The 2019 edition of the Big Project ME Awards took place on  26 November, 2019 at The Oberoi Hotel in Business Bay, Dubai. The event attracted a crowd of more than 250 construction industry professionals, with CEOs, managing directors, division heads and other senior level figures in attendance to celebrate the successes of the regional construction industry for the year.

ASGC in the spotlight

The two biggest awards of the night went to ASGC, a leading construction group in the UAE. The Dubai-based contractor, who was not only named as Contractor of the Year for the second year in a row, but took home the coveted Excellence in BIM Award in recognition of its work done in incorporating the BIM technology across its organisation, subsidiaries and projects. Meanwhile, ASGC’s work on the Coca-Cola Arena was recognised by the judges as the Project of the Year!

All awards were won against a backdrop of strong competition from major corporations, setting the performance bar very high indeed.

The Judges selected ASGC as the winner of Contractor of the Year award because of –

• Strong commitment to technology
• Extreme technical expertise
• Delivery of Sustainability & Employee Development agendas
• Exceptional scale of projects

ASGC has showcased an only upward slope for several years in a row with an ability to continuously win landmark and special projects. Their strategy is very much focused on adopting the latest technologies and even developing in-house solutions to ensure a product that fits their requirements in terms of functionality. The construction giant provides great attention to talent development and retention stating that technical expertise and continuous improvement in operations is a process the company sets at a very high standard internally.

Meanwhile, the Excellence in BIM award was achieved by virtue of –

• An exceptional award entry with full breakdown of deployment
• BIM utilization across each area of the organisation
• BIM being used to endorse Best Practice agendas
• Outstanding results and performances secured as a result of BIM usage

ASGC has adopted BIM standards in line with BIM technologies in order to achieve IPD (Integrated Project Delivery) and bridge the gap between the construction stage with the pre-construction stage (Design) and post-construction stage (O & M).

The company is capable of delivering BIM projects LOD 500 AS-BUILT associated with all the relevant information and integrated with CAFM software to facilitate the in-use aligning with the international standards.

In addition to these awards, ASGC’s work on the Coca-Cola Arena was deemed to have created a project that –

• Exemplified an extraordinary level of technical expertise
• Utilised BIM, drone and Virtual Reality technology
• Saw resources and diverse stakeholders mobilized with supreme efficiency

The Coca-Cola Arena is the first and largest multi-functional indoor arena in the region, designed and built by ASGC. The Arena was designed and built simultaneously thus requiring a high level of planning, meticulous mapping, strong forecasting and special operations.

“It is of course a point of pride for us to win these awards, not only this year but for 2 years in a row, we are really appreciative. We feel that our efforts have paid off by receiving these Big Project ME Awards.,” said Abdulaziz Mohamed Binshafar, vice president at ASGC. “We have to work hard to be on stage next year, it’s not easy to win these awards and it’s more difficult to maintain them!”

“It’s our strategy to put technology ahead of everything in our work, and to continuously strive for enhancements and progress. We will keep investing in technology as it’s going to be a busy year for ASGC as we are handing several projects with Expo 2020 Dubai just ahead of us,” he continued.

Having grown into one of the most recognised and well-regarded award nights in the construction industry, this year’s event featured submissions from a raft of contractors, subcontractors, developers, consultants, suppliers and manufacturers from across the GCC and MENA region.

The Big Project ME Awards 2019 saw more than 140 nominations filed for consideration across 23 categories, with several high-profile and prestigious projects, contractors and developers vying for the biggest prizes on the night. Amongst the nominees for the awards were local government authorities and bodies, including Dubai Municipality, Ministry of Infrastructure Development and Sharjah Electricity and Water Authority.

“The Big Project ME Awards 2019 was another massive success for us, and we’re extremely delighted with the response the event has had. The high attendance levels and the audience engagement we saw on the night showed us how valued and respected these awards are by the region’s construction sector. I’m delighted to see that we had a number of first-nominees and winners taking part this year,” said Raz Islam, managing director of CPI Trade Media, the organisers behind the event and publishers of Big Project Middle East magazine.

“It’s always a pleasure to see the passion and appreciation the industry has for our awards and events, and I must say that I found the quality of nominees fantastic. I would like to offer my congratulations to all those who took part – especially the winners and those shortlisted.”

Held annually, the event was hosted at The Oberoi for the first time, with guests assembling at the Grand Hall for the celebration, which included a gala dinner and awards ceremony. Situated in Dubai’s iconic Business Bay neighbourhood, the area’s stunning architecture provided a fitting backdrop for the night’s proceedings.