< PreviousSTAT OF THE MONTH SAUDI ARABIA IMPLEMENTS THREEFOLD INCREASE IN VAT RATE FROM 5% TO 15% The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia has announced that it will implement an increase in the value-added tax rate (VAT) from 5% to 15% as part of its slew of measures that aims to offset the challenges associated with the COVID-19 outbreak, KSA’s Finance Minister, HE Mohammed bin Abdullah Al-Jadaan announced. The announcement was made in view of the three ‘shocks’ produced by the ongoing crisis, which include an unprecedented decline in the demand for oil; shutdown or decline of local economic activities as a result of preventive measures; and unplanned expenses and impact on public finances, HE Al-Jadaan said in an official statement released by state-run Saudi Press Agency. The government of Saudi Arabia has taken several steps to mitigate the economic impact of the global pandemic. These steps are valued at $26.6bn (SAR 100bn), and include the cancellation, extension or postponement of some items of operating and capital expenditures for a number of government agencies and the reduction of the credits of a number of initiatives. While the VAT rate increase will be put in effect from July 2020, the kingdom’s plan to suspend the cost of living allowance, has been implemented from June 2020. Commenting on the decision, HE Al-Jadaan said in a statement: “We are facing a crisis that the world has not witnessed in modern history. One of its most important features is uncertainty and difficulty in knowing and anticipating its INCREASE IN VAT RATE FROM 5% TO 15% The implementation will be introduced from 1 July, 2020 as part of the kingdom’s slew of measures to offset the challenges associated with the COVID-19 outbreak extent in light of daily developments that require governments to deal with them with vigilance, and the ability to respond quickly in the interest of the public, while protecting citizens and residents’ needs and services. “The aforementioned challenges or ‘shocks’ combined led to a decline in government revenues, non-oil revenues, and overall economic growth,” he added. The kingdom first imposed VAT on 1 January 2018 at a standard rate of 5%. Following the kingdom’s announcement, the UAE’s Ministry of Finance denied any immediate plans to increase the VAT rate within the region beyond its current 5% rate, reaffirming its commitment to achieving the country’s goals and development. The region introduced VAT on 1 January 2018. 8 CONSTRUCTION WEEK JUNE 2020WWW.CONSTRUCTIONWEEKONLINE.COM Saudi Arabia has announced that it will triple the VAT rate in the kingdom from 5% to 15% Image: Saudi Press AgencyFOR MORE INFORMATION PLEASE VISIT WWW.COMMERCIALINTERIORDESIGN.COM/cid-AWARDS OR CONTACT ONE OF OUR TEAM TODAy For sponsorship enquiries: Laura Collinder Sales Manager Tel: +971 4 444 3576 Mobile: 971 55 401 1628 Email: laura.collinder@itp.com For NOMINATION enquiries: JANE O'NEILL EDITOR Tel: +971 4 444 3626 Email: jane.oneill@itp.com For event enquiries: teri dunstan Events manager Tel: +971 4 444 3277 Email: teri.dunstan@itp.com For Table sales enquiries: anthony chandran table sales executive Tel: +971 4 444 3685 Email: anthony.chandran@itp.com silver SPONSOR category SPONSORs Social media SPONSOR WEDNESDAY 9TH SEPTEMBER 2020 submit your nominations today! DEADLINE: WEDNESDAY 24TH JUNE PRESENTED BY GOLD SPONSORS #CIDAWARDS FIT-OUT PARTNER10 CONSTRUCTION WEEK JUNE 2020 POWER 100 WWW.CONSTRUCTIONWEEKONLINE.COM ALEC’s Kez Taylor drops down into second place for the rst time in three years. Despite dropping down into second place, ALEC still had an incredibly successful year and has many exciting initiatives and developments coming up that are currently being kept under wraps. In term of projects, the business has a current pipeline in excess of $2.7bn (AED 10bn) comprising the expansion of Al Maktoum International Airport (Dubai Airports Engineering Projects) and works on Expo 2020 Dubai’s Mobility Pavilion, Conference & Exhibition Centre (Dubai World Trade Centre), and Saudi Arabia Pavilion, amongst others. The rm also opened its Saudi Arabia of ce and has plans to expand outside of the GCC for the rst time. The UAE contractor is also focusing on the real estate sector as it set up a new division focusing on local housing to break in a new important sector for UAE and the Emirati population. ALEC also successfully set up its new Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) system, which they described as a “stepping stone” for its digital transformation. As many rms have felt the pinch of COVID-19, ALEC said that it expects its revenues to hit $1.08bn (AED 4bn) for 2020. KEZ TAYLOR CEO OF ALEC 2 China State Construction Engineering Corporation Middle East (CSCEC)’s Yu Tao is crowned this year’s most in uential member of the construction industry. CSCEC ME has had an incredibly successful year and is working on some of the most recognised projects in the region. Over the past 12 months, CSCEC ME has delivered several projects with assured quality like the Parallel Roads Project and the 323 National Housing project. CSCEC ME has been awarded projects covering all sectors in the UAE’s construction industry. Notably, the Oil & Gas and Etihad Railway Projects are processing smoothly to date and have received high levels of appreciation and recognition from clients and relevant government authorities. They have also delivered projects such as the Central Bank of Kuwait’s New Headquarters Building, which appears on the national currency. For its work on this project in 2020, CSCEC ME was awarded the 7th Tien-Yow Jeme Civil Engineering Prize in China, the only overseas project to win this award. CSCEC ME also won international awards last year, including the 10th Cycle of the Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum Business Award, and British International Safety Awards. The rm’s revenue expectations are expected to hit $1.2bn (AED 4.4bn) for 2020 despite the economic uncertainty that COVID-19 has brought to the market. YU TAO CEO OF CHINA STATE ME 1POWER 100 JUNE 2020 CONSTRUCTION WEEK 11 WWW.CONSTRUCTIONWEEKONLINE.COM 50 Making his debut in Construction Week’s Power 100 list, John Pagano has been instrumental in the growth of the Saudi Arabia gigaproject as it begins to take shape. Some of the highlights from the firm over the past 12 months has been the progress of its 1.5km2 Coastal Village, with HUTA Hegerfield and Saudconsulting Services (Saudconsult) being awarded a contract to implement ground-work improvements. The Red Sea Project said this part of the 28,000km2 development is expected to be completed in five months. Other notable developments within the gigaproject includes completing construction works on its 100ha landscape nursery, which is now operational, while its Sakan Programme, which was signed in November 2019, offers employment opportunities for Saudi nationals. The developer also awarded contracts to Dubox and Saudi Amana to design and build a management hotel, as well as Foster + Partners being assigned to design the Red Sea Project’s airport. When speaking to Construction Week in February 2020, The Red Sea Development Company said that it predicts that it will triple its contract awards from $600m in 2019 to $1.8bn for 2020. JOHN PAGANO CEO OF THE RED SEA DEVELOPMENT COMPANY 3 ENG. OSAMA BIN HASSAN AL AFALEQ CHAIRMAN OF SAUDI CONTRACTORS AUTHORITY (SCA) 4 Also making his debut in Construction Week’s Power 100 list, Eng. Osama Bin Hassan Al Afaleq was appointed as chairman of the Saudi Contractors Authority (SCA) by the kingdom’s government to organise and develop the contracting sector around four years ago. Based on his performance over the past 12 months, Eng. Al Afaleq was re-elected almost one year ago by the industry to continue his role as chairman. Co-inciding with his family’s private business as the vice chairman of AlKifah Holding, the SCA chairman has been responsible in funding the organisation and regulating the construction industry to prepare the sector for achieving the goals under Vision 2030. They successfully organised the Future Projects Forum (FPF) where 23 entities have participated, and they presented 600 projects with a value of more than $120bn (SAR450bn). He was also responsible for building the SCA’s workforce from just 334 in 2017 to 6,016 in 2019. Even with the expected slowdown due to COVID-19 and the oil price decline, SCA said it strongly believed they would maintain its market share in the construction and support industries.12 CONSTRUCTION WEEK JUNE 202O POWER 100 WWW.CONSTRUCTIONWEEKONLINE.COM 6,000 The number of employees trained by ASGC as part of its labour academy initiative EMAD AZMY PRESIDENT OF ASGC Placed into fifth place for the Power 100 list is ASGC’s president Emad Azmy, who has been responsible for implementing a huge amount of projects across the GCC and Africa. Azmy has been at the helm of the construction company for the past 32 years and is among the most reputable figures in the industry. Among its successes for the business over the past 12 months include its diversification of the construction sector where they now operate and focus on oil & gas, power projects and infrastructure. In the UAE, the contractor has won a number of large- scale new projects such as the Marsa Al Arab and the palace hotels in Dubai, as well as being responsible for the works on the Dubai Mall Boulevard expansion. The firm has also expanded its operations into Egypt with a large scheme for infrastructure and utilities projects directed by the government of the North African country. ASGC also has seven subsidiaries under its umbrella, who have all significantly contributed towards complex projects for Expo 2020 Dubai. These include structures such as Sustainability, Opportunity, Pakistan, Egypt, Palestine, Morocco, Ukraine, and Azerbaijan Pavilions. The firm’s initiatives has also been a big contributor towards its success over the past 12 months. One of its initiatives includes, the labour academy, which has boosted the level of workers performance and quality of works performed by providing the opportunity for promotion and upgrades. ASGC said that the total number of people trained were 6,000, while the total number of training hours were 250,000. In terms of promotions, 700 members of their workforce were promoted, while the total number of workers, who after training, increased grade was 600. ASGC also scooped several awards in 2019, including picking up the Commercial Project of the Year honour at the Construction Week Awards for its involvement in building the 17,000 capacity Coca-Cola Arena in Dubai. Stand-out achievements from the business on the structure included the mega lifting of 2 pieces of 822 tonne steel trusses in one go. This was an activity that had never done been completed before in the region. Despite the economic challenges of COVID-19, ASGC confirmed that they expect to hit around $1bn across the group for its revenues. 5POWER 100 JUNE 2020 CONSTRUCTION WEEK 13WWW.CONSTRUCTIONWEEKONLINE.COM Jumping up three places from last year’s CW Power 100 list, Egyptian contractor heavyweight Orascom Construction has witnessed signi cant growth that makes them worthy of a higher place. As chief executive of cer, Bishai has played a major role in developing the Orascom construction business – particularly in the cement, infrastructure, and industrial sectors. Over the past 12 months, Orascom Construction has added new contract awards worth $770m in its Q4 2019 backlog, as new awards totalled $3.5bn in 2019. The contract awards grew by 50% year-on-year in 2019, which the contractor said highlighted its experience in adding “wide-ranging, well-funded projects” as it continued to maintain its selective criteria. According to the contractor, 70% of the new contract awards in Q4 2019 were awarded for projects in Egypt. These contracts were awarded in various sectors such as infrastructure, healthcare, logistics, and roads. The contractor is also involved alongside Belgian contracting group Besix for works of the 16.7ha Grand Egyptian Museum, with the last construction update stating that the project has reached 94.5% completion in December 2019. OSAMA BISHAI CEO OF ORASCOM CONSTRUCTION 7 One of the most well-known faces of the UAE, Mohammed Alabbar, who owns real estate giant, Emaar Properties, comes into sixth place for the Power 100 list. Over the past 12 months, the real estate developer continued its steady growth after recording a 1% rise in 2019 with net pro ts reaching $1.69bn (AED6.2bn) compared to $1.67bn (AED6.1bn) in 2018. The developer posted property sales of $4.1bn (AED15bn) in 2019 and the positive trend in sales was a result of Emaar’s ongoing investment in customer-centric innovation across its business and continued interest from foreign investors in both residential and commercial developments. Speaking in February 2020, Alabbar said, “optimising resources, improving ef ciency, and maximising productivity” helped boost the rm’s performance. The developer also recorded $6.7bn (AED24.6bn) revenues in 2019 and registered 8,600 off-plan property sales overall in 2019, an increase of 260% compared to 2018. While most developers focused on deliveries and selling existing inventory in 2019, Emaar Properties continued to launch projects, with the most prominent ones being a $6.8bn (AED 25bn) project called The Valley on the Dubai-Al Ain Road and Phase 3 of Arabian Ranches. MOHAMMED ALABBAR FOUNDER AND CHAIRMAN OF EMAAR PROPERTIES 614 CONSTRUCTION WEEK JUNE 2020 POWER 100 WWW.CONSTRUCTIONWEEKONLINE.COM Katerra’s Ash Bhardwaj remains in the top 10 for this year’s Power 100 list for its efforts to enhance Saudi Arabia’s real estate sector. Currently, the rm are commissioned to build more than 14,000+ homes across eight districts in Saudi Arabia with the Ministry of Housing. In the last year, Katerra has set up four functional onsite factories that are delivering 350-400 homes a month and has aspirations to ramp up its production. The company also set up its rst of ces in Saudi Arabia last year and has grown its workforce to more than 2000+ people working across 30 sites and delivering a home a day on each site. As well as its activities in the real estate and industrial sector, the rm also con rmed to Construction Week that it is bidding for the kingdom’s gigaprojects and projects in the retail, commercial and healthcare sector. The rm is also progressing in the Indian market after sealing deals to build Lulu Group’s two-million-sq-ft mall in Lucknow and is also developing of ces for technology giants Infosys and Microsoft. The rm has 700 projects across its portfolio and a global turnover of around $2.5bn. ASH BHARDWAJ PRESIDENT FOR ASIA AND THE MIDDLE EAST, KATERRA 8 Celebrating a decade in his role at Khansaheb, Steve Flint has been instrumental in driving the businesses growth making him worthy of a top 10 position. Among the rm’s successes over the past 12 month comprise winning $381.1m (AED 1.4bn) of new contracts such as the University of Birmingham, Aquaventure Water Park on Palm Jumeirah, Wa Hotel, Ajman City Centre and various works for Expo 2020 Dubai. Other achievements include setting excellent health and safety standards and has only reported one accident in the past 12 months.The rm also highlighted its initiatives including its ‘K’ standards which focuses on mandatory health and safety standards and provides fail safe equipment, while its ‘Sustain-Ability’ agenda has enabled the business to have year-on-year reductions in consumption and waste in key areas. Flint said that its current workload along with the support of its customers, supply chain, and its people will stand them in good stead to keep the business on track for 2020 and ensure that they are prepared for 2021. The rm expects its revenues to hit $381.1m (AED 1.4bn) for 2020, but Flint admitted that this could be impacted by COVID-19. STEPHEN FLINT GROUP GENERAL MANAGER OF KHANSAHEB 9POWER 100 JUNE 2020 CONSTRUCTION WEEK 15WWW.CONSTRUCTIONWEEKONLINE.COM SAMER KHOURY PRESIDENT OF CONSOLIDATED CONTRACTORS COMPANY POWER 100 WWW.CONSTRUCTIONWEEKONLINE.COM Jumping up one place in the ranking from last year, Greek-based Consolidated Contractors Company’s president Samer Khoury continues to impress within the region. The company employs more than 110,000 people and claims to be the biggest in the building sector with its core markets being located in the UAE, Saudi Arabia and Oman. Some of the rm’s notable achievements include the joint venture with Egyptian-based Hassan Allam Construction by securing a contract from Emaar Misr to construct the Address Hotel and Village A Resorts Complex in the Marassi North Coast compound in Egypt. The rm was also responsible for the completion of the Saraya Aqaba mixed-use development in Jordan, which involved civil/site development works, completion of buildings, utility and support works for four hotels, water park, beach club, an old city located in the centre of the project. The rm has also won many awards for its projects across the region this year and continues to tap into marketing its technology credentials. 10 Featuring at number 11 in Construction Week’s 2020 Power 100 list is Patrick McKinney, who has been at the business for the past nine years – building a reputation as a leader in the regional construction industry. McKinney has spent the past 22 years of his career in the Middle East and has played a huge part in the realisation of renowned and highly awarded projects such as the Emirates Palace in Abu Dhabi Hazza Bin Zayed Stadium in AI Ain, and Park Place Tower in Dubai. Over the past 12 months, the Dutch construction group has continued to build its strong presence in the Middle East and was recently selected by UAE- based master developer Abu Dhabi Ports to design and construct a $27.2m (AED100m) cruise jetty at the Sir Bani Yas Cruise Beach. The rm was also named the main contractor by Miral to develop the 18,000-seater Etihad Arena in Abu Dhabi and completed Phases 1 and 2 of the Saqr Port expansion project in the UAE emirate of Ras Al Khaimah. The contractor was also shortlisted at the Construction Week Awards 2019 in Dubai for several accolades including the CSR Initiative of the Year for its Reuse Campaign. 11 PATRICK MCKINNEY DIRECTOR OF MIDDLE EAST, BAM INTERNATIONAL16 CONSTRUCTION WEEK JUNE 2020 POWER 100 WWW.CONSTRUCTIONWEEKONLINE.COM Bombay-listed contractor Larsen & Toubro’s (L&T) SN Subrahmanyan has been commended for its efforts this year in securing a huge number of construction contracts across the GCC and North Africa. Among the projects that L&T is working on is a joint venture with Power China International for Package A of Stage 2 of the UAE’s national railway network, Etihad Rail. The rms will construct freight facilities for the railway network which will be carried out at a total cost of $509.1m (AED1.87bn). L&T was also among the number of contractors to be working with Saudi Aramco as part of its 34 contracts valued at $18bn (SAR67.5bn) awarded for the oil giant’s Marjan and Berri oil eld increment programmes. Outside of the UAE and Saudi Arabia, L&T also won the main contract to build the Mandarin Oriental Muscat, while Kuwait National Petroleum Corporation (KNPC), the national oil re ning company of Kuwait, awarded a contract to L&T to replace a number of substations at Kuwait’s Al-Ahmadi oil re nery. SN SUBRAHMANYAN CEO AND MD OF LARSEN & TOUBRO (L&T) 13 Entering the Power 100 ranking for the rst time, Qiddiya’s CEO Mike Reininger has been recognised for its considerable 334km2 development, which will be located 40km outside of Riyadh. Backed by Saudi Arabia’s HRH Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman-led Public Investment Fund (PIF), Qiddiya is one of the gigaprojects that was unveiled in 2018 as part of Saudi Arabia’s Vision 2030. Touted as Saudi Arabia’s ‘capital of entertainment, sports, and the arts’, Qiddiya has ramped up its plan for the development over the past 12 months including the unveiling of the Six Flags Theme Park. Local Saudi Arabian contractors have begun work on the theme park development, which will cover 32ha and include 28 rides and attractions across six themed lands. Qiddiya also recently appointed Riyadh-based Abdul Ali Al Ajmi Company on a 12-month contract basis for the site preparation of its Resorts Core and City Centre facility, which Reininger said would be the “ rst of many announcements in 2020”. Despite the impact that COVID-19 has had on the market, Qiddiya has continued construction across its site but implemented additional measures to ensure that it is on track to achieve Phase 1 delivery by 2023. XXXXXXXX CEO OF CHINA STATE ME 12 MIKE REININGER CEO OF QIDDIYAPOWER 100 JUNE 2020 CONSTRUCTION WEEK 17WWW.CONSTRUCTIONWEEKONLINE.COM GREG KANE MANAGING DIRECTOR, WSP MIDDLE EAST POWER 100 WWW.CONSTRUCTIONWEEKONLINE.COM WSP’s Greg Kane still commands itself as one of the strongest consultancies in the region and has focused on building a number of innovative initiatives and campaigns over the past year. One of the initiatives that has really caught the eye this year is its campaign around the future of placemaking and society. The future of placemaking and society campaign covers six topics – urban spaces, loneliness, multi- use spaces and the well-being of those spaces, how population change impacts that and relevant fundamental smart solutions. The consultancy has also ignited the importance of gender diversity within the business and across the construction industry by creating an “industry- leading” maternity policy for the region. WSP also launched industry-wide collaboration on health and safety processes through the launch of their #OneTeamWorkingSafely campaign. The week-long initiative aimed to engage the rm’s people and project stakeholders to achieve health and safety excellence. 14 It’s been a good year for Aldar Properties CEO Talal Al Dhiyebi whose long list of projects has left the business in a nancially healthy position going into 2020. In terms of projects, Aldar Properties completed the rst three towers of The Bridges project on Reem Island and is progressing with construction of the 374- unit Re ection development, which is 25% complete; and Yas Islands Water’s Edge and Alghadeer projects have crossed the 50% milestone. Aldar Properties also unveiled its $2.2bn (AED8bn) Saadiyat Grove, a 24.2ha mixed-use community located in Abu Dhabi’s Cultural District on Saadiyat Island, with the project being launched by HH Sheikh Khalid bin Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Member of the Abu Dhabi Executive Council and Chairman of the Abu Dhabi Executive Of ce. These projects left the business recording a 7% spike in 2019 net pro t to $539m (AED1.98bn), as the developer posted 53% jump in developments sales to $1.1bn (AED4bn) in the same period. The cash dividend represented a 4% growth, compared to 2018’s dividend, marking the eighth consecutive year of growth in Aldar’s dividends. 15 TALAL AL DHIYEBI CEO, ALDAR PROPERTIESNext >