Qatar wins two awards for projects excellence

DOHA: Qatar-based projects were among the winners at the recently concluded 2016 MEED Quality Awards for Projects, which were organised in association with Mashreq.

Qatar won two awards, along with Bahrain. Saudi Arabia was the standout performer picking up five awards, followed by the UAE and Oman with three trophies each; while Kuwait had one winning project at this year’s edition of the annual awards programme, the only one to recognise completed projects in the GCC.

John Iossifidis, Executive Vice-President and Head of Corporate & Investment Banking Group, Mashreq, said: “We are proud to support the awards programme for the past four years now. The awards have definitely shed the spotlight not just on excellence and quality, but also on the award-winning projects’ valuable contribution to the economic development of the Region; and the long-term viability of the projects sector by sending a clear message to the market, that quality is essential in all parts of the project management process; from design planning to engineering and construction. We wish all participants all the very best.”

Qatar Foundation’s HQ Project won the ‘GCC Building Project of the Year’. The project is located within the Education City. From the first conceptual design, the Qatar Foundation Headquarters building was created to embody a sense of integrity and provide a strong presence, while at the same time conveying openness and sincerity.

Internally, the building is designed to provide a feeling of intimacy shared between all the daily users, and at the same time be open to the outside. Qatar’s other winner, Al Rayyan Hospitality’s Banana Island Resort Doha by Anantara Project (nominated by UrbaCon Trading & Contracting) scooped the GCC Leisure & Tourism Project of the Year award.

Banana Island Resort Doha is a five-star, 141-key, 13-hectare, Maldivian-style island resort situated five km off the coast of Doha. The project involved a diverse range of civil, building and marine engineering work, including reclamation, rock revetment protection, breakwaters, quay walls, jetties and marina pontoons for 30 vessels, an expansive sheltered beach and an array of building works.

The scheme was carried out on a design-build turnkey basis in just 30 months, with the building works comprising overwater villas, holiday chalets, hotel- and family-style accommodation, a wellness centre, Spa and Turkish bath, a family entertainment centre, a cinema, surf pools, a putting course, a dive centre, a bowling alley and nine restaurants.

Now in their sixth year, the Awards for Projects have established themselves as the leading stamp of quality and achievement for stakeholders in the GCC projects sector.

Part of the MEED Construction Leadership Summit, 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 the environment.

The Peninsula