AMA sees huge potential in Saudi Arabia

Bahrain-based Ahmed Mansoor Al Aali (AMA), which participated at the Gulf Industry Fair 2015 in the country last month, has set its eyes on large projects in Saudi Arabia such as the Riyadh Metro.

“Projects in Saudi Arabia are huge, requiring up to 25,000 tonnes of steel structures,” says Muein Marji, general manager of the structural and mechanical division (SMD) of AMA. “There is investment and money there.”

The SMD division was established in 1990 and is an integral division of AMA Group, which has completed 60 years as one of Bahrain’s leading integrated contracting, trading and manufacturing conglomerates.

The  division, which has developed into a premium fabricator not only in Bahrain, but also in the GCC, has one of the largest state-of-the-art fabrication and mechanic facilities of its kind in the Middle East. Its fabrication facilities spread over 150,000 sq m in Bahrain with more than 40,000 sq m of covered workshop areas including nine separate specialist workshops, fabrication shops and enclosed blasting facility and covered paint shop. They are acknowledged as one of the best in the Middle East by virtue of their state-of-the-art equipment including 26 electric overhead travelling (EOT) cranes, 73 jib cranes and advanced computerised numerical control (CNC) machines.

According to Marji, among the most eagerly awaited projects in Bahrain is Aluminium Bahrain’s (Alba) Potline Six. If approved, the Line Six expansion project will add approximately 400,000 tonnes to Alba’s current annual capacity of 913,000 tonnes.

“This line might only have demand for 15,000 to 20,000 tonnes of steel structures,” says Marji.

What differentiates AMA from other fabricators in the region is its emphasis on quality and delivery.

“Our line of business entails a huge amount of procedures and for that you need a very qualified workforce – and we have that kind of team. If you have a highly qualified team, your mistakes are limited. And that is what clients demand – high quality products and timely delivery,” he explains.

SMD fabrication services cover steel  structure works, including process and utility piping; process equipment including heat exchangers, pressure vessels and storage tanks; heavy structural steel; pot shells (the steel containers where electrolysis takes place in aluminium smelters); furnaces, stacks, ducts and miscellaneous steel; metering skids; specialised cranes assembly, specialised conveyor assembly, general plate work fabrication as well as plant installation.

SMD continues to work in partnership with many of the region’s leading EPC (engineering, procurement and construction) contractors including Bechtel, JGC and Sidem.

The division has developed a niche market in catering to the aluminium industry worldwide, with the successful supply of pot shells to Qatar Aluminum (Qatalum) in Qatar; Sohar Aluminium in Oman; Emirates Aluminium (Emal) in Abu Dhabi, the UAE; Maaden aluminum smelter, Saudi Arabia; Alcoa smelter in Iceland; and the recently awarded Kitimat smelter project in Canada.

AMA is currently working on a project by the Electricity and Water Authority (EWA) worth BD19.3 million ($51.2 million) for the construction of strategic water distribution stations in two different locations in Bahrain. One of these stations is in the upcoming Northern Town and will have a storage capacity of 15 million gallons and the capability of distributing 10 million gallons per day. The second station is in the Seef District with the capability of distributing five million gallons per day.

The contract includes additional pumping facilities at the existing water stations in Salmabad and Buquwah and modification works at the existing Seef blending station.

SMD undertakes general fabrication, installation and equipment erection for larger scale industrial and process industries projects as well as specialist civil works and has a capacity exceeding 40,000 tonnes per annum with ISO 9001, 14001, Ohsas 18001, and ASME accreditations. It achieved 5.2 million man-hours without a lost time incidents (LTI) at Alba’s Power Station Four project and achieved 1.43 million man-hours without an LTI in Qatalum – anode paste plant project.

AMA, one of the largest and most reputed conglomerates in Bahrain founded in 1954, is engaged in a wide range of businesses from manufacturing, contracting, trading to real estate. The group employs more than 3,000 personnel and has built its reputation for reliability, integrity and performance in the public and private sectors over six decades.