Celebrating excellence in GCC projects at MEED Projects Awards in association with Mashreq

The MEED Projects Awards has become the leading stamp of quality and achievement for anyone operating in the GCC projects sector. The awards not only recognise 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.

The MEED Projects Awards in association with Mashreq took place on Wednesday 24 April 2019 at the Conrad Dubai, Sheikh Zayed Road.

We would like to congratulate all the GCC winners. This year’s cohort of winners showcases our region’s continued evolution as this sector lays the foundations of our future.

Watch the highlights from the MEED Projects Awards 2019 in association with Mashreq here

For more information, CLICK HERE, or email: awards@meed.com

High-speed railway named Gulf project of the year

The GCC projects industry celebrated the region’s best projects at the MEED Projects Awards 2019, in association with Mashreq

Saudi Arabia’s Haramain high-speed railway has been named Project of the Year 2019 at the MEED Projects Awards 2019. The $13bn, intercity high-speed railway project also won the award for Transport Project of the Year 2019.

The MEED Projects Awards recognise the best projects delivered in the GCC and are judged on a range of criteria that include social impact, sustainability, innovation, technical achievement and project delivery.

As well as praising the 450-kilometre Haramain high-speed railway’s outstanding civil and mechanical engineering, the judges were impressed by the design of its state-of-the-art stations, which streamline passenger flow through departures and arrivals lounges to deliver a smooth and safe user experience. The structures also incorporate prismatic daylight collectors on their roofs to reduce energy consumption.

The awards considered projects completed in the GCC in the two years up to 31 December 2018. The MEED Projects Awards 2019 honoured winners from Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Saudi Arabia and the UAE in a ceremony held on 24 April.

“The GCC is home to some of the world’s most high-profile projects, known worldwide not just for their engineering and construction brilliance, but also for being beacons of the region’s economic progress,” said MEED editorial director and chairman of the MEED Projects Awards’ judging committee, Richard Thompson. “We are delighted to honour their commitment to the highest quality standards for projects excellence.”

Dubai-based Mashreq Bank, as headline sponsor of the MEED Projects Awards, has sponsored the event since 2013. “This is our way of putting a spotlight on these projects for not only upholding quality standards, but also for improving the standard of living in the Gulf through their impact on the socio-economic aspirations of the region,” said Mashreq Bank senior vice-president, Mohammad Al Shouli.

• Regional excellence

The UAE had the most winners at the 2019 awards with seven. This was followed by Oman, which scooped four GCC awards. Saudi Arabia and Bahrain each collected three awards, while Kuwait received one regional award.

The UAE’s winners included Warner Brothers World Abu Dhabi, which won the Tourism & Leisure Project of the Year; and Bluewaters Mosque, which bagged the GCC Small Project of the Year. Khalifa University was given the Education Project of the Year 2019 award, while Dubai American Academy won the Innovation Medal, sponsored by China State Construction.

In Saudi Arabia, the titanium sponge plant project in Yanbu was named Industrial Project of the Year, while in Oman Diyar al-Salam won the Residential Project of the Year, the Suhar refinery improvement project secured the Oil and Gas Project of the Year, and the Salalah 2 power project was named Power Generation Project of the Year. Muscat International airport was declared Megaproject of the Year 2019.

Bahrain’s Madinat Salman sewage treatment works, long sea outfall and irrigation network made history by securing three awards: Water Project of the Year; Engineering Project of the Year; and the Sustainability Medal, which was sponsored by China State Construction Engineering Corporation.

Kuwait’s winner was the Ministry of Education headquarters project, which won the Social, Culture and Heritage Project of the Year award.

• Special awards

For his commitment to using his engineering talent to support communities, senior director of the water and environment division at Khatib & Alami, Maher Habanjar, was named the Engineer of the Year. In a career spanning 32 years, Habanjar has worked on high-profile projects, including the Al-Wajeed water project to provide water to communities in Saudi Arabia’s empty quarter.

The Founder’s Memorial in the UAE capital bagged the MEED Editor’s Award for Special Achievement, while Al-Karamah School Abu Dhabi won the MEED Editor’s Award for Contribution to the Community 2019.