GCC's Top Mega Projects Will Be?

The hunt is on to find the Gulf’s Project Of The Year. Currently some $2.7 Trillion worth of projects are planned or underway in the GCC, laying the foundations for the long-term, sustainable development of the region that will support the ambitions of the Gulf’s future generations. MEED(Middle East Economic Digest) aims to support these ambitions by recognizing and celebrating the best achievements of the region’s projects industry through its annual MEED Quality Awards for Projects, run in association with Mashreq.

Now in its fifth year, the MEED Quality Awards for Projects, in association with Mashreq, has established itself as the leading stamp of quality and achievement for companies operating in the GCC projects sector.

Previous winners of the coveted MEED Quality Project of the Year include the Burj Khalifa (UAE, 2011), Pearl GTL project (Qatar, 2012), Concourse A – Dubai International Airport (UAE, 2013), and Bahrain Petroleum Company’s (BAPCO) Install Refinery Wastewater Treatment Plant Project (Bahrain, 2014).

“The awards not only recognize the construction element of project delivery but also consider the value and quality of a project throughout its entire life cycle, from the design concept through to engineering and construction and its wider contribution to society and to the environment,” said Richard Thompson, Editorial Director, MEED.

Central to the success of the awards has been the authority provided by the core values of integrity, trust and transparency associated with MEED.

The judging process evaluates and recognizes the key organizations behind successful project completion across the GCC – including contractors, engineers, architects, consultants, developers and project owners. “We are delighted to partner with MEED for the third year to recognize the highest quality projects in the region,” said Julio Armando de Quesada, Group Head – Corporate Banking, Mashreq.

Last year, UAE-based projects won the most number of regional awards with four, including the Abu Dhabi National Oil Company’s (ADNOC) Integrated Gas Development Project, nominated by Abu Dhabi Gas Industries (GASCO), winning Industrial Project of the Year; and Dubai Electricity and Water Authority’s (DEWA) Mohammed Bin Rashid Al-Maktoum Solar Park Phase 1 Project, nominated by First Solar, taking home the Power Project of the Year trophy.

This trend of success for UAE projects is expected to continue as the amount of work in the Emirates increases. In the first 10 months of the year, 961 projects totaling $46.7bn, have been awarded in the UAE, making it the largest projects market in the Middle East, according to MEED Projects.

Notable projects completed this year and eligible for entry into the awards include: Takreer’s new $10bn 400,000 b/d refinery at Ruwais; Mubadala’s $1.5bn Cleveland Clinic in Abu Dhabi; the $550m Yas Mall by Aldar on Yas Island; and the $460m JW Marriott Marquis hotel in Dubai.

Saudi Arabia emerged triumphant with three regional awards, including the King Fahad National Library Project, nominated by Saudi Binladin Group & Gerber Architekten, which scooped the 2014 Social Project of the Year award; while the National Water Company’s Riyadh Water Supply Project won in the 2014 Water & Water Reuse Project of the Year category. MARS Inc.’s MARS Chocolate Factory Project, nominated by Hyder Consulting Middle East Ltd, won the 2014 Small Project of the Year award.

In 2014, the Kingdom is expected to award nearly $44bn worth of projects, owing in large part to the Riyadh Metro project. That project, valued at about $22.5bn, accounted for one quarter of the GCC’s total projects contract awards and about one half of Saudi Arabia’s total.

Qatar’s Baytna - Qatar's First Passivhaus Project, jointly owned by Qatar Green Building Council (QGBC), Barwa Real Estate Group (BRE) and Qatar General Electricity & Water Corporation (Kahramaa), and nominated by ETA Star Engineering & Contracting, received the 2014 Award for Innovation.

For Qatar’s project market, the outlook from now to 2020 is extremely strong. Although much of this has been attributed to its successful bid to stage the FIFA 2022 football World Cup, the reality is that the projects planned and underway are more about meeting the country’s National Vision 2030 than hosting the international sporting event. The combination of these two drivers leads to an active projects market estimated by regional projects tracker MEED Projects to be worth $285bn.

Significant investments have gone into Qatar’s transportation and shipping infrastructure, including the construction of the New Doha International Airport [now Hamad International], the New Doha Port and several Megacities such as Lusail and Msheireb. Additionally, the railway network project, estimated at $35bn, entails plans to extend shipping railways by 325 kilometers, and to connect Qatar’s rail networks to those of the other GCC countries.

While this year is set to be the most active for oil and gas contractors in Oman, 2015 will see several large schemes move ahead. With an estimated $2.4bn of engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) deals awarded in the year to date, 2014 has been the most active year for projects in Oman since 2006. The most important project in Oman is the $16bn Khazzan tight gas project being carried out by UK oil major BP. The government is planning to develop infrastructure across the Sultanate and also bolster Oman’s status as a luxury destination with several five-star hotel projects underway. The number of hotels rose from 224 to 282 in the five years to 2013, increasing the number of rooms by 37 percent. In 2013 the value added to the economy by the tourism sector increased by 45 percent to RO709m ($1.8bn) and the government is aiming to increase this further and welcome 4 million tourists by 2015.

In Bahrain, the government is embarking on a major capital spending program that includes transport projects, investment in utilities, the construction of low-cost housing, and a series of energy schemes intended to generate income for the country. GDP growth is forecast to be a healthy 3.5-4 percent this year, led by expansion in the non-oil sector.

The Avenues Project owned by the Mabanee Company, was awarded the 2013 GCC Leisure and Tourism Project of the Year. This year, the country is expected to compete strongly as the projects market has $3.7bn-worth of new orders placed so far in 2014, mostly in the transport and social infrastructure sectors. It has been a steady 2014 for contractors as work continues on existing projects and new work is awarded on major schemes. For existing work, there are currently $19bn of contracts in the execution phase, with just over $3bn set for completion this year.

The awards program will recognize projects completed between January 2013 and December 2014 across several categories, including Oil and Gas Project of the Year, Industrial Project of the Year, Power and Water Project of the Year, Leisure and Tourism Project of the Year, Transport Project of the Year, Social Infrastructure Project of the Year, Building Project of the Year, Sustainable Project of the Year, Award for Innovation and Small Project of the Year.

The deadline for submission of projects has been set for December 17, 2014. Winners will be announced at the MEED Construction Leadership Summit taking place in May 26-27, 2015. The Summit is a high-end meeting place for the Gulf’s construction leaders and provides a much needed platform to promote open dialog between the leading contractors, consultants and clients that examines the strategic direction of the region’s construction industry, the challenges threatening it’s performance and those leading it’s change.