DSI acquires new business stream

Bilfinger Berger Facility Services MD Joachim Foerderer and Drake & Scull CEO Khaldoun Tabari

Drake & Scull International PJSC (DSI) plans to unlock further potential for its MEP division by entering the lucrative wastewater and water treatment industry.

This was revealed by CEO Khaldoun Tabari at the official signing ceremony for its acquisition of Passavant Roediger of Germany.

“It is a known fact that less than 30% of houses in the Middle East, and it goes down to less than 15% in the North African sub-continent, are connected to water and sewerage, compared to Europe and the US, where it is 97% in certain areas,” said Tabari.

“This gap needs to be addressed. We believe the future trend will be how to reuse the water we are expending every day. So DSI has taken the step to become involved in this industry.

“The advantage is that, while this market is growing, there are few companies addressing this demand. It is a tremendous feat for DSI to be associated with a company like Passavant Roediger” commented Tabari. Conversely, “it makes great sense for a company like Passavant Reodiger to associate itself with DSI, especially when we can easily integrate MEP and civils to deliver a one-stop solution.”

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Research indicated that about US$25 billion a year is being spent at present on wastewater treatment, with demand set to exceed US$81 billion by 2012.

“It is in answer to these needs, as well as DSI’s ambition to evolve continually, that we have announced our first acquisition of a global developer of leading technologies in wastewater, water and sludge treatment, with over 150 years experience, 5 000 installations worldwide and a presence in 13 countries across four continents.”

Passavant Roediger MD Robert Huth said the company is presently involved with a wastewater treatment plant in Fujeirah serving a population of 182 000. The sewage reticulation network comprises 160 km to date, with 34 pumping stations. Huth said Passavant Roediger would continue to transfer skills and expertise from Germany to bolster its presence in the UAE and across the entire MENA region.

The company is working on 25 projects, and is bidding on more as far afield as Egypt, Algeria, Saudi Arabia and Lebanon, with a total contract value of AED1 billion.

Its most recent contract wins include a AED127 million sludge digestion plant in Jordan.

Tabari explained that the “enterprise value” of the acquisition was AED145 million, with DSI owning 82%, while the remaining 18% will be held by Bilfinger Berger, a leading public-listed company in Frankfurt, Germany. Tawfiq Abu Soud, DSI’s executive director director for infrastructure, water and power, will oversee the operations of Passavant
Roediger. However, Tabari said “we do not intend to change the basics of Passavant Roediger. It will run absolutely independently, with guidance from DSI.”

Tabari described the acquisition as an “exciting milestone” for the company. He concluded: “Passavant Roediger’s unrivalled technologies will extend our ability to deliver superior services to the region, and will continue to further position DSI as a leading end-to-end provider in the engineering industry.

“With this acquisition, DSI will become a key provider in the regional wastewater, water and sludge treatment industry, offering a globally innovative solution, backed by  DSI’s 40 years of local experience in procurement engineering and construction capability. This is just the beginning of a new phase in DSI’s evolution, and as such we will continue to exploit every opportunity to support the expansion and growth of our company in the same manner we have undertaken every endeavour in DSI’s long history in the Middle East,” concluded Tabari.