ITP MEDIA GROUP / BUSINESS NOVEMBER 2020 • ISSUE 769 “IT’S ALL ABOUT BEING PART OF A GREAT ORGANISATION” CONTENTS NOVEMBER 2020 • ISSUE 769 Cundall’s MD and partner, Richard Stratton, gives a business update for the consultancy fi rm and shares their rail engineering plans CO V ER S TOR Y 24 THE LEGAL TABLE Fenwick Elliott returns for the third episode of our webinar series to discuss life after COVID-19 INTERVIEW ICD Brookfi eld and Facilio talk about leveraging data-driven intel in real estate operations TECHNOLOGY Netix Global BV discusses how developers are moving towards AI and IoT solutions to optimise O&M EDITOR’S LETTER Ashley Williams refl ects on the fall of the construction giant Arabtec, with the industry facing tremors IN CONVERSATION Carter Associates on the right time to refurbish hotels to ensure healthy overall performance PROJECT UPDATE The Construction Week team reveals all its site visits from the past 12 months giving you exclusive details about each development 10 12 14 20 22 30 STAT OF THE MONTH DUQM REFINERY HITS 70.5% Construction progress on one of the Sultanate’s largest projects built by Oman’s Douglas OHI QUOTE OF THE MONTH “UNTENABLE SITUATION” The DFM-listed Arabtec adopts a Special Resolution to apply for ‘an insolvent liquidation’ 08 06 NOVEMBER 2020 CONSTRUCTION WEEK 3 EVENTS As we pivot from virtual to physical events, we begin preparations for the CW Awards on 9 December at the JW Marriott Marquis in Dubai 344 CONSTRUCTION WEEK NOVEMBER 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/ Calacatta Sponda MarbleQUOTE OF THE MONTH WWW.CONSTRUCTIONWEEKONLINE.COM6 CONSTRUCTION WEEK NOVEMBER 2020 “UNTENABLE FINANCIAL SITUATION” PUSHES ARABTEC TO APPLY FOR AN INSOLVENT LIQUIDATION Dubai Financial Market- listed (DFM) construction heavyweight Arabtec Holding has entered into liquidation and adopted a Special Resolution to apply for ‘an insolvent liquidation’. Prior to the liquidation the contractor, who built the world’s tallest tower, Burj Khalifa, recorded a net loss of $211m (AED774m) in 2019, which tumbled from profits of $70m (AED256m) in 2018. Later, the group posted a net loss of $216.2m (AED794m) in the six-month period ending 30 June 2020 due to ‘limited liquidity’ in the real estate and construction sector. The company, at the time, had directly attributed the loss to the group’s construction business, Arabtec Construction. On 30 September 2020, the UAE- based company met at an annual general meeting (AGM) following the announcement. The company said at the time: “Unfortunately against a backdrop of adverse market conditions, we regret to inform you that Arabtec shareholders voted to adopt a plan of liquidation and dissolution due to the company’s untenable financial situation.” When shareholders voted at a general assembly to discontinue the company, chairman of Arabtec, Waleed Al Mokarrab Al Muhairi, said in a official statement: “In recent years, limited liquidity in the construction sector has impacted the progress of Arabtec’s projects and this has been exacerbated by the effects of COVID-19. “Despite efforts to pursue legal and commercial entitlements and a restructuring of the company’s finances and operations, the situation in which Arabtec finds itself today is untenable. “Shareholders have therefore voted to move forward with a plan of liquidation to maximise value for stakeholders through a controlled and efficient programme. “Over the coming weeks, the company’s board and management will work closely with regulators and stakeholders to maximise value for all stakeholders. Our current priority is to ensure that everyone directly affected by this decision, is treated fairly during this challenging time,” Al Muhairi added. Meanwhile, on 14 October 2020, the company said: “The general assembly requested that the board shall not make such an application to the courts until discussing the impact of this outcome with the stakeholders within a period not to exceed two months from the date of this meeting. “The purpose of the period not to exceed two months referenced in the resolution of the general assembly is to enable the company to discuss the impact of the Special Resolution on all of the customers, suppliers, creditors, banks, and all other persons who have dealings with the company,” the statement added. After Arabtec announced its decision to liquidate, Nasdaq Dubai-listed interior fit-out giant Depa was left exposed with a debt of $22.3m (AED82m). Arabtec’s shares were suspended from 30 September from the DFM following the start of proceedings for liquidation. Shareholders of the DFM-listed Arabtec have voted to move forward with a plan of liquidation to maximise value for stakeholders through a controlled and efficient programme “ Despite efforts to pursue legal and commercial entitlements and a restructuring of the company’s fi nances and operations, the situation in which Arabtec fi nds itself today is untenable.” [Image: 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 DUQM REFINERY NEARS COMPLETION, MARKS 70.5% OVERALL CONSTRUCTION PROGRESS Oman’s $7bn (OMR2.69bn), 900ha and 230,000 bpsd (barrel per stream day) Duqm Refinery project has recorded 70.5% overall construction progress as of September 2020. The project progress so far includes 326,484m3 of concrete poured; 2,034 civil piles driven; 39,311 tonnes of structural steel usage; installation of a 122,767m pipe, and 51,167.9 tonnes of tanks installed. The project has also recorded 71.8 million manhours with a total of 21,613 manpower at site. In addition, Oman-based construction company, Douglas OHI, which is working on the Duqm Refinery, posted in September 2020 that it contributed 20 million safe manhours on the project. The milestone as of September 2020 marks a developmental progress from March 2020 which included 2,92,591m3 of concrete poured; 2,034 civil piles driven; 22,455.5 tonnes of structural steel usage; installation of a 95,843m pipe, and 35,579.7 tonnes of tanks used. In March 2020, the project had achieved a total of 43 million safe manhours with 21,206 manpower on-site. Major developments this year that potentially facilitated project progress include the installation of three plug and play modular auxiliary boilers modules by global oil and gas contracting giant Petrofac at the Duqm Refinery; and timely and safe delivery and positioning of LPG storage tanks (bullets) at the refinery, carried out by Netherlands-headquartered construction firm Mammoet as part of two contracts awarded to the company in June 2020. The first contract came from a local manufacturer, comprising the inland and sea transport of nine LPG storage tanks (bullets) for the EPC-2 offsite and utilities scope of the project. The second contract was awarded by Agility Global Logistics (Agility) and involved receiving and transport of various reactors. In December 2019, Omani contracting company Galfar Engineering and Contracting won a $2.3m (OMR885m) civil works contract for a tank foundation project under sub-package A of the engineering, procurement, and construction (EPC) Package 3 Offsite Facilities at the refinery. Preceding the civil works contract, in September 2019, Galfar was awarded a , 70.5% OVERALL CONSTRUCTION PROGRESS The project progress includes 326,484m3 of concrete poured; 2,034 civil piles driven; 39,311 tonnes of structural steel usage; and 122,767m installation of pipes $2.7m (OMR 1m) subcontract from Italian oil and gas contractor Saipem to deliver structural steel erection work for pet coke and sulphur storage shelters at the refinery. Located in the Special Economic Zone in Duqm (Sezad) near the sultanate’s south-east coast, the refinery will process multiple types of blended crude oil and will be configured to operate as a hydrocracking unit. In addition, the refinery project in the Sultanate of Oman is aimed at producing light or middle distillates at a high efficiency rate, focusing on naphtha, jet fuel, diesel and LPG as its primary products. The company spearheading the refinery, Duqm Refinery and Petrochemical Industries Company has been born out of a joint venture between Oman Oil Co and Kuwait Petroleum International (KPI). Duqm Refinery is aimed at becoming one of the primary growth engines for the special economic zone, Sezad. It will provide development opportunities for new projects that will directly and indirectly interface with the refinery. 8 CONSTRUCTION WEEK NOVEMBER 2020WWW.CONSTRUCTIONWEEKONLINE.COM Located in the Special Economic Zone in Duqm (Sezad) in Oman, the refinery will process multiple types of blended crude oil [Photo courtesy: Duqm Refinery]ALSHAYA ENTERPRISES ROLLS OUT MODULAR DISTRIBUTION DEAL WITH FORTA PRO DISTRIBUTION DEAL WITH FORTA PRO The agreement entails the development of modular prefabricated hotels, apartments and student accommodation I nterior firm Alshaya Enterprises is set to debut a modular construction solutions division into the Middle East alongside Forta PRO to serve the hospitality and residential sectors. Offering complete solutions for all project scopes and industry sectors, Alshaya Enterprises and Forta PRO signed the agreement remotely in September 2020, which will involve the delivery of modular hotels, residential apartments, student accommodation, and more across the region. Despite operating in remote conditions as a result of the COVID-19 restrictions, Alshaya said productive cooperation and establishment of new partnerships continues to grow for the business and Forta PRO. Forta PRO manufactures high standard modular units for hotels, residential buildings, dormitory hostels, “built to rent”, apartments, hospitals, clinics, and more. The modular construction method allows for ecologically clean and sustainable buildings while saving energy and time with minimal disruption to the surrounding facilities. Forta PRO can plan, design, and build from scratch or expand existing facilities, supporting customers with up to 120,000 m2 per year of module manufacturing in our European factories. The newly established relations will allow for new, innovative modular solutions for hotels, residential buildings, and various modern design projects. Alshaya added that combining prefabricated modules with a range of interior solutions will “diversify and elevate” both companies; assortment of projects, help implement more complicated ideas, and respond to market needs across the Middle East. The modular construction method allows for ecologically clean and sustainable buildings while saving energy and time with minimal disruption to the surrounding facilities. Alshaya Enterprises provide a scalable service, from supply to full design and build, as well being among the most trusted names in full-scope building interiors and commercial equipment. Alshaya Enterprises employs more than 1,000 professionals across six countries and is the most trusted names in full-scope building interiors and commercial equipment. ADVERTORIAL NOVEMBER 2020 CONSTRUCTION WEEK 9WWW.CONSTRUCTIONWEEKONLINE.COM Alshaya Enterprises has entered a modular construction solutions division with Forta PRO in the Middle East [Image:Supplied] Acting CEO of Alshaya Enterprises Ehab Farag CEO of Forta PRO, Martins MotivansNext >