big project me

PUBLICATION LICENSED BY IMPZ

083 FEBRUARY 2013

www.bigprojectme.com

Key Project

In Profile

Onsite

Casablanca Tram

Philippe Dessoy

Al Hamra Village

VILLAGE LIFEBig Project ME visits RAK’s Al Hamra Village for a taste of the quiet life

ALSO INSIDE: ALDAR AND SOROuH MERGER TENDER uPDATES PROjEcT DELAyS PPP GREEN PAINT TEcHNOLOGy

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CONTENTS

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FEBRUARY 2013

PAGE 34 Figure out how to resolve delays

06 biggest news

AldAr And sorouh Agree to merger

boards agree to form the UAe’s second largest property firm

14 news AnAlysis

A need for AlArm

experts tell us what needs to be done to raise fire safety standards

22 in Profile

sIX shooter

six Construct’s Philippe Dessoy on Dubai’s construction competition

26 on site

VIllAge lIfe

big Project Me takes a tour of ras Al Khaimah’s Al Hamra Village

30 sPeCiAl rePort

CAsA trAm

big Project Me travels to Casablanca for the launch of its tramway

34 ProjeCt DelAys

deAlIng wIth delAys

investigating what can be done when projects grind to a halt

38 PriVAte PUbliC PArtnersHiPs

goIng PrIVAte

jonathon savill finds out if interest is returning to PPP finance

42 tiMe AnD Money

steel BenefIts

How can stainless steel reinforcement save contractors time and money?

44 CoMMent

An IntegrAted APProACh

jason whitehead of Honeywell on why bMs is essential in the Middle east

46 sPeCiAl feAtUre

tAkIng the stress

finding out the latest from the post-tensioning industry

52 tenDers

toP tenders

listing february’s biggest tenders

56 ConstrUCtiVe CritiCisM

one steP forwArd

gavin Davids says that sharjah’s edorsement of biM is a big deal

4 FEBRUARY 2013MID

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EDITOR’s COMMENT bigprojectMe.COM

Publisher Dominic De SouSa

GrOuP COO naDeem HooD

ManaGinG DireCtOr RicHaRD JuDD eDiToRiaL

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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.

stephen whiteGroup Editor

nOW Online You can now get the online edition every month at: www.bigprojectme.com

I’ve been told that you shouldn’t expect anything to move quickly in Saudi Arabia unless it’s a Mercedes. So I was surprised to hear a senior government official lay the blame squarely on contractors for delays on road projects. their pace must be glacial.

Saudi is stuffed full of contractors all vying for contracts and I’m sure many of those that missed out first time around will be rubbing their hands with glee at the prospect of the ministry of transportation chucking their rivals off sites. Should it get around to it.

It has been suggested that the Saudi government is paying the price for taking the cheapest option in its contract awards. While this is an overly simplified view, it highlights problems when contract prices are driven down in the market and the inevitable pressures it puts on a company’s ability to deliver a project.

Contractors in the mature market of Saudi’s neighbour the UAe are facing similar challenges at all scales. Many large local firms and global players have found themselves forced into niche – or as they say core competence – areas and high value contracts to maintain their operations in the country. Many others are pushing their prices down to be competitive and at the same time pushing smaller contractors – mostly homegrown companies – out to the fringes. While I firmly believe in freedom of choice for the end-users – action is required to ensure fairness before a layer of the industry disappears.

We’ll be looking at this in greater detail in the next issue. If you would like to participate drop us a line.

Under price pressure

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To learn more about Honeywell’s building solutions, call +971 4 3244 240 or email us at [email protected]

or visit www.honeywell.com© 2013 Honeywell International Inc. All rights reserved.

Honeywell provides innovative solutions that help you increase building performance and profitability.

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7JANUARY 2013 MID

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BIGGEST news

BIG pRojEcT mE TAkES An In-dEpTh look AT ThE STATE oF UAE’S FIRE And lIFE SAFETY STAndARdS on pAGE 14

AldAR ANd SoRoUh boARdS AGREE To mERGER

boArDs to CAll An extrAorDinAry generAl Meeting of sHAreHolDers After yeAr-long DisCUssions CoMe to sUCCessfUl ConClUsion

the boArdS of Abu dhabi’s biggest

real estate developers, Aldar Properties

and Sorouh real estate, have approved a

state-backed, all share merger of the firms,

following almost a year of discussion.

A Reuters report said that the merger

would go through with a share swap. the

new business will have $13bn in assets.

“the boards have officialised it and will

soon be calling an extraordinary general

meeting of shareholders for approval,” an

unnamed source told the newswire.

Aldar and Sorouh have been in

discussions for nearly a year, with the

government of Abu dhabi backing the talks,

which centred on asset valuations, financial

terms and a new management structure.

the tie up between Aldar and Sorouh,

will create the second largest listed

property firm in the UAe, and one of the

biggest in the Middle east, the report said.

the Abu dhabi government has, over

the past two years, bailed out Aldar with

around $10bn in funding, the Reuters

report added.

“It is very important for the combined

entity to be aligned with the overall

strategy of Abu dhabi,” Abubaker Seddiq

Al-Khouri, Sorouh’s managing director

and proposed chairman of the new

business, said on a conference call.

“We will be building a company that

helps in the overall development of real

estate in the emirate but also doing that in

a cost-efficient way.”

Sorouh will be dissolved and delisted

once the merger goes through, Al-Khouri

said, though he declined to provide

further details.

the Abu dhabi government will own a

37% stake in the new firm, and will also

pay Sorouh $871.2mn in exchange for

infrastructure assets and units in the the

Gate development.

the new firm, to be named Aldar

Sorouh Properties, will be 57% owned

by Aldar shareholders and 43% held by

Sorouh stakeholders.

the companies expect one-off

integration costs of about $16.3mn.

37% percent of new firm owned by Abu dhabi government entities

$13bn Worth of assets owned by the newly formed company

$13.4bn debt of the combined entity

$4.1bn projected cash inflows from government contracts

$871.2mn Amount the Abu dhabi government will pay Sorouh for infrastructure assets and units

big project, big numbers

ArAbteC AwArDeD loUVre ContrACt

contractor to build the Abu dhabi branch of the louvre museum

ArAbteC hAS been awarded the

contract to construct the Abu dhabi

branch of the louvre museum, the dubai-

listed contractor has said. Construction

will begin immediately with completion

in 2015. the contract was awarded by

Abu dhabi’s tourism development and

Investment Co (tdIC).

najaf prison to be converted to museum

one of the Iraqi city’s most famous historical land-marks is set to be restored

one of najaf’s most famous landmarks is finally set to be restored after more than half a century of neglect, city officials have announced.

the khan Al shilan building was once the local headquarters for the ottoman adminstration before being used as a prison by the British

in the aftermath of the first world war.

According to french press agency AfP, the local authority will turn the building into a museum commemorating the city’s heritage. the conversion will be done by the year’s end.

khan Al shilan, which housed the city’s first electrical generator and was later used as a mill, covers 1,500m2 and its decaying facade hides Islamic designs which will be restored.

30millioN

ANNUAl CAPACitY of PlANNEd KAiA tERmiNAl

ARABTEC

GuGGEnhEim ComPlEtioN

dAtE 2017

LOuVRE ComPlEtioN

dAtE 2015

$653mnVAlUe of

ContrACt

ZAyEd nATiOnAL musEum

ComPlEtioN dAtE 2016

24,000m²size of tHe

MUseUM

30 yeArs

thE lENGth of thE AGREEmENt

bEtwEEN AbU dhAbi ANd thE fRENCh

GovERNmENt

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ThE BIG PICture bigProjeCtMe.Com

the GovernMent of

Saudi Arabia will issue bonds

this year to pay for upgrades

to the airports of riyadh and

Jeddah.

In an interview with Al

Arabiya television, finance

Minister ebrahim Al Assaf

said his ministry will look for

private investment to follow

the $4bn from Islamic bonds

(Sukuk) it raised in 2012.

“the rest of the bonds

for King Abdul Aziz Airport

in Jeddah and King Khalid

Airport in riyadh will be

issued this [coming] year],”

confirmed Al Assaf.

the bond for King

Abdulaziz Airport in Jeddah is

expected to exceed $7bn.

In mid-2012, hill

International, the construction

management firm, was

appointed to oversee control

management and oversight

services for the $1.5bn airport.

the one year contract

was awarded by the General

Authority of Civil Aviation,

and will include overall

improvement programmes for

the airport.

the contract has an overall

estimated value of $3.8mn,

and the expansion will be “a

landmark development for

the Jeddah region and for the

Kingdom of Saudi Arabia,”

said raouf S. Ghali, president

of hill’s Project Management

Group.

KAIA plans on meeting the

projected annual volume of

70 to 80 million passengers by

2035, with plans that include

a technologically advanced

terminal facility with a 30

million passenger annual

capacity rate.

the massive project will

also see the development

of a new air traffic control

complex, a transportation

centre and a railway station

that will accommodate the

high-speed railway between

Makkah and Madinah, and an

air-side and land-side road

network as well as taxiways.

sAUDi ArAbiAn goVernMent PrePAring bonDs to finAnCe AirPort UPgrADes

Government of kSA will issue airport bonds this year

BIG pRojEcT mE InTERvIEWS phIlIppE dESSoY, Gm oF SIx conSTRUcT, Who TAlkS ABoUT compETInG, on pAGE 20|

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ThE BIG PICture

emirates road renaming a milestone for dubai

Emirates Road and Al khail Road are nearing the end of construction works

DUbAi Metro set for MAssiVe exPAnsion

RTA chief says new lines will added to network by 2030

the reCent ProPoSAl to cap

mortgages to 50% of the home value

has inevitably unsettled the market

according to dubai real estate agents.

A proposal sent to UAe banks by the

country’s central bank would see expat

buyers only allowed to borrow 50% of

a property’s value and UAe nationals

restricted to 70%. the move is designed

to combat speculative buying which has

fuelled high inflation of house prices in

the past. but it has engendered a negative

effect, experts say.

“People that were going to purchase

are now holding back and waiting to

see what is going to happen,” said ryan

Mahoney, Ceo of the dubai-based estate

agent better homes.

renan bourdeau, managing director

of propertyfinder.ae, agrees: “A deposit

of 20% to 30% would be appropriate

for the UAe and in line with european

standards,” he said. but while many

budding buyers risk seeing their dream

of UAe home ownership collapse,

Mahoney said many can still relax-50% of

his clients buy their home with cash.

lenDing CAP HAs stAlleD DUbAi ProPerty PUrCHAsesproposal to cap mortgages to 50% of the home value has unsettled the market according to dubai real estate agents.

BIG pRojEcT mE vISITS ThE mASSIvE Al hAmRA vIllAGE pRojEcT In RAS Al khAImAh, on pAGE 26

the 140km emirates road which links Abu dhabi, dubai and the northern emirates of umm Al Qawain and ras Al khaimah is to be renamed after the Crown Prince of Abu dhabi.

news agency wAm has reported that sheikh mohammed bin rashid Al maktoum has ordered that the road be renamed the ‘’sheikh mohammed bin Zayed road’’ in a tribute to general sheikh mohammed bin Zayed Al

nahyan, Crown Prince of Abu dhabi, “for his valuable role in advancing inclusive development nationwide.”

emirates road is a vital artery for dubai. 70km of the route and several previously delayed interchanges are currently under completion.

work on the interchanges of the Al khail road, a route which links with emirates road in dubai, are also nearing completion, the news agency reported.

the dUbAI Metro is set

for a massive expansion as

the emirate’s population

continues to grow, the head

of the roads and transport

Authority has said.

three new Metro lines –

blue, gold and purple – and

a Jumeirah tram route will

be developed as part of

the project, which will be

completed by 2030.

421km lENGth of EXtENdEd NEtwoRK

197 NUmbER of

StAtioNS oN thE EXtENdEd NEtwoRK

2030 SChEdUlEd

ComPlEtioN dAtE of thE mEtRo

EXPANSioN

30% of dUbAi’S PoPUlAtioN

will USE PUbliC tRANSPoRt bY

2030

2020 24.1Km

12 stAtions

2025 91 Km

58 stAtions

2030 221Km

69 stAtions

10 FEBRUARY 2013MID

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THE BIG PICTURE bigprojectMe.Com

bREAK dowN of $1.8bN CoNtRACtS AwARdEd

$961m

$640mTO ThE uAE’s AL JABER GROup fOR pACkAGE

13 On ThE dOhA ExpREsswAy

TO sOuTh kOREA’s hyundAi EnGinEERinG & COnsTRuCTiOn fOR ThE LusAiL ExpREsswAy

$27.5BnfuTuRE pROJECTs:

fOR 30 hiGhwAy pROJECTs

Qatar plans $27.5bn road upgrade

Spending on highway projects in Qatar is set to increase significantly this year

the dIreCtor of fire Safety

engineering for emaar Malls

Group has called for better

education about life safety

systems in malls, starting at the

management level.

Speaking during the

fire Safety, Standards and

regulations forum, Michael

Kelly said that managers

needed to be better educated

about the use of fire safety

systems in their malls. he

pointed out that this would

lead to a higher standard of

safety and regulations.

the forum discussed

issues concerning the correct

application of building and fire

safety regulations.

Major Jamal Ahmed

Ibrahim of the Ministry of

the Interior spoke at length

on the necessity of safety

enforcement and how the

UAe had now taken a unified

approach to many problems.

Kelly praised Major Jamal’s

initiative in improving safety

and said that the continual good

relationship with the ministry

meant that emaar could consul

them on safety issues.

this in turn will lead to a

higher standard of safety due to

the vigilance of the authority.

the main thrust of the forum

was the application of new

methods of fire safety to mega

projects and very high-rises.

eMAAr fire sAfety CHief CAlls for better eDUCAtion

mall managers need to be better educated about fire safety

Qatar will award several major contracts this year as the government initiates a major infrastructure upgrade of the country’s road network. Qatar has one of the gCC’s busiest road markets to date, with contracts valued at $1.8bn awarded to both international and local contractors over the last few years.

SAUdI ArAbIAn And turkish investors

have reached an agreement to establish

the Kingdom’s first factory to build trailers

and containers, at a cost of $133.3mn, it

was announced.

the factory will be established at

Jeddah Industrial City and will produce

5,000 trailers and containers in 2013,

the chairman of the board of directors at

reema Group, said.

“the agreement will help the transfer

of turkish technology to Saudi Arabia,”

said Anwar basaad. he added that the

prospects for the manufacture of trailers

and containers in the Kingdom were good,

a report in Arab news said.

“We intend to meet the local demand

for trailers and containers,” basaad said.

the factory will be established on an area

of 2,000m2 in the industrial city.

According to the agreement, the turkish

investors will train Saudi employees to

operate and maintain the factory.

More than 16,000 heavy trucks operate

in the Kingdom and total investments into

the light, medium and heavy transport

sector are estimated to be around $21.3bn,

studies have shown.

“We have set out for this project

considering the Kingdom’s political

and economic stability,” basaad said,

“We selected turks for the project after

conducting detailed studies,” he added.

KsA AnD tUrKey Agree to bUilD $133Mn fACtory

jeddah Industrial city based factory aims to produce 5,000 trailers and containers in 2013

$21billioN

totAl iNvEStmENtS iNto tRANSPoRt SECtoR

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King Abdulaziz International Airport Expansion Jeddah, KSA

Intercontinental & Crown Plaza Hotel, Festival City, Dubai

Client Al-Futtaim Group Architect Cox Crone ArchitectsConstruction 2003 – 2007Application of FOAMGLAS® behind stone cladding facade 8000 m2

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fixed in concrete3 FOAMGLAS® mechanically-

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THE BIG PICTURE

bill gates buys $1bn stake in orascom

Investment is one the largest foreign currency inflows into Egypt since revolution

Bill gates, along with a group of us-based investors, will commit $1bn to buy a stake in orascom Construction Industries, the egyptian construction and fertiliser company.

the investment is one of the largest foreign currency inflows into egypt since the 2011 revolution, a reuters report said. the transaction also consists of an offer to acquire all of oCI’s ordinary shares in exchange for oCI nV shares or a cash amount of $42.41 per share, a 4% premium to thursday’s closing price, the report added.

oCI will absorb all local stock and global depository receipts of orascom

Construction Industries under a share exchange offer that has attracted more than $2bn in commitments, the company said in a Bloomberg report.

this includes $1bn from us investors, comprising of Cascade Investments, which is wholly owned by Bill gates, as well as southeastern Asset management and davis selected Advisers.

“this transaction is proof of the existing international appetite to invest in egypt and bodes well for the egyptian economy, with more than $1bn committed by us investors,” said nassef sawiris, Ceo of oCI, in a statement.

with the company due to relocate its operations to Amsterdam from Cairo, it will start trading on the nyse euronext from January 25. It plans to launch an American depository receipts programme on the nyse, the company added.

DUbAi MUniCiPAlity finDs 64% of City bUilt UP

Share of buildings in rural areas adds up to only 3%, survey finds

DoHA ConDUCts bUilDing sAfety AssessMent CAMPAign

municipality sets up panel to assess safety of buildings in Qatari capital

dohA hAS MArKed 56 old and

dilapidated buildings for demolition and

renovation, the municipality has said.

Although it did not specify how many

buildings were to be demolished, and how

many were to be renovated, a panel set up

by the doha Municipality said that it had

assessed more than 70 buildings in the

capital, and singled out 56 for immediate

action, whether renovation or demolition.

In a written statement to Arabic paper

Al Arab, the Ministry of Municipality and

Urban Planning said that the assessment

was an ongoing process.

the panel warned that the 56

buildings posed a threat to the safety of

residents, both in the building and those

surrounding them.

owners of the properties have been

urged to cooperate with the panel.

engineer-members of the assessment

committee are preparing a list of at risk

buildings, along with collating necessary

details such as owners’ names, Ids and

contact details and area and plot numbers

of the buildings.

56dohA bUildiNGS hAvE bEEN mARKEd foR dEmolitioN ANd RENovAtioN

88,931totAl NUmbER of

bUildiNGS iN dUbAi

PERCENtAGE oCCUPiEd bY

bUildiNGS oR UNdER

CoNStRUCtioN PRoJECtS

64%

3%ShARE of

bUildiNGS iN RURAl AREAS

45,364 NUmbER of

bUildiNGS iN bUR dUbAi

PERCENtAGE of bUildiNGS

SURvEYEd thAt REqUiRE

mAiNtENANCE

40%

3,175NUmbER of

bUildiNGS iN RURAl AREAS

40,392NUmbER of bUildiNGS iN dEiRA

4,000km² totAl AREA of dUbAi EmiRAtE

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nEWS AnAlYSIS fIre bigProjeCtMe.Com

A need for

AlArm

15fEbRUARY 2013 MID

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nEWS AnAlYSIS fIre

there are four elements, earth,

air, fire and water. each has

massive potential to deliver the

full fury of nature in the constant

fight between the natural and developed

world. Any element can cause millions of

dollars of damage and loss of life.

their effect is regional in some cases.

the UAe is lucky enough not to suffer from

earthquakes and land based disasters or

faults, such as California does.

obviously in a desert environment water

is not a massive problem, the chances

of a tsunami in the Arabian Gulf remain

small. We do not suffer from typhoons or

hurricanes and the consequential loss of

life and property.

of all the elements the one which is

most international and thus arguably the

scariest is fire. this does affect dubai.

Certainly it is scary that in the recent

tamweel tower an entire tower block can

be reduced to scrap by a carelessly thrown

cigarette end.

but this is just the tip of the iceberg, as

it were. According to the figures revealed

by civil defence authorities, 3,359 fire

incidents were reported in the UAe in the

first six months of 2012 alone. the majority

of these were in residential buildings and

high-rises.

the UAe has responded responsibly and

quickly. there is a new building code in

Abu dhabi and special attention has been

given to a flammable cladding which may

have been used in up to 500 other high rise

buildings in dubai.

Major Jamal Ahmed Ibrahim is director

of Preventive Safety at the Ministry of

Interior. At the recent Intersec Conference

he was very positive: “the UAe is now

united in its response. engineers from

every emirate meet to ensure standards are

high and unified.”

there is developing adherence to world

safety codes, as explained by Aaron f.

vanney, of rolf Jensen & Associates. his

talk was called ‘the new era of developing

fire Strategies in the UAe.’

Many of the codes adopted by the

UAe are taken from the UK and the USA.

but, and this is a crucial point, dubai

is stretching the envelope of buildings

in terms of size. We are spaceonauts,

constantly designing bigger open spaces

and atria for the public to inhabit.

Michael Kelly is director of fire

Safety engineering for emaar Malls.

he is a distinguished fire officer and an

experienced safety consultant. As he rolls

over to sleep at night he is responsible

for the safety of around 100,000 people

walking through the dubai Mall on a

good day, and all of the inhabitants and

staff of the burj Khalifa. In essence two of

his major responsibilities are the tallest

building in the world and the largest mall

in the world.

he suffers none of the problems he

would face in europe except one. his

budgets and resources are generous. his

team is motivated and highly skilled.

he has some of the most advanced fire

planning in the world. then he hands

over the mall to a mall manager. to make

Mr Kelly’s world perfect though, he

would like the mall managers to be more

aware of how fire systems work. to be

very clear though, this is not an eMAAr

problem: “this is a worldwide problem.

I bet if you go to most malls worldide

the managers will not have read the fire

Procedures.”

he thinks it’s a problem of education:

“If we say only put one car in an atrium

it’s for a reason. If we say there is a 10kW

limit and the manager puts in a 20kW

load by having two cars, he is trying to

“thiS iS A woRldwidE PRoblEm. i bEt if YoU Go to moSt mAllS woRldidE thE mANAGERS will Not hAvE REAd thE fiRE PRoCEdURES”

A spate of fires has raised the importance of safety in the region. Big Project ME asks what can be done to ensure that lives and money can be saved?

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make the systems do more than they

were designed to. We need to explain

why this limit exists.” the Kw rating is the

amount of heat a car will produce if it

catches fire. Another journalist succinctly

explains the problem: ‘A car is a bomb.’

there are more mundane problems.

Some managers turn off the sprinkler

systems if they are painting a vacant unit:

“Sprinkler systems should only be turned

off when there is no chance of occupancy

by humans. At night, for example.”

It is remarkable that a manager of

a mall or a large space is not directly

responsible for the safety of his shoppers.

So there is a question of culpability.

the Airbus A380 can carry a few

hundred passengers. A passenger liner

could conceivably have a thousand souls

aboard it. the Mall of the World, the

proposed mall in Mbr City could have a

footfall of 200,000 people a day, on a busy

holiday period.

there is currently no compulsory

course for mall managers to deal with fire

systems. but there is a strong argument

that managers should be licenced and

therefore directly culpable. Major Jamal

Ahmed Ibrahim points out that the

owners of the building take responsibility

once the completion certificate has been

signed. but, and this is crucial, no one

person takes responsibility.

Michael Kelly is convinced that there

is no space in the world, nor can there

ever be, that is too big to be safe from fire:

“It’s a case of planning. If there is a fire

and there is smoke, that’s a good thing. It

means the smoke systems are controlling

the environment. If there is a fire in a

large mall it only affects a tiny part of the

mall. People can be shopping at the other

end of the mall and not be affected.”

“buildings are safe. It’s people who

are dangerous. If buildings were empty

they would never catch fire.” but Kelly

thinks that the major enemy of safety

is complacency: “People forget the risk

and it takes a fire to remind them of the

potential danger.”

So at this point the forum had

discussed the building and compliance

of buildings. We had heard about code

compliance and its application to ultra

large spaces and ultra-high buildings.

tony McGuirk is the ex-chief fire officer

of Merseyside. he is an advocate of early

planning of fire risks. this is known as

risk mapping and he demonstrated its

long term effectiveness by showing a risk

map of ancient rome. It identified the

Coliseum and the Chariot racing track

as potentially dangerous, and it charted

water sources and fast routes access to the

danger point. dubai does not fully have

this facility.

the firefighters of rome had even more

authority than our own ministries. Under

roman law each house was required to

keep a bucket of sand by any open fires

“SPRiNKlER SYStEmS ShoUld oNlY bE tURNEd off whEN thERE iS No ChANCE of ANY oCCUPANCY. At NiGht, foR EXAmPlE”

GEZE sets doors and windows in motion. GEZE moves people.GEZE – in motion since 1863.

Thank you for the trust you have placed in us for 150 years.

WE‘RE CELEBRATING OUR JUBILEE.

www.geze.ae

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and a bucket of water available to fight

house fires. the firemen, or vigiles carried

out house to house inspections to ensure

compliance. If they found a householder

who did not comply, they dragged them

into the street and flogged them to death as

a warning to their neighbours.

McGuirk advocates the development

of these risk maps. his own fire brigade

visited over half a million homes to

advise on fire alarms and fire safety.

from these visits they built up a profile of

potentially high risk homes, and marked

them as priorities.

he does stress, though, that

information on these maps need to be

immediately available to the men on

the ground. the aim of all firemen in

domestic fires is to be fighting the fire

in eight minutes, the average time it

takes for a fire to break out of the room it

started in.

“the sad fact though is that most

people who die in fires are already dead

before the fire fighters are called,” he

points out.

Many of the things that save our

life we don’t see. Kelly points out that

many stairwells are pressurised. this

means that any smoke trying to enter the

stairwell is forced back out.

Another consideration in the fire

safety scenario is that different buildings

have different values, for various social

reasons. obviously buildings that contain

people are the most important, as saving

life is paramount in all firefighting, saving

property should always be secondary.

McGuirk illustrates the point by showing

an image of the waterfront in Merseyside,

england. he points to some buildings from

the 1960’s: “these are concrete boxes. If

they burn down we can build some more.”

he points to the liver building: “this

building is iconic. It is the heart and soul

of the city. thousands of immigrants have

sailed from this building. the titanic sailed

from here. We could never lose this it.”

If you think about it for a second you will

mentally compile a list of iconic buildings

in dubai. the burj Al Arab, the burj Khalifa

and many others have woven themselves

into the fabric of our conscious.

the important point is that the way that

buildings are designed. each construction

complies to fire safety codes and every fire

extinguisher is strategically placed.

engineers design safety systems and

managers must comply more closely to

understand and implement fire safety

rules. because there will always be a stupid

man with a cigarette. n

uae gets aggressive on fire code

The Tamweel Tower fire which saw 600

people escape after the cladding on

the building catch fire has accelerated

a change in building regulation for both

existing and coming towers.

The rules include installing a ring of fire-

retardant panels every three floors to stop fires

spreading, and external sprinklers.

The measures are an extension of the Fire and

life safety code drawn up by the ministry of

Interior and introduced late last year.

maj jamal Ibrahim, director of the preventive

safety department of dubai civil defence,

said the new code needed to apply to

existing buildings, not just new ones.

“In existing buildings we have been trying

to find solutions that are not too costly for

the owner, or that will cause the building

to close,” said maj Ibrahim. “We just want

more safety requirements. one is outdoor

sprinklers. Another is to have fire-retardant

cladding every three floors.”

It is believed that about 70% of high-rise

buildings in dubai use cladding with a highly

flammable thermo-plastic core.

“Also, there are more general safety issues,”

maj Ibrahim said. “no barbeques, shisha

or gas cylinders. This will stop any cause of

the fire.”

The new rules were announced at the Fire

Safety, Standards and Regulations Forum at

the dubai World Trade centre.

While most towers have indoor sprinklers

and fire hoses, very few have a means of

controlling a blaze if it spreads to the outside.

maj Ibrahim said there was, as yet, no

deadline for building owners to implement

the new measures.

“We are still working on it,” he promised.

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shootersIX

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as in many professions you are

largely as good as you last job. the

problem in lean times is that you

have to also be a good as your next

one. In good times quality contractors

such as Sixco can point to their

achievements and their quality matrix.

And in Sixco’s case these are many and

impressive. they have been involved in

most of the iconic projects in the region.

these include the Grand Mosque in Abu

dhabi, burj Khalifa, the Corniche in Abu

dhabi, and many others.

You’d think that a reputation like that

would get them into every tender bid and

it mostly does. but in these troubled times

they are forced to compete with smaller

companies prepared to drop their prices

for turnover work.

Sixco is a belgian Group and Six

Construct is their name in the Gulf. the

company came to the region in 1966 and

their first job was the development of the

Corniche in Abu dhabi.

the general manager of Sixco, Philippe

dessoy, spends some time explaining how

the contractor market has changed. he is

an affable man, with an easy confidence.

the sort of man you’d want to buy

infrastructure from.

he graduated as a civil engineer from

brussels University in belgium in 1983.

In 1989, he got his first job at the besix

Group in the belgian head office as a civil

estimator for the international markets.

he moved to dubai in September 1992

to be in charge of the tender department

for the GCC operations of besix. he was

promoted to deputy general manager of

Six Construct in 2003, and then general

manager in 2007.

So Philippe has been in the Middle

east for the last twenty one years and

Sixco for forty seven. And the company

has grown, as he explains: “now in the

Gulf we have 15,000 people of which

9,000 are in the UAe. of those around

2,000 are senior staff.”

firstly he talks about the roots of

Sixco: “In 1966 there were very few

contractors. dubai was a new country

and nobody knew what would happen.

And as it began to develop there was a

shortage of contractors.”

now it is very different in dubai: “the

international crisis means there is not

enough work in europe. So people are

coming to Qatar, Saudi, oman – or where

the money is. the Koreans are here, the

Chinese are here. Korea has problems and

the Chinese activity is down.”

Perhaps the secret of Sixco’s success

is its versatility: “We always have around

fifteen projects of which ten are major

projects. We are working internationally

in Qatar and Saudi. We have worked

everywhere in the Middle east except

Kuwait. We are currently the lowest

tender for a major hospital there so who

knows,” he reflects.

“We’ve tried to diversify but other

markets are difficult. In Saudi we are

building a major football stadium. We

are happy where we work. We have been

approached to build in Iraq but we feel

it is still a little bit early. Perhaps in two

years’ time but for the time being we are

holding back.”

of course to create a tender document

is expensive: “the most costly tenders

are Public-Private partnerships (PPP).

there you need a design team, you need

“wE hAvE bEEN APPRoAChEd to bUild iN iRAq bUt wE fEEl it iS Still A littlE bit EARlY. PERhAPS iN two YEARS’ timE bUt foR thE timE bEiNG wE ARE holdiNG bACK”

Philippe Dessoy talks to Big Project ME’s Jonathon Savill about why he thinks the Dubai construction market is about to get a whole lot tougher in 2013

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IN PROFILE PhiliPPe dessoy bigprojectMe.com

lawyers, you need financial. these are

a lot of activities which are outside the

scope of a contractor so these can cost

up to three million dollars. design and

build tenders cost a lot of money, maybe a

million dollars. Some projects are already

designed, maybe a consultant has been

called in. then, they can be as low as a

hundred thousand dollars.”

“We will turn down a project if we do

not think we can bring something special

to the project, if is too easy. that is why we

try to build landmark projects. but there

are limits to how big we can go. take the

burj Khalifa. It is not too big to build it, but

it is too risky. We did burj Khalifa in a joint

venture with Samsung and Arabtec. even

a massive project like that was a tender,

five groups were invited.”

So why have Sixco lasted so long? “We

are very selective about who we work

for. We work for governments or listed

companies. We have two ongoing PPPs

with the Ajman Government, and another

with the Abu dhabi government for the

last three or four years. these companies

are proper working entities, the Abu

dhabi government own 60%, we own 20%

and another contractor has 20%. So the

government is controlling the revenues

and costs, they are truly in control.”

“We are contractors before we are

investors. A PPP is not that profitable but

our revenues are more stabilised. A PPP

gives you some flat revenues. Contracting

is up and down, now it is down, but five

years ago it was a boom.”

he explains how projects work: “We

try to find more specialised projects. We

have three types of activities including

Marine. In Marine work we would take

any projects, even small size, because

marine work needs special equipment

and we have it. We like projects which are

machine intensive because they are more

specialist and therefore more profitable.”

“In infrastructure such as doha Metro

we are talking up to $3bn so we go into

a joint venture to spread the risk. In

building we can put up a project in our

own unless it is a really big building and

we decide to spread the risk.”

he explains how the current climate

affects contractors: “In the current

climate customers will nearly always go

to the lowest quote for the moment. this

was not the case four years ago. If it is a

few percent then it may be okay, but for

more than that, then they will go for the

cheapest quote, especially if the project is

not that urgent.”

“It should be easy to make money

here with cheap labour and no tax. but

everybody has the same conditions. It

is a very competitive environment so

everyone gets labour from the same

places. for the developer the cost of

the construction is cheaper than in

europe, not for the contractor, just for the

developer,” dessoy adds.

Asked if he is worried about new

companies coming to dubai he is definite:

“new companies are not coming into

dubai anymore, they are going to Qatar.”

but it is still intensely competitive in the

UAe: “I would not start a new company

now though because the projects

are getting bigger and bigger and are

therefore more risky.”

“We are starting to see movement in

dubai. Abu dhabi is restarting projects

and Qatar is booming. We are very lucky

because we have had no trouble getting

paid. Still it is not always easy to be cash

flow positive.” nPhiliPPE dESSoY

“it ShoUld bE EASY to mAKE moNEY hERE with ChEAP lAboUR ANd No tAXAtioN. bUt EvERYbodY hAS thE SAmE CoNditioNS. it iS A vERY ComPEtitivE ENviRoNmENt”

02973 Terex Middle East Ad 300x240.indd 1 23/01/2013 11:37

The region’slargesT ConsTrUCTioneQUiPMenT eXhiBiTion

Following a successful 2012 event, the Construction Machinery Show, the largest construction machinery exhibition in the Gulf region, returns to Jeddah between 14-17 April 2013.

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Find out more. Visit www.constructionmachineryshow.com© 2012 Corporate Publishing International. All rights reserved.

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on SITE Al hAmrA VIllAge bigProjeCtMe.Com

the tiny emirate of ras Al Khaimah

isn’t really known as a hot bed

of construction, as focus in the

emirate has traditionally veered

towards industry and manufacturing.

While the likes of Abu dhabi and dubai

hog the limelight and attention of the

world, this sleepy northern emirate has

gone about its business with a minimum

of fuss and fanfare.

this is about to change, however,

as the emirate’s ruler and government

have put in motion ambitious plans

to redevelop and regenerate ras Al

Khaimah by launching numerous real

estate projects that are destined to put

this most unassuming of emirates firmly

on the map.

Central to this plan is the Al hamra

village project, a massive mixed-use

development that stretches out over

more than 120,000m2 along the ras Al

Khaimah beachfront. With a built up area

of 95,000m2, the project is intended to be

a statement of intent for the emirate as it

looks to become a destination of choice.

“Al hamra village is the first freehold

residential development in ras Al

Khaimah,” says binoy Kurien, general

manager of Al hamra real estate

Big Project Me takes a tour of the Al Hamra Village development in Ras Al Khaimah, the emirate’s largest freehold residential development

Project Name

Location

Site Area

Building type

Construction cost

Al Hamra Village

Ras Al Khaimah, UAE

120,000m²

Mixed-use residential development

$720mn plus

VIllAgelIfe

wAldoRf AStoRiARefurbishment of the Waldorf Astoria is close to completion.

development, the developer behind the

project. “We saw the potential in this place.

Initially we had only the Al hamra fort

hotel in this area and it was doing pretty

well. however, we saw the potential of

developing this whole area into something,

and that’s how we started envisioning Al

hamra village,” he explains.

this vision has grown to encompass not

just the village, but an adjacent 41,000m2

shopping mall, an eighteen-hole golf

course, a 200-berth marina and Al Marjan

Island, which is built on reclaimed land off

the coast of ras Al Khaimah.

furthermore, four hotels are in the

process of being built or refurbished on the

grounds of the development; the Waldorf

Astoria ras Al Khaimah, the Al hamra

fort hotel and beach resort, the banyan

tree ras Al Khaimah beach resort, the

Al hamra village Golf and beach resort,

the Al hamra Palace beach resort and the

rixos bab Al bahr hotel.

Kurien points out that the project has

seen significant investment from both

the company and the ras Al Khaimah

government. With more than $490mn sunk

in to the village alone, there is a lot riding

on its success, a situation not helped by the

initial obstacles the developer faced.

“one of the biggest challenges we had

in this area was a lack of infrastructure,

basically power, water and those kinds of

things. to overcome some of these issues,

the rAK government invested in a power

plant, which is run by the rAK Investment

Authority. that was commissioned to

serve the area, including the residential

parts and the industrial parts (of the area).

All of these were part of the big picture

and the rAK government decided to

invest in infrastructure,” Kurien says.

“Also, approvals were given to private

players to open and set up water plants

and utility companies. So we have more

than one service provider giving us power,

water and other utilities. that was one of

the major challenges, and the government

took measures to mitigate those risks and

put infrastructure in place,” he adds. “We

still do not have feWA power in the free

hold properties. Part of the village, yes, has

got federal power, but the rest is from the

local government, so that was one of the

major challenges.”

“Apart from that, we thankfully have

our own in-house construction company,

so we didn’t face many challenges on

the construction side, because we were

managing it ourselves. So whatever

challenges, we handled it internally

ourselves,” Kurien says.

this in-house company proved to be a

major advantage during the completion

of the project, he explains. despite

being affected by the financial crisis,

the developer remained committed

to complete the projects they had

announced, and as a result, having an in-

house contractor helped keep costs down,

while allowing Kurien and his team to

control the pace of development.

“of course construction slowed down,

but it didn’t stop because we were already

in development. We’d already started

construction and we had commitments

with owners and with people who’d

already bought properties. So whatever we

had announced before the crisis, we had

to complete,” he adds, pointing out that

the last of those announced projects was

the royal breeze buildings, which were

completed in october of 2012.

In addition to the new build taking

place on the project, Al hamra was faced

with the task of refurbishing a number

of hotels on site, including the Al hamra

fort hotel, a $30mn project which will

see everything from MeP systems to

furnishing revamped and redone.

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“of CoURSE CoNStRUCtioN SlowEd dowN, bUt it didN’t StoP bECAUSE wE wERE AlREAdY iN dEvEloPmENt. wE hAd AlREAdY StARtEd CoNStRUCtioN ANd wE hAd CommitmENtS with owNERS ANd with PEoPlE who hAd AlREAdY boUGht PRoPERtiES”

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this is part of a wider plan that will

see the development grow to become

a self-contained mini-city, complete

with its own shopping mall, school,

entertainment and healthcare facilities,

says Kurien as he lays out his ambitions

for the project.

“We have not finished everything, but

we’ve finished what we’ve announced.

We still have land to build, but there’s also

certain facilities that we need to provide.

for example, this locality does not have

a school, so hopefully, by the end of next

year, we should have a school in Al hamra

village,” he explains.

“(Additionally), we’ve engaged a master

planner to plan out Al Marjan Island. It’s

a huge place and we’re looking at various

options as to what we need to do on that

island, feasibility studies are being done

and as and when we get to that stage, we’ll

announce the projects and go forwards,” he

“wE’RE fACEd with A dilEmmA of whEthER to oPEN iN mAY oR iN AUGUSt. thERE iS No PoiNt iN oPENiNG dURiNG thE PEAK of SUmmER. it’S moRE EXPENSivE to KEEP thE hotEl oPEN thAN it iS to KEEP it ShUt”

insists, adding that he was looking at 2015

for a potential completion date.

Meanwhile, the developer is carrying

on with the development of the village,

with plans afoot for an expansion of

the shopping mall and the building of

essential facilities such as a supermarket,

pharmacy and a community centre.

Kurien adds that these projects will be

going out to tender soon, with a tentative

completion date scheduled for the end of

the year.

on top of all this, Kurien says that the

Waldorf Astoria hotel is well underway,

with the project (valued well in excess of

$200mn) set to be open this year, following

extensive refurbishment work to bring it up

to the hilton Worldwide brand standards,

who are managing the property.

“We’re faced with a dilemma of

whether we open in May or in August.

there’s no point in opening during the

peak of summer. It’s going to be more

expensive to keep the hotel open than it

is to keep it shut! If we cannot open on

May 1st, we may open after the summer.”

“right now, construction is

substantially complete. What we’re

doing now is snagging and interiors. the

contractor is finishing snags and getting

out, while the operator’s engineering

team is already in the building and they’ll

do some fine tuning. It’s very difficult

to say whether it’s going to be one, two

or even three months, everything has to

come together,” he muses.

Wrapping up the tour, Kurien lays

out the agenda for Al hamra village:

“for 2013, our plans are to finish the

Waldorf Astoria and get it open, finish

the renovation of Al hamra fort hotel

and get it open by the last quarter of the

year and to finish the expansion to the Al

hamra Mall.” n

biNoY KURiEN

SYStEm UPGRAdEWork is underway to upgrade the hotels’ systems.

BPME_Green Product Certification_Feb13-OL.pdf 1 1/23/13 4:49 PM

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special report casa tram bigprojectMe.com

the truck driver ahead of us is sat on

top of his horn and his passenger has

his head out of his window shouting

at the car in front one of them. A

mixture of Arabic with french swearing

is fighting with the howl of the horn to

be heard. the Peugeot driver hears both

but he can’t move. the traffic lights have

stopped working and the crossroad is in

gridlock. Welcome to Casablanca the city

that never sleeps when the traffic is bad.

And the traffic is always bad, the calm

man at the wheel of our vehicle tells

us. In two days a light railway – or more

exactly – a tramway is coming to town. no

sooner than we cross the great divide of

the crossroad we are stationary again. the

cab in front adds another three passengers

to the three inside a haggard-looking

Mercedes. In most cities in the world, a

stranger jumping onto your lap to get to his

next destination would end in fisticuffs. In

the tightly squeezed streets of Casablanca it

is the only way to travel.

Big Project ME is in Casablanca to see

the city’s first light transportation system

– a tramway – open. It is set to be a big

event with the King of Morocco and the

french PM officially inaugurating the line.

for the two days leading up to that event

getting around the city, like it has been for

decades, requires a lot of patience and a

little bit of luck.

building a light railway in the Moroccan

city has been a political and social hot

potato ever since the french occupiers of

the city attempted to build one at its new

port in 1907. Seeing the city as a key staging

point on the Atlantic coast of its expanding

empire in north Africa, the european

country was simply constructing what it

saw as a useful link for incoming trade.

The opening of the new Casa Tramway signals a new stage in the regeneration of Casablanca into a world class city able to look forward to a bright future

trAm

Project Name

Location

Site Area

Building type

Construction cost

Casablanca Tramway

Casablanca, Morocco

31km

Public Transport

$700mn

CAsA

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special report casa tram

Unfortunately the french

misunderstood local resistance to the

plan and in particular the route which

travelled through one of Casablanca’s

most treasured cemeteries. the events

that followed were to change the history

of Morocco forever. the citizens of

Casablanca unleashed their anger on the

streets of the city attacking and killing

several french residents as they rioted. In

retaliation the french army was sent in

to wrestle control out of the hands of the

Morocco and took Casablanca under its

protection. the Sultan would soon lose his

country and crown.

It is with historical irony that a century

later that the government of Morocco

wants Casablanca to cash in on its

prominence as the commercial centre of

the country using french expertise and

vision by opening the tramway as the city’s

major artery.

At the turn of the 20th Century the

population of the city was a few tens of

thousands. the french colonisation

helped take that to over a 100,000 but the

number of people living in the city has

exploded to almost 4 million. the existing

infrastructure that has created channels,

from the Madinat at its centre to the

surrounding french architecture and the

concrete housing beyond, struggles to cope

with the haphazard nature of Casablanca’s

rapid growth.

A light transport system in Casablanca,

once so unpopular, is now an essential

element to its new regeneration into a fully

functioning modern urbanised metropolis.

A major highway will follow that will

join the developing tourist-friendly

corniche and beaches, the stunning

hassan II Mosque, and the heart of the

city. the Madinat which lies at one end of

the planned road and alongside the United

nations Square and the tramway will also

be redeveloped. In heavy disrepair and

poorly lit, it is the sort of place that gives

lost tourists nightmares. the government

believes it could be a major attraction and

is shifting thousands out of the city centre

to the outskirts.

In reaction to the so-called Arab

Spring, Morocco has quietly reformed

its institutions with its Prime Minister

“it hAS bEEN A GREAt ChAllENGE to lAUNCh CASAblANCA tRAmwAY oN thE dUE dAtE. ANd wE ARE PRoUd to hAvE AChiEvEd it.”

casa tram – at the heart of the city

n length 31km

n trains 74 citadis wagons

n Passengers 70,000 per annum

n travel time 60 minutes end to end

n frequency 4.5 minutes at peak

n green credentials Eco-design, reduced co2 emissions

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special report casa tram bigprojectMe.com

Abdelilah benkirane riding a wave

of popularity into office that saw him

promise to tackle corruption. one of his

main targets are the operators of the bus

companies who have been accused of

bribery to win licenses.

the tramway could become the symbol

of a new Casablanca and Morocco and

Casablancans are embracing the changes

to their city. on the day of its official

inauguration thousands of people line the

streets on a chilly december afternoon to

see the King Muhammed vI of Morocco

(he arrives standing and waving from the

back of his official vehicle to chants of “All

hail the king!”) and french Prime Minister

Jean-Marc Ayrault officially inaugurate

Casablanca’s new tramway.

the construction of the tramway was

entrusted to Casa tram, a company

formed by a consortium consisting of

the Paris transit Authority (rAtP), the

Caisse de depot et de Gestion (CdG) and

transinvest.

Constructing Morocco’s first tramway

was a logistics challenge in itself. the line

crosses the city from the east to the west,

linking various neighbourhoods from Sidi

Moumen suburb to Ain diab coast, the

city centre, the universities, its commercial

centre and the main train stations.

Congestion to the already crowded city was

always going to be inevitable.

fortunately the contractors were able

to turn to france’s Alstom, provider of

its Citadis tram wagons, for expertise.

Alstom, which is currently working

on the Al Sufouh tramway in dubai,

addressed many of the issues posed by

the insertion of the tramway into the

urban environment taking into account

issues such as the impact on utilities, road

traffic, pedestrian traffic, landscaping,

accessibility to all users, safety issues and

a variety of aesthetic issues. like their

dubai counterparts, the Citadis trams are

adapated for Morocco’s Middle eastern

climate. loic dubois, tramway strategy

manager at Altsom, says they have been

fully re-engineered to match the stringent

requirements of the environment (taking

into account temperature, humidity,

corrosion, sun exposure and sand).

Competition for the contract he says was

tough with Alstom fighting off rivals from

Spain and Italy.

“It was a big challenge,” he says.

first announced in 2008, the $700mn

project (the Al Sufouh tramway is valued

at $250mn) came in on time and under

budget. In what is a world first for a project

of this type, the main 31km line opened

across its entire length with every one of

its 48 stations opening for business at the

same time. In addition, Alstom won the

service and maintenance subcontract in

July 2012, adding to the pressure of being

ready on time. dubois adds: “that was

another big challenge. but we did it!”

Youssef draiss, general director of

Casablanca transport en Site Aménagé

SA agrees: “It has been a great challenge to

launch Casablanca tramway on the due

date. 12 december 2012 was set by all the

authorities of Casablanca City and we are

proud to have achieved it.”

While the construction continued, rAtP

dev developed the operating programme

and procedures along with the regulations

and the maintenance policy. It carried

out all technical operating trials and

signed off on non-rolling stock, energy

supply facilities, signalling systems and

rolling stock. At the same time, it quickly

deployed a team of rAtP experts to hire

and train local staff. Around 15 experts

from rAtP and rAtP dev were seconded

to the project and over 600 direct jobs were

created by it.

With time running short, the final phase

of the construction, including the testing of

all the equpiment used on the line began

in the summer.

A dry run phase prior to entry into

service was successfully concluded with

operational exercises used to test the

overall system and prepare facilities for

welcoming passengers.

“testing was made difficult because

of this short amount of time,” says nadia

bourhiz, the deputy director general of

Casa transport.

“there are a lot things that the public

won’t get to see, but all of the equipment

had to be tested.”

the testing phase included seven

months of dry runs. bouriz says that it was

also a test for the road users of Morocco to

get used to the trains and used to making

way. fortunately she adds wryly: “there

were no major accidents...”

Casa tram’s drais says that there was

added pressure to set up the operation and

“to work out the roles of everyone” ahead

of the december deadline. he adds that a

second line is now on course and on time

for a 2015 opening.

“the challenges of projects like these

are numerous. but we wanted to show that

Morocco is capable of doing what we set

out to do and on time. And now, we’re in a

position to operate a second line.” n

pRojEcT delAys

in a perfect world, projects would run

to plan: the employer would specify

a project; the contractor would build

the project to specification and to

budget. And, indeed there may even

have been a project that actually worked

like that! In case of one that doesn’t,

allow us to introduce Parker & rawling

Consultancy (PArC).

the exact nature of PArC’s role is

‘commercial and contractual consultants

to the construction industry-what

that means, is they provide a range

of professional services, and to work

alongside their clients throughout the

dispute process.

their offerings include: contractual

advice; delay and additional costs

services, as-well-as expert work.

Although predominantly contractor

based; PArC’s team are even handed

working on the contractor or client side.

“We’re not hired guns”, explains

Stephen Parker PArC’s Managing

director, “that means that the outcome is

what the facts say”.

PArC’s world appears to be largely

one of problem solving as a result of

difficulties that arise during construction

projects, many of which are related

to time. Stephen Parker explains that:

“Project delays can come in several

different forms.”

he gives an example of how projects

can become delayed: “Suppose a

contractor commences excavation at site

and then identifies that they can’t lay the

slab on a piece of ground because the

Big Project ME puts on its protective gear and looks into the mirky world of delays. What can be done when your project grins to a halt?

deAlIng wIth

delAys

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Project delays bigprojectMe.com

piles are in the wrong place. And they

didn’t construct the piles. the engineer

may say that you examined the site, you

saw the ground conditions, you took the

risk - it’s your problem.”

A delay can ensue while the parties

decide how to rectify the problem. one of

PArC’s roles is to ascertain the cause and

effect of such delay. delays get notified at

different times, the contract tells you when

you’re supposed to notify. however, at

the beginning of a contract there is usually

a “honeymoon period”, during which

contractors may be reluctant to issue

notices for fear of upsetting relationships

with an employer. this position changes

when they can no longer absorb the time

and cost implications of failing to do so.

When notices are issued, the engineer

may agree that the contractor is right. the

contractor may also be wrong. Problems

occur when one party considers its right

but the other says it’s wrong.

Stephen Parker explains: “this is

where we get called in. one of our roles

is to draft the reasons for the delay and

demonstrate delays to a contractual

programme - including any costs

associated with the delay”.

the purpose of a contract is to protect

the parties. If there is a delay there is a

process to deal with it. notices are given

to protect the rights of the parties. Some

contracts provide that if notices are not

given, you can fall foul of time bar.

Stephen Parker dismisses that they

are lawyers: “We’re not lawyers, but we

work closely with lawyers on various

projects”, he said.

“In a perfect world, there would be no

disputes. the party that employs us is

hoping they can find a non-contentious

solution. In better times, some employers

are more willing to say that they appreciate

there was a problem, conclude the matter,

put a line in the sand, and move on,” he

clarifies to Big Project ME.

“by and large time is one of the

biggest issues that results in problems.

early delays can be the hardest to resolve

promptly. Agreements are more likely

to be made the closer a project comes to

completion”.

Shifting focus, Stephen Parker talks

about money: “the lowest level of our

business usually involves contracts of tens

of million or so, but they can go into a

number of billions of dollars.”

When times are tough a contractor

may have revisited his tender several

times before being awarded a project.

So a delay of a month or so, for which he

was not responsible, may wipe out his

margin. In that case raising a dispute may

be necessary. however, if the contractor

caused that delay, the employer may

claim liquidated damages.

Stephen Parker is pragmatic about

the role of PArC: “the contracting

world is a risk game, it’s about balancing

risks. Contractors have to make certain

assumptions in their pricing. A lot of the

arguments arise when one party considers

that the problem is a risk item, but the other

“it iS AboUt bAlANCiNG RiSKS. A lot of ARGUmENtS ARiSE whEN oNE PARtY CoNSid-ERS thAt A PRoblEm iS A RiSK itEm, bUt thE othER doES Not”

the louvre is restarted

Abu dhabi’s grand vision of becoming a

cultural centre was given a massive boost

last month with the news that the louvre

museum project is to be restarted.

Arabtec has been awarded the contract

to construct the Abu dhabi branch of the

louvre museum, the dubai-listed contractor

said in a bourse filing.

piling on the louvre was completed in

2010, but it has remained in the doldrums

since then. construction will begin

immediately with completion in 2015,

said Abu dhabi’s Tourism development

and Investment co (TdIc).

The contract is valued at $653mn. State-

owned TdIc obtained approval from

the emirate’s executive council last year

to proceed with building three iconic

museums in Abu dhabi; the other two are

the Guggenheim museum and the Zayed

national museum.

The louvre is now due to be completed

in 2015, the Guggenheim in 2017 and

the Zayed national museum in 2016.

originally, they were to be built between

2013 and 2014.

The louvre Abu dhabi is part of a thirty

year agreement between the city of Abu

dhabi and the French government. The

museum is to be located on the Saadiyat

Island complex, and will be approximately

24,000m2 in size.

A number of projects were postponed

due to the economic condition last year

in the wake of the global financial crisis;

following the review, some projects are

slowly proceeding once again.

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project delays

does not.” At this point PArC are called in to

help resolve the situation.

“these problems tend to spiral. At this

point there may have been twenty notices

of which seven or so are critical. We try

to assess the delay caused by each event

and start by looking at the site records and

other documents. Sometimes we find

flaws in the arguments. At which point we

may conclude that progress delays were

attributable to some of the slippage on

the part of the contractor. our preferred

method of delay demonstration is the

‘time Impact’ form of analysis, undertaken

using Primavera P3 or P6 software.”

“dElAY CASES ARE NEARlY AlwAYS AboUt timE ANd moNEY – At thE ENd of thE dAY, it’S AboUt how mUCh dElAYS CoSt thE PARtiES”

PArC’s engagement can range from a

contract review which can last a few days

or so to an engagement which can last for a

number of years.

the larger cases require people on a

full time basis, but PArC usually handle

several cases at a time.

“delay cases are nearly always about

time and money – at the end of the day, it’s

about how much delays cost the parties”.

history has shown that hard market

conditions will generate disputes and dubai

is a perfect example of this, Parker points

out as he concludes the discussion. n

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FInAncE PPP bigProjeCtMe.Com

goIng

PrIVAte

39fEbRUARY 2013 MID

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FInAncE PPP

public-Private partnerships should be

the answer to a government’s prayer.

the government has a project,

normally infrastructure-related,

such as a sewage plant or water treatment

facility. In the normal course of events

they tender the project, contactors bid for

it, and the government pays for it.

In recessionary times the government

can’t afford to pay for large infrastructure

projects. but populations keep growing

and shifting so the government is forced

into a situation where they can no

longer hold off on building them. enter

PPP. In theory it is a brilliant idea. the

government gets their project and the

responsibility, and money comes from the

private sector.

from a government point of view it

looks like a very good solution. they get

their facility and move their debt out to

a twenty or thirty year time frame. At the

end of that period they often take control

of the facility.

So why is it good for the private part of

the partnership? they are getting a long

term commitment from a government

organisation and likely to have a cash

cow for several years. In fact many PPP

deals are owned by the government on

one hand and an SPv on the other. these

‘Special Purpose vehicle’ companies are

equity based and typically will consist of a

contractor, a maintenance company and a

bank lender.

A recent example of a PPP was a power

station in egypt. the contractor built the

power station and the government agreed

to buy electricity at a certain price over a

number of years. this is a good example

because the government is buying

something they needed anyway over an

extended period of time.

So the major question is why PPPs have

largely failed to ignite the imagination

of governments in the Middle east? nick

Collins and Mark Godfrey, of latham

& Watkins llP, are lawyers who have

studied these partnerships. they point out

some successes in their report: ‘In some

sectors (e.g. power and water, waste water,

etc.) and in various MenA jurisdictions

(including the UAe, Saudi Arabia, Qatar

and oman) a PPP type approach has

led to widespread positive commentary

about the effectiveness of the chosen

procurement models.’

but of course they are lawyers so they

have a counter argument: ‘other than the

above, the track record of successful PPP

projects has been quite limited. A number

of high-profile ‘pathfinder’ projects which

were being tendered on a PPP basis have

not been successful and have either been

abandoned completely, procured by more

conventional direct procurement methods,

substantially de-scoped or have been

subject to substantial delays’.

In fact there are several problems

with the PPP model. Projects such as this

require a marriage between public and

commercial interests. one model is ‘for

the people’ and the other is very much ‘for

certain people.’ And inevitably, in a model

where one side is desperate and needs the

product badly, the government will pay top

market price for the project.

the other point is that many

governments in the region, certainly in the

UAe, can afford to pay for the infrastructure

projects they need. Collins and Godfrey

point out that those governments in this

region have a great opportunity to learn

from the mistakes made by governments in

“PPP iS JUSt tAKiNG hold, bUt GovERNmENtS ARE lEARNiNG thE lESSoNS fRom thE wESt”

PPP was once championed as the golden goose of infrastructure development in the Middle East. Post-downturn there is renewed interest on both sides of the public/private divide, Jonathon Savill writes

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FInAncE PPP bigProjeCtMe.Com

the western part of the world.

they point to a number of points to

ensure that the PPP process can work

smoothly. their first piece of advice would

loom out in Planet lawyer: ‘take time to

get the procurement structure and the

contractual arrangements right.’

essentially they also advise

governments to adopt regimes that have

worked elsewhere in the world (e.g. the

UK, Canada, etc.). but then they say

‘Governments should be wary of a ‘one-

size-fits-all’ approach.

those governments that have

established a central PPP unit have

historically had better results in

successfully procuring PPP projects than

those that have not. this means that

the ruling body has a more consistent

approach and can learn from its own

earlier mistakes and negotiate better.

Collins and Godfrey are optimistic

about the future: ‘Although PPP projects

have not yet taken hold across the MenA

region in the way that many commentators

anticipated, the future remains bright for

PPP as an infrastructure procurement and

delivery model for the MenA region.

demand for infrastructure investment

remains undiminished throughout

the MenA region notwithstanding the

global financial crisis and the on-going

uncertainty resulting from the Arab

Spring. because of the sheer scale of the

infrastructure gap affecting many countries

in the MenA region, PPP is still likely to

become an increasingly important tool for

regional governments across a range of

infrastructure sectors.’

they are not betting on it happening

immediately though: ‘As many regional

governments are still at a relatively early

stage in the adoption of PPP, it may take

some time for the up-take to happen.’

the World bank has estimated that

governments in the MenA region

need to spend between US$75bn and

US$100bn annually in order to sustain

growth rates and to boost the economic

competitiveness of MenA countries.

It seems though that the PPP model

exists largely so western governments can

pay slightly over the odds for extended

payment terms. As we have seen on several

occasions in the UAe governments tend

to help each other out financially, witness

several loans from the direction of Abu

dhabi, for example.

Also the existence of favourable funding

in terms of Islamic banking means that

local ruling parties almost certainly have

access to better funding than western

governments. Also Islamic funding largely

relies on equity stake profit which is a

similar model to PPP.

Claire Grainger, of Prestige Advocates,

is an expert on PPPs. She advised Aqualia

on the recent new Cairo Wastewater

treatment Plant. the project closed in

record time of six months, through a PPP

initiative under the egyptian Government

through the PPP Central Unit.

this however is not the traditional build,

own, operate, transfer. the PPP Unit has

instead favoured the build, operate and

Maintain and transfer, with intensive and

comprehensive termination provisions

and a short o&M lifespan. this has model

can be seen replicated elsewhere in the

MenA regions, including the recent award

on which CG worked on for a Abu dhabi

government consortium to operate and

manage the sewage and water treatment

system in Abu dhabi a seven-year contract,

worth $102mn.

MenA governments generally are not

willing to let the private sector manage

public utilities for long periods of time,

and this is reflected in the relative short

o&M periods, she explains.

“PPPs are just taking hold, but so far

local governments appear to be learning

from the lessons of the west,” Grainger

says in conclusion. n

PPP PRoJECtSGovernments with central PPP units have better results.

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TImE & monEY ArmInoX bigProjeCtMe.Com

the Middle east’s construction

industry has long grown

accustomed to seeing projects

delayed due to a variety of factors.

these delays often have serious

implications across every tier of the

construction industry, with millions of

dollars lost and firms buckling under the

pressure of their debts.

In these fiscally tight times, developers

and consultants are always looking for

ways to reduce costs and save time during

the construction process.

In this month’s issue, BPME speaks

to torben Kerbs, general manager of

Arminox Middle east, a leading supplier

of stainless steel reinforcement in the

construction industry.

whAt Are the BenefIts of stAInless steel reInforCement And how CAn It helP the ConstruCtIon Industry In the mIddle eAst?

Since infrastructure is becoming more and

more expensive, the demand for lifetime is

also increasing. If you go back 30 years, a

bridge design would be for 30 to 40 years,

but now with new specifications, a bridge

is to last 120 years.

there are a few ways to try and obtain

that, you can either add chemicals to your

concrete, that’s very doubtful, but it is

done. the problem with that is that the

chemicals, they wash out over time and

you release them into the environment,

and that’s a bad solution.

steelBenefIts

Big Project ME talks to Torben Kerbs, general manager of Arminox Middle East about how stainless steel reinforcement can help save developers and contractors time and money onsite.

Helping you make the smartest decisions

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TImE & monEY ArmInoX

Another thing you can do is add to the

concrete cover, but that gives you a very

heavy and very costly construction. It’s

difficult to maintain the cover, because

you have a lot of cracks and then you don’t

solve the problem in any way.

So our solution is very simple, it

saves a lot of money in construction, a

lot of money in maintenance. If you use

conventional steel for construction, you

can expect a lifetime of 20 to 30 years, we

extend that to 120 years, by adding only

one or two percent to the initial cost.

When you use stainless steel, you don’t

have to be very particular about the type

of concrete. So to install it is very easy and

you don’t have to take any precautions.

Stainless steel, you just fix it and it’s ready,

so during construction, a contractor will

save time because he has less concrete and

a lighter structure, and so he saves costs

and time because construction is faster.

how AwAre Is the regIon when It Comes to stAInless steel reInforCement?

there is an increasing awareness, because

developers are making bigger projects and

if they don’t do it properly, they have the

fear that even before they finish the project,

the first part of it will need maintenance.

We’re seeing an increase in quality, even

amongst private developers.

Although it’s a competitive market and

price is one thing, the demand for quality

is also increasing as well. When you decide

to use stainless steel, you don’t change

everything. You look at your structure

and you say, ‘okay, where do I have a

problem?’ normally, if it’s a bridge, you

have a problem where the tide is moving

up and down, in this area only the first area

of reinforcement is stainless steel, because

the chlorides will never go to the second

layer in 100 years.

I can give you a very good example,

Sheikh Zayed bridge in Abu dhabi, that

was the first bridge that was designed by

this new concept (in the UAe).

that has 41,000 tons of carbon steel

and 900 tonnes of stainless steel. So it’s a

very small portion to give those 120 years

of maintenance free life.

the price of 1kg of stainless steel is

about seven times the price of carbon

steel and that is why we have to work

very closely with designers, because if

you over-design it, you cannot build it, it

becomes too costly. And that’s where we

come in, it’s our expertise.

how ImPortAnt Is It to work wIth desIgners And ConsultAnts from the BegInnIng of A ProJeCt?

It is important for us to work with the

owners and the architects and consultants

from the beginning, because there are

certain advantages when you start to

design with stainless steel.

for example, from the beginning, you

can reduce your costs: If you do your

design for carbon steel and then we come

later on, then you waste that money.

We follow which projects are planned

and then we select which ones are

suitable for us. then we go see the

owners and we start from there. We

make a presentation and we explain the

advantages they’ll have and so on.

one of the problems you have is that

the more infrastructures you have the

more of your budget you have to allocate

to maintenance. And you’ll reach a point

where there’s no money left for new

projects because everything is going into

the project’s maintenance.

how muCh tIme CAn thIs sAVe A ProJeCt?

We don’t sell just the steel, what we

do is that we get the drawing from the

contractors, so we do the cut and bend, so

he gets the finished product ready to install.

once we start a bridge, for example,

it’s normally a two or three year project.

We sign a contract with the contractor

and we follow them throughout. We

get on a weekly or a monthly basis, the

requirements for the following months.

then we have a fully computerised

optimisation system where we do the bar

bending schedules and only then do we

begin production.

We then deliver it to the contractor, just

on time, when they need it. So they don’t

have to off-load it somewhere and store it,

and then get it back again. It goes directly

to the site, so it saves a lot of time. n

“if YoU USE CoNvENtioNAl StEEl, YoU CAN EXPECt A lifEtimE of 20 to 30 YEARS, wE CAN EXtENd thAt to 120 YEARS, bY AddiNG oNlY oNE oR two PERCENt to thE iNitiAl CoSt.”

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COMMENT BMS bigprojectMe.coM

Tel: +966 3 802 4938Fax: +966 3 826 [email protected]

An integrated approachJason Whitehead of Honeywell argues that an integrated approach to building managament systems (BMS) are essential if the Middle East is to continue with developing large-scale projects

JASoN whitEhEAd

there was a time when there was so

much work that it was easy to get

confused and you drifted off your

strategy. that time has passed.

following the global financial

economic crisis, 2010 was a good time for

us to look at the leadership at honeywell

and the strategy and structures we had

in place. there were a lot of cash flow

issues in the market; that made us more

conservative in our approach to growth.

typically our model at honeywell

building Solutions is to pick the right

projects that lead us to service. I think

at that time we probably took on some

projects that didn’t have the right service

model at the end and didn’t fit our

strategy. We’ve now got back to the core

strategy where we perform best: critical

infrastructure, healthcare, educational

facility and right-sized projects in the

hospitality sector.

As we saw what was happening in the

construction market, we leveraged off

our air-side operations. honeywell has

a very proud track record in airspace

from the cockpit right down to airfield

management. We’ve got great reference

sites here like dubai Airport – the whole

airport and runway traffic lighting systems

are honeywell systems – Al Maktoum in

Abu dhabi is another example.

however bMS will be always our core

and we realised we were one of the few

vendors that can offer both airfield and

landside solutions; such as terminal

buildings, hvAC, fire systems, security,

etc, and the space in between.

design, build, integrate

What we’ve added to that range is

the role of being a large scale integrator

for third-party vendors. on a security

project, for example, 70% of that could be

third-party vendors that we can interface

to; such as parking traffic management

systems, barriers, under-vehicle

surveillance, etc. All of which hinges off

our platform. We’ve set up a solution

design centre here where we have some

of our best design engineers.

We want to get into end-users early

and place people with domain expertise

in fields such as fire and security and

work with consultants to embed our

systems into the design. In terms of

getting products approved we do a lot of

that upfront with the end-user.

We want to look at what our customers

want to achieve and come back with

ideas. for Muscat Airport, we did a lot

of work beforehand (up to ten months

before) with one of the consultants and

the contractor on the design and build of

the terminal.

In the old days you would have an

estimating team who you would give the

rfQ and a pizza under the door. A week

later the proposal would be delivered.

but that is too far down the value chain,

and you’ll be up against three other

Jason Whitehead is a trained electrical

engineer and project manager. Spending

much of his career in oil and gas, he’s been

with Honeywell for 15 years taking on the

role as regional general manager in 2010.

45FEBRUARY 2013 MID

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COMMENT BMS


bidders. We want to get up early and

inspect the solution. People here are

learning that you have to engage early.

I would like to believe the success we’re

seeing in the UAe, and in healthcare in

particular - where we’re gaining market

share - suggests to me that we’ve got an

innovative approach.

With so much complexity, open

systems and the latest technology that’s

out there, it’s becoming complicated

for contractors to understand what the

right solution is. A system integrator like

honeywell, can come in, do the design

and be product independent.

Sometimes our own products don’t

always meet the required specification

or the client already has an existing

installation. We use an open platform to

bring in others and integrate. We often

try and fill in the gaps using our global

experience.

In terms of healthcare, we’ve seen the

governments here want to provide world

class services. look at Sidra hospital in

Qatar, they’re calling it a 7-star facility

because they want to attract the best

doctors.

old hospitals used to have a fire

system and bMS that would be integrated

onto a central platform. You had one

operator that reacted to a fire alarm,

look at a security camera then control

the ventilation in an area. but things

have moved on. If we can integrate

into the It side of the facility we can

start integrating data from medical

equipment, for example. A doctor can

arrive in car park, flash his card; we can

align the lifts so he can be directed to the

theatre. We can have the temperature,

lighting and airflow adjusted according

to their preferred requirements. that’s

the powerful nature of integration.

once you get that traditional control

layer meshing with the It layer, you

are into another space where you start

interfacing into time and attendance

systems through your access control

systems which interact with your hr’s

systems which relate to your payroll’s

systems. It really is a powerful solution.

Another area of interest for us in

energy conservation. Solutions like our

AttUne programme, an SaaS advisory

offering which includes dashboards,

reporting, and support services, can

reduce energy and operating costs by

up to 20%. there is a perception in the

Middle east that energy is cheap but

governments here have a solid vision

that the price of energy is going to go up.

You’re going to see more mandating with

rebates and subsidised energy is going to

fall away. Instead of burning off energy

to provide infrastructure, governments

are now asking why don’t we use it

more efficiently and sell it to pay for the

infrastructure? the industry must be

prepared for these changes. n

ENGAGE EARlYEarly engagement on projects is necessary for success.

46 fEbRUARY 2013MID

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SpEcIAl FEATURE Post tensIonIng bigProjeCtMe.Com


stressBig Project ME talks to some of the leading post-tensioning contractors in the region and finds out about the latest developments in the industry

tAkIng the

post-tensioning as a technology has

been around for more than half a

century in europe, Australia and the

United States, but it was only in the

mid-90’s that the technology first made its

appearance in the UAe.

As companies from the aforementioned

countries made in-roads into the emirates,

local firms began to understand the

benefits of the technology and proceeded

to further popularise the technology.

Starting with bridges and buildings,

post-tensioning has quickly become the

accepted way forward for the industry,

edging out rival pre-stressed concrete

methods, such as pre-tensioning.

furthermore, the UAe and regional

construction have moved towards

adopting bonded post-tensioning, a variant

of the technology that sees compression

being applied after the concrete is poured.

According to the Post-tensioning

Institute of Phoenix, Arizona, the

technology offers many advantages,

including allowing longer, clear spans,

thinner slabs, fewer beams and more

slender, dramatic elements. In turn, this

means that less concrete is used and there

is a lower overall building height for the

same floor-to-floor height.

“Post-tensioning can thus allow a

significant reduction in building weight

versus a conventional concrete building

with the same number of floors. this

47fEbRUARY 2013 MID

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SpEcIAl FEATURE Post tensIonIng


“PoSt-tENSioNiNG CAN Allow A SiGNifiCANt REdUCtioN iN bUildiNG wEiGht vERSUS A CoNvENtioNAl CoNCREtE bUildiNG”

reduces the foundation load and can be

a major advantage in seismic areas. A

lower building height can also translate

into considerable savings in mechanical

systems and facade costs,” a report by the

Institute says.

“Another advantage of post-tensioning

is that beams and slabs can be continuous,

i.e.: a single beam can run continuously

from one end of the building to the other.

Structurally, this is much more efficient

than having a beam that just goes from one

column to the next,” the report adds.

Stephen burke, deputy general

manager of vSl, an international ‘special

construction methods’ specialist, adds

that post-tensioning is one of the most

environmentally friendly methods of

pre-stressing concrete, and that it offers

significant advantages to contractors.

“It’s environmentally friendly because

you’re reducing concrete quantities and

reinforcing steel quantities,” he tells big

Project Me, adding that the durability of

the concrete also increases significantly.

furthermore, engineer Mohammed

hisham Al toubah, managing partner of

fastech Prestressing, a Sharjah-based firm

that operates throughout the UAe, Saudi

Arabia, Qatar and Syria, adds that bonded

post-tensioning has proved to be the

safest method of pre-stressing concrete

in the UAe. “the unbonded system is not

commonly used here because the tendons

in unbonded systems use only one strand,

with each strand is covered by a plastic

protective sheet.”

there is no bond between the concrete

and the strand, there’s no grout or material

to catch the strand and keep it in its place,”

he explains.

Although the unbonded system is

used in europe and Australia, Al toubah

expresses reservations about them,

pointing out that these systems have

been developed or established without

structural studies based on the conditions

and environments found in the region.

“We have to do grouting as per

procedures; we have to use additives

and chemicals. but there is no structural

research that has been done on this

matter,” he says.

With an increased cycle of construction,

this poses a risk when it comes to

maintaining the quality of workmanship,

Al toubah adds, stressing that local

knowledge of the technology is essential

for its implementation.

“for sure, the staff shall have to be

trained. If there’s no know-how, how will

you train people, workers or helpers to go

on site and work there? there has to be

quality in the materials and there has to be

quality in the performance of the people.”

“this means the training we give and

make them able to do the work perfectly”.

As a result of this commitment, burke

adds that the industry has been looking up

recently, with projects coming back on line

following the global credit crunch.

With the industry dependent on how

many projects are under construction in

the market, the signs are looking good for

the post-tensioning sector.

“I see a lot of growth coming from

infrastructure. I see in the region, a lot of

growth coming from rail projects that are in

the pipeline, you’ve got metro schemes, so

over the next five years I see a big push on

infrastructure in the region, generally,” the

man from vSl explains.

“obviously KSA is a big market, Qatar

because of the World Cup, oman is

developing its infrastructure and the UAe,

they’ve got a lot of their infrastructure

in place, but there’s still on the road to

upgrading and finishing it off.” n

Dedicated product sectors at The Big 5

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00509_Big5_Dubai_2013_Projects_240x300mm.ai 1 1/23/13 4:46 PM

49FEBRUARY 2013 MID

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SPECIAL FEATURE paint

When it comes to discussing the

efficiency and sustainability of

buildings, most of the attention

goes towards the amount of

energy expended from the structure,

either from its hvAC systems or its usage

of water and electricity.

obviously these are the main

drivers in a building’s efficiency, but

what’s often not considered is how a

number of smaller factors can help

contribute towards an increased level of

performance, that will help cut down on

the amount of energy that a building uses.

one such factor is the paints and

coatings that cover the inside and

outsides of a structure. While it’s easy

to assume that this will have negligible

impact on the overall figures, research

has found that they could have a small,

but vital role to play.

With this in mind, paint companies

have spent several millions funding

research and development into

producing paints that help create the best

conditions for energy usage reduction and

sustainability. this has lead to a range


Big Project ME finds out how buildings can improve their sustainability and energy efficiency levels, simply by using the right kinds of paints

Is the Colourgreen

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51FEBRUARY 2013 MID

DLE

EA

ST

SPECIAL FEATURE paint

BOOK YOUR SPACE NOW

Organized By:

Gold Sponsor

The fastest growing construction exhibition in the world's fastest growing economy

Mr. Michel GebraelProject Director

Or Email us at:[email protected]

Fill the electronic form at our

website by scanning this code

m: +974 5551 7971t: +974 4432 9900f: +974 4443 2891E: [email protected]

for sales enquiries or more information please contact:

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THE 10TH INTERNATIONAL TRADE EXHIBITION FOR CONSTRUCTION TECHNOLOGY, BUILDING MATERIALS, EQUIPMENT AND ENVIRONMENTAL TECHNOLOGY FOR QATAR

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FRAME YOUR SUCCESS

“ComPANiES, oRGANizAtioNS ANd iNdividUAlS fRom All ovER thE woRld hAvE ComE toGEthER to CREAtE moRE AwARENESS ANd EffECt ACtioNS thAt CAN PRESERvE oUR ENviRoNmENt ANd itS NAtURAl RESoURCES.”

GREEN tEChManufacturers are making paints that help cut energy use.

of ‘eco-friendly’ paints being produced

that have a positive impact on the green

movement, while also allowing users to

meet the high standards demanded by

efficiency watchdogs.

“We have the biggest research and

development team in the world, because

we’re the biggest paint manufacturer in

the world. We spend the most on research

as well,” says Major, adding that Akzo

nobel has several r&d centres operating

around the world, each creating products

tailored for its specific market.

“If any of our international r&d

departments come up with a paint that’s

right for their particular market, if that

product becomes successful, it’s quite

happily adopted by all other markets

around the world,” he explains.

one such product incorporates what

Major calls ‘lumatech technology’, which

is paint that absorbs a percentage of

light energy and reflects the rest into

its surroundings. this allows for lower

energy lighting to be used in buildings

and ultimately lower energy usage.

“If you’ve got walls painted in lumatech

paint, you can have a 22% energy

reduction to get the same lux level out of a

light bulb. Instead of having a 100W bulb,

you can use a 60W bulb,” he explains.

Sherif A Megeed, general manager of

Jotun Paints Abu dhabi, adds that paint

manufacturers are now creating products

that not only aim to preserve, but also

help create safer and healthier living and

working environments.

these include paints that offer high

resistance against bacteria and fungi that

can found in high humidity areas such as

kitchens, bathrooms and hospitals, he says.

“Companies, organisations and

individuals from all over the world have

come together to create more awareness

and effect actions that can preserve our

environment and its natural resources.

With this in mind, we create products

that not only aim to preserve but also

create a safe and healthier environment,”

Megeed explains.

furthermore, companies are now

adopting measures to ensure that the

entire process of manufacturing confirms

to green building standards. these

include reducing energy consumption

and carbon footprint, reducing waste

and the use of hazardous materials and

reducing the use of solvents or volatile

organic content, Megeed says.

Major agrees and points out that Akzo

nobel has been working with contractors

and governments to develop projects that

not only reduce the carbon footprint, but

also allows for the recycling of materials

so that wastage is kept to a minimum.

“What we’re trying to do now is say,

not cradle to grave, but try to see how we

have a longer product lifespan, less waste

to landfill and see how much of that can

we recycle,” he says, adding that it was

important to approach manufacturing

as not just as a cost related exercise, but

an environment related exercise that is

as important as cost effectiveness is in a

company strategy. n

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53FEBRUARY 2013 MID

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TENDERS

toP tENdERS

bUdGEt $67,000,000

Client Johnson Controls international (Saudi Arabia)

region Saudi Arabia

DesCriPtion Construction of a manufacturing facility to produce a range of products for residential, commercial and industrial sectors, including construction of a training centre.

stAtUs New tender

ProjeCt nAMe: chEmIcAl complEx pRojEcT - mESAIEEd IndUSTRIAl cITY

bUdGEt $100,000,000

Client qatar industrial manufacturing Company (qimCo)

region qatar

DesCriPtion Construction of a chemical com-plex to manufacture 56,100 tonnes a year (t/y) of Chlorinated Paraffin wax (CPw) along with caustic soda, hydrochloric acid, calcium chloride and sodium hypochlorite as by-products and co-products.

stAtUs New tender

ProjeCt nAMe: mUhARRAQ SEEF mAll pRojEcT

bUdGEt $45,000,000

Client Seef Properties (bahrain)

region bahrain

DesCriPtion design and construction of muharraq Seef mall comprising two floors offering approximate-ly 30,000 square metres of retail space with ample parking underneath on the ground level, including an open air amphitheatre that will be used for public and cultural events.

stAtUs Current Project

ProjeCt nAMe: mAnUFAcTURInG FAcIlITY & TRAInInG cEnTRE pRojEcT - kInG ABdUllAh EconomIc cITY - phASE 1

ProjeCt nAMe: EAST hIdd hoUSInG pRojEcT

bUdGEt $55,000,000

Client ministry of housing, municipalities & Environ-ment (bahrain)

region bahrain

DesCriPtion Execution of East hidd housing Project involving construction of 4,500-5,000 units, including leisure zones, retail, food and beverage units, mosques, schools, waterfronts, public parks and plazas. stAtUs New tender

ProjeCt nAMe: BAUShER mUlTIpURpoSE pRojEcT

bUdGEt $174,000,000

Client Public Authority for Social insurance (taminat) – oman

region Sultanate of oman

DesCriPtion development of a multipurpose project comprising (11) mixed-use commercial, residential and administrative buildings, including associated facilities in the wilayat of bausher.

stAtUs Current Project

Hosted alongside Organised byPrincipal Sponsor

16-18 APRIL 2013ADNEC I ABU DHABI I UAE

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Source sustainability● Deliver profitability●

Register to attend free of charge at www.ecoConstructexpo.com

55FEBRUARY 2013 MID

DLE

EA

ST

TENDERS

mIddlE EAST tENdERS ProViDeD by

tel +9712-6348495web www.middleEastTenders.com

email [email protected]

UAe

retAil & resiDentiAl AreA DeVeloPMent ProjeCt - Al MAryAH islAnD

ProjeCt nUMber biP013-UCity Abu dhabiClient nAMe Gulf Capital Pvt. JSC (Abu dhabi)ADDress Al Sila tower, 25th floor, Sowwah Square, Al maryah islandPHone (+971-2) 671 6060fAx (+971-2) 694 2703eMAil [email protected] www.gulfcapital.comDesCriPtion development of a retail and residential area on Al maryah island (formerly Sowwah island).stAtUs New tendertenDer CAtegories Construction & Contracting, hotels and leisure & EntertainmenttenDer ProDUCts hotel Construction, Residential buildings and Retail developments

DUbAi ADVentUre stUDios ProjeCt - PHAse 1

ProjeCt nUMber biP015-UCity dubaiClient nAMe meraas development (dubai)PHone (+971-4) 511 4900fAx (+971-4) 332 2707website www.meraas.ae

DesCriPtion Construction of dubai Adventure Studios comprising a state-of-the-art, movie-based theme park hosting several major US-based brands, with new generation integrated rides and latest technology attractions, as well as hospitality, food and beverage, and retail areas for high value family entertainment.PerioD 2015 stAtUs New tendertenDer CAtegories Construction & Contracting, leisure & EntertainmenttenDer ProDUCts theme Parks development

tHe ADDress: tHe boUleVArD tower ConstrUCtion ProjeCt - Downtown DUbAi

ProjeCt nUMber mPP2695-UCity dubaiClient nAMe Emaar Properties PJSC (dubai)ADDress Emaar business Park, bldg. No. 3, Near interchange No. 5, Shaikh zayed RoadPostAl/ziP CoDe 9440PHone (+971-4) 367 3333fAx (+971-4) 367 3000eMAil [email protected] www.emaar.comDesCriPtion Construction of 340-metre, 63-storey the Address the boulevard tower comprising a 5-star hotel and serviced apartments consisting of studios, one-two-three

and four-bedroom apartments.stAtUs Current ProjectDesign ConsUltAnt Atkins international (dubai) MAin ContrACtor brookfield multiplex Constructions middle East l.l.C (dubai) tenDer CAtegories hotels, leisure & Entertainment, Prestige buildingstenDer ProDUCts high-rise towers, hotel Construction

bAHrAin

bAb Al-bAHrAin olD MArKet reHAbilitAtion ProjeCt

ProjeCt nUMber biP034-bCity manamaClient bahrain Real Estate investment Company b.S.C (Edamah)ADDress Addax tower, bldg. No. 1006, 4th floor, Seef Area, Road 2813, block 428PostAl/ziP CoDe 1664PHone (+973) 1756 1222fAx (+973) 1758 2229eMAil [email protected] www.edamah.comDesCriPtion Carrying out rehabilitation of bab Al-bahrain old market.PerioD 15/03/2014 stAtUs New tendertenDer CAtegories Construction & Contracting, leisure & Entertainment

tenDer ProPerties Construction & Addition works, Retail developments

DrAgon City retAil ProjeCt - DiyAr Al MUHArrAq DeVeloPMent

ProjeCt nUMber biP019-bClient nAMe China middle East investment & trade Promotion Centre (Chinamex)territory bahrainADDress f308, ocean Plaza, No. 158, fuxingmennei Street, Xicheng districtCity beijing 100031 CoUntry ChinaPHone (+86-10) 6554 2775fAx (+86-10) 6554 2771eMAil [email protected] www.chinamex.cnDesCriPtion Construction of dragon City shopping mall with initial capacity for up to a 100 Chinese companies and businesses.PerioD 2014stAtUs New tendertenDer CAtegories Construction & Contracting, leisure & EntertainmenttenDer ProDUCts Retail developments

sAUDi ArAbiA

Al bAyt 57 MixeD-Use DeVeloPMent ProjeCt

Hosted alongside Organised byPrincipal Sponsor

16-18 APRIL 2013ADNEC I ABU DHABI I UAE

constructbathrooms

estidama

sust

ainab

le

ecoeco

concrete

cem

ent

LEED

green

recyc led

p lumbing waste management

meta l

l igh t ing

structure

natu

raltechnology

renewable

concrete

products

glass

ceramics

electricalstone

cons

truct

ceramic

cement

sustainables t ruc tu re natural

natura l

na tu ra l

equipment

techno logy

technology

renewab le

stone

bathrooms

l igh t ingbu i ld

bu i ld

lighting

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metal

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metal

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natura l

equ ipmentconcre te

techno logy

recyc led

l i gh t ing

glas

smarbleglass

lighting

renewab le

techno logy

cement

renewable

l i gh t ingceramic

estid

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Clad

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bui ld

recyc ledkitchens

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metal ceramiclight concrete

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Source sustainability● Deliver profitability●

Register to attend free of charge at www.ecoConstructexpo.com

57fEbRUARY 2013 MID

DLE

EA

ST

tenders

ProjeCt nUMber zPR886-SAClient nAMe Al bayt development Company (Saudi Arabia)ADDress Khorais RoadPost CoDe 92151 City RiyadhPHone (+966-1) 212 2222fAx (+966-1) 212 3333eMAil [email protected] http://www.al-bayt.neDesCriPtion development of Al bayt 57 mixed-use scheme comprising (9 Nos.) 22-storey towers, including a branded 5-star hotel, (1,500 Nos.) two, three and four-bedroom apartments as well as penthouses, Grade A commercial office space and a Galleria retail mall covering 25,000 square metres.PerioD 2015 stAtUs New tenderDesign ConsUltAnt dewan Architects & Engineers (Saudi Arabia) tenDer CAtegories Construction & Contracting, hotels, leisure & Entertainment, Prestige buildingstenDer ProDUCts Commercial buildings, high-rise towers, hotel Construction, Residential buildings, Retail developments

oMAn

jAsMine resiDentiAl & CoMMerCiAl CoMPlex ProjeCt

ProjeCt nUMber wPR014-obUDget $39,000,000Client nAMe taameer investment Company (oman)ADDress Al Khuwair, business Centre, 5th floor, office No. 508PostAl/ziP CoDe 1244CoUntry omanPHone (+968) 2448 8871

fAx (+968) 2448 8872eMAil [email protected] http://www.taameerinvest.comDesCriPtion development of Jasmine Complex comprising residential and commercial facilities.PerioD 15/11/2013 stAtUs Current ProjectMAin ConsUltAnt Arab Engineering bureau (qatar) finAnCiAl ConsUltAnt Ahli bank (oman) finAnCiAl ConsUltAnt-1bank muscat S.A.o.G (oman) MAin ContrACtor United Golden Construction Company (oman) tenDer CAtegories Construction & Contracting, leisure & EntertainmenttenDer ProDUCts Commercial buildings, Residential buildings, Retail developments

qAtAr

sMArt Power griD ProjeCt

ProjeCt nUMber biP032-qClient nAMe qatar General Electricity & water Corporation (Kahramaa)ADDress Corniche Street, Number 61, Sheraton Roundabout, dafna AreaCity doha PostAl/ziP CoDe 41PHone (+974) 4484 5484/ 4484 5555fAx (+974) 4484 5496eMAil [email protected] www.km.com.qaDesCriPtion implementation of a pilot project to introduce a smart power grid system with capacity to produce 3-5 megawatts and about 500 cubic metres of water.stAtUs New tender

tenDer CAtegories Power & Alternative EnergytenDer ProDUCts Electric Power transmission & distribution, Geothermal Energy, Photovoltaic Plants, Power Generation Plants, Solar Energy, wind Energy

jorDAn

MAAn winD Power ProjeCt

ProjeCt nUMber biP028-JClient nAMe ministry of Energy & mineral Resources (Jordan)ADDress mahmoud Al moussa Abaidat Street, Al SwaifiahCity Amman PostAl/ziP CoDe 140027PHone (+962-6) 580 3060fAx (+962-6) 586 5714eMAil [email protected] www.memr.gov.joDesCriPtion Engineering, Procurement and Construction (EPC) contract to build a wind farm in the area of maan with capacity of 65-75 mw.stAtUs New tendertenDer CAtegories Power & Alternative EnergytenDer ProDUCts wind Energy

MixeD-Use tower ProjeCt-6

ProjeCt nUMber wPR030-Jterritory JordanClient nAMe Abdali investment & development Company - AdiC (Jordan)City Amman 11190 PostAl/ziP CoDe 925309CoUntry JordanPHone (+962-6) 468 0084fAx (+962-6) 468 0087

eMAil [email protected] http://www.abdali.joDesCriPtion Construction of 36-storey mixed-use tower comprising a five-star hotel, an eight-level podium containing high-end retail and office units.bUDget $200,000,000 PerioD 2015 stAtUs Current Project Design ConsUltAnt Perkins & will (USA)MAin ContrACtor dubai Contracting Company l.l.C. (dubai)tenDer CAtegories hotels, Construction & ContractingtenDer ProDUCts Commercial buildings, Construction

irAq

Al nAKHeel City ProjeCt - PHAse 1

ProjeCt nUMber biP036-iqbUDget $5,000,000Client Name basra Governorate (iraq)website www.basragov.netDesCriPtion development of Al Nakheel City featuring housing units, an airport, a seaport as well as industrial and trade facilities.PerioD 2014 stAtUs New tenderDesign ConsUltAnt dewan Architects & Engineers (iraq)tenDer CAtegories Airport, Construction & Contracting, industrial & Special Projects, marine Engineering works & SeaportstenDer ProDUCts Airports development & management, industrial zones, Residential buildings, Seaports

58 fEbRUARY 2013MID

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conSTRUcTIvE CrItICIsm bigProjeCtMe.Com

GAviN dAvidS

Gavin Davids says that the Sharjah directorate of Public Works’ endorsement and encouragement of bIM could be a significant step forwards for the technology in the GCC

One Step Forward

eArlIer thIS YeAr I was invited to

the annual tekla Managers day at the

Address Marina, where I caught up with

a number of passionate bIM advocates

and experts. It was quite an insightful

experience and it was interesting to hear

people’s thoughts on the progress of bIM

adoption in the region.

What heartened me the most

though, was a conversation I had with

engineer Mahmoud farag Mahmoud,

the keynote speaker at the event. As

part of the directorate of Public Works

for the Government of Sharjah, he has

been heavily involved in a number of

government projects and the development

of engineering systems.

As regular readers will know, we

here at big Project Me have been long-

term advocates for the adoption of bIM

technology, and we’ve featured a number

of experts who have expressed the same

views. one of the biggest stumbling

blocks so far has been that there has

been a lack of government support for

bIM, and a reluctance to mandate the

technology in the region.

however, this could be about to change,

if what engineer Mahmoud had to say was

any indication. While the government of

Sharjah has stopped short of mandating

bIM to its project partners, he said that

the directorate of Public Work has been

heavily encouraging them to adopt the

technology, representing a significant step

forwards for the industry.

“We encourage our partners to use and

apply (the technology) in our projects,

because it gives us more accuracy and

control of our projects. Also, bIM has a

lot of benefits, such as reduced time and

accuracy of progress. You have more

control over your processes and design of

the construction stages,” he says.

“We don’t force anybody to use bIM, but

we encourage it.”

these are hugely encouraging words

to hear for anyone who has advocated

bIM adoption. It’s long been felt that all

the technology needed to take off was an

endorsement from a government body,

and it looks like Sharjah could be about to

provide it. n

“wE ENCoURAGE oUR PARtNERS to USE ANd APPlY (thE tEChNoloGY) iN oUR PRoJECtS, bECAUSE it GivES US moRE ACCURACY ANd CoNtRol of oUR PRoJECtS.”

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