Dean McGrail, director of property and buildings at WSP | Parsons Brinckerhoff, manages over 500 people across the Middle East. After a quick yet diligent climb up the corporate ladder, McGrail has absorbed every experience as a learning lesson from his time in the university to working in the East and the GCC. He shares how culture should be understood rather than ignored for true success. Lorraine Bangera writes By combining opportunity and hard work, Dean McGrail has climbed the ranks with WSP – Parsons Brinckerhoff (WSP | PB), over the last decade. Now in his late 30s, McGrail looks…
Author: Paromita Dey
The inaugural Emirates Energy Efficiency Summit (EEES 2016) held on 3 to 4 February 2016 at the American University in Dubai, brought together industry thought leaders to tackle the energy crisis faced by the region today. Hosted by General Electric (GE) and the Prince Albert II of Monaco Foundation, the invitation-only summit was a result of the ongoing energy crises faced around the globe along with the instability in crude oil. HSH Prince Albert II of Monaco said: “As a follow up to the Euro Mediterranean meetings organised in Monaco over the past five years, the Emirates Energy Efficiency Summit…
Autodesk launched Forge, an initiative that helps accelerate cloud connected ecosystem in support of the future of making things. The initiative consists of three major components geared toward advancing the next wave of innovative technologies that will transform how products are designed, made and used. The three components include: Platform-as-a-Service – The Forge Platform is a set of cloud services that span early stage design, engineering, visualisation, collaboration, production and operations. Developer Program – The Forge Developer Program will bring together the cloud developer community, provide ongoing training, resources and support, and host an inaugural Forge Developer Conference during the…
RAK Ceramics announced the full acquisition of its British and German entities. The regional ceramic manufacturer also appointed a new leadership team to head its core European operations. The move is expected to support RAK Ceramics as it grows within Europe’s high-value markets and further consolidates the interests of its global operations. New appointments included Alvin Biggs being appointed as managing director for RAK UK, Math Rietrae as general manager of RAK Ceramics’ Central Europe division based in Germany and Søren Hougaard as general manager of RAK Ceramics’ North Europe division based in Denmark. Abdallah Massaad, group CEO at RAK…
Volvo Trucks Middle East announced an increase in vehicles sold in 2015 compared to the previous year. Full year sales were up in most of Volvo Trucks’ Middle East markets including Bahrain, Kuwait, Lebanon and Qatar, more than doubling sales in all four markets and a double digit growth in Oman, which is Volvo Trucks third largest market in the Middle East. Sales in Jordan were up by 50%, while Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates were (once again) Volvo Trucks’ two biggest markets in the Middle East. The end of the year witnessed significant activity with the opening…
Terrapinn Middle East, organiser of Middle East Rail, revealed that 16 major railway projects worth $352bn are currently under construction in the MENA region. Jamie Hosie, project director at the show, said: “With current market conditions as they are, it’s a great opportunity for international rail suppliers to enter the market. Governments are now diversifying their resources, putting more emphasis on projects that are not oil-related. With transport and logistics sectors playing an increasingly important role in the region’s economies, governments are now looking towards innovative technologies to boost economic sectors that will boost intra-regional trade and tourism activities.” The…
TOPHOTELPROJECTS reports that 34,076 hotel rooms are under construction in India with 190 hotels under construction as of October 2015. On the other hand, the Federation of Hotel and Restaurant Associations of India (FHRAI) quoted that an additional 100,000 hotel rooms are required to meet demand. The government of India has been increasingly investing in attractions and infrastructure to boost the number of tourists visiting every year. According to the World Travel and Tourism Council (WTTC), India has the potential to become the world’s number one tourist destination, and forecasts that the sector will generate $42.8bn by 2017. International Monetary…
Dubai-based developer Nakheel awarded a construction contract worth AED1.4bn to Ssangyong Engineering & Construction Co Ltd (Dubai Branch) and China State Construction Engineering Corporation (Middle East) LLC for The Palm Gateway. The project will be a three-tower residential, retail and beach club complex located in Palm Jumeirah. Work is set to begin in Q1 2016 and expected to take over two years to complete. The towers, topping 285 metres, will be constructed on top of the existing Palm Monorail terminal, which includes 14 levels of parking spaces. Nakheel’s growing residential leasing portfolio is set to increase to more than 20,000…
Dubai’s property market is performing well, supported by strong payment infrastructure, and now is “the right time to invest” according to president of Strategic Marketing and Exhibitions (SME), Dawood Al Shezawi. The comments were made as SME unveiled the 12th edition of International Property Show (IPS) which will run from 11 to 13 April 2016 at the Dubai International Convention and Exhibition Centre in a press conference held on 2 February 2016. IPS has triggered transactions over $40bn between 2006 and 2015, after organisers reached out to investors in more than 180 countries, out of which 150 will be represented…
Dubai’s new public-private partnership law aims to draw foreign investment and international expertise to the emirate’s infrastructure market. By Stuart Matthews There’s a new law in town and it has investment in its sights. Where once the development of large-scale infrastructure was solely the purview of government, the door is now open for public-private partnerships (PPP) to push Dubai forward. The emirate’s new PPP law was passed on 20 September 2015 and entered into force on 19 November. If it can catch the eye of construction consortia it may herald a new era in the way projects in the emirate…