C o n s t r u C t i o n

Monthly Construction news, tenders, project focus, and forthcoming exhibitions in QatarIssue No.90 - JaNuary 2015

SITES

PAGES 11-23EXCLUSIVEgreen building

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News

Qatari companies win awards Qatar’s ASTAD Project Management and Traffic Tech (Gulf) companies have won awards at a regional recognition ceremony held in Dubai recently.ASTAD Project Management, Qatar’s leading project management consultancy for building and infrastructure, has won the Sustainability Initiative of the Year award for its contribution to the Qatar Foundation Solar Smart Grid project at the Construction Week Awards 2014. Traffic Tech (Gulf) was named the Sub-Contractor of the Year at the event. The Sub-Con-tractor of the Year category was fiercely competitive where Traffic Tech emerged the winner among other shortlisted companies from Qatar and other GCC countries. The judges said that Traffic Tech’s submission was “particularly impressive” and that it managed to stand out as an organization with a proven track record of delivery. The awards were part of the GCC edition of the Construction Week Awards 2014 held in Dubai.The award for ASTAD Project Management was presented to Abdulaziz Al Mulla, its Chief Commercial Officer.The Qatar Foundation Solar Smart Grid project, which is located at various facilities within the Education City campus in Doha, represents an unprecedented opportunity to move the energy industry into a new era of reliability, availability and efficiency. It is composed of solar photovoltaic (PV) installations that generate 7,922 kilowatts of clean energy annually and result in savings of approximately 3,961 tonnes of CO2 emis-sions every year.The most cutting-edge feature of the project is the design and construction of the Energy Monitoring Center (EMC) that will enable real-time administration of all solar and power quality monitoring systems from a central location, aiding in their efficient operation and maintenance. Having demonstrated a significant contribution to sustainable development over the last year, the environmentally-friendly initiative is the first commercial PV project in Qatar to be granted approval for grid connection from Kahramaa (Qatar General Electricity and Water Corporation).Commenting on the award, ASTAD Project Management CEO Ali Al-Khalifa said: “We are honored to receive this outstanding regional award. ASTAD and Qatar Foundation share a common set of values and goals that are in keeping with Qatar National Vision 2030, which calls on us to harness climate action solutions through abundant natural resources like solar energy. “This project has proven to be a catalyst for increased growth in the renewable energy sector as it demonstrates a successful application of the economic and environmental benefits of solar technology.”Apart from the clean energy generated, the Qatar Foundation Solar Smart Grid project will contribute to an unprecedented transfer of knowledge through the Energy Monitoring Center. The center will allow visitors, students, and researchers to view individual system outputs and technical grid data, while familiarizing themselves with Qatar Foundation’s various green initiatives that are well aligned with the Qatar Green Building Council.The Sustainability Initiative of the Year is just one of numerous accolades that ASTAD Proj-ect Management and Qatar Foundation have garnered this year. In September, ASTAD and Qatar Foundation won the Health and Safety Initiative of the Year at the 2014 Construction Week Qatar Awards for the QF Migrant Workers’ Welfare Initiative (Karama). Moreover, as a reflection of ASTAD’s exemplary contribution to the National Museum of Qatar, it received the coveted Most Innovative Project of the Year award at the Qatar Con-tractors Forum.The award for the Traffic Tech Group was handed over to Husam Musharbash, its President and CEO, by Simon Moon, CEO at Atkins. “This is great. We were shortlisted for the Qatar awards and we never expected we would win the regional one so it’s really great for us,” said Musharbash. “We are very proud. We’ve been in business for 28 years and we’ve won a lot of awards, but this is one of the most important ones for us,” he said.“We’ve been doing a lot of fast track projects and the project that I think has won us the award is the Doha Corniche traffic signals project that we did in a very short period of time and that was very challenging to us. “This award further strengthens our market position as we aim to double our turnover in the next five years by being a major contributor to Qatar’s massive intelligent transportation system projects,” he added.

GWC to develop Bu Sulba logistics hub for QR685mGulf Warehousing Company QSC (GWC) was awarded the contract to develop the Bu Sulba logistics hub during the “Manateq Storage Project” launch on 14 December 2014. This logistics develop-ment will be aimed at serving small and medium enterprises (SMEs) located primarily in the South to Central part of Doha up to Al Gharrafa in addition to Al Wakra city.The Bu Sulba hub will be a self-contained centre spread across an area of 517,376 sqm with a built-up area exceeding 40 percent of the total. This development will feature around 194 warehousing units of different specifications optimised for SMEs, as well as a container yard, labour accommo-dation, first aid centre, a mosque, and commercial and other amenities.The new warehouses will offer a variety of storage solutions ranging from dry, temperature-con-trolled, chilled and frozen as well as bulk storage, while taking into consideration the specific needs of the SMEs. “The role that SMEs play in growing and diversifying the economy has been well-established, which has not gone unnoticed by government authorities, who opened the bid on this land to empower SMEs and provide them with suitable environment to grow,” said GWC Chairman Sheikh Abdulla bin Fahad bin Jassem bin Jabor Al Thani (pictured). “GWC has been a key contributor to the coun-try’s most advanced logistics infrastructure, developing key facilities across the nation and serving nearly all industrial verticals. The project is considered part of GWC’s responsibility toward the Qa-tar National Vision 2030 on the one hand, and a complement to the company’s portfolio of services offered on the other.”

Saint-Gobain and Sika in buy-out standoff The management of tunnel-waterproof-membrane provider Sika is yet to agree on terms for a po-tential sale to French building materials supplier Saint-Gobain.Reports suggested Saint-Gobain signed a SFr2.75 billion ($2.87 billion) deal to gain control of Sika, despite the Swiss group’s top guns threatening to resign if the deal went ahead, as they were not consulted.“The rumor that there has been an agreement between Sika management and Saint-Gobain is unfounded. There has been no de-velopment,” Sika spokesman Dominik Slappnig said.Saint-Gobain con-siders Sika’s US portfolio as lucrative stream compared with the poor state of the European construction mar-ket.Pierre-André de Chalendar, Saint-Gobain’s chief exec-utive, stated he ex-pected growth to the tune of €100 million ($125 million) a year from 2017 and €180 million a year from 2019 should Sika ink the deal.De Chalendar hoped the situation with the management and the board to stabilize soon.Source: worldtunnelling.com/Luke Buxton

Creating an Intermodal transport system for QatarThe third phase of expansion of the Hamad International Airport (HIA) is estimated to cost $3 bil-lion.“When the third phase is ready, HIA would be able to handle 53 million passengers a year against its current capacity of 30 million,” Qatar Civil Aviation Authority Chairman Abdul Azeez Al Noaimi said, while speaking at a panel discussion hosted by the Ministry of Transport at its special tent in Darb al-Saai recently. Al Noaimi said the work on the second phase of expansion of the airport had already started. The part of Doha Metro, linking different areas within the HIA, would be ready by the middle of next year, Zawya.com quoted him as saying.Qatar Aeronautical College Director General Ali Al Malki said that arrangements were being made to shift the institution’s entire operations to the HIA Complex. The college, he said, would be able to offer more professional educational programs in civil aviation and related fields in coming years.Al Malki also informed that negotiations were going on with Qatar Foundation for Education, Sci-ence and Community Development (QF) for setting up an aeronautical university of world stan-dards. Speaking later, Qatar Rail Managing Director and senior engineer Abdulla Abdulazeez Al Turki Al Subaie said that more than 40% of the boring work for 38 stations of the Doha Metro was already completed. In all, 16% of the total work of the Doha Metro had been completed, he said while disclosing that 21 boring machines would be deployed in different areas of Doha in 2015.While informing that 70% of the construction design of Doha Metro was already completed, the senior Qatar Rail official said the project featured 85km of railway lines in two directions, spread over three lines - Blue, Red and Green.Regarding the Lusail Light Rail Project, Al Subaie said an 8km tunnel was completed and more than 7km of electrical and mechanical works was also finished. The light rail project features 35 stations covering a distance of 32km.“Works within Qatar for the GCC Rail for passenger and freight transport would begin next year and the first rail movement is expected sometime in 2018,” he added.Source: Zawya.com

Astad Project Management Chief Commercial Officer Abdulaziz Al Mulla (left) and Sustainability Manager Sheikh Soud Al-Thani (centre) receiving the award.

SITESC o n s t r u C t i o n 3exclusive

that is open to everybody,” emphasized Shamari.Giving more details of the project, he said that the document’s marketing is scheduled to start in Janu-ary 2015, registration to be featured in the green direc-tory will be free of charge. “Companies that would like to register to be in the directory, need to register with QGBC,” he said. Shamari added that QGBC hoped that the direc-tory would be able to be the missing link in the construc-tion industry’s product sup-ply chain. ‘It will be similar to the Yellow Pages, as it will indicate whether the product is available in Qatar, how to get it and who to get it from’. There will be 64 categories including; consultancies, Fa-cility Management compa-nies, furniture, detergents, primary materials, cladding and paints.Shamari said that changes in behaviour in the construc-tion sector will be gradual and that is what is demon-strated by the phased chang-es in the Qatar Construction Standards. QCS 2014 was released a few months ago in November 2014 and it includes an entire section on more environmentally friendly requirements for the building sector (QCS: Sec-tion 7). However, he noted that this section was already there in 2010 but it was not mandatory. Now it has been made mandatory for the pub-

lic works sector and it is ex-pected that it will be made mandatory for the entire sec-tor by 2016. Of course, he added, conventional wisdom tells us that when you give someone a choice they will always take the easiest one, but this has not stopped the concerned ministries from developing ‘green codes’. He emphasised that it was understood that if there was no self-interest or financial interest that sector would not change its behaviour. For ex-ample in the US and the UK the incentive to comply with green standards are market driven. Owners that have A-grade properties (highest green rating) are entitled to ask for higher rental. These properties have low utility bills, which in Europe and the US is major persuasive factor, while those properties graded B or C, might be cheaper, but will have higher utility bills as they are less energy efficient. Shamari acknowledged that this might not work in the Gulf as energy is cheap, but it illustrates that there are different ways to persuade the market apart from direct government regulation. The strategy from Kahramaa is therefore to introduce regula-tion and enforce it over time. Organisations like QGBC work together with government departments to advocate green behaviour and educate residents of Qatar on their responsibilities towards the

Qatar Green Building Council to launch ‘Green Pages’

environment.The role that QGBC plays in the green building sector was underscored at a seminar launching the ‘ICC’s Green Economy Roadmap: implica-tions for Qatar’. At the semi-nar Dr. Alex Amato, Head of Sustainability at QGBC, mod-erated a panel discussion during the seminar in which

representatives of the Qa-tari business community and Governmental organizations from different sectors – in-cluding oil and gas, construc-tion and technology – shared initiatives and challenges in order to create a comprehen-sive overview of Qatar’s cur-rent sustainability status.“As an overarching organiza-tion in the sustainability and green building industries in Qatar, QGBC is delighted to

work with ICC Qatar to intro-duce the concept of green economy to its stakeholders, the decision-makers and the public in Qatar in order to cre-ate necessary policies and to raise awareness of green business and green econo-my in the country,” said Dr Amato. “At QGBC, academ-ics, innovators, researchers,

activists and the public, work together to collectively fur-ther the Qatar National Vision 2030. We do this through safeguarding Qatar’s green movement and sustainability in general.”According to Remy Rowhani, Director General of Qatar Chamber and Secretary Gen-eral of ICC Qatar, “The ICC Green Economy Roadmap represents a comprehensive effort to assist in the develop-

ment and implementation of policies and actions towards a green economy and to build a platform for future action and collaboration.” The road-map aims to share existing best practice and initiate new collaborative activities.Launched during Rio+20 as an initiative to promote a more common understand-ing of the green economy, the roadmap outlines 10 conditions and related pol-icy recommendations as a framework to discuss a range of inter-linked policies and actions to transform into a green economy. These condi-tions include social, environ-ment and economic innova-tion; collaboration between all sectors; integrated gover-nance; balancing short-and long-term strategies and mul-tilateralism. An ‘integrated governance approach’ where that organization focusses on a strategic approach to sus-tainability and not so much the level of LEED, BREEAM or GSAS certification it can achieve is more respon-sible and more easily main-tained in the long term, said Al Shamari. He further ex-plained how QF understood sustainability. At QF sustain-able practices not only ap-plied to saving water and en-ergy, it applies to all aspects of a project; from responsible sourcing, facility manage-ment, maintenance and even

finance.Shamari was upbeat about the progress and work of QGBC and said that he want-ed the public to see it as the ‘go to’ place for everything about ‘green technology’ and sustainability. He hoped the ‘Green Directory’ would as-sist with providing advice and technical support to the con-struction sector.To learn more, please visit www.qatargbc.org.

Qatar Green Building Coun-cil (QGBC), member of Qatar Foundation for Education, Science and Community De-velopment (QF) has many firsts to its name. QGBC, as it is known, opened its first energy efficient Passivhaus in February 2013. There are only 25,000 Passivhaus’ around the world. Passivhaus is a German word that refers to the rigorous, voluntary standard for energy efficiency in a building. QGBC partnered with Barwa Real Estate (BRE) and Kahramaa to launch this groundbreaking experiment in the region’s green build-ing industry. The Passivhaus boasts an exceptionally low energy, airtight building de-sign that requires minimal energy for cooling the indoor space, thereby reducing its carbon footprint. The project aims to educate the public about the Passivhaus con-cept and generate commu-nity discussions about green living and sustainable prac-tices for residents of Qatar to implement in their daily lives. Alongside the Passivhaus project, QGBC is currently un-dertaking other exciting proj-ects as well.Construction Sites spoke to Eng. Meshal Al Shamari, Di-rector of QGBC about their work. QGBC is one of the 98 members of the World Green Building Council (WGBC). Qatar Green Building Coun-cil (QGBC) is a non-profit, membership-driven organisa-tion providing leadership and encouraging collaboration in conducting environmen-tally sustainable practices for green building design and de-velopment in Qatar.The latest project that they will be launching for the con-struction sector is the ‘Green Directory’. Al Shamari first revealed plans to release the country’s first ever na-tional green directory a few months ago in August 2014. It is planned to be published on an annual basis with its first edition targeted to be released in March 2015. The directory aims to work as a reference for clients interest-ed in promoting sustainable development in Qatar. “One of the challenges the industry faces here is the non-availability of the right in-formation, so many investors or developers would like to use green materials, but they don’t know what services and materials are already avail-able in Qatar. So, what we are trying is to create kind of a platform for those products

SITESC o n s t r u C t i o n4

legal

Statutory time limits for bringing legal claims in Qatar are called ‘pre-scriptive periods’, and

are equivalent in concept to ‘limitation periods’ which apply to claims brought in the UK. Prescriptive periods are im-portant for contractors and construction professionals, as they define the length of time in which claims can be made in relation to the work undertaken or advice given. However, these periods can vary in length de-pending on the type of claim, and can potentially be extended by certain conduct or by impli-cation, so care is needed when managing the statutory expiry of liabilities. This article explores the main prescriptive periods which ap-ply to contractors and profes-sional consultants in Qatar, how these differ from jurisdictions such as the UK, and how they can be managed so that these periods are not unintentionally extended.All Qatari Laws (save for those issued by, eg. the QFC to regu-late its own business), are is-sued in Arabic and there are no official translations, therefore for the purposes of drafting this article Clyde & Co has used its own translation and interpreted the same in the context of Qa-tari laws, regulation and current market practice.Relevant prescriptive periodsThe most wide ranging statuto-ry prescriptive period is for ‘per-sonal rights’ (Article 403 of the Qatar Civil Code). These per-sonal rights are similar to com-

mon law ‘torts’, and include claims for monetary damages arising from most breaches of contract. The prescriptive pe-riod for these personal rights is 15 years from the date of the breach of contract or other cause of action, as set out in Ar-ticle 403 of the Civil Code (and unless altered by another law). This means that most claims between individuals or compa-nies cannot be made, and ef-fectively expire, after 15 years. Another important prescriptive period applies to the services provided by architects, engi-neers and other experts. Article 405 of the Civil Code provides that the prescriptive period in these circumstances is reduced to five years, and the time runs from the actual performance of the services, rather than the in-voice date.The prescriptive period relating to decennial liability is set out in Article 711 of the Civil Code and, as its name suggests, ap-plies for a period of ten years, commencing on the handover of the project. Decennial li-ability applies to contractors, architects and engineers, and makes them jointly and sever-ally liable for any serious struc-tural defect or collapse of the building or structure, even if they are not at fault. As is clear from the above, these prescriptive periods dif-fer greatly to the ‘common law’ standard six years for breaches of contract or non-contractual damages, and the 12 year pe-riod for claims arising from a contract made as a deed, which some international contractors

might be more used to apply-ing.Reducing prescriptive periodsIn contrast to common law jurisdictions such as the UK, prescriptive periods cannot be reduced by agreement or by contract. Article 418 of the Civil Code is very clear on this point, and any contractual provision which attempts to do so will be invalid and unenforceable.This raises an interesting issue relating to claims for, say, an extension of time or additional preliminaries. Such claims are often required to be made by the contractor within a certain number of days or weeks from the underlying event. A com-mon argument from the con-tractor is that a breach of such a provision (i.e. the giving of a late delay notice) often leads to no actual financial loss to the employer, and therefore the strict time limit can be difficult to enforce. However, if that time limit is drafted as a strict ‘condition precedent’, which specifically bars the contractor’s entitle-

ment to a claim if it is made late, then these are usually considered enforceable. Cer-tainly, an employer would have no problems relying upon such a provision in the UK, provided the drafting was sufficiently clear. However, in Qatar, such provisions could be interpret-ed as denying the contractor, ahead of the expiry of the rel-evant prescriptive period, the right to claim the appropriate extension of time or additional preliminaries. Such conditions precedent therefore sit very uneasily with Article 418 of the Qatar Civil Code, which in-validates contractual provisions which seek to reduce prescrip-tive periods. Such questions will always come down to the specific wording of the clause, and the facts of the matter. It is also often argued that condition precedent wording is a waiver by the contractor of its under-lying rights, rather than deny-ing it the opportunity to actu-ally claim those rights, although such distinctions are somewhat artificial.Extending prescriptive periodsJust as the parties to a contact cannot agree to truncate or shorten prescriptive periods, Article 418(1) of the Civil Code also prevents these periods from being extended by agree-ment. However, that is not to say that they are always set in stone.

A prescriptive period can be reset in certain circumstances, thus effectively lengthening the underlying period (Article 418(2)). For example, this could occur when a debtor acts in a way which demonstrates he is placing no reliance on the prescriptive period, and the technical defence that it would give him. An example of this might be a waiver of the prescriptive period, or the mak-ing of a partial payment to the creditor.Notes of cautionPrescriptive periods can pro-vide valuable protection to con-tractors and professional con-sultants operating in Qatar, and awareness of the length of time for which project risk might ap-ply can be essential for accu-rate risk management and ten-der pricing. As a corollary, false reliance should not be placed on contracts which purport to reduce or otherwise adjust the periods of potential liability, albeit that such clauses are commonly included in certain well-used international forms of contract. To make it more complicated, the Qatar Civil Code and the Qatar Commer-cial Code contain many more prescriptive periods than those mentioned above, and care should be taken to ascertain ex-actly which prescriptive periods will apply to any particular work or professional service.Should you have any ques-tions in connection with

this article or the legal is-sues it covers, please con-tact Laura Warren, Partner of Clyde & Co LLP at laura.warren@clydeco.com.qa or Alexander Whyatt, Associ-ate of Clyde & Co LLP at alexander.whyatt@clydeco.com.qa

Prescriptive Periods in Qatar: Don’t get caught out

Laura Warren is a partner of the International Law firm, Clyde & Co LLP, in Doha. Laura has a wide ranging contentious and non con-tentious construction practice in-volving projects in Qatar as well as in the UAE, Oman, Bahrain, Libya, Egypt and TunisiaLaura is Co-ordinator for the Soci-ety of Construction Law (Gulf) in Qatar.

Laura WarrenAlexander is an associate in Clyde & Co’s construction team in Doha, and is a solicitor of the Court of England and Wales. He is experi-enced with the legal and commer-cial issues affecting construction professionals, having practiced in Qatar, Dubai and London, as well as within the legal team of an in-ternational contractor. Alexander regularly acts for build-ing contractors, professional con-sultants and property developers, although he is also experienced at assisting institutional investors with construction issues and sup-porting corporate transactions. He frequently advises on the draft-ing and interpretation of project documentation and local legisla-tion, and has acted for clients in mediations, court proceedings and arbitrations.

Alexander WhyattAssociate

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coNfereNce

covering materials: marble, stone, ceramics, wood and parquet, PVC, tiles, carpet & rugs, landscape and sport fa-cilities flooring; *Internal and external wall-covering materials: painting and coating, wall papercurtains, glass, PVC, alumi-num, cladding, partition sys-tems, gypsum boards, doors and windows. Leading exhibitors from Italy, Turkey, Ukraine, China, Spain, Malaysia and Egypt will show-case innovations in floor and wall covering, both interior and

was essential to deliver sustain-able solutions. He added that the use of “charrettes”’ helped to give ownership to design op-tions that satisfied sustainabil-ity – and commercial - objec-tives.Kirkpatrick concluded the pre-sentation with an overview on what the future holds. Taking into account the ex-pected increase in population, policy and regulation changes and the new Qatar construc-tion specifications and building code, the future holds the pos-sibility to choose from various options:• Reduced leakage (liability?

fines? targets?)• Introduction of water

charges?• Greater linkage between

exterior. Dr Saddiq says that Ibhar is working in co-ordination with a number of business organi-zations in Qatar and the Gulf region to ensure that a huge number of trade visitors, in-cluding consulting engineers, architects, interior designers, real estate developers, hotels and facility managers and senior officials representing governments, municipalities, banks and financial institu-tions will be among those at-tending the exhibition.

water use and other envi-ronmental / sustainability considerations – e.g. cli-mate change?

• National water model?• Central database with au-

tomatic updating?• Introduction of ‘new’ tech-

nologies like:1. Reverse osmosis2. Solar desalination3. Water retention aids in

soils4. Incentivisation / subsi-

dies?• Minimum performance lev-

els linked to planning and• permitting?• More awareness cam-

paigns to reduce water use at source

• Improved Governance?• ‘Water security’

In line with the global trend of trade fairs being more specialized, the Ibhar In-ternational Exhibitions

Group is organizing Qatar CO-VERTECH - 2015, the first expo in the Middle East and the Gulf Co-operation Council (GCC) that is fully dedicated to the wall and floor covering sector. Qatar COVERTECH will be held from February 4 to 6, 2015, at Doha Exhibition Centre. Qatar COVERTECH comes in response to market research which has confirmed the need for exhibitors to find more specialized (B2B) events to meet the demands of targeted visitors, says IBHAR CEO Dr Moyasser Saddiq.“Events like these enable ex-hibitors to have a deeper un-derstanding of visitor’s needs, while giving an opportunity to inform them about the latest products and to discuss their advantages,” he says.The exhibition is held under the auspices of the Qatar Chamber of Commerce and Industry and the Gulf Organi-zation for Industrial Consulting (GOIC). The sponsors’ list includes a number of prominent names in the GCC market: Nabina, Tadmur, La Bella Villa, Mundo bello, Doha Extraco and Hajar Enterprises.The exhibitor profile covers: *Internal and external floor-

Ashghal has developed and is implementing a nationwide program that includes the de-velopment of roads, drainage and new infrastructure in all ar-eas of Qatar as part of its Local Roads and Drainage Program (LR&DP).Dr Neil Kirkpatrick, Sustain-ability Manager at Ashghal, explained at a recent presen-tation that population growth, leakage, investment in new infrastructure and assets and behavior change were some of the main challenges facing wa-ter usage in Qatar. Kirkpatrick said there were a variety of technical solutions aimed at minimizing water use in buildings, public realm and infrastructure.In the buildings sector, solu-tions include change of behav-ior, using fixtures and fittings of low or adjustable flow rates, us-ing condensate collection, me-tering and leak detection and grey water recycling.In the public realm and irriga-tion, water consumption mini-mization options include bal-ance between hardscape and softscape, rethinking plant palette, delivery systems and flow rates. Besides the usage of timer switches, sensors, water retention aids in soils and clos-ing the loop.In infrastructure, metering and leak detection also play a role. Storm water management, ef-ficiency of capture systems and sustainable urban drainage systems are equally important. He explained that team work

Qatar COVERTECH set to showcase floor and wall covering innovations

Strategies to minimize water use

Dr Moyasser Saddiq:IBHAR CEO.

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SITESC o n s t r u C t i o n 7TechNology

Qatar’s construction industry is increasingly adopting Building Information Modeling (BIM) as standard practice.The key advantage of BIM is closer collaboration among owners, designers, contractors and suppliers so that each par-ty could provide relevant data to construction projects. BIM opens up huge opportuni-ties for the product inclusion within the projects. It allows product suppliers and manu-facturers to supply detailed “vir-tual products” to architects, en-gineers and specifiers as easily as they traditionally provided data or 2D CAD details with all the consequent benefits of re-lationship building and product loyalty in specification. Being able to offer 3D ready content is a major plus point for any manufacturer and supplier going forward with the innova-tions. It could also be an impor-tant factor for deciding who is awarded a contract during the tendering process as more and

more contractors and construc-tion companies would prefer to work with suppliers that provide BIM ready data. Some market-ing executives claim that the customers say that they won’t be using manufacturers that don’t provide BIM ready ob-jects. The challenges for manufactur-ers are many. How to efficiently produce the necessary data for a large number of products in the right format, when there are so many available, and at the right time and with the right level of detail?There is a common pattern with manufacturers’ focus on prod-ucts quality rather than process and technology which guaran-tee long-term view of research and development. Manufacturers that provide BIM content certainly benefit by having their CAD files, prod-uct performance parameters, dimensional options, specifica-tion details, material properties (colors and finishes), branding,

links and other important speci-fication information converted in easy to use 3D components. So the specifiers can easily use in their projects real products from the real manufacturers available regionally or locally instead of using generic com-ponents. It will also allow specifier to manage building materials lo-gistics and to check the avail-ability of the product from the supplier and then create a pho-to-realistic renders and finalize the project with the confidence that the product is available on the local market and complies with the project’s specifica-tions.There are number of BIM com-ponents suppliers available on the market that offer BIM content creation for manufac-turers. BIMobject is one of the innovative BIM libraries that of-fers downloadable content of real manufacturers’ products and produces intelligent 3D content in a variety of formats. With a mission to assist product manufacturers in the AEC field, to be visible and get selected by creating high quality easy accessible objects for the BIM process, the company provides software tools, web solutions and services for the creation, conversion and publishing of BIM objects on the web and hence creates a direct path to users of any BIM software.

Key role for manufacturers and suppliers in BIMThis approach enabling the manufacturers’ products to be selected directly from the BIM processes. BIMobject continuously strengthens its technology port-folio with intelligent cloud solu-tions and a web-based infra-structure for interior design and construction products. Its product portal, which was launched in early 2012, reached more than 1,400,000 downloads, with more than 65,000 professional BIM users. “It is amazing to see so many users on the BIMobject Portal and to see demands fulfilled. We are constantly developing the Portal and increasing the number of published manufac-turers - working hard to make sure that the BIMobject Portal will be the obvious choice for architects and design profes-sionals. “With our large and growing user base the BIMobject Portal now represents a very efficient marketing channel for our cus-tomers, says Stefan Larsson, founder and CEO at BIMobject.”Global market players continue to launch their products as BIM objects in the BIMobject Prod-uct portal. The influx of users remains solid and such com-panies as Knauf Insulation, Of-fecct and Pressalit Care, Hilti are among them. The company has also several strategic part-nerships in the GCC.

BIMobject has signed an agreement with BIMES (BIM Engineering Solution) to sup-port the growing demand for manufacturer specific content in the form of BIM objects. The collaboration between regional BIM solution provider and BI-Mobject leverages a possibility for manufacturers in the archi-tectural, construction and inte-rior industry to be placed into a virtual version of the project using BIM processes and soft-ware. BIM objects, according to industry experts, will be a needed component to get bet-ter control of construct-ability, costs, visualizations, communi-cations and simulations. BIM objects is also considered as a vehicle to use for new lo-cal manufacturers as well as for international manufacturers that wish to tender and market themselves into a dynamic mar-ket and secure future growth on

the regional markets.BIM isn’t yet mandatory in Qa-tar, though it is a necessary tool and the local construction industry is mature enough to embrace the technology. As today’s designed and built projects are very complex and require collaboration between AEC firms involved in design and construction process of the project. It also requires collabo-ration with building products manufacturers and fabricators. This collaboration starts early in the process and is maintained throughout a project’s lifecycle.The projects are becoming sys-tems of systems, with this ap-proach often demanding the integration of products from multiple manufacturers that are customized to meet specific in-field requirements for the projects to be delivered faster, at a lower cost and with higher quality.

BIM is not yet mandatory in Qatar, though it is a necessary tool and the local construction industry is mature enough to embrace the technology

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TechNology

design at the temporary venues of London 2012 Olympics and Paralympic Games by Dr Konca Saher, from the Kadir Has Uni-versity in Turkey.The lack of adequate speech pri-vacy and control of noise levels has been a major complaint, es-pecially in office environments. This could be attributed to the people not understanding the difference between music and

noise. “Music is the art of arranging and combining sounds to cre-ate a harmonious melody while noise can obstruct and con-fuse,” said Dr Katafygiotou.

“Contrary to what one might think, a Berkeley University study found that, ‘If you looked at the last surveys you’d find that, respondents’ acoustics satisfaction was slightly lower in green buildings than in regular buildings.’ A good example of why this could be is to look at the acoustic comfort in an open plan office design building.”Surveys show that 65% of open plan occupants are “often dis-tracted”. The design dilemma between providing acoustic pri-vacy for quiet work and open-ness for team interaction is a factor. Therefore private offices are recommended for most workers because it is hard to work without distractions in an open plan office.Architecture and acoustic designProblem 1: Green strategies may compromise acoustic de-sign; discover which have the most impact and how to address

them.Solution 1: Open spaces – open plan environments with adequate daylighting can be productive workspaces as long as acoustics are not forgotten. To accommodate daylighting and natural ventilation in green buildings often features a very high percentage of open-plan spaces, which eliminates key acoustical control methods (physical barriers).Problem 2: Daylighting – Spac-es are designed to allow natural sunlight into the interior and reduce energy use but many of the strategies used for good daylighting results in an infe-rior acoustical environment. The overall geometry of the spaces tends to be long and narrow to ensure that no spot is too far away from a window. But long narrow spaces provide a bowling alley effect for sound because it bounces between the two exte-rior walls.

Solution 2: A more traditional, square floor plan allows sound to decay before it hits an out-side wall and bounces back into space.Problem 3: Passive heating and cooling systems.Solution 3: Non-traditional heating and cooling, such as ra-diant floor heating or the use of thermal mass, requires exposed concrete surfaces. Using ther-mal slabs eliminates the sound deadening capabilities of carpet underfoot and the absorption overhead that acoustical ceiling tile typically provides.Problem 4: Hard surfaces and materials.Solution 4: The right surface materials will function acousti-cally by absorbing noise and blocking the transmission of sound from one space to the next. In green spaces, architects tend to specify harder materials, since they give the impression of being easier to maintain and offer a longer lifespan, however, they also limit sound absorption.While these conflicts were sig-nificant, said Dr Katafygiotou, there were strategies that could help enable sustainable design and good acoustics to coexist harmoniously. She assured industry experts

and practitioners present that green strategies did and could enhance acoustics. Bearing in mind that the chal-lenges mentioned were signifi-cant, she added that design-ers could specify transparent, sound-limiting barriers in the workspace. Certain dividers could be strategically lowered while other partitions remained on high in order to preserve sightlines while providing acous-tical separation. And while some lighter surfaces did reflect sound, there were also products which absorbed sound, and thereby accomplish-ing the dual purpose of support-ing natural light while controlling sound, she added.Another aspect that can en-hance acoustics is underfloor air distribution. This is a sustain-able strategy that can actually decrease background sound. The white noise of the conven-tional HVAC systems also helps to mask conversations. “HVAC is being delivered utilizing lower fan speed and horsepower through raised floor plenums. These systems are much quieter than traditional ducted systems, allowing conversations to carry through the workspace”, said Dr Katafygiotou.

People spend an average of 90% or more of their time indoors, according to research studies.

Research also maintains that in-door comfort is quite important and it is based on a combination of environmental quality, visual, thermal and acoustic comfort, says Dr Martha Katafygiotou, a top expert in green building. This clearly demonstrates the close links among green build-ing technology, acoustics and comfort. Sustainability is one of the driving forces in construc-tion.However, the acoustical environ-ment is typically given little or no consideration during the design stage, said Dr Katafygiotou dur-ing her keynote address at the recent Acoustics Tech Qatar. Dr Katafygiotou discussed the acoustical challenges in green buildings in her address. Acoustics Tech Qatar, held in Doha on December 10and 11 covered various issues related to acoustics from environmental risks, sound reduction in design, balancing building and perfor-mance requirements for acous-tic design to acoustics in natural ventilation. There was also a case study presentation of the acoustic

Architecture and acoustic design: art of constructing sound green buildingsAcoustics Tech Qatar, (Doha on 10 and 11 December 2014 ) covered various issues related to acoustics from en-vironmental risks, sound reduction in design, balancing building and performance requirements for acoustic design

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SITESC o n s t r u C t i o n10

coNsTrucTioN

knowledges noise as one of the key factors related to our health. Exposure to excessive noise, ei-ther at home or workplace, has a severe impact on our health; causing chronic fatigue, depres-sion, loss of energy, lack of con-centration, high levels of stress, etc. Excessive noise perceived at workplace severely dimin-ishes employees’ concentration and it’s considered as one of the main components causing workers’ dissatisfaction; having a major effect on reduced pro-ductivity.Construction noise is an ever-present problem whose effects are frequently amplified in the countries with a high rate of development. In the case of Qatar, a country with an unprec-edented pace of construction; combined with a lack of suit-able legislation, the problem of construction noise is reaching almost epidemic proportions, where construction is often being carried out around the clock, with sites operating 24 hours a day. In Doha, a city of-ten described as an immense construction site, there is virtu-ally no area where construction can’t be seen or heard. Apart from the direct influences of construction activity; indirect ones such as the chronic prob-lem of heavy vehicles in regular traffic, shouldn’t be disregarded.It is not well known that Qatar

has an Environmental Law in place, defining noise limits which shouldn’t be exceeded during day and night time. However, the law is not detailed enough, as it doesn’t distinguish between various types of noise (traffic, construction, events, building services, etc.) and in general, it is disregarded. Until Qatar implements a dedicated law addressing construction noise; it should be the contractor’s responsibility to consider poten-tial noise control measures and reduce noise pollution as much as possible. Although it should not be expected that contractors will put any control measure in place if it’s not enforced by the authorities. To encourage the latter, authorities have to form a certain body that can receive and process complaints from the public. As for this moment, it is virtually impossible to file any complaint if you’re bothered by excessive noise of a nearby con-struction site.How is construction noise con-trolled? As with every project, the key to success is in careful planning of the construction pro-cess. Construction noise man-agement plans present an indis-pensable tool when it comes to noise mitigation. Internationally, such plans are part of manda-tory documentation required to obtain a building permit. The purpose of these plans is to

predict specific construction ac-tivities and the related noise im-pacts; then define suitable noise mitigating treatments. Construc-tion noise can be mitigated in various ways. Some of the com-mon means of noise mitigation are:• Noise barriers• Acoustic enclosures • Using excavated soil as em-

bankments• Conduction on noisy activi-

ties during the daytimeThe least that any contractor can do; is to list all the noisy ac-tivities foreseen and plan their execution during the daytime if the construction site is located in a heavily populated area.Apart from these; another im-portant measure of contained

in any noise management plan is to encourage positive com-munity relations. Accepting the residents of nearby buildings as partners rather than disturbing factors, can make everyone’s life easier. Informing residents, disturbed by noise, about scheduled noisy activities and keeping them up to date with noise control mea-sures undertaken, builds strong community relations and aids in avoiding frequent complaints or even law suits. Psychologically, tenants tend to tolerate con-struction noise for a longer pe-riod of time, if aware of timings and expected start-end dates of noisy activities. Everyone’s sleeping hours should be found valuable and

the comfort of people should be of primary importance and not placed second in importance to the project. It is possible to significantly reduce construc-tion noise if there is coordina-tion between the contractor and the acoustic consultant, for the duration of a project. In the near future, those construction sites not implementing noise man-agement policies will be closed by the authorities. Despite the typically short deadlines and a highly stressful environment, that characterises the construc-tion industry, the best engineer-ing practices related to noise control should be implemented and become an integral part of every project, starting from the building permit process.

Being disturbed by noise emit-ted from nearby construction sites and moreover being un-able to sleep is a part of Doha’s everyday life; attributed to ongo-ing construction and the high pace of development. As the construction noise is often per-ceived as a necessary evil and beyond anyone’s influence, all related discussions usually end with a sense of helplessness and displeasure. However, when correctly managed the annoy-ance of construction noise can be reduced significantly so that the overall quality of our lives can be improved. Construction itself is a very com-plex process, involving numer-ous concerned parties and ac-tivities. By so, it is unavoidably noisy and presents a substantial impact to the environment, af-fecting wellbeing of both hu-mans and animals. Construc-tion noise is a common term used to describe noise pollution originating from various activi-ties related to the construction process; such as noise due to transport and unload of materi-als, demolition, piling, excava-tion, power generation, etc. Gen-erally, it can be categorized into a noise from open construction sites or interior works (renova-tion, fit-out, etc.). The effect of noise on humans is well documented and the World Health Organization (WHO) ac-

Construction Noise: A Necessary Evil?As with every project, the key to success is in careful planning of the construction process. Construction noise management plans present an indispensable tool when it comes to noise mitigation.

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like starting the construction of a high-rise building from the second floor! It simply won’t work because founda-tions must be constructed first. Becoming “Green” re-quires preparation and coor-dination at all organizational levels. There must be sort of “green infrastructure” or “green base” from which we can unify and launch all our efforts and ensure hitting the targets. We need to fill the knowledge gap first by more education and awareness of all aspects of sustainability, and then join forces together to fill the integration gap by more coordination & collabo-ration.First, there is our ecosystem, which includes us together with other living and nonliv-ing things. This is simply the environment within which we live, work and grow. Then, there is our society as a sub-system, where we interact and assist each other in all facets of life. As a result of our social interactions, the economic system exists as a subsystem to our commu-nity. This specific hierarchy requires wise thinking and a high level of human collabo-ration to control and prevent a subsystem from adversely affecting or destroying the system of which it is part. Sustainability, in its essence, is to be responsible and “seriously” take part in this wise thinking (knowledge) and human collaboration (integration). In the first part of this article, we will focus on establishing a level of “knowledge” about “green” and more specifically “green building”. This will prepare the scene for the second part, which will focus on the “integration” of the missing parts of the puzzle.Areas of Confusion:You may be keen to partici-pate in the “green” move-ment, whether seeking your own business benefits or will-ing to advocate sustainabil-ity. In both cases, you need to clear your understanding of some areas that came as a result of the “green” move-ment.The following are some areas of confusion related to the Green Building concept, which if not clarified may de-viate your goal:Product Certification/En-dorsement:“To differentiate your product or service as environmen-tally sound, you may want to obtain certification from an independent, third-party so that you can include their logo or “ecolabel” on your product’s label and other

marketing materials. Ecola-beling is important way to market your product to green consumers.” (Source: U.S. Small Businesses Adminis-tration)Most importantly, you need to know that green build-ing rating systems are not the right place to seek your product certification. LEED or GSAS, for example, never en-dorse or approve manufac-turers, products, systems or materials. They are intended to guide the project teams to utilize the best practices in order to ensure a better per-formance of the building as a whole. However, by under-standing how those assess-ment tools work and what they require, you will be able to align your products/servic-es with their requirements.I have seen many suppliers and manufacturers who were very interested to get their product or service “green certified”. They were ready to do whatever it takes them to be listed as preferred manufacturers or suppliers for LEED or GSAS rating sys-tems. Later, they got to know that the only way to do that is through certain third-party organizations which have no existence in Qatar or GCC. Here, we may raise another important question, is there any plans for the GCC (as a consistent united entity) to have regional organizations that can provide such third-party certification? The fol-lowing question should be: when?Building Certification:Not like product certification, a building certification pro-cess is a holistic approach to measure and assess a whole building performance against different impact cat-egories and performance-criteria. “Knowledge” is es-sential in understanding the implications of this process to the design and construc-tion of the building. “Inte-gration” becomes the next magic word in achieving the certification goal.According to the Green Build-ing Alliance (GBA), third-party certification is a great way to add credibility to any green building.The process of achieving certification also adds a layer of accountability and integrity for the building project teams. While a build-ing can certainly be green and high-performing if it is not certified, there are sev-eral tangible and intangible benefits that accompany certification that cannot be as easily attained without it. Benefits include:

• Higher rental or resale value

• Higher occupant satis-faction

• Higher demand• Lower operating costsThird-party certification is not the only way to achieve a healthy and high-perfor-mance space, but it is cer-tainly one of the most effi-cient ways to guarantee you get it done.Every project, team, and bud-get will consider a variety of different delivery and verifi-cation methods for their high-performance place; however, anyone working on a green building project should re-view the following certifica-tion options, benefits, costs, considerations, and require-ments:QSAS/GSAS:

GSAS, Global Sustainabil-ity Assessment System (for-merly known as QSAS) is developedby GORD (Gulf Organization for Research & Development) through several years of intense col-laboration with theTC Chan Centre at the University of Pennsylvania, and Schoolof Architecture at the Georgia Institute of Technology, USA andother reputed houses of expertise.GSAS was devel-oped by drawing best practic-es adopted from40 different rating systems known region-ally and internationally.GSAS is the Middle East’s first integrated and per-formance-based sustain-ability assessment system for the built environment.The systematic assessment method is applied seamless-lyfrom the macro to a micro scales encompassing urban design,infrastructure and buildings levels.LEED

LEED, or Leadership in Ener-gy & Environmental Design, is transforming the way we think about how our build-ings and communities are designed, constructed, main-tained and operated across the globe. LEED is a green

building certification pro-gram that recognizes best-in-class building strategies and practices. To receive LEED certification, building proj-ects satisfy prerequisites and earn points to achieve differ-ent levels of certification. Prerequisites and credits differ for each rating system, and teams choose the best fit for their project.Although GSAS and LEED are being recognized very well in Qatar and the region, many other forms of green building rating systems are available mainly in the U.S. and Europe. “Knowing” a bit about some of those systems will help you understand the different aspects of building certification and start think-ing how to “integrate” your efforts to achieve better goals (Source: Green Build-ing Alliance):ENERGY STAR for Build-ings ProgramENERY STAR was originally developed by the U.S. Envi-ronmental Protection Agency (EPA) as a voluntary labeling program to promote energy-efficient products and reduce greenhouse gas emissions.Home Energy Rating Sys-temThe Home Energy Rating Sys-tem (HERS) is an evaluation of energy efficiency and fore-casted energy costs within a home.Green GlobesThe Green Globes system was based on the Building Research Establishment’s Environmental Assessment Method (BREEAM) by the Ca-nadian Standards Associa-tion.Living Building ChallengeThe Living Building Challenge (LBC), administered by the International Living Future Institute (ILFI), is a philoso-phy, advocacy platform, and certification program that promotes a high standard for buildings.National Green Building StandardThe National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) and the International Code Coun-cil (ICC) partnered to estab-lish a nationally recognized standard definition of green building for homes.Net-Zero Energy BuildingThe International Living Fu-ture Institute (ILFI) provides a certification option for aNet Zero Energy Building (NZEB) under its umbrella of the holistic Living Building Chal-lenge (LBC) certification.Passive HouseThe Passivhaus standard was developed in Germany in the early 1990s and the first

dwellings to be completed to the Passivhaus Standard were constructed in Darm-stadt in 1991.ENERGY STAR for HomesENERGY STAR certification was first offered for homes in 1995. Initially focused on windows, air sealing, and HVAC, the label has since been updated to apply to more components of the home including lighting, insu-lation, and appliances.Class-GClass-G is an online platform designed to track the ongo-ing sustainability measures enacted in existing buildings. Structured around a yes/no checklist, the system allows companies to self-certify and compare their various loca-tions.WELL Building StandardCurrently in its pilot phase, the WELL Building Standard focuses on the health and wellness impacts that build-ings have on occupants. Ar-eas of concentration are air, water, nourishment, light, fit-ness, comfort, and mind.BOMA 360 Performance ProgramThe BOMA 360 Performance Program, sponsored by Build-ing Owners and Managers Association International, awards buildings that meet industry best practices in building management and operations.Professional Accredita-tionLet us put it in this way: buildings are “certified”, while professionals are “ac-credited”. Accreditation is an essential part in filling the gap of “knowledge”. You cannot expect success

By Diaa El-MasryIt seems that everyone is sud-denly interested in “GREEN” to the extent that the word “GREEN” has started to lose its meaning!Today, ‘Green’ is the easiest word to express your interest in achieving “sustainability” goals, if any. It has become a magic word to promote any-thing and everything, from cosmetics to aircrafts and from hospitality to heavy in-dustries. Nobody denies that Qatar has succeeded in placing it-self first amongst the great-est advocates of “sustain-ability” worldwide since the introduction of Qatar Nation-al Vision (QNV2030) in the year 2010. The “green” con-cept has now emerged in the construction industry, like in other sectors as well. Green building technology and sustainable construction be-came a trend in the market after the adoption of differ-ent green building rating sys-tems (LEED/QSAS/GSAS). The trend has taken form and gained momentum through the subsequent initiatives that were taken by different stakeholders. From govern-ment agencies to businesses and from research houses to NGO’s, we have witnessed an unprecedented number of efforts and initiatives, all aimed at promoting “green” or “sustainability”. However, I can admit that after 5 years we have achieved very little of what we dreamed of in 2010! Nevertheless, this is better than nothing anyway.This raises important ques-tions: What went wrong? Moreover, how to get better results? From my point of view, I think we have all had good inten-tions in our efforts. However, most of these efforts lacked “seriousness”. I do not be-lieve in the proverb “The road to hell is paved with good in-tentions”, as I am sure good intentions always lead to a better world as long as they are “serious” intentions.First things first:Before being “serious” about Green, let us agree that we still have a large “integra-tion” gap as well as a large “knowledge” gap in the con-struction market. I believe that those two gaps are preventing us from making steady gains in our progress towards a sustainable com-munity; in the very least it is slowing down this progress.There are many un-coordi-nated efforts that result in missing opportunities to real-ize our goals. For me, it looks

Are we serious about GREEN?Qatar has succeeded in placing itself as one of the first amongst the greatest advocates of “sustain-ability” worldwide since the introduction of Qatar National Vision (QNV2030)

DIAA EL-MASRY:is the General Manager and co-founder of QATAR GREEN LEADERS, a specialized company in Green Building Certification Management & Training. With more than 20 Years of experience in Architectural Design as a Senior Architect & Design Manager, Mr. El-Masry grew a keen interest to-wards encouraging and accelerat-ing global adoption of green build-ing and sustainable development practices. He has strong experi-ence as a mentor of Green Build-ing Concepts, LEED programmes, Design Management and public awareness. He is a pioneer in pro-viding Green Building training to various clients & organizations inQatar & GCC.

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you with advanced knowl-edge in green building as well as expertise in a par-ticular LEED rating system. There are five specialties of the exam including:• LEED AP (BD+C): Build-

ing Design & Construc-tion

• LEED AP (ID+C): Interior Design & Construction

• LEED AP (EBOM): Exist-ing Building Operation & Maintenance

• LEED AP (ND): Neighbor-hood Development

• LEED AP (Home): LEED for Homes

Read more about LEED Ac-creditation here: www.usgbc.orgGSAS CGP CredentialGORD Academy, a leading high-quality training provider center of excellence, offers a wide range of memberships and accreditations. These programs are designed to meet the skill enhancement needs of the professionals working in the construction-industry.To manage a project for cer-tification, the GSAS Project Manager must be a GSAS-CGP, which means GSAS-Certified Green Professional.

This credential is the starting level for candidates who wish to apply for all other creden-tialing schemes in the fu-ture.This title is conferred to those candidates who have earned the GSAS-CGP certi-fication’s full requirements and by demonstrating a well-rounded understanding and knowledge of the GSAS projectmanagement through participation in the GSAS 3-day training workshop and passing the GSAS exam.Read more about GSAS Ac-creditation here: www.gord.qaCorporate Sustainability According to Dow Jones Sus-tainability Indices, Corporate Sustainability is a business approach that creates long-term shareholder value by embracing opportunities and managing risks deriv-ing from economic, environ-mental and social develop-

ments.Sustainability-related megatrends are changing our world and are having a measurable impact on com-panies’ top and bottom lines. Long-term challenges such as resource scarcity, demo-graphic shifts and climate change are redefining soci-etal expectations, public poli-cies, regulatory frameworks, and hence business environ-ments and investment out-comes.The quality of a company’s strategy and management and its performance in deal-ing with opportunities and risks deriving from econom-ic, environmental and social developments can be quanti-fied and used to identify and select leading companies for investment purposes. For this reason, Corporate Sus-tainability Assessment sys-tems have been developed in order to help identify those

companies that are best equipped to recognize and respond to emerging oppor-tunities and risks resulting from global sustainability trends.Seemingly, the corporate sustainability is related to the attitude of a company and is used as a measure of the behavior of its business activities in terms of Environ-mental, Social and Economic aspects. This has nothing to do with Green Building cer-tification, although both are addressing sustainability.GreenwashingAccording to the Greenwash-ing Index, greenwashing hap-pens when a company or organization spends more time and money claiming to be “green” through adver-tising and marketing than actually implementing busi-ness practices that minimize environmental impact. Evi-dence that an organization is greenwashing often comes from pointing out the spend-ing differences: when signifi-cantly more money or time has been spent advertising being “green” (that is, oper-ating with consideration for the environment), than is ac-tually spent on environmen-tally sound practices. Gre-enwashing efforts can range from changing the name or label of a product to evoke the natural environment on a product that contains harm-

ful chemicals to multimillion dollar advertising campaigns portraying highly polluting energy companies as eco-friendlyWe are in a continually chang-ing world! Things are becom-ing more sophisticated and complicated than ever be-fore. The impacts of human activities are proven to be of tremendous effects on our ecosystem. This leaves us with only one option, to take sustainability to a “serious” level to achieve our national vision QNV2030. In a knowl-edge-based economy like the case of Qatar, knowledge be-come essential for everybody which mandates self-learn-ing and sharing of knowledge and experience. On the other hand, our diversified initia-tives and efforts should be unified and “integrated” to achieve real progress. In the next article, we will examine the missing components of the green building sector in Qatar, and how to integrate them.

The article reflects the personal perspective of the author whose aim is to improve the sustain-ability practices for a better and more ‘green’ Qatar. Please, keep the discussion going by con-tacting the author: diaa@qatargreenleaders.com

as a “Green” professional without testing your level of understanding and proving your capabilities through a formal accreditation exam. With new jobs specifying the need for expertise in LEED and/or GSAS, you can earn LEED/GSAS professional credentials to demonstrate your leadership in the field and in-depth knowledge of the rating systems and green building strategies. You may have heard about the follow-ing degrees of “green” ac-creditation:LEED GA Credential

LEED Green Associates have a documented, up-to-date understanding of the most current green building prin-ciples and practices, and are committed to their profes-sional future. This level of ac-creditation is considered as the first tier of a 2-tier exam towards becoming fully ac-credited as LEED AP (Accred-ited Professional).LEED AP CredentialThe LEED AP credential arms

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pliers and manufacturers. “Globally, the importance of green building is on the rise and the Qatar government is keen on encouraging such buildings,” HE the Minister of Business and Trade Sheikh Ahmed Bin Jassim Al Thani stressed during the GCC and Yemen Building Materials Man-ufacturers Forum recently. Qatar remains one of the top countries for investment given its booming population and pace of infrastructure expan-sion. “There is an international trend towards green buildings. Thus,

gardens: rehabilitative, heal-ing, restorative, enabling and meditative.Rehabilitative gardenWith a primary focus on physi-cal outcome, this kind of gar-den is programmed to parallel treatment protocols of the pa-tient group. This garden type has measurable outcome in the form of physical improve-ments.RestorativeThis garden type focuses pri-marily on the emotional and psychological outcome. The program is aimed to facilitate a return to balance and homeo-stasis. This is most appropriate for user groups that have re-cently experienced stressful or traumatic events.MeditativeFocusing primarily on spiritual and psychological outcome, this garden type is designed to allow for individual or small group programs that focus on inward and facilitate reflection.HealingThis garden type is a combi-nation of the rehabilitative, restorative, and meditative

increasing attention is being given to eco-friendly materials, offering incentives to produce these materials and use them in the construction of new buildings in GCC countries in order to achieve sustainability and protect the environment,” said the Minister.Local authorities have devel-oped a range of investment opportunities that address the green building materials sector. The GOIC (Gulf Organisation for Industrial Consulting) is pro-moting partnership and coop-eration among manufacturers and consultants, contractors, investors and decision-makers to encourage investment in the green buildings materials sec-tor. “It is well-known that the new worldwide trend is towards green buildings, the production and use of eco-friendly materi-als and energy-efficiency within facilities,” said GOIC Secretary General Abdulaziz Bin Hamad Al Ageel. “This movement resulted in the creation of new and unconven-tional building materials that are in line with the new build-ing specifications requiring the

typologies, focusing primarily on spiritual, psychological and physical outcomes.The program elements of a healing garden allow for both passive and active opportu-nities to facilitate individual needs for restoration, rehabili-tation, and meditation.EnablingThe primary focus is on the physiological outcomes of the primary user group. This gar-den type is programmed to both maintain and enhance the physical condition of the targeted users.Program elements provide op-portunity for users to engage in activities that will improve cardiac performance, gross and fine motor skills, muscle strength, range of motion and co-ordination.Metwally explained that consid-erations like comfort, access and furnishings, social Interac-tion and involvement, sensory stimulations and aspects like management and mainte-nance were taken into account when designing various types of healing spaces.

use of green materials and of-fering incentives to manufac-ture these materials in order to achieve the highest levels of sustainability. “In this regard, several green building projects are taking place throughout GCC coun-tries. These are innovative proj-ects in terms of implementing the best worldwide specifica-tions.”As Qatar strives to embrace a sustainable tomorrow, green buildings are unavoidable part of it. Industry leader agree that more focus has to be made on green building materials and the need to provide the local construction industry with suffi-cient supply of these materials to Qatar, so that the shortage won’t consequently increase the cost of green buildings. “The supply of basic construc-tion materials in the region ful-fills the needs,” said Abdul Rah-man Abdulla Al Ansari, CEO of Qatar Industrial Manufacturing Company (QIMC). “But there is a quality shortage especially when it comes to green con-struction materials.”He urged governments to part-ner with the private sector in

order to invest in this sector.The green building materials market in GCC is estimated to reach $22.97 billion in 2016, according to analysis from Frost and Sullivan. The major green materials in demand in the region are concrete, insula-tion, paints and flooring. According to the report, the cur-rent and future market players have to consider many aspects of green materials used across the GCC, such as evaluation criteria for these products, overall market opportunities in volumes and values, demand in key countries, competi-tion analysis, future potential, growth rates, pries and immi-nent trends to be successful in this market. “GCC is the fastest developing region in terms of infrastruc-ture and the rising emphasis on sustainable construction practices, lower carbon foot-print, and reduced wastage has fuelled the use of green construction materials,” said Frost & Sullivan Chemicals and Materials Analyst. While existing suppliers have nurtured robust customer re-lationships with governments

and large clients, the untapped private and small real-estate construction segments widen the prospects of market en-trants and offer added avenues for revenue generation.Therefore, green material providers need to distinguish themselves in terms of qual-ity and pricing to gain mar-ket share, particularly in less competitive segments such as flooring and insulation. Joint ventures with local companies will provide quick access to consumers, reducing the time required to build a brand.“Companies must look to com-ply with the requirements of local green body councils and design products specific to the rating system for maximum sustainability points,” advised the Analyst. “Since regional governments are the largest investors in construction, pro-ducing solutions suited to their needs will ensure profitability.”Improving end-user and con-sumer awareness on the eco-nomic, social and environmen-tal benefits of green materials will sustain market growth in the long run, according to the report.

The green building materials market in Qatar is poised for continued growth as the gov-ernment not only encourages sustainability approach in con-struction projects but also in retrofitting existing buildings. Sustainability is an essential part of the construction in-dustry and Qatar has already proved its commitment to the move by being ranked the sixth in the world in green buildings. New government initiatives as well as greater awareness on environment and health offer ample business opportunities for green building material sup-

Healthcare is undergo-ing vast changes. In the last two decades, gardens with thera-

peutic qualities have begun to appear in many healthcare fa-cilities around the globe. “Healing gardens” are now in-creasingly being designed to support the treatment of pa-tients with specific conditions.In a presentation about the healing landscape environ-ment, architect Amr Metwally, Head of the Architecture Divi-sion, PMC, Hamad Medical Cor-poration, pointed out that ther-apeutic gardens were being planned for cancer patients, veterans, children, people with dementia, hospice care and mental health facilities, among others.He said that numerous studies had confirmed that the experi-ence and exposure to nature within the outdoor environment provided a potentially positive distraction that could facilitate stress reduction and increase comfort.Metwally said that there were various types of therapeutic

Demand for green building materials in Qatar is set to soar

Healing gardens for patients

New government initiatives as well as greater awareness on environment present ample business opportunities for green building material suppliers and manufacturers

Qatari SourcesQatari SourcesTel: +974 4487 3850 Mobile: +974 55141030Fax: +974 4487 3826P.O.Box 17175 Doha-Qatar

e - m a i l : m o h d z e l i @ g m a i l . c o m

GRP SECTIONAL WATER TANKSFIRE SECTIONAL WATER TANKSSTEEL STRUCTURESPPR PIPES & FITTINGS LEED & GREEN BUILDING SOLUTIONS

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tion Sites chatted to Nasser about the concrete business, his thoughts on the construc-tion sector and his aspirations for greening the ready mix sec-tor.How would you describe the concrete ready mix sec-tor in Qatar?Concrete has changed the world and it is the main ingre-dient in the construction pro-cess. No building project can be executed without the use of concrete ready mix. Yes, steel is widely used in Qatar, in fact overused sometimes, but con-

not have to be always the most expensive ones. In Qatar and in the region, Project Manag-ers and Technical experts tend to over specify the strength of concrete. Qatar projects tend to design high concrete specifica-tions which are not required in all cases. The market in Qatar is at a stage where it needs to adjust to this new thinking, es-pecially with the scarcity of raw materials and the challenge of logistics. Technology is the key to creating strength in concrete, not more steel.Falcon Ready Mix has a Green Star from the NRM-CA. What are your views on the Recycling Concrete?Sustainability is not only about recycling concrete. We are able to do this as we have the ma-chinery but according to the QCS it has not yet been allowed for us to use the recycled aggre-gate and sand. I am sure that in the next issue of QCS, use of re-cycle materials will be allowed with a certain percentages for specific usages. Using recycling technology is not only of com-mercial benefits, it also will help us to save scarce resources and to preserve the environment. Falcon Ready Mix is committed to the sustainable production of concrete and will work with necessary Ministries to pro-mote Green Technology within the sector. I do not recommend that we use recycled materials in main building structures but it can be used in a number of secondary products. I am most excited by the idea of using it to manufacture street furniture. Can you imagine if all the parks and recreation areas in Qatar has outdoor furniture made of recycled materials? Even the decorative flower pots and lamp posts that we see along the roads and in front of hotels and malls can be made of recycled concrete, reuse means less shortage of raw materials. It will save money, trucks and equip-

Falcon Ready Mix is the first Ready Mix Com-pany in Qatar to be NRMCA Sustainable

Concrete Plant certified. With its Silver Level certification, Falcon Ready Mix is supporting sustainability in Qatar’s con-struction industry and balanc-ing its business aims between economic prosperity and social responsibility. A Subsidiary of Investment Holding Group – Al-Hodaifi Group, the company has cemented its name in the mar-ket as one of the fastest growing ready mix concrete companies in Qatar. Established in 2011, Falcon Ready Mix today tops the lists of the world’s sustain-able batching plants. With the first cubic meter of ready mix produced on the 1st of March 2011, Falcon Ready Mix has given the first and major prior-ity to produce a superior qual-ity ready mix thus has gained the reputation of the company that combines excellence in services, delivery of supe-rior quality products, using the most advanced technologies, coupled with the company’s commitments to sustainability. Committed and adhering to Qa-tar’s sustainable development practices, the General Manager of Falcon Ready Mix, Mr. Assad Nasser shared his thoughts on the current construction mar-ket situation and his forecast for the coming period. Optimis-tic about the market in general, Nasser sees the long awaited boom in the construction sec-tor beginning in 2015. Doha is rapidly expanding and in a few

years’ time there will be no typi-cal desert areas. There are still lots of works to be done on Qa-tar’s infrastructure. The city is in need of hotels, water tanks, roads, sewer system and wa-ter reservoirs. Five new water reservoirs are planned and are part of the critical deliverables as water is a scarce resource in the region that must be consid-ered in protecting and recycling. He predicts that more ports will be built, maybe not as large as the New Doha Port currently be-ing completed but smaller ports servicing local needs. Construc-

crete has proved its strength. In Europe, now steel is losing its popularity. Building contractors have found that they can get the same strength and durabil-ity by improving and increasing the strength of the concrete, than by adding more steel to the structure. This decreases the cost of the building as well as increasing its green rating. In addition to material technology is improving, thus, leaving great-er options for contractors to use wide range of materials to meet the structure and sustainability requirements. The materials do

ment and time spent procuring and sourcing raw materials.When we spoke to you in July 2014, you mentioned that the construction indus-try is facing an acute short-age of raw materials. Is this still the case?Yes, there is still a shortage of aggregates including washed sand. The shortage was due to standardization by the QCS (Qa-tar Construction Standards) to ensure that the materials are of good quality. QPMC is making sure that Qatar receives only the best quality of raw building materials, like, gabbro, sand and other aggregates. Unfortu-nately, no more licences are be-ing issued to agencies to exca-vate for more sand and to find new sources for washed sand. According to the QCS dune sand cannot be used, probably for environmental reasons, and this is a good thing. However, the demand for ready mix con-crete will increase in this year and may put additional pres-sure on the supply chain. An-other way to ease the pressure may be to look at allowing the use of recycled sand. I think that the way forward in the read mix concrete industry is technology. Qatar has to be more open to adopting more advanced tech-nologies to source raw materi-als and chemicals, also, to look at using synthetic materials in the preparation of concrete. In the past few years great prog-ress has been made in Europe and in USA with regards to how concrete is prepared and its ap-plications and uses. We cannot continue to consider the ready mix concrete business being low in technology. Ready Mix concrete companies need to make sure that they recruit the best qualified technical experts who can advise on how to mix the concrete but also which machines to buy and to identify global trends, like recycling and the use of synthetic materials for scarce resources.Have your secured any new projects other than those acquired last year?Yes, we have secured some projects and several other proj-ects are in the pipeline.What is going to be your message going forward?I think that going forward, the authorities should ease the pressure on the supply of raw materials. I foresee a high de-mand for concrete in the future. The ready-mix concrete sector needs to focus on adopting the advanced technologies avail-able in the market, especially, with regard to the use of recy-cled materials. This is my wish for us; not only to save money but to work together to save the environment. We need to be a part of developing the sec-tor. We can all do something to help the environment and the community. We are committed to help build Qatar and support this country in achieving its dreams.

The Future is GreenThe path to sustainability for the concrete ready-mix industry is going to be through the use of advanced technology.

I foresee a high demand for

concrete in the future. The ready

mix concrete sector needs to

focus on adopting the advanced technologies

available in the market, especially, in regard to the use

of recycled materials

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As a member of Qatar Founda-tion for Education, Science and Community Development (QF), QGBC aligns itself with QF’s mission to foster a progressive society through education, and seeks to support the Qatar Na-

tional Vision 2030 (QNV2030) to create a sustainability cul-ture in industry and within the community.The comprehensive training programme aimed at construc-tion, green building and sus-

tainability practitioners, is one way to help achieve this. “QGBC strives to raise aware-ness about green building and environmental sustainability by offering standardised educa-tional courses as we continue to work with our partners, in Qatar and around the world, to ensure that QGBC provides material that is on par with in-ternational standards,” said Engineer Meshal Al Shamari, QGBC Director. “The training programme caters to construction, green building and sustainability practitioners who seek to engage in interac-tive, debate-like development sessions with QGBC’s leading

experts,” he added. Meanwhile, since Qatar con-tinues to undergo massive infrastructural development in preparation for 2022 FIFA World Cup, adherence to in-

ternational sustainability stan-dards and green building best practices remains at the top of national agenda. QGBC’s professional develop-ment training courses, offered as part of the programme, will provide participants with Con-tinuing Education (CE) hours associated with several inter-national educational partners. The upcoming training pro-gramme will feature various modules including, Building En-ergy Modelling; LEED training and exam preparation course as LEED V4 Core Concepts for LEED Green Associates; the Designers Guide to Green Sustainable Material; LEED V4 Building Design and Con-struction for LEED accredited professional “AP” BD+C; and

LEED V4 Interior Design and Construction for LEED AP ID+C, in addition to tailor made sec-tor focused courses such as sustainability in facility man-agement. QGBC is a non-profit, mem-bership-driven organisation dedicated to advocating green building solutions, leading in-dustry research, and promot-ing sustainable practice in the community. QGBC offers membership opportunities to organisations, individuals and students who demonstrate support for the QNV 2030 and showcase passion for environ-mental sustainability.

For more information about the upcoming courses, log onto: www.qatargbc.org.

Qatar Green Building Council (QGBC) has launched a com-prehensive professional train-ing programme aimed at en-hancing the quality of green building and sustainability edu-cation in Qatar and the region.

Qatar Green Building Council Offers training programme in sustainabilityProgramme by Qatar Foundation includes professional courses led by seasoned experts

of this area,” he adds.Dr David Prior, Executive Vice President and Provost of HBKU, sees the new Executive Master in Energy and Resources as “a good illustration of how HBKU is building upon its rich array of partnerships to offer programs that are uniquely suited to the needs of Qatar and the region”. “I look forward to the launch of further teaching and research programs at graduate level which will enhance our impact, especially by exploring areas at the interface of traditional dis-ciplines,” Dr Prior says.“Our unique collaborations, clearly reflected in continuously evolving, innovative academic programs, will present many exciting opportunities.”HBKU offers the interdisciplin-ary program in partnership with Georgetown University, Texas A&M University and HEC Paris, each of which provides diverse but complementary perspec-

tives on this vitally important area. Graduates will receive an Ex-ecutive Master’s degree from HBKU, and will be eligible to receive certificates of comple-tion from HBKU’s partner uni-versities: Georgetown Univer-sity, HEC Paris, and Texas A&M University, in accordance with the requirements of each of the partner universities.“Hamad bin Khalifa University was established as a center of academic excellence and to lead the evolution in Qatar of a knowledge-based society,” says HBKU President Sheikh Abdulla bin Ali Al Thani, Ph.D.“This program will prepare lead-ers across many sectors who will build our shared future. It will serve our country, as well as the organizations and indi-viduals who participate.” HBKU offers a dynamic learn-ing environment based on inquiry and discovery, where collaborations with some of the finest universities in the world are resulting in a growing range of high-quality advanced edu-cational opportunities.Source: http://www.hbku.edu.qa/ExecutiveMasterE&R

Hamad bin Khalifa University (HBKU), a member of Qatar Foundation for Education, Sci-ence, and Community Devel-opment (QF), has launched a program that is specially de-signed to create an in-depth understanding of the role of energy and resources in mod-ern life – including their influ-ence upon global politics, the balance between satisfying our energy needs and protecting our natural environment, and their capacity to drive interna-tional markets.HBUK’s Executive Master in Energy and Resources program is specifically designed for high-potential managers and execu-tives working in areas where the production, consumption, or environmental impact of en-ergy and natural resources are likely to significantly affect prof-its or policy.“This program will give par-ticipants a complete and inte-grated understanding which will prepare them to be better leaders and decision-makers,” says the Academic Coordinator of the program, Prof Antoine Hyafil. “Energy and resources are the foundation of develop-ment in this and other regions, and their importance directs political and economic strategy throughout the world,” points out Prof Hyafil.“It is vital that leaders and fu-ture leaders and major orga-nizations appreciate the com-plexity and interconnectedness

Executive Masters Program in Energy and Resources now available in Qatar

Title Date

LEEDv4 Core Concepts for LEED Green Associate, Exam prepara-

tion

12 January 2015

Green material: The designers guide to Green sustainable material

3 February 2015

LEED v4Building design & Construction forLEED AP BD+C, Exam preparation

16 – 17 February 2015

LEED v$Interior Design & Construction forLEED AP ID+C, Exam preparation

9 – 10 March 2015

Together,Lets build aSustainabletomorrow

QGBC_Professional_TrainingQGBC will conduct a series of training sessions for professionals on various sustainability-related topics

For more information & RegistrationShireen Obeidat

sobeidat@qf.org.qaTel. (+974) 4454 1781

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offers decorative coating solutions for interior and exterior surfaces of a build-ing and aims to create a healthy indoor environment automatically becoming the perfect choice for those who appreciate a touch of art and sophistication. The TO-PAZ emulsions are of supe-rior quality, possessing high scrub resistance, low VOC content both of which helps to restrain flame spreading

in case of fire. The upgraded emulsions possess indus-try leading opacity, white-ness and colour retention properties, and the texture range is equally good for interior and exterior use, be-ing available in four variants i.e. multi, fine, medium and coarse textures. The TOPAZ enamel range is available in matt, gloss and semi-gloss finishes, all of which require very low maintenance whilst exhibiting superior white-ness and colour retention properties. All the products within the TOPAZ range can be applied through normal application techniques us-ing widely available applica-tion tools such as brush and roller.Hempel supports the prin-ciple and cause of sus-tainable development and offers Zero VOC green coat-ings within the TOPAZ range. TOPAZ Zero is the new green generation of paints that to-tally redefines environmen-tal friendliness, combining high-performing coatings with VOC free and Formalde-hyde free technology. TOPAZ Zero offers anti-mould and anti-bacterial properties,

making this product family ideal for kitchens, hospitals, schools and any other en-vironment where there are strict hygiene regulations. In conclusion, the perfor-mance levels of the upgrad-ed TOPAZ range have im-proved considerably, which a result of extensive R & D and product testing. Hempel continues to work hard to provide better coat-ing solutions to its valued customers as part of its re-lationship management pro-grams.

The TOPAZ range is a se-lected series of decorative paints, which offer superior performance in a variety of product types, with various finishes and textures. The products include a wide range of emulsions, enam-els and texture paints, all of which come in a broad spec-trum of colours and finishes to suit every taste, bring-ing to life to every decorat-ing idea. The TOPAZ range

Hempel upgrades its Topaz RangeGlobal coating supplier Hempel Paints have launched an upgraded version of their Topaz range of decorative paints. The prestigious Topaz range has been refined further resulting in a highly superior performance than a normal decorative coating.

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During a company presenta-tion, Al-Hodaifi stated that re-cycled rubber was a proven, en-vironmental and economically viable win-win solution to the waste tyre predicament.“No trees die in creation of re-cycled rubber and society ben-efits from innovative products with a positive and sustainable environmental impact,” the company said.The company argues that rub-berized asphalt can reduce road noise significantly. Reduc-tion equals two times distance from the sound source. It can also reduce urban heat island effect by reducing tem-perature by more than three degrees at night. It also provides better skid resistance, reduced spray, clearer road markings, thus im-proving safety of roads. On the operational side, rubberized asphalt has a minimum of 40% more lifetime than conventional roads, less cracking and rutting and has a reduced initial and maintenance costs.The rubberized asphalt pro-duced by the company is the Crumb Rubber-Polymer Modi-fied Bitumen (CR-PMB), which is a blend of crumb rubber from scrap tyres, asphalt cement and properly graded, sound aggregates in specified propor-tions.The presentation highlighted three different production methods for it:Wet process: the crumb rubber is blended and interacted with the hot asphalt cement prior to adding the asphalt rubber bind-er to the aggregates.Dry process: the crumb rubber blended with the hot aggre-gates prior to the addition of the hot asphalt.Refinery process: a patented process that digests the crumb rubber into the asphalt cement

at the refinery. This method uses about half the crumb rubber modifier and the ad-vantage of this process is that the asphalt rubber binder can be shipped to the plant in the same manner as the asphalt cement is delivered.The use of super performing as-phalt pavements (SUPERPAVE) will provide a significant perfor-mance improvement to all Qa-tari roads with additional envi-ronmental and lifestyle benefits to the Qatari population. Additionally, this technology should be introduced in the re-pair of existing road pavements.Some of the other applications of recycled waste tyres in Qatar include: FIFA and Olympic com-mittee approved rubber granule infill for artificial grass, play-grounds with improved safety and hygiene and waterproofing with heat reflective properties.Another application is the po-rous pipe irrigation system made from recycled vehicle tyres. The pipe is tough yet flex-ible using up to 70% less water than conventional watering and irrigation methods.Completely porous along its en-tire length, the pipe seeps wa-ter precisely where it is needed most - at the base and roots of the plants. It can be installed at the ground level or below mulch or underground. It minimizes loss of water to evaporation from the sun and wind. It can run along a line of trees and plants in a nursery or garden. Moreover, it’s economical and easy to install, run, and main-tain. It has no moving parts and few joints so is quick and simple to install. There are no sprinkler heads to become clogged, so it’s easy to maintain.Since the porous pipe works on low pressure, it avoids the need for expensive, heavy duty

pumps. It can also be run using the head of water in storage tanks or mainline water pres-sure.Another Al-Hodaifi product that is made in Qatar from Qatari

waste tyres is the rubber crumb.The rubber crumb is predomi-nantly used in the high wear areas around the goal-mouths and center circles of pitches.Application of rubber crumb

gives several benefits:• the grass drains rapidly.• the soil is more aerated.• the lower density of the

rubber compared to soil means that the roots of the grass can grow more densely. This increases the surface stability of the turf.

• rubber is less abrasive than sand (the traditional medium for soil aeration), hence there is less micro-scopic damage to the root structure.

• rubber on the surface acts as a cushion for the crown of the grass (the base of the growing plant). Al-though the rubber crumb does not protect the grass leaves from damage, the crown should re-establish green leaves once the field is allowed to rest.

• the ultimate outcome of this treatment is a bet-ter playing surface. The higher root density makes a harder wearing surface more able to withstand the stresses of the sport and the grass will recover faster due to its improved root network and reduced crown damage.

Qatar is undertaking massive infrastructure development programs, with more roads and highways being built, renovated or expanded to better accom-modate the surge in traffic as the country’s population contin-ues its steady increase.In December last year, a con-tract was signed for the con-struction and development of Lejmailya, Al Otouriyah and Al Shahhaniya, under the Express-way Program. Last year also saw the signing of the contract for the fourth phase of construction of the New Orbital Road and Truck Route, with a value of QR 3. 348 billion.As new roads and highways are being constructed across the country, residential and com-mercial buildings are mush-rooming on both sides of the roads. The new establishments are an inevitable part of the coun-try’s development. However, this creates challenges as well. As more traffic hits the roads, street noise is becoming a big-ger issue.Studies have shown that noise levels due to road traffic have reached intolerable high levels in and around many urban ar-eas all over the world. The noise produced from the interaction between the rolling tyre and road surface is one of the most important contributions in the overall traffic noise.This has led researchers and industry experts to look for al-ternative road materials that would reduce noise pollution on roads. One such material is the re-cycled waste tyres which have been an economically viable product in widespread use for nearly 40 years in many coun-tries.Having climatic conditions iden-tical to Qatar, the US states of Arizona, Florida, California and Texas have successfully imple-mented a rubberized asphalt road program for over 40 years.The earliest use of rubberized asphalt was by Phoenix, Arizo-na, in 1964 when it was incor-porated into the “chip seal” pro-gram for city streets. A rubberized asphalt chip seal - using a mixture of rubberized asphalt and gravel - was ap-plied as a temporary measure. However, it performed so well that the street was not recon-structed until 20 years later.During the 1990s, Phoenix re-surfaced more than 200 miles of streets with 450,000 tons of rubberized asphalt, which used about 1.1 million waste tyres. The city reported that rubber-ized asphalt performed without maintenance for 14 years and had an estimate life span of up to 18 years.In Qatar, Al-Hodaifi Recycling established Qatar’s largest and only AASHTO/ATSM compliant waste tyre recycling facility.

Rubberized asphalt can helpreduce noise pollution on roadsHaving climatic conditions identical to Qatar, the US states of Arizona, Florida, California and Texas have successfully implemented a rubberized asphalt road program for over 40 years

outlines 10 conditions and re-lated policy recommendations as a framework to discuss a range of inter-linked policies and actions to transform into a green economy.These conditions include so-cial, environment and eco-nomic innovation; collaboration between all sectors; integrated governance; balancing short-and long-term strategies and multilateralism. The roadmap also exists to share existing best practice and initiate new collaborative activities.QGBC was launched in 2009 by Qatar Foundation for Educa-tion, Science and Community Development, to promote and equip a sustainable building in-dustry for Qatar. Collaborating with ICC Qatar to host the seminar was a natural progression as both organiza-tions continue to call for sus-tainable development and envi-ronmental protection.Dr Alex Amato, Head of Sus-tainability at QGBC, moder-ated a panel discussion during representatives of the Qatari business community and gov-ernmental organizations from different sectors including oil and gas, construction and tech-nology shared initiatives and challenges in order to create a comprehensive overview of Qatar’s current sustainability status.“As an overarching organization in the sustainability and green building industries in Qatar,

QGBC is delighted to work with ICC Qatar to introduce the con-cept of a green economy to key stakeholders, decision makers and the public in Qatar to cre-ate necessary policies, raise awareness about green busi-ness and a green economy in the country,” said Dr Amato.“At QGBC, academics, innova-tors, researchers, activists and the public work together to col-lectively further the cause of the Qatar National Vision 2030. We do this through safeguard-ing Qatar’s green movement and sustainability in general.”Andrea Bacher, ICC Policy Man-ager for the Energy and Envi-ronment Commission, who de-livered the seminar’s keynote introduction, said: “The role of ICC in Energy and Environment issues is vital for Qatar as its roadmap provides a compre-hensive and multidisciplinary effort to clarify and frame the concept of a ‘green economy’ as well as to promote a more common understanding among the country’s residents.”A number of presentations were delivered during the semi-nar, including from AECOM’s Steven Humphrey, who spoke about the economic impact of adopting sustainable solutions. Others included Anthony Pryde, Exxon Mobil Qatar’s Technical & Engineering Manager; Moham-med KhaledFakhroo, Senior Energy Policy Analyst at QP; and Nauman Gul, General Manager at Technomight Qatar.

The International Chamber Of Commerce Qatar (ICC Qatar) has launched the ICC Green Economy Roadmap and Energy and Environment Commission during a seminar jointly hosted by ICC Qatar and Qatar Green Building Council (QGBC).More than 60 professionals and project managers gathered at the Qatar Chamber for the “ICC’s Green Economy Road-map: implications for Qatar” seminar to learn about ICC’s flagship guide, which provides guidance to business, policy makers and society in the de-velopment and implementation of policies and actions towards a “green economy”.Remy Rowhani, Director Gen-eral Qatar Chamber and ICC Qatar Secretary General, wel-comed delegates to the semi-nar and shared the roadmap’s benefits.He said: “As part of our efforts to serve our business commu-nity, we are working very closely with the ICC International Sec-retariat in implementing initia-tives of public benefit.“The ICC Green Economy Road-map represents a comprehen-sive effort to assist in the devel-opment and implementation of policies and actions towards a green economy and to build a platform for future action and collaboration.”Launched during Rio+20 as an initiative to promote a more common understanding of a green economy, the roadmap

ICC Qatar launches green economy roadmap

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tap on to drill down into the respective Prerequisites and Credits. Once a user taps on the de-sired Prerequisite or Credit of interest, the App takes the user to a page that lists the Credit “Title”, the “In-tent” of the Credit as given in the documentation, and the “Potential Technologies and Strategies” as given in the documentation. When the user determines that the criteria is met, the user can then indicate that the Credit or Credits have been achieved and the App will keep a running total dis-played on the home screen. As particular milestones are achieved, such as Gold or Platinum Certification, they are displayed in the banner of the home screen. Features to be added soon are multi-project capability, the ability to customize ID and RP Credits, and additional LEED worksheets for various other types of construction.

The Sustainable Building Techniques Checklist is di-vided into eight categories:

Centre in Dubai.Green ratings systems have been introduced in all GCC countries: LEED, from the USA, and the UK’s BREEAM are used by many developers and each country is adopting its own standards.There were 1,236 LEED-rated projects in the GCC in 2013 and the UAE accounts to 67% of them. Qatar has 190 proj-ects (16 %), Saudi Arabia has 158 projects (13%), and Bah-rain, Kuwait and Oman have 51 LEED-rated projects between them accounting for around 4%.“The UAE is considered a lead-er in green building practices,” says the report. In addition to

Site and Landscape, Energy, Water, Indoor Environment, Materials, Waste, Owner and Public Education. Simple techniques can be applied to site planning to reduce the environmental im-pact and development costs. This app easily customizable and can be modified to meet your projects needs.

operations & maintenance mobile app: This is a tool for building owners and opera-tors to identify and implement practical and measurable green building design, con-struction, operations and maintenance solutions. LEED certification provides independent, third-party verification that a building, home or community was de-signed and built using strate-gies aimed at achieving high performance in key areas of human and environmental health: sustainable site devel-opment, water savings, ener-gy efficiency, materials selec-tion and indoor environmental quality.

being one of the LEED pioneers, Abu Dhabi has introduced its own system Estidama, a green building integrated program, which assesses sustainability across the life of the building. “In some requirements, Esti-dama is more stringent than LEED and other standards,” says the report.While the new report estab-lishes that most developers now recognise the commercial benefits of a sustainable build-ing, it also points out that some contractors are “reluctant to procure technologies which are perceived to be more expensive and are unsure of any tangible benefit”.

This is designed to assist project developers, project managers, and local planning authorities in assessing the sustainability of a community. It is the starting point for cre-ating a plan to make your proj-ect sustainable. This app can be tailored to meet the needs of the project. The creator of the app is Team Canvas

Learn about green buildings near you and around the world using this free mobile app. View project images, read case studies and listen to au-dio tours. Search for buildings or companies and rating sys-tems like LEED, Living Build-ing Challenge (LBC), Passive House, BOMA BESt with beau-tiful results displayed on an

interactive map. A project of the Open Green Building Society with support from the City of Vancouver, and the Canada and Cascadia Green Building Councils. The app isn’t yet available in Qatar, though with the inter-est in green buildings, the app will certainly gain in popularity in the state also.

This is an ultimate bargain that pays for itself over and over in savings. EnergySaver is a powerful and accurate analytical tool yet it is quick, simple, and efficient to use. EnergySaver provides high-resolution visual results spe-cifically maximizing the ad-vantages of the Retina Display if available as in iPod touch 4, iPhone 4, iPhone 4S, and The new iPad (iPad 3), etc.EnergySaver allows to ana-lyze the current and estimate the future energy consump-tion instead of just analyzing or tracking past energy con-sumption. EnergySaver also enables you to customize and analyze

each appliance’s energy con-sumption instead of just the overall consumption. By analyzing each appliance’s current energy consumption, you can make real changes in the energy-efficiency of the building. The app is good for end-users and facility man-agement.

EcoFlash Homes is a flash-card application that is tar-geted at helping construction professionals prepare for the LEED AP+ Homes exam. With over 550 cards, the ap-plication in meant to be a pri-mary resource for exam prep-aration. EcoFlash offers flash cards for the LEED Green As-sociate and AP exams. While the full app retails for $19.99, EcoFlash offers “Lite” versions of the Green Associate and LEED AP BD+C apps for free to try them out before committing.Other versions available for 5 exams: LEED Green Asso-ciate, LEED AP+ BD+C, LEED AP+ ID+C, LEED AP+ O+M, and now LEED AP+ Homes.

As local construction industry professionals become more tech-savvy, the tablet scenar-io is rapidly becoming a stan-dard approach to designing, constructing and managing of buildings. The construction apps are developed to make the job of the construction professional easier and the project more cost-, and time-efficient, but also help to achieve required sustainability level for the projects. CS looks into construction apps developed for green building professionals and sustainable construction.

The Green Pro App is a util-ity application developed to assist architects, engineers, owners, and contractors un-derstand and work with the USGBC LEED guidelines for New Construction and Major Renovations. This is basically a simple im-plementation of the USGBC LEED 2009 for New Construc-tion and Major Renovations worksheet. The home screen is a division of the major sections of the worksheet that the user can

Demand may outstrip the supply of vital sustainable materials to meet green build-

ing regulations in the GCC, ac-cording to a new report.There are enormous opportuni-ties in the region for suppliers of energy-saving and green products, including lighting, kitchen and bathroom fittings and natural stone fittings, says the report by Ventures Middle East commissioned by The Big 5 construction exhibition in Dubai.“Green buildings witnessed a slow take-off in the GCC,” it says, adding that governments, however, had acted swiftly in the past three years to embrace sustainability through educa-tion and legislation. Developers have also recog-nised that buildings have to demonstrate sustainability to be marketable. The “GCC Focus on Sustainabil-ity in Construction” report says: “The rise in green buildings has resulted in an increased de-mand for green building materi-als. It has also resulted in the creation of new and unconven-tional building materials, which are in line with new building specifications.”The report was prepared in the run-up to the two-day Sustain-able Design and Construction Conference in Dubai, which takes place during The Big 5 exhibition at the World Trade

Apps for greener construction

Growing opportunities in GCC’s green building sector

Qatar looks into recycling of construction wasteThe latest trends in infrastruc-ture and construction technolo-gies and their role in supporting Qatar’s building sector were highlighted at the sixth interna-tional Future Concrete confer-ence, held at the Grand Hyatt Hotel in Doha last month.The conference was organized by Advanced Construction and Technology Services (ACTS), a leading consulting organization in the field of construction ma-terials and geo-technical engi-neering.Dr Khaled Hassan, Regional Manager at TRL, said at the event that there were 80 mil-lion tons of construction waste in Qatar that could be used in building materials and in new construction.He said that Qatar had already started recycling excavation waste and concrete debris to reuse in the ongoing massive construction sector projects. “Currently it is expecting to recy-cle about 20% of the concrete waste, which may eventually be increased to up to 50%,” said Dr Hassan.He pointed to various challeng-es facing construction in Gulf countries, especially Qatar, due to material shortage. He added that these challenges required total co-operation among all government institutions and construction companies.Delivering a keynote address on behalf of Ministry of Envi-ronment Undersecretary and Qatar Standards Chairman Dr

Mohammad Saif Al Kuwari, Hassan said that Qatar, given its extreme heat, humidity, and saline conditions, had been conducting extensive research to address construction indus-try-related challenges and im-proving building standards for durability and sustainability of various projects. “Qatar is also working to find alternatives to sand, gabbro and other raw materials to reduce its depen-dence on imports,” he added.He said that his company had identified the quantities and types of waste and how to use it to reduce dependency on im-port of construction materials. He explained they started ben-efiting from this waste in con-struction of experimental roads and buildings.Dr Alessandro P Fantilli, Pro-fessor at Politecnico di Torino in Italy, spoke about recycled concrete and health monitoring systems of concrete structures. He said that recycling was im-portant for Qatar, specifically since some buildings were be-ing destroyed for reconstruction and innovation. “In this case it’s important to recycle the old concrete and reuse it.” Engineer Khaled Awad talked about his expectations pointing out that “Qatar’s infrastructure projects will reach $70 billion in the coming seven years. This requires special care for quality and quality control to achieve the highest levels of building durability”.

He added that most buildings executed in Qatar currently followed tight timelines and technology could play a role in accomplishing projects in time and with high quality.Dr Noureddin Daas, researcher and expert in laboratory and standards affairs at Ashghal, talked about Qatar Construc-tion Specifications 2015 and the importance of commit-ting to construction standards which became a necessity for the society to preserve the health of humans.He explained that the standards and specifications achieved the highest quality and safety in buildings, roads and infrastruc-ture, as it ensures the improve-ment of performance and func-tionality, energy efficiency and preserving the environment through the green building sys-tems. He stressed the importance of defining the technical specifica-tions of construction concrete that achieved sustainability requirements, besides seismic resistance of buildings.Co-sponsored by the American Concrete Institute, ASTM and the Public Works Authority (Ash-ghal), the conference also dealt with structural health monitor-ing; innovative practices in re-pair, evaluation and protection of structures; concrete quality in fast-track projects; and the intelligent use of construction materials in large-scale proj-ects.

 Sustainability Assessment

 Sustainable BuildingTechniques Checklist

The Green Pro

 LEED project checklist

 Energy saver   ECO FLASH

  Green building

SITESC o n s t r u C t i o n24

Qatar eyes solar outdoor cooling The move towards solar energy in the Gulf region is not incidental or sudden. Qatar has recog-nized the importance of producing solar power, like its neighbors, Abu Dhabi and Saudi Arabia, as an alternative to the use of fossil fuels. According to a report on thegreenprophet.com, the Qatar Solar company in 2013 purchased a stake in SolarWorld AG, a German firm dedicated to the manufacture and marketing photovoltaic products worldwide. SolarWorld AG, distinguishes itself from its competitors by integrating all components of the solar value chain, from feedstock to module production, from trade with solar panels to the promotion and construction of turn-key solar power plants.Dubbed the BMW of solar panel producers, the SolarWorld AG is competing with China’s flood of cheap, generic photovoltaic panels. Salah Nezar, Corporate Sustainability Director at the Doha-based Qatar Project Management (QPM) company, says the practical applications of harnessing solar energy in the Gulf region are massive and lucrative. “There are just a few days in the region when direct sunlight is low. Therefore, the practical appli-cations of harnessing solar energy in the region are massive and much more lucrative in terms of sustainability factors than anywhere else in the world. This solution can drive the massive demand growth for cooling in our expanding cities,” adds Nezar.A research paper by QPM explains how the sun can be an innovative and sustainable answer to a scalable and affordable outdoor cooling solution in Qatar.The research, being presented by QPM, is co-authored by Nezar on behalf of QPM in partnership with Dirk Krüger and Jürgen Dersch from the German Aerospace Center, which is headquartered in Cologne.The ground-breaking solution aims at rebranding the outdoor environment in Qatar during the summer, so it is comfortable and more appealing for people to experience open-air activities rather than staying inside a confined environment.The outcome of this synergistics study shows the viability of the proposed outdoor cooling solution with the use of solar energy up to 90% of the cooling demand. There are few days only when the direct radiation is low; the output of the proposed solution can’t fully meet the cooling demand and another source of energy might be considered for these days. As the cooling load peaks late in the day due to high humidity level, an optimized thermal storage between the solar field and chiller has been introduced in the region to provide for uninterrupted system performance. The economic segment of the study has demonstrated the viability of the proposed solution as the estimated cooling cost is around € 0.20 (approximately QR0.87) per kWh of the cooling demand. Furthermore, investigations showed a potential cost reduction if another source of heat demand is available to absorb the surplus of energy produced by the solar field when not needed.“Now we need to move forward on the application itself. We have the blueprint; we need to find partners to develop a prototype. We also need to find a mechanism for the implementation. Lusail, Katara, Souq Waqif have all expressed interest. We do not have a prototype yet,” Nezar said in a conversation on the sidelines of the last Middle East District Cooling Summit in Doha. “Solar energy is the future. The technology might be expensive now but in the future when fossil fuels have run out, all we will have is the sun. So tracking the strategic path of developing this technology as an alternative resource is very important.”

TechNology

By Lionel Lemay, PE, SE, LEED AP, Senior VP, Sustainable Devel-opment, NRMCA and Colin Lobo, PE, PhD, Senior VP, Engineering, NRMCAEnergy consumption and carbon dioxide emissions, both measures of envi-ronmental impact, are important parameters in the discussion of life cycle assessment (LCA.) LCA attempts to quantify the environmental impacts, including energy con-sumption and carbon emissions, of a product, process or service. LCA is sometimes used to measure the environmental impact of structures throughout their entire life cycle. Generally, a building or building product life cycle can be divided into five life cycle phases: material acquisition, manufacturing, construction, opera-tional phase, and demolition, reuse or recycling. The operational phase is typically the longest and most critical phase of the life cycle since this includes the actual use of the product in a building or roadway. Impacts from heating and cooling buildings, roadway traffic, maintenance and repair typically far outweigh the impacts during the other four life cycle phases. There are few published works that take into account all five phases when conducting a comparative LCA of concrete and other building materials. The research studies referenced in this paper are mainly partial LCAs for several different phases of the life cycle. CO2 from Cement Manufacturing As with all industrial processes, cement manufacturing requires energy and the subsequent generation of CO2. According to the US Department of Energy, cement production accounts for 1.8% of energy consumed in the U.S. This level is relatively low in com-parison with other industries, such as petroleum refining at 31.4%, steel production at 4.9% and wood production at 2.1%. For the most part, CO2 is generated from two different sources during the cement manufacturing process: 1. use of fossil fuels in the burning process, and 2. calcination, when calcium carbonate is heated and broken down to cal-

cium oxide with the release of CO2. Calcium oxide is approximately 60% of the raw material required for the manufacture of cement. Limestone is the primary naturally occurring source of calcium oxide used in the manufacture of cement.

*Concrete Sustainability Report CSR02 – June 2010; National Ready Mixed Concrete Associationinfo@greymatters.ws www.greymatters.ws

KnowCrete by

Concrete and climate change: How does concrete stack up against other building materials?

of concrete materials and production facilities, shall be adopted in order to cope with the rising trend towards sus-tainable developments in the region,” said Bassiouni.Construction leaders are de-bating the capacity available for these methods, as new concrete technologies such as “Shotcrete” super high-strength concrete have not yet been introduced into the region.Talking about the burgeoning concrete market in the region, Adel Taybah, Plants and Works Manager for Ready Mix Beton and advisory board member for Middle East Concrete, com-mented: “The growing con-crete industry in the region continues to stay ahead of the trends, aiming at ensuring energy and cost efficiency, as well as contributing to sustain-able structures by adopting green technologies.”

Taybah added: “Though ce-ment markets faced tough times recently amid the slow-down, the demand has well and truly returned, along with demand for more advanced concrete technology to support the region’s megaprojects.” With sustainability a key issue for cement production given its high pollution output, one of the main panels at the event reviewed the latest low carbon-emitting concrete innovations.In line with the constant de-mand for concrete in the re-gion, Middle East Concrete included CPD-certified work-shops and technical seminars on concrete methods, as well as live demonstrations and panel discussions focusing on the latest concrete technolo-gies and innovations.Middle East Concrete took place in November at the Dubai World Trade Centre.

Several of the world’s larg-est construction and concrete companies gathered in Dubai last month to discuss solutions to ensure a consistent supply of the world’s most-used build-ing material – concrete. With infrastructure project awards across the region fore-cast to exceed $86 billion in 2014, according to construc-tion intelligence firm Ventures Onsite, demand for concrete is set to rise significantly in the GCC, which already accounts for over 40% of the Middle East concrete consumption.Previous construction booms have seen the supply of con-crete unable to meet demand, leading to spiraling prices and delayed projects.“Developers in the GCC have implemented the latest and most advanced technologies of ready-mixed concrete in the construction of high-rise build-ings and iconic structures,” said Ihab Bassiouni, UAE Country Manager for Grey Mat-ters Consultancy, and advisory board member for Middle East Concrete.“High performance concrete has been used with empha-sis on concrete placeability, strength and durability,” he said.“More attention shall be paid to the impact of concrete on the environment where new sustainable solutions, in terms

Construction demand creates need for smarter concrete production in GCC

SITESC o n s t r u C t i o n 25QaTar

Qatar’s Public Works Authority (Ashghal) has vowed to contin-ue its efforts to accelerate the implementation of local roads and drainage works. The programme includes proj-ects for comprehensive reha-bilitation and development of infrastructure and other proj-ects to create an integrated infrastructure in some undevel-oped areas.This was revealed during a media meeting, organized by Ashghal for the Doha Industrial Area project last month.During the meeting, Saoud Al Tamimi Manager of Roads Proj-ects Department in Ashghal, and Ahmed Al Obaidly, the proj-ect engineer responsible for roads in Qatar, south gave the media an introduction to the project and the latest progress so far. A site visit followed the meet-ing where journalists got more details about the works taking place on site and spoke to the project engineers. The development of roads and infrastructure in Doha Indus-trial Area is one of the major projects under Ashghal’s pro-gram as it aims to make a com-prehensive improvement to this vital area known for high traffic density and large number of businesses.To facilitate the implementation process, the project has been divided into several phases.

The first package commenced at the beginning of this year in January, and it extends over an area of approximately 480 hect-ares. This phase of the project consists of works to redesign and upgrade the existing road network and associated utili-ties. It also includes the construc-tion and rehabilitation of roads with a total length of more than 38km. These include 18km of local roads, 7km of collector roads, and 14km of arterial roads in addition to 19 intersec-tions to organise and manage traffic, and significantly improve the existing transportation sys-tem.The project will include the pro-tection, relocation and upgrad-ing of the existing utilities, such as potable water lines, electri-cal cables and substations, telecommunication networks for telephone and security sys-tems, as well as the construc-tion of treated sewage effluent network for irrigation of the soft landscaping and public gar-dens. The project will include the construction of a large tank to collect storm water that will accommodate a very large amount of rain even after heavy and continuous rainfall, as well developing and upgrading the drainage and sewerage sys-tems, including micro tunneling works.

In addition, the project will es-tablish an updated street light-ing system incorporating most advanced technologies, and replace the old boundary walls separating the existing facilities and streets with new walls.When complete, the new and advanced drainage systems will eliminate the problems of sew-age overflow and surface and ground water collection and the need for trucks or tankers to ex-tract water. The new system will meet all the requirements of industrial and commercial business own-ers, and will ensure efficient water drainage, in addition to protecting the area from any potential hazard resulting from unforeseen weather conditions, and enhancing the general view of the area.The Public Works Authority re-iterated that it would provide roads and infrastructure imple-mented according to the high-est standards. This will include upgrade of ex-isting roads, establishment of traffic signalised intersections, multi-level intersections and pedestrians and cyclists paths, in addition to the installation of lighting systems, and beautifi-cation and landscaping works. The works will result in vari-ous benefits, reflected in a de-veloped, safer road network, a smoother traffic flow, reduced pollution and a better environ-

Roads and infrastructure in Industrial Area progressing

ment. The estimated cost of the first package is approximately QR1.4 billion. The project will develop an area that serves more than 580 land plots allo-cated for commercial projects and have a positive impact on commercial and industrial busi-ness owners. The project will enhance the position of Doha Industrial Area and the overall public opinion.Ashghal has made good prog-ress in the implementation of the project works. It is working on the excavation of trenches, construction of concrete exami-nation and maintenance rooms (inspection rooms), installation of pipes for surface and ground water drainage systems on the West Industrial, Al Barradat,

and Al Binaa streets.The removal of asphalt layer of the existing roads and excava-tion to the formation level in West Industrial and Al Manager Streets are in progress. This is in addition to implementa-tion of dewatering works in all trenches, and treatment before drainage to the authorised re-gion. Micro tunnel shafts at Road 15 are being constructed in order to connect to the drainage net-work.Excavation in some areas has also started in preparation for the construction of a new boundary wall.The construction contract of package one was awarded at the beginning of last January to Qatari Trading & Contracting

Group & MSF Engenharia, SA, joint venture (JV) and it is ex-pected to be completed in the second quarter of 2016.As part of its keenness to com-municate effectively with the lo-cal community and commercial and industrial businesses own-ers in the Doha Industrial Area, the authority distributed bro-chures to all residents, includ-ing information about the proj-ect components and benefits. The authority responds to all inquiries, suggestions and complaints through its social media networks and contact center which operates around the clock seven days a week, as well as providing the SMS updates service through online registering on Ashghal’s web-site.

Ashghal says it will provide roads and infrastructure implemented according to the highest standards

SITESC o n s t r u C t i o n26 News

industrial Area “Abal Grarees” (Package 5). These are in addi-tion to a flow diversion scheme in Al Wajbah and New Al Rayyan to the North Doha treatment station.Under the expressway program, one contract was signed for the construction and development of Lejmailya, Al Otouriyah and Al Shahhaniya. In 2014, the fourth phase of construction of the New Orbital Road and Truck Route was signed with a value of QR3. 348 billion.As for the sewerage projects contracts, those included: the design, construction, operation and maintenance of Al Sha-mal Sewage Treatment Works (STW), the design and con-struction of the second phase expansion to the industrial area’s Sewage Treatment Fa-cility (STF), the design, build, operation and maintenance of Al Dhakhira Sewage Treatment Works (STW), transfer pumping station and associated pipe-lines, and the design and build of Doha West Sewage Treat-ment Works (DWSTW) exten-sion number 5. Local roads and drainage contracts1. The construction and development of East Aziziya:This QR217,073,527 contract has been awarded to Leighton Contracting Qatar. The project, which started in the fourth quarter of 2014, is due to be completed by the fourth quarter of 2016. The project will include the de-velopment of the East Aziziya area - which covers 720,000 square meters and include 740 residential plots - by con-structing storm water drainage, sewage networks, and treated sewage effluent networks as well as the construction of road entrance and exits, parking lots, artscape and landscape features.2. The construction and development of the roads and infrastructure of the North Part of New Slata

(Zone 40):This QR289,749,729 contract has been awarded to a joint venture between Al Mohanna Trading & Contracting and Pu-

entes Y Calzadas Infraestruc-turas. The project, which started the third quarter of 2014, is due to be completed by the third quar-ter of 2016.The project is located in the north part of New Salata within the Doha Municipality (Zone 40). The project area is estimated at about 270,000 square meters and will benefit around 696 plots of land.The project will cover the de-velopment of roads and infra-structure to provide storm wa-

ter drainage, sewage networks, and treated sewage effluent networks for irrigation. It will also include the develop-ment of internal roads 24km long, with a width between 12 and 30 meters, in addition to street lighting, parking lots, pe-destrian paths and cycleways, and artscape and landscape features.3. The construction and development of the roads and infrastructure West of Al Wakrah (Pack-age 1, Phase - 2):This QR490,240,090 contract has been awarded to a joint venture between Lane Mideast Qatar, Solid General Construc-tion, and Tadmur Contracting. The project started in the third quarter of 2014 and is due to be completed by the third quar-ter of 2016.The project is located in Zone 90, on the western outskirts of the existing Wakrah City, and is bound by the Wukair Road to the north, the Wakrah Bypass to the west and south, and ex-isting residential areas to the east. The project area is initially be-ing developed as a residential area with commercial, govern-ment, entertainment and sup-

porting facilities.As part of this project, roads and infrastructure will be devel-oped in West Wakrah over three packages, the first of which covers an area of 1.80 million square meters. The project will include the de-velopment of roads and infra-structure to provide storm wa-ter drainage, sewage networks, and treated sewage effluent networks for irrigation. In addition, the project will in-clude the development of in-ternal roads, street lighting, parking lots, road entrance and exits, a network of pedes-trian paths and cycleways and artscape and landscape fea-tures.4. The construction and development of the roads and infrastructure in Rawdat Abal Heeran (Pack-age 2):This QR544,991,076 contract has been awarded to a joint venture between Teyseer Con-tracting Company and Consoli-dated Contractors Group (Off-shore) . The project will start in the fourth quarter of 2014 and is due to be completed by the cor-responding period in 2016.Rawdat Abal Heeran (Pack-age 2) covers 2,180,000,000 square meters over a vast area of open desert in the western outskirts of Doha (Zone 53).The project will consist of the development of roads and in-frastructure to provide water drainage, sewage networks, and treated sewage effluent networks for irrigation as well as the development of internal roads, road entrance and exits, street lighting, parking lots, pe-destrian paths and cycleways

and artscape and landscape features.5. The construction and development of the roads and infrastructure in the North of Bani Hajer (Phase - 02, Package 7):This QR322,700,000 contract has been awarded to a joint venture between Teyseer Con-tracting Co. and Consolidated Contractors Group S.A.L (Off-shore).

The project will start in the first quarter of 2015 and is due to be completed by the fourth quarter of 2016.The project will include the de-velopment of local roads and infrastructure in the Bani Hajer area, north of Doha which is part of Al-Rayyan municipal-ity and located approximately 10km west of Doha’s central region. The project covers around 1,350,000,000 square meters and the major infrastructure im-provements being implemented as part of the project include the construction of linking roads and paved roads granting access to existing and future housing units that will be built at the project site. It will also include the construc-tion of secondary roads linking between the local roads and neighbouring main and second-ary roads network, in addition to developing pedestrian paths, road signs, street lighting, and the installation of fences, street signals, and traffic control sys-tems. Furthermore, the project will consist of the development of storm water drainage, sewage networks, and treated sewage effluent networks for irrigation as well as and artscape and landscape features alongside the roads.6. Preliminary works contract and construction of boundary wall in Al-Khor industrial Area, Abal Gra-rees (Package 5):This QR61,320,947 contract has been awarded to ALCAT Contracting Company. The project will start in Q1 2015, and is due to be com-pleted by Q4 2015.The project which consists of five packages will include the development of roads and in-frastructure of Al Khor indus-trial area. Package 05 is the first package of the project and includes installing a boundary wall in Al Khor’s new industrial area. The boundary wall is made of pre-cast concrete and is 2.6m high over a length of approxi-mately 9km. The flow diversion schemes in Al-Wajbah and New Al-Rayyan, north of Doha:This QR118,250,500 contract has been awarded to Bin Om-ran Trading & Contracting Com-pany.The project started in the third quarter of 2014 and is due to be completed by the corre-sponding period in 2015. The project is located north of Muaither area which is part of Al-Rayyan Municipality and includes the construction of a deep sewage tunnel which is 6.3km long and a depth of 6 to 21m. This is one of several projects throughout Doha to replace pumping stations with gravity drainage systems.

Qatar’s Public Works Authority (Ashghal) has announced the signing of 12 infrastructure contracts with an estimated value of QR5. 53 billion.These included seven construc-tion contracts under the local roads and drainage program, one under the expressway pro-gram and four for sewage sta-tions.With the signing of these con-tracts, the total value of con-tracts Ashghal awarded from January 2014 until now exceed-ed QR26 billion. These included infrastructure contracts worth QR22. 628 bil-lion and building projects con-tracts worth QR2. 543billion,

in addition to contracts for the operation and maintenance of roads and sewerage networks worth QR762 million. Ashghal President Nasser Bin Ali Al Mawlawi signed the 12 new contracts with the repre-sentatives of companies, which won the bids.The contracts signed under the local roads and drainage pro-gram included: the construc-tion and development of East Aziziya, as well as of the roads and infrastructure of the north part of New Slata (Zone 40), the West of Al Wakrah (Pack-age 1, Phase - 2,), Rawdat Abal Heeran (Package 2), the North of Bani Hajer (Phase - 2, Pack-age 7) and preparatory works and building walls in Al Khor

Ashghal signs infrastructure contracts worth over QR5 billion The total value of contracts Ashghal awarded from January 2014 until now exceeded QR26 billion

By signing these new contracts, the total amount of contracts awarded by the Pub-lic Works Authority as of January 2014 and until this day

has exceeded QR26 billion.

These projects in-clude infrastructure contracts totaling QR22,543,000,000

and buildings contracts worth

QR2,543,000,000

The coming year (2015) will also wit-ness the execution of a different set of infrastructure

projects within the local roads and

drainage program and the development and improvement of

facilities

Officials shaking hands after signing the deals at the contract award ceremony.

SITESC o n s t r u C t i o n 27News

The Construction and Development of Al-Jemailya, Al-Otouriyah, and Al-Shahhaniyah:

This QR 668,930,214 contract has been awarded to Qatar Building Company (QBC). The project will start in Q1/2015 and is due to be completed by Q4/2016. The project, stretching from the center of the State Doha to the North West, will in-clude the development of the existing Al-Shahhaniyah-Al-Jemailiya road passing by the Al Otouriyah over a length of 28.7km. It will include the construction of a two-lane road in each direction separated by a median island, with the possibility of adding a third lane in each direction in the future. The project is distinguished by its pedestrian paths and cycleways along the side of the road.In addition, the project will include the construction of four main intersections, namely: Al-Jemailya Road with the roundabout leading to the camel race track, Al-Jemailya Road with the Al-Kharib, Al-Jemailya Road with the roundabout leading to Al-Otouriyah and Al-Jemailiya Road with the roundabout leading to Al-Ghuwairyah. The road is designed to accommodate about 1,000 vehicles per day.The project comprises the development of services and infrastructure facilities to include rainwater drainage, and smart transport systems. Additionally, the project will include the operation, installation and maintenance of electrical sub-stations. It is also worth mentioning that camel underpasses will also be developed to facilitate their access to the camel race track located within the project area.

Ashghal Upcoming Contracts: Expressway Programme Contract

This QR1,510,955,000 contract has been award-ed to a joint venture be-tween Hyundai Rotem and Aqualia Mace. The project will start in Q1 2015 and is due to be completed by Q3 2018.The project will include the design and building of a Sewage Treatment Facil-ity (STF) with a capacity of 56,200 cubic meters per day to treat effluents gen-erated from the Al Khor and Al Dhakhira areas. The facility will use the latest in high-tech elec-trical and mechanical equipment to improve the quality of treated effluent in such a way to ensure constancy of the required quality. The sewage treatment will involve many stages and the treated effluent will be used for irrigation and landscaping. The sewage sludge resulting from sewage treatment will also be processed and used as backfill material and compost.The project also includes the modification of the existing pumping station in Al Khor in order to handle the sewage generated from residential and service projects planned for the region, the construction of a sewage pumping station to pump sewage form the existing treating facility in Al Dhakhira and Al Khor to the new Sewage

Treatment Facility in Al Dhakhira. Additionally, the project includes the operation and maintenance of the entire plant for 10 years from the date of the completion of the design and construc-tion works.1. The design and build of Doha West Sewage Treatment Works (DWSTW):This QR797,000,000 contract has been awarded to a joint venture between De-gremont SA and Marubeni Corporation. The project will start in Q1 2015, and is due to be completed by Q3 2017.This project will include the expansion of Doha West Sewage Treatment Works in order to increase the capacity of the station by 104,500 cubic meters per day so that the total capacity reaches 280,000 cubic meters per day. works include the expansion of secondary and tertiary treatment and process-ing and drying sludge, in addition to the development of a new system for steriliz-ing treated effluent. The project also includes the construction of a pump station for effluent treatment plant.2. The design, build, operation and maintenance of Al-Shamal Sew-age Treatment Works (STW):This QR238,515,309 contract has been awarded to a joint venture between Larsen & Toubro Limited and Waterleau Group (consortium).The project will start in Q1 2015 and is due to be completed by Q1 2017.The project will include the design and construction of wastewater treatment plant in the north. The facility will use the latest in high-tech advanced electrical and mechanical equipment to improve the quality of treated effluent and to oper-ate the station with the minimal manpower in such a way to ensure constancy of the required quality. The amount of generated sewage flow for this project can reach up to 7,500 cubic meters/day. Additionally, it will include the operation and maintenance of the entire plant for 10 years from the date of the end of the design and construc-tion works.3. The design and construction of the second phase expansion to the industrial area’s Sewage Treatment Facility (STF):This QR237,521,221 contract has been awarded to Six Construct. The project will start in Q1 2015 and is due to be completed by Q1 2017.The project will increase the capacity of the industrial area treatment plant from 30,000 to 60,000 cubic meters per day. The facility will use the latest in high-tech advanced electrical and mechanical equipment to improve the quality of treated effluent and to operate the station with the minimal manpower in such a way to ensure constancy of the required quality.

Design, build, operation and maintenance of Al Dhakhira Sewage Treatment Works (STW)Doha BIM Users start online networking group for those involved in Building Information Modeling (BIM)

SITESC o n s t r u C t i o n28

TeNders

ASHGHAL TENDERS AND AWARDED TENDERSTender No. Type Tender Title Participants Issuing Date Closing Date Category

PWA/STC/036/14-15 STC

Supply of General Electrical Items for Pumping Stations

(AA-D/14-15/OM/1657-1.05/S)Qatari Companies Only 24-Dec-14 29-Jan-15 Drainage

PWA/STC/030/14-15 STC

Supply of ABS Submersible Pump Spares for Pumping Stations

(AA/DOM/14-15/M/1658-2.05/S)Qatari Companies Only 3-Dec-14 22-Jan-15 Drainage

PWA/GTC/066/14-15 GTC

Three Years On-Call Supply of Miscellaneous Hoses for Drainage Networks O& M Dept.

(AA/DOM/14-15/M/1677/G)Qatari Companies Only 3-Dec-14 20-Jan-15 Drainage

PWA/GTC/064/14-15 GTC

Construction, Completion & Maintenance of Pro-posed Administrative Offices, Garage & Labor

Accommodation at Wadi Al Mazroua Zone ( Jarie Al Samar) BA/13-14/C/087/G

Qatari Companies Only - Joint Venture 3-Dec-14 20-Jan-15 Building

PWA/ITC/033/14-15 ITC

Doha and Rayyan Sewerage Scheme Miscella-neous Sewer Eextension Works on Call Contract

24/2014 (IA/D-HC/14-15/C/094/I)

Qatari Companies Only 24-Dec-14 18-Jan-15 Drainage

PWA/STC/037/14-15 GTC

Doha and Rayyan Sewerage Scheme Sewer Exten-sion Works in Musheireb Road

(IA-HC/14-15/C/089/S)Qatari Companies Only 24-Dec-14 15-Jan-15 Drainage

PWA/STC/035/14-15 STC

Supply of Submersible Pumps Spare Parts for Pumping Stations and PTP's (AA/DOM/14-15/M/1675/S)

Qatari Companies Only 24-Dec-14 15-Jan-15 Drainage

PWA/STC/032/14-15 STC

Pre-Contract Professional Consultancy Services for 5 New Masjids at Various Locations

(Package 5) BA/14-15/D/031/SConsultants 17-Dec-14 15-Jan-15 Consultancy

PWA/STC/031/14-15 STC

Supply & Work Contract for Modification of Existing Portable GSM Starter Panels for Incorporation of

Remote Level Monitoring System (AA/D/14-15/OM/1659/S)

Qatari Companies Only 17-Dec-14 15-Jan-15 Drainage

PWA/GTC/069/14-15 GTC

Provision and Maintenance of Safety Barriers Throughout Qatar, Contract - 5

(AA/ROM/14-15/056/C3/G)Qatari Companies Only 17-Dec-14 13-Jan-15 Roads

PWA/GTC/068/14-15 GTC

Provision and Maintenance of Safety Barriers Throughout Qatar, Contract - 4

(AA/ROM/14-15/056/C2/G)Qatari Companies Only 17-Dec-14 13-Jan-15 Roads

PWA/STC/034/14-15 STC

Motor Control Centre (MCC) Spares 2014- Supply/Installation

(AA/DOM/14-15/M/1674/S)Qatari Companies Only 17-Dec-14 8-Jan-15 Drainage

Companies Eligible to Tender: (1) Qatari Companies Only (2) Joint Venture (JV) Companies, which includes a Qatari Company having a minimum of 51%, share holding of the JV (3) Non-Qatari Companies (4) Not Applicable * All financial values are in QAR

General Conditions of Tenders- Full Documents for the Tender

can be obtained from Contracts Department (CD) against a Non–refundable fee paid to PWA Ac-count No. (0013-001813-052), Qatar National Bank together with a copy of the Company Registra-tion and a Company Authorization letter.

- Project document may be exam-ined at Al-Faisal Tower(1), Ground Floor, Al Corniche before purchas-ing from PWA.

- Each Tender must be accompa-nied by a Tender Bond, either in the form of a “Certified Check” or a “Tender Bond’’ issued by a Bank acceptable to the PWA” in the amount mentioned above valid for (120 days). Any Tender received without the proper guarantee will not be considered.

- The Tender shall be submitted in two separate sealed envelopes (technical and financial offer) and both envelopes must be enclosed in a third sealed envelope which shall bear the tender number, subject and closing date.

- All Tenders shall be submitted in original and one copy or they will not be acceptance.Tenders shall be delivered at or sent to arrive not later than 1.00pm local Doha time on the closing date and deposited in the relevant Tender Box of concerned Tenders Committee’s

Chairman at PWA.- The successful Tenderer shall provide a Performance Bond in amount of ten (10%) percent of the Contract Price endorsed by an approved local bank in Qatar.- For further queries about any of the tenders, please communicate in writing to the Contracts Department by Fax.: (+974) 44950777

TENDERS Please note that any information mentioned on this table are as per the listed companies’ tender advertisements, without any responsibility of the magazine.

Tender Number Type Subject Entity Close Date Value Envelopes System

Tender Fees (QRs)

6 /2014-2015 Local Tenders Supply,installation and upgrading of data network at SCJ with maintenance for three years Supreme Council for Judiciary 4/1/15 39000 Q.R TWO ENVELOPES 150

67 /2014-2015 Local Tenders Infrastructure upgrading of HP servers for QFMA Data Qatar Financial Markets authority 4/1/15 30000 Q.R TWO ENVELOPES 150

525 /2014-2015 Central Tenders Marketing plan for sole window customs system Al Ndadeeb for one year General Administration of Customs 5/1/15 170000 Q.R TWO ENVELOPES 300

527 /2014-2015 Central Tenders Maintenance works for mosque No. 490 and extensions at Al Wakkrah area

Ministry of Endowment & Islamic Affairs 5/1/15 180000 Q.R TWO ENVELOPES 300

69 /2014-2015 Local Tenders Renting of Nos. (10) light rehicles for two years Council of Ministries 11/1/15 30000 Q.R TWO ENVELOPES 150

70 /2014-2015 Local Tenders Maintenance works for mosque No.882 at Muaizer Ministry of Endowment & Islamic Affairs 11/1/15 30000 Q.R TWO ENVELOPES 150

528 /2014-2015 Central Tenders Cleaning works for Nos. 44 Mosques group 11 Ministry of Endowment & Islamic Affairs 12/1/15 200000 Q.R TWO ENVELOPES 300

529 /2014-2015 Central Tenders Cleaning works for Nos. 50 mosques group 9 Ministry of Endowment & Islamic Affairs 12/1/15 200000 Q.R TWO ENVELOPES 300

524 /2014-2015 Central Tenders Implementation of facilities works for Losail Intl. Karting Circuit QMMF 12/1/15 1600000 Q.R TWO ENVELOPES 300

531 /2014-2015 Central Tenders Cleaning works for Nos.95 mosques group 1 Ministry of Endowment & Islamic Affairs 19/01/2015 450000 Q.R TWO ENVELOPES 300

530 /2014-2015 Central Tenders Cleaning works for Nos.64 mosques group 10 Ministry of Endowment & Islamic Affairs 19/01/2015 270000 Q.R TWO ENVELOPES 300

Tenders Conditions: - You can get a copy of the

documents of this tender / tenders of the Central Ten-ders Committee during of-ficial hours, against payment of the tender documents witch you can retrieve it.

- Must be accompanied with the tender a letter of guarantee bank / certified check from a bank operating in the State of Qatar, as indicated above for a period of temporary deposit on 120.

- The offer must be valid for a period of ninety days from the date of the opening of envelopes.- Will be the last date for submission of tenders is twelve o’clock on the morning of the closure, and will not pay attention to any tender received after the deadline. - Tenders deposited in the box of the Central Tenders Committee, located in Muntazah - Rawabi Street, to be inside the stamped and sealed envelopes and addressed to the

Chairman of the Tenders Committee competent (central / local) showing the number, type of the tender and the subject.- The Central Tenders Committee invites bidders or their representatives to attend the opening of the envelopes and read the price on the day following the date of the closure

during the office hours. - To obtain tender / tenders documents highlight above must be to mentioned authorization letter from the company / institution.- For inquiries, please contact Tel: 44378192 /225 /143 /149. - For more information about the Central Tenders Committee ,tenders and auctions are being posed by the Committee You can visit the site on the Internet www.ctc.gov.qa

Morden is one of the leading companies in scaffolding and formwork. We believe that success can only be achieved through interaction with the customers. We have all systems for scaffolding and formwork with all accessories. we make technical support for our customers in all projects and we have a professional sales team with high experience in this field.

Tel: +974 44272344. +974 40374324Fax: +974 44272344P.O. Box: 15104 – Doha – Qatar (Opposite Abu Hamour Petrol Station)Email: info@mordenscaff.com mordenconstruction@yahoo.com

www.mordenscaff.com

Regent Hotel Al Ghanem Apartment Ezdan Mall

Double Coupler Swivel Coupler Board Retaining Clamp Putlog Coupler Timber H20

SITESC o n s t r u C t i o n 29

CALENDAREXHIBITIONS & EVENTSOF

eveNTs

2014 -2015Offshore Middle EastOrganizer: PennWell eventsEvent date (s): 26 – 28 January Venue: Qatar National Convention Center (QNCC)Location: Doha, Qatar Tel: +44 (0) 1992 656 658Website: www.offshoremiddleeast.com

Major Projects and Infrastructure QatarOrganizer: C5Event date (s): 27 – 28 JanuaryVenue: InterContinental – The City HotelLocation: Doha, Qatar Tel: + 44(0) 207 878 6928Email: B.Nanavati@C5-Online.comWebsite: www.c5-online.com/2015/525/major-projects-and-infrastructure-qatar/overview

Drainage and Sewerage Middle EastOrganizer: IQPCEvent date (s): 1 – 4 FebruaryVenue: InterContinental HotelLocation: Doha, Qatar Tel: +971 4 364 2975Email: enquiry@iqpc.aeWebsite: www.drainageandsewerageme.com

The 8th Middle East Artificial Lift Forum (MEALF)Organizer: MCI Middle East LLCEvent date (s): 3 – 5 FebruaryVenue: The Ritz-CarltonLocation: Doha, Qatar Tel: +971 4 3116300Email: info@mealf.comWebsite: www.mealf.com

Qatar Covertech 2015The International Exhibition for Wall and Floor Covering TechnologiesOrganizer: Ibhar for Conferences & ExhibitionsEvent date (s): 4 – 6 FebruaryVenue: Qatar National Convention Centre (QNCC)Location: Doha, Qatar Tel: +974 44175230Fax: +974 44175266

Email: expo@ibharqatar.comWebsite: www.qatarcovertech.com

3rd Middle East Turbomachinery SymposiumOrganizer: Qatar PetroleumEvent date (s): 15 – 18 FebruaryVenue: Sheraton Doha Resort & Convention HotelLocation: Doha, Qatar Tel: +1-979-458-8878Email: info@turbo-lab.tamu.eduWebsite: http://mets.tamu.edu/

7th Annual Facade Design & engineeringOrganizer: IQPCEvent date (s): 22 – 25 FebruaryVenue: InterContinental HotelLocation: Doha, Qatar Tel: +971 4 364 2975Email: enquiry@iqpc.aeWebsite: http://www.facadedesignmena.com

Qatar Projects 2015Organizer: MEEDEvent date (s): 10–11 MarchVenue: Grand Hyatt HotelLocation: Doha, QatarTel: +9714 818 0217Email: meedevents@meed.comWebsite: www.meed.com/events/qatar-projects-confer-ence-2015

The Energy Efficiency and Conservation ForumOrganizer: Fleming GulfEvent date (s): 24 – 25 March Venue: TBALocation: Doha, QatarTel: +91 9164989507Fax: +91 80 49005100Email: sobia.jameel@fleminggulf.comWebsite: http://energy.fleminggulf.com/energy-efficien-cy-conservation-forum

3rd Qatar Pool and SPA (QPS) ExhibitionOrganizer: Heights Exhibitions and ConferencesEvent date (s): 24 – 25 March Venue: TBALocation: Doha, Qatar

Tel: +974 4016 4184Fax: +974 4016 4182Email: qps@htsxpo.comWebsite: www.htsxpo.com/qps.aspx

Cityscape QatarOrganizer: Informa ExhibitionsEvent date (s): 24 – 26 March Venue: Qatar National Convention Centre (QNCC)Location: Doha, QatarTel: +971 4 336 5161Email: infoex@iirme.comWebsite: www.cityscapeqatar.com

The Outdoor Design & Build Show 2015Organizer: Streamline Marketing GroupEvent date (s): 13 – 15 April Venue: Dubai World Trade CentreLocation: Dubai, United Arab EmiratesTel: +971 4 4475357Fax: +971 4 4475334Email: odbs@theoutdoorshow.aeWebsite: www.theoutdoorshow.ae

Project Qatar 2015Organizer: IFP QatarEvent date (s): 4 – 7 May Venue: Qatar National Convention Centre (QNCC)Location: Doha, Qatar Tel: +974 44329900 Fax: +974 44432891 Email: info@ifpqatar.comWebsite:www.projectqatar.com

Qatar StoneTechOrganizer: IFP QatarEvent date (s): 4 – 7 May Venue: Qatar National Convention Centre (QNCC)Location: Doha, Qatar Tel: +974 44329900 Fax: +974 44432891 Email: info@ifpqatar.comWebsite:www.qatarstone-tech.com

5th QS - MAPLEMiddle East and North Africa Professional Leaders in Education

Organizer: QS Asia & Qatar UniversityEvent date (s): 5 – 7 May Venue: Marriott HotelLocation: Doha, Qatar Tel: +65 9338 0322Email: ashwin@qs.comWebsite:www.qsmaple.org

11th Trans Middle East Doha 2015Organizer: Transport EventsEvent date (s): 6 – 7 MayVenue: Intercontinental DohaLocation: Doha, QatarTel: +60 87 426 022Fax: +60 87 426 223Email: enquiries@transportevents.comWebsite: www.transportevents.com

Future BIM ImplementationOrganizer: Advanced Conferences & Meetings FZ-LLCEvent date (s): 6 – 7 May Venue: Qatar National Convention Centre (QNCC)Location: Doha, Qatar Tel: +971 4 361 4001Fax: +971 4 361 4554Email:opportunities@acm-events.comWebsite:www.futurebimqatar.com

World Stadium CongressOrganizer: IQPCEvent date (s): 18 – 21 MayVenue: St. Regis HotelLocation: Doha, Qatar Tel: +971 4 364 2975Email: enquiry@iqpc.aeWebsite: www.worldstadiumcongress.com

4th Annual Underground Infrastructure and Deep FoundationsOrganizer: IQPCEvent date (s): 7 – 10 June Venue: InterContinental HotelLocation: Doha, Qatar Tel: +971 4 364 2975Email: enquiry@iqpc.aeWebsite: www.undergroundfoundations.com

QATAR UAE USA LIBYA IRAQ

WORLD ATLAS TRADING EMIRATES GATE BM & SAFETY United Globe Trading Co.2611 W. Woodland Drive.,Anaheim, Ca 92801T: 1-714-527-0300F: 1-714-527-0310M: 1-559-241-4881ugtc.usa@gmail.com

HOME OF TOOLS AL-USOOL GENERAL TRADING COMPANY LTSD Tel: +974 44981666 Tel: +971 4299 7555 Tel: 218 6190 82212 Tel: + 964 7198 741 Fax: + 974 44981333 Fax: +971 42997070 BENGHAZI-LIBYA BAGHDAD- IRAQ info-qtr@warriorsafety.com emigate@emirates.net.ae info@homeoftools.com info@usoolgroup.com

H I G H P E R F O R M A N C E S A F E T Y P R O D U C T S

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SITESC o n s t r u C t i o n30

Project Title Client Main Contractor Value Range (QR) Million Project Status Type of Project

Twin Towers M/s. Commercial Development M/s. Arabtec 500-750 Piling & Shoring Hotel and Office Buildings

Audit Bureau Towers M/s. Al Attiya Group Trading Co. Not Appointed 400-600 Tender Stage Offices / Residential Towers

Al Waab Mall M/s. Qatar Industrial Services Man Enterprize, Qatar 300-400 Under Construction Mall

Mesiemer Q-Tel Not Appointed 250-350 Tender Stage Technical

Manarat Lusail Mr. Mohamed Abdel Ghani Al Mansouri Not Appointed 200-300 Under Design Shopping Mall & Office Tower

Al Hodaifi Tower II Ghanem Al Hodaifi Not Appointed 600-800 Detail Stage Office Building

CBQ Boulevard CBQ HBK N/A Under Construction Commercial, Bank, Office Plaza

Five Residential Towers at Viva Bahriya at the Pear (project management) Qatar Islamic Bank AFQCO & REDCO - Al Mana 1.2-1.4 bn Under Construction Residential Towers

Gulf Mall at Gharrafa Business Trading Company IDC 400-500 Under Construction Shopping Mall

Doha Centro Hotel at Bin Mahmoud Al Malki Real Estate Investments Satal Qatar Contracting N/A Under Construction Hotel

Ghanem Office Building at Salwa Road Ghanem Al Thani Holding Ramco N/A Under Construction Office Building

Marsa Malaz Hotel at the Pear Qatar (Main Works) Alfardan Properties Co. CDC N/A Under Construction Hotel

Qatar Sidra Village Project Mazaya Qatar Real Extate Develop-ment QSC Sinohydro Group Limited N/A Under Construction Residential

Qatar Airways Crew Accommodation Qatar Airways Redco International N/A Under Construction Residential Building

Al Rabban Suites Hotel Apartments (3B+G+M+50Floors) Al Sarh Real Estate WLL CRC N/A Under Construction Residential

Office Buildings (3B+G+22) at Lusail Marina District Sh. Hamad Bin Faisal Al Thani REDCO – Al Mana N/A Under Construction Office Building

Office Tower (3B+G+14Floors) Mr. Abdullah Abu Salah Shannon Engineering N/A Under Construction Office Tower

Al Baker Executive Towers Ahmed Abed El Aziz Al Baker Construction and Reconstruc-tion Co. 675 Under Construction Office Building

Al Nour Tower Private Investor Orientals Enterprises N/A Under Construction Residential

Al Nasr Showroom Shiekh Abdullah Bin Naser Al Thani Construction and Reconstruc-tion Co. 85 Under Construction Commercial

Police Training Institute MOI Hassanesco Co. N/A Under Construction Mixed Use

Panasonic Showroom & Residential Shk/Abdullah Bin Nasser Al Thani Construction and Reconstruc-tion Co. 205 Under Construction Commercial / Residential

Al Sadd Hotel Tricon International Atlantic Contracting Co. 150 Under Construction Hotels

Al Hodaifi Group HQ Al Hodaifi Group Not appointed 30-40 Million Design stage Office Building

Al Eida Villa El Eida Not appointed 5-10 Million Design stage Villa

Doha Education Centre Doha Education Centre Not appointed 30-50 Million Design stage Education

Step 1 International Academy Step 1 International Academy Not appointed 20-40 Million Design stage School

5 Hotel Towers adjacent to City Center Marriott Ren-sance, Marriott Courtyard, Shangri La, Rotana & Merweb Al Rayyan Holding Company Al Habtour 3.5 Billion Marriott Rensance & Marriott Courtyard in handing

over and the other 3 Hotels are under construction Hotels

Shemoukh Mixed-Use Twin Tower, Al Saad Real Estate Services Group SEG 800 Construction Stage Mixed Use Towers

Al Jasrah Twin Tower Lusail Al Shereef Enterprises Dorra Contracting 350 Construction Stage Mixed Use Towers

Qatar Radio and Television Complex PWA Tag Engineering & Contracting 120 Under Construction Media Complex

Markaz Almana Ford Showroom & Commercial Offices Al Mana Real Estate N/A 100-200 Tender Stage Mixed Use Tower

Ain Khaled Development Qatar Navigation N/A 300 Developed Design Stage Mixed Use

Sonesta 5 Star Hotel Al Madaen Real Estate A'yaan Ash'sharq 120 Construction Stage Hotel

Smash Tennis Academy Qatar Olympic Committee HBK Contracting & Trading 65 Million Construction Stage Sports Amenities

Police College Academy MOI Not Appointed N/A Design Stage Educational Complex

Health Care Centers (Pacakge 4 & 5) PWA ITC/UCE 600 Under Construction Medical Centers

Construction of Head Quarters Bldg. for Ministry of Interior MOI WCT N/A Under Construction Administrative and Office Building

MIC Business & Recreation Complex Alaqaria Arcon 169 Under Construction Mixed Use

Logistic City Qatar Navigation Not Appointed N/A Design Stage Warehouses

Headquarter of General Directorate of Borders, Passports & Travel Document Department Ministry of Interior Not Appointed N/A Design Stage Administrative and Office Bldg.

Construction of 6 Nos. New Schools PWA ITCC / Al Sraiya 350 Under Construction Educational Buildings

Al Emadi Twin Towers IBA GROUP Not Appointed 400 Design Stage Commercial / Offices Towers

City Tower Mr. Saeed Ben Zayed El-Khayareen Al-Huda 200-250 Under Construction Office Building

Fahd Suite - Apartment Hotel FBA GROUP Not Appointed 200 Detail Stage Shopping Mall & Office Tower

IBA Hotel IBA GROUP Not Appointed 200 Under Construction Hotel

Al Attiya Compound Tameer Real Estate Al Seal Trading 160 Under Construction Residential Building

Flight Simulator Qatar Airways Redco 40 Million On Going Special or Laboratory

El Doha Tower Mr. Mohamed Ben Zayed El-Khayareen Al-Huda 100-120 Completed Office Building

Al Meera Hazm Al Markhiya Mall Al Meera Not Appointed N/A Full Design Package from concept to preparation of tender documents included interior design Mall

Supervision of Breeding Farm near Zubara Village Equestrian Club Not Appointed N/A On Going Farm

Golden Line Metro Project Labor Accomodation ALYSJ ALYSJ 106 million under construction Labor Accomodation

Al Aween Fit out Alaween B5 N/A under construction fit out

Hotel Ramada Noor Ali Mohamed Not Appointed N/A DC-2 Stage Hotel

Qatar National Bank Branches QNB Not Appointed 20 million under construction Bank

Sheikh Badr Residential Building Sheikh Badr Khalifa Al Thani Al Batra 80 million under construction Residential Building

Qatar Embassy and Diplomat Villas in Mogadishu, Somalia MOFA Not Appointed N/A Design Stage Government Building

Qatar Driving School QDS Not Appointed 600 Permit Stage Driving Academy

Gulf Pearl Office Building Gulf Pearls Company Gulf Pearl 40 Million Design Stage Residential Building

ACES (Arab Centre for Engineers Studies) ACES Not Appointed 20 Million Tender Stage Industrial Building

Al Ahli Club Sh. Ahmad bin Hamad Al Thani NA 54,000,000.00 Service Design Commercial

FV9 Al Asmakh Head Office in Lusail Regency Group NA 38,000,000.00 Design Offices

Al Mansoora Building Abdulla AL Darwish Al Gefton QAR 658,000.00 Testing and Commissioning Commercial Apratment

Office Building / D Ring M. Al Ansari Redco 28,800,000.00 Mobilisation Commercial

C5 Apartment Rabban Group NA 121,000,000.00 Design Commercial Apratment

FV7 Multi Purpose Hall/ Art Centre Regency Group N/A 67,500,000.00 Design Commercial

SITESC o n s t r u C t i o n30

NOTE: Whilst we take pride in keeping our Consultants Database with the most up-to-date information, please note that the above information is provided by the Consultants mentioned in the list; therefore QCS in not responsible for any incorrect data.

Consultant

ProjecT focus

SITESC o n s t r u C t i o n 31SITESC o n s t r u C t i o n 31

AL MANA & ASSOCIATESAL MANA & ASSOCIATES

Acoustic Consultancy Services

Al Mana Business Centre, Al Amir Road, P.O.B. 2255, Doha, QatarTel: (+974) 44684482 E-mail: admin@amaqatar.com www.amaqatar.com

• Noise and Vibration Control• Noise and Vibration Monitoring• Sound Insulation• Interior Acoustics

(Halls, Mosques, Auditoriums)• Commissioning Measurement

and Testing

CRANE  AND  LIFTING  EQUIPMENT  ENGINEERS  GENERAL  MECHANICAL  WORKS  

4458 5480; 4469 4569; 5581 5641; 7748 7432 Email:  opera,ons@dutestqatar.com,  sales@dutestqatar.com  

Dutest Qatar W.L.L.

OUR  SCOPE  AND  SERVICES  

INCLUDE:  

WIRE ROPES, SLINGS, HEIGHT SAFETY, INSPECTION AND TESTING, RENTALS, CRANE HIRE

Monthly construction news, tenders, project focus, and forthcoming exhibitions in QatarTel.: +974 4469 3280 - Fax: +974 4451 0428

Issue No. (90) January 2015, Doha - Qatar

C o n s t r u C t i o n

SITES

The Gulf Organization for In-dustrial Consulting (GOIC) held a session that was dedicated to discuss and diagnose in-vestment opportunities for at-tracting the private sector to transform applied research into industrial products or pilot proj-ects.Dr Laila Diab Shrair, Strategic Planning Consultant at GOIC Secretary General Office, de-livered a paper, entitled “The Importance of Innovation in Transforming Applied Research into Competitive Industrial Products”, at the session, held at the at the headquarters of the Amman Chamber of Indus-try in the Jordanian capital on December 15 and 16 last year.The session was arranged by the Arab Organization for Indus-trial Development and Mining, the Amman Chamber of Indus-try and the ESCWA Technology Center under the patronage of Prince El Hassan bin Talal.

Dr Shrair stressed the impor-tance of innovation and re-search centers in the develop-ment of industrial institutions and in industrial development. They, she said, contributed in empowering industrial institu-tions to meet new requirements in the midst of changing global environment. She saw innovation and creativ-ity in production as catalysts of industrial competitiveness. They also helped adopting ad-equate mechanisms according to practical frameworks to de-velop and promote innovation capacities of industrial institu-tions. Dr Shrair opined that innovation helped guaranteeing the future of industrial institutions and im-proving their performance and competitiveness in the market. “In fact innovation and creativ-ity are the key factors behind the development of products and production processes. They contribute in the shift toward knowledge-based industries, as knowledge is one of the key aspects of today’s productivity,” she said. According to her, examining the

status of research centers and scientific research environment revealed the increasing inter-est of governments in scientific research in GCC countries over the last five years. The GCC countries stressed the importance of scientific re-search in economic diversifica-tion and in development in their national visions, development strategies and sector strate-gies. Dr Shrair said spending on sci-entific research and develop-ment in most GCC countries was modest, with the exception of the State of Qatar that had allocated 2.8% of its GDP in 2009 to scientific research and development. Developed countries allotted around 2.5% of their GDP to re-search and development activi-ties for which the private sector paid around 80% of their total cost. Nevertheless, only 0.2% of the GDP was spent on research and development in GCC coun-tries according to Unesco’s 2010 report (some of its figures are approximate) with a quasi-absence of the private sector.

GOIC highlights investment opportunities for private sectorSpending on scientific research in GCC countries was low com-pared with the 3.5% of the GDP spent in Finland, 3.11% in Ja-pan and 3.7% in Sweden. Dr Shrair reiterated that GOIC’s role in the area of investment opportunities attracting the private sector in GCC countries was to support industrial devel-opment projects in these coun-tries. “To do so, GOIC develops indus-trial and economic databases, prepares an annual report on the readiness of GCC countries to move to knowledge-based industries, implements several knowledge industry projects in member states like Bahrain and Kuwait in collaboration with the World Bank and introduces nu-merous industrial investment opportunities in targeted public and private sectors.”She offered a number of op-portunities that could be ad-opted by big, medium and small companies of the private sector such as: ultrafine par-ticles in the steel industry, the water sector, addition of nano-particles to concrete in the construction industry, bio-stim-

ulation in petrochemical and chemical industries, solar en-ergy techniques enhanced with nano-particles, sensors for en-vironmental and chemical ap-plications, nano-particle-based smart glass in the automotive and construction industries, biopolymer-based food delivery systems, personal care prod-ucts for GCC countries, medi-cal care diagnosis point and carbon nano-tubes for energy storage technologies. At the end of her presentation, Dr Shrair stated that GCC coun-tries needed to improve their performance according to the Competitive Industrial Perfor-mance Index (CIP) to identify new industrial scenarios. “The ultimate objective is to achieve fast and deep techno-logical change. In fact, global-ization has affected production systems of every industry with the emergence of new competi-tors. “Thus, a completely new con-text has emerged to sustain industrial development and it is particularly challenging for countries that did not realize their industrial potential yet.”

In conclusion, Dr Shrair high-lighted a number of recommen-dations, notably that govern-ments and industrial investors should remember that knowl-edge-based industry strategies were based on competitive ad-vantage in the countries. “Therefore, these industries are extensive and benefit from prov-en competencies. In addition to that, widespread political re-forms are needed to guarantee a vital business environment that reduces bureaucratic barri-ers, facilitates access to financ-ing and reinforces legal and regulatory frameworks. “Moreover, education reform is the first step toward finding a solution to the pressing need for human capital. “In addition, governments’ role should be promoted to provide knowledge networks and pub-lic private partnerships need to be encouraged to enhance initiatives targeting knowledge-based industries market.“In this regard, supporting SMEs needs to be a priority to encourage them to move to-ward knowledge-based indus-tries.”

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“Widespread political reforms are needed to guarantee a vital business environment”