Khalil Issa, CEO of Energy Central Company (ECC) in Bahrain
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Khalil Issa, CEO of Energy Central Company (ECC) in Bahrain, is championing the concept of integrated utility services provision.
The company’s general mandate is to serve private developments with multi-utility services. “That is our business proposition. We do not like to be labelled as a district cooling or water services utility provider, as we strive to service the specific requirements of various communities in a holistic fashion.” This has given ECC a leading edge in an increasingly competitive market
Three years in the making, ECC has its regional headquarters in the Zamil Tower in Manama in the Kingdom of Bahrain. It also has subsidiary offices in Dubai in the UAE, Dammam in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, and is currently setting up a subsidiary office in Muscat in Oman. “Bearing in mind that we are based in Bahrain, we serve the entire region. There are a few key developments coming up in Bahrain that we are starting to supply services to, one of them being, of course, Durrat Al Bahrain,” says Issa.
Known as the Rising Pearl or the Pearl of Bahrain, this is a residential, leisure and tourist resort being built near the southern tip of the Kingdom of Bahrain. The $6 billion project will comprise a series of 13 man-made islands covering an area of 20 million square metres. These, in turn, will be divided into six atolls (coral lagoon islands), five ‘petal’ islands (fish-shaped), a crescent-shaped island, five-star hotels, an 18-hole golf course, 12 bridges and a marina.
Master-planned
Durrat Al Bahrain is owned jointly by the government of the Kingdom of Bahrain and the Kuwait Finance House. It was designed and master-planned by Atkins Middle East, based in Dubai, and will be located 54 km from the Bahrain International Airport. It will be accessible by a two-lane highway linking it from Manama. “Of course, some of the more key developments we had in the heart of the city, as well as on the periphery, have been affected by the economic downturn. Some of the projects yet to be built have been shelved, if not cancelled, and those already under construction – being it land reclaimed or building going up – are being restaged in an attempt to finish them. The situation is no different in Bahrain, as it has been for all developers in the region,” comments Issa. “However, we feel that, even in dire times like today, there is potential for growth. If you have the right value proposition, which is accommodating to the current situation, then you should emerge unscathed.
“If we direct our value-add at the key concerns of funding, constructability and the appropriate staging of developments, then we should be able to remain a substantial player in the industry,” affirms Issa.
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Potential
Commenting on the potential for the market to pick up again any time soon, Issa says simply: “I am not a great forecaster. Apparently not many are, because no one seemed to have predicted the full impact of the downturn on the global market. “What I can say is that we as ECC are definitely adapting to the new situation.” This is intertwined with the particular challenges and opportunities confronting the company at present. “Our biggest challenge is dealing effectively with the staging of developments. And, of course, obtaining the necessary funding for the associated infrastructure.
“Infrastructure is a big challenge at the moment for all utility service providers, especially in the current economic climate where you do not have full utilisation to help you defray the initial high capital outlay. Added to this is the fact that the cash-strapped state of the market makes it practically impossible to raise funds for capital-intensive projects,” explains Issa. “This means our shareholders have to shoulder a much higher burden.
Luckily there are equity funds and Islamic Shari’a compliant funding that we can tap into for investment in energy and water infrastructure. We are also looking to strengthen our relationship with the government of the Kingdom of Bahrain, which is keen to participate in long-term projects.
Opportunity
“The ideal opportunity to invest is right now, as construction costs are down and the skills pool is deeper. A year ago we had a hard time reaching out to contractors and consultants alike, whereas now they are very keen to support us. So now the balance in the market is certainly tilting favourably towards us,” says Issa.
Commenting on whether or not the ‘green’ building trend is picking up momentum in Bahrain as it has in Dubai, Issa says that while there are isolated private initiatives in this regard, it is not being driven by the public sector at all at the moment. “However, in times of crisis, you naturally want your buildings and tenants to pay the lowest cost, so energy-efficient buildings are destined to become the order of the day. This is a development that we favour very much,” comments Issa. This ties in neatly with ECC’s integrated services offering. “We not only supply communities with top-efficiency plants, but we also ensure that the customers or end users receiving those services do so in the most efficient manner possible.
“For example, if a building has been badly designed and is leaking, the most state-of-the-art central cooling plant would still incur high operating costs due to the inefficiencies inherent in the building structure itself.”
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