Saudi Arabia achieved a major breakthrough when 10 of its highest quality projects were named national winners at the MEED Quality Awards for Projects, in association with Mashreq. In Saudi Arabia, the winning projects, valued at over $23 billion, include The Municipality of the Governorate of Jeddah's The Kingdom Flag Pole, Jeddah Project (entered by SAK Consultant) as Leisure & Tourism Project of the Year; Ma'aden Gold and Base Metals Co.'s Ad'Duwieh Gold Project Electrical Distribution and E House Project (entered by Schneider Electric) as Innovation Project of the Year; Rabigh Refining and Petrochemical Co.'s Upgrade of Refinery Substations Project-Phase 1 (entered by Schneider Electric) as Small Project of the Year; Saudi Aramco's King Abdullah Petroleum Studies and Research Centre Project (entered by Drake & Scull) as Sustainable Project of the Year, sponsored by Besix; Elkhereiji Group's Head Office Building Project (entered by SAK Consultant) Saudi Arabia as Mixed Use Project of the Year; Saudi Electric Company's Rabigh 2 Power Project (4x700MW) Project as Power & Water Project of the Year; Burj Rafal Real Estate Development Co.'s Boulevard Project as Retail Project of the Year; and Omarana's Waha Office Building Project as Building Project of the Year. Saudi Aramco and Sinopec JV scooped the National Award for Oil & Gas Project of the Year, sponsored by Parsons, with the Yanbu Aramco Sinopec Refining Company Ltd. Refinery Project (nominated by YASFER); while the Rehabilitation, Expansion and Development of the Prince Mohammad Bin Abdulaziz International Airport Project owned by GACA, represented by TIBAH Airports Development Company Ltd and entered by TAV Construction, won Saudi Arabia's Airport Project of the Year. John Iossifidis, Executive Vice President, Group Head of Corporate & Investment Banking at Mashreq which is the headline sponsor of the awards, said "Saudi Arabia's construction industry is projected to exhibit sustainable growth prospects in the next few years. This industry experienced enormous investments from the public and private enterprises during the past few years and there are optimistic signs that this will continue. We congratulate all the winners for delivering and contributing towards the growth and sustainability of the industry." This is Saudi Arabia's best performance in the awards, with 10 projects winning the National Winner accolade compared to seven in last year's edition. They will now compete at the regional level against national winners from Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates for GCC-wide recognition in various categories. "The projects were evaluated by an esteemed judging panel against criteria that included not only engineering and construction excellence; but also sustainability and innovation," said Richard Thompson, Editorial Director at MEED. "They are a testament to the quality of projects being built throughout the Gulf and MEED is honored to be able to recognizse these achievements to highlight their contribution towards the future development of the projects industry in the region." The winners of the 2016 MEED Quality Awards for Projects, in association with Mashreq, will be announced at a ceremony on May 25, 2016 that will serve as the culmination of the MEED Construction Leadership Summit, a high-level gathering of the Gulf's construction leaders, which seeks to promote open dialogue between stakeholders to explore the strategic direction of the region's construction industry.
