The Abu Dhabi International Airport, Al Bateen Executive Airport, Abu Dhabi International Airport City Check-in and Al Ain International Airport will all see MAF Dalkia’s holistic technical and energy management services applied at their premises.

01 August 2013

MAF Dalkia has further boosted its reputation as a regional leader in providing multi-technical and energy management services by securing a contract with aviation giant Abu Dhabi Airports Company (ADAC) to provide a full range of services across four of its airports in the UAE.

The three-year contract will see MAF Dalkia providing a full scope of project management, hard (technical) services, security systems in addition to energy-saving strategies for ADAC’s award-winning, flagship developments Abu Dhabi International Airport, Al Bateen Executive Airport, Abu Dhabi International Airport City Check-in and Al Ain International Airport.

“MAF Dalkia is pleased to join forces with ADAC to offer our premium range of specialised services across these award-winning airports,” says Alexandre Mussallam, CEO of MAF Dalkia. “We look forward to building on their existing success, by offering the highest level of management and hard services, while also instigating energy management and conservations plans across all sites, bringing an international standard to these world-class developments,” he adds.

MAF Dalkia’s scope of work for ADAC will include development, implementation and updates of standard operating procedures (SOPs) and fit-outs; full technical services covering energy management and conservation, security systems, heating and electrical services and specialised airports operation systems.

The project will see MAF Dalkia implement these services across all four sites, the largest of which is Abu Dhabi International Airport (AUH) that won the ‘Best Airport in the Middle East’ award for 2012 from the Airports Council International (ACI). The flagship airport is constantly expanding to meet demand and by 2015 will accommodate 20 million passengers per year.

Al Bateen Executive Airport, situated 19 km west of AUH, is the only dedicated business aviation airport in the Middle East and North Africa (Mena) region.

Abu Dhabi International Airport City Check-in provides convenient first- and business-class services for travellers including off site check-in and baggage drop.

Also included in the contract is Al Ain International Airport which was originally built to serve 1,000 passengers per hour at peak times. However, increased demand has seen this double, and the airport now serves nine destinations with seven airline carriers.

Ahmad Al Haddabi, chief operations officer at ADAC, comments: “ADAC welcomes MAF Dalkia as a new partner for the capital’s airports and it is confident that its expertise in managing complex and large-scale developments will further support the company’s drive to operate its airports and facilities to the highest of international standards, and provide a unique travel experience.”

This contract further establishes MAF Dalkia’s expertise across the aviation sector, enhancing their existing portfolio of work which includes residential, commercial, hospitality, telecommunications, healthcare, education, banking and finance sectors across the UAE and Middle East region. Key clients include the Kempinski, Novotel and Ibis hotels, Standard Chartered Bank, du Telecom and Sharjah International Airport and some of the most prestigious universities and commercial buildings in the UAE; Arcapita Building, Riffa Views and Bahrain City Centre in Bahrain; and The Wave mixed-use development in Oman. MAF Dalkia also manages a mix of commercial, and banking sector assets in Saudi Arabia, and recently signed contracts with the Saudi Public Authorities, which will considerably expand its operations in this market.

Commenting on the company’s scope of works on the Bahrain City Centre and Arcapita building, Francisco Ramalheira, general manager, Bahrain and Oman for MAF Dalkia Middle East, says: “In both contracts, we provide building energy services while in the case of Arcapita we are also delivering soft services such as security and cleaning. The building energy services contract entails operation and maintenance of all technical installations where the majority of the related activities are done in-house. An element of subcontracting is employed for specialised services or in the case of statutory compliance requirements such as the fire-fighting system. The contracts predict an active involvement in terms of utilities management which has resulted in significant economies in utilities-related expenditures.”

Ramalheira points out that the building services infrastructure of Bahrain City Centre supplies not only the centre itself but all the retail units it lodges, the Kempinski hotels and the Wahooo! Waterpark Bahrain. “As such, the availability of installations is the most critical challenge of our activities. Having to operate the building services within the context of retail, entertainment and hospitality is never easy and this becomes increasingly difficult when you try to minimise the environmental and financial impacts associated with utilities consumption,” he indicates.

While the case of Arcapita is slightly different due to the nature of activities developed inside, being the headquarters of a banking institution the key performance indicators are naturally demanding. ”It is important to note that our involvement with Arcapita started during the initial stages of design with an active role during the construction and the close-out of the same. As such, on top of building services availability and utilities management challenges, due to the fact that Arcapita is a recently-constructed building, it still presents challenges from the transition stage of construction to operation,” he says.

MAK Dalkia has a three-year and five-year contract with BCC and Arcapita respectively.

The company this year celebrates 10 years of growth and regional expansion. Since its establishment as a joint venture in 2002 between Majid Al Futtaim Group and Dalkia Group, a European leader in energy services, MAF Dalkia is today one of the leading service providers and advocates of energy optimisation for developers and businesses across the region.

Today, MAF Dalkia has over 1,600 highly-trained and multi-skilled employees serving a wide portfolio of clients in the residential, commercial, industrial and healthcare sectors. It has offices in the UAE (headquarters), Bahrain, Oman, Saudi Arabia and more than 150 operational mobile teams.

Ahmed Galal Ismail, chairman of MAF Dalkia and CEO of Majid Al Futtaim Ventures says: “MAF Dalkia was the first joint-venture of its kind for Majid Al Futtaim Ventures, and with the business having completed its tenth successful year of operations this is a significant milestone, underscoring MAF Dalkia’s leadership position.

“With the increased focus on energy and environmentally sustainability in this region, MAF Dalkia will continue to diversify and innovate in these key areas, with the aim to reduce the region’s environmental footprint and cultivate a mind-set of energy savings for business in the GCC.”

Since its inception, MAF Dalkia has witnessed steady growth over the years. Initially managing Majid Al Futtaim Properties’ portfolio of shopping malls across the region, today MAF Dalkia has over 150,000 assets registered in its asset management system, handles more than 200,000 calls per year through its help desk and manages more than 5,000 sites in the Middle East.

Mohamed Lasri, CEO of Dalkia Asia and Middle East says: “MAF Dalkia demonstrates its successes through a sustainable yearly growth in a very competitive marketplace. The maintenance and continual expansion of its portfolio underscores MAF Dalkia’s management commitment to exceeding clients’ expectations. Through the full support of Dalkia headquarters and our technical expertise, MAF Dalkia has all tools to continue its development and bringing innovation to the market.”

MAF Dalkia’s scope of expertise extends to a broader range of multi-technical and energy management services. In 2012, MAF Dalkia further diversified its offer with the introduction of new specialised technical services, supporting the company’s wider goals of becoming the region’s socially responsible service provider of choice. These services include infrared thermography and vibration analysis, two innovative techniques which identify and anticipate building defects, resulting in long-term energy and costs saving.

Listing some of MAF Dalkia’s attributes that give it a competitive edge in the market, Ramalheira says, the company can conduct facility management consultancy missions during the design and construction stages and provides building energy services. It has a 24/7 call centre for customer service and an experienced technical department

MAF Dalkia’s commitment to best practices and innovation has been internationally recognised, and the company was the first energy and facilities management firm in the region to receive ‘best in class’ industry certifications: ISO 14001 for environmental management and ISO 50001 for energy management – a new standard established in mid-2011.

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