good for solvents, plastics work better with water; powder coatings can be applied with lower temperature systems now; and mass production requires less time and is energy efficient, so you save money.

ROUNDTABLE | paints & coatings

“If you start with a little initiative it’s very easy to take control and influence surrounding countries”

BG: We work actively with paint manufacturers in the Middle East. Today, in the UAE and Saudi Arabia the top manufacturers do have the Green Seal certification for their products and they are the first manufacturing companies in the region to achieve that.

Even for the solvent based manufacturers we try to give them technologies that minimise the harmful effects. Our ultimate objective is to have solvent free paint across the board. It’s a dream, but we are optimistic it will happen.

The dangers of hazardous paints are known and there are markets that have completely banned hazardous paints; is enough being done in this region and is it being done quickly enough?

BG: Even the phase out of asbestos takes time.

SK: I attended a DCL seminar that covered the sustainable regulations that are being introduced to the market. Fortunately a lot of paint companies have joined and are in tandem to work towards this. It’s all about education. We as suppliers of raw materials need to educate our customers because we know how strict regulations can be.

What’s the reaction of your customers when you educate them about the hazardous elements in products?

SK: It boils down to so many factors; the deciding one for our customers is price. But again I will say there are a few customers of ours who way back in 2005 converted themselves fully into water based systems from solvent, consciously aware of the fact they needed to change.

DP: Many things have happened in terms of safety regulations and the benefits of using water based over solvent based products affects

DP: Every person can make a change to their behaviour and there are businesses now that exist to make it easier to be green – there are companies that come to offices and take all your paper waste, drinks bottles and juice cartons. It takes time but it is a discipline.

Until legislation is introduced to control toxicants in paints and other every day products, how important are green certifications?

DP: Certain products need to face certain regulations, but until then private companies will lead the way. For example we have found Parquet can be manufactured as water based

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Photographs by Cris Mejorada

they have water-based road markings at the airports. This gives you an indication of their awareness but overall the region will change and it will be driven by regulation.

It will take time but it is part of our responsibility towards society. We need to make sure we are working in this direction.

ROUNDTABLE XXXXXXXX || paints XXXXXXXXXX & coatings

“Regulations can be enforced by governments and for example in the Province of Quebec all non water-based decorative paints were banned”

or low VOC, so you can use the room the day after application.

Photographs by Cris Mejorada

BG: The Green Seal is based on individual initiatives. We have talked a lot with DCL about how to reduce the use of formaldehyde and raise awareness about that. We went the extra mile and developed an emulsion that can be applied to surfaces to break down the formaldehyde molecules. Based on how much is applied, this paint can, in two to three years time, detoxify the air. Measures like that are necessary here because due to the temperature outside windows are closed and therefore ventilation is poor. It was a nice way to alert certain authorities to the effects and what we are doing in other parts of the world.

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<200µg/m3 The recommended voc ‘comfort range’, according to a study published in canada in 1990.

Regarding the certification, it was mostly based on company initiatives here with our support, but the objective now is to have governmental bodies that can put in place regulations that will move people towards this way.

DP: It’s a small area here. If you start with a little initiative it’s very easy to take control and influence surrounding countries. If Dubai starts something, Qatar, Bahrain and Oman,

ROUNDTABLE XXXXXXXX || paints XXXXXXXXXX & coatings

LEFT: Subramanian KSS.

RIGHT: Bilal Ghalani.

“Hopefully more news about the successful development of this technology application in the region will come towards the year end, but we are extremely excited” either by law or by force, will follow. It happened in Europe and the US. SK: We are not Europe or Singapore or a country where regulations are much more stringent.

We are actually in an infancy stage now, but authorities are not equipped to raise awareness of all these issues.

There are issues across a number of environmental concerns; even the three recycling bins for glass, plastic and paper I have seen being emptied into the same truck.

What’s the most exciting development currently in your company and how will it change the future of the paints and coatings industry?

Photographs by Cris Mejorada

BG: The most exciting thing we are working on now is the EVOQUE technology, which is basically a very interesting emulsion concept. It can be used as an emulsion in paint but at the same time has a more uniform distribution of titanium dioxide in your paint. By having this distribution you can achieve an additional saving of 5 – 10% in titanium content, on top of the savings for using opacifiers. It is really an emulsion that replaces part of the existing emulsion but reduces the content of Ti0₂.

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â&#x20AC;&#x153;At this stage it is a challenge, but we want to go green and this is the challenge we have in this market. Slowly but surely the sector is catching up so we are very optimisticâ&#x20AC;?

So this means more saving for the paint manufacturer, while moving towards sustainability and reducing the carbon footprint of manufacturing.

Hopefully more news about the successful development of this technology application in the region will come towards the year end, but we are extremely excited about this technology.

SK: Gradually, as a centralised initiative, we are converting solvent based customers to water based and in turn converting our water based customers to low VOC. The second area is in coatings, typical floor coatings and concretes, we are converting our solvent based customers to solvent free and water based. Both are possible. Other than that, we are 100% replacing solvent based materials. for some water based products we are using new technology. We are going for renewable resource coatings. In the old days people were making typical varnish from linseed oil for example. Now slowly, we are converting raw materials from petroleum and oil based products, because petrol is one of the resources we will not have in future.

DP: At this stage it is a challenge, but we want to go green and this is the challenge we have in this market. Slowly but surely the sector is catching up so we are very optimistic.

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ROUNDTABLE | paints & coatings

RIGHT: Dinesh Patel.

CAREER LADDER | Gary Moss

Preventing the need to cure Appointed to the position of director of operations for Macro earlier this year, Gary Moss, explains the downside of cut price FM and the importance of a long term preventative and quality maintenance regime

A

s the saying goes ‘no news is good news’ but in the facilities management industry the reality can be very different. In fact, for Macro’s recently appointed director of operations, Gary Moss, no news is the worst kind of news there is.

“There are projects we have taken over only to check the maintenance records and find that when inspecting the plant the maintenance clearly hasn’t been done. Clients don’t know there’s a schedule of defects and issues that perhaps haven’t been dealt with by the previous

“There have been projects where we have unearthed a few nightmares” 54 | www.thebigprojectme.com

provider,” Moss explains, adding: “We start with an audit of how well FM has been delivered to date and what actually needs to be done to preserve the quality of assets, and it does often begin with delivering the news nobody else has.”

“There have been projects where we have unearthed a few nightmares, unfortunately,” he reveals.

Beginning his career working on PPP and PFI projects for UK-based Cyril Sweett Moss worked with clients to establish FM systems for them before progressing to be head of consultancy for Davis Langdon. After two years with the company in London he was drafted to the Middle East to build an FM consultancy team, just as the market crashed in 2008.

Carried through the recession by a portfolio of government clients, Moss’s team executed consultancy contracts on cultural centres and

educational establishments across the region, in addition to the Royal Opera House in Muscat, Oman.

“I then, as you do every few years, reflected on my career and felt the area I really wanted to pursue was in the operation side of FM, having largely been on the consultancy side. To practice what I preached, if you like,” Moss recalls.

Using some of the skills acquired when he moved half way across the world to establish an operation in the wake of world-wide recession and financial crisis, Moss’s role now is to lead the operational delivery of FM services to regional clients, from Macro’s Dubai office. In addition he will be involved in new regional initiatives, business development and support of the consultancy team.

“It’s all about doing a business plan, getting out there, talking to clients and

Bottom line

Witnessing an increase in competition since he first arrived in Dubai, Moss says that although Dubai’s FM industry is now booming and “certainly more cut throat”, the scale and vision of Saudi Arabian and Qatari projects provide excellent expansion opportunities.

But competition isn’t always the best thing for a market and Moss predicts current pricing practices will result in a shift in the structure of the industry, with major players continuing to offer “sophisticated and joined up services” for high profile buildings; smaller providers serving owners’ associations; and a third market delivering low cost basic services.

“Certainly there will always be that need for FM providers who can offer something extra,” he adds.

Recalling stories of clients who have fallen victim to artificially low prices with former providers, he also observes that FM demand works in cycles, influenced by client’s market experience and the age old argument concerning the perceptions of cost and quality.

“I think particularly with the joint property ownership laws that have come in over the past year or two, the owners’ associations on the tower blocks particularly are very very conscious of the service charge levied on owners and occupiers. For that reason every time FM is re-procured there is that expectation that the price will be reduced, quite substantially.

“But that comes at a cost in terms of the quality and level of cover people are getting,” he explains saying competitiveness in the market place is increasing price sensitivity.

Yet moss advises that one of the most effective ways for clients to save money on building operation and maintenance is via energy saving

appliances, automatic switches and sophisticated systems for energy efficient lighting and air conditioning.

“There are clients who will appoint an FM company without being FM experts themselves, and if a company isn’t properly managed then there are those who perhaps do cut corners.”

Time bomb

As far as best practice in FM goes, one of the greatest dangers for any building developer or owner is the issue of maintenance.

Reporting a lack of financial foresight in the planning of maintenance and servicing costs, there are only those developments protected by legislation such as that of joint property ownership that aren’t facing the “ticking time bomb” others may.

Naming one of the biggest problems as the future replacement of components, Moss advises: “Good practice is to set up a sinking fund where sums of money are put aside each year to build up a fund to cover these things.”

“With upfront planning, lifecycle cost models and prediction of future costs, we can advise clients what those costs will be and then help them plan for them. Historically a lot of clients haven’t thought in that way and are now waking up to the liability they are facing.”

New start

Now solving the double puzzle of how to educate and serve a competitive and relatively young market, Moss says selling the benefits of

News

developing the product we were trying to sell to the market,” he explains.

“It’s a young industry and it’s a young country, so we educate clients on the benefit of involving FM in the design stage of projects.

You can make so much impact on future efficiency and running costs by understanding what a building is like to occupy and I think clients are coming round to that.

“They are really learning, perhaps from some harsh lessons on earlier projects, but certainly there is a big market there for us to get involved that bit sooner. You can reduce running costs quite substantially if you do things right,” he adds.

XXXXXXXX CAREER LADDER | XXXXXXXXXX | Gary Moss

“There is a lot of pressure on reducing costs and every time FM is re-procured there is that expectation that the price will be reduced, quite substantially” the Macro philosophy will be promoting prevention over cure.

“You can cut costs by specifying the right equipment, the right maintenance regime, and by helping the clients to plan financially for those future costs, rather than waiting until something breaks down and having to address it at a later date,” he advises.

Now combining the consultancy element with a recently introduced technical team tasked to execute the actual FM, the Macro niche is to assess client requirements then give the client the choice to receive a bid to provide services directly or become the interface between client and contractor in order to secure the most effective deal from a third party.

“Most of our clients are repeat clients because they realise what they are getting is value and we are protecting them in the market,” Moss comments when asked about the award winning firm’s track record.

Looking ahead to the latest chapter in his career, Moss says he is excited to broaden his knowledge base and lead Macro into its untapped Middle East markets.

“It’s a pleasure to be working with Macro as it’s a company I have admired for quite some time.

“They have an excellent reputation in the market and they are pulling some of the best people, I think, in the local market. So it’s exciting to be working for that caliber of business. For me it has been an excellent career move and one I am looking forward to developing,” he concludes.

“Historically a lot of clients haven’t thought in that way and are now waking up to the liability they are facing” ABOVE: Gary Moss.

ABOVE: Henrik Ulrich.

www.thebigprojectme.com | 55

To advertise please contact: LIAM WILLIAMS Associate publisher Email: liam@cpidubai.com Tel: +971 4 440 9158

HARRY NORMAN Business Development Manager Email: harry@cpidubai.com Tel: +971 4 440 9142

PANKAJ R. SHARMA Business Development Manager Email: pankaj@cpidubai.com Tel: +971 4 440 9120

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LEILA EL MADALLA Marketing and Administration Email: leila@cpidubai.com Tel: +971 4 440 9151

News

SUPPLIER PROFILE | ALGECO

Reinventing the room

Preparing to launch its first explosion proof units for the region’s energy and petrochem sectors GCC general manager, Jim Muldoon, talks about Algeco’s runaway growth and the changing face of temporary buildings

W “For every one sale we had in January we are getting six to eight now. The projects right now are incredible and there’s confidence back in the market”

hen the first modular buildings hit the market in 1960 they embraced the concepts of “modular” and “temporary” with every square metre. Yet today, increasingly inventive design methods – driven by demand from a vast portfolio of sectors – is changing how temporary building solutions are perceived in the market.

Due to its adherence to stringent fire and safety regulations, Algeco Middle East is today providing units to schools, hospitals, shops, military warehouses and labour camps; all individually designed and assembled from fire rated components, meeting international standards.

With a new product range about to be added to the catalogue; multi-million dollar projects around the world; and 350,000 modules on rent globally, the company is now the world’s largest modular construction rental company by volume.

“For every one sale we had in January we are getting six to eight now. The projects right now are incredible and there’s confidence back in the market,” reveals GCC general manager Jim Muldoon, who brought the company to the Middle East less than two years ago.

“We beat expectations and targets in the UAE; in Qatar we launched in November, doubled our fleet by January and we are now about to double that fleet again.

“We beat our 2012 expectations by mid-May and we are now planning for Q3 and Q4. I predict we will finish in Qatar with four times our capacity plan for this year,” Muldoon continues.

As the man who wrote the regional growth strategy before being appointed to the company as general manager, Muldoon admits he didn’t expect Qatar would take off in the way it has and also confirmed that expansion in Saudi Arabia is rolling out ahead of schedule driven by demand for warehouse units.

“Every market we have looked at, we have had to launch quicker. I see our rental fleet growing realistically by 1000%. For sales globally we will have the highest potential sales to rental than any other part of the business,” he explains.

Muldoon attributes the success to Algeco’s ability to meet market demand for “durability and flexibility” in a product that meets European safety and fire rating standards.

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SUPPLIER PROFILE | ALGECO

“I think the focus here in the GCC has changed very much to sustainability, a product that can be reused. The purpose of a hospital for example, has a completely different interior to a school”

“We are focussing heavily on our European accreditation because Europe has the highest standards and building regulations. The key component is the European certification at GCC prices. That’s what makes it very appealing,” he comments.

Every unit constructed by Algeco – regardless of the model – can be efficiently disassembled, moved and reassembled, as not to compromise the integrity of the structure when moved as a single unit; and it’s due to this feature that the interior design and the application of the units is so versatile.

Reinvention

While it’s all about reinventing an accepted and widely used product, Muldoon says the business is also about presenting solutions to clients.

“Traditionally, there is an expectation of this box being a box and it’s totally now something else,” he begins to explain.

Because every unit is built round a steel frame core, the same structure can be modified to almost any use. From oil and gas to operating theatres and helicopter hangars, thinking outside the box is key.

“I think the focus here in the GCC has changed very much to sustainability, a product that can be reused. The purpose of a hospital for

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“I have been in the Middle East eight years and looking forward this is the most exciting time in the market” example will demand a completely different interior to a school. You have a traditional standard panel and the adaptation of the room, the equipment and how you present that, changes.

But fundamentally the core of the structure, which is the steel frame and the fire rated panels, remains,” Muldoon explains.

“What we have adapted is a product that has to be sustainable and re-usable. Traditionally in the market, walls and doors are fixed but the main difference with our product is flexibility.

You can have the entire design changed within 30 minutes while you’re sat inside using it as an office,” he says.

The products currently on offer are the 4000KD and Batex, which are soon to be joined

by the 100MBA Blast Unit range (see page 60).

Three models of the new unit will be brought to the region –at a cost of more than $250,000 – to act as show units for Saudi Arabia, Qatar and the UAE and allow Algeco and distribution partner Byrne Rental to conduct research into regional demands.

“It’s a successful product we use solely in the UK right now on oil and gas shutdowns and I believe no other company in the GCC offers a Blast Unit in Saudi, Qatar or the UAE, for rent.

So I will be surprised if they’re not in double figures by the end of the year,” Muldoon shares, adding that manufacture of the units may also be moved to Saudi Arabia to reduce costs.

Having recently supplied a 10-unit hospital project in Abu Dhabi, Muldoon now says the demand for 100 new-build schools in the Emirate and around 1000 in Saudi Arabia, could be temporarily met with modular units.

“I think there are still a lot of schools in Abu Dhabi that aren’t built for purpose. They are converted villas and don’t have the necessary fire exits and sprinkler systems. Using our units as a solution would release a lot of pressure from the ministries – we can deliver a school for 200 pupils in four weeks,” he continues.

Healthy ambition

Among some of the more bizarre projects for which Algeco’s units have been specified, are temporary medical facilities in Iraq and military warehouses. A £9m contract has just been awarded for a modular full size hospital in the UK, and another contract for office and residential purposes valued at €9m.

In the last year the company has spent $1bn on global acquisitions, which last year included the largest module construction company in Australia and this year the largest in Brazil. All moves which that have seen business boom.

“Our biggest growth period has been during the global credit crunch,” states Muldoon.

“If for example you have a project like Burj Khalifa where 10,000 workers need to be housed, that could add AED10m before the project has even started,” he comments, adding: “I have been in the Middle East eight years and looking forward this is the most exciting time in the market. Considering projects like Saadiyat Island, the marketing surrounding the F1 and the rate of growth in Qatar – I actually think this is the right time. They’ve gone through the growth period and they know how to do things right. Long may it continue.”

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Specially formulated for easy application combined with excellent coverage, GypFine plasters offer the ultimate finish in fewer coats. So unlike other powder products and ready-mixed putties you can save time and effort in achieving perfection. Whether it’s GypFine - Board Skim for skimming plasterboard, GypFine - Multi Skim for skimming cement render, fair face concrete and precast panels, or GypFine - Ultra Skim for skimming all surfaces without the need for primers, your projects will be sure to take centre stage.

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SUPPLIER | NEWS

Supplier news A round-up of the latest news and announcements

Gyproc

Dorma Gulf

Mapei

Plasterboard products manufacturer Saint Gobain Gyproc has announced a set of training courses to teach clients about installing systems and improving onsite safety.

The courses are open to all construction professionals and are carried out over single or two day sessions.

Addressing Gyproc’s entire lightweight wall partition and ceiling systems, the two day courses cover Gypwall Classic and Hand jointing and Softwall (advanced); while the single day courses cover GypLyner Universal, Gyproc MF, GypWall Quiet, Softwall (basic) and GypFine Plasters and Hand-Skimming.

Prices for all courses are currently discounted by 25%.

The company is also celebrating the recent launch of its new range of gypsum finishing plasters, GypFine. The products harden in two stages, setting first by a chemical process before drying out. This means that, unlike sand and cement renders and lime-based plasters they do not shrink and crack as they dry.

All three of the GypFine plasters have been specially formulated with an easy-sand surface to enable quick sanding for a smooth finish. The products are: GypFine-Ultra Skim, GypFine-Board Skim and GypFineMulti Skim. All are designed for different applications.

Soft copies of the product brochure and datasheets are available for download at www.gyproc.ae/page/sitetraining and printed copies of the brochure can be requested using the literature request form.

Door manufacturer Dorma has introduced two new electro-mechanical swing door operators to the Middle East region, both with integrated power assisted motor function.

The modular electromechanical swing door operators ED 100 and ED 250, which have been certified for use on fire and smoke check doors, are designed for profile framed doors. Both feature high-efficiency power supply with reduced energy consumption in the no-load mode by 20% and by 73% in partial load range.

The door operators have been tested in extreme weather conditions in the Middle East and Sweden’s Ice Hotel and can be used as exterior doors that are subjected to varying wind loads or the interior doors separating rooms where different pressure prevails.

The system recognises the wind loads and adjusts through its inbuilt intelligence system.

Dorma Gulf is part of the internationally operating Dorma Group, specialising in door controls moveable walls, glass fittings and accessories, with interests in security, time management and access control, emergency exit control, escape routes and security systems.

The group operates major production plants in Europe, Singapore, Malaysia, China and North and South America.

Middle East projects supplied by the company include Dubai’s Burj Khalifa, The Dubai Mall, Burj Al Arab, Dubai Metro and Meydan Racecourse; the Qatar Convention Centre; Mall of Arabia, Jeddah; and the Emirates Palace Hotel and ADNEC, both in Abu Dhabi.

Mapei’s UAE subsidiary Innovative Building Solutions LLC (IBS-MAPEI) has been awarded the international standard for quality management systems certification, ISO 9001:2008.

Awarded by Certiquality Italy IBS Mapei was subject to an independent external audit as part of the 24 month certification process.

All departments and staff were involved as internal processes were mapped in detail, and procedures implemented along with work instructions and flow charts to ensure consistency in many common and repetitive activities.

“We believe that the ISO certification strongly demonstrates our continuous efforts to improve performance and optimally satisfy customer needs, in addition to our uncompromising commitment to quality and excellence as a cornerstone to our growth plans in the UAE and other international markets,” said quality assurance health and safety manager, Christopher Lacey.

MAPEI has further revealed that the newly certified quality management system (QMS) has been drafted specifically with IBS LLC in mind, reassuring clients of the quality of the processes involved from product conceptualization and development to mass production, sales, delivery and technical support.

“Moreover, the certification complements the company strategy of promoting continuous improvement, whereby all employees are empowered to contribute and have the opportunity to raise proposals and offer suggestions to drive improvement within the organisation,” Lacey added.

Training and new product announcements

60 | www.thebigprojectme.com

New fire and smoke certified products

UAE subsidiary receives ISO 9001:2008

25% discount offered on gyproc training courses

Grohe AG

Tabreed

Algeco

Grohe, Europe’s largest sanitary ware supplier, has launched a new website it brands as “the most user friendly” website the company has ever created. http://www.grohe.com/mea/ gives an overview of the entire Grohe range, design and styling advice, showroom locations and product galleries that include information on design concept, product variants, awards and technologies for each product listed.

Divided into four sections – bathroom, shower, kitchen and private spa – the site also carries virtual brochures and the advice centre providing information on products, refurbishment, planning, the latest trends and water saving.

The Grohe Spa™ Explorer is a 3D planning tool for private spas. Design trends and all-in solutions round off the “Bathroom” information; chapters in the “Kitchen” section inform the user about the advantages of the different faucets and kitchen systems.

Other services include Grohe apps and links to various social networks and the presentation of numerous reference projects featuring Grohe products.

Education on water saving products and techniques, which forms a large part of Grohe’s marketing and CSR activities, can be found in the site’s “Shower” section.

The new design is launched only weeks after Grohe won five Red Dot creativity awards for four lines of faucets and a handshower. Also this year Grohe opened a new experience centre “Live!” in Mumbai, India.

Tabreed, the National Central Cooling Company PJSC, has been successfully recertified for its management policies and procedures under the ISO system.

The three certificates are the quality management system ISO 9001:2008; the environmental management system ISO 14001:2004; and occupational health and safety management system OHSAS 18001:2007. Combined, the three cover health and safety regulations, employee wellbeing, company environmental policies and customer service.

“The re-certification recognizes the importance Tabreed attributes to responsible and effective management systems, and the benefits they in turn create for our customers, society and employees. For over a decade, we have maintained our commitment to international best practices, and as the partner of choice for the UAE’s leading private and government institutions, it is vital that we ensure that these high standards are implemented across our organization,” Parhar added.

Tabreed was awarded its first ISO certification in 2002, and has successfully achieved re-certification thereafter in 2005 and 2008, as per the ISO certification cycle. The latest assessment was carried out by Intertek International Limited, who audited the district cooling plants’ operations rooms, corporate headquarters as well as its management policies and procedures. The audit also entails an annual review to ensure the company continuously abides by international best practices going forward.

Algeco’s range of explosion resistant Anti-Blast modular buildings has been introduced to the Middle East. Designed specifically for hazardous environments the buildings are intended for use in the petrochemical, energy oil and gas sectors.

The buildings provide a target level of protection of 1% vulnerability and the range is supplied to withstand 100Mba free field overpressure with 200Mba reflective overpressure on any face, with the pulse duration at 100m sec. Buildings that can withstand up to 320Mba over pressure are also available.

The Anti-Blast range includes offices, canteens, drying rooms, toilet blocks and showers, which can be provided either individually, or multi-unit complexes by specially constructed connecting link-ways and unit-to-unit couplings. A number of design features provide added protection such as windows with laminated glass sliding panels, external shutters, steel doors with substantial hinges and catches and internal perimeter channels to allow all fixtures and fittings to be secured to it to prevent injuries to occupants.

“This is a significant launch for Algeco in the Middle East – it’s the first time that an anti-blast product has been brought to this market which means we are now able to enter new markets with a wider range of tailored products,” commented GCC general manager Jim Muldoon.

“The launch of our anti-blast products in the Middle East is a significant strategic step and builds on a very successful first half of 2012,”

New website launched

Triple ISO re-certification complete

Anti-Blast range brought to Middle East

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CAREER LADDER SUPPLIER | NEWS | Coryn Hellewell

“We believe that the ISO certification strongly demonstrates our continuous efforts to improve performance and optimally satisfy customer needs”

Special feature | Dyson

Design redefined In the face of thousands of failures and even bankruptcy, James Dyson still managed to reinvent the vacuum, fan and engine and create a range of market changing products.

In an exclusive interview, he tells The Big Project about selling new ideas and thinking ahead of demand As a market the Middle East is often reluctant to change, particularly in construction, how do you promote new technology to such a market?

We don’t develop machines like the Dyson Airblade™ hand dryer with a particular market in mind. We let the technology guide us. It is important to give people what they want, but we want to give them machines that work well; not just something that looks the part and demand for the product is growing in this market today.

Rather than focus on how we promote we set out to make something better. Something that solves a problem. To really achieve that goal, you have to do more, with less. We have taken that approach for the past twenty years; from our first vacuum cleaner to the Dyson Airblade™ hand dryer. We strive for the same or better performance with improved efficiency and fewer materials. We call it efficient engineering.

62 | www.thebigprojectme.com

“Five years of testing, tuning, cursing, bankruptcy, and more than 5127 failures — I’d had it. Well, most of it. I had yet to manufacture and sell the thing” The outside world has only seen the market ready versions of Dyson products. In reality what difficulties did you face and what lessons did you learn from the experience?

It all started with an idea: a vacuum cleaner with no bag. Bags clog with dust, and lose suction. Bags were my bugbear. Inspired by an industrial cyclone at a timber mill, I created a vacuum that used centrifugal force to separate the dust and dirt. It did not quite look the part,

but it worked. Five years of testing, tuning, cursing, bankruptcy, and more than 5127 failures — I’d had it. Well, most of it. I had yet to manufacture and sell the thing.

This thing had become my life. I was adamant that my idea would revolutionise vacuum cleaning, and put an end to bags once and for all. For three years I went door to door, from one vacuum manufacturer to another, and not a single yes. There was a tried and true business model that was worth some $500m, and no one was willing to take a gamble on an

engineer. The suits had spoken: a vacuum without a bag would not sell.

I knew then that if I wanted to make the machine, I would have to do it on my own.

Penniless and alone, I went for it. I had not lost my resolve, and by that point I had stopped listening to everyone and acted on instinct.

Eighteen months after DC01 rolled off the production line in the UK it became the best selling vacuum cleaner in the UK. Failure is part of being an engineer. Iteration after

iteration of the vacuum came about because of a failure. The important thing is that I did not give up after the first, second or 5000th failure and I never will.

How would you describe and/or define Dyson’s business model?

What’s the future for the company?

We sell our machines in over 50 markets but our ethos is always the same. We focus on Research, Design and Development (RDD). We build and sell machines that really work. From vacuum cleaners that don’t lose suction, to high-speed, hygienic hand dryers, and bladeless fans, we are growing our engineering team to

keep pace with the technology. And we are investing massively in RDD, not glitzy marketing campaigns.

Everything that goes on in RDD is confidential. But I can tell you that we are working on developing the next generation of motors; our own Dyson digital motor, which powers the Dyson Airblade™ hand dryer. It uses aerospace technology and spins at 104,000rpm; five times faster than a Formula One engine. It is twice as energy efficient as its predecessor and just a third of its size; consuming less energy and requiring fewer materials. Motors open up unexplored territory for Dyson, and we are itching to get our feet wet.

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Special feature | Dyson

“Rather than focus on how we promote we set out to make something better.

Something that solves a problem. And, to really achieve that goal, you have to do more, with less”

UAE Project name Delta 1 Residential Tower Project Dubai Marina

Project Number OPR567-U Territory Dubai Client Delta Properties L.L.C (Dubai) City Dubai Postal/ ZIP code 172360 Country United Arab Emirates Phone (+971-4) 376 7555 Fax(+971-4) 386 9001 Description Construction of 21-storey Delta 1 residential tower.

Status Current Project Remarks This tower will be located on Plot 2Q, No. 392-259 in Dubai Marina.

Local Engineering Contracting Company has been awarded the main construction contract. Work is yet to commence on the development due to some negotiations ongoing with the Client.

The project is expected to be completed within (14) months after commencement of work on site.

Main consultant National Engineering Bureau (Dubai) Main contractor Engineering Contracting Company L.L.C. - ECC (Dubai) Tender categories Prestige Buildings Tender products High-rise Towers

Project name Dream Tower Project - Dubai Marina

Project Number OPR564-U Territory Dubai Client Private Investor (Dubai) Description Construction of Dream Tower comprising four basement floors, a ground floor, (40) upper floors, a mechanical floors and roof.

Budget $460,000,000 Status Current Project Remarks This tower will be located on Plot No. 392-287-9E in Dubai Marina. Local S.S. Lootah Contracting Company has been appointed as the Main contractor. Work has commenced on the development.

Main consultant Al Ajmi Engineering Consultants (Dubai) Financial consultant Emirates Islamic Bank (Dubai) Main contractor Emirates Islamic Bank (Dubai) MEP contractor MAG International Electromechanical Works L.L.C (Dubai) Dewatering contractor National Dewatering & Land Drainage Company L.L.C (Dubai) Tender categories Prestige Buildings Tender products High-rise Towers

Project name MY Tower Project

Project Number OPR565-U Territory Dubai Client Worldwide Project Management (Dubai) Address No. 2901, Saba Tower, Jumeirah Lake Towers, Sheikh Zayed Road City Dubai Postal/ ZIP code 74023 Country United Arab Emirates Phone(+971-4) 427 0596 Email info@worldwidepm.com Web http://www.worldwidepm.com Description Construction of MY Tower comprising five basement floors, a ground floor, two mezzanine floors, a podium, (30) upper floors, a mechanical floor, a health club floor and roof.

Status Current Project Remarks This project will be located in Dubai Marina. Local Dubco Construction has been appointed as the Main contractor.

Work has commenced on the development Main consultant Dimensions Engineering Consultant (Dubai) Main contractor Dubco Construction L.L.C (Dubai) Foundations enabling and piling contractor International Foundation Group L.L.C (Dubai) Tender categories Prestige Buildings Tender products High-rise Towers

Project name Al Duaa Marina Tower Project

Project Number OPR562-U Territory Dubai Client Al Duaa Holdings (Dubai) City Dubai Postal/ ZIP code 282560 Country United Arab Emirates Phone (+971-4) 341 7955 Fax (+971-4) 341 7956 Email info@alduaaholdings.com Web http://www.alduaaholdings.com Description Construction of Al Duaa Marina Tower.

Status Current Project Remarks This tower will be located on Plot No. 392-481-31 in Dubai Marina District 3. Local Kele Contracting has been appointed as the Main contractor. Work has commenced on site Main consultant Dimensions Engineering Consultant (Dubai) Main contractor Kele Contracting L.L.C (Dubai) Foundations enabling and piling contractor Geo Foundation Group LLC (Dubai) Tender categories Prestige Buildings Tender products High-rise Towers

Project name Le Meridien Hotel Mina Seyahi Refurbishment Project

Project Number OPR566-U Territory Dubai Client Wasl Asset Management Group

(Dubai) City Dubai Postal/ ZIP code 23073 Country United Arab Emirates Phone (+971-4) 398 6666 Fax (+971-4) 398 8111 Email info@wasl.ae Web http://www.wasl.ae Description Carrying out refurbishment of Le Meridien Hotel Mina Seyahi.

Status Current Project Remarks This hotel is located on Plot No. 3925304 in Dubai Marina. Local Golden Wing Contracting has been appointed as the Main contractor.

Main consultant Brewer Smith Brewer Gulf (Dubai) MEP consultant Mario Associates Engineering Consultants (Dubai) Structural consultant Brewer Smith Brewer Gulf (Dubai) Interior design consultant Brewer Smith Brewer Gulf (Dubai) Quantity surveyor Sweett Group (Dubai) Main contractor Golden Wing Contracting L.L.C (Dubai) MEP contractor Bin Shafar Electromechanical Engineering L.L.C (Dubai) Civil engineer contractor Honest Construction L.L.C (Dubai) Tender categories Construction & Contracting, Hotels, Civil Works Tender products Construction & Addition Works, Hotel Construction, Modification, Repair & Refurbishing Services

Project name MPP2656-U

Project Number MPP2656-U Territory Abu Dhabi Client ALDAR Properties PJSC (Abu Dhabi) Address 13th Floor, Abu Dhabi Chamber of Commerce Tower City Abu Dhabi Postal/ ZIP code 51133 Country United Arab Emirates Phone (+971-2) 696 4444 Fax (+971-2) 641 7501 Email info@aldar.com Web http://www.aldar.com Description Construction of (600 Nos.) villas, including a 23,000 square metre school, 2,500 square metre mosque, a 4,400 square metre shopping centre and 1,700 square metre recreation club in Yas Island.

Status Current Project Remarks This project is in Abu Dhabi.

The Emirati housing community will be built in Zone K of Yas Island and is known as the Garden Crescent Development.

Client has invited companies to submit bids for the main construction contract.

Prospective bidders include: Local/ Australia’s Al-Habtoor Leighton Group; local Commodore Contracting Company, Arabtech Contracting Company, Al-Jaber Group, Square General Contracting and National Projects Construction; Saudi Arabia’s El-Seif Engineering Contracting

and Athens-based Consolidated Contractors Company. Client is also preparing to tender a contract to complete non-residential buildings that will support community living in the villas. US-based RW Armstrong is acting as the architect of record on this scheme.

Main architect RW Armstrong & Associates (Abu Dhabi) Tender categories Leisure & Entertainment, Construction & Contracting, Education & Training Tender products Educational Developments, Public Buildings

Saudi Arabia Project name Headquarters Building Project

Project Number MPP2659-SA Territory Saudi Arabia Client Al-Abdulkarim Holding (Saudi Arabia) Address King Faisal Street City Dammam 31411 Postal/ ZIP code 4 Country Saudi Arabia Phone (+966-3) 889 2085 Fax (+966-3) 898 5077 Email info@akh.com.sa Web http//:www.akh.com.sa Description Construction of headquarters building comprising 105-metre-high, 35-storey office tower Period 2014 Status New Tender Remarks This project will be located at Dammam in Saudi Arabia. The commercial office tower will have a built-up area of 54,846 square metres. Part of the (27) office floors will be designed for the Client’s headquarters and remaining floors will be rented to external companies. Size of the office floors will range from 1,130 square metres to 1,344 square metres.

The facility will have parking spaces in the basement and (7) podium levels. One of the podiums will be used for retail facilities.

Tower is scheduled to open in 2014.

Dubai-based Dewan Architects & Engineers has been awarded a contract to design the tower.

Design consultant Dewan Architects & Engineers (Saudi Arabia) Tender categories Prestige Buildings Tender products High-rise Towers

Project name Villas Construction Project – Jubail

Project Number MPP2661-SA Territory Saudi Arabia Client Saudi Arabian Mining Company (MAADEN) City Riyadh 11537 Postal/ ZIP code 68861 Country Saudi Arabia Phone (+966-1) 874 8000

ESTIMATING AND PROJECT CONTROL www.thebigprojectme.com | 65

MENA PROJECTS | TenderS

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WWW.THEBIGPROJECTME.COM Fax (+966-1) 874 8300 Email info@maaden.com.sa Web http://www.maaden.com.sa Description Construction of (800 Nos.) villas for employees.

Status New Tender Remarks This project is at Jubail in the Eastern Province of Saudi Arabia. It is designed to provide housing for the employees working on Client's aluminium complex, which is currently under construction at Ras Al Khair Industrial City. Client has set a deadline to submit bids for the main contract. Australia’s WorleyParsons has been appointed as the consultant for the scheme.

Main consultant WorleyParsons (Saudi Arabia) Tender categories Construction & Contracting Tender products Villas Construction

Project name Apron 6 Construction Project - King Abdulaziz International Airport

Project Number MPP2657-SA Territory Saudi Arabia Client General Authority of Civil Aviation GACA (Saudi Arabia) Address Bin Malek Street, Old Airport Area City Jeddah 21421 Postal/ ZIP code 887 Country Saudi Arabia Phone (+966-2) 640 5000 Fax (+966-2) 640 1477 Email gaca-info@gaca.gov.sa Web http://www.gaca.gov.sa Description Construction of Apron 6 covering a total area of 250,000 square metres at King Abdulaziz International Airport.

Status New Tender Remarks This project will be located at Jeddah in Saudi Arabia. Client has invited about (12) companies to submit bids for the contract to build the apron and other associated smaller aprons on this scheme.

Tender categories Airport, Construction & Contracting Tender products Airports Development & Management

Qatar Project name Al Mohanna Trade Centre Project

Project Number OPR560-Q Territory Qatar Client Private Investor (Qatar) Address Construction of Al Mohanna Trade Centre comprising a hotel and offices tower consisting of three basements, a ground floor and (57) upper floors.

Status Current Project Remarks This tower will be located in Corniche street, near Sheraton Doha Hotel in Qatar. Local Noor Al Huda Trading & Contracting has been awarded the main construction contract. Earthworks have commenced on the development. Local Al Gazeerah Consulting Engineering Office is acting as the consultant.

Main consultant Al Gazeerah Consulting Engineering Office (Qatar) Main contractor Noor Al Huda Trading & Contracting (Qatar) Tender categories Hotels Prestige Buildings Tender products High-rise Towers, Hotel Construction

Project name Park, Underground Parking & Facilities Development Project

Project Number OPR561-Q Territory Qatar Client Qatari Diar Real Estate Investment Company (Qatar) City Lusail Postal/ ZIP code 23175 Country Qatar Phone (+974) 4497 4444 Fax (+974) 4497 4333 Web http://www.qataridiar.com Description Development of a park, underground parking and facilities comprising three basement floors and a ground floor.

Status Current Project Remarks This project will be developed on Al Funduq Street in Dafna area of Qatar.

Local QDVC has been awarded the main contract. Local Qatar Design Consortium is acting as the site supervision consultant, while local Qatar Project Management is the project manager.

Main consultant Arup (Qatar) Project manager Qatar Project Management Company (Qatar) Quantity surveyor D.G. Jones & Partners (Qatar) Local consultant Diwan Al Emara Architects, Engineers & Planners (Qatar) Main contractor QDVC Q.S.C (Qatar) Tender categories Leisure & Entertainment, Agriculture & Irrigation, Construction & Contracting Tender products Civil Works, Construction & Addition Works, Gardens/Parks Development & Maintenance, Landscaping & Beautification Works

Project name Doha Mall Commercial & Retail Complex Project

Project Number OPR556-Q Territory Qatar Client Private Investor (Qatar) Description Construction of Doha Mall commercial and retail complex comprising a basement, a ground floor, one upper floor and car parking facilities.

Status Current Project Remarks This project will be located in Musaimeer area of Qatar, opposite the Barwa City development. Local Al-Seal Contracting & Trading Company and Redco International have been appointed as the Main contractors. Work has already commenced on the development. Local Dara Engineering Consultants is acting as the consultant.

Main consultant Dara Engineering Consultants (Qatar) Main contractor Al-Seal Contracting & Trading Company (Qatar), Redco International (Qatar) Aluminium products supplier Alu Nasa

W.L.L (Qatar) Electrical contractor Consolidated Gulf Company - CGC (Qatar)s Elevator supplier KONE Elevators L.L.C (Qatar) Tender categories Construction & Contracting, Leisure & Entertainment Tender products Commercial Buildings, Retail Developments

Oman Project name Jasmine Residential & Commercial Complex Project

Project Number WPR014-O Territory Oman Client Taameer Investment Company (Oman) Address Al Khuwair, Business Centre, 5th Floor, Office No. 508 City Muscat, PC 130 Postal/ ZIP code 1244 Country Oman Phone (+968) 2448 8871 Fax (+968) 2448 8872 Email info@taameerinvest.com Web http://www.taameerinvest.com Description Development of Jasmine Complex comprising residential and commercial facilities.

Budget $39,000,000 Period 15/11/2013 Status Current Project Remarks This project will be developed in Al Khuwair commercial district, near Radisson Blu Hotel, about 30 minutes drive from Muscat International Airport.

The complex consists of (59) apartments, 39 of which will be three bedrooms with a lounge, while 20 apartments will have two bedrooms and a lounge. Amenities will include a health club, a movie hall, a ballroom, offices, a business centre located on the penthouse, a shopping mall, including international high-street brands and specialised shops for beauty, fashion, women and children's products.

The project will offer private and public parking spaces to serve the offices, residents and visitors. The scheme has been designed according to highest international standards, paying particular attention to the green areas and the availability of all services, shops and residences. Local United Golden Construction Company has been appointed as the Main contractor.

Works have already commenced. Local Ahli Bank and Bank Muscat are acting as the financial partners on the project.

The latter will offer an Islamic financing scheme called Meethaq, which is the first of its kind to be offered by a real estate developer in Oman.

Main consultant Arab Engineering Bureau (Qatar) Financial consultant Ahli Bank (Oman) Financial consultant Bank Muscat S.A.O.G (Oman) Main contractor United Golden Construction Company (Oman)

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Tender categories Construction & Contracting, Leisure & Entertainment Tender products Commercial Buildings, Residential Buildings, Retail Developments

Iran Project name Bushehr Nuclear Power Plant Project - Phase 2

Project Number ZPR523-IR Territory Iran Client Atomic Energy Organisation of Iran (AEOI) Address End of North Karegar Ave. City Tehran Postal/ ZIP code 14155-1339 Country Iran Fax (+98-21) 8802 7176 Email Web_publicr@aeoi.org.ir Web http://www.aeoi.org.ir

Description Construction of a nuclear power plant in Bushehr with a capacity of 1,000 MW - Phase 2.

Status New tender

Remarks This project will be located in Iran. Purpose of the project is to meet the increasing national Electricity demand. It still is in early stages and the schedule has not yet been determined. Planning is expected to commence in 2013

Tender categories Power Plants & Alternative Energy Tender products Nuclear Energy Plants

Egypt Project name Gabal El Zeit Wind Farm Gas Insulated Switchgear Substation Construction Project

Project Number ZPR730-E Territory Egypt

Client Egyptian Electricity Transmission Company (EETC)

Address Abassia, Nasr City 11517 City Cairo Postal/ ZIP code 12612 Country Egypt Phone (+20-2) 2261 8579 / 2684 3824 Web http://www.eetc.net.eg Description Construction of a 220kV gas insulated switchgear substation in Gabal El Zeit.

Period 2013 Status Current Project

Remarks This project is at Hurghada in Egypt. Purpose of the project is to connect the Gabal El Zeit wind farm to the Electricity network. France’s Alstom Grid has been awarded the main construction contract on this scheme.

Contact person: Mr. Hussein Fathi (Project Manager).

Tel. No. (+20-2) 2359 7855 Ext: 139.

Construction work is expected to commence in July 2012, with completion expected in the fourth quarter of 2013.

Main contractor Alstom (Egypt) Tender categories Power Plants & Alternative Energy

WWW.THEBIGPROJECTME.COM Tender products Wind Energy

Project name Suez Power Plant Construction Project

Project Number MPP2655-E Territory Egypt Client Power Generation Engineering & Services Company - PGESCo (Egypt) Address 41 El-Salam Avenue, Central District City Cairo Country Egypt Phone(+20-2) 2617 6497 Fax (+20-2) 2617 6519 Email aamostaf@pgesco.com Web http://www.pgesco.com

Description Construction of Suez power plant with capacity of 650MW.

Status New Tender

Remarks This project is in Egypt. It will replace an ageing plant of a smaller size.

Client, a joint venture between Electricity & Energy Ministry, US’ Bechtel and Egypt’s Commercial International Bank is procuring equipment for the scheme. it is in talks with France’s Alstom and Italy’s Ansaldo Energia for the main components of the project.

Tender categories Power Plants & Alternative Energy Tender products Power Generation Plants

Kuwait Project name Doha Link Bridge Construction Project

Project Number MPP2652-K Territory Kuwait Client Ministry of Public Works (Kuwait) Address Ministry of Public Works Bldg., 3rd Floor, 6th Ring Road City Safat 13001 Postal/ ZIP code 8 Country Kuwait Phone (+965) 2538 5520 / 2538 5530 Fax (+965) 2538 5219 / 2538 5234 Email hmansour@mpa.gov.kw Description Design and build (DB) contract for the construction of 16-kilometre-long Doha Link Bridge.

Budget $1,000,000,000 Status New Tender Remarks The project will link Shuwaikh to the port village of Doha in Jahra Region of Kuwait, also known as Sheikh Jaber al-Ahmed al-Sabah Bridge - (Contract No.RS/214). It will link up with the planned Subiya Causeway and have (3) traffic lanes and an emergency lane in each direction. Client has pre-qualified 12 local/ international consortiums for the tender in July 2011. They include: · Local Alamiah Building Company / Austria’s Strabag · Local Abdulaziz Abdulmohsin Al-Rashid & Sons / South Korea’s Samsung C&T · Local Khalid & Khalid Abbas General Trading & Contracting / South Korea’s GS Engineering & Construction Corporation · Local Bayan National Trading / Italy’s Salini Costruttori

· Local Green Line General Trading & Contracting / China Civil Engineering Construction Corporation (CCEC) · Local Gulf Environmental General Trading & Contracting / South Korea’s Daewoo Engineering & Construction Company Ltd. · Local Tarbili Holding Company / South Korea’s Daelim Industrial Company Ltd. · Local Al-Hani Construction & Trading Company / China’s Sinohydro Corporation · Local Kuwait Company for Process Plant Construction & Contracting / Italy’s Pizzarotti · Local First United General Trading & Contracting Company / Spain's Obrascon Huarte Lain SA (OHL) · Local Copri Construction Projects Company / China’s China Major Bridge Engineering Company (CMBE) · Local Hamad Mohammed Al-Wazzan General Trading & Contracting / Saudi Bin Laden Group Client has now invited pre-qualified consortiums to submit bids for the DB contract on this scheme.

Tender categories Public Transportation Projects, Roads, Bridges & Infrastructure Tender products Bridges Construction, Roads Construction, Roadways

development of the offshore Umm Lulu field to produce 100,000 barrels a day

Project name Jabal Omar Area Development Project

Client Abu Dhabi Gas Industries Limited (GASCO) Updated on 18/06/2012 Latest comment Client has announced that 90% of work on Habshan 5 gas processing plant is complete. This major feat had been accomplished in (33) months, well ahead of the 50-month contractual period for the project. The Habshan 5 Process Plant is designed to process 1,000 million standard cubic feet per day (MMSCFD) of offshore gas from Umm Shaif and an additional 1,000 MMSCFD of onshore gas comprising a mix of associated gas from ADCOand non-associated high sour gas from the Habshan fields.

Budget $1,500,000,000 Client Abu Dhabi Marine Operating Company (ADMA-OPCO) Updated on 20/06/2012 Latest comment Technical bids submission deadline has once again been extended until July 17, 2012 for the second package on this scheme.

Project name Integrated Gas Development Project

Description Implementation of an Integrated Gas Development (IGD) scheme aimed at producing and processing more than 700 million cubic feet a day of offshore gas, including 10,000 tonnes a day (t/d) of natural gas liquids (NGL) and 4,000 t/d of sulphur.

Budget $10,000,000,000

Budget $7,200,000,000 Client General Authority of Civil Aviation GACA (Saudi Arabia) Updated on 19-Jun-12 Latest comment Bahra Cables, an affiliate of local Construction Products Holding Company (CPC), has been awarded an estimated $80 million contract to supply medium-voltage cables for this project.

Bahra Cables produces high, medium and low-voltage cables that are fire-resistant and do not emit smoke or toxic and suffocating gases in case of fire or electric circuit shortage.

Project name Mesaieed Fertilizer Complex Project - Phase 6

Description Engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) contract to build the sixth phase of the giant fertilizer complex at Mesaieed Industrial City with capacity of 3,850 tonnes per day of granulated urea, including associated utilities and offsite units.

Budget $610,000,000

Description Development of Jabal Omar area involving construction of five-star hotels, residential towers, retail concourse and a car park.

Budget $ 5,100,000,000 Client Jabal Omar Development Company (Saudi Arabia) Updated on 19/06/12 Latest comment Client has signed a $1.3-billion loan agreement with the group of local banks. The loan runs for 12-years, with a four-year grace period on repayments.

Project name Saraya Ras Al Khaimah Development Project

Description Development of Saraya Ras Al Khaimah scheme, involving construction of (200) villas, several hotels, a golf course and a retail area.

Budget $2,000,000,000 Client Saraya Islands Real Estate Development Company (Ras Al Khaimah) Updated on 18/06/2012 Latest comment This project is still on hold.

Project name Umm Lulu Offshore Field Development Project

Description Engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) contract for

Project name Grand Muharraq Garden Overhaul Project

Description Carrying out overhaul works of Garden Muharraq Garden, which will include an indoor ski slope

Budget $64,000,000 Client Ministry of Municipalities & Urban Planning (Bahrain) Updated on 10-Mar-10 Latest comment The Client has given new deadline to the Main contractor to restart the construction works in March 2010 or the contract will be cancelled.

Project name New Main Terminal Package - King Abdulaziz International Airport Expansion (Phase 1)

Description Design and construction of a new main passenger terminal with capacity of 30 million passengers per year at an international airport.

Client Qatar Fertilizer Company (QAFCO) Updated on 18-Jun-12 Latest comment Client has announced that the project is on track for completion in October 2012, with commercial production to commence thereafter. The plant will produce 5.6 million tonnes per annum of urea, making it one of the biggest producers in the world.

Project name Yanbu Lube Base Oil Refinery Expansion Project

Description Engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) contract for expansion of the existing lube base oil refinery at Yanbu to double the capacity from 280,000 tonnes a year (t/y) of oil lubricants.

Budget $1,000,000,000 Client Saudi Arabian Oil Company (Saudi Aramco) Updated on 20-Jun-12 Latest comment Client has extended the deadline to submit bids for the EPC contract until September 01, 2012.

Project name Medina International Airport Expansion Project - Phase 1

Description Expansion of Medina International Airport to develop airside and landside facilities, including the construction of a new terminal with capacity of 14 million passengers a year, renovation of an existing runway and construction of a second runway.

Budget $1,500,000,000

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WWW.THEBIGPROJECTME.COM Client General Authority of Civil Aviation GACA (Saudi Arabia) Updated on 20-Jun-12 Latest comment The consortium has received bids from three consultancy firms for the independent engineering on this scheme. The bidders include: UK-based Halcrow, US-based Hill International and Frances’ ADPI. Selected firm will liaise with the Tibah consortium and the Client on the project.

Project name King Abdullah Bin Abdulaziz Airport Project

Description Construction of King Abdullah Bin Abdulaziz Airport comprising a control tower, air cargo zones, a passenger terminal complex and other facilities.

Budget NULL Client General Authority of Civil Aviation GACA (Saudi Arabia) Updated on 19-Jun-12 Latest comment It is understood that the Client will complete the design process for the airport this month and invite local and international companies to bid for the main contract in July 2012.

Project name Four Seasons Hotel Resort Project - Jumeirah Beach Road

Description Construction of five-star Four Seasons Hotel Resort comprising (237) guestrooms, including (49) suites, 270 metres of beachfront, three restaurants, function spaces, a spa, indoor and outdoor pools, tennis courts and a private beach club.

Budget NULL Client Bright Start Holdings (Dubai) Updated on 21-Jun-12 Latest comment It is understood that around 10% of construction work has been completed on this project. The hotel will cover 11 acres of waterfront and have an Andalusian-style exterior and contemporary interior with Arab influences.

Project name Jabal Al Akhdar Resort Hotel Construction Project

Description Construction of Jabal Al Akhdar Resort Hotel comprising two main buildings and a cluster of two-storey buildings consisting a total of (86) luxury rooms.

Budget $35,000,000 Client Oman Tourism Development Company S.A.O.C (Omran) Updated on 20-Jun-12 Latest comment Construction work has

commenced on this development and is on track for completion by December 2013. The project is progressing steadily with over (300) employees working on building the substructure and superstructure of the hotel. Operated by the Singaporean-based hotel chain, Alila, the hotel resort is envisioned to become a luxury hotel and spa development along with a cliff side restaurant and pool on top of a large mountain, 2,000 metres above sea level. The hotel is constructed to meet the world recognized LEED certification requirements, which demonstrates the project's environmental and energyefficient features, and being one of the first buildings that are environmentally friendly.

Project name Clean Transportation Fuel Project - Riyadh Refinery

Description Front-end engineering and design (FEED) contract for the Clean Transportation Fuel Project (CTFP) at Riyadh Refinery.

Budget $1,000,000,000 Client Saudi Arabian Oil Company (Saudi Aramco) Updated on 20-Jun-12 Latest comment It is understood that a tender for the EPC contract is expected to be released by the end of June 2012.

Project name Saih Rawl Depletion Compression Project Phase 2

Description Engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) contract for implementation of Saih Rawl depletion compression project - Phase 2.

Budget $450,000,000 Client Petroleum Development Oman (PDO) Updated on 20-Jun-12 Latest comment It is understood that at least six contractors have submitted bids for the EPC contract on this scheme. Bidders include: Athens-based Consolidated Contractors Company (CCCSouth Korea’s GS Engineering & Construction; India’s Larsen & Toubro; Abu Dhabi-based National Petroleum Construction Company (NPCC); Spain’s Tecnicas and French Technip. Contract is expected to be awarded by September 01, 2012, with work expected to be completed by the first quarter of 2015.

Project name Jebel Ali Lehbab Road Rehabilitation Works Project

Description Carrying out rehabilitation works on the Jebel Ali - Lehbab road.

Budget $ 20,000,000 Client Roads & Transport Authority (RTA) - Dubai Updated on 20-Jun-12 Latest comment Saudi Arabia’s Saudi Binladin Group has been awarded the main contract on this scheme.

Project name Musandam Power Project

Description Engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) contract to build a double-circuit 132kV overhead transmission line with associated 132/33/11kV grid substations in Musandam governorate.

Budget NULL Client Rural Areas Electricity Company (Oman)

Updated on 20-Jun-12 Latest comment Bids submission deadline has been further extended from the previous deadline of May 28, 2012. An award is expected in the third quarter of 201.

Project name Izki Substation Upgrade Project

Description Carrying out upgrading of 132/33kV substation to 220kV at Izki

Budget NULL Client Oman Electricity Transmission Company (OETC)

Updated on 20-Jun-12 Latest comment Bid submission deadline has been further extended from the previous deadline of May 28, 2012. An award is expected in the third quarter of 2012.

Project name Flowlines Installation & Associated Works Project

Description Construction of 6-inch flowlines to transport crude oil, water and waste from drilling wells to oil and gas gathering centres.

Budget NULL Client Kuwait Oil Company (KOC) Updated on 20-Jun-12 Latest comment Bids have been submitted for the main contract on this scheme.

Local Arabi Enertech is understood to be the lowest bidder after submitting a price of $99-million for a contract to install the pipelines. Local Mechanical Engineering & Contracting Company has submitted the second lowest bid of $102-million. Other bidders include: Local Combined Group Contracting Company submitted a price

of $108-Million Local Heavy Engineering Industries & Ship Building Company submitted a price of $116-Million Local Al-Dar Engineering & Construction submitted a price of $116-Million Local Mushrif Trading & Contracting Company submitted a price of $124-Million Local Alghanim International General Trading & Contracting Company submitted a price of $129-Million Local Gulf SPIC General Trading & Contracting Company submitted a price of $135-Million Local Al-Khadda International General Trading & Contracting Company submitted a price of $146-Million Project completion is expected in 2016.

Project name King Khalid International Airport Expansion Project

Description Carrying out expansion of King Khalid International Airport.

Budget NULL Client General Authority of Civil Aviation GACA (Saudi Arabia) Updated on 20-Jun-12 Latest comment The deadline to submit bids for the project management consultancy (PMC) contract has been extended until July 10, 2012.

Project name Shuqaiq Thermal Power Plant Project

Description Engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) contract to build a thermal power plant in Shuqaiq with capacity of 2,400 MW.

Budget NULL Client Saudi Electricity Company - Western Region (Saudi Arabia)

Updated on 20-Jun-12 Latest comment Client has invited bids for the EPC contract on this scheme.

Contractors have until October 2012 to submit technical bids. Technical bids will be assessed before financial offers are invited.

Project name Water Tanks Construction Project - South Madina

Description Construction of (2 Nos.) 500,000 cubic metre (cu.m) total capacity water tanks in South Madina.

Budget $ 35,000,000 Client Ministry of Water & Electricity (Saudi Arabia)

Updated on 20-Jun-12 Latest comment Construction of the tanks has commenced and is in progress. Project completion is expected in 201

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DIARY | INDUSTRY EVENTS

DIARY GLOBAL TRENDS

$3.54b

Value of Kazakhstan’s construction market from January - May 2012, a marked increase on 2011

7.8million m2

The total area of newly constructed mall space to open worldwide during 2011,

AED298bn The value of Dubai’s non-oil direct trade, freezone trade and customs in 2012, up 6.6%

9.5m tonnes of coal is stockpiled at Qinhuangdao Port, China, an indication of economic slow down, says Wood Mackenzie

70 | www.thebigprojectme.com

MENA Project Lebanon

Beirut International Exhibition & Leisure Center: June 5 – 8 The show offers suppliers opportunity to expand their business at the centre of one of the world’s largest rebuilding projects.

Ankomak

Istanbul Expo Center, Turkey: June 6 – 10 The Turkish building industry benefits from the economic growth and the inflow of foreign capital and is regarded as a very promising market. Ankomak showcases numerous projects in the field of road construction, house building and the construction of office premises are planned.

Cityscape Jeddah

Jeddah Centre for Forums and Events: June 10 – 12 Cityscape Jeddah will gather all real estate investors, developers, consultants, architects and other senior-level professionals to enable the creation of joint venture partnerships.

vInterbuild Egypt

Cairo International Convention & Exhibition: June 21 – 25 Interbuild Egypt is dedicated towards the theme of Building for the future. In the trade fair, materials for better environment or energy saving construction techniques will be showcased by the exhibitors at global scale.

INTERMAT Middle East

ADNEC, UAE: October 8 – 10 The second edition of the UAE’s only and largest dedicated construction machinery trade show.

JULY 2012

INTERNATIONAL Asian Building Technologies Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre: June 6 – 8 A lead for the professionals and traders to seize the dynamic business and investment opportunities offer in Hong Kong and its neighbouring cities.

DesignBuild Melbourne

Melbourne Convention and Exhibition Centre: June 27 – 29 DesignBuild Melbourne 2012 will cater to numerous zones related to building & construction sector such as green building zone, plumbing design, construction equipment, building materials, windows and doors and tools and safety.

Real Estate North

Congress Center Hamburg, Germany: June 11 – 12 Through group meetings and presentations, all the significant real estate factors are explored at great depth throughout the event.

A pool of expertise and professional knowhow, professionals partake in discussions exploring development trends and challenges

Neocon World Trade Fair

Merchandise Mart, Chicago: June 11 – 13 Showcase of a large collection of furnishing products and accessories More than 40,000 visited in 2011from both the commercial and residential furnishing sector.

Indo Buildtech Expo-Jakarta

Balai Sidang Jakarta Convention Center: June 27 – July 1 A showcase of steel material and construction, water and waste management systems, building and automation systems, safety systems and equipment, electrical parts and systems, architectural lighting design, paints and coating technologies, air conditioning and ventilation. Indo Buildtech Expo-Jakarta takes place annually and generally invites over 300 enterprises including more than 58 foreign exhibitors.

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