ITP MEDIA GROUP / BUSINESS OCTOBER 2020 • ISSUE 768 PUTTING THE SPOTLIGHT ON THE REGION’S CONSTRUCTION LEADERS UAE 2020 LEADERSW A R R A N T Y U P T O W A R R A N T Y U P T OCONTENTS OCTOBER 2020 • ISSUE 768 CW’s Disha Dadlani analyses our rst ever virtual Leaders UAE summit held on 15-16 September 2020 CO V ER S TOR Y 24 INTERVIEW Ranju Warrier speaks to Rider Levett Bucknall on launching its asset optimisation services EXPO EXCLUSIVE Ranju Warrier talks with Expo 2020’s UK Pavilion about its story of innovation for a shared future WORKER WELLNESS Expo 2020 Dubai’s Tou k Refki tells Anup Oommen about using tech to prevent health problems EDITOR’S LETTER Ashley Williams rounds up the top talking points from CW’s virtual events in September 2020 IN CONVERSATION Disha Dadlani chats to Bee’ah’s group CEO about its new HQ, the ght against COVID-19, and more PROJECT UPDATE The Construction Week team reveals all its site visits from the past 12 months giving you exclusive details about each development 10 14 18 20 22 30 STAT OF THE MONTH $2.2 BILLION RECONSTRUCTION The estimated cost for Phase 1 of re-building efforts following the Beirut explosion in August QUOTE OF THE MONTH “A LONG RECOVERY PROCESS” S&P Global Ratings’ Sapna Jagtiani on continuing price declines in Dubai real estate 08 06 OCTOBER 2020 CONSTRUCTION WEEK 3 EVENTS After the impact of COVID-19 forcing our events to be postponed, our remaining events for 2020 will be held virtually apart from the CW Awards 344 CONSTRUCTION WEEK OCTOBER 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 EDITORIAL CW EDITOR ashley.williams@itp.com CW DEPUTY EDITOR anup.oommen@itp.com CW DIGITAL EDITOR 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 MARKETING DIRECTOR OF AWARDS & MARKETING Daniel Fewtrell 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/subscriptionsMARBLE GRANITE QUARTZITE ONYX TRAVERTINE QUARTZ PRECIOUS STONE Surface Solutions, Designed By Nature www.glaze.ae/QUOTE OF THE MONTH WWW.CONSTRUCTIONWEEKONLINE.COM6 CONSTRUCTION WEEK OCTOBER 2020 “UNCERTAIN WHETHER EXPO 2020 WILL LEAD TO A MEANINGFUL RECOVERY” Credit rating agency S&P Global Ratings, a division of S&P Global that publishes financial research and analyses bonds and commodities, has confirmed that it has a fairly grim view of the Dubai residential real estate prices over the next two years. The firm expects the drop in Dubai’s residential real estate prices to be steeper in H2 2020, despite lower movement restrictions in the emirate. In an exclusive conversation with Construction Week’s deputy editor Anup Oommen, the director of S&P Global Ratings, Sapna Jagtiani, says: “We believe the price declines will linger well into 2021. The negative employment trends and lower purchasing power due to COVID-19 will weigh on demand. “We expect developers to intensify their offers and incentives on new property sales, whether they are rent-to- own schemes, or cash rebates, or waivers on service fees and maintenance fees.” S&P Global Ratings has approached supply from two angles - firstly, from the pre-sold, under-construction angle; and secondly, from the perspective of new launches. “We have seen some delays in the under-construction activities. We noticed that some construction activities in Dubai were paused due to movement restrictions, while many others slowed down. Overall, since a lot of these properties are pre-sold, these are just temporary delays. These units will eventually be delivered and add to the supply glut,” Jagtiani explains. “The good news is on the new launches, which have slowed down significantly. This was noticed during the lockdown phase, and even after. Due to global travel restrictions, sales to international buyers has not been easy at all.” As a result, developers are now focused on selling existing inventory to ensure that there’s a buyer behind every unit that they are constructing. “On a whole, with more than 100,000 additional units to be delivered over the next 1-2 years, any meaningful halt in the supply will probably be post-2022.” “We believe that the recovery process will be long, very slow, and at the moment it’s quite uncertain whether the World Expo in 2021 will shore up market sentiment or lead to a meaningful recovery,” Jagtiani concludes. The director of S&P Global Ratings, Sapna Jagtiani, shares her insights on the impact of COVID-19 on the Dubai residential real estate market, price declines, the supply pipeline, and more “With more than 100,000 additional units to be delivered over the next 1-2 years, any meaningful halt in the supply will probably be post-2022” [Photo courtesy: Pixabay]The most advanced surface solution for Flooring, External/Internal Wall Cladding & Kitchens MADE SPAIN TEL: +971 6 5353 123 INFO@GLAZE.AEP.O. BOX: 24552, SHARJAH, UAE. TOLL FREE 800 GLAZE (45293) www.neolith.com/en/ DESIGN • DURABILITY • VERSATILITY • SUSTAINABILITY INSTAT OF THE MONTH $2.2 BILLION: THE ESTIMATED COST FOR PHASE 1 OF LEBANON’S RECONSTRUCTION Lebanon will need $2.2bn for Phase 1 of its reconstruction efforts as it looks to rebuild following the devastating explosion that ripped through the capital city of Beirut on August 4, according to the regional director of the World Bank, Saroj Kumar Jha. The initial losses caused by the Beirut explosion amount to approximately $8.1bn. The explosion at the Beirut port was caused by unsafe storage of 2,750 tonnes of ammonium nitrate in Hangar 12 of the port. More than 182 people died, more than 6,000 people were wounded, and more than 300,000 people were displaced from their homes due to the blast. The explosion also caused significant property damage at the port, its surroundings, and across Beirut. On September 10, Lebanon’s Civil Defense force, firefighters, and army helicopters were deployed to put out another huge fire at the Beirut port. The fire was sparked by welding work during repair and reconstruction efforts aimed at overcoming the damage caused by the port explosion. A cloud of black, acrid smoke was seen in the port area, disconcerting people in Beirut who are still grappling with an economic crisis, and coming to terms with the port explosion. Lebanon’s Prime Minister-designate, Mustapha Adib, said that the fire at Beirut port was unjustifiable. PHASE 1 OF LEBANON’S RECONSTRUCTION More than 182 people died, 6,000 people were wounded, and 300,000 people were displaced due to the explosion that ripped through the capital city of Beirut “Accountability is an essential condition not to repeat such painful incidents,” Adib posted on his official Twitter account. On September 15, another fire broke out at a commercial building designed by UK- Iraqi architect, Zaha Hadid. Portions of the external façade of the oval-shaped building – located in the souk area of Beirut – fell to the ground as the fire engulfed the upper and middle sections of the structure. Commenting on the handling of the incident, the head of Lebanon’s Civil Defense Service and Operations Division, George Abou Moussa, said that Civil Defense vehicles and the fire brigade immediately rushed to the scene, and brought the fire under control. 8 CONSTRUCTION WEEK OCTOBER 2020WWW.CONSTRUCTIONWEEKONLINE.COM The initial losses caused by the Beirut explosion amount to approximately $8.1bn [Photo courtesy: Jo Kassi / Pexels]For sponsorship enquiries: Saraswati Agarwal Group Commercial Manager T: +971 4 444 3352 E: saraswati.agarwal@itp.com Wednesday 9th December Dubai, UAE SUBMIT YOUR NOMINATIONS TODAY! The Construction Week Awards are back for the 16th year, honouring the leading projects, companies and individuals in the Middle East construction sector. Submit your nominations today at ConstructionWeekOnline.com/Awards #CWAWARDS For sponsorship enquiries: Moutaz Gadelhak Senior Sales Manager T: +971 4 444 3177 E: moutaz.gadelhak@itp.com For event enquiries: Daniel Fewtrell Director of Awards T: +971 4 444 3684 E: daniel.fewtrell@itp.com GOLD SPONSORSILVER SPONSORSCATEGORY SPONSORNext >