THE MIDDLE EAST’S 100 MOST INFLUENTIAL CONSTRUCTION LEADERS OF 2020 ITP MEDIA GROUP / BUSINESS JUNE 2020 • ISSUE 764THE MIDDLE EAST’S 100 MOST INFLUENTIAL CONSTRUCTION LEADERS OF 2020Wall Furniture : MAXIMUS BAHIA WAVE Floor : MIX WOODCONTENTS JUNE 2020 • ISSUE 764 We reveal this year’s top 100 in uential leaders of the Middle East’s construction industry PO WER 10 0 10 EDITOR’S LETTER As we unveil the Power 100 ranking, Ashley Williams switches the focus back to construction THE LEGAL TABLE Global construction experts Fenwick Elliott discuss the legal implications of COVID-19 DIGITAL FOCUS Resa Gulf Scaffolding talks to Disha Dadlani about its software programmes & remote working FEATURE Ashley Williams evaluates the modular construction industry and its performance in the GCC INTERVIEW Honeywell Building Technologies’ George Bou Mitri speaks to Anup Oommen about future smart cities SITE VISIT Samana Developers’ general manager outlines how location and sustainability is key to its latest development Samana Greens in Arjan Dubailand 61 62 64 66 76 70 STAT OF THE MONTH SAUDI ARABIA TRIPLES VAT The Kingdom increases value- added tax rate from 5% to 15% to offset COVID-19 challenges QUOTE OF THE MONTH “A BLESSING IN DISGUISE” Mashreq Bank’s Mohammad Al Shouli discusses the Expo delay and the impact of COVID-19 08 06 JUNE 2020 CONSTRUCTION WEEK 3 EXPO EXCLUSIVE Ranju Warrier gathers details on construction progress at Expo 2020 Dubai’s Australia Pavilion and its focus on health and safety measures 744 CONSTRUCTION WEEK JUNE 2020WWW.CONSTRUCTIONWEEKONLINE.COM PUBLISHED BY AND © 2020 ITP MEDIA GROUP FZ-LLC. PO Box 500024, Dubai, United Arab Emirates TEL +971 4 444 3000 WEB : www.itp.com Offices in Abu Dhabi, Dubai, London & Mumbai ITP MEDIA GROUP CEO Ali Akawi MANAGING DIRECTOR Sue Holt DEPUTY MANAGING DIRECTOR Anil Bhoyrul EDITORIAL CW EDITOR ashley.williams@itp.com CW DEPUTY EDITOR anup.oommen@itp.com CW REPORTER ranju.warrier@itp.com CW MULTIMEDIA REPORTER disha.dadlani@itp.com MEP EDITOR tom.oxtoby@itp.com PMV EDITOR dennis.daniel@itp.com FM EDITOR rajiv.pillai@itp.com ADVERTISING GROUP COMMERCIAL MANAGER Saraswati Agarwal TEL +971 4 444 3352, EMAIL saraswati.agarwal@itp.com SENIOR SALES MANAGER Moutaz Gadelhak TEL +971 4 444 3177, EMAIL moutaz.gadelhak@itp.com ITP LIVE GENERAL MANAGER Ahmad Bashour TEL +971 4 444 3549, EMAIL ahmad.bashour@itp.com STUDIO SENIOR PHOTOGRAPHERS Efraim Evidor, Adel Rashid STAFF PHOTOGRAPHERS Aasiya Jagadeesh, Ajith Narendra, Fritz John Asuro, Jessica Samson PRODUCTION & DISTRIBUTION GROUP PRODUCTION & DISTRIBUTION DIRECTOR Kyle Smith PRODUCTION MANAGER Basel Al Kassem PRODUCTION CO-ORDINATOR Mahendra Pawar SENIOR IMAGE EDITOR Emmalyn Robles CIRCULATION DISTRIBUTION & WAREHOUSE MANAGER Praveen Nair CIRCULATION EXECUTIVE Loreta Regencia MARKETING DIRECTOR OF AWARDS & MARKETING Daniel Fewtrell EVENTS MANAGER, BUSINESS EVENTS Teri Dunstan ITP GROUP CEO Ali Akawi CFO Toby Jay Spencer-Davies WEB www.ConstructionWeekOnline.com SUBSCRIBE online at www.itp.com/subscriptions NOTICE The publishers regret that they cannot accept liability for errors or omissions contained in this publication, however caused. 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MEDIA WWW.CONSTRUCTIONWEEKONLINE.COM The most important project, contract, and tender information, updated every week To have your copy of Construction Week delivered to your doorstep, subscribe by logging on to www.itp.com/subscriptionsA CELEBRATION OF EXCELLENCE IN FACILITIES MANAGEMENT In association with FOR NOMINATION ENQUIRIES, CONTACT: RAJIV PILLAI Editor Tel: +971 4 444 3588 Email: rajiv.pillai@itp.com FOR EVENT NQUIRIES, CONTACT: TERI DUNSTAN Events Manager Tel: +971 4 444 3227 Email: teri.dunstan@itp.com SILVER SPONSORS FACILITIES & CONTRACTING CATEGORY SPONSORS FOR TABLE SALES ENQUIRIES, CONTACT: ANTHONY CHANDRAN Table Sales Executive Tel: +971 4 444 3685 Email: anthony.chandran@itp.com Now in their 13th year, the Facilities Management Middle East Awards will once again bring the FM sector together to acknowledge the region’s top performers. FOR SPONSORSHIP ENQUIRIES, CONTACT: VINAY RAVINDRAN Group Sales Manager Tel: +971 4 444 3155 Mobile: +971 55 810 1197 Email: vinay.ravindran@itp.com WINNERS TO BE REVELAED ONLINE WEDNDESDAY 10TH JUNE www.FM-middleeast.com #FMMEAwardsQUOTE OF THE MONTH WWW.CONSTRUCTIONWEEKONLINE.COM6 CONSTRUCTION WEEK JUNE 2020 “THE EXPO 2020 DELAY COULD BE A BLESSING IN DISGUISE” E xpo 2020 Dubai witnessed a change in dates after a two- thirds majority of the Bureau International des Expositions’ (BIE) member states voted in favour of postponing the event by a year. Expo 2020 Dubai has now been rescheduled to be held from 1 October, 2021 to 31 March, 2022. The event has chosen to retain its name despite the year-long postponement to 2021. In an Expo Reaction episode, which is part of Construction Week’s exclusive YouTube series that covers several officials’ perspectives on the postponement, the executive vice president, and global head of contracting finance at Mashreq Bank, Mohammad Al Shouli said that the delay could very well be a “blessing in disguise,” adding that it will allow a lot of people to cross the “T”s and dot the “I”s from now till next year. Speaking about the implications of the delay on investor sentiment, Al Shouli said: “We will have to accept what is happening with COVID-19, and we will have to align ourselves to the new normal.” The delay of the Expo 2020 Dubai is on everyone’s minds and is inarguably an important talking point at this moment. Al Shouli said during the interview that the decision to postpone the much- anticipated event was a “responsible and conscious one”, for having placed priority on the global health of individuals. “We will need to reassess projects that we have on our plate - what we need to continue with; what we need to slow down; and what we need to scrap altogether,” Al Shouli elaborated on the way forward for developers. “Similarly, contractors and financiers must maintain, identify and focus on what is “necessary”, Al Shouli said. Proposing a solution to brave the impact of the crisis, Al Shouli said: “COVID-19 brought to the forefront the deficiencies faced by the sector. In the past decade, the construction industry has invested only 2% of its income into research and development. Construction in the region has already been stressed, prior to the COVID-19 outbreak. Contractors must reach out to their banks or financing partners to work together on plans and to receive support.” Mashreq Bank’s executive vice president speaks exclusively with Construction Week’s Anup Oommen on the World Expo delay and the impact of COVID-19 on construction Executive vice president and global head of contracting nance at Mashreq bank, Mohammad Al Shouli said that the Expo 2020 delay could very well be a “blessing in disguise”FOR SPONSORSHIP ENQUIRIES Anup Nagpurkar Group Sales Manager +971 4 444 3373 + 971 52 895 0931 anup.nagpurkar@itp.com FOR NOMINATION ENQUIRIES Tom Oxtoby Editor, +971 4 444 3419 tom.oxtoby@itp.com FOR EVENT ENQUIRIES Teri Dunstan Events Manager +971 4 444 3227 teri.dunstan@itp.com FOR TABLE BOOKING ENQUIRIES Anthony Chandran Table Sales Executive +971 4 444 3865 anthony.chandran@itp.com Visit www.mepmiddleeast.com/awards for more information or contact one of the team today SUBMIT YOUR NOMINATIONS TODAY Wednesday 30th September 2020 GOLD SPONSORSPLATINUM SPONSOR The MEP Middle East Awards are an opportunity to highlight the excellence in MEP design and installation underpinning those iconic projects contributing to the evolving construction landscape in the Middle East.Next >