JEDDAH — The hunt is on to find the Gulf's project of the year. The region's leading business information source MEED has launched Sunday its fifth annual Quality Awards for Projects in association with Mashreq. The Awards recognize the best achievements in the region's major projects industry. Currently some $2.7 trillion worth of projects are planned or underway in the GCC, laying the foundations for the long-term, sustainable development of the region that will support the ambitions of the Gulf's future generations. MEED aims to support these ambitions by recognizing and celebrating the best achievements of the region's projects industry through its annual MEED Quality Awards for Projects, run in association with Mashreq. Now in their fifth year, the MEED Quality Awards for Projects, in association with Mashreq, have established themselves as the leading stamp of quality and achievement for companies operating in the GCC projects sector. Previous winners of the coveted MEED Quality Project of the Year include the Burj Khalifa (UAE, 2011), Pearl GTL project (Qatar, 2012), Concourse A – Dubai International Airport (UAE, 2013), and Bahrain Petroleum Company's (BAPCO) Install Refinery Wastewater Treatment Plant Project (Bahrain, 2014). “The awards not only recognize the construction element of project delivery but also consider the value and quality of a project throughout its entire life cycle, from the design concept through to engineering and construction and its wider contribution to society and to the environment,” said Richard Thompson, Editorial Director, MEED. Central to the success of the awards has been the authority provided by the core values of integrity, trust and transparency associated with MEED. ‘'The judging process evaluates and recognizes the key organizations behind successful project completion across the GCC – including contractors, engineers, architects, consultants, developers and project owners. We are delighted to partner with MEED for the third year to recognize the highest quality projects in the region,” said Julio Armando de Quesada, Group Head – Corporate Banking, Mashreq. Saudi Arabia emerged triumphant with three regional awards, including King Fahad National Library's King Fahad National Library Project, nominated by Saudi Binladin Group & Gerber Architekten, which scooped the 2014 Social Project of the Year award; while the National Water Company's Riyadh Water Supply Project won in the 2014 Water & Water Reuse Project of the Year category. MARS Inc.'s MARS Chocolate Factory Project, nominated by Hyder Consulting Middle East Ltd, won the 2014 Small Project of the Year award. As oil prices continue to tumble, there is pressure on the Kingdom to cut oil production in order to maintain higher oil prices. Riyadh however appears reluctant to take this approach, preferring instead to maintain its share of global production. On the projects side, new contractors will be invited to work in the kingdom to take pressure off existing, overloaded players. The move is part of a broader initiative in the kingdom to open up the economy to foreign investment and participation. The awards program will recognize projects completed between January 2013 and December 2014 across several categories, including Oil and Gas Project of the Year, Industrial Project of the Year, Power and Water Project of the Year, Leisure and Tourism Project of the Year, Transport Project of the Year, Social Infrastructure Project of the Year, Building Project of the Year, Sustainable Project of the Year, Award for Innovation and Small Project of the Year. The deadline for submission of projects has been set for Dec. 17, 2014. Winners will be announced at the MEED Construction Leadership Summit taking place in May 26-27, 2015. The Summit is a high-end meeting place for the Gulf's construction leaders and provides a much needed platform to promote open dialogue between the leading contractors, consultants and clients that examines the strategic direction of the region's construction industry, the challenges threatening it's performance and those leading it's change. For more information on entry requirements and procedures, visit www.constructionleadershipsummit.com. In 2014, the Kingdom is expected to award nearly $44 billion worth of projects, owing in large part to the Riyadh Metro project. That scheme, valued at about $22.5 billion, accounted for one quarter of the GCC's total projects contract awards and about one half of Saudi Arabia's total. —SG
