The MEP round table

The famous Round Table of King Arthur and his knights.
[More Images]

A recent district cooling conference concluded with an interesting ‘round table’ debate on the formation of an association to represent the MEP sector – an idea also supported by the likes of Drake & Scull International PJSC (DSI). MEP Middle East looks at this integral debate in detail.

Khaled Salmeen Al Kawari, the COO of Tabreed, stressed that the government could not solve the problems faced by the MEP sector without engaging in ‘constructive discussion’ with it. “In fact, they can do lots to make our problems worse. Regulation could possibly be beneficial with constructive collaboration between the parties.

“I think this is the core issue: how can this group – this community of engineers, manufacturers, developers and district cooling companies – somehow get to the appropriate table with the parties they need to collaborate with on these matters? What do we need to bring them into the discussion, and make that discussion productive for our purposes?”

Spokesperson

DSI vice-chairman and COO Khaldoun Tabari concurs with the view that the MEP sector could stand to benefit by being represented by some kind of an industry body. “This industry needs a spokesperson, especially with talk of district cooling being regulated ultimately by the Dubai government.

The industry is fragmented at the moment. It is not united like the construction sector, which is well-represented by several associations of its own.”

Asked how this would translate into a practical reality, Tabari suggests that the Dubai Chamber of Commerce and Industry could be approached with the idea of forming an alliance among all the major players in the sector. “We could link up with all the players. We could even canvas first, second and third tier companies. Especially with the credit crunch right now, this would allow us to help our brothers, the sub-contractors, in the MEP sector in terms of the smaller jobs, from say AED10 million to AED30 million.

Advertisement

FEATURED COMMENT Please click here to comment on this article

“In Europe, this is how MEP contractors are perceived: as players in the total supply chain. Such an association will also allow us to grow the industry in its entirety. We will even be able to lobby government, to the benefit of both customers and sub-contractors. Regulation is even more of an issue now due to the credit crunch, especially in terms of who gets paid when and how much,” argued Tabari. However, a comment from the floor was that “a number of individual companies going to the government will not work; it needs to have a round table discussion and a consensus within the industry.”

Consensus

Al Kawari pointed out that the MEP sector is unlikely to obtain such a consensus, as it lacks the necessary representative body. In terms of other associations like IDEA and ASHRAE, he said that the former mainly focuses on the US and Canada, with a small chapter in the Gulf region.

“It is very effective in lobbying Federal, State and provincial government to accomplish its goals. As an organisation, IDEA has no particular global motivation to lobby on behalf of the UAE. If we were to try and broach this matter through a platform like IDEA or ASHRAE, we would need to ensure we form a committee that understands the local environment, culture and people in terms of a holistic local approach,” said Al Kawari.

Another issue was the effectiveness of such a committee or association in lobbying DEWA, for example. “A committee would possibly be useful, but what are the chances that such efforts would lead to anything? I think we are being optimistic. Even if this committee would be effective with DEWA, it would then have to repeat the whole exercise with RERA and ADDC in Abu Dhabi, as these are totally disconnected entities.”

So is there any answer? “I agree it is unfortunate that we sit here and discuss our problems and issues, and yet do not know how to take any action,” lamented Al Kawari. Another comment from the floor was cautiously optimistic: “If you had an industry body making a formal representation to the relevant branches of government, what could they do but not listen? It would make no sense for them not to listen. I think you will find that, if this matter was broached in the right way, you may be pleasantly surprised at the response.”

---