Dubai Hills Mall Wins Digital Construction Project of the Year

We are delighted to share that we won an award at the ME Digital Construction Awards, which took place at the Habtoor Polo Resort.

The innovative use of digital technologies and Building Information Modeling (BIM) in the Dubai Hills Mall project has been instrumental in its success, and we are proud to have set a benchmark for future projects in the industry.

Congratulations to the Dubai Hills Mall Team and the ALEC Digital Team on this tremendous achievement!

Click here to see full list of winners: ME Digital Construction Awards | 15 March 2023 | Dubai , UAE

ALEC Celebrates International Women’s Day 2023

We believe that diverse and inclusive teams lead to better outcomes. We value the unique perspectives, skills, and experiences that women bring to our projects. Women in the construction industry bring a fresh perspective to projects and provide unique solutions to complex problems.

On this International Women’s Day, we want to recognize and celebrate the women in our company and across the industry. We want to thank them for their hard work, dedication, and contributions to making the world a better place.

Click here to watch the video. 

ALEC Celebrates World Education Day 2023

In honour of World Education Day, we felt it was necessary to emphasize the importance of education and training, not only in schools but in the workplace. We are committed to fostering a culture of continuous learning and development for all of our employees. We understand that investing in our employees is not only the right thing to do, but it also benefits the company and our clients.

Our training facility has trained over 8,700 employees and assessed over 10,000 employees since being introduced.

We wanted to share our thanks to our dedicated employees for always striving to improve and grow professionally.

Click here to watch the video. 

UAE-Headquartered ALEC Group Furthers Regional and Sectoral Expansion through Acquisition

Acquiring TARGET Engineering further strengthens ALEC’s established capabilities in marine and industrial construction while enabling the construction company to mark its entry into the Oil & Gas sector.

ALEC Engineering and Contracting LLC (ALEC), a part of the Investment Corporation of Dubai (ICD), today announced that it has signed a share purchase agreement to acquire TARGET Engineering Construction Company LLC. With this agreement, the companies will have a joint turnover of close to USD 2 billion.

“This acquisition further advances ALEC’s position in the regional construction industry while simultaneously enabling it to enter and fast-track its strategy of becoming a key player in the Middle East Oil & Gas, and Energy and Renewables sectors by drawing from the extensive expertise, and resources that TARGET Engineering has developed over its celebrated 40-year history,” said Khalifa Al Daboos, Deputy CEO at ICD. “For the Investment Corporation of Dubai, this move enables us to align strongly with the UAE government’s ongoing investment into developing world-class critical infrastructure facilities that support its ambition of being an advanced, sustainable economy.”

Founded in 1975, TARGET Engineering operates through four specialised divisions — Mechanical Oil & Gas, Electrical, Civil, and Marine. The company’s customer base is comprised of leading Oil & Gas companies, major EPC (Engineering, procurement, and construction) contractors, government entities and property developers. Noteworthy projects that it has successfully completed include work at ENEC’s Barakah Nuclear Power Plant, ADNOC Gas Processing’s Ruwais LNG Terminal, Saudi Aramco’s Abqiq plant, and ENOC’s Jebal Ali Refinery expansion. Included are also TARGET Engineering’s current active projects including Borouge 4 and Delma B in joint venture for ADNOC, and IGDC for ADGAS.

By acquiring 100% of the company, ALEC will now enhance its resources with the significant assets held by TARGET Engineering, including its 11,000 strong workforce, over 30 marine vessels, and 52,000 sqm of API/ASME-certified fabrication facilities. Additionally, this includes TARGET’s controlling stake in IDROTEC srl, an Italian specialised marine design engineering firm renowned worldwide for its specialist marine, hydraulic and environmental design for the Oil & Gas sector and marine developments. That said, TARGET Engineering will continue to operate as an independent entity, while drawing on the skills and resources of the broader ALEC Group.

“ALEC has an established track record of continuously enhancing the skills and capabilities within the organisation, and leveraging this expertise to enter into, and become a market leader in new market segments. Bringing TARGET Engineering within our fold is a move that plays to both these objectives as their specialist skillsets in Oil & Gas, Energy — including renewables, marine, and industrial construction — perfectly augment ALEC’s own capabilities. This will enable us to present an even stronger joint value proposition to customers,” said Kez Taylor, CEO at ALEC.

“Today’s announcement is a landmark event in the over four-decade long journey of our company”, said Chaouci Yassine, CEO of TARGET Engineering. “We will now benefit from the strong financial position and world-class leadership and project execution capabilities of ALEC. This will fuel our ambitious growth plans across the Middle East as we can now deliver best-of-breed EPC and specialist marine services to an even broader segment of high-profile regional entities.”

Multiple Wins at Big Project Awards 2022

Winning a Big Project Middle East Award is a well-recognized badge of excellence
amongst clients and peers. This year’s edition of the awards focused on the
companies and organizations that provide vital services to the construction
industry.

We won 5 awards at the Big Project Awards 2022.

Contractor of the Year – ALEC
MEP contractor of the Year – ALEMCO
Construction Executive of the Year – Barry Lewis
Fit-Out Project of the Year – Vision Pavilion
Fit-Out Contractor of the Year – ALEC FITOUT

Congratulations to everyone at ALEC, ALEC FITOUT and ALEMCO on these
tremendous achievements!

Source: Revealed: The Winners of the Big Project ME Awards 2022 (meconstructionnews.com)

Significant Wins at Construction Week Awards 2022

The 2022 edition of the Construction Week Middle East Awards ended on a good note at the JW Marriott Marquis on 24 November. The event celebrating the brilliant individuals, initiatives, and businesses shaping the Middle East’s built environment. The awards recognized and rewarded individual excellence,
corporate prowess, and projects that have taken strides to become future-ready within the construction industry.

Additionally, the awards honoured the achievements of the region’s construction stakeholders, individuals, projects, and initiatives that have excelled over the past 12 months.

We won 4 awards at the Construction Week Awards 2022:

  • Commercial Project of the Year – Dubai Hills Mall
  • Project Manager of the Year – Rudi Liebenberg
  • Sub-Contractor of the Year – ALEMCO
  • Construction Executive of the Year – Barry Lewis

Congratulations to everyone at ALEC and ALEMCO on these achievements.

Source: CW Awards 2022: Meet the winners and highly commended! (constructionweekonline.com)

ALEC Energy delivers world’s first off-grid micro-grid with Azelio

The system, which includes a pioneering energy storage solution from Azelio, has been installed at 4th Phase of Mohamed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum (Noor Energy1) Visitor Center to deliver around-the-clock clean power. 

ALEC Energy, a leading solar solutions provider in the Middle East, today announced that it has successfully delivered a unique energy solution for the Visitor Center of the Noor Energy 1 – the world’s largest CSP installation (Concentrated Solar Power) located in Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Solar Park in Dubai – UAE. The energy system – the first of its kind in the world – is an off-grid micro-grid with Azelio’s long-duration energy storage system. Leveraging a groundbreaking energy storage solution from Azelio, combined with 300 kW of solar PV, the system delivers power to the facility, reducing the need for conventional power generation during night-time and overcast conditions.

Commenting on the accomplishment, Basar Kayali, General Manager of ALEC Energy said, “As the world’s largest single-site CSP, Noor Energy 1 is a landmark project that sets global benchmarks in clean energy production.”

“The solution we have implemented here has the potential to revolutionize how clean power can be supplied to factories, agricultural facilities, and hotels or resorts in remote locations in the UAE and beyond.” Kayali added.

The NOOR Energy 1 Visitor Center, part of Phase 4 of the Solar Park, is nestled between millions of square meters of solar panels. ALEC Energy began implementing the unique micro-grid in June 2021 and completed the entire project in just 15 months.

The off-grid micro-grid with energy storage is significantly more cost efficient than the traditional alternatives of connecting to the national grid or relying on conventional powered generator sets.

“The hybrid system supplying power to Noor Energy 1 Visitor Center project is a milestone installation demonstrating how our long-duration energy storage system can form a vital part of a micro-grid for around-the-clock clean power, while serving as a reference project for our solution in the MENA region. The TES.POD was installed in 2021, and I am now delighted to see the complete micro-grid system fully operational, and I am looking forward to more projects in the region,” added Azelio’s CEO, Jonas Wallmander.

“We are excited to incorporate the World’s First off-grid micro-grid with Azelio’s long-duration energy storage system at the Noor Energy 1 Visitor Center. Our facility showcases the latest technologies in concentrated solar power, and photovoltaic cells and therefore it is of immense importance that the Center itself is powered by a cutting-edge clean energy solution,” said Hashim Al Ghabashi, Executive Managing Director of NOOR Energy. “I’m proud of the collaboration between Noor Energy & ALEC Energy that has enabled both teams in bringing this pioneering idea from an ambitious vision to reality. The passion, expertise, and professionalism demonstrated by ALEC Energy and Azelio was exemplary, and we believe that the success achieved together will pave the way further innovations in the future”.  Concluded Al Ghabashi.

Three Key Wins at Construction Innovation Awards 2022

The Construction Innovation Awards 2022 took place on October 28th at Sofitel Dubai the Palm. The event saw 34 winners crowned for their projects, innovations, initiatives, and individual efforts. We are delighted to announce that we were honored with three awards, at the Construction Innovation Awards 2022.

  • Retail Project of the Year – Dubai Hills Mall and Indoor Storm Coaster
  • Contractor of the Year – ALEC Engineering & Contracting
  • Fit-Out Firm of the Year – ALEC FITOUT

Construction innovation awards 2022 is one of the leading events applauding the achievements of the region’s construction professionals. The awards strive to recognise individual excellence, corporate strengths, and project success.

Click here to see the full list of winners.

ALEC launches Strategic Project and Developments division

Dubai-headquartered ALEC has unveiled a new division – Strategic Projects and Developments – that will specialize in alternative engagement models including design and build, construction management and turnkey development.

The firm says the move is in line with its goals to steer the regional construction industry towards a sustainable future, and will enable it to deliver comprehensive value to clients right from the project definition stage.

Discussing the drivers that prompted ALEC to establish the new division, Sean McQue, Operations Director at ALEC stated, “As we focus our efforts on pioneering a more sustainable future for our industry, we recognize that this requires the constant evolution and enhancement of our solution portfolio to deliver the most comprehensive value to our clients.”

Early in August, ALEC told Middle East Construction News (MECN) that in addition to investing in solutions and technology, it was committed to upskilling staff and has appointed a Digital Construction Manager in Saudi Arabia.

He added, “After a rigorous cause-and-effect analysis of decisions made throughout a project’s lifecycle, we found that a disproportionate amount of value can be created if the right decisions are made in the first 10% of the project’s lifecycle. Additionally, a collaborative environment and elimination of outdated practices, can further enhance this value.”

The single point-of-contact delivery solution will be offered to clients as a means to add value and speed, from the outset of the project lifecycle, the firm said. In keeping with the company’s focus on digitalization of the sector, the firm says the solution will follow a digital-first approach with all stakeholders working in a common BIM and data environment. This will not only enhance efficiency, productivity and knowledge transfer resulting in a more streamlined construction process, but more importantly, it will create a smooth transition into handover and asset management by providing a digital twin of the asset, the firm explained.

The company will be participating in Big Project Middle East’s inaugural Digital Construction Summit, which is scheduled to take place on 14 September. Registration is free for construction professionals.

The new division will be headed by Severin Tenim. He commented, “The launch of the new division aligns with ALEC’s focus on steering the construction industry towards a sustainable future. Research has shown that tremendous value can be created across the entire project lifecycle if the right decisions are made in the critical early stages. Our aim therefore is to serve as the strategic delivery partner from the onset, with the objective of de-risking asset delivery and as a result, enhancing overall investment performance.”

While the fundamental principles of the division’s solution are transferrable across multiple asset classes, ALEC pointed out that Tenim and his team will specialize in owner-operator models, build-to-rent assets, mixed-use hospitality, and projects that lend themselves to a high degree of modularity including serviced apartments, residential apartments, and mid-sized villas.

ALEC Energy and Stantec Sign MoU to Establish Roadmap for UAE Entities to Achieve Decarbonization and Sustainable Energy Goals

The renewable energy leaders are collaborating to help the UAE and other GCC countries meet climate commitments and targets of government initiatives such as the UAE Energy Strategy 2050. 

Dubai, United Arab Emirates – 22 August 2022 – ALEC Energy today announced that it is signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Stantec, a global leader in sustainable design and engineering, aimed at leveraging the expertise of the two renewable energy leaders to enable private and public sector organizations to meet and exceed the goals outlined in the UAE Energy Strategy 2050.

A key target of the UAE’s energy agenda is to increase the contribution of clean energy in the total energy mix to 50% by the mid of this century, while also increasing the consumption efficiency of individuals and corporate by 40%. “These goals, while ambitious, are certainly attainable. There however is a need for a shift in the mindset of designers, engineers, and architects in the region, as organizations need to be expertly guided through the environmental, economic, and social aspects of decarbonizing their business. Through our partnership with Stantec, we will design a framework specifically for the region that will serve as a roadmap towards the UAE’s renewable energy goals,” said Kez Taylor, CEO at ALEC Group.

Under the agreement, the two companies will jointly work on projects to establish best practices in building design, systems, and services while also offering solutions to Net Zero as applicable to individual undertakings. ALEC Energy’s proven track record in the implementation of complex solar energy projects will be complemented by Stantec’s expertise in sustainable design strategies, design enhancement, innovative and renewable technology integration, performance optimization and cost assessment. Both companies will also jointly share knowledge with the industry and sponsor events, training programs and workshops with industry stakeholders.

“Meeting the ambitious climate targets set throughout the GCC requires innovation through collaboration,” said Anas Kassem, regional managing director for Stantec’s Middle East operations. “Signing this MoU with ALEC Energy reinforces our commitment to supporting our clients and communities in their efforts to achieving renewable energy goals and securing a sustainable future.”