Big Project ME October 2014

OCTOBER 2014

103 ALSO INSIDE infrastructure and bim the heart of sharjah asian ambitions theme parks

a different viewpoint Mohandas Saini on why it pays to play the waiting game if you want to crack the MENA construction market

CONTENTS

PAGE 24

M

Big Project ME goes into the Heart of Sharjah to explore a boutique hotel that takes guests back in time.

OCTOBER 2014 07 the big picture King Hamad causeway to drive baHrain real estate Saudi nationals expected to snap up opportunities in residential sector

14 newS analySiS setting tHe tHeme are developers buckling up for a roller coaster of a ride with theme parks?

18 in profile – mohandaS Saini man on a mission the ceo of Shapoorji pallonji international tells big project me that opportunity knocks in the unlikeliest places

24 Site ViSit – heart of Sharjah Heritage Heart big project me travels back in time to visit a heritage project like no other

31 bim roundtable bim and tHe development of infrastructure Some of the gcc’s leading construction experts discuss the various challenges that crop up when using bim on large-scale infrastructure projects

42 Special report – conStruction technology looK to tHe cloud big project me finds out how the demands made of project management software are changing rapidly

48 Special report – bridgeS tHe HigH road big project me investigates the challenges facing the gcc as it builds bridges for its mammoth railway project

54 Special focuS – german companieS tHe gcc’s best german companies big project me profiles some of the best german firms in the region

62 market focuS – aSia ambition asia big project me finds out if the gcc is ready to crack the asian market

70 tenderS 5 saudi top tenders listing the most important projects that have opened for bidding in october

80 induStry inSightS

OCTOBER 2014

MIDDLE EAST

outside tHe box Sanu mathew of Seed engineering on pushing the boundaries of mep

1

At the 2014 Construction Machinery Show we sold 70 units and 100 more units are under discussion. We have delivered a positive message to our existing clients, our competitors, and grabbed new clients.

I think gaining such an appreciation from all members in the construction equipment sector is a great honour and will encourage us to work very hard to keep the same level of style, image, and standards.”

This year the CM Show team delivered an exhibition Saudi deserves. For years, we have seen a vision in this Show and this year the vision was achieved. We wanted quality traffic and we saw equipment and company owners; and we were able to offer some promotions to entice sales.

I saw an increase in our sales immediately.

Our principles, Doosan and Everdigm, really enjoyed themselves. We anticipate the upcoming years to be even better.”

The Construction Machinery Show was perfect from an awareness point of view.

We explained Roots Group Arabia’s capability of covering the construction industry with all of its needs and requirements. The attendance was good especially during weekdays and towards the end of the exhibition. See you next year.”

Al-Qahtani & Sons Khaled El Shatoury, Managing Director

Saudi Diesel Equipment Ahmed Alkooheji, Marketing Manager

Roots Group Arabia Abdulaziz Felemban, Brand Manager

Co-located with

Raz Islam Publishing Director raz.islam@cpimediagroup.com Mobile: +971 50 451 8213

Michael Stansfield Commercial Director michael.stansfield@cpimediagroup.com Mobile: +971 55 150 3849

SEPTEMBER 2013

MIDDLE EAST

EDITOR’s COMMENT

5

INTRODUCTION

bigprojectMe.COm

A Whole New World During a walk around Cityscape Global 2014 this year, I was struck by how different the mood of the event was this time around. It’s a little sad to say, but in previous years, the level of optimism at trade shows was a fairly accurate reflection of the market.

I remember the first trade show held in the immediate aftermath of the crash. The mood was flat and rather apprehensive, which was understandable, given the uncertainty that surrounded the industry at the time. Subsequent shows and events carried over that feeling of caution. As time went by and the recovery gained pace, people started feeling a little more optimistic, but there was still a sense of wariness.

This year, however, has been something of a watershed moment for the construction industry. Several megaprojects have been launched or have started construction, creating a ripple of positivity through the GCC. That was clearly evident at the Dubai World Trade Centre, where visitors were back in droves to see the latest in high-end real estate on display at Cityscape Global 2014. The message was loud and clear: Dubai is back. Bigger and better than ever.

What’s really been interesting about this renaissance is the mega projects that are being announced. Yes, retail and residential continue to be major growth sectors, but there has been a definite swing towards developing tourism and leisure activities.

As we cover in this issue, theme parks have suddenly become a major focus area for the construction industry. Meraas is making significant progress on its $2.7 billion Dubai Parks and Resorts project, while construction on IMG Worlds of Adventure continues apace. It’s clear that developers view these projects as more than just tourism destinations. They also mark a shift in Dubai’s unofficial policy of building retail-focused projects.

If all goes to plan, within the next decade, the UAE will have the highest density of theme parks, second only to Orlando, Florida – the home of Disneyworld.

Now wouldn’t that be a ‘Whole New World’ to look forward to.

Group Chairman and Founder Dominic De SouSa Group Ceo naDeem HooD Group Coo Gina o’HaRa

puBLiShinG direCtor RaZ iSLam raz.islam@cpimediagroup.com +971 4 375 5471 editoriaL direCtor ViJaYa cHeRian vijaya.cherian@cpimediagroup.com +971 4 375 5472 eDiToRiaL deputy editor GaVin DaViDS gavin.davids@cpimediagroup.com +971 4 375 5480 aSSiStant editor neHa BHaTia neha.bhatia@cpimediagroup.com SuB editor aeLReD DoYLe aDVeRTiSinG CommerCiaL direCtor micHaeL STanSFieLD michael.stansfield@cpimediagroup.com +971 4 375 5497 Senior SaLeS manaGer YaSin aLVeS yasin.alves@cpimediagroup.com +971 4 375 5496 Senior SaLeS manaGer SanDRa SPenceR sandra.spencer@cpimediagroup.com +971 4 375 5473 maRKeTinG marKetinG manaGer LiSa JuSTice lisa.justice@cpimediagroup.com +971 4 375 5498 DeSiGn art direCtor Simon coBon ciRcuLaTion & PRoDucTion dataBaSe and CirCuLation manaGer RaJeeSH m rajeesh.nair@cpimediagroup.com +971 4 440 9147 produCtion manaGer ViPin V. ViJaY vipin.vijay@cpimediagroup.com +971 4 375 5713 DiGiTaL diGitaL ServiCeS manaGer TRiSTan TRoY maaGma PuBLiSHeD BY

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MIDDLE EAST

Gavin Davids Deputy Editor

OCTOBER 2014

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.

onstruction Intelligence eport

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82

The right workflow and processes defined, BIM enables organisations to improve the quality of building design

Dolor Sitamet

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BIM – Business Enabler or Technology Red Herring?

Lorem Systems' Dolor Sitamet explains why it is so important for BIM providers to create systems that will push forward the concepts of simple and effective cooperation between all stakeholders involved in a project Luptas aut acil issus acea polvolorporro iliquibust re occae dimitis dolor?

The UK government’s decision to require that all suppliers involved in public sector construction projects use Building Information Modelling (BIM) tools and techniques by 2016 is to be applauded. The intention is to drive better value from capital investment and realise a 20% reduction in lifetime costs, whilst supporting environmental commitments by facilitating a more integrated approach to design. It is also about changing the culture between the client and the rest of the supply chain, replacing the traditional, rather adversarial business practices with a collaborative approach that should also drive innovation.

However, misinformation is rife. BIM is not just about 3D data but about creating a holistic information resource that also includes 2D data sources, documents, spreadsheets, and more.

I believe the key to realising the government’s BIM vision is to create simple, effective cooperation among the design, construction and operation aspects of the infrastructure lifecycle. Overcoming these traditional silos

provides a chance to reduce duplication, minimise errors, streamline processes and facilitate collaboration.

However, while the majority of new bids now demand some level of BIM compliance, requirements are often opaque at best. Let’s set the record straight: BIM, when done correctly, is about information sharing enabled by information mobility (across engineering disciplines and the infrastructure lifecycle).

It provides contractors and owner operators with access to key design data that can be used to transform effectiveness throughout the construction and operations processes. Yes, it drives better use of 3D across the industry, but not only 3D. 2D data remains important, as does information held in documents, spreadsheets, and other databases, all of which contribute to a holistic BIM approach.

Luptas aut acil issus acea polvolorporro iliquibust re occae dimitis dolor?

BIM is ultimately about creating an asset model from day one that can be used consistently throughout the project to drive efficiencies

and improve collaboration. Indeed, BIM also encompasses information management as much as information modelling. It enables a contractor to feed design information into project planning tools and resolve potential conflicts before arriving on site. It also empowers the sharing of space information with facilities management teams before the building goes live to drive effective up-front planning, as well as the sharing of other crucial design, engineering, and construction information that can later be used to help drive cost-effective operations decision making and renovations work.

Leveraging a collaborative platform and technology to share and integrate information, within an incremental approach that accommodates all of the specialised design simulation and analysis software best suited for each project role, will best enable the industry to achieve the desired widespread adoption of BIM. The government’s stance on BIM is to be commended. Demanding Level 2 compliance by 2016 is pragmatic and achievable and promotes the very real promise of intelligent infrastructure that is better performing in terms

of its energy efficiency, resilience to natural and man-made disasters, safety, and cost-efficiency.

However, while industry adoption and interest are positive, it is essential that organisations take a step back and truly assess information requirements.

Luptas aut acil issus acea polvolorporro iliquibust re occae dimitis dolor?

BIM is a business process not a technology.

With the right workflow and processes defined, BIM enables organisations to improve the quality of building design, reduce costs and achieve the collaborative workflows required to drive true innovation.

However, misinformation is rife. BIM is not just about 3D data but about creating a holistic information resource that also includes 2D data sources, documents, spreadsheets, and more.

I believe the key to realising the government’s BIM vision is to create simple, effective cooperation among the design, construction and operation aspects of the infrastructure lifecycle. Overcoming these traditional silos provides a chance to reduce duplication,

minimise errors, streamline processes and facilitate collaboration.

However, while the majority of new bids now demand some level of BIM compliance, requirements are often opaque at best. Let’s set the record straight: BIM, when done correctly, is about information sharing enabled by information mobility (across engineering disciplines and the infrastructure lifecycle).

It provides contractors and owner operators with access to key design data that can be used to transform effectiveness throughout the construction and operations processes. Yes, it drives better use of 3D across the industry, but not only 3D. 2D data remains important, as does information held in documents, spreadsheets, and other databases, all of which contribute to a holistic BIM approach.

BIM is ultimately about creating an asset model from day one that can be used consistently throughout the project to drive efficiencies and improve collaboration.

Indeed, BIM also encompasses information management as much as information modelling.

It enables a contractor to feed design

information into project planning tools and resolve potential conflicts before arriving on site. It also empowers the sharing of space information with facilities management teams before the building goes live to drive effective up-front planning, as well as the sharing of other crucial design, engineering, and construction information that can later be used to help drive cost-effective operations decision making and renovations work.

Luptas aut acil issus acea polvolorporro iliquibust re occae dimitis dolor?

Leveraging a collaborative platform and technology to share and integrate information, within an incremental approach that accommodates all of the specialised design simulation and analysis software best suited for each project role, will best enable the industry to achieve the desired widespread adoption of BIM. The government’s stance on BIM is to be commended. Demanding Level 2 compliance by 2016 is pragmatic and achievable and promotes the very real promise of intelligent infrastructure that is better performing.

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the BiGGest PICTURE

King Hamad Causeway to boost baHrain real estate marKets report says saudi araBian nationals interested in Bahraini residential market The new King hamad Causeway, due to be constructed between Saudi Arabia and Bahrain, is expected to benefit Bahrain’s residential market following increased interest by Saudi nationals looking to purchase homes in the country. “we have recorded a steady rise in demand from Saudi nationals seeking to purchase weekend homes in Bahrain this year. The announcement of a second connection to Saudi will no doubt boost the performance of the residential and retail markets further,” harry goodsonwickes, head of real estate consultancy Cluttons’ Bahrain office, said. “in addition, the steady level of domestic housing requirements has prompted several developers to make a return to the market to capitalise on this growing pool of buyer demand.

“There will be a long-term boost to the broader market with more traffic expected to flow into Bahrain from KSA.”

STATS n Crossings into Bahrain (2013): 19 million

n average daily volume of king fahd causeway: 50,000 vehicles

n Cost of king hamad causeway: $5 billion

Saudi Arabia and Bahrain are currently linked via the 25-km King Fahd Causeway, which recorded 19 million crossings in 2013.

The King Fahd Causeway has been credited for growth in Bahrain’s retail and industrial markets.

Faisal Durrani, Cluttons’ international research and business development manager, said the King hamad Causeway could also similarly benefit both countries.

“The Bahraini economy, which is still working to find its feet following the global downturn and unprecedented national tensions, will receive a tremendous boost from improved connectivity with the rest of the gCC,” Durrani said.

“The Kingdom already serves as a critical logistics hub for the central gulf, and the new $5 billion-worth King hamad Causeway will further strengthen the attractiveness for logistics

and industrial occupiers looking for additional hubs in the region, aside from Dubai,” Durrani continued.

“Bahrain already has an impressive network of industrial estates, all of which further enhance its proposition as a go-to logistics hub on the doorstep to Saudi Arabia.”

The retail sector in Bahrain is also expected to benefit from the new causeway, and Cluttons’ goodson-wickes said he expects the number of retail investors in Bahrain to increase once the King hamad Causeway is operational. “we are already seeing Chinese and other major regional and international brands seeking out space in retail developments such as The Lagoon and Alargan Village in Bahrain,” goodson-wickes added.

“This announcement will no doubt drive further interest in this exciting segment of the real estate market.”

OCTOBER 2014

MIDDLE EAST

Big project me speaks to mohandas saini Ceo of shapoorji pallonji international – Page 18 7

THE BIG PICTURE

bigprojectMe.Com

ride ContraCt Hill International will provide consultancy services for Dubai Parks and Resort.

me. In Trimble, we find a partner who has like-minded ambitions

strategic alliance will connect the office to onsite construction technologies

in the AEC industry that allow the creativity of the architectural

Trimble and Frank Gehry

within the realities of our economic

have announced that they have entered into a strategic

times. I am very excited to expand our mission with a great new

alliance to collaborate on “connecting the office to on-site

partner,” said Frank Gehry.

and goals to create efficiencies

profession to flourish and deliver value-added creative solutions

construction technologies”.

As part of the alliance, Trimble has acquired Gehry

hill international awarded $50m duBai parks & resort contract

$2.7

show and ride construction management to be provided by hill

total Cost of tHe dubai parKs and resort projeCt

hiLL inTernATionAL hAS been awarded a $50.9 million contract by Meraas Leisure and entertainment to provide consultancy services for show and ride construction during the first phase of Dubai Parks and resorts project.

“This will be a hallmark leisure development for Dubai,” Mohammed Al rais, senior vice president and managing director of the Middle east region for hill’s project management group, said. “we are extremely honoured and excited to be part of such an important development that will have a significant impact on tourism and the local economy,” Al rais added.

The $2.7 billion Dubai Parks development is expected to open by 2016. The first phase of Dubai Parks and resorts will comprise three theme parks, namely Motiongate Dubai, Bollywood Parks Dubai and LegoLAnD Dubai. The development will also feature a grand entrance plaza called riverpark, and a hotel called Lapita that is targeted at families.

Dubai Parks and resorts will be constructed in Dubai’s Jebel Ali area.

Meraas announced its plans for the project late in 2012. in the years since, the company has finalised key components and partnerships with construction firms, theme park operators and global movie studios for the creation of Dubai Parks and resorts’ design.

Trimble AcquireS Gehry TechnoloGieS

billion

Technologies, the software and consulting services business that has been instrumental in delivering Frank Gehry’s designs, while assisting in keeping costs down and schedules on tracks.

“This merger is a dream for

Bahrain awards $7.3m contract to Xylem tubli’s ozone wastewater treatment system will be the largest in the middle east gLoBAL wATer TeChnoLogy company Xylem has been awarded a $7.3m contract with Bahrain’s Ministry of works to upgrade a wastewater treatment facility in Manama.

Under the contract, Xylem will design, install and commission an expansion and upgrade of the existing wedeco ozone systems at the Tubli water Pollution Control Centre (TwPCC).

As a result of the upgrade, the Tubli plant will be the largest ozone wastewater treatment plant in the Middle east. The upgrade work

will be completed within 16 months and is due to be ready for operation at the end of 2015.

The capacity of the new wastewater treatment facility will increase from 200,000 to 240,000 m3/ day. The enhanced wastewater reuse capacity is necessary for irrigation purposes in the area. “increased wastewater reuse capability has the potential to bring wide-ranging benefits to communities and businesses in the Middle east,” said Andre Dhawan, president of Xylem europe, the Middle east, india and Africa (eMeiA).

irrigation purpose The expansion of the Tubli wastewater treatment plant is necessary for irrigation purposes.

8

MIDDLE EAST

Big project me travels BaCk in time to the heart of sharjah heritaGe projeCt – Page 24

OCTOBER 2014

THE BIG 5 DUBAI

WE’LL BE EXPECTING YOU 17-20 17-20 NOV NOV •• STAND STAND PMV PMV C87 C87

gcc.sika.com gcc.sika.com

THE BIG PICTURE

bigprojectMe.Com

work on mall of the world to start By q1 2015, developer announces

seCured funding Al Futtaim Group focuses on tapping debt financing from local banks and partners.

dubai holding says $6.80 billion will be needed to build the entertainment district, which has a 10-year construction schedule DUBAi hoLDing hAS announced that work on the world’s largest shopping mall will commence from the first quarter of 2015.

The developer is currently appointing specialised consultants for The Mall of the world project. in a statement it said that it expected to commence work on the first phase of the project in the early part of next year.

Located in Mohammad Bin rashid City, the 4,459,345sqm climate controlled development was announced in the second half of 2014. it will house a shopping mall with an area of 743,224sqm and the world’s largest theme park, which will be covered by a glass dome that will be open during the winter months.

Furthermore, the development will contain a ‘wellness dedicated zone’ and a ‘cultural celebration district’. A wide range of hospitality options will also be available, comprising of 20,000 hotel rooms. once completed, Dubai holding hopes that The Mall of the world will become a year-round destination for tourists. it projects an annual influx of 180 million visitors. in June of this year, Ceo Ahmad bin Byat told Reuters that Dubai holding would need $6.80 billion to build the entertainment district over a period of 10 years.

The world expo 2020 will be held in Dubai from october of that year. it will run till April 2021. it is estimated that nearly 277,000 new jobs will be created. job Creator It is estimated that Expo 2020 will create around 277,000 new jobs in Dubai.

ATkinS SnApS up uS nucleAr SAfeTy firm for $15m acquisition another step towards becoming a “leading energy consultancy”, atkins Ceo says Atkins has completed the acquisition of Nuclear Safety Associates (NSA), a US-based engineering and technical services firm, for an initial

cash consideration of US$15m.

The acquisition of the 130-person firm could involve an addition US$12m subject to the future performance of the business.

NSA has expertise in nuclear safety, design engineering, and professional security services, with a reported revenue of around US$25m.

Prof Dr Uwe Krueger, Atkins’

$1Bn loan facility for doha festival city - al futtaim group says developer says process underway to secure funding for riyadh project and for expansion of dubai festival City AL FUTTAiM groUP real estate, the Dubai-based property developer, has announced that it has secured a $1 billion loan facility for the Doha Festival City project.

The developer added that the process was underway to secure funding for both its riyadh Diryah Festival City project and its planned expansion of Dubai Festival City. “our preference has consistently been on tapping debt financing from local banks, local partners also bring in their own equity to the individual projects,” said Marwan Shehadeh, group director for Corporate Development in a statement. earlier this year, Bawabat Al Shamal real estate Company, the owner of Doha Festival

City, announced that the $453 million main works contract for its construction had been awarded to a joint venture between gulf Contracting Company and ALeC Qatar.

During a site visit to the project site in March, Kareem Shamma, the Ceo of BASreC, told Big Project Me that Doha Festival City would be a “category killer” in the Qatari retail market. “it’s going to dwarf all the other malls. That’s the first thing, its size. Secondly, i always call this the first international mall in Doha because of the experience and partnership that comes from the UAe, in the form of Al Futtaim and other international consultants,” he explained.

chief executive officer (pictured), commented: “This acquisition is another step towards our strategy to be one of the world’s leading energy consultancies.

“NSA will enhance our presence in North America, the world’s largest nuclear market, and its safety and security skills will strengthen our international nuclear offering.”

10

MIDDLE EAST

Big project me hosts the industry’s leadinG minds to disCuss Bim and infrastruCture – Page 31

OCTOBER 2014

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THE BIG PICTURE

union properties to construct five residential towers

bigprojectMe.Com

big spender The oil and gas sector in KSA accounted for 60% of $22.6bn in contracts awarded in Q2.

towers comprising up to 55 units in dubai motor City will be launched at Cityscape 2014 DUBAi-BASeD Union ProPerTieS will launch five high-rise towers at its Motor City development during the upcoming Cityscape global 2014 exhibition, sources within the company have exclusively told Big Project ME. Marwan hatahet, the project manager in charge of construction work at Dubai Motor City, said the community’s masterplan includes allocations for high-rise towers and the company will shortly announce its plans for the same.

“The towers will be g+45, g+30, g+35, g+25 and g+20 tall, and the masterplan approved by the Dubai Municipality includes plots for these,” hatahet said.

“The towers are planned to be residential units. Motor City is a work in progress and will gradually peak to its full potential.” hatahet also elaborated on the ongoing ‘The ribbon’ project at Motor City, a retail development comprising four buildings, which will house up to 11 commercial units, one supermarket and 16 food and beverage units. “we are expecting construction completion of The ribbon by March 2015 and there does not appear to be any delays. Fit-out contractors will be handed over the units after the testing and commissioning of the buildings,” hatahet said.

The five-tower project was officially launched at Cityscape global 2014 as The Vertx Towers.

q2 contract awards in ksa reach $22.6 Billion oil & gas accounts for 60% of contract awards, nCB report finds The PerForMAnCe oF Saudi Arabia’s construction sector in Q2 2014 is a sign of the sector regaining momentum, a national Commercial Bank report has found.

The value of awarded contracts in Saudi Arabia in h1 2014 surpassed the value of those awarded in h1 2013, which stood at $27.3 billion.

According to the NCB Construction Contracts Index, the total value of awarded contracts during Q2 2014 reached $22.6 billion, with the power and oil & gas sector accounting for up to 60% of this value. numerous contracts were awarded by the

$22.6 billion

total value of awarded ContraCts in Ksa during q2 2014

City living Three high-rise towers will be built in Dubai’s Motor City, Union Properties has announced.

Saudi electricity Company (SeC) as part of its strategic plan to increase power generation and dissemination in the country. The report added these sectors also accounted for 49% of the value of awarded contracts during the first half of 2014.

The roads sector accounted for 9% of the total value of awarded contracts during the first half of 2014, the nCB report continued.

The nCB report states the total value of awarded contracts through the first half of 2014 was $33.2 billion, and the rise in awarded contracts during Q2 2014 has buoyed the pipeline of upcoming construction projects in the country.

ShArjAh police urGe GreATer on-SiTe SAfeTy AfTer fATAl AccidenT sharjah police urge construction firms to enforce safety protocol The Sharjah Police department has urged construction companies in the emirate to enforce onsite safety standards following the death of two construction workers on August 27, 2014.

According to local media reports, the workers were killed after they fell from a building under construction on King Faisal Road.

The incident is the latest in a number of labour related emergencies reported in the

emirate this year. In an incident in February, a 43-year-old worker fell to his death from an under-construction building in the Al Mamzar area.

“Construction companies are held responsible for negligence as they must ensure labourers strictly adhere to safety rules and regulations,” a police spokesperson said at the time.

12

MIDDLE EAST

Big project me finds out why BridGe ConstruCtion for railways poses speCifiC ChallenGes – Page 48

OCTOBER 2014

The Big Picture

Shock therapy helpS poland kick-Start era of growth Krzysztof DabrowsKi tells big Project Me how a coMPlete overhaul of econoMic Policies helPeD PolanD recover froM the Devastating iMPact of coMMunist rule

SuStained growth Poland has undergone sustained, rather than spectacular growth over the years.

How Has tHe History of Poland sHaPed tHe country’s current economic makeuP?

We used to be called a communist state. Today, we function as a coalition government. Even now, 25 years after we kicked off our reformation processes and since our ascension to the European Union (EU), Polish people can be a little sensitive about the experience, which wasn’t entirely pleasant for us. The economic reforms and democratisation activities we undertook over the years ensured we didn’t collapse in the face of the economic crisis of 2008 like some other European countries did.

How did you coPe witH tHat economic crisis?

Poland is a special country in that we sustained our growth pattern at a time when our European neighbours were failing. While our GDP may not have boomed in our history, it always grew steadily. Had you visited Poland 25 years ago, you’d have found empty shops, empty marketplaces and a dearth of food. But this was the first European country to introduce the ‘shock therapy’ method, which entailed a complete overhaul of all our laws, regulations and procedures within a span of one to two years.

Despite the change in governments over the years, our policies have remained constant and that has hugely benefited our stability. wHicH sector undertakes tHe majority of tHe construction Projects in Poland?

Most projects are undertaken by the private sector. State investments focus on projects like the subway, of which the second line is currently being constructed, metro projects and the like.

Those can’t be undertaken by private investors.

We also receive funds from the EU to develop our infrastructure, such as highways and expressways.

These projects definitely need the state sector to be involved, but a public private partnership (PPP) model can also work.

How can tHe international Private sector be lured towards investing in Poland?

We offer special economic zones for private investors from abroad to work from. Special projects are also eligible for the receipt of state aid and special funds. Of course, that has to be approved by the EU because public money can’t be spent on just any project. But companies working on transport projects can expect some state aid.

is bureaucracy a Part of tHe PolisH market?

We were a communist state once, so the effects and remnants of that cannot be conquered overnight. I won’t say we’re fully free of such business malpractices, but the government is working very hard to remove those elements. We’re far cleaner in our activities when compared with some of our European neighbours, and we’re definitely aiming for a clean sheet in the next few years. wHat are your oPeration strategies for tHe wider middle east and far east?

Countries like China and India are booming and would make great business partners for us. China imports our copper supplies and it benefits us to sell into their market. We have also set up a promotion agency to enhance our relationship with China.

As for the wider Middle East, countries like Algeria and Morocco are important markets, and so was Egypt until instability reached its markets. Iraq is a country with great potential, but it’s unlikely any company will want to visit Baghdad or Erbil in such testing times.

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big Project Me finds out how evolving software is changing the nature of PM – Page 42 13

NEWS ANALYSIS

bigprojectME.com

Setting the Theme

Adventure world IMG Worlds of Adventure will offer a range of activities targeted at family tourists.

What does Meraas Holding’s billion-dollar Dubai Parks & Resorts project mean for theme park construction in the GCC? Neha Bhatia investigates

N

early two years after it first announced project plans, Meraas Holding revealed the blueprint for its $2.7 billion Dubai Parks & Resorts (DPR) development in September 2014. Set to feature Motiongate Dubai, Bollywood Parks Dubai and LEGOLAND Dubai, Meraas’ latest project has given the emirate’s theme park ambitions a new lease of life.

Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, approved the project in December 2012. It aims to “deliver a multi- faceted leisure and entertainment experience to residents and tourists of Dubai”. On-site groundwork for the project commenced in February 2014, and the first phase of DPR is scheduled for completion in 2016.

Stefan Zwanzger is delighted about the latest. The owner and editor of www.

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“The decision to build three, instead of, say,10 parks is a feasible and realistic start. They look like achievable medium-sized theme parks which may grow over time”

OCTOBER 2014

thethemeparkguy.com, Zwanzger has travelled to 50 countries and reviewed 200 theme parks over the last eight years and he’s looking forward to seeing how the 2,322,576 sqm development in the Jebel Ali area will turn out.

“DPR is a wonderful project. There was a huge theme park frenzy in Dubai earlier, when almost 10 projects were announced between 2003 and 2007, but not even one was built,” Zwanzger says.

“There are just two projects from that phase which are currently half-built at the most, and baking in the desert as abandoned projects. It was a sad ending, but Meraas has revised its ideas to make the new parks a family destination.

“The decision to build three, instead of, say, 10 parks is a feasible and realistic start. When I look at the plans, the parks don’t look too big to me, but instead look like achievable mediumsized theme parks which may grow over time.”

Meraas’ scaled-to-reality announcement is exceptionally notable given the number of theme park projects which are yet to take off in the country.

In June 2013, CNN reported Qatar, the UAE and Jordan were vying for construction rights to the Middle East’s first Angry Birds theme park, based on the popular mobile phone game with a sizeable global fan following.

At the time, Abu Dhabi and Al Ain were fighting Doha to build what would be the fourth Angry Birds Park in the world after its outlets in Finland, Singapore and the UK. Not surprisingly, it was also to be the world’s largest park ever for the game franchise. “[The competition] is getting quite fierce,” Nigel Cann, Director of Operations and Development

at Gebal Group, the local agents for Lappset, said at the time. Gebal Group first developed the brand’s entertainment complex. “They all want to find a space for it, and to do it as soon as they can,” Cann added. “They all want to be first.”

It’s difficult to predict if the UAE will be the first Middle Eastern host of an Angry Birds theme park.

But, as Zwanzger points out, Dubai will host the first ever Bollywood-themed park in the world.

“It’s interesting if you think about it.

A world-first Bollywood hub will be built in Dubai, not Mumbai! But on the other hand, why not? Meraas is mixing the three developments very intelligently.”

NEWS ANALYSIS

Better thaN the Best The Theme Park Guy’s top three must-visit spots from around the world

n 1. tokyo DisneySea

n 2. Disneyland Paris

n 3. Universal Studios Orlando Source: www.thethemeparkguy.com

will be an outstanding achievement,” the Dubai-based theme park consultant says.

Designed to serve destinations within an eight-hour flight of Dubai, DPR will also feature a grand entrance plaza called Riverpark, and a hotel called Lapita targeted at families. Raed Al Nuami, CEO of Meraas’ newly formed subsidiary Dubai Parks & Resorts Limited, calls it a “firstof-its-kind” entertainment destination.

“DPR has been designed as the firstof-its-kind entertainment destination that simultaneously opens the gates of three theme parks,” Al Nuami said at the time of project announcement. “The project will feature leading

intellectual properties from elite industry players to create leisure and entertainment concepts that are expected to draw more than five million residents and tourists annually.”

Dubai’s many other attractions, such as Global Village and Atlantis Dubai Water Park, are also traditional crowd-pullers. But contrary to popular misconception, these existing developments don’t quite fit the definition of a theme park. Theme parks are typically amusement hubs centred around a unifying idea or theme. In that sense, Ferrari World is perhaps the UAE’s only theme park at present. Ilyas & Mustafa Galadari’s (IMG) Worlds of Adventure project will be the next.

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“On one hand, they have LEGOLAND, which is already an established brand around the world with pretty standard and similar designs. I’m sure the one they build in Dubai will also work well because of its appeal to a specific target group. Add to that the Bollywood Park, which hasn’t previously been attempted or tested anywhere before. It’s a great mix of new and old ideas, if you ask me.

“If all the country’s announced and underconstruction developments are completed by 2018, then the UAE will have the highest density of theme parks, second only to Orlando in Florida,” Zwanzger proclaims.

“Even Los Angeles won’t have as many. It

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NEWS ANALYSIS

bigprojectMe.com infrasTrucTure works Meraas says that 30% of infrastructure work for Dubai Parks and Resorts is completed.

Waterparks like Wild Wadi and Yas Waterworld do a good job of upping the UAE’s outdoor entertainment quotient, Zwanzger believes.

“The region does boast amusement and water parks, but they aren’t really gated theme parks in the conventional sense. There have been announcements in the region, however. Six Flags had announced its plans to build a park in Qatar, but that didn’t really work out. Worlds of Adventure by IMG will open before Meraas’s DPR.” “There are no theme parks in Dubai, so that in itself makes this a massively demanded entity,” says Adam Alexander Page, Vice President of Marketing for IMG. “With the infrastructure we’re building around City of Arabia, you’re talking about a location that’s 25 minutes from the airport, it is 15 minutes from Dubai Marina and 10 minutes from Dubai Mall.

“It’s in an upcoming area, so for us, it’s a very unique proposition. We’ve now signed up some of the best intellectual properties that can be done for this sort of arena. We have the Cartoon Network’s first theme park, Marvel – who have only done it before in other Disney areas – and we have The Lost Valley, which is our own intellectual property,” Page explains to Big Project ME. IMG Worlds of Adventure The year when The is scheduled to open in the uae could have The second highesT second half of 2015, according densiTy of Theme parks to Sanu Mathew, managing It is a lesson the region in The world (if all announced projecTs director of SEED Engineering, has learnt the hard way. are compleTed the firm developing MEP Six Flags’ plans to build on Time) plans for the project. SEED was in Qatar and Dubai suffered awarded the contract after providing due to the financial meltdown a free-of-cost trial conceptualisation. of 2008. HerbieLand, a park based on the Mathew insists the idea behind Disney Volkswagen Bug Herbie, failed to draw their appointment was to complete investors and was moved out of Dubai in 2012. the project within budget.

Dubailand alone was the unfortunate home “We wouldn’t have provided the free design of various cancelled projects, such as the F1-X on any other project, but this was a unique Theme Park and Pharaohs Theme Park. proposition and the demand was a justified one,” Zwanzger believes that the government and the Mathew says. “IMG found our project ideas fit private sector should work in tandem to develop well with their aspired design and didn’t exceed such projects. “I don’t want to generalise, but a budgets. It was critical to maintain budgets and theme park can take up to 10 years to break even, IMG was in agreement with our plans,” the MEP give or take. It’s challenging for a private investor leader adds, asserting the need to remember cost to create a location-based entertainment facility concerns while working on high-profile projects. while also ensuring it’s a good investment.

2018

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“iT’s challenging for a privaTe invesTor To creaTe a locaTion-based enTerTainmenT faciliTy while also ensuring iT’s a good invesTmenT”

OCTOBER 2014

“Ten years is a long time if you think about it, and depending on some countries’ setups, you could have a new prime minister or new government by then. So the theme park investment has to move forward through a government’s support or, ideally, have the government actively involved in its construction.”

As this piece goes to press, Meraas is powering through with its operations for DPR. Phase one of the project is 30% complete, with Hill International overlooking show and ride construction work on the development. More than 1,500 personnel have been deployed on the project, though that number is expected to increase four-fold by 2015.

It remains to be seen whether typical construction problems, such as project delays or cost issues, will hinder the growth of the country’s theme parks over the next four years.

“It will be interesting, because by 2018 the UAE will operate four theme parks by Meraas and IMG; two water parks, namely Wild Wadi and Yas Waterworld; and maybe even the Warner Brothers water park next to Ferrari World in the capital. With these seven developments, we may reach peak of demand, which is definitely something to look out for,” Zwanzger says. n

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In ProfIle Mohandas saini

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Man on a Mission

Mohandas Saini, managing director and CEO of Shapoorji Pallonji International and CEO of the Engineering and Construction division, tells Big Project ME why he thinks opportunity is knocking for his firm

“

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We challenge people, we ask them to do more than their capacity. That’s the culture within the company. We allow people to grow and offer them a lot of autonomy.”

That’s how Mohandas Saini, managing director and CEO of Shapoorji Pallonji International FZE, outlines his company’s philosophy when it comes to developing their workforce. Although put across rather bluntly, his statement reveals why Shapoorji Pallonji has become one of the most widely recognised contractors operating in the GCC today.

Established nearly 150 years ago in Mumbai, Shapoorji Pallonji has gone from being a locally based contractor to a behemoth with a presence in nearly every major city in India. In recent years, the company has stepped up its expansion plans and begun exploring emerging markets in Africa, the Middle East and Southeast Asia.

“My vision is to develop this company into an internationally reputed, total solution company,which delivers best quality, based on superior technical expertise and project management capabilities,” he states emphatically.

“We have a good work culture in the organisation. Employees are given substantial freedom of work and autonomy.

When each person owns up to his or her responsibilities, the task becomes easier.”

Although that’s a big claim to make, Saini asserts that his own personal experience in the company provides more than ample proof to any doubters.

“I always wanted to be in an organisation where I became part of the ‘growth story’. I joined SP in 1986 as a project manager, after my civil engineering degree, and a few years of experience. In the 28 years that I have been

OCTOBER 2014

part of this organisation, much has changed.

Our Indian operations have been spread across the nation to become a truly pan-Indian company. In the building and finances space that we are in, we are one of the top players, and we have branched off into several related businesses, like EPC, real estate and so on. We have built capabilities to offer design and build delivery mechanisms, where we provide total solutions to the customer,” he reveals proudly.

It’s obvious that this is a man who takes considerable pride in what he’s achieved with the company. And why wouldn’t he? With an international order book of $3.5 billion, and an expected annual revenue in FY-14 of $1 billion, there’s every reason to believe that this is a company that is only going to go from strength to strength. Couple this

“WE havE a gOOd WORk CulTuRE in ThE ORganisaTiOn. EmplOyEEs aRE givEn suBsTanTial fREEdOm Of WORk and auTOnOmy. WhEn EaCh pERsOn OWns up TO his OR hER REspOnsiBiliTiEs, ThE Task BECOmEs EasiER”

with a new, business-minded government in India, and Saini is optimistic that this growth will continue to gather pace.

“In India, we’re a formidable player. With the legacy and heritage of close to 150 years, we do command a premier position in the market. With political stability and decisive leadership in place now, we expect a really fast turnaround. Very soon we hope to see double-digit growth (or very close to it) in the Indian economy,” he predicts.

Taking advantage of opportunities is something Mohandas Saini is a big advocate of. That’s why he’s keen for his company to step into emerging markets like Africa and even Iraq, despite the massive challenges those regions represent.

“If the law and order situation improves, countries like Libya and Iraq will offer huge opportunities,” he reveals. “We have the confidence to establish and run a business in any geography. We have done it in Libya, we have done it in Afghanistan and we’re doing it in Iraq and in Algeria.

“North Africa and the former CIS countries all offer good opportunities (for growth),” Saini adds.

He’s quick to point out the benefits of his own experience in Iraq in the late 1980s. Having spent five years in the troubled country at a time when it was at war with Iran, he says that working in such a challenging environment taught him many valuable lessons that he’s taken into his career as a high-level construction executive.

“My journey from a small town near Hardwar, in Uttar Pradesh in India, to this level has been an eventful one. I’ve always looked at challenges as opportunities and learnt to give 100%. If one can develop a passion for what one is doing, then I think that any obstacle can be overcome,” he reminisces.

OCTOBER 2014

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In ProfIle Mohandas saini

19

In ProfIle Mohandas saini

bigprojectMe.com sTaRTing fROm sCRaTCh When reentering the GCC market in 2006, SP had to take time to develop strong references in the region.

“In today’s world, youngsters usually don’t have a long-term picture of their career and they keep switching jobs, basically for a better salary.

Unlike today’s generation, I had a different view.” “(That’s why) today, I am heading the flagship division of Engineering and Construction (India Operations) of Shapoorji Pallonji Group, as its CEO and the entire international operation as its managing director,” he asserts.

As keen as he is to have Shapoorji Pallonji take advantage of the opportunities in these emerging markets, Saini highlights the precautions his company takes to ensure the safety and wellbeing of their employees in high-risk regions.

“We enter a market keeping a longterm view in mind. The safety of our personnel is and will be a major factor contributing to this decision,” he insists.

This is clearly evident in the way the company’s teams in Iraq were briefed about the current situation in the country, he says.

Employees have been offered the opportunity to leave, with all travel expenses covered by the company, and with their full salaries paid.

healthcare in focus Shapoorji pallonji has been appointed as the main contractor for a new medical centre in Dubai Healthcare city. Developed by the Dr Sulaiman Al Habib group, the facility will spread across six floors and more than 16,258 sqm of internal space. Arif and bintoak Architects and engineers has been appointed as consultant for the project.

“Having built our first hospital in the Uae in 1980 in abu Dhabi, we are proud that over 30 years later we continue to support healthcare in the market with the same diligence,” said Saini, managing director and chief executive officer of Shapoori Pallonji International.

The 200-bed medical facility will feature an integrated centre for cardiac surgery, diagnostic clinics and a cardiac catheterisation unit. The structure is also expected to include three basement levels for parking space.

Dubai Healthcare City was launched in 2002 by HH Sheikh Mohammed Bin rashid al Maktoum in the centrally-located

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oud Metha area of the emirate. existing facilities at the development include two hospitals, more than 120 outpatient medical centres and diagnostic laboratories.

OCTOBER 2014

He adds that this is a policy that is enacted in all high-risk areas that the company operates in. Should anything untoward happen, he says that the company will look after the families of their employees, in addition to any insurance payments.

Moving away from the high-risk areas of opportunity, there remains tremendous areas of growth within the GCC itself. Having initially entered the market in the 1970s, building a palace in Oman, Shapoorji Pallonji only really established itself in the UAE in 2006, when it opened its office in Dubai. Since then,

the contractor has made rapid strides, with operations in swing in Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Kuwait and the UAE. Having recently mobilised on $1 billion worth of projects in Kuwait, Saini views that as an untapped market in the region.

“We were possibly the first Indian construction company to enter the Middle East region in the early 1970s. We have successfully completed the Sultan of Oman’s palace in Muscat. We re-entered the MENA region with a larger plan and preparation in the year 2006,” Saini relates.

“Unfortunately, shortly thereafter, we had to face the economic downturn, but we could

In ProfIle Mohandas saini

“ThE suCCEss manTRa is WhEThER all ThE sTakEhOldERs – ThE CusTOmERs, ThE suBCOnTRaCTORs, ThE EmplOyEEs Of ThE COmpany – aRE saTisfiEd OR nOT”

companies were removing people and cutting salaries. We did not remove even a single employee, nor did we bring down anyone’s salary. On the contrary, we have implemented the usual annual raise, even in those difficult years,” he says.

“Our presence in multiple countries, and a huge operation in India, helped us in rotating employees. This helped us in maintaining tremendous goodwill as an employer, leading to us attracting and retaining better talents.”

Furthermore, he says that the company took the unusual step of paying and supporting its sub-contractors and vendors, even when there was a payment default from the client’s side.

This approach isn’t done just out of goodwill. To Saini, it makes good business sense.

By earning the trust of its partners on projects, he believes that Shapoorji Pallonji positions itself for greater success and business.

“At SP, the success mantra is whether all the stakeholders – the customers, the subcontractors, the employees of the company – are satisfied or not. This approach has always resulted in sustaining good performances in terms of top and bottom line.

“Let me give you an example of a job given to us by Dubai Properties. It was stopped in 2008, and was being done by another company. They called us in, and after winning the job in an open tender, we performed strongly. The client was happy,

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REpEaT BusinEss Earning the trust of clients, leads to repeat business, Saini asserts.

OCTOBER 2014

MIDDLE EAST

sustain that as we were stronger and better prepared this time around,” he explains.

“We had to start from scratch. Clients here were looking for references in the Gulf. Though we had quite a few of them back in India, or in other parts of the world, it took us some time to develop strong references in this geographic area. Having built this, we now find the sailing smooth.”

Saini adds that there were other factors that resulted in Shapoorji Pallonji being able to survive the downturn. Chief amongst these were the company’s policies and philosophies, which paid off in a major way.

“SP was one of the very few companies which could sustain (itself) during the downturn in the last few years. Other

21

In ProfIle Mohandas saini

and enlisted us in their bidding list. Today, we have bagged three more jobs from them.”

As part of their growth plans, Saini says that SP is looking to its design and build division for impetus, having set up a design centre in India and a design studio in Dubai.

“Today, at least 30% of our business in India is in design and build. The design centre and the design studio work in tandem.

“We just completed a very large design and build project in Qatar and have recently bagged a 600-bed hospital in Kuwait, on a design and build basis.”

“nOWhERE in ThE WORld is COnsTRuCTiOn WORk Of This magniTudE happEning. in ThEsE REgiOns, fOR ThE COming ThREE TO fivE yEaRs, COnsTRuCTiOn Will COnTRiBuTE mORE Than 11% TO ThE gdp”

bigprojectMe.coM

With the GCC construction market developing into a more mature arena, Saini says that he hopes to see some significant changes coming over the next few years.

“With the kind of growth these regions are expected to undergo, we have seen government bodies and decision makers upgrading their working culture by deploying structured and transparent systems,” he says.

“This change needs to come in some regions, so that large companies like ourselves can contribute significantly to the development of these regions. They have started to understand the right people they should be partnering with, which was missing a few years back.”

The major driving force for this change in the construction industry has been the commodification of construction services, which has resulted in a “margin compression for construction firms”.

“Nowhere in the world is construction work of this magnitude happening. In these regions, for the coming three to five years, the construction industry will contribute more than 11% to the GDP. “With various upcoming mega-events and huge development plans in countries like Kuwait, KSA and Algeria, it is surely a promising period ahead for construction in these regions,” Saini predicts, projecting the confidence of a man who’s knows that the hard work he and his firm have put in is finally beginning to pay off. dEsign and Build Saini says that 30% of SP’s India business comes from design and build projects.

saudi target market Shapoorji pallonji has secured the main construction contract with Sheikh Abdulrahman and Sheikh Suleiman private properties and investments for Al reziza tower in Al Khobar, Saudi Arabia. a flagship property for the developer, al reziza Tower will functionally consist of a twolevel basement car park, luxury showroom, mezzanine, five car parking podiums and 18 luxury typical floors as offices.

The total built-up area of the project is 30,916 sqm, of which 14,760 sqm will be occupied by the tower’s dedicated office space, set within the highest international standards of shell and core, while customers will avail of all the benefits associated with al reziza Properties. as part of the contract, Shapoorji Pallonji will also remain partnered with Sheikh abdulrahman and Sheikh Suleiman Private Properties and Investments to carry out all maintenance operations associated with the tower, to ensure that the quality of the project’s condition and performance remains of the highest standards.

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Projects ongoing by the company in Saudi arabia include the Hilton riyadh King fahd road, the edafeh Suites Hotel by fraser, projects at the King abdullah financial District, educational facilities in riyadh and major infrastructure works in Jeddah on an area of just under 300 acres.

OCTOBER 2014

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ON SITE Heart of SHarjaH

bigprojectMe.com

HERITAGE HEART

Big Project ME travels back in time to the Heart of Sharjah to visit a boutique hotel that is primed to kick-start a restoration project like no other in the GCC. Gavin Davids reports

Al Bait Hotel – Heart of Sharjah

Project Type

Hospitality plus Retail

Developer

Sharjah Investment and Development Authority

Architect

GAJ Architects

Budget

$33 million

Project Size

12,500sqm (Project Boundary Area) 8,000sqm (Built Up Area)

MIDDLE EAST

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Project Name

OCTOBER 2014

ON SITE Heart of SHarjaH

S

harjah has always been something of an anomaly in the UAE construction industry. Although the city is the third largest in the UAE, not much is heard from it about megaprojects and the like. Unlike its near neighbour, Sharjah has always seemed content to eschew the high-profile and focus on the necessary.

However, the last few years has seen the governance of the emirate take proactive steps to raise the city’s profile on the regional and international stage. In true Sharjah style, however, how this is achieved is in stark contrast to its neighbours in the GCC. While the likes of Dubai and Doha have gone for the headline-grabbing retail and tourist orientated developments, Sharjah has embraced projects that serve to highlight its growing reputation as the UAE’s cultural hub.

Following the announcement that Sharjah would be the Capital of Islamic Culture for 2014, the city launched a series of projects, including a $38.1 million artificial island that would house an open air amphitheatre.

Now, however, it becomes clear that Sharjah’s ambitions extend even further, with the announcement that the oldest part of the emirate will be developed as a heritage project that aims to become a UNESCO World Heritage site. Described as the largest heritage project in the UAE, the Heart of Sharjah project is a five-phase, 15-year historical restoration project that will revamp the traditional heritage areas of the city. It will feature commercial, cultural and residential segments, while also housing tourist and trade destinations, says Marwan Bin Jassim Al Sarkal, CEO of Sharjah Investment and Development Authority (Shurooq).

Working in tandem with the Sharjah Department of Public Works and a number of government bodies and departments in the emirate, Shurooq aims to renovate traditional houses into boutique hotels,

“everything that will be done here will be under close supervision by us and the heritage department”

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boutique luxury The $33m Al Bait Hotel will offer 53 rooms to tourists keen to explore Sharjah’s heritage quarter.

25

ON SITE Heart of SHarjaH

bigprojectMe.com

restoration work Sharjah’s Heritage Department has been working on restoring the old buildings to make them suitable for hospitality use.

“these are ma jor issues for any old area, because most of the service installations were done years ago. some of them, the authorities don’t even have records for”

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restaurants, art galleries, shopping centres and museums, amongst others.

With the project about to commence, Big Project ME was invited to visit the core site of the Heart of Sharjah, where work is underway to restore three traditional houses in preparation for the mobilisation of work on the Al Bait Hotel, a $33 million boutique luxury hotel.

“Phase 1 of the Heart of Sharjah development is the Al Bait Hotel. It is not just the most important part of the project, it is also the biggest part,” says Ammar Adeeb Tawfeek, senior project manager at Shurooq. “This is the first traditional hotel of this size, standard and quality in the UAE, as far as I know. Our project has 53 keys and although there are some similar projects in Dubai and Abu Dhabi, they are not at this level.”

Although construction on site hasn’t started yet, as the main contractor is yet to be appointed, Tawfeek says that the team behind the project have been busy attempting to alleviate the major problems that are likely to crop up during construction.

“We’re trying to sort out all of the anticipated

OCTOBER 2014

Heritage ambition Officials from the United Nations Educational Social and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) are set to visit the Heart of Sharjah project within the next two years.

The aim of the visit will be for the officials to assess whether the project could become the second UNESCO-listed site in the UAE. The heritage area of Al Ain was the first such listed site in the country. Should the officials recommend the Heart of Sharjah, it will join the Pyramids of Egypt, the Taj Mahal and the temples of Ancient Greece as sites of global significance.

The Heart of Sharjah is geographically the epicentre and origin of present-day Sharjah city. The area is considered to be one of the first to have seen the importation of food into the Gulf region. It was also an important centre for pearl diving, and towards the end of the British Empire, it was an important air-station on the route to India.

problems and challenges and clear the construction site. One of the big challenges is the services. That is, how do we bring in the services? This is an old area and bringing in the necessary equipment to upgrade the services here. This means all the existing infrastructure – the power, water, drainage and gas, Etisalat and the roads and parking.

“These are major issues for any old area, because most of the service installations were done years ago. Some of them, the authorities don’t even have records for. What we’re doing right now is trying to investigate the services that have [been found] and update the information that the authorities have. We’re working with the authorities [to resolve this] – with SEWA, the municipality and the planning department,” he explains.

The scope of the project poses additional challenges to the incoming contractor, Tawfeek cautions, pointing out that part of the construction process involves following strict guidelines to protect the old and fragile structures. With no foundations to speak of, there’s a risk of settlement for the walls of some

ON SITE Heart of SHarjaH

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of the structures due to the high water table.

Therefore, these will need to be supported by new foundations or entirely replaced if in bad condition. “Everything that will be done here will be under close supervision by us and the heritage department,” he claims.

An additional complication is the location of the project itself. Situated in an area known locally as Bank Street, the construction team have been working against the clock to ensure that the contractor will be able to have unhindered access to the site.

“The area is full of banks, companies and residential buildings, so providing all the materials to the construction site, providing access to the site, it will be a challenge to the contractor. What we’re trying to do now is put a proper plan in place. We don’t want to cause any disturbances to the people living and working here. Of course, as a construction site, there will be some disruption, but we’re trying to minimise them.

“You know, we don’t even have a proper location or space for the site offices. We need to find a solution to these challenges,” Tawfeek asserts. “It’s difficult, a real challenge. But we’re working closely with the authorities to do physical site inspections, site surveys and to update information. We’ve dug trial pits on-site and we’ve seen whether the services are there.

We’ve started coordination with the authorities and we’ve prepared drawings on how to relocate the services outside, and how to upgrade the services as well. Hopefully, we’re at the final stage of all the relocation of the services and the new service corridors. We have to do it very carefully, because this is an old area and you have to do the excavation manually at first.”

With only two access points available to the contractor, the limited space is going to pose some significant challenges, Tawfeek warns. Because the site is so small, space to bring in and store machinery and labour will be extremely constrained. “It’s not going to be easy. It will be a serious challenge. But hopefully the contractor will be capable of doing it.”

The design and tender processes for the hotel are finished, the project manager tells Big Project ME. Three contractors have been short listed to be awarded the project. The evaluation criteria for their appointment are based on their construction history, as well as their financial and technical capabilities.

While the three older houses (and a smaller unit and majilis) will be restored and built in the traditional manner by the

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bigprojectMe.com

eye on tHe ground The Heart of Sharjah was launched following a ‘non-intrusive’ ground radar survey of the area. The survey showed that there were extensive remains of the historic city, including the souk, under the tarmac of Bank Street.

Work on the project included a full archaeological excavation, which was led by Tatsuo Sasaki, professor emeritus at the Department of Archaeology at the University of Kanazawa in Japan. It was coordinated between Shurooq, the Sharjah Ruler’s Office, the Directorate of Heritage and the Directorate of Antiquities.

“It is believed that the town dates back at least to the late 16th century, and the object of the work to be carried out between November 1 and May 2013 will be to identify the foundations from earlier periods in the town’s history in an attempt to accurately date Sharjah’s urban history in this location, as well as to ascertain how it has evolved over the centuries,” Peter Jackson, architectural adviser in the Ruler’s Office, said at the time.

service relocation One of the challenges will be the relocation of preexisting services and utilities on site.

heritage department, Tawfeek says that the hotel itself will be built according to tried and tested modern construction methods.

“We don’t need a specialised contractor for this project,” he says. “The project boundary area is about 12,500sqm and the built area is between 7,500sqm and 8,000sqm. The buildings for Al Bait Hotel and the adjacent souk will be G+1. In some cases, we’ll have G+2, but there definitely will be no high-rise buildings.”

He adds that there is a preference to use Sharjah-based construction companies, given that the project aims to encapsulate the spirit of the city. “Even if a contractor or a company is based in Abu Dhabi or Dubai, they should have a licence to operate in Sharjah,” he insists.

Attempting to explain the scale of the project, Tawfeek says that Phase 1 of the project will see the reconnection of Souk Saqr to Souk Al-Arsa, two Sharjah landmarks, through the rebuilding of the Souk Al Shanasiyah on Bank Street. In addition, the developer intends to incorporate the fabric of the old city into the development through the use of semi-public spaces in the hotel. ‘Sikas’, alleyways, will run between the buildings, providing avenues for the public to move through. The hotel will

ON SITE Heart of SHarjaH

also have no outer fence, meaning visitors will be able to wander through the hotel and into the souks, creating the experience of wandering through the old city.

All of this construction and redevelopment means that there will be significant changes to the existing urban landscape around the Heart of Sharjah. Already, three buildings near the Al Hisn Souk have begun to be demolished, with more to come.

“Demolishing these buildings is not easy. It’s a very complicated and timeconsuming process. Most of these buildings are occupied by companies and are of course owned by individuals. So in order to do the demolishing, we need to offer compensation. Sometimes, with some of the projects, we’ll go into joint ventures with

the landlords. This is an opportunity for people to participate in the development of the Heart of Sharjah,” Tawfeek points out.

The project will eventually see the closure of Bank Street, with the demolition of the buildings clearing space for the development.

Shurooq officials say that they will work with the Sharjah RTA and the Planning Department to determine the impact of such a strategy.

“In my opinion, this will be a very important project for Sharjah. The Al Bait Hotel is the first project in the development. Hopefully this will boost the development process and will be the key for the future development of the whole project,” says Tawfeek, as he brings to a close a fascinating tour of a project that will certainly make the region sit up and take notice of an often ignored cultural capital.

“it’s not going to be easy. it will be a serious challenge. but hopefully the contractor will be capable of doing it”

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BIM ROUNDTABLE

ROUNDTABLE SERIES BIM AND ThE DEvELOpMENT Of INfRASTRUcTURE

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Big Project ME gathered together some of the leading minds in the construction industry to discuss the various challenges that crop up when using BIM on large-scale infrastructure projects

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E

arly in September this year, Big Project ME, in conjunction with Autodesk, brought together some of the leading minds in the regional construction industry to discuss how Building Information Modelling (BIM) can be used to shape the way infrastructure construction is done in the GCC. Held at the Conrad Hotel, the event featured some of the highest-profile developers, contractors, consultants and government bodies in the region. These included officials from Dubai’s Roads and Transport Authority and representatives from contractors and consultants who are working on the Riyadh Metro and Abu Dhabi Midfield Terminal projects, two of the most complex large-scale infrastructure projects currently underway in the GCC. While the last roundtable focused on the challenges facing the GCC construction industry as it geared up to embrace BIM technology, this discussion looked at the implementation of BIM on large-scale infrastructure projects.

More specifically, it looked at some of the many complications that can have an impact

bigprojectMe.cOm

during its implementation across a project’s entire life-cycle.

As the RTA gears up for the launch of the Dubai Tram in November, and work on various metros and railways gathers steam, having a discussion like this is crucial, given the lack of a clear vision for BIM in the region.

When the UK government mandated the 2016 implementation of BIM, it was not a decision taken lightly. Years were spent conducting extensive research to ensure that the industry was fully briefed about what was expected of them.

In contrast, there was considerable apprehension within the GCC construction industry, albeit mainly from the client and subcontractor sectors, when the Dubai Municipality announced that BIM would be made mandatory on large-scale construction projects. This is despite the fact that a number of major firms have been long-term advocates and users of the construction technology.

Therefore, the discussion held at the Conrad serves as a way to educate and inform the market about the long-term positives that come with using BIM.

Has infrastructure lagged beHind tHe rest of tHe construction industry in adopting a compreHensive bim strategy?

Hassan Malki: One of the advantages of BIM is that you do clash detection and coordination.

That way, you hopefully find all the design flaws that you can correct before you can execute.

The challenge being highlighted here is that sometimes there is an interference between two different departments or two different entities.

They do not exchange any information and do not do any clash detection, which can cause problems down the line.

Fortunately, the technology is available today where you can start doing that. In getting input models into a common collaboration environment, various government departments/ government agencies will be able to discover clashes with existing or planned infrastructure, such as metro tunnels with underground tunnels, water and drainage pipes, various utilities, etc.

David Wilcox: I think that the issue is that the technology may be there, but the information isn’t. The challenge for Dubai as a city is to have information standards. You can then bring the

ThE PARTICIPAnTS

Mohamed Mosad Ghazy Chief programs and projects specialist – CEO Office, RTA

Dr Radhi M Al Zubaidi Acting director – Centre for Continuing Education and Professional Development, University of Sharjah

Charles Dunk Civil BIM manager, Aecom

David Crowder Associate director, Atkins

Dr Mustafa Al Shawi Director, Imarati Engineering & Consultants

David Wilcox BIM leader – Civil BIM Lead, Bechtel

Nikolas D Dimos Senior project engineer (Engineering, Controls and BIM), Consolidated Contractors Company

Sherif Selim General manager – Development and Technical, Damac Properties

Dominic Thasarathar Senior industry programme manager, Construction Strategic Industry Relations, Autodesk

Hassan Malki Sales manager – AEC Middle East and Africa, Autodesk

Gavin Davids Deputy editor, Big Project ME

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Osama Abu Sitta Chief engineer – Rail Planning and Projects Department, RTA

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BIM ROUNDTABLE

mEETing Of minds The panel discussion gets underway at the Conrad Hotel in Dubai.

sO wHAT is THE BiggEsT cHALLENgE fAciNg THE ADOpTiON Of Bim By THE sTAkEHOLDERs iNvOLvED iN THEsE LARgEscALE iNfRAsTRUcTURE pROjEcTs?

Dominic Thasarathar: There is a certain convergence of GIS and BIM, where you get the real-world video view merging with the modelled reality capture. But it’s not so much a technological challenge as it is getting the various government departments to work together.

Dr Mustafa Al Shawi: Technology is there, of that there is no doubt. The issue is about: who’s going to provide this information to the model? That’s why contractual issues come into play. When you talk about departments working together, the question is – who will make them work together?

That’s the issue, that’s the difficulty. It’s not about implementing BIM, that’s just the technology. It’s about how we make people work together. Is it through regulations, or contracts?

Also, if the model isn’t designed for this specific type of collaboration, then you won’t be able to do it.

David Crowder: Do you think that if the

model is done in BIM, then people would realise what the issues are? Is it the case that maybe they don’t understand what the issues are at the moment as it’s not in an easily accessible form?

MS: We’ve been trying for the last 10 years!

We’ve done a lot of work, but bringing people together [is difficult]. What they see is a video, but when you’re talking about information, they don’t see the amount of information [that goes into making the video]. We talk about ‘the information behind the model’, but what does that mean?

People don’t see where that information comes from. Normally, within an organisation, you have a number of departments and they often don’t work with each other. So who is going to provide the information to the model?

DC: You’re absolutely right. Coming from the building side, which is obviously not the same, but that inter-departmental model that you’re talking about, it takes a lot of work to make it happen. It takes everyone buying into what we’re doing and we need a change of mind-set.

Osama Abu Sitta: But if we make it bigger [the coordination], then we’re making it more complex. Who will bear the cost of that? I think that the problem with BIM is not the technology,

sO HOw cAN gOvERNmENT AUTHORiTiEs gET sTAkEHOLDERs TO BUy iNTO THEiR cONsTRUcTiON pROjEcTs?

OS: We as the RTA haven’t started this process yet because we’re not ready for it. The issue is with the contractors and consultants. Without the RTA asking them to use BIM, would they do it voluntarily?

Should it be initiated by the government authorities, or should it be initiated by the consultants, the contractors, who will really get the benefits out of it [during construction].

Because really, the RTA will only get the benefits during the operations and maintenance. So should the authorities introduce legislation that states ‘you have to do this and that’, just like they do in the UK? Consider that in our case, although the RTA is looking at BIM, we still haven’t got DEWA on board, or Etisalat on board. The other utility companies, we haven’t got them looking into it.

The government in the UK, they’re looking at it as a whole. Qatar is looking at it as well, as you say. But you need to have one standard. You can’t just wait for one another [to catch up].

DC: Dubai has got that. The RTA looks after roads, rail and all that stuff, so there’s already a good level of integration there. To answer the

“ThaT’s ThE issuE, ThaT’s ThE diffiCulTy. iT’s nOT aBOuT implEmEnTing Bim, ThaT’s jusT ThE TEChnOlOgy. iT’s aBOuT hOw wE makE pEOplE wORk TOgEThER”

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information along when you’re building a new project or a building.

That way, you can clash check against services, you can check the latest surveys or you can even check the municipality-provided information against the design. All that gives you a chance of coordination.

We’re now seeing this being picked up in places like Riyadh as well.

it’s not the financing, nor is it the capabilities of the contractors or the consultants. I think that the problem is the thinking, or rather, the way of thinking [in the industry].

We need to think about how to train people about how to think about using BIM. DC: Qatar is making a good start on this.

They’ve got the Central Planning Office (CPO), which is intended to bring all this information together. I think they’re planning to use a GIS platform across all of Doha.

It’s a good start, but I guess we’ll have to wait and see if people are actually prepared to work with the CPO. I don’t know if they are, but maybe other cities in the region need to do the same sort of thing, and maybe the people doing this central planning role need the right tools to get people to buy into it.

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BIM ROUNDTABLE

question of whether contractors really want it? Yes they do. They can coordinate things properly so that they’re not messing about trying to fix problems on-site, as it’s all found on the model first and sorted out. That would save a lot of money. You can also be much surer in your pricing, and certainly, you don’t have to put so much effort and money in to sort out problems later on. It’s all done in the model and it’s far cheaper than doing it with a shovel or an excavator onsite. So yes, I do think they want BIM [made mandatory on projects].

DW: We do not have a mandate as contractors on Riyadh Metro to use BIM, but we’re using it.

We live in a BIM world, and have been for the last 10 years or more.

My view is that contractors will use it anyway.

There was a US Smart Market report that was released at the end of last year and it clearly said that there was more BIM intake from contractors rather than engineers or architects. is THE wAy pROjEcTs ARE BEiNg pROcURED A HiNDRANcE TO DEvELOpiNg A cOLLABORATiON cLimATE wiTHiN THE cONsTRUcTiON iNDUsTRy, EspEciALLy ON THEsE LARgE-scALE iNfRAsTRUcTURE pROjEcTs?

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DC: I think if you look at projects like Doha Metro or Riyadh Metro, they’re big design and build projects where all of the responsibility is put on the contractor to resolve issues.

As a consultant, if you’re working on these huge design and build jobs, you’ve got to be absolutely sure that when you design something you don’t have hundreds of hidden problems in your design. Because otherwise, the contractor is going to come back to you and you’re going to end up with counter charges and one thing after another, leading to further complications.

So I think, from our own point of view as consultants, we want to protect our financial position and we don’t want to be back-charged for resolving problems that we designed into the job. At least with BIM, we know that there aren’t going to be any problems, or we know what those problems are so we can resolve them before getting to the construction phase.

MS: If we’re talking about the advantages in capital expenditure, how would you expect a traditional contractor to work for the client and save him money? The contractor will only develop BIM for his own sake. Mostly it’ll be for preparing himself for claims, which is fine because eventually it will benefit the project.

But what benefits will the client get? If you talk

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bigprojectMe.cOm

“ThE gOvERnmEnT in ThE uk, ThEy’RE lOOking aT iT as a whOlE. QaTaR is lOOking aT iT as wEll, as yOu say.

BuT yOu nEEd TO havE OnE sTandaRd. yOu Can’T jusT waiT fOR OnE anOThER [TO CaTCh up]”

about FM, you get better information that leads to better management, but how can you guarantee that the contractor will provide the model that you can use for FM, if it’s not in the contract?

What prevents this is the traditional contract which is built around ‘design – bid – build’.

This traditional contract defines the roles and responsibilities of each partner. So who will take on the liability if you provide wrong information?

And why should a contractor put in extra effort into designing a model that is outside his scope? sO is THERE A REsisTANcE ON THE pART Of THE cLiENT ABOUT TAkiNg ON A mORE AcTivE ROLE iN THEsE pROjEcTs?

Sherif Selim: I think that the benefits of BIM COnTRaCT COnsTRainTs Traditional construction contracts limit the role and responsibilities of each partner in a project.

are very clear to everybody around this table. But I’d like to look at it from a client point of view, especially since we’re [Damac] specifying most jobs now to be in a BIM environment.

The main constraint that limits us whenever we take this decision [to implement BIM] on a job is the lead time it takes to build the model.

Everybody in the market, even the government, is reacting to a business opportunity.

Doha was used as an example. I ran a business in Doha for many years and I can tell you, they would never have considered a Metro there if they didn’t have these commitments for 2022.

There is a timeline for it, and if you put on the table a schedule comparing the use of a traditional approach and compare it to the lead time needed to build the right model, with all the attributes into it and all the information behind it, and the decisions made about the supply chain for every material selected, and then you say to the client: “I can still meet the end date of the project, I can deliver it on time but I’ll actually only hit the ground a year later, because I have to finish the model,” – then nobody will accept it.

This is why I disagree about the technology not being there yet.

As a designer, as a client, I want my job to start on-site as soon as possible. As a developer here [in the UAE], we haven’t even mentioned the local authorities, who have commitments in front of the state developers, to the country itself and finally to the government authorities.

If you delay them for a year to build a big model, then how are they going to absorb that?

DC: In our experience, that’s actually the

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BIM ROUNDTABLE

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dEsign and Build Design and Build contractors benefit strongly from using BIM prior to starting work on-site.

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opposite. We worked on the original Mecca Metro project for China Rail Construction. It was a design and build contract and the programme was only 20 months. We knew that the only way we would ever stand a chance of getting it done was if it was done on BIM. We did the BIM models and the whole job was constructed straight off our model, which meant that they skipped out on the step of the subcontractors doing their own.

SS: But in reality, a project of that size, if you’re doing everything, you’re actually modelling the entire city, then you have to coordinate everything first. Then you do your design and your 3D. You think this saves you time? I find that hard to believe.

DC: If we hadn’t done the model, if we had done the designs in 2D, then we would have had hundreds of clashes.

I know we would have, as I’ve had lots of experience working in Hong Kong with this sort of thing. Every time there’s a clash on-site it slows things down and someone has to sort it out.

While we could have designed it in the same time, they never would have been able to construct it [on schedule] because it would have been full of hundreds of errors. [To rectify] each one would have required hundreds of man hours on site, materials to be scrapped and huge costs

OCTOBER 2014

incurred along the way.

SS: So how long did it take you to put this design together, as opposed to a normal approach?

As I said, we’ve taken this approach and we understand the benefits of it, but we recognise the hits to our schedule.

In every project, we sit down and evaluate that very carefully. Do we actually accept this hit or do we go on with the design? This is something we’ve done on some of our jobs. We go with the design fully and we go to site. While the contractor is starting the job, we build the model and do the clash detection and actually catch the rest of the jobs.

DW: I would actually challenge you on that.

I think that the normal mode of engineering and architectural design in 2014 is to use BIM.

“BEsT pRaCTiCE is using Bim. iT wOuld BE nOnCOmplianT Of any COnTRaCTOR TO nOT usE Bim”

Here’s the thing, in any contract, whether there’s a BIM requirement or not, it almost certainly says – in one of the clauses – that the consultant or contractor must use best practice. Best practice is using BIM. It would be noncompliant of any contractor to not use BIM. MS: In my experience, the design definitely takes a longer time than normal. Particularly if the partners you’re working with are of a different maturity level.

You have to consider what level of detail you want to develop in your BIM model. If you have 20 months to deliver a project, then your priorities are your priorities. What are your essential elements in the model, which will shorten your building time by three or four months as you deliver a design in line with your client’s requirements?

Mohamed M Ghazy: My understanding about BIM is that it saves time. It’s interesting to hear about people’s various experiences about generating shop drawing details. People say it takes too much time from the contractor, but although building the model may take 20% to 25% of the time, I don’t think it would take any longer than it would with traditional methods.

I can tell you that we, as the RTA, understand the benefits of BIM as a government body. We’re committed to going through with it and we’ve started already.

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BIM ROUNDTABLE

is RETURN ON iNvEsTmENT A mAjOR cONTRiBUTiNg fAcTOR iN THE ADOpTiON Of Bim ON iNfRAsTRUcTURE pROjEcTs? DO gOvERNmENT AUTHORiTiEs cONsiDER ROi?

SS: We manage it with solid figures and comparisons with projects where we have a lot of changes. In reality, once you build, although you’ve spent more time than you would in a normal design process, you reduce the cost of any further changes in the project dramatically.

Looking back at some of the jobs we’ve done where we’ve had a lot of changes, the cost benefits were very easy to prove.

DC: The two advantages are cost certainty and the programme. There’s nothing worse for a programme than finding a hidden problem that crops up when you’re 80% through a project and you’ve got to stop work for three months while you figure out how you’re going to rectify it.

I think those are the two main benefits for a government client. But the question is – how do you prove that at the end of a project?

How do you say, “Of course it could have taken 18 months longer if we hadn’t done it this way”? I don’t know where you’d be able to get that sort of concrete information.

DW: The challenges are the information management and the design coordination. These are the challenges that need to be addressed, and BIM is the technology that addresses them.

I completely agree with you about conceptual certainty. It is a big advantage to a contractor as well. Projects come in ahead of schedule, not just because of BIM of course, but it’s one of the technologies that goes into the pot.

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wORking TOgEThER Dr Al Shawi says combining BIM and collaboration is critical for a project’s success.

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MS: One of the key issues the UK used to push through the BIM strategy was that you can cut capital expenditure by around 20%, which is based off historical data. That’s now the target and you can see everybody jumping on the bandwagon, trying to learn what BIM is.

DC: We can talk about historical data from other places, but I would hate to compare a Middle Eastern programme to one in the UK. Coming from the UK, I know it takes forever more to build anything, especially infrastructure work!

MS: We did a study in Abu Dhabi, on a very large project – a multi-storey building that was delayed by about 18 months and had run over cost by about 45% to 50%.

We found out what the problems faced by the consultant and contractor were and then we traced them back to find out if they had BIM at the design stage and whether it would have resolved their problems.

Amazingly, we found out that exactly 39% of savings could have been done. If you go back to the investment report in the UK, it says you can demonstrate that you can save 10% in the design stage and almost 40% in the construction stage.

The study which we’re going to publish soon shows that 40% savings can be done, not only through BIM technology, but through both BIM and collaboration.

That’s absolutely critical. If you can put those two together, you can save as much as 40% of the estimated cost and that’s a huge saving. sHOULD THE iNDUsTRy cHANgE THE wAy cONsTRUcTiON cONTRAcTs ARE wRiTTEN,

saving mOnEy Experts say that capital expenditure can be reduced by 20% using historical data and BIM.

sO THAT THEy BRiNg THAT cOOpERATivE ENviRONmENT TOgETHER?

MS: Contracts are the main hindrance to collaboration, I would say. This is because they define clearly what the roles and responsibilities of people are and they will not move outside their comfort zone, they will not take the risk. And why should they?

It’s really about what you want BIM for and what you get out of it. Because the more information, the more effort, that you put into it, then it’ll cost more money and time. So why would you do that?

Dr Radhi M Al Zubaidi: How much does the design of the BIM model cost, and how long will it delay the project? And how much should be the cut-off variations in any project? I think that BIM is one of the main items which cuts down on variations. We have stats that say that variations amount to 25% of the cost. And when I worked in the industry, I never found any projects that were without variations.

I think we have to look at how much we cut off expenses with BIM and how much we cut time [on the project]. I think this is the real thing to discuss, because ultimately, it all comes down to budget. If we tell a client that [using BIM] will increase the cost by 10%, he’ll say I don’t want

BIM ROUNDTABLE

this, but that’s because he doesn’t recognise that there will be some variations at the end.

So I think we should look at this part, because it’s very important to us now. The clients over here, you have to convince them that there is a cut [in cost] in their projects by using this technology.

They may not care how you do it, but they should learn that there is a cut and that there will be no increase in expenses or in the overall cost of their infrastructure projects.

isN’T THAT A siTUATiON wHERE THE cLiENT (OfTEN A gOvERNmENT BODy) cAN TAkE THE LEAD AND cOORDiNATE wiTH THE

vARiOUs gOvERNmENT ENTiTiEs TO ENsURE THAT iNTEROpERABiLiTy?

CD: There’s a get-out clause at the moment, which is shop drawings. It’s often a case of ‘Ah, we’ll let the contractor deal with it’. It looks great on plan, but in reality…

I worked in BIM for a contractor on a project, so I was on the other side of the fence.

I remember I modelled the project in 3D and it showed 2,000 clashes. It’s fantastic working in 2D with service corridors and the like, with everything running in parallel, but when you start to increase the level of complexity and development in the model and start really looking at the requirements of your services and what they have to go through… then I’m not sure if the client would have that expertise in-house and I’m not even sure they’d want to have that expertise in-house!

DW: There’s also the question of the reliability of that information. Is the location where they say it is? You’ll have to go and check. Are we in a position where the RTA or DEWA or any government body can give you that crucial information and then will stand by it and assure that data? I don’t think so.

CD: It might be accurate today, but in about 18 months, you could have a newly developing area.

Things are always changing around a project.

SS: At the end of the day, it’s like a language.

Everybody has to be able to speak it properly to utilise it properly. If one of the major players, like the government authorities or the developer, cannot speak the language, then it’s impossible to communicate and coordinate with them. n

hiddEn COsTs Using BIM on infrastructure projects can eliminate hidden costs, a major benefit for government clients, David Crowder says.

OCTOBER 2014

MIDDLE EAST

“ThE main COnsTRainT ThaT limiTs us whEnEvER wE TakE This dECisiOn [TO implEmEnT Bim] On a jOB is ThE lEad TimE iT TakEs TO Build ThE mOdEl”

Nikolas D Dimos: From my perspective, because I’ve been working on a project that is 100% BIM-driven and has been for two years now, I would agree that we’ve been facing all the challenges stated.

Although the client has given us, in the contract, a very fancy specification document for BIM, all the other contractors interfacing with us – they don’t have BIM in their scope.

That leaves us with a grave problem because we have at least 40 different interfacing disciplines, and we have to communicate with the other contractors interfacing with us. So it’s a very big problem for us to resolve.

Another issue is that it is very difficult for us, especially with all the different partners, to be integrated into our workflow. Engineering, construction, commercial, it’s very difficult. But we’re now seeing the result because through the 4D simulations and so on, we can show the results and how powerful and necessary BIM is.

What you can show in a picture, you cannot describe in a thousand words.

OS: When dealing with the different authorities, who may not be as BIM-aware, do you have to go back to ‘normal’ procedures? Is this especially difficult when you’re on a 100% BIM project, as you said?

ND: This is another problem. If the construction industry changed their mentality and accepted digital signed or stamped models, then this necessity for paperwork would be scaled back considerably.

Charles Dunk: Interoperability can be difficult when dealing with a lot of different utility companies. What we’ve found in Dubai and Abu Dhabi is that some departments will require something in CAD, which we then have to get sign-off and approval on. We then get the details back from them so that we can do a level of development on our models. In the design stage, that is difficult.

We can come up with some fancy concepts, but will they work? No they won’t, so then we have to go back to the utility companies and ask for details, find out what exactly the specifications are, and then we remodel it and find out that the problem was actually right at the beginning when we started.

So yes, dealing with utility companies and working through the approval process can be a big challenge.

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SPECIAL FEATURE CONSTRUCTION TECHNOLOGY

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MIDDLE EAST

EasE Of aCCEss Project managers can now access comprehensive information and data onsite, using just their phones or tablets.

OCTOBER 2014

bigprojectMe.COm

SPECIAL FEATURE CONSTRUCTION TECHNOLOGY

LOOK TO THE CLOUD With increasingly complex projects springing up all over the GCC, Big Project ME finds out how the demands made of project management software are changing

T

OCTOBER 2014

MIDDLE EAST

his year’s edition of Cityscape in Dubai showcased the usual smorgasbord of high-end developments and luxury hotels that are available to investors from around the region. With competition in the market becoming increasingly tight, there is a clear push to have more extravagant and outlandish designs to attract attention from customers with cash to burn.

In this race to stand out in an increasingly crowded marketplace, consultants, contractors and project managers are being put under tremendous strain to meet the demands of clients. When margins and schedules are so tight, the window for error becomes incredibly narrow.

As a result, the industry has become heavily reliant on the use of technology.

From the design stage, BIM is used to design and modify projects. During construction, project management and cost control software keeps costs and schedules in hand.

Of course, this is no secret. Effective project management and planning has always been implemented on construction projects. However, it is the changing role of technology that has begun to take these systems into a more efficient realm.

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SPECIAL FEATURE CONSTRUCTION TECHNOLOGY

“We’ve always had a number of software products,” says Peter Hedlund, regional director at Trimble Export Middle East.

“We have project management, project control, BIM, MEP and other software, and we’ve always been extremely client focused and listened to what the client wants.

“Over the last two-and-a-half years or so, our clients have come to us and said, ‘With all these great solutions, why can’t you combine them together and give us everything?’

Literally, everything A to Z in the life cycle of a construction project,” he relates.

In response to this demand, the R&D team at Trimble was tasked with developing specialised software that reflects their clients’ needs,.

“A couple of trends that we’ve seen are that software is becoming a natural part of the project. They’re included in bids and so on. Consultants usually include software solutions in bids and they’ve managed to reverse the mentality of clients.

Before that, clients would usually say, ‘Oh, this is going to be too expensive.’ But now they’ve realised that it’s better to invest in a solution now rather than ending up with a lost project or with a claim in court.”

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sOluTiOn invEsTmEnT Developers now realise it’s better to pay more up front for PM software, rather than risk delays or losses.

OCTOBER 2014

Dubai MeTro shows governMenT knows iTs prioriTies DipMF has shown the importance of executive leadership. He Mattar Al tayer and He Saeed Al tayer of the rtA and DeWA are examples of what strong support for good pM practices from the top can do for the overall organisation, says Mark Langley, president and ceo of the project Management institute.

The private sector can tend to face pressures of its own when trying to develop a good PM plan, but their ‘strategy’ is not much different from what governments might call their ‘vision’.

The idea is to know what you want your project to deliver and make sure you focus on only the best operations to achieve those targets.

The Dubai Metro is a great example of such prioritisation. Despite the market downturn, the government in Dubai didn’t stop pumping investment into its key infrastructure projects, such as the Metro, because it knew what the priority for the future was.

The Metro was delivered not long after the meltdown and its benefits are visible to everyone today, he tells big project Me during an exclusive interview at DIPMF.

bigprojectMe.COm

Someone with a first-hand look at these changes is Aijaz Ahmed, managing director of De Leeuw Middle East, a South African project management firm that has projects across the GCC. “I think we’ve become more efficient and more effective. The [adoption] of software has helped us with timely reporting and in flagging up issues during construction. What used to happen before, and we’re talking about traditional project management here, is that every time there was an issue or a problem, we had to meet with the stakeholders to communicate our problems,” he tells Big Project ME. “These days, things have to happen faster but often with diminished quality information,” Ian Hauptfleisch, general manager of CCS Gulf, adds in agreement.

“The software has to cope with this and with the advent of mobile and web technology, communication and connectivity is becoming a given, which can be both a good and bad thing.”

“Information is literally at the fingertips, but at the same time, answers are expected immediately, and the software must provide facilities to quickly manage

SPECIAL FEATURE CONSTRUCTION TECHNOLOGY

changes, run scenarios and present quality analysis in real time,” he explains.

In order for project managers to deliver the best results to their clients, Hauptfleisch says that it’s necessary to have a clear definition from both perspectives. This helps shape the understanding of how the software can be best used, he adds.

“Project Management for the client is usually undertaken by a third party PM firm acting on behalf of the client. It is typically concerned with keeping the project on schedule and within budget, while negotiating variations and contractual issues.

“Meanwhile, project management from a contractor’s perspective is slightly different.

In fact, it would be better defined as Project Control – controlling the time, resources, budget, cost, production and quantity from a constructability perspective. The software per se has evolved in terms of technology, but the underlying job at hand has not,” he explains.

This differentiation is crucial in a market that is rapidly evolving. With projects linked to Expo 2020 well underway, the need for software to be easily accessible and flexible for all stakeholders is crucial.

“We’ve received a lot of people approaching us to tell us about the plans that they have,” says Malak Ali Hassan, the CEO of 3 Dimension Quantity Surveying Services, a Dubai-based consultancy that offers a wide range of construction and design services, including project management.

“It’s mainly from private clients, not only in Dubai, but from places like Umm Al Quwain, Ras Al Khaimah and Fujairah. I think that this is only because of the Expo. This event is not only for Dubai, it’s for the whole of the UAE. It has made a huge change,” she points out. “(Because of this) we’ve decided to change our systems as well, we’ve decided to improve ourselves immediately and to take it to the next level. You have to keep improving yourself, you

can’t just maintain yourself (in this market).

We’ll improve ourselves with new systems and with everything we need. The government will have requirements, so we decided not to wait till the government emphasised it for us. Instead, we decided to take it upon ourselves to prepare for these (changes).”

So what are these changes? Increasingly, software developers are moving towards developing cloud-based software that allows users to access information on the go, no matter where they are in the world.

“Now, project management software is so advanced, it can pick up and flag things up by itself. It makes your life [as a project manager] easier. The client can be anywhere on Earth, but they’ll get a message on their phone or

“OnE has TO REmEmBER ThaT ClOud COmpuTing is dEpEndEnT On COnnECTiviTy. COnnECTiviTy, alThOugh BETTER, is By nO mEans a givEn in ThE COnsTRuCTiOn sphERE”

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SPECIAL FEATURE CONSTRUCTION TECHNOLOGY

aCCEssiBlE aCTiOn Hauptfleisch says the most important factor about the cloud is accessibility.

46

MIDDLE EAST

laptop and they’ll know what you’re doing.

Immediately. This just helps us in delivering our projects on time,” Ahmed asserts.

“The software that we would definitely look at recommending would be ones that can handle complex projects and which would have greater management of documents.

That’s one of the key strengths we look for in project management software,” he adds.

“Apart from that, communication platforms within the software are also very important. This means internal reporting and the flagging up of issues so I don’t have to write separate emails. I just have to go to a particular folder and make the changes, and it goes and flags it up to other people.”

“The cloud is less about enhancing performance than it is about data accessibility and security,” chimes in Hauptfleisch.

“Obviously, the easier and quicker information can be made available to the software, the quicker that data and information can be acted upon, enhancing the performance of the software indirectly. Although, it must be remembered that as with any software, the output is only as good as the input.”

“One has to remember that cloud computing is dependent on connectivity.

Connectivity, although better, is by no means a given in the construction sphere, especially when you consider the remoteness of projects and infrastructural limitations.

So software must make provision for manual

OCTOBER 2014

ClOud CauTiOn Hedlund says self-hosted servers still drive the PM industry forwards.

bigprojectMe.com

and alternative data sharing,” he cautions, adding that well-designed software should always be foremost in developers’ minds.

Hedlund agrees that cloud-based storage of project management data is on the rise, pointing out that his firm is seeing a growing number of requests about it.

However, he remains cautious, pointing out that there are security issues around it.

“Cloud is definitely growing, from zero interest, people are now starting to understand it. However, I would say that it’s not always as good as vendors claim it to be. If I would compare cloud vs self-hosted, it is still primarily self-hosted that is driving the industry.”

“Cloud computing, like normal network computing, will always be security conscious and for the layman the fire walls and generic security protocols available will more than suffice,” adds Hauptfleisch, “But, how secure are you really when even Apple’s iCloud can be hacked?”

“OvER ThE lasT TwO-and-a-half yEaRs OR sO, OuR CliEnTs havE COmE TO us and said, ‘wiTh all ThEsE gREaT sOluTiOns, why Can’T yOu COmBinE ThEm TOgEThER and givE us EvERyThing?’”

COnsTanT COnnECTiviTy Modern PM software allows construction professionals to always be connected.

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BIM – Business Enabler or Technology Red Herring?

Lorem Systems' Dolor Sitamet explains why it is so important for BIM providers to create systems that will push forward the concepts of simple and effective cooperation between all stakeholders involved in a project Luptas aut acil issus acea polvolorporro iliquibust re occae dimitis dolor?

The UK government’s decision to require that all suppliers involved in public sector construction projects use Building Information Modelling (BIM) tools and techniques by 2016 is to be applauded. The intention is to drive better value from capital investment and realise a 20% reduction in lifetime costs, whilst supporting environmental commitments by facilitating a more integrated approach to design. It is also about changing the culture between the client and the rest of the supply chain, replacing the traditional, rather adversarial business practices with a collaborative approach that should also drive innovation.

However, misinformation is rife. BIM is not just about 3D data but about creating a holistic information resource that also includes 2D data sources, documents, spreadsheets, and more.

I believe the key to realising the government’s BIM vision is to create simple, effective cooperation among the design, construction and operation aspects of the infrastructure lifecycle. Overcoming these traditional silos

provides a chance to reduce duplication, minimise errors, streamline processes and facilitate collaboration.

However, while the majority of new bids now demand some level of BIM compliance, requirements are often opaque at best. Let’s set the record straight: BIM, when done correctly, is about information sharing enabled by information mobility (across engineering disciplines and the infrastructure lifecycle).

It provides contractors and owner operators with access to key design data that can be used to transform effectiveness throughout the construction and operations processes. Yes, it drives better use of 3D across the industry, but not only 3D. 2D data remains important, as does information held in documents, spreadsheets, and other databases, all of which contribute to a holistic BIM approach.

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BIM is ultimately about creating an asset model from day one that can be used consistently throughout the project to drive efficiencies

and improve collaboration. Indeed, BIM also encompasses information management as much as information modelling. It enables a contractor to feed design information into project planning tools and resolve potential conflicts before arriving on site. It also empowers the sharing of space information with facilities management teams before the building goes live to drive effective up-front planning, as well as the sharing of other crucial design, engineering, and construction information that can later be used to help drive cost-effective operations decision making and renovations work.

Leveraging a collaborative platform and technology to share and integrate information, within an incremental approach that accommodates all of the specialised design simulation and analysis software best suited for each project role, will best enable the industry to achieve the desired widespread adoption of BIM. The government’s stance on BIM is to be commended. Demanding Level 2 compliance by 2016 is pragmatic and achievable and promotes the very real promise of intelligent infrastructure that is better performing in terms

of its energy efficiency, resilience to natural and man-made disasters, safety, and cost-efficiency.

However, while industry adoption and interest are positive, it is essential that organisations take a step back and truly assess information requirements.

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BIM is a business process not a technology.

With the right workflow and processes defined, BIM enables organisations to improve the quality of building design, reduce costs and achieve the collaborative workflows required to drive true innovation.

However, misinformation is rife. BIM is not just about 3D data but about creating a holistic information resource that also includes 2D data sources, documents, spreadsheets, and more.

I believe the key to realising the government’s BIM vision is to create simple, effective cooperation among the design, construction and operation aspects of the infrastructure lifecycle. Overcoming these traditional silos provides a chance to reduce duplication,

minimise errors, streamline processes and facilitate collaboration.

However, while the majority of new bids now demand some level of BIM compliance, requirements are often opaque at best. Let’s set the record straight: BIM, when done correctly, is about information sharing enabled by information mobility (across engineering disciplines and the infrastructure lifecycle).

It provides contractors and owner operators with access to key design data that can be used to transform effectiveness throughout the construction and operations processes. Yes, it drives better use of 3D across the industry, but not only 3D. 2D data remains important, as does information held in documents, spreadsheets, and other databases, all of which contribute to a holistic BIM approach.

BIM is ultimately about creating an asset model from day one that can be used consistently throughout the project to drive efficiencies and improve collaboration.

Indeed, BIM also encompasses information management as much as information modelling.

It enables a contractor to feed design

information into project planning tools and resolve potential conflicts before arriving on site. It also empowers the sharing of space information with facilities management teams before the building goes live to drive effective up-front planning, as well as the sharing of other crucial design, engineering, and construction information that can later be used to help drive cost-effective operations decision making and renovations work.

Luptas aut acil issus acea polvolorporro iliquibust re occae dimitis dolor?

Leveraging a collaborative platform and technology to share and integrate information, within an incremental approach that accommodates all of the specialised design simulation and analysis software best suited for each project role, will best enable the industry to achieve the desired widespread adoption of BIM. The government’s stance on BIM is to be commended. Demanding Level 2 compliance by 2016 is pragmatic and achievable and promotes the very real promise of intelligent infrastructure that is better performing.

84

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SPECIAL FEATURE BRIDGES

bigprojectME.com

The High Road

What challenges will the GCC encounter in constructing bridges for its rail projects? Neha Bhatia investigates

T

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MIDDLE EAST

he GCC’s ambitious spending on railway projects can be counted on to open up markets for various construction sectors in the years to come. As of November 2013, the planned and underway railway projects were worth the hefty sum of $194 billion.

It is hoped that the unified GCC railway network will provide the same cargo and logistical transport benefits which European countries enjoy. Saudi Arabia, the UAE and Qatar are, for their part, working with international partners to draw from their

OCTOBER 2014

expertise, but long-distance high-speed rail networks require more infrastructure than just steel tracks. Rail networks that pierce through different terrains and altitudes need bridges – sometimes even the world’s highest bridge.

The bridge in question, 359 metres tall when completed, is currently being built over the Himalayas in India. The Chenab River Bridge will be 35 metres taller than the Eiffel Tower, and 84 metres taller than the world’s current highest railway bridge, over the Beipan River in China’s Guizhou Province.

The project is due in 2016, but it has not been a smooth ride. In a July 2014 report, ABC News said 25,000 tonnes of steel had to be transported on-site via helicopters due to rough terrain. The project also stalled in 2008 due to safety concerns.

“One of the biggest challenges involved was constructing the bridge without obstructing the flow of the river,” an Indian railways officer relates. “Approach roads had to be constructed to reach the foundations of the bridge.”

Chenab Bridge is expected to be used for both freight and passenger travel services, but the

SPECIAL FEATURE BRIDGES

Middle East is more ambitious. All member states of the GCC are concurrently working on projects that fall under starkly different railway families.

In a chat with Big Project ME, Dr Ghassan Ziadat, regional director for Planning and Infrastructure at Atkins Middle East, elaborates on the construction challenges posed while working on each category.

“Normally, long-distance rail projects have bridges going through waterways, channels, coastal waters and rivers; or they are based around coastal areas where the bridges cross

marine water or the creek,” Dr Ziadat says. “In some cases, the bridges go through mountainous terrain where they need to be elevated.”

“The challenges for long-distance railways in these cases is accessibility. To make the logistics of the project work, and how to actually build these bridges through different terrains is the main concern. How do you get materials to your construction site in the middle of nowhere?

“Some areas are based over water, deep wadis, valleys and the like. In places like Oman, storms and flash floods are also a factor. Construction in these difficult areas is an inherent problem of such projects. Investigations and site surveys need to look out for these factors.”

These hurdles are unlike those faced while working on rail projects in the urban environment.

Dubai and Abu Dhabi in the UAE; Jeddah, Mecca and Riyadh in Saudi Arabia; and Doha and Lusail in Qatar are some of the major cities slated to develop or expand their metro lines in the near future. Understandably, however, constructing in busy city environments is a tough task.

Early in July 2014, the Haramain Rail Project in Saudi Arabia was brought to a stop by the Jeddah Municipality, after the city’s residents complained about inconvenience caused by road narrowing on-site. An “error” by the project consultant, it was found, led to a main commercial road being narrowed to almost half its width after the project contractor installed pillars in the middle of the road. Arab News said Jeddah Municipality found the consultant had deviated from project plans.

These, and many such challenges, are perhaps inherent to the project site, Dr Ziadat opines.

“Urban environments tend to mostly include metros and light rail systems, and constructing for these involves different considerations. The main factor here is to build the bridge as quickly as possible, with minimal disruption to existing traffic utilities on ground and minimal disruption to the life of the residents,” encapsulating why the Haramain Project suffered a setback in Jeddah.

Sustainable construction is hogging the limelight across the region, and railway bridges are not free of the demands made by its advocates.

In that sense, the challenges of railway bridge construction are much like those faced by any other civil engineering project, and can be broadly distributed as environmental, health and technical.

Pierre Santoni, regional head for Highways and Bridges at CH2M HILL – MENAI and India (MENAI), agrees. “The GCC region represents an aggressive environment for the traditional construction materials of steel and concrete. Bridge designers have to carefully

consider the expansion and contraction that these temperatures cause, exacerbated by the linear nature of the structure itself,” he says.

“The choice of materials, protective coatings and other treatment is critical. It needs to be context- and bridge-type specific.

Aggressive ground water, typically hyper-saline, means bridges require special protection on foundation parts and materials.”

The “aggressive” region Santoni speaks of is also a desert, and sandstorms are a common hurdle to overcome for all structures in the region, well past their construction phase.

“The management, prevention and maintenance of windblown sand accumulation is a major issue on all construction sites in the region,” Santoni says. “It is also critical for the safe operations of railways.”

Eventually, it all comes down to intelligent design and engineering practices. Santoni claims therein lies the solution to every challenge a railway bridge might be met with.

“There is always a solution from an engineering perspective. The challenge is to find the most cost-effective option given a specific set of parameters. Rail-specific vertical and horizontal alignments are key elements of the design,” CH2M HILL’s bridge expert explains.

“There are clever ways of designing embankments to allow sand to blow across a road or a railway. Wind tunnel studies can help derive these. Other factors to remember during design include railroad loadings, which are significantly higher than car or truck loadings; clearance envelope, especially for electrified railways; demarcation to prevent trespassing onto the track; interaction of multiple transport modes at crossing points for pedestrians, cars and trains and so on.”

“There is always a solution from an engineering perspective. The challenge is to find the most costeffective option given a specific set of parameters”

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long-distance challenge Accessibility is often a challenge when building crosscountry railway networks.

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SPECIAL FEATURE BRIDGES

Nevertheless, the most obvious concern when building rail networks, bridges included, is perhaps to efficiently and smoothly incorporate them with existing terrestrial infrastructure. The Haramain Rail Project is yet again a victim of these inconveniences. In January 2014, an anonymous source from the Ministry of Transport told Arab News that the number of vacant plots blocking the course of the Haramain project had increased by 40.6%. This was attributed to incomplete expropriation procedures by landowners.

130 plots, it is reported, will have to be razed for the construction of the 49.2-kilometre Haramain project. Legal battles aside, the roadwork operations are also a massive factor to work railway plans around. But such projects are not without solutions, Santoni insists.

“Railroads do not normally [run with] parallel roads for long distances. In most cases, topography requires that roads be built with Disruption management Managing disruption to existing infrastructure and communities is a crucial part of the bridge building process.

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“Some contractors are embracing the foreign investment, but some view it as competition.

I think the more enlightened ones will see it as an opportunity”

OCTOBER 2014

bigprojectME.com

The Benchmarks “The prime example of a good metro or urban city rail project is the Dubai Metro. There is no doubt about that and everybody looks at it as the benchmark for railway projects here in the region.

But for long-distance railway projects, Saudi Arabia is the place to look at. It is unquestionable that they are further ahead than other countries in terms of their development pace. They’re building sections of the GCC rail, have advanced in the North South Rail Project, and the Haramain Rail Link between Mecca and Madina is also under construction. The Landbridge Connection will link Saudi Arabia from the country’s east to its west. Add to that their internal metro connections such as those in Jeddah and Riyadh, and you’ll find that Saudi is very well connected and served by its rail lines.” – Dr Ghassan Ziadat from Atkins Middle East.

sharper curves and steeper gradients. It is thus always preferable to elevate roads over railways rather than the other way around.”

Santoni goes on to explain the design processes that follow once the railway has been set below the road. “Specific railings have to be designed to prevent debris from falling over a railway, as they could interfere with safe movement of trains, especially if the railway is electrified. The angle of incidence is also significant, especially in the case of an elevated railway crossing, over a wadi for example, given the quantities of earthworks required, which is why most railway crossings occur at a 90-degree angle.”

Santoni echoes Dr Ziadat’s concern about mitigating risk and disturbance to prevailing conditions. “On the softer side, disruption to the existing infrastructure and communities, as well as the management of such disruption, are the main challenges we face,” he reiterates. “But we found that, as in other parts of the world, early and focused stakeholder engagement is the key to resolving issues associated with these disturbances.”

Atkins’ infrastructure head is a proponent of inviting foreign investors to undertake railway bridge projects in both funding and engineering capacities. “Big causeway projects need large capital finance up front. Furthermore, operational costs are also substantial. If the government is facing budget limitations but has a good credit rating, then it can also invite foreign investment to work with the public private partnership [PPP] model,” Dr Ziadat says.

Ask him if the GCC offers foreign investors any benefits, and he’s quick to point out that the region will have to develop a congenial atmosphere where international companies feel welcomed

SPECIAL FEATURE BRIDGES

bigprojectME.com right combinations A combination of adequate funding and political will is needed to make these infrastructure projects a success.

“To make the logistics of the project work is the main concern.

How do you get materials to your construction site in the middle of nowhere?”

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and are not viewed as competitors. “Railway bridges are complex projects. They require specialist skills to be built but such know-how is not easy to find. For example, Oman is currently working on highway projects where it is facing difficulty to build bridges across mountainous terrain. You need mechanised methods to complete these projects,” Dr Ziadat says.

“Methods developed in Europe and North America in the past fifty years are slowly finding their way into the market here. Resource shortages and pressures mean it makes sense to adopt futuristic methods of construction such as prefabrication, where bridges are built in small segments; much like the Dubai Metro, but set in the mountains and across larger distances.”

Local clients, Dr Ziadat insists, are insisting on collaborations with international players to strengthen their know-how and abilities. The process holistically allows local contractors to grow and upgrade their competitiveness to match international markets.

OCTOBER 2014

Giving Shape “Rail infrastructure will become a critical enabler and driver of sustainable growth for the GCC. The main challenges that to be taken into consideration while considering railway bridges is the diversity of geographic characteristics and climatic conditions. Common specifications and standards should be agreed in advance to overcome these challenges.

“The importance of using the appropriate formwork and shoring techniques for bridges should not be overlooked. It is key to pick the best-suited combination for the design and shape of the bridge. Incorporating new bridges into existing infrastructure can also be eased out by using the best formwork concept to ensure fast construction and minimal impact on road networks. One of those solutions is constructing the bridge with traffic gantries to ensure the ease of traffic flow.” – Ahmed El Hadidy, Gulf regional manager, Acrow Co.

“Some contractors are embracing the idea, but some are opposing these alliances and partnerships because they view it [foreign involvement] as competition,” Dr Ziadat says. “They’re happy to be doing things the conventional way, but I think the more enlightened ones will see this as an opportunity.”

Shortly before this piece went to press, Saudi Arabia and Bahrain announced the construction of a second bridge linking their borders, to be called the King Hamad Causeway. A report

by Cluttons estimated the new causeway will benefit Bahrain’s industrial, residential and commercial property sectors in the years to come.

King Hamad Causeway, when complete, will also offer Saudi Arabians the chance to explore second homes in Bahrain. Dr Ziadat believes this project is comparable to the onceplanned Qatar-Bahrain Causeway, Kuwait’s Subiya Causeway and other developments like the Saudi Landbridge Project and Etihad Rail in terms of the functionality it can provide.

Ultimately, however, Atkins’ expert believes the success of these projects depends greatly on a government which is both decisive about the infrastructure it aspires to and economically stable enough to convert them into reality.

“You need a combination of adequate funding with the right political will to make such projects happen. Various countries in the region are going through different situations, both economically and politically. They constantly reassess their priorities and these big railway projects, depending on which country you look at, will take a different position on each list,” Dr Ziadat says.

“Eventually, you’ll find that countries which are really focused on getting their infrastructure improved will include metro, rail and related projects high up on their list because they see the benefits of such networks.”

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GERMAN PLAYERS

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ThE GCC’s bESt GERmAn comPAniES

Big Project ME profiles the best German construction companies in the region

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ith the GCC’s upward surge in construction investment showing no signs of abating, the market has become a lucrative target for foreign firms looking to expand their business and increase their revenue streams. Unfortunately, this has resulted in operators with less than reputable reputations entering the market.

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FRuiTFul paRTnERship The UAE is one of Germany’s most valuable trading partners, behind only the economic might of India, China and the US.

OCTOBER 2014

Coming from countries with a relative lack of quality control, they have caused local GCC firms to be apprehensive about the numerous ‘sharks’ in the market. However, there has always been one country that is synonymous with quality.

Much like their World Cup-winning team, German firms are quiet, undemonstrative and incredibly effective. It is this reputation that has

led to the development of a fine relationship between the region and the EU giant.

This was highlighted when in 2012, it was revealed that the UAE was regarded as Germany’s fourth-most valuable trade partner, behind India, China and the US. The following companies represent the best of what Germany has to offer the Middle East.

GERMAN PLAYERS

BaSF the cheMists

FOunding mEmBER BASF is a founding member of the Emirates Green Building Council and has long been an advocate for sustainable, green products.

Caparol the decorated decorators

REgiOn FOCus Since joining up with Emaar Industry & Investments in 2007, Caparol has been active throughout the GCC.

Established in Dubai in 1998, Caparol develops, produces and markets high quality paints, enamels, glazes, structural coatings, materials for facade and insulation technology in markets like Germany, Austria and Turkey. A privately owned group internationally, Caparol’s operation in Dubai – Caparol Paints Dubai – is a joint venture between Emaar Industries & Investments and DAW Group, Germany.

The company’s move to Dubai was initially aimed at serving the UAE market with minor focus on the other GCC countries. After joining forces with Emaar Industry & Investments in 2007, they added to their operations, allowing them to better serve the entire region. Caparol recently established a state-of-the-art manufacturing facility in Dubai Industrial City, and plans to expand on this facility in the coming years to meet increasing demand for paints, coating and insulation throughout the Middle East. The CapaCare paint range sets a new standard for environmental performance. Its CapaTect insulation product is formulated to withstand the rigours of the Middle East climate. Caparol recently became a member of the Emirates Green Building Council.

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BASF is a Germany-based chemical company, known predominantly for its vast portfolio of products like chemicals, plastics, performance products and crop protection products, besides oil and gas. Headquartered in Ludwigshafen, the company posted total sales worth $93.32 billion in 2013 and operates over 380 production and six integrated-production sites worldwide, employing more than 100,000 people globally.

Active in UAE’s construction region, BASF has been involved with the Burj Khalifa in Dubai and Ferrari World in Abu Dhabi. BASF’s superplasticiser ‘Glenium SKY’ was incorporated into the Burj Khalifa. “The construction of Burj Khalifa is an exceptional engineering accomplishment.

We are proud to have contributed to it with our products,” Tilman Krauch, head of BASF’s Construction Chemicals division, said. Ferrari World used Ultramid® A3WG10, a glass fibrereinforced polyamide 66 from BASF, for its roofs.

BASF is also a founding member of the Emirates Green Building Council and the company has a variety of solutions and techniques for durability, energy efficiency, climate protection and saving resources, besides their own analysis tools to scientifically assess the environmental and social impact of diverse products on the client’s projects.

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GERMAN PLAYERS

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DeutSChe Bahn the kings of the track Founded in 1994, Deutsche Bahn AG is one of the world’s leading passenger and logistics companies and operates in 150 countries with almost 237,000 employees across the world.

With rail activities in Germany being the company’s core business, it also focuses on providing mobility and logistics services, as well as controlling and operating the related transport networks in the rail, land, ocean

and air freight transport sectors. DB’s strategy mainly looks at linking together all modes of transportation, and building comprehensive intermodal travel and logistics chains. DB International, Deutsche Bahn’s consultancy business was recently awarded a contract by S to support the construction of the 444km Haramain High Speed Rail project.

Deutsche Bahn also recently established a

joint venture with Etihad Rail, called Etihad Rail DB Operations LLC, to operate rail freight transport services on the Arabian Peninsula. As per the Etihad Rail agreement, DB Schenker Rail was appointed to recruit the employees required for the development of rail operations and maintenance of the fleet and British subsidiary DB Schenker Rail UK also coordinated on this recruitment drive.

drilling, with 85% of the revenues by this sector made from sales abroad.

A global driving force in the development of specialist foundation engineering, it has built up networks in numerous regions worldwide and previously worked on Burj Khalifa in Dubai and The Louvre and Guggenheim Museum in Abu Dhabi.

Spezialtiefbau acquires and executes contracts both in the countries in which

it is represented and in neighbouring countries using its own machinery and in-house engineering consultancy.

Bauer’s presence in the region spreads well outside the UAE as well. The company has been in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia for more than three decades, besides Kuwait, Bahrain and Africa. Subsidiary Saudi Bauer was handed the contract for Piling Works of the Kingdom Tower in Jeddah, KSA.

Bauer a strong foundation

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Bauer Group is an international construction and machinery manufacturing company based in Schrobenhausen, Germany, known for the execution of complex excavation pits, foundations & vertical seals and development and manufacture of related machinery. The Group’s equipment segment specialises in foundation equipment and works on developing new products for mining, deep-drilling and offshore-

OCTOBER 2014

GERMAN PLAYERS

OpEning dOORs Dorma Gulf has been involved in high-profile projects like Dubai Metro (pictured).

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DorMa the door specialists Dorma is proud to carry a history of 104 years. Dorma’s international reach extends to operations in over 50 countries and a global workforce of almost 6,700 employees. In the Gulf region, Dorma launched its presence with the opening of Dorma Gulf Door Controls FZE in Jebel Ali, Dubai, in 1997. Today, Dorma Gulf generates sales of $70 million and employs over 325 people. Currently Dorma operates four companies in the region, three based in the UAE and one in Saudi Arabia, with branches in eight cities and a total of 320 staff

across the Middle East. Dorma’s historical projects include Burj Khalifa, The Dubai Mall, Burj Al Arab, Dubai Metro, Qatar Convention Centre, Mall of Arabia (Jeddah), Bibliotheca Alexandrina (Alexandria), Emirates Palace Hotel (Abu Dhabi), King Abdullah Financial District (KAFD) and Abu Dhabi Convention Centre (ADNEC).

As the region expands its steel, petrochemical and high-tech industries, Dorma looks forward to participating in this ongoing development.

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hoChtIeF the all-rounders 600 new retail units and approximately 1,300 residential units and offices were built between 2007 and 2012, and Hochtief was involved in the project as its General Contractor.

The company is also providing facility management services for the Bahrain International Airport. Located in Muharraq, the airport is the primary hub for Gulf Air and Bahrain Air. Since 2008, Bahrain Airport Company (BAC) is responsible for managing and operating the Bahrain International Airport, and its objective is to enhance the airport’s status, infrastructure and facilities.

For information contact: Raz Islam Publishing Director raz.islam@cpimediagroup.com Mobile: +971 50 451 8213 Michael Stansfield Commercial Director michael.stansfield@cpimediagroup.com Mobile: +971 55 150 3849

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Hochtief is a globally recognised construction service provider and stands for experience, innovation and stability. Hochtief has been working in the region for almost 40 years, and it completed the international airport of Jeddah in Saudi Arabia with a turnkey airport project between 1974-1985 in what was then the biggest contract ever placed with a single construction company. Hochtief also has operations in Qatar, and has previously worked on the Barwa Commercial Avenue in the country. Along the city highway Abu Hamour Road in Doha’s southern outskirts, roughly

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GERMAN PLAYERS

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MerKur ueBerSeehanDel GMBh individually engineered Merkur products have been in production for almost 100 years, offering clients worldwide the use of individually tailored products and solutions, in accordance with their needs.

With a strong presence in the GCC, Merkur aims to continue building on its success.

“Our products are designed to the specific needs for each project taking into consideration the extreme climate conditions the products are exposed to over the years,” says Ulrich Scheller, export manager for the Hamburg-based electrical and HVAC

manufacturer. “We offer perfectly engineered products with extensive product warranty times as well as long periods of guaranteed spare part availability.”

“Having our regional representative office in Dubai means that our business is well established in the region. We have a permanent sales team in the area and we do participate in various exhibitions in the Middle East,” he adds.

“The GCC construction market is very important for Merkur. Our annual GCC sales add up to millions of euros and contribute

significantly to the success of our company.”

Scheller says that the company is currently focused on supplying pole systems for ‘low and medium voltage power distribution line projects’ in the GCC. This is in addition to providing LED luminaries and solar street lighting for road lighting projects.

They also provide solar powered airconditioning systems for “remote applications in on-grid and off-grid environments”, he points out, illustrating the range of markets covered.

WeIler GMBh tailor Made turnkey precast concrete factories

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For more than 60 years, Weiler GmbH has been synonymous with smart precast concrete technology and modern building systems of premium quality that are made in Germany.

Based near Frankfurt Airport, the familyowned business has successfully established itself worldwide, with more than 200 turnkey production lines and individual machines.

As a full range supplier to a niche market for precast concrete engineering and equipment, Weiler specialises in creating highly efficient production systems for a range of uses, including floorings, wall panels, structural

OCTOBER 2014

elements, foundation piles, slabs, stairs, roofing elements, railway sleepers and individual parts.

Weiler’s facilities, machines and knowledge have helped make their customers’ constructions more efficient, with faster erection times allied to considerably lower costs.

The target of Weiler’s engineering team and network is to transform customer challenges into excellent solutions.

Weiler is present in the Middle East, with two service centres in Dubai and Al Kut. These provide support to more than 40 Weiler factories in the area.

Parts produced on Weiler equipment have been used on a variety of projects across the GCC region. These include Al Jazeera TV Qatar, University of Sharjah, World Trade Center Istanbul and IKEA Ankara. They have also worked on a number of industrial and office construction projects, such as mosques, schools and residential buildings.

With the current and expected development in Middle East expected to continue growing rapidly, construction projects will require professional solutions, presenting a major opportunity for Weiler.

GERMAN PLAYERS

KnauF discipline disciples

COvERing all BasEs Nora Systems aims to change the perception that value engineering means using the cheapest materials and products.

SIeMenS the power player The Middle East has been a key region for Siemens since the company first established a presence here. The company has expanded steadily and now has offices and operational units across the entire region. Siemens has supplied the technology behind many of the region’s key infrastructure projects.

The company was recently awarded a turnkey contract, scheduled for completion

by December 2015, by the Kuwait National Petroleum Co. (KNPC) to supply high-voltage substations at refineries south of the city of Kuwait. In 2013, Siemens was awarded a contract worth $966.8 million to supply the key

components for a major combined-cycle power plant in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia by oil giant Saudi Aramco.

With an installed capacity of 4,000 megawatts, Jazan will be the largest gasificationbased power plant site in the world. Siemens Infrastructure & Cities was commissioned last year to set up a turnkey tram system in Qatar’s capital city Doha by the Qatar Foundation, and the scope of delivery includes signal and communication technology, the rail electrification system and equipping a depot.

The company moved into its new regional headquarters at Masdar City during Q1 2014.

nora getting it covered Nora Systems, a specialist in high-quality, resilient floor coverings, has strategically positioned itself to take advantage of the upsurge in airport, education and healthcare projects in the Middle East. With a market share of more than 80% in Germany and more than 50% worldwide, Nora systems is the global leader in the market for rubber floor coverings, focusing on the healthcare, education, transportation, industry and public buildings markets. Its renowned floor covering ranges norament and noraplan epitomise the quality that Germany is globally renowned for.

“We are already very well known to all of the international architects and consultants and we see a great opportunity to be specified by the US consultants that are now very active on high-value, prestigious projects in the region,” says Steven McFadden, regional manager of the company.

“We want to reflect the widely held German reputation for quality in the region and emphasise our concept of value engineering. We need to change the perception in the market and show that value engineering does not mean using the cheapest materials and products.”

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Family-owned Knauf was founded in Germany in 1932, and has since expanded to over 150 production sites in more than 37 countries. “We want to deliver around the country and the region with sustainable and commercially viable products. This depends on the quality of the products and people at Knauf, and training is key to this process,” said Amer bin Ahmed, Managing Director, Knauf Dubai.

Besides producing conventional gypsum, Knauf also produces construction materials for drywall construction, plasterboards, acoustic boards, internal and external plasters and insulating materials.

“Discipline is the key. German technology and engineering has constantly succeeded in the UAE market – everybody likes to drive a Mercedes! All our installations are put in place by German teams, and our technology and knowhow is transferred to our suppliers, customers and partners. We believe we’re creating a circle of trust, and the transparency is important in the industry.

Mere test reports are not enough, we back it up with quality supply chains at Knauf.”

Knauf’s previous undertakings include projects like Burj Khalifa and Armani Hotel in Dubai and the Grand Hyatt Doha in Qatar.

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M ARKET FOCUS ASIA

OCTOBER 2014

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M ARKET FOCUS ASIA

AMBITION ASIA

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Can the GCC construction industry finally conquer Asia? Neha Bhatia examines the challenges of entering the ever-growing Asian construction markets

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eeks before Dubai was engulfed by the whirlwind of construction exhibitions hosted in the city, representatives of Dubai World Central (DWC) travelled to India in a bid to attract investors to the emirate.

Paolo Serra, vice president of the Business Park, “embarked on a tour of India in September 2014 to establish relations with the country’s business community and promote DWC’s Business Park Free Zone to local companies and investors”.

Speaking about the six-day visit, Serra said: “More than 50% of the companies established in DWC are either fully or partially owned by Indian investors. In 2013, India emerged as the top trading partner of Dubai after recording a trade volume of $37 billion to account for 10% of the emirate’s total foreign trade.” Serra stressed the huge scope for Indian companies to establish or reinforce their presence in the Middle East from DWC’s Business Park.

With global superpowers currently working to protect their territories against economic and security threats, is Asia becoming the new safe haven for the GCC to work with?

The answer would be a resounding ‘yes,’ if you asked Yusuf Akcayoglu, director for TAV Construction’s Middle East operations.

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TOugh maRkET Working in Indian or Chinese markets can be tough for foreign firms entering on their own due to the dominance of local contractors and consultants.

OCTOBER 2014

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In May 2014, he told Big Project ME that world focus would continue to transition towards Asian countries like India and China, due to the economic stagnancy displayed by traditional investment markets.

“Countries like the UAE are becoming hubs that attract large numbers of tourists and investment,” Akcayoglu said at the time. “Markets in the GCC and Asia are very promising and are definitely drawing interest from around the world.”

When asked to elaborate, Akcayoglu explains the impact this “global shift”, as he describes it, will have on the construction industry in the GCC. “In my opinion, the global shift in terms of wealth we’re witnessing is east towards China and India, and has been so for the last five years. Rising income levels have added to the number of middle class in these

countries, and these people are offering their connection points to a greater part of the world.

Geographically, the GCC is the best location for investors from abroad, like Europe for example.

“I don’t know of any Singaporean firms in the construction market here. There might be a few Malaysian ones and a few Japanese ones in the heavy industrial sectors,” Akcayoglu muses, when asked which Asian countries, besides those in the GCC, could be the ones to look out for in the future. “I’d say most players have been looking at China and India in their growth forecasts.”

Akcayoglu doesn’t say who these “players” might be, but it’s no mystery either. Over the last decade, numerous developer and contractor firms from the GCC have expanded their operations into Asian markets. Drake & Scull International’s (DSI) wastewater treatment

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M ARKET FOCUS ASIA

subsidiary, Passavant Roediger, has previously been awarded several projects in Taiwan and China, and DSI maintains its presence in the Asian markets through Passavant’s ongoing work in countries such as India. In 2011, UAE-based contracting firm Arabtec formed a joint venture with one of India’s largest realty companies, Raheja Developers, to work on three infrastructure developments worth $240 million at the time.

A Reuters report from December 2013 also said Qatar Investment Authority, the sovereign wealth fund of the Gulf state, could invest a whopping $200 million in the Indian residential sector through the well-known Indian bank and financial service firm Kotak Mahindra Bank in the years to come.

These joint ventures are a handy inroad for investors trying to work a way into tough Asian markets, Akcayoglu believes.

“All foreign companies have a really tough time penetrating the Indian and Chinese markets, unless they bring a very competitive advantage on a unique project,” TAV’s Middle East director says. “But in the traditional construction segment, nobody can compete with them in their own town.

That’s my opinion. Maybe they even come to the GCC because it is less competitive,” he says.

China’s PriCe Wars Yusuf Akcayoglu, director of Middle east for tAV construction, says china’s building material market has assertively claimed its share in the regional construction market.

“Chinese materials will always be in the building market here. I won’t say their material is poor quality, but the projects they target are usually low-budget ones.

This is more a strategy to avoid the highly competitive materials segment, where European brands are popular for highbudget projects. So even though the quality of Chinese or Indian building material is generally not bad, it is predominantly sold to developers of small-sized projects.”

But Sanu Mathew, managing director of SEED Engineering Consultants, offers a slightly varied opinion. Having migrated to Dubai from India in 1993, Mathew established SEED after more than a decade of work in the city .

In the run-up to the market downturn, in 2008 Mathew set up an office in India to serve as an offshore office to handle SEED’s local work.

As contracts dried up in the UAE during the crisis, Mathew and team decided to persist with their office in India instead of discarding it.

Today, SEED actively works on projects in both the GCC and Indian territories from its two UAE and two Indian offices, but Mathew admits the journey towards establishing SEED as a reliable player in the GCC markets wasn’t an easy task.

“We are working on the Hub Zero theme park with Meraas Holding at its Citywalk development in Dubai. The project was handed to us after we won the IMG World of Adventure contract,” Mathew reveals. “The master plan for City of Arabia in the UAE was designed by Canadian consultancy WSP, but IMG decided they wanted to explore alternatives for the theme park design and found our approach to be in line with theirs.

That’s how we were awarded the contract.”

Akcayoglu believes it is such value propositions international firms will have to offer if they are to find work in the growing markets of Asia.

This is squarely because local firms are keenly consuming a large share of the proverbial pie.

“The Asian firms will invite foreign companies to form a joint venture for, say, a high-rise project, for which they might lack the technical know-how,” he says.

wORkIng TOgEThER Joint ventures are often the best way for foreign firms to enter the competitive Asian markets.

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InfRasTRuCTuRE fOCus GCC firms with experience in infrastructure construction may find their services in demand in the Asian marketplace.

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“Or they will invite international firms for specific iconic projects like super-talls, where their local expertise might not be sufficient,” Akcayoglu continues, through he warns that not all joint ventures will translate into long-term partnerships.

Supportive clients mean local authorities and paperwork are far less cumbersome processes than they might have been otherwise.

But for SEED, despite its conversance with project requirements in the oft-nefarious Indian construction environment, the road to recognition is still a rocky one.

“It isn’t easy to break into the Indian market; clients often feel the need to have a local office in their city,” Mathew explains.

Furthermore, Indian clients tend to harbour a preference for international firms from outside Asia, be it due to their proven track record or exceptional brand value, if not both.

It is for this reason that SEED, a specialist MEP consultancy, has long-running MOUs with the British MEP firm Spectrum and Australia’s Norman Disney Young. Mathew says he is regularly offered partnerships by international consultancies looking to enter the Indian market.

“A British consultancy firm recently approached us to work with them on a project they are bidding for in Mumbai. We have co-tendered and bid with them on the project,” Mathew says.

“We obviously have to know the local codes for each region and comply with them, but an office in Delhi [northern India] can support a project in Mumbai [western India]. We only set up Indian offices based on our project pipeline, which is why we’re building one in Mumbai after realising our project traffic in the city has increased.”

It seems to be a wise business decision.

India and China’s best-known contracting firms have been expanding their backlogs across the region since they set up their regional bases

OCTOBER 2014

ConstruCtion: need vs Want?

Mehroz rufi, ceo of rufi properties, expands on the vast gulf between his project development work in the UAe, as against in his native pakistan.

“The difference between Pakistan and the UAE is that between a simple need, versus a need combined with a want. In Pakistan, due to its organic population and social growth, real estate is treated as a need for the most part. As Dubai is a rising market, its population growth is very dynamic. This does give rise to a need for population accommodation and other related services, but when it comes to the marvellous infrastructure and the city’s much reinforced position as the region’s most sought-after business, retail and tourism hub, investors from across the world are also found wanting to be a part of Dubai’s real estate trade.”

“gEOgRaphICally, ThE gCC Is ThE BEsT lOCaTIOn fOR InvEsTORs fROm, say, EuROpE, and I’d say mOsT playERs havE alsO BEEn lOOkIng aT ChIna and IndIa In ThEIR gROwTh fORECasTs”

in Dubai. Shapoorji Pallonji has consistently worked on projects in the GCC and wider Middle East from its Dubai office for nearly a decade now; its first steps into the country can be traced to as far back as the 1970s. China State Construction Engineering Corporation Middle East (CSCECME) has been in Dubai since 2003, when it worked on the Palm Jumeirah villa project.

Akcayoglu doesn’t name the firms, but he acknowledges that “there are definitely some well-known Indian and Chinese companies in the market which are competitive and provide quality construction services. There are two or three major players from India which are doing well here, and the same also goes for China. Their internal market is too competitive for foreign contractors, but they themselves obviously see benefit in expanding their operations across the globe.”

Both Akcayoglu and Mathew agree that the future for firms in the rising Asian and GCC markets is through the route of infrastructure building. “There’s a ripple effect on construction if, say, the aviation sector grows,” Akcayoglu says. “Tourism will not only mean increased passengers, but also more airports, terminals, metro stations and highways. The demand for these means Asian companies will have more opportunities in the GCC.” SEED’s founder claims the same holds true for firms looking to build in India: “It isn’t undoable.

Arabtec worked with Raheja in the past. Such projects could work because Indian investors might well be attracted to the international branding offered by such projects,” Mathew opines.

“I’m sure they’ll educate themselves about the local infrastructure situation before they enter the Indian market, but even if it’s an incomplete network of roads or bridges, it’s still an opportunity for a UAE- or Qatar-based firm to construct it to completion,” Mathew concludes.

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COMMENT Hyder Consulting

bigprojectMe.Com

Sameer DaouD

Road to success The keys to successfully delivering infrastructure and transportation projects are coordination and prioritisation, says Sameer Daoud of Hyder Consulting

U

nsurprisingly, clients, consultants and contractors are always seeking successful project outcomes. However, there is often a confusion over what ‘successful delivery’ actually means and public discussion fails to focus on methods and factors which drive this success.

Over the last few years, the Middle East market has been primarily property-driven.

More recently, though, governments have been anxious to invest in infrastructure, providing efficient and high-quality transport networks – thereby creating jobs and contributing to the welfare of Middle Eastern citizens.

Generally speaking, once countries have proper

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MIDDLE EAST

“The biggeST obSTacle To Delivering projecTS SucceSSfully iS The lack of effecTive communicaTion beTween The Three parTieS”

OCTOBER 2014

infrastructure they are able to attract investors and this has a knock-on effect on property prices.

It would be fair to say that proper investment in infrastructure can have a profound, transformative effect on national economies.

It is crucial to understand the importance of the transport sector; well-developed roads, railways and ports can facilitate local and regional trade, giving support to the Middle East’s participation in the World Trade Organisation.

A widespread and diverse transport network can link all the regions of the Middle East, fuelling local industries and services that currently migrate to large urban areas.

Transport is fundamental to achieving the government’s goal of spreading prosperity to all citizens of the Middle East while preserving environment and cultural values; tourism, healthcare and business in general all require the support of robust transport systems.

As a result of governmental investment, the Middle East has developed a transport infrastructure that includes an expanding highway network, active ports, a modest railway system and airports that serve every region in the country.

Two key elements for a successful project delivery are coordination with stakeholders from the beginning and prioritisation. Strong communication with all parties – including utilities providers, landowners – leads to better results and allows us to overcome challenges.

So what does prioritisation mean to us as engineers? It’s the phasing of work to minimise disruption to the existing networks such as potable water, electricity, sewage, surface drainage and traffic. It’s about how to build a metro, widen a road or build a new bridge with minimum disturbance to the adjacent roadway networks.

All projects go through an initial feasibility stage which includes economic and environmental analysis, dictating the need for such a project. At this stage,

COMMENT Hyder Consulting

funDamenTal projecTS Transportation projects are fundamental to the growth and success of countries.

“Two key elemenTS for a SucceSSful projecT Delivery are coorDinaTion wiTh STakeholDerS from The beginning anD prioriTiSaTion”

The phrase ‘you can't clap with one hand only’ rings true: no matter what we as consultants plan to deliver, our offering is also influenced by the visions of contractors and clients. The biggest obstacle to delivering projects successfully is the lack of effective communication between the three parties.

Ideally they should share a similar vision and set of objectives, and prohibit commercial and financial incentives from driving their behaviours and attitudes. Only then is successful project delivery a realistic outcome. n Sameer Daoud is managing director Middle East of Transport & Infrastructure at Hyder Consulting

OCTOBER 2014

MIDDLE EAST

consideration is given to growth projections and the impact of such a project on existing networks and future plans.

Safety, both in design and on-site, is another important aspect of our work as consultants. We have an obligation from an ethical and professional point of view to assist our clients and contractors in promoting and implementing safety at all stages.

As part of our added value to these projects, we carry out value engineering and optioneering to reduce the impact on the public and the existing networks in a creative manner, while minimising cost and providing sustainable solutions. Innovation and creativity is what we aim for in achieving our clients’ objectives.

69

TENDERS

bigprojectMe.com

tOP teNdeRS

descrIPtIoN Construction of 132-kilometre-

long dual carriageway between Bidbid and Sur.

PerIod 2017 stAtus Current Project

clIeNt Qatar Industrial Manufacturing Company (QIMCO)

PostAl/ZIP code 16875 PhoNe (+974) 4483 1199 FAx (+974) 4483 7878 emAIl qimco@qatar.net.qa WebsIte www.qimco.com descrIPtIoN Construction of a mixed-use tower planned for hospitality, commercial and residential use

Project Bahrain - Saudi araBia railWay line Project Budget $5,000,000,000 Project Mall of the World Project Budget $7,000,000,000 Project Number WPR419-u reGIoN dubai, uAe clIeNt dubai Holding group Address Suite 242, emarat Atrium PostAl/ZIP code 42020 PhoNe (+971-4) 301 1000 FAx (+971-4) 301 1070 emAIl mail@dubaiholdinggroup.com WebsIte www.dubaiholdinggroup.com descrIPtIoN Construction of a new Shopping Mall, including a theme park, 100 hotels and a

Project Number MPP2768-B reGIoN Bahrain clIeNt Bahrain government PostAl/ZIP code 26060 PhoNe (+973) 1774 1144 FAx (+973) 1774 0048 WebsIte www.capital.gov.bh descrIPtIoN Construction of a 90-kilometre-long railway line linking Bahrain and Saudi Arabia

stAtus New tender

Project Mixed-uSe toWer Project - WeSt Bay Budget $275,000,000

theatre district

PerIod 2018 stAtus New tender

Project Number WPR421-Q reGIoN doha, Qatar

PerIod 2018 stAtus New tender

Project Madinat al-fahaheel Project - PhaSe 2 Budget $210,000,000 Project Number WPR396-K reGIoN Safat, Kuwait clIeNt tamdeen Real estate Company (Kuwait)

Address Souk Al-Kuwait PostAl/ZIP code 21816 PhoNe (+965) 246 8881 FAx (+965) 246 8882 WebsIte www.tamdeenrealestate.com descrIPtIoN development of a large mixeduse waterfront scheme comprising a five-star hotel, a conference and event hall, shopping centres, international entertainment venues, etc

PerIod 2017 stAtus Current Project

Project BidBid - Sur dual carriageWay Project - Package 2 Budget $500,000,000 Project Number 95/2012-O/2 reGIoN Muscat, Oman clIeNt Ministry of transport & Communications PostAl/ZIP code 684 PhoNe (+968) 2468 5000 FAx (+968) 2468 5757 WebsIte www.motc.gov.om

INTEGRATED ESTIMATING, PROJECT CONTROL AND ERP SOLUTION FOR CONTRACTORS

70

MIDDLE EAST

www.ccsgulf.com | Tel: +971 4 346 6456 | info@ccsgulf.com

OCTOBER 2014

TENDERS

bigprojectMe.com

Middle eaSt teNdeRS sPoNsored by

ProVIded by

tel +9714 346 6456 Web www.ccsgulf.com email info@ccsgulf.com

tel +9712-6348495 Web www.Middleeasttenders.com email sales@Middleeasttenders.com

WebsIte www.skaiholdings.com

emAIl sales@emarat.ae

descrIPtIoN Construction of a

WebsIte www.emarat.ae

high-rise tower comprising 59 floors consisting of a 4-star hotel with

descrIPtIoN Construction of 100

234 rooms, 234 hotel apartments

two-storey villas, a clubhouse with a gymnasium and outdoor sports

and 30 penthouses, including retail facilities, a specialty restaurant

stAtus New tender

along with relevant hotel amenities and support areas

facilities

stAtus Current Project

bIodIesel reFINery Project

Al sAFA lIVING GAted commuNIty Project

budGet $800,000,000 Project Number MPP2937-u reGIoN dubai, uAe clIeNt Petrixo group (dubai)

uAe

budGet tBA

budGet tBA

WebsIte www.petrixo.com

moNtrose toWers Project

Project Number WPR415-u

Project Number ZPR1390-u

reGIoN dubai, uAe

reGIoN dubai, uAe

clIeNt SKAI Holdings Ltd. (dubai)

clIeNt emirates general Petroleum Corporation - eMARAt (dubai)

descrIPtIoN engineering, Procurement and Construction (ePC) contract to build a bio-fuels

Address Office 2604, tower 1, Boulevard Plaza, Opp. downtown Burj Khalifa

Address Shaikh Zayed Road, After defence Roundabout

PhoNe (+971-4) 423 2879

PhoNe (+971-4) 343 4444

naphtha and liquefied petroleum gas (LPg)

FAx (+971-4) 423 2897

FAx (+971-4) 343 3393

stAtus New tender

budGet $150,000,000 Project Number ZPR1389-u reGIoN dubai, uAe clIeNt deyaar development (dubai)

PostAl/ZIP code 9400

refinery with a final capacity to produce 1 million tonnes a year of fuel, including biodiesel, jet fuel,

PostAl/ZIP code 30833 PhoNe (+971-4) 395 7700 FAx (+971-4) 395 7711 WebsIte www.deyaar.ae descrIPtIoN Construction of three towers, each comprising 19 floors stAtus New tender

suItes IN the sKAI Project jumeIrAh VIllAGe cIrcle

INTEGRATED ESTIMATING, PROJECT CONTROL AND ERP SOLUTION FOR CONTRACTORS

72

MIDDLE EAST

www.ccsgulf.com | Tel: +971 4 346 6456 | info@ccsgulf.com

OCTOBER 2014

TENDERS

PostAl/ZIP code 10182 PhoNe (+966-11) 288 4484 FAx (+966-11) 201 1337 emAIl info@uacc-ksa.com WebsIte www.uacc-ksa.com descrIPtIoN Construction of a turnkey Power Plant with capacity of 47 MW stAtus Current Project

eGyPt GAs to PolyProPyleNe PlANt Project

budGet tBA

QAtAr

budGet $5,000,000,000

FAx (+966-1) 482 9331

Project Number ZPR1378-e

VeNdome shoPPING mAll Project - lusAIl eNtertAINmeNt cIty

Project Number ZPR1364-K

emAIl info@arriyadh.com

reGIoN Cairo, egypt

reGIoN Ahmadi, Kuwait

WebsIte www.ada.gov.sa

clIeNt Kuwait Oil Company (KOC)

clIeNt egyptian Petrochemicals Holding Company (eCHeM)

PostAl/ZIP code 9758

descrIPtIoN Operation and maintenance of a new 83-kilometre-

PhoNe (+965) 2398 9111

long bus rapid transit system in Riyadh

Address eCHeM Bldg., Complex 5 Street, New Cairo

FAx (+965) 2398 3661

stAtus Current Project

PostAl/ZIP code 2130

budGet $45,000,000

emAIl kocinfo@kockw.com

Project Number BPR621-Q

WebsIte www.kockw.com

PhoNe (+20-2) 2759 8300

reGIoN Lusail, Qatar clIeNt Qatari diar Real estate Investment Company (Qatar)

descrIPtIoN engineering, Procurement and Construction (ePC) contract to build heavy crude oil

Address Qatari diar Visitors Center PostAl/ZIP code 23175

recovery facilities with capacity of 80,000 barrels per day

budGet tBA

PhoNe (+974) 4497 4444

stAtus New tender

Project Number WPR386-SA

PoWer PlANt Project tAIF cIty

reGIoN Riyadh, Saudi Arabia

emAIl info@qataridiar.com

clIeNt umm Al-Qura Cement Company (Saudi Arabia)

descrIPtIoN Construction of a Shopping Mall as well as hotels and residential accommodation

sAudI ArAbIA

emAIl info@echem-eg.com WebsIte www.echem-eg.com descrIPtIoN engineering, Procurement and Construction

FAx (+974) 4497 4333 WebsIte www.qataridiar.com

FAx (+20-2) 2759 8303

(ePC) contract to build a gas to polypropylene (gtP) plant with capacity of 300,000 tonnes a year stAtus New tender

rIyAdh bus NetWorK Project

stAtus Current Project budGet tBA

KuWAIt

Project Number MPP2779-SA

WAFrA heAVy crude oIl recoVery FAcIlItIes Project PhAse 1

clIeNt Arriyadh development Authority (Saudi Arabia)

reGIoN Riyadh, Saudi Arabia

PostAl/ZIP code 94501 PhoNe (+966-1) 488 3331

INTEGRATED ESTIMATING, PROJECT CONTROL AND ERP SOLUTION FOR CONTRACTORS

OCTOBER 2014

MIDDLE EAST

www.ccsgulf.com | Tel: +971 4 346 6456 | info@ccsgulf.com

73

event review CITYSCAPE DUBAI 2014

bigprojectMe.Com

INDUSTRY EVENT

PosiTiVE sENTimENT Attendees at Cityscape Dubai 2014 said that the show was the biggest in years.

CITYSCAPE DUBAI 2014

While visiting CitysCape Dubai 2014, big projeCt Me founD that this year’s eDition, the biggest sinCe 2008, Was a return to the gooD tiMes for Dubai Held from 21 to 23 September, this year’s edition of Cityscape has been hailed as a return to form of the region’s property development market.

The event, held at dubai World Trade Centre, saw 27 projects worth $10.8 billion unveiled by some of the most prominent developers in the UAe, such as meraas, dubai Holding, Union Properties, damac and the meydan Group.

The first day of the exhibition saw 18 projects announced, with the remainder coming over the next two days. local observers said that the show was the largest Cityscape since its peak in 2008. With two additional halls, the total exhibition space was increased by 25%, bringing the total hall space to 31,000sqm.

Ismail Al Hammadi, a real estate consultant, said that the latest edition of Cityscape represented a “new turning point”, not only for the UAe, but other the middle east’s other real estate markets.

“I think everyone is eager to know the latest investment of dubai Holding, such as dubai’s mall of the World, which will be an integrated tourist icon,” he said. “I recall some comments from the German press, talking about this project. They said that with the launch of this project, dubai itself would come to be the ‘mall of the World’, and this applies to the entire emirate of dubai.” echoing these sentiments was malak Ali Hassan, the Ceo of 3 dimension Quantity Surveying Services.

“It’s so positive, I can tell you. I can tell you that in the last three days, a lot of people approached us to tell us about the plans that they have,” she says.

“They were mostly private clients, and not only from dubai, but from places like Umm Al Quwain, ras Al Khaimah and fujairah. I think that this is only because of the expo 2020. This event is not only for dubai, it’s for the whole of the UAe and it has made a huge change to the market.”

the big 5 2014 17 - 20 noveMber 2014 DUbaI WoRlD TRaDe CeNTRe time: 11am-7pm daily ticket price: free registration online (www.thebig5.ae/ reg_website) paid registration onsite (aeD100) organizer name: dmg world media (Dubai) ltd email: info@thebig5.ae The Big 5 is the largest construction exhibition in the middle East, serving as a networking platform for construction product suppliers and buyers since 1979.

2013 was a record breaking year, delivering: n 2,747 exhibitors from 58 countries n 74,385 participants from 124 countries n 148 free educational events With 8 dedicated product zones and two co-located events (middle East Concrete and PmV Live), The Big 5 provides a 360-degree platform to the building and construction industry. At The Big 5 2014 you can look

74

MIDDLE EAST

“This EVENT is NoT oNLy for DuBAi, iT’s for ThE WhoLE of ThE uAE AND iT hAs mADE A hugE ChANgE To ThE mArkET”

OCTOBER 2014

forward to even more educational events, including high-level conferences, certified workshops, live product demonstrations and much more.

finD out More about exhibiting anD visiting at WWW.thebig5.ae

event review The Big 5 ConsTruCT india

INDUSTRY EVENT The Big 5 ConsTruCT india

bigprojectMe.Com

GrowiNG EVENT The 2014 edition of Big 5 India saw significant growth from the 2013 edition.

Visitors praise presence of global exhibitors, including chinese firms

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MIDDLE EAST

The second ediTion of The Big 5 construct india 2014 for construction and infrastructure industry was held from september 11 to september 13 at the Bombay exhibition centre.

More than 200 global exhibitors took part in the event, which was organised by the Federation of indian chambers of commerce and industry (Ficci) and the Ministry of Urban development, in association with dmg events. covering an area of 1,393sqm, this year’s edition of The Big 5 construct india 2014 focused on the theme of sustainability. The exhibition floor featured projects, exhibitors from around the world, educational workshops and a series of seminars. Keynote speeches and debates were also part of the three-day event.

Jointly opened by Prakash deshmukh, president of the indian institute of Architects, and Professor Uday c Gadkari, president of the council of Architecture (coA), the event saw a tremendous response from trade visitors, with exhibitions of products and applications generating the most interest.

“The theme of The Big 5 construct india 2014 exhibition is ‘sustainability’ which is a very wise way of looking at the future of construction. For us to build these smart cities there has to be dependency and inter-

OCTOBER 2014

dependency, mutual co-operation from the people themselves,” said deshmukh. organisers confirmed that the exhibition saw a number of “concrete negotiations” held over the course of the show, with contracts also being signed.

“The exhibition has excellent product diversity, i would like to see more energy, sustainability-related products,” said John Ringness of the Kohinoor Group.

Among the highlights of the exhibition were the series of educational workshops and seminars that were conducted by speakers and industry leaders.

“The Big 5 construct india, 2014 has come up with a great initiative of educative and informative seminars and workshops related to the construction industry. it was good to see the people attending and taking interest in the qualitative seminars. The Big 5 construct india

has given an opportunity to the well-known people of the construction industry to share their experiences,” said Rumi P engineer, business head of Green Building consultancy services.

Visitors said they were impressed by the range of construction materials and equipment on display at the show. sukhdeo Prasad, a visitor to the event, said it was especially heartening to see Korean and chinese exhibitors present.

“We not only had wide-ranging participation from a large number of international leaders in the construction and infrastructure industry, but also attracted a broad spectrum of trade visitors and buyers from across the region.

With a positive industry outlook and continued support from the international and regional construction community and industry, The Big 5 construct india is firmly set on a continued growth path,” said Muhammad Kazi, senior project manager for The Big 5 construct india.

“For us To build ThEsE smarT ciTiEs ThErE has To bE dEpENdENcy aNd iNTErdEpENdENcy, muTual co-opEraTioN From ThE pEoplE ThEmsElVEs”

PRODUCT SHOWCASE

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front or the top of the cistern opening up a whole new

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FlOWCRETE mIDDlE EAST

Jotun, the leading paint manufacturer in the Middle East, supplies paints and coatings

Flowcrete Middle East manufacture a wide range of world-class resin floor solutions

that beautify and protect iconic buildings and beautiful homes around the region.

Its latest product innovations are Jotashield ColourLast, a premium quality exterior paint and Jotashield ColourXtreme, an ultra-premium quality exterior paint. The Jotashield paints were developed specifically for the region. The advanced performance exterior paints last for up to 12 years and come in a range of six collections featuring beautiful colours.

that range from decorative commercial coatings and protective car park decking, through to durable industrial toppings and hygienic solutions for F&B facilities. With its dedication to the pursuit of excellence in flooring for more than 30 years globally, Flowcrete Middle East is the leading manufacturer of high performance epoxy, polyurethane, methyl methacrylate, vinyl ester resin flooring and traffic decking coating systems suitable for the Middle East climate.

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78

MIDDLE EAST

to advertise contact the sales teaM +971 4 375 5473 or e-mail: sandra.spencer@cpimediagroup.com

OCTOBER 2014

PRODUCT SHOWCASE

KONE

GEBERIT

Compared to conventional steel

Geberit PE Sovent fittings

ropes, KONE UltraRopeTM significantly reduces moving

take care of pressure compensation in discharge

masses in high-rise lift

stacks. In doing so, they

applications. It enables travel heights of up to 1000 meters,

increase the capacity of the stacks and eliminate

reduces energy consumption, and improves ride comfort. The

the need to install a parallel ventilating pipe,

carbon fibre core and unique

which leads to substantial

low friction coating make it less prone to effects of building sway and highly resistant to wear and

cost savings in terms of both materials and

abrasion. It is available for the KONE Highrise MiniSpace 速 elevator.

Compared to conventional steel ropes, KONE UltraRopeTM significantly

labour. Geberit has now optimised the flow for

reduces moving masses in high-rise lift applications. It enables travel

the dia. 110 mm Sovent

heights of up to 1000 meters, reduces energy consumption, and improves ride comfort. The carbon fibre core and unique low friction coating make it less prone to effects of building sway and highly resistant to wear and abrasion. It is available for the KONE Highrise MiniSpace 速 elevator.

fitting and has increased the discharge rate by 38 percent as a result to 12 litres per second.

KONE MIDDLE EAST

GEBERIT INTERNATIONAL SALES AG

+971 4 279 4500 w w w.kone.ae

+971 4 447 0914 louise.pitt@geberit.com w w w.geberit.ae

Every month, Big Project ME will be producing a showcase of the leading construction related products and technologies, both in the magazine and as an e-blast to our database of more than 70,000 subscribers.

Targeted at the decision makers in the industry, the product showcase allows you to feature your products in a concise manner, alongside a high resolution image. Within 80 to a 100 words, you can reach out to project managers, consultants, architects, contractors and developers to provide viable solutions to their construction needs.

The product showcase e-blast will also act as a lead generating tool containing a data grab form.

OCTOBER 2014

MIDDLE EAST

To adverTise conTacT The sales Team +971 4 375 5473 or e-mail: sandra.spencer@cpimediagroup.com

79

industry insights

bigprojectMe.com

Outside the Box With a slate of project wins and office openings, seeD is striving to push the boundaries of meP engineering Think creaTively MEP engineers need to think outside the box, says Sanu Mathew.

80

MIDDLE EAST

What makes a great meP engineer? according to sanu mathew, design manager and director for seeD engineering Consultants, it is largely the ability to pick up on the details. “It’s easy to take a bird’s eye view of every project and to give generalised solutions,” he says. “But the ability to see minor co-ordination details in the ceiling voids and plant rooms of every project is what leaves a lasting impression on all construction team members. this is what separates the great engineers from the good ones.” another deciding factor, according to mathew, is understanding the client’s and design team member’s requirements. “the ability to adapt to each project is vital to working in various markets – our approach with India clients differs from our approach in the GCC. the cardinal mistake made by meP companies is not listening and understanding clearly the client’s requirements,” he continues. established in 2005, seeD engineers has 62 employees, with 24 people in Dubai, 28 in Cochin and 10 in Bangalore. It is planning to open three further offices – in mumbai, Dar es salaam (tanzania) and muscat – by the end of the year.

In addition, seeD has formed a partnership with Uk-based meP firm spectrum and also australia’s Norman Disney Young (NDY), for complex projects and when clients look for international associations. key current projects include two theme parks in Dubai – ImG World of adventure and hub Zero – as well as a recycling plant in the same emirate. It is also working on several refurbishment projects.

Upcoming launches include a British academy school in conjunction with education design

OCTOBER 2014

consultants FNI from the Usa. In addition, the firm has completed its work on etihad Rail, estidama certification and GasCO accommodation in the Western Region of abu Dhabi. seeD has also made its first foray into super tall, having signed for work on an 80-storey residential building in Dubai. Other recent contract wins include residential buildings in meydan and Dubai sports City, a school in masdar City and a 325,000sqm commercial, residential and hotel development in Dubai. mathew states that it is important for meP engineers to think creatively. he continues: “a misconception about meP engineers is that they think within a box, that they are

non-creative and inflexible, and that they over design with equipment that takes up a lot of the client’s valuable usable space.” he points to a seeD school project in Delhi which is “stretching the boundaries of hVaC design”. mathew continues: “Delhi is an area similar to Dubai. For this school, our hVaC design is around 111sqm per tonne, whereas hVaC design in a normal building in Dubai is around 23-28sqm per tonne. We are also using an earth tunnel for cooling the air in hot months and heating in winter.” mathew claims this building, when complete, could be the most efficient building in the whole of India, in terms of hVaC design. “We are designing it in a way to have a near net zero building,” he says. sustainability is an oft-used word in the Gulf region, yet mathew states that it is not widely practised. “the focus is still not there. everyone wants to follow the bare minimum requirement as stipulated by the authorities. the reason for this is the low energy price and the high capital cost of alternative energy sources.”

Yet, he is hopeful for the future and urges companies to embrace sustainability. “We believe in the coming years, a project would strive to achieve maximum efficiency and to invest in these technologies. We hope there will be more emphasis on sustainability as the world needs it. We as responsible citizens and companies should embrace it.”

“The abiliTy To see minor co-ordinaTion deTails in The ceiling voids and planT rooms of every projecT is whaT leaves a lasTing impression on all consTrucTion Team members” undersTanding requiremenTs A cardinal mistake by MEP companies is not listening to or understanding client’s requirements.

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