< Previous10 CONSTRUCTION WEEK KSA EDITIONWWW.CONSTRUCTIONWEEKONLINE.COM COVER STORY ” “ So, the positives will include lower cost of service, more savings, flexible systems, and better performance - essentially a win-win for all stakeholders. From a broader standpoint, this will create a Brownfield Revolution, optimising buildings with legacy, resource- intensive systems. The resulting impact will be macroeconomic, and consistent with EY’s projections. How is the response to this program? Any data to back its potential? The pre-launch response to the program has been great so far. We already have partners across Saudi, Oman, Qatar, UAE and India on-board. And the reason for the immediate acceptance is that we conceived the program based on quantifiable value achieved across multiple projects. For example, Netix’s earliest partner, ODS Global, an integrated building management solutions provider, synthesised its offerings with Netix Konnect Intelligent Command & Control Center (iICCC), and unlocked greater value in the projects it handles. ODS Global also bagged the service contract for the According to EY, automation has the potential to double the economy of the KSA to $1.6 trillion [...] In order to realize this potential, we must organize the sector. BMS and maintenance of 19 buildings by Emaar across Downtown Dubai and Dubai Creek Harbour. Netix’s retrofit solution enabled ODS Global to avoid replacing the entire system, and helped Mazaya save 75% in costs. Netix’s open- protocol solution also played a part in ODS Global winning a three-year maintenance contract for 24 DAMAC Properties towers, a mandate to upgrade and maintain three Mazaya Towers’ buildings, and system integration projects at the Jafza Convention Centre, The Netix Novus Partner Program is scheduled to launch on 1 Sept at the Burj KhalifaKSA EDITION CONSTRUCTION WEEK 11WWW.CONSTRUCTIONWEEKONLINE.COM COVER STORY the BVLGARI Resort in Jumeirah Bay, the Pullman Hotel, the Emirates Airlines Staff Accommodation, and many more. Recognising the scope for similar partnerships on a broader scale, we are launching Netix Novus, with ODS Global as its first Platinum Partner. Since the launch announcement, many other service providers across the value chain have expressed a strong interest to sign up for the program. We are currently in advanced discussions with a leading developer from Oman, for the implementation of the program across 450 of their properties. Primarily, Netix Konnect iICCC is driving interest, and we have already built two of these — one in Dubai and the other in India — and new ones are being built in Abu Dhabi, Singapore, and the Netherlands. What are your expectations for the future of proptech? Any other details you would like to share? Proptech is set to play a pivotal role in this transformation. And having understood how obsolete and inefficient the existing systems are - as well as how much value, time, and resources were lost between multi-vendor engagements, reactive maintenance, and laborious manual processes - real estate stakeholders are making a collective shift to open-protocol models. As part of this transformation, Netix is also playing a role in bringing the 7 Series line of centralised emergency lighting control panels, from Dubai based Teknoware Middle East FZCO, Electro Power Systems & ODS Global - the first Platinum Partner under the Netix Novus program - in talks to open KSA office as a joint venture. Established in 2000, Electro Power Systems has several major proj- ects in the Kingdom to its credit The relationship between the two entities goes back to the partnership between Electro Power Systems and Teknoware ME FZCO (part of SB Group International), a Finnish luminaires solution provider, whose state of the art solutions have been championed by Netix, in the region. Together, the two companies have successfully executed several high profile projects in KSA: including the Mecca Metro; the King Abdullah Financial District Metro Station; 3 campuses for King Saud University National Guards; and the campus-wide 11km long Monorail, which operates at an elevation of 10 mts above the ground, within the Princess Noura University - one of the largest universities in the world. The pathbreaking digitalization being undertaken by the KSA underpins the nation’s on-going iconic, one-of-a- kind projects; such as the $500 billion futuristic megacity NEOM being built in the north-west of the kingdom, and the Giga Project being developed across 22 islands, off Saudi Arabia’s west coast. The success of these unprecedented dream projects depends on overcoming the limitations imposed by locked legacy building automation systems. “We are very excited to join forces and accelerate the revolution of the indstry. Netix Global’s open protocol, plug and play approach offers the perfect solution to the inflexible systems the building automation industry is struggling with currently. Netix’s ‘Android Building’ approach will empower continuous innovation and improvement, and transform the real estate landscape in the Kingdom”, says Jehad Abu Shamiyeh, CEO of Electro Power Systems. Ganesh Khanolkar, Managing Director of Exenture India & ODS India; DOS of Teknoware and Netix Jehad Abu Shamiyeh, CEO of Electro Power Systems, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia Vivek Wagh, Business Development Director, SB Group International, Oman, Africa and South East Asia the regional arm of Finnish vehicle and emergency lighting manufacturer, Teknoware Oy, to the Middle East. The Teknoware 7 Series Panel enables remote monitoring and control, with automatic status reports, and selectable output circuits, backed by a universal diagnostics portal for scheduling tests, managing maintenance, and streamlining operations using an intuitive, touch-screen interface. The emergence of innovative Proptech solutions will transition regional real estate to a significantly more empowered operational model. At Netix, we aim to make this transformation seamless and profitable, while unlocking as much value as possible.KSA GIGAPROJECTS WWW.CONSTRUCTIONWEEKONLINE.COM12 CONSTRUCTION WEEK KSA EDITION ALEC on increasing the utilisation of Building Information Modelling (BIM) processes in addition to implementing digital solutions across its operations to promote collaboration within stakeholders to further enhance the industry The foundation of a project as monumental as Diriyah Gate is a vision and commitment to showcase to the world Saudi Arabia’s 300+ years of history through an inspiring set of heritage, hospitality, education, retail and dining experiences. HRH Prince Mohammed bin Salman Al Saud, the Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia, envisioned Diriyah Gate four years ago, and in these four years, the project has gone from ‘mega’ to ‘giga’ in nature, as well as experienced a severalfolds’ increase in budget and project area. Construction Week chatted with Jonathan Timms, President of Diriyah DevCo, which is a subsidiary that Diriyah Gate Development Authority (DGDA) launched earlier this year. Timms, who was formerly DGDA’s Chief Design & Development Officer, says: “It’s been quite a transition over time. We’ve been growing as a team as the mandate grows. “The original team we started with was at five, we planned to get to 70, and we are now at 400 growing to just over 900.” He further added: “As a natural transition, we chose to change our structure and brought in four new C-level leadership team members.” Diriyah DevCo, Timms explains, is a “mechanism” to be able to realise HRH Prince Mohammed bin Salman Al Saud, the Crown Prince and the Board’s vision for Diriyah. Awarding contracts to local players “Almost 100% of our contracts have gone to Saudi-based contractors,” Timms says right off the bat. He continues: “There would be some minor contracts that go to foreign contractors.. Localising our contracting efforts is ideal though because of the nature of our project, which is very traditional and captures the heart and history of Saudi Arabia. We have also seen over time that some contractors enter joint ventures with foreign contractors.” In the last couple of months, the developer awarded three big infrastructure contracts to Al Rashid Trading & Contracting Co. (RTCC), Saudi Constructioneers, and a JV between ALEC MERGES CONTEMPORARY WITH CONVENTION TO BOLSTER “COLLABORATION” WHAT MAKES DIRIYAH GATE THE JEWEL OF THE KINGDOM OF SAUDI ARABIA? Construction Week’s Disha Dadlani chatted with Jonathan Timms, President of Diriyah DevCo, a subsidiary that Diriyah Gate Development Authority (DGDA) launched earlier this year, as a “mechanism” to realise the vision for Diriyah Samhan Amphitheatre is among the key attractions within Diriyah Gate [Image: Supplied] KSA GIGAPROJECTS WWW.CONSTRUCTIONWEEKONLINE.COMKSA EDITION CONSTRUCTION WEEK 13 El Seif and China State Construction Engineering Corporation Middle East (CSCEC ME). He added: “We are seeing more such joint ventures where local contractors can havegreater manpower and expertise on some complex projects. We have a lot of contracts in the market now and it will be interesting to see whether that holds over the next six months.” Increasing budgets The mixed-use historic, culture and lifestyle destination is currently valued at $50.6bn (SAR190bn) across four different masterplans from its initial value of $5.3bn (SAR20bn). The project has also gone up from 1.5 million square metres in gross floor area to 9.5 million square metres. “As the confidence in the project grew, our mandate grew,” explains Timms. “We now have a ninefold increase in budget. We have learnt over time how to scale up. It has been business as usual for us, owing to the organisational effort making this happen.” Is Diriyah Gate progressing on time? Timelines are sacrosanct to projects, and especially a project such as Diriyah Gate which is so critical to Saudi Arabia’s ever- growing landscape. Explaining the authority’s commitment to timelines, Timms says: “When I first arrived, we had an incredibly ambitious programme. My approach was, rather than having an academic discussion about whether the programme is correct or not, we decided to start and go as fast as we possibly could.” Diriyah Gate is being developed with heritage at its core; the historic town will be transformed into a global tourism destination and created in a Najdi architectural style showcasing authentic Saudi Arabian environments, all centred around the ‘Jewel of the Kingdom’ UNESCO World Heritage Site At-Turaif Timms explains that timeline extensions were granted in certain occasions, keeping heritage and authenticity of the project in mind. Citing an example, he says: “We gave our board some options about how we should construct Diriyah Gate 1. Keeping in mind the historical context and significance, we suggested an option of building the whole project in hand-made mud bricks exactly as they were done 300 years ago; a total of 180 million mud bricks to do the job, might I add! “Our board encouraged the concept and granted us an extra six months to execute it.” Sustainability, culture thrive together The Kingdom recently launched the Saudi Green Initiative, which will contribute towards global targets in climate change. Commenting on how the gigaproject adheres to the initiative, Timms says: “We inherently are environmentally- sustainable as a project, because of the nature of our buildings. And, we look for ways to support such initiatives. It is fantastic that the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia has such ambitious plans but is making sure these are being done the sustainable way.” Tackling challenges “Working within an existing urban community provides real challenges,” says Timms, explaining the safety, cleanliness, and road control measures the developer has to be mindful of. He continues: “We are excavating 8 million cubic metres of rock and we are doing that with a community surrounding us. We put in the highest standards of environmental protection; we are currently doubling our efforts towards site beautification and communication to the local community via hoardings and dedicated briefings; and are also in the process of just finishing building alternate roads into the back of one of our main sites in Wadi Safar to divert traffic away from urban areas.” Furthermore, Timms notes that the authority has doubled its efforts in cleaning of the roads and mitigating any impact with safety signage as well as hoardings across roads. He excitedly concludes: “Like any growing business, when we have gone from a handful of people to 400 people in two years in a development delivery team, it is getting those groups together and understanding how we can work efficiently and quickly. It’s like building a plane when you are flying it! DGDA is set to transform the heritage site’s Wadi Safar into a Beverly Hills style residential and hospitality district [Image: Supplied] Jonathan Timms, President, Diriyah DevCo [Image: Supplied]14 CONSTRUCTION WEEK KSA EDITIONWWW.CONSTRUCTIONWEEKONLINE.COM KSA DEVELOPERS KSA DEVELOPERS TOPKSA EDITION CONSTRUCTION WEEK 15WWW.CONSTRUCTIONWEEKONLINE.COM KSA DEVELOPERS Construction Week this month unveiled the Top 50 GCC Developers 2021 list, our annual ranking of the region’s largest real estate developers, who are boosting the sector’s contribution to the economic growth of the countries. As the name suggests, the list has been designed to feature the top 50 icons who are propelling construction activities in the GCC’s real estate sector. Of these top developers, nine are KSA-based, and are among the most impactful in the region. Flip through the coming pages for some of the top developers in the kingdom, in the order they appear on the Top 50 GCC Developers 2021 list. The list was finalised based on the following criteria: overall value of the projects under construction; resilience to COVID-19; value of new projects [Note: For developers with multiple projects, combined values were considered]; and value of new contract awards. This year’s Top 50 GCC Developers list includes people who, despite the challenges posed by the pandemic, have made a significant contribution to promoting the completion of existing projects and starting new projects. The final ranking of 2021 was based on publicly available information about the companies, and the editorial team’s combined assessment of the region’s most active developers in the past 12 months. KSA DEVELOPERS 16 CONSTRUCTION WEEK KSA EDITIONWWW.CONSTRUCTIONWEEKONLINE.COM Featuring in Construction Week’s Top 50 GCC Developers list in 2021 is Jonathan Timms, the President of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia’s Diriyah Development Company, a subsidiary of Diriyah Gate Development Authority (DGDA). Under Timms’ stewardship, the project has transitioned from being a megaproject with a ($5.3bn) SAR20bn budget to grow nine-fold and become a gigaproject with a budget of ($50bn) SAR190bn. The total built area being developed is now in excess of 9.5 million m2, which makes Diriyah Gate one of the world’s largest developments to be ever undertaken. Currently, DGDA is responsible for implementing four masterplans, which include the $18.7bn (SAR70bn) Diriyah Gate I, which is under construction; the $4bn (SAR15bn) Wadi Safar, also under construction; as well as the $22.9bn (SAR85bn) Diriyah Gate II that has entered the detailed master planning stage; and Diriyah Gate III, which is in the concept phase. Of the 108 assets in the Diriyah Gate I masterplan covering assets across the cultural, hospitality, retail, F&B, of ce, and residential sectors, 18 are under construction. According to the developer, the subsequent masterplans have over 200 assets, all of which are in the design stage. In the past 12 months, 186 contracts have been awarded across Diriyah’s infrastructure, Diriyah Square, Bujairi, Samhan, Wadi Safar, and Wadi Hanifah, with a total value of $3.7bn (SAR13.79bn). The gigaproject’s rst asset, Bujairi Terrace, which is a premium dining destination overlooking the historical UNESCO World Heritage Site At-Turaif, is set to open in the rst quarter of 2022. With an expanding scale of the Diriyah Gate project, DGDA’s DevCo is planning to increase its workforce to reach 900 from its current strength of 400 employees. In Timms’ words, Diriyah Gate has an ambitious accelerated timeline with the majority of the four masterplans being delivered by 2025. JONATHAN TIMMS President, Diriyah Development Company (Diriyah Gate Development Authority)KSA DEVELOPERS KSA EDITION CONSTRUCTION WEEK 17WWW.CONSTRUCTIONWEEKONLINE.COM ENG. MUAMMAR AL ATAWI Chairman, Al Diyar Al Arabia A family-owned company, Saudi Arabia-based Al Diyar Al Arabia was launched due to the growing market demand for residential real estate. Spearheading the company, its Chairman Eng. Muammar Al Atawi enters Construction Week’s Top 50 GCC Developers list in 2021. The developer has been working on housing projects that are based on an integrated model. According to the chairman, the company focuses on human-centric designs, striking aesthetic elements, and technology-driven ef ciency to execute projects. Currently, the company has three projects under construction, with some of them nearing handing over stage with others progressing according to scheduled plan and timeline. Being developed in the Saudi Arabian capital city of Riyadh, Al Diyar Al Arabia’s Shams Al-Diyar project comprises more than 500 villa-type housing units. Over 92.3% of the residential project has been completed and the developer aims to complete the project ahead of time. Another project that the developer is busy with is Bovardia City. The development features one-storey apartments, duplexes, and penthouses, comprising a total of 2,542 housing units. It is located in the Al-Jawhara suburb of Jeddah, with the project having reached the 70% completion mark. Al Diyar Al Arabiya is also working on the Loloat Aldyar project. Comprising 1,182 villas, the project is being developed in the city of Yanbu and over 69% of it has been completed to date. According to Eng. Al Atawi, the company is planning to announce more projects in the last quarter of 2021. One of the most signi cant achievements of Al Diyar Al Arabiya has been securing the award for the best real estate developer in the Kingdom for the Q2 2021 from the Ministry of Municipal and Rural Affairs and Housing. The developer is also making efforts to provide more opportunities for young workers and employees. In doing so, it has adopted several initiatives, including the establishment of the Diyar Incubator to empower entrepreneurs in the construction sector within the Diyar Pearl project, in cooperation with the Yanbu Chamber of Commerce and Industry and the Riyadh Tech Association. Additionally, the company has also signed a cooperative training agreement with the Technical College in Yanbu to support young engineers in the construction and technical elds.KSA DEVELOPERS 18 CONSTRUCTION WEEK KSA EDITIONWWW.CONSTRUCTIONWEEKONLINE.COM Leading the de v e l opment of two of Saudi Arabia’s billion- dollar gigaprojects is John Pagano, CEO of The Red Sea Development Company (TRSDC) and AMAALA. Currently, TRSDC is busy with the construction of the Coastal Village, which will house the resort’s 14,000 employees, with the project’s main elements set to be completed soon. Infrastructure works have been advancing at The Red Sea Project, with the planned 80km of roads being complete. Meanwhile, airside construction work has been completed on the airport with 3,500m3 of asphalt being laid on the 3.7km runway and taxiways. In the past 12 months, TRSDC has awarded more than 600 contracts worth over $4.5bn (SAR17bn). TRSDC has become the first asset owner in the world to achieve the BIM Project Kitemark for its digital project delivery and adoption of Building Information Modelling (BIM) aligned to ISO19650. For AMAALA, the current focus is on the Triple Bay district, which forms Phase 1 of the development covering 4,155km2 in area. The Red Sea Project and AMAALA are two of the flagship Vision 2030 projects, contributing to the Kingdom’s ambition for a diversified economy. Flip to page 22 for a special project update on development in the Red Sea. JOHN PAGANO CEO, The Red Sea Development Company (TRSDC) & AMAALAKSA DEVELOPERS KSA EDITION CONSTRUCTION WEEK 19WWW.CONSTRUCTIONWEEKONLINE.COM Heading NEOM, Saudi Arabia’s $500bn (SAR1.9tn) futuris tic gigaproject, at the front is the CEO Nadhmi Al-Nasr, who has been responsible for leading the development of the programme that supports the Kingdom’s Vision 2030, since 2018. For the Public Investment Fund PIF-backed NEOM, the start of 2021 came with the launch of THE LINE, a 170km belt of hyper-connected future communities, without cars and roads and built around nature. The project was unveiled by Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia and Chairman of NEOM’s Board of Directors, HRH Mohammed bin Salman. THE LINE will serve as a cornerstone of the national vision and an economic engine for the kingdom; and will aim to contribute 380,000 jobs of the future and $48bn (SAR180bn) to domestic GDP by 2030. Later in March, NEOM appointed Burj Al Shifa Medical Complex, managed by International SOS – Al Rushaid, to design, construct, and operate a new health and wellness centre within the gigaproject. NEOM is also working with King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST) to develop the biggest coral garden in the world in Shushah Island at the gigaproject covering an area spanning 40.5ha. The coral garden is planned to be complete in 2025. NADHMI AL-NASR CEO, NEOM As the CEO of Qiddiya Investment Company (QIC), Philippe Gas is leading the development of Saudi Arabia’s PIF-backed 366km2 Qiddiya gigaproject, the Kingdom’s future capital of entertainment, sports, and the arts. Development work on Qiddiya has been progressing significantly, as QIC commenced the design process for the Falcon’s Flight. QIC is working with Intamin Amusement Rides to design the Falcon’s Flight, which is expected to be the signature attraction of Six Flags Qiddiya, a theme park scheduled for opening as part of Phase 1 of the gigaproject. The Falcon’s Flight is set to become the world’s longest, fastest and tallest coaster. It also launched the first ever course in Saudi Arabia, a championship golf course for the destination. Last year in October, Atkins, a member of the SNC-Lavalin Group, won a contract to provide integrated lead design consultant, construction supervision, and cost management services for the theme park. And in November 2020, AESG was appointed as the specialist consultant by Atkins. 2020 was a busy year for QIC, as it awarded over $533.3m (SAR2bn) worth of construction contracts. PHILIPPE GAS CEO, Qiddiya Investment Company (QIC)Next >