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Designed and produced by Media One
for the Supply Chain & Logistics Group
Editorial
Operating under - Dubai Chamber of Commerce & Industry
Supply Chain & Logistics Group
P.O.Box 34253 Dubai (UAE)
Tel: +971 4 3962367 Fax: +971 4 3962337 E-mail: [email protected]
Contact: Kanchan R. Vora, Office Manager Email: [email protected]
E DITORIAL C ONSULTANTS :
• Dr. Satish Mapara
• Cliff Cuttelle
• Ebrahim Vantra
• Peter Roest
• Jiby George
• Dr. K.M. Madrecha
• Sanjay Babur
• Naveen Arun
• Arun Prasad
Shashi Shekhar
Founder & Past President, SCLG
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Aleem Aziz
EDITORIAL
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Dear Readers,
The dynamics of the cargo industry - air, sea or land – is exhilarating
keeping every one in the industry on their toes, particularly those
in the thick of supply chain in the Middle East, which remains the
hotbed of all activities. The Middle East region has experienced
good growth rates in terms of cargo movement. It is estimated
that while world air cargo traffic will grow at an average annual
rate of 6.1 per cent for the next two decades, three times the
current levels, the Asian air cargo markets with domestic China
and intra-Asia markets will expand at 10.8 per cent and 8.6 per
cent annually, respectively.
Though the International Air Transport Association (IATA) has
predicted a slowdown in the growth of air cargo, the Middle
East region will continue to have accelerated growth, spurred by
innovative practices of carriers over here, including new routes
development. This is just excellent and kudos to the professionals
who have been working towards making the region a true logistics
hub on the East-West axis.
The going is good but the path is fraught with many challenges
and I believe that the professionals in the industry have it in them
to take on these challenges. Various practices and processes have
to be reworked and rewritten as the industry will be impacted
like never before by issues such as skyrocketing fuel prices; cargo
security concerns post September 11; inter-modal transport
competitiveness etc.
I am sure that the industry professionals will equip themselves
with knowledge and whatever that is required to negotiate in
these exciting times. And the SCLG (Supply Chain and Logistics
Group), as always, will work with various industry groups to
understand the dynamics of the economy, per se, and look out
for ways and means of keeping up the momentum of growth.
We will constantly discuss the challenges in the industry and
highlight the best-practices here so that all of us stand to
benefit. As you all know the SCLG’s objective, among other
things, has been to raise the overall standards of all industries
on end to end supply chain.
All rights reserved. The opinions and views expressed in this publication are not necessarily those
of the publishers. Readers are requested to seek specialist advice before acting on information
contained in this publication, which is provided for general use and may not be appropriate for the
reader’s particular circumstances. The publishers regret that they cannot accept liability for any
error or omissions contained in this publication.
The Supply Chain & Logistics Group | www.sclgme.org
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CONTENTS
8
SCLG ROUND-UP
• SCLG holds its first educational workshop
38 PRODUCT WATCH
• OneSack Dunnage bags
9
HEAD TALKS
• Dr. Satish Mapara
42 GATEWAYS
• Kathmandu new hub for Air Arabia
12 RETAIL
• Beiersdorf’s clear strategy
44 TRANSPORTATION
• Sharjah sets to revolutionize traffic system
14 COVER STORY
• Air Cargo industry in a tailspin
46 TRADE AND ECONOMY
• Philippines President visits UAE
to strengthen trade relations
20 WAREHOUSING
• Amana - Fuelling industrial
construction boom
48 HUMAN RESOURCES/ACADEMIA
• Authentic personal branding
22 MARKET WATCH
• Jafza to build free zone in Senegal
53 UAE INFRASTRUCTURE
• Adding a new dimension to Umm Al Qawain
32 LOGISTICS
• Health of Halal logistics
55 LEGAL OUTLOOK
• Carrier of goods - It's risky business !!
34 MIDDLE EAST DEVELOPMENTS
• Gateway to Saudi’s economic prosperity
57 EVENTS SPOTLIGHT
• Oil and Gas Refinery Asia 2008
16
22
32
41
48
55
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8 SCLG
Round-Up
SCLG holds its first educational
workshop
Supply Chain and Logistics Group held its first workshop
in collaboration with iCognitive International of Singapore
on January 28th and 29th at DusitDubai on Sheikh Zayed
Road. This 2-day workshop focused on Supply Chain
Logistics Finance Applicable to SCOR .
SCLG is a non-profit organization that seeks to raise
the supply management profession in the country and
continuously develop its practitioners to the highest ethical
and world-class standards, in keeping with its vision.
Mr Shashi Shekhar, Founder and Past President of SCLG, welcoming Mr John
Paul, MD, iCognitive, the trainer of the 2-day workshop focused on Supply Chain
Logistics Finance Applicable to SCOR .
Some of the participants of the workshop with John Paul and Shashi Shekhar
John Paul, MD and Sonia Davoine, Corporate Communication Manager, iCognitive
International with Nishat Siddiqui, Senior Manager, Marketing and Members Relatinship
and Kanchan Vora, Office Manager, SCLG at the lunch break
A brain-storming session at the SCOR Finance workshop. Seen are
(L-R) Dharmesh Kalan and Sebastian Soares of Danzas, Abed Shaheen
from Aramex, Prakash Rochlani of Danzas, Mark Wormald and Andrew
Posa from Workz.
This workshop was designed to provide a comprehensive
examination of the SCOR model (Supply Chain Operation
Reference Model) and practical knowledge of the link
between company financial performance and supply chain
management. It was designed to support organizations
that are attempting to develop an operational/financial
business case for supply chain management projects.
Attendees of the workshop were extremely happy and
found it comprehensive, informative and well organized.
Every participant felt that the workshop should have been
spread for a longer period since it was packed with so
much information.
SCLG organized this educational event with an aim to
serve the Supply Chain and Logistics community by
facilitating educational and training opportunities for
professional development. This workshop was conducted
by John Paul, who is an internationally acclaimed expert in
Supply Chain Management and Operational Improvement
for manufacturing and services.
John Paul runs iCognitive International which is based
in Singapore, is a very dynamic, innovative consultancy
company offering excellence in Supply Chain. He has written
numerous SCM-articles and has been lecturing in different
European Universities (Paris 12 and ISLI in Bordeaux)
and Nanyang Technological University Singapore, ESSEC
Asian Campus in Singapore. He is currently an associate
professor of the Bordeaux Business School (France). He
holds a PhD researcher in Engineering Management, a
Master ’s Degree in Industrial Logistics, a Masters’ Degree
in Economics and an MBA in Management.
Mr John Paul is interrupted for a picture
during the workshop
Mark Wormald and Andrew Posa from Workz engrossed
in the lecture
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SCLG Round-Up 9
Head Talks
Dr. Satish Mapara
decided to divide total membership into
several business groups and councils,
I got elected within SCLG with total
committee members retained at 19 (of
which nine members were elected and
11 members were selected by DCCI).
With 40 years of extensive experience
in supply chain and logistics industry,
Dr. Satish Mapara is a versatile, multidimensional expert in the field with
special focus in legal and commercial
aspect of shipping, marine insurance and
finance and banking. A Dubai resident
of 23 years, Mapara set up GlobeApex
Management Consultants in Dubai in
1987. Awarded with a doctorate degree
in Maritime Law and Ship Management
from Switzerland, Mapara is associated
with Indian Merchants Chamber (IMC),
Mumbai, Council of Supply Chain
Management Professionals (CSCMP),
USA and Indian Business & Professional
Council (IBPC), Dubai. Apart from
being an expert arbitrator on the Panel
of Dubai International Arbitration
Centre (DIAC), he is a life member of
Indian Council of Arbitration and FACT
of Federation of Indian Chambers of
Commerce and Industry (FICCI). Here
is an excerpt from the interview with
The Link Magazine.
Ho w d id y o u get as s oc iated
with SCLG?
I have been associated with Dubai
Chamber of Commerce and Industry
(DCCI) for a long time. When DCCI
Mention some achievements that the
SCLG has made so far and what are its
future plans?
SCLG successfully brings out two
industry specific magazines The Link
and Eblast in association with Media
One Group. SCLG, with more than
600 members is undoubtedly the most
prestigious business group of DCCI. It
regularly organizes educational events,
conferences, councils on the logistics
and supply chain management to make
the region aware of this discipline and
how it can positively affect the bottom
line of enterprises.
By March 2008 SCLG will launch its
Strategy 2012 which will earmark
progressive, consistent steps that entire
leadership is expected to follow to create
benchmarks in the industry through
networking, educational events, seminars
and awards.
For the last six months SCLG is engaged
in nominating the Board of International
Advisors. This will keep the industry
abreast of best practices in global supply
chain and logistics.
What according to you are the major
challenges for the supply chain industry
in the Middle East today?
One of the major challenges facing
this industry in the Middle East is to
create one-to-one relationship and
networking opportunity for exchange
of expertise among industry leaders
based here. Another challenge is related
to developing scientific approaches to
evaluate the practical, periodical needs of
several corporate giants actively engaged
in this sector. SCLG should continue to
recommend expert and result-oriented
guidelines for bringing optimization in
cost savings and revenue enhancement
through HRD processes, job training
and industry related educational
programmes.
SCLG is finding it really challenging
to create awareness among industry
practitioners about the SWOT analysis that
plays fundamental role in manufacturing,
process and services oriented industries.
How do you balance a full time job with
responsibilities of SCLG’s consultative
committee?
Balancing between full time office
responsibilities and SCLG leadership
team is in my opinion an art as well as
science. One needs to be mature, focused
and result-oriented to strike a proper
balance. I am ready to go that extra mile
along with my leadership team and other
members of SCLG to benefit and service
this branch of management.
What is your advice to youngsters who
wish to enter this industry?
Youngsters, in my opinion, should first
study the demand and supply philosophy
of employment.
However, I can confidently say that there
exists ample opportunities in supply
chain and logistics industry for all
categories of work force - skilled, semiskilled and unskilled. This industry can
offer promising future with lucrative
salary, security and scope for further
enhancement.
Current statistics reveal the ratio
between available and required staff in
this industry is 3:10 and this disparity is
set to continue for the next 15-18 years.
So my advice to youngsters is to join
this industry, stay, climb the ladder and
retire with flying colours.
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10 About
SCLG
THE SUPPLY CHAIN & LOGISTICS GROUP
SCLG BOARD OF DIRECTORS
Shashi Shekhar
Mishal Hamed Kanoo
Emirates SkyCargo
Kanoo Group
Mohammed Sharaf
Clifford Cuttelle
Dubai International
Tagstone
Sanjay Naik
David Wild
Fadi Ghandour
Michael Proffitt
Emirates Group
DHL
Aramex
Dubai Logistics City
Hamdi Osman
Graham Burne
Saadi Al Rais
Jinendra Sancheti
Nakheel
FedEx
RHS Logistics
SCLG MEMBERSHIP
TNT Express
For details log on to: www.sclgme.org
CORPORATE MEMBERSHIP
Membership is open to all organisations.
Corporate members shall/may nominate 4
representatives. All nominated members shall be
allowed to vote at the Annual General Meeting
(AGM), and at any Extraordinary General
Meetings. Board of Directors and Executive
Committee members shall decide the annual
fees for membership.
SCLG?
Access to Educational Training and Seminars at
concessional rates.
A Membership Certificate - to distinguish
you/ your company as professionally focused
enterprise committed to the cause of Supply
Chain and Logistics
INDIVIDUAL MEMBERSHIP
Open to any individual from any part of the
world. The annual subscription shall be set from
time to time as deemed necessary by the Board of
Directors and Executive Committee members.
•
STUDENT MEMBERSHIP
Open to students, full-time education only.
Student membership shall not convey any voting
rights to the individual. The annual subscription
shall be set from time to time as deemed
necessary by the Board of Directors/ Executive
committee members.
MORE REASONS - WHY BELONG TO
•
•
•
Access to networking evening(s) at
rebated rates
Access to 'member only' section of
SCLG coming soon
Rebates on Subscription of Membership to
international partnering body of SCLG
Membership Card (discount offers being
discussed at leading retailers /service
providers) and many more to come............
Visit our website (www.sclgme.org)
for
more details. Wish to volunteer on various
Sub Committee to support us in managing
and fostering Supply Chain & Logistics
Community?
Contact - Kanchan Vora at [email protected]
Supply Chain & Logistics Group (SCLG) of the Middle
East is a non-profit organisation, working under the
umbrella of Dubai Chamber of Commerce& Industry
to promote the cause of supply chain and logistics
industry. This group brings an opportunity for personal
and professional developments by offering networking
prospects among like-minded professionals and
corporations on a global basis.
The SCLG was founded with the help of senior
management professionals representing a wide
spectrum of industries on Supply Chain. This group
shall strive to bring the best of education, seminars
and interaction through partnership/ alliances with a
variety of similar bodies across the globe.
The Link is the official magazine of the SCLG
addressing the needs of the Logistics and Supply Chain
Professionals/Management in the region. It presents
news, views, developments and information to its
readers drawn from the industry experts. The magazine
aspires to serve as a benchmark guide to the industry,
the first of its kind in the region.
The articles offer valuable insight and information
for today's Supply Chain executives. These articles
and news features cover innovative supply chain
practices, emerging technologies, e-commerce, market
information from industry leaders and reports on
break-through innovative practices. The Supply Chain
and Logistics industry is still in the development stage
in the region, but activities of SCLG will help build
renewed professionalism in the industry.
MISSION OF SCLG
To provide an accessible, dynamic and professional
networking environment that facilitates the
achievement of professional, educational and personal
goals, by members of SCLG community in an
atmosphere that encourages professional development,
diversity and innovation in Logistics and Supply Chain
Management.
OBJECTIVES OF SCLG
• To promote the cause of Logistics and Supply Chain
industry and raise the overall standards of all industries
on end to end supply chain
• To protect the interest of member organisations and
support government bodies in formulation of policy
framework for logistics organisations
• To encourage the free exchange of knowledge and
skills relating to supply chain and logistics within the
members of the organisation
• To provide all members an opportunity to network
among each other and help facilitate an overall efficient
commercial environment
• Undertake studies, compute and maintain
information, statistical data and official documents
relating to various aspects of supply chain and logistics
industry for the benefit of all
• To establish and maintain contact with similar
organisations internationally and provide all
members an opportunity to network with like-minded
organisations/ members across the globe
• To conduct training courses, seminars, conferences
and studies relating logistics and supply chain; also
establish a library and research centre relating this
industry to expand the knowledge base
• To establish good relations with other professional
groups or societies that are existing or to be established
locally or globally
• To promote the cause of education in Supply Chain
and Logistics among nationals of UAE and thereby
contribute to build a cadre of professional and extra
competent nationals to take up current and future
challenges of Logistics/ Supply Chain industries.
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About SCLG 11
THE SUPPLY CHAIN & LOGISTICS GROUP
SCLG EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE
Soma Sekhar
President
(TrackIT)
SCLG CONSULTATIVE COMMITTEE
Dr. Satish Mapara
GlobeApex Management Consultants
Nigel Moore
Sanjay Babur
Cosmos Insurance
Johnson Soans
Logistics Recruitment
Extron Electronics
Tayssir Awada
Dirk Van Doorn
FedEx
Roy A. Patterson
UTi
Arup Gupta
Sharaf Logistics
Michael Stockdale
DHL
Madhav Kurup
Trident Freight
Usha Kaul Saraf
University of Dubai
Dr. Cedwyn Fernandes
University of Wollongong
Dr. Madrecha
Pan Pacific Logistics
Dubai World
Ravi Kashyap
Geoff Wheatley
Reinhard Wind
Jassim Saif
USP Logistics
Vice President (Marketing)
(Hytech Logistics)
Mohseen Al-Awadhi
Vice President (Membership)
(Dubal)
Sebastian Thomas
Secretary & Treasurer
(Al-Futtaim Retail)
Pradeep Melakandy
Steinweg Sharaf
John Halpin
SSI Schaefer LLC (Middle East)
Emirates SkyCargo
Andreas Dur
(Xvise Logistics)
Naveen Arun
(DAMAC Holding)
Melvin Verghese
(Transworld Group)
Ayman Ismail Ahmed
(Famco)
Brian Forbes
(DHL Express)
Stephen Cross
(ATMS FZCo)
Hemant Barke
(Prudence Insurance Brokers)
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12 Retail
Beiersdorf’s clear strategy
supply chain design and optimization
F
ounded in 1882 in a residential area
of Hamburg, the Beiersdorf Group
with its flagship international
brand of Nivea, has come a long way. In
its 125th year, last year, Beiersdorf had
record sales of Euro 5,507 million and
importantly it has been reaching out to
millions and millions of consumers across
all continents. Nivea is the largest body
care brand in the world.
countries (United Arab Emirates, Saudi
Arabia, Kuwait, Oman, Bahrain, Qatar,
Yemen, Lebanon, Jordan, Palestine,
Syria, Iraq, Egypt, Iran, Pakistan and
Afghanistan), having a market potential
of 386 million consumers in the region.
The Middle East and West Asia regions
have a multi-ethnic population.
As an international company, Beiersdorf
has a clear goal: to be as close as possible
to consumers, regardless of which country
they live in. Maybe that explains why
Beiersdorf is located in a residential area.
The basis of Beiersdorf success has been
its leading international brands such as
Nivea, Eucerin and La Prairie, borne out
of over 125 years of experience in research
and development. The goal has been to
increase market share though qualitative
growth.
The record earnings, says the CEO
Thomas-B.Quaas, demonstrates that
Beiersdorf is growing successfully and
is even exceeding its own expectations.
The company has over 17,000 employees
worldwide with over 150 affiliates.
A clear strategy
Beiersdorf balances world-class product
quality and competitive service levels on
one side and efficiency on the other side.
“We will have one global, process-oriented,
and best-in-class supply chain organization
which will be managed centrally and
tailored to our business model, as well as
to our markets and business partners. We
will establish an efficient global supply
chain network of our production and
logistics centers. We will yield economies
of scale by standardizing our product
assortment and processes.”
Successful all over the world
Beiersdorf’s
consistent
consumer
orientation is the reason for its global
success. Beiersdorf’s name stands
for reliable brands with high quality
Didier Jordan
standards and systematic introduction of
strong innovative brands and targeted
acquisitions have expanded its markets
considerably. The company’s innovative
research and development is among the
best in the world and that repeatedly sets
new standards.
Beiersdorf in the Middle East
Though the products of Beiersdorf have
been available in the Middle Eastern
markets for years now, it was only in
June 2006 that Beiersdorf Middle East
FZCO was located in the Jebel Ali Free
Zone, Dubai. The affiliate coordinates 16
Supply Chain locations
Beiersdorf’s supply chain locations are
in JAFZA and in Agility warehouse.
The supply chain mandate is to create
efficiencies in the network design and
planning by eliminating procedural
redundancies. The company has been
working on creating a hub in Dubai for
the Middle East and West Asia region
to boost market proximity and market
intelligence; and leverage mastery in
outbound dispatch. Beiersdorf ensures
direct sourcing from production centres
– optimize transportation cost; optimize
lead-time and optimize stock holding.
It has a direct global sourcing from 11
major sources - Germany (three), Spain
(two), Poland, France, Thailand, Colombia,
Malaysia and Indonesia.
Beiersdorf realigned it supply chain in 2005
and the realignment process continues in
2008 too. In these three years, the company
plans to optimize its international supply
chain which comprises purchasing,
production, distribution and delivery. In
addition, the company wants to make its
2006 Competitive Stance
Market
GP Creams
Body Care Face Care Sun Care
Men’s Grooming
Deodarant
Size (msus)
64.9
42.9
91.3
9.8
28.2
113.6
1
Nivea Cream
Nivea Soft
34.9 %
Jergens
Olay
Nivea Sun
Gillette
Nivea Deo
33.1 %
15.8 %
25.5 %
33.9 %
13.4 %
2
Dove
19.9 %
Nivea Body
22.4 %
L’Oreal
12.2 %
Neutrogena
15.3 %
Nivea For Men
26.6 %
Fa
10.2 %
3
Crème 21
5.4 %
Vaseline
9.2 %
Neutrogena
11.2 %
Coppertone
5.2 %
Old Spice
6%
Rexona
9.9 %
4
Eva
4.9 %
Dove
3.6 %
NiveaVisage Neutrogena
10.05 %
2.9 %
Super Max
2.1 %
Axe
7.3 %
Source: AC Nielsen 1-12-2006
Link 23.indd 12
2/28/08 11:13:20 AM
Retail 13
production and logistics network more
efficient and adjust capacities in Europe.
In this context the company assumes
that a reduction of European production
and warehouse locations and related job
reductions will be necessary. It expects
total related one-off costs of about Euro
220 million over the years 2006 to 2008
and estimates it can achieve cost savings of
around euro 100 million per year.
The production is combined with a bigger
scale allowing less complexity on each
line. There is better reactivity due to less
change over time. The global plant output
is huge, allowing – cost scaling effect at
plant level. All this adds to better utilization
of transportation (time and cost); focused
organization allowing innovation with
reduced time to market; creation of hub and
satellite across the countries to fit customer
needs – consolidation of inventories leading
to inventory reduction and increased service
level; increased forecast accuracy leading
to more stable demand transferred to PCs.
Beiersdorf has heightened visibility in its
supply chain process across manufacturing
units; achieving greater forecast accuracy
and sufficient lead times.
“
We will have one global,
process-oriented, and best-inclass supply chain organization
which will be managed centrally
and tailored to our business
model, as well as to our markets
and business partners. We will
establish an efficient global
supply chain network of our
production and logistics centers.
We will yield economies of scale
by standardizing our product
assortment and processes
”
ME APO project target
Demand Planning and Supply Network
Planning implementation will increase
turn over and profit by – improving
responsiveness to market opportunity;
reducing stock while maintaining high
service level; not consuming benefits in
working capital by higher production
and transportation costs; scaling down
of obsolete stocks; and optimizing
planning processes (faster and more
accurate). This supply chain process
Beiersdorf has been perfecting.
Beiersdorf also has collaborative forecast
– demand planning. The monthly
S&OP meeting between supply chain
– marketing and trade marketing –
combined knowledge of experts; review of
promotional and media plans all help in
streamlining the distribution process. .
The company has increased effective
decision-making and responsiveness to
market conditions. It is an integrated
company with – proximity with customers
and consumers including business partners;
full responsibility over the region for sales
and profit target; collaborative forecast: all
departments involved marketing, sales,
finance and supply chain; global decision
making tool – APO DP & SNP system
– one for all; alert based tool : exception
management. The criticality of effective
supply chain has been understood and
implemented by Beiersdorf and it has been
paying good dividends.
By Didier Jordan
Supply Chain Director, Middle East & West Asia
Beiersdorf Middle East FZCO, UAE
Link 23.indd 13
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14 Cover
Story
Air Cargo
industry in a tailspin!
E
veryone is talking about the
interesting times in the aviation
industry. Actually, these are
exciting times and the Middle East region
happens to be the place where all the
action seems to be taking place. Airlines
are on a massive aircraft-buying spree;
passenger and cargo movements are going
skywards; new technologies are sweeping
changes; bottom-lines are in a state of
flux and competition is hotting up!! What
better times than these for supply chain
and logistics professionals.
Though the industry has made profits
in 2007 (after series of losses since
2000), the Director General and Chief
Executive Officer of International Air
Transport Association (IATA) Giovanni
Bisignani has forecast “difficult times”
in 2008. The reasons are not difficult to
fathom. Increasing fuel costs are staring
in our face. “We expect a bill of US$149
billion next year, which is US$14 billion
more than 2007 and 30 per cent of our
total costs. The bottom line is that 2008
profits will drop to US$5.0 billion, which
is lower than the US$7.8 billion we had
anticipated and less than our profits
this year. The peak of the business cycle
is over and we are still US$190 billion
in debt. So we could be headed for a
downturn with little cash in the bank to
cushion the fall.”
Spiralling fuel costs
The average cost of a gallon of jet fuel
has shot up from 75 cents per gallon in
2001 to $2.81 in 2007. “Two years ago,
fuel represented approximately 22 percent
of direct operating costs for airlines.
Today, for most wide-body planes, fuel
now represents a greater percentage of
total operating costs.With little decline
in prospect this year, IATA estimates the
cost of fuel -- even with an average of 45
percent hedged -- will rise from $24 billion
to $115 billion.” says Bisignani.
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Cover Story 15
now shippers have been opposing on
the grounds that it would hamper trade.
But after September 11, 2001, the security
regime is getting tighter by the day,
adding to the cost. There are talks that
high cost of screening and delays to
screening of belly cargo will cut the
differential between ocean and air. It has
been reported that in the United States,
ground transport is now competitive with
air freight up to 1,000 miles. Shippers are
increasingly optimizing supply chains
to rely on cheaper ground and ocean
shipments supplemented by occasional
air express shipments.
There are many reasons for hike in fuel
prices including increased demand from
China, India and the emerging markets;
insufficient refining capacity in the
developed nations and the oil cartel
being almost monopolistic.
Skyrocketing fuel prices are already
impacting air cargo. Carriers have to
think of innovative ways of getting better
yields and to ensure that shippers do not
think of alternative modes of transport.
IATA has said that air cargo accounts
for only five per cent of world trade
volume and over 36 per cent by value
(3.25 trillion USD) with annual revenue
generation of 50 billion USD. The growth
has been positive, but IATA mentions
that the air cargo industry is a complex
one. “There is significant supply chain
cost wasted in complex, paper bound
processes within air cargo supply chains
failing to deliver the required level of
performance to the end customer.”
Slowdown in cargo growth
“With weakening confidence levels in
manufacturing businesses and slower
semi-conductor shipments we have
“
The peak of the business
cycle is over and we are
still US$190 billion in
debt. So we could be
headed for a downturn
with little cash in the
bank to cushion the fall
”
already seen a slowdown in cargo
growth from 5.0 per cent in September
to 3.6 per cent in October 2007. Though,
air cargo is still expanding, the industry
has shifted gears to a slower pace of
growth. Passenger demand remains
strong, but this is a cyclical industry. The
next months will be critical to see if the
impact of the credit crunch spreads from
cargo to corporate and leisure travel,”
said Giovanni.
Another challenge for the air cargo
industry has been the growing security
concerns. There have been demands
from various quarters that all cargo on
passenger planes and cargo aircraft to
undergo total inspection which as of
Air cargo expanding at 6.1 per cent
Despite these fears, world air cargo
traffic will expand at an average annual
rate of 6.1 per cent for the next two
decades, tripling current traffic levels.
Asia’s air cargo markets will continue
to lead the world air cargo industry
in average annual growth rates, with
domestic China and intra-Asia markets
expanding 10.8 percent and 8.6 percent
per year, respectively. As in the past, the
more mature North America and Europe
markets reflect slower and thus lowerthan-average traffic growth rates, with
the exception of those linked to Asia and
Southwest Asia.
Consequently, the freighter fleet size is
forecast to nearly double, from 1,789 in
2005 to 3,563 in 2025. Air freight will
grow more rapidly than mail, averaging
annual growth of 6.2 percent through
2025. Overall, world air cargo traffic will
more than triple during the next 20 years,
increasing from 178.1 billion RTKs in
2005 to more than 582.8 RTKs in 2025.
Amidst all this, the Middle East carriers
saw freight demand improve slightly to
9.0 per cent in October, largely reflecting
increased capacity with new route
development. In 2006/2007, Emirates
SkyCargo recorded growth across its
network to carry 1.2 million tonnes of
cargo. The division’s revenue $1.5 billion
was 21.5 per cent higher than the year
before, and contributed 20 per cent to
the airline’s transport revenue, one of the
highest contributions of any airline in the
world with a similar fleet make-up.
By R. Chandrakanth
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16 Cover
Story
Asian markets steer the shipping industry
developing nations, and to 7.6 per cent
for transition economies.
T
he growing world economy, led by
mounting demand in Asia, spurred
an increase in international trade
carried by ship to 7.4 billion tons in 2006 -- a
jump of 4.3 per cent, UNCTAD́s Review of
Maritime Transport 2007 (RMT) reports.
Overall, the report says, total world
merchandise trade, however carried,
recorded robust growth of 8 per cent in
2006, double the rate of increase in global
gross domestic product (GDP) for the year.
Over one-third of seaborne merchandise
was made up of crude oil and petroleum
products. Sparked by growth in Asia,
in particular in China, total demand for
shipping services increased by 5.5 per cent
to reach 30,686 billion ton-miles in 2006.
World fleet up 1 billion deadweight tons
By the beginning of 2007, the total world
merchant fleet had expanded by an
Cargo channelled through world
container ports in 2006 grew by a sharp
13.4 per cent to 440 million twentyfoot-equivalent units (TEUs), the
Review reports. Developing countries
handled 65 per cent of the world total,
up from 62.1 per cent in 2005. Sixtytwo countries -- 25 of them in Asia
-- had container traffic above 100,000
TEUs. Of these, 24 countries recorded
double-digit growth. In 2006, seven
out of the top 10 world container ports
were located in Asia.
impressive 8.6 per cent over 2006, to
1.04 billion deadweight tons (dwt), the
Review notes. That is the first time
global capacity has exceeded 1 billion
dwt. Developing countries controlled
about 31 per cent of the world dwt,
developed market economies close to
66 per cent, and economies in transition
about 3 per cent. The share of foreignflagged vessels decreased slightly in
2006, for the first time since 1989. The
10 largest open and international ship
registries accounted for 53.7 per cent of
total world registries.
According to the latest data for 2005,
global freight costs represented 5.9 per
cent of the value of world imports, a
jump from 5.1 per cent in 2004. Higher
transport costs continued to apply in
developing countries and in economies
in transition. The cost share of transport
came to 7.7 per cent of import value for
International rail freight transport also
expanded in 2006, the report notes, with
totals in China and India growing by 11
per cent and 8 per cent, respectively. The
global road transport market is estimated
to have grown by 4.5 per cent, while the
global freight forwarding and logistics
market grew by 13.5 per cent.
Maritime security
Security continues to be an important
issue in the transport of world trade.
In a 2007 study, UNCTAD estimated
the port-related costs of implementing
the International Ship and Port Facility
Security Code (ISPS), adopted under the
auspices of the International Maritime
Organization (IMO), at between US$1.1
billion and US$2.3 billion initially and
US$0.4 billion to US$0.9 billion annually
thereafter. The ISPS Code entered into
force on 1 July 2004.
By R. Chandrakanth
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DHL
Link 23.indd 17
2/28/08 12:44:11 PM
18 Cover
Story
The long road ahead
All ocean and air freight usually first come
to Dubai and then it gets transported by
road. Trends say an air freight consignment
from North America or Europe to Saudi
Arabia costs more if it directly goes there.
Instead it is more cost effective if it is first
imported in Dubai by air and then reexported by land transport,” says Khan.
T
he recent UAE Freight Transport
Report by Business Monitor
International (BMI) explains that
freight carried growth across all modes,
measured in million-tonne-km (mntkm),
and is poised to average 6.6 per cent per
annum in the 2007-2011 forecast period.
According to the report, “Although the
current oil price boom is easing, the
UAE economy is expected to grow by an
average of 5.8 per cent per annum over the
next five years, providing an important
level of support for the freight business.”
By transport modes, BMI predicts the
fastest growing sector in the 2007-2011
forecast period to be air, with an annual
average of 11.7 per cent growth in freight
carried, followed by sea freight with 7.2
per cent and pipeline throughput (6.5
per cent) and road haulage (6.3 per cent),
just ahead of GDP. BMI believes the UAE
freight sector will expand rapidly and will
achieve average annual growth of 6.3 per
cent versus 5.8 per cent for overall GDP.
Experts opine although the land cargo
sector will continue to face stiff competition
from ocean and air but its throughput will
not be affected. Mazhar Ayub Khan, Head
of Logistics International, TCS Express
Worldwide, clarifies the point. “With the
kind of integration taking place in the
freight forwarding industry, land transport,
in my opinion, is the future especially in
the Middle East region.” Dubai is already
one of the largest importing destinations
in the region and is gradually emerging
as a global logistics hub. There is a huge
consumer market in the GCC, South
Asia and Middle Eastern region and
manufacturers, suppliers and exporters
prefer to keep their stocks close to their
consumers. Transportation of goods from
Dubai by land is definitely more cost
effective than any other modes. With the
completion of Dubai Logistics City more
international cargo is expected to arrive
here so it is very likely that land cargo
sector will experience a boom.
“Dubai is well connected with the
consumer markets in the GCC countries.
Clayton Delplanque, Business Sector
Manager, Auto Units, Al Futtaim Logistics
agrees with Khan. “The main concern
for the service providers is to enable the
consignments to reach the market fast. As
a logistics practitioner we do not depend
on any particular mode. We give equal
importance to all modes of transportation.
For instance, consignments of our client Al
Futtaim Motors often come by sea freight
to Dubai and from here get distributed
by road to different parts of the region.
Today’s logistics industry is lot more
integrated than it was before.”
Khan also discusses the issue of competition
from a different perspective. “In today’s
transportation industry conventional
competition is no longer present. It is
the age of developing niche market. The
customers are more interested in bottom
line- lower cost, lesser transit time and
faster delivery.”
Customs Clearance
In the UAE, stringent but effective
customs procedures are in place for freight
forwarders. “For the security reasons strict
customs procedures are always welcome.
It differentiates serious players from the
masses,” says Delplanque. Customs rules
in the UAE are consistently improved and
updated in line with regional and international
laws, legislations and agreements.
“The rules and regulations in Dubai match
any international standard. Compare to
other GCC countries here forwarders can
experience faster clearance. And most
importantly the atmosphere is quite
customer friendly,” points out Khan.
Mazhar Ayub Khan
Head of Logistics International, TCS Express
Worldwide
To ease the overall process and enhance its
operational efficiency Dubai customs has
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2/26/08 5:58:57 PM
Cover Story 19
signed a memorandum of understanding
with key supply chain partners. This
initiative is based on activating electronic
commerce principles to achieve paperless
trading. It allows importers and exporters
to electronically perform 51 customs
transactions without physically visiting
the customs centre.
Is the market too crowded?
With more than 2000 freight forwarders
operating in this market often people
think the market is saturated. “The
business opportunities in this market
are set to grow manifold. Statistics
show the dynamics of Dubai ports have
grown ten times in the recent years and
with the opening of Dubai Logistics
City the service of more handlers will
be required. Besides, since the business
model of Dubai is trade based so
opportunities for freight forwarders will
never fade away. Many well established
companies here just take care of their
production, marketing and finance.
All other practical things are actually
performed by freight forwarders. This
trend is set to continue,” says Khan.
However, Delplanque thinks though the
market is crowded it is so only at the
specific level. Numerous small players are
operating in the market and they cannot
match the service standards and network
of the eminent players.
Security and increased operational cost
Both Khan and Delplanque agree that
increased security measures have led to
the rise in operational cost in the recent
years. “But since this region is attracting
more business the hike in operational
cost gets automatically balanced,”
difficult to get qualified heavy vehicle
drivers in the market. “In the UAE land
transport authority has recently changed
the licences standard. Previously we used
to get drivers from other parts of the
GCC region. And GCC licenses used to
be considered valid here. But today it is
no longer accepted. The drivers need to
get their licenses again and the whole
procedure takes about 40 days.”
Clayton Delplanque
Business Sector Manager, Auto Units, Al
Futtaim Logistics
says Delplanque. “Security has always
been an issue with freight forwarders.
Previously everyone used to transfer that
responsibility to someone else. But now the
rule says if a person is a freight forwarder
or a beneficiary of the deal then he/ she
has to bear the responsibility. Cost is a big
challenge for every operator. Sometimes
the hike is shared and sometimes it is
passed on,” explains Khan.
He also raises the important issue of drop
in dollars and explains how it affects the
whole industry. “In the US the plunge in
the rate of dollars affects the shipping
industry. Due to that they pass on the
cost to the freight forwarders. Now in
every quotation there is the provision for
Currency Adjustment Factor (CAF). This
charge was originally developed due to
costs that carriers incur from constantly
changing exchange rates between the US
dollar and other foreign currencies.”
Challenges in the land cargo sector
According to Delplanque it is very
He also thinks the road infrastructure needs
to improve to accommodate the increased
volume of traffic. “The infrastructure
is sometimes not enough to handle the
growth. Severe traffic congestion on the
roads of Dubai hampers the movement of
land cargo and that affects business.”
With the mushrooming of numerous
freight forwarders in the country, often
the entire industry gets a bad name when
the forwarders cannot deliver. “Small time
operators often have a very confined notion
of freight forwarding. They are not well
acquainted with financial legalities, liabilities
and run into troubles,” says Khan.
He also points out that maintaining own
fleet is not very cost effective in this region.
So according to him many companies in
this industry outsource this service to other
transportation companies. “Many truckers
who come from Egypt, Jordan and Syria
unload their trucks in Dubai and while
going back often carry goods from here.
They offer rate which is lower than the
existing market rate. It makes sense to have
a dedicated fleet only when the forwarder
has committed cargo arriving.”
Khan and Delplanque both acknowledge
the fact that logistics and supply
chain industry is poised to experience
unprecedented growth in the region.
Because of the strategic location and
sound infrastructure the volume of road
transport is set to grow in Dubai. The
opening of Al Maktoum International
Airport and Dubai Logistics City will add
an edge to all modes of cargo operation.
“For a manufacturer logistics services are
very crucial because cost of product is
directly linked to the cost of transportation.
If the transportation and logistics facilities
are not efficient it directly hits the bottom
line,” concludes Khan.
By Chiranti Sengupta
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2/26/08 5:59:02 PM
20 Warehousing
Amana
Fuelling industrial construction boom
High tech logistics platform for Vos logistics at Masaieed Industrial City
I
ndia has the peacock, New Zealand the
kiwi and Britain the robin. The UAE
has cranes. We are not talking about the
light-feathered two-legged creatures that
flutter their wings by the waterside but the
monstrous tangles of steel that have become
such a familiar sight along Dubai’s roads,
bridges and even the forlorn deserts that the
status of national bird really seems befitting.
According to unofficial estimates, about 25
per cent of the world’s construction cranes
are in Dubai. On the eve of George W.
Bush’s recent visit to the UAE, HH Shaikh
Mohammad Bin Rashid Al Maktoum,
Vice President and Prime Minister of
the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, said in a
Wall Street Journal article that Dubai’s
recent construction boom really justifies
the crane’s status as a national bird. The
tongue-in-cheek
comment,
however,
points to something more serious: the
UAE and by proximity the other Gulf
states are going through an unprecedented
era of infrastructure growth and the real
estate sector is one of the most flourishing
industries in the region, with multibillion dollar projects being announced
every week.
Riding on this boom in construction
activity and with a focus on the industrial
and commercial sector is Amana
Contracting and Steel Buildings. The
company, established in 1993, combines
local knowledge with regional reach. This
is accomplished with its decentralized
structure allowing each of its local offices
to operate independently with capabilities
to market, design, procure and construct
projects on a full design-build basis.
With logistics and supply chain industry
playing a critical part in Amana’s portfolio,
Riad Bsaibes, Chief Operating Officer,
Amana Contracting and Buildings says
that about 30 per cent of the
whole operations constitutes projects in
logistics sector.
Logistics terminal in Mesaieed, Qatar
Vos Logistics of Netherlands awarded a
contract to Amana in December, 2006 to
design and build a logistics terminal in
Qatar. “Vos Logistics, a leading logistics
service provider to the petrochemical
industry was awarded with the contract
by Qatofin, a joint venture between
Qatar Petrochemical Company, Total
Petrochemicals of France and Qatar
Petroleum to construct and operate a
leading-edge logistics platform. Amana
is currently constructing the platform to
facilitate storage and handling of Qatofin’s
Linear Low Density Polyethylene (LLDPE)
granules,” says Bsaibes.
After winning the contract Amana
commenced construction on the site
in February 2007. Due for completion
in October, 2008, the terminal complex
will comprise four buildings featuring
a 60,000 square meter of covered
warehouses, 14,500 cubic meter of silo
storage, two fully automatic and mobile
packaging lines, 20 loading docks and
container storage and transshipment
with a capacity of 1000 TEU.
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2/26/08 5:59:09 PM
Warehousing
Notable logistics projects of Amana
Logistics facilities for Agility
suppliers. The facility has been designed with
Amana has worked with Agility for its projects
stringent European specifications.
across the region. It first worked with Agility
in Doha in 2005. After that it worked with
Ajman Free Zones
them for projects in Dubai Investment Park
Amana is currently working on a project for
and Kuwait and currently it is working on a
Ajman Free Zones. It is constructing 90,000
project at Jebel Ali.
square meter of warehousing facility for them.
Warehouses at Dubai Maritime City
Logistics facility for General Motors/ Danzas
Completed in two phases on 377,700 square
at JAFZA
meters of reclaimed land at Port Rashid the
With a large clear span, this pre-engineered,
construction required over 5000 tons of steel.
design-built facility was created for the full
utilization of the storage space and racking
Light Industrial Units at JAFZA
requirements for the rapid movements of
This development is composed of various
goods.
rental units used for light industries and
general warehousing for companies in the free
Cold Store Complex for Gulf Warehousing
zones.
Company
This 25,000 square meter distribution facility
Spares Center for Airbus at Dubai Airport
is designed to contain over 43000 pallet
Free Zones (DAFZA)
positions. The complex is a high-bay facility
The spares centre is used by Airbus to stock parts
with an internal very narrow aisle racking
made by the company and major equipment
(VNA) system.
“So far about 40 per cent of the project is
complete and more than 2000 tons of steel
were used for the construction,” points
out Bsaibes.
Construction boom in the UAE
The United Arab Emirates (UAE)
construction industry reported an
estimated growth rate of 8.01per cent
year-on-year (y-o-y) in 2006. The industry,
which is the third-largest sector of the
economy, after oil and trade, comprises
about 6,000 companies. As evident from
the large number of new and ongoing
large scale projects, the country has
the highest per capita expenditure on
construction in the world. According to
the UAE Infrastructure Report Q3, 07,
the construction industry is predicted to
register an average growth of 7.04 per cent
during 2007-2010.
According to Bsaibes, in spite of the boom
in the UAE there is no categorization in
the construction sector in terms of quality
so it is really difficult to establish a name
in the market. It is the reputation which in
the long run sets a company apart from its
competitors. Factors like quality, cost, and
on-time completion of a project determine
credibility of a company in the market.
“The growth in the residential construction
sector is dependent on several extraneous
factors such as mortgage, bank loans
21
linked to leadership and governmental
policies. The Middle East has a
geographical advantage since it is located
between Asia and Europe. In addition to
that infrastructure facility is first-rate and
cost of power is lot cheaper than most
European countries. In my opinion the
industrial construction is perhaps the most
robust sector and is poised for trajectory
growth,” he adds.
Competitive edge
With 11 offices in 7 countries, Amana is
in an advantageous position to offer its
employees better growth prospects in this
sector. “Sourcing right-skilled persons is
definitely a challenge but retaining them is
a bigger challenge. Since we have operations
in the entire region we definitely enjoy an
edge with regard to employees- we can offer
them better opportunities which no other
contractor in the UAE can,” says Bsaibes.
Additionally, when a client plans a regional
expansion Amana with its strong regional
presence is better equipped to offer turnkey
solutions across the region.
Amana has grown considerably in the last
few years. “We have experienced very
quick growth in the last three years. Last
year we opened three offices. In 2008 our
primary agenda is to institutionalize the
Retail Distribution centre for Agility Logistics at Dubai Investment Park
and rate of interest. If these factors are
favorable this sector experiences growth.
However, the growth in the industrial and
commercial construction sector is directly
company and build a framework in the
organization to consolidate our position
so that again in 2009 we can embark on
expansion,” explains Bsaibes.
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22 Market
Watch
Jafza to build free zone in Senegal
Dubai World Group’s Jafza
subsidiary has signed an $800
million deal to build and
run a special economic zone
in Senegal. The Chairman of
Dubai World, Sultan Ahmed
bin Sulayem said the first
phase construction on 650
hectares would begin this year.
The project will be next to the
proposed international airport
45 kilometres from Dakar.
The project is expected to
go operational in 2010 and
hopes to attract nearly 1,000
companies, having the potential
of creating 30,000 direct jobs.
“This will be an example to
many African countries that
when free trade operates with
government support, you will
see that businesses will come,”
bin Sulayem said.
Senegal hopes its strategic
location between markets in the
Americas, Europe and Asia will
entice businesses to the low-tax
and employed a tenth of its
population.
area. The Senegalese government
has reserved a total of 10,000
hectares for the expansion of
the zone, with the possibility
of constructing a power station
and refinery to tackle shortage of
electricity capacity.
The special economic zone
and other infrastructure
projects including a new
airport and port, are part of
the government’s accelerated
growth strategy to help lift
economic expansion above
seven per cent per annum. The
economy currently relies on
foreign aid, tourism, fishing,
exports of phosphates and
peanuts.
Salma Hareb, CEO of Jafza
and Economic Zones World,
said “We see Senegal as our
West African gateway.. and
we believe this project is
going to be successful.” She
said the Jebel Ali free zone in
Dubai now provided 26 per
cent of the Emirate’s economy
Senegal’s economic and
political stability was important
for investors and many of
Jafza’s existing customers had
identified the West African
country as an area where they
wished to do business. The
exemption on value added tax
(VAT) and customs taxes and
the reduced rate of income
tax on exports had created
concerns at the International
Monetary Fund (IMF) that the
zone could reduce government
tax receipts.
DP World, another affiliate
of the Dubai World Group,
has already signed a 25year concession to develop
and operate Senegal’s main
container port and invest more
than $600 million in future
port expansion. This involves
plans to build a new shipping
terminal near Dakar.
Russian Railways wins $800mn Saudi deal
Sea port of Jeddah, as well as
a 115-kilometre link between
the industrial city of Jubail
and Dammam, the oil hub on
the Gulf coast. Four groups of
Saudi and international firms
have been submitted tenders
for it in November, and the
Saudi Rail Organisation
(SRO) is to announce the
winning bid.
Russian Railways has bagged
a $800 million tender from
Saudi Arabia to build a 520kilometre railway line from
Riyadh airport to a key
mainline junction on its giant
North-South railway project.
The rail line will connect
Riyadh’s King Khalid Airport
with the Al-Zabira junction on
Saudi Arabia’s North-South
railway project, which is being
built to move minerals from
the interior to an industrial
complex to be built on the
Gulf coast.
The North-South railway
project is among the several
planned to expand the
kingdom’s rail network. The
Saudi Landbridge and MeccaMedina Rail Link (MMRL)
projects are expected to
transform the existing rail
network into a world-class
freight and passenger system.
Saudi Landbridge includes
a 950-kilometre line between
capital Riyadh and the Red
MMRL will involve the
construction of new lines
linking the Islamic holy
cities of Mecca and Medina
with Jeddah, the gateway to
Mecca for Haj pilgrims. Six
international groups were
expected to submit proposals
for the project.
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Market Watch 23
Empost on an Asian
acquisition drive
Emirates Post (Empost)
is looking out for Asian
acquisitions and has plans
to invest 1.5 billion dirhams
($408.4 million) for that and
also to start a banking joint
venture with Noor Islamic
Bank (NIB). The investment
will be between 1 billion
and 1.5 billion dirhams over
five years on acquisitions in
Asian companies in postal
Link 23.indd 23
DP World throughput
increases 18 per cent
and
financial
services.
The acquisitions are to be
in Malaysia, Singapore,
Thailand and Indonesia.
Dubai-based marine terminal
operator DP World handled
over 43.3 million TEU (twentyfoot equivalent container units)
in 2007 across its portfolio of 42
terminals last year - an increase
of 18 per cent. The growth from
all the three reporting regions,
DP World has said, was strong
with the Middle East, Europe
and Africa region registering
19 per cent, the Asia Pacific and
Indian sub-continent region 17
per cent, and the Americas and
Australia region 18 per cent.
Empost and NIB will create
a company with a capital of
up to 500 million dirhams
that would provide banking
services to low-income people,
including
labourers
and
domestic helpers.
Terminals in the UAE increased
throughput by 19 per cent to
11m TEU, with the two Dubai
ports of Jebel Ali and Port Rashid
combined growing 20 per cent to
reach 10.7m TEU. Jebel Ali alone
grew over 25 per cent, reaching
9.9m TEU. This was in large part
due to a raft of new vessel calls,
as well as the opening of a new
second terminal.
In 2007 DP had four major new
wins. In Europe, the company
bagged major contracts to
develop two new terminals
in Rotterdam and the London
Gateway. In Africa, it won the
concession to operate the port
at Dakar, Senegal, and to build
a new terminal there, and
acquired Sokhna Port in Egypt.
2/28/08 1:23:55 PM
24 Market
Watch
GAC extends sponsorship deal with golfer
Richard Sterne
Global logistics, shipping and marine
services company GAC has extended its
sponsorship of South African professional
Richard Sterne to 2010, following the
successful collaboration which started
in 2004.
The latest sponsorship deal was sealed
yesterday between Bill Hill, GAC Group
Vice President, Logistics Services and
Neil Fairbrother, Sports Director of
International Sports Management Limited,
at the GAC Corporate Headquarters in
Jebel Ali, Dubai.
Currently 29th in the Golf world rankings,
Sterne started 2008 in winning style by
capturing the Johannesburg Open in his
native South Africa in January. His third
European Tour title followed his best season
in 2007, during which he won The Celtic
Manor Wales Open and claimed six other top
ten finishes including coming in second at the
2007 European Tour, Johnny Walker Classic.
“Branding via sports sponsorship
is increasingly important to global
businesses. Our continued support in
Richard Sterne will enable us to further
widen our global brand visibility and
relevance to customers, partners, suppliers
and employees,” commented Hill.
“ISM is proud to be associated with a
company like GAC and we look forward
to expanding this relationship in the future
into other sports” Fairbrother added.
As GAC’s brand ambassador, Sterne will
attend and support GAC corporate golf
events as well as appearing in worldwide
tournaments under the GAC banner,
including the upcoming US Masters in
Augusta.
GAC and GETMA
International in
global agency
network tie-up
GAC Shipping global agency network
has formed an alliance agreement with
leading ship agent GETMA International
in providing ship agency and logistics
services to all types of general, bulk,
Ro-Ro, tramp cargo ships and tankers,
expanding its network in West Africa.
Container lines and markets are excluded
from the agreement.
The GAC-GETMA alliance covers all
Francophone countries in West Africa
including: Benin, Cameroon, Congo,
Rep. of Congo, Democratic Republic
of Congo ( Ex Zaire ), Gabon, Guinea
(Conakry), Ivory Coast, Senegal, Togo,
and Mauritania.
Founded in 1978, GETMA International
is part of the NECOTRANS GROUP and
is present in 23 West African countries
through its subsidiaries. Lars Heisselberg,
GAC Group Vice President, Shipping
Services, said “GAC and GETMA
International have been working together
for the past ten years so this alliance is
a natural development. Our closer ties
and GETMA’s extensive local knowledge
will enable us to develop new offshore
support services in the rapidly growing
West African market and provide a strong
complement to GAC’s existing operations
in the Continent.”
Jean-François Ollivier, General Manager of
GETMA International, said “GAC’s global
presence will enhance GETMA’s market
coverage and international profile. "
Link 23.indd 24
2/26/08 5:59:25 PM
Market Watch 25
Bahrain Air takes flight
Bahrain Air, the country’s second national carrier,
made its maiden flight to Dubai, on February 4.
Bahrain Air will offer business and economy
seats between Manama and Dubai twice a day
using Airbus A320 planes. Bahrain Air will
compete with government-owned Gulf Air.
The premium low-priced LPC carrier plans
to make 140 flights a week to 13 cities in
the Middle East and Africa, according
to the Bahrain Air Managing Director
Ibrahim al-Hamer. Besides Dubai, some
of the routes announced are Alexandria,
Amman, Doha, and Mashad.
Bahrain Air operates twice daily flights
between Bahrain and Dubai through its
0910 and 2135 respectively. The carrier
operates the A320 aircraft with a two-class
configuration on this route.
winter schedule between February and
March this year. Flight 2B102 departs
from Dubai at 0955 and arrive in Bahrain
1015, while flight 2B110 departs Dubai
at 2220 and arrive in Bahrain at 2240.
Flights 2B101 and 2B109 depart Bahrain
at 0700 and 1925 and arrive in Dubai at
Al Hamer said Bahrain Air aims to set
new standards in its class while tapping
the huge base of passengers for AGCC
and African destinations. “Bahrain Air
will offer on all its routes a two-class
service (Business and Economy) and
will offer its premium class passengers,
complementary snacks and refreshments
as well as invitation to Business Class
Lounges at all departure airports. All
Bahrain Air premium class passengers will
be automatically enrolled in the airlines’
Frequent Flyer Programme.”
Airbus tests GTL fuel
The flight’s goal was to see how the
aircraft operated on GTL. Engine
behaviour was observed as it was shut
down and re-started in flight. Emissions
will be compared with those of kerosene
and the team will be using the results to
predict the environmental benefits and
define the next steps.
Test aircraft A380 MSN004 has flown
between Filton and Toulouse with one
engine powered by alternative fuel. The
test, part of Airbus’ research programme
into alternative fuels, was run in
collaboration with Shell International
Petroleum and Rolls Royce.
The project is particularly important
for environmental and economical
reasons. Crude oil derived products are
increasingly in demand and prices are
rocketing. If it is possible to find a suitable
alternative fuel, this could stabilise the
market for the benefit of all. Secondly,
some alternative fuels could be beneficial
for the environment. It is Airbus’ goal as
a key stakeholder to support evolution
towards a carbon neutral aviation
industry. Alternative fuels may contribute
to reducing our carbon footprint.
The tests were run on an A380 as it is the
most modern aircraft flying today, however
the fuel could equally have been tested on
any Airbus aircraft. The alternative fuel
used on the test flight was gas to liquid
(GTL), which looks like kerosene, but is
clear coloured. It is a natural gas, which
has been cleaned and has undergone the
Fischer-Tropsch process - the conversion
of synthesis gas to liquid fuel.
In researching alternative fuel, Airbus
is looking for a drop-in product,
meaning that it could be used in aircraft
currently in service. It would equal or
better the aircraft performance while
offering environmental benefits. Airbus
is hoping to establish what the best
alternative fuel options are and how
they will benefit the environment. As
synthetic fuels are reported to have
similar characteristics, whatever their
original feedstock, this test was an
excellent pre-cursor to research into
biomass to liquid (BTL) fuels, should a
suitable supply become available.
In order for an alternative fuel to qualify for
commercial aviation, review and approval
by the international Fuel Standards is
a pre-requisite. Airbus is committed to
this goal, and it is hoped that this will be
obtained for GTL by 2013.
Link 23.indd 25
2/26/08 5:59:35 PM
Link 23.indd 26
2/26/08 5:59:38 PM
Market Watch 27
Saudia to implement fuel management systems
out of 247 airlines, includes more than 130
aircraft servicing 42 countries using 92 fueling
locations and three bulk fuel inventory
locations in New York City, Houston and
Austin, TX. With FuelQuest’s FMS, Saudia
will have detailed insight into fuel usage
trends and inventory positions, enabling
the airline to reduce direct fueling costs and
maximize the effectiveness of its hedging
programme.
Saudi Arabian Airlines (Saudia) is
implementing FuelQuest’s Fuel Management
System(FMS) and ZyTax Tax Determination
Engine, to optimize its fuel procurement
and management processes. Saudia is
reorganising its operations into nine
independent subsidiaries.
FuelQuest, Inc., the leading on-demand
software and services company for the
downstream energy industry, is deploying
the solution in conjunction with the SAP®
ERP application.
‘FuelQuest’s automated solution will
streamline processes tied to fuel procurement,
inventory replenishment, transaction
processing and financial reconciliation,
enabling us to reduce our fuel-related
operating costs,’ said Khalid Almolhem,
Director General, Saudi Arabian Airlines.
Saudia’s fleet, ranked among the top 20
Saudia selected FuelQuest’s FMS to centralize
and automate its fuel management processes
in the following areas: inventory, order
and price management; delivery and invoice
reconciliation; tax determination; and freight
management.
‘FMS will allow Saudia to quickly adapt to
market changes and implement a proactive
sourcing and supply strategy to combat
price volatility,’ said Jim Kiser, senior vice
president of FuelQuest. ‘We are pleased to
work closely with Saudia and SAP to deliver
this comprehensive aviation solution.’
Vos Logistics and Bertschi join forces Swift gets WOFE
in dry bulk sector
status in China
leading in the intermodal
chemical
transport.
Both organizations will
concentrate
on
their
core competences. For
Vos Logistics focus is on
road transport, handling,
packaging and storage of
dry bulk goods through its
terminals where as Bertschi
focuses on the intermodal
dry bulk transport.
Vos Logistics and Bertschi have signed a
collaboration agreement for the European
distribution of dry bulk goods. With this
agreement both companies want to offer their
customers an integrated service package on
pan-European scale.
Vos Logistics is a European market
leader in dry bulk transport. Bertschi is
During the upcoming
weeks the intermodal dry bulk activities of
Vos Logistics will be integrated in the Bertschi
organization. This horizontal cooperation
will add value to the future service supply to
the chemical industry for both companies.
Vos Logistics has about 5,000 employees at
45 offices within Europe; its head office is
located in Oss, the Netherlands.
Swift Global Logistics has received from the
Chinese government the Wholly Owned
Foreign Enterprise (WOFE) status, which
allows foreign companies to operate in China
without a local partner. The other logistics
companies which have been given this status
include UPS, Gulf Agency Company and
Maersk Logistics.
“This is another important development in
our mission to provide innovative logistics
solutions to a wider spectrum of clients
throughout the world,” said Issa Baluch,
Chief Executive Officer of the Swift Group.
With this new status, Swift Global Logistics
will operate as a wholly owned entity in
China, providing a diverse range of sea
freight, airfreight and 3PL services in the local
market. In particular, the company is planning
to market its SAM (Sea Air Model) service,
which combines sea-air transportation from
cities such as Beijing, Hong Kong, etc.
Link 23.indd 27
2/26/08 5:59:44 PM
Link 23.indd 28
2/26/08 5:59:47 PM
Market Watch 29
Jafza Int’l signs MoU on development
ArcelorMittal bags
of Dh29.5bn Rakisa Economic City
Egypt contract
station,
agricultural
industries and services, an
entertainment area, mining
centre, business centre,
knowledge area, and
residential complexes.
Jafza International, the global free zone
operations arm of Economic Zones World
has signed a MoU with Saudi Arabia’s
Rakisa Holding for the development and
management of Rakisa Economic City in
Hail, Saudi Arabia.
The Rakisa Economic City, a SR 30 billion
(about AED 29.5 billion) project, spread
over 15,600 hectares, is envisaged to be
the second largest economic zone in the
Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, incorporating
an international airport, dry port, railway
According to Salma Hareb,
CEO Jafza and Economic
Zones
World
“Our
strength is in studying,
evaluating, validating,
assessing, developing,
managing, operating and
investing in special economic zones and
logistics parks. The MoU on the Rakisa
Economic City is one more step towards
our aim of setting up a global network of
economic zones.”
Rakisa Economic City will eventually
house more than 300,000 people and
provide 55,000 jobs in seven phases of
development over the next 40 years.
Under the agreement, both parties will
explore investment opportunities to
jointly develop Rakisa Economic City.
The Chief Executive Officer of Agility,
Middle East and Africa, Elias Monem said
“This acquisition comes at an important
time for Agility, when it is rapidly
expanding its network across the globe.
More than 70 per cent of international
container cargo comes from or is going to
ArcelorMittal will pay 340 million
Egyptian pounds ($61.2 million) for
the licence.
the central and the eastern regions
of Africa and the acquisition
has created a gateway for us to
service this rapidly developing
market.”
The project will cost between $800
million to $1 billion and would take
four years for commercial production,
according to Sudha Maheshwari. As
per the licence, the production capacity
of the factories will be1.6 million tonnes
per year of DRI steel and 1.4 million
tonnes of billet steel.
Nairobi-based Starfreight is into
procurement and clearing of goods
and machinery into Africa, in addition to
warehousing and project forwarding, crossborder documentation and transportation,
airfreight and customers examination.
Alongside ArcelorMittal, Kuwait’s
Al-Kharafi group also won a licence
for pelletising factories for 105 million
Egyptian pounds, and Saudi Arabia’s
Al-Tuwairqi Group won a similar
licence for 64 million pounds.
Starfreight has secured a number of
contracts from large Kenyan manufacturers
in
sectors
such
as
automotive,
pharmaceutical, plastic products, glass,
paper and agricultural equipment. It also
provides logistics services to international
brands such as Hewlett Packard,
Mitsubishi, and Nestlé.
These projects would benefit the
Egyptian housing and real estate
companies and also steel producers,
who currently import intermediate
products. Egypt used to import two
million tonnes of steel annually less
than 10 years ago has now become an
exporter of 900,000 tonnes in 2006.
Agility acquires Starfreight Logistics
Kuwait-based logistics company, Agility
has acquired Starfreight Logistics Limited, a
Kenyan company, thus expanding its presence
in the African logistics market. Agility had
recently taken over Medorient Algeria.
ArcelorMittal, the world’s largest
steelmaker, has decided to invest up
to $1 billion in Egypt after winning
a licence to build direct reduced
iron (DRI) and billet steel factories.
ArcelorMittal edged out India’s Essar
Global and UAE’s Al-Ghurair in the
licence bid.
Link 23.indd 29
2/26/08 5:59:52 PM
30 Market
Watch
A2 hypersonic aircraft being
Developed
Reaction Engines, a British aircraft
manufacturer, said it has developed a
passenger aircraft that could fly from the
Middle East to the US West coast in less than
four hours.
Egypt has massive investment plans
in its transportation system to cope
with the demand, spurred by increasing
economic growth. The plans are to
invest about 90 billion Egyptian pounds
($16.3 billion) over the next five years in
transportation.
The company said its A2 hypersonic aircraft
would travel at Mach 5, almost 6,400
kilometres per hour (kph), and twice the
speed of a Concorde. It said the aircraft,
which has a development name of Lapcat
(Long-Term Advanced Propulsion Concepts
and Technologies), could be operational
within 25 years.
It measures 143 metres long, roughly twice
the size of today’s biggest jumbo jets, and
runs on liquid hydrogen Scimitar engines.
It will be capable of carrying up to 300
passengers and will be commercially viable
if tickets are sold at the equivalent of business
class prices, Reaction Engines said.
Similar technology was used by the US to
develop the ‘bumper rocket’, which was
assembled from a captured German V-
Egypt plans
massive
investments in
transportation
The country is envisaging about 50
billion pounds of investment in the port
sector, coming from private players in
the coming five years. The investment in
ports would come from companies from
2 rocket in 1949. The A2’s creation was
financed by the European Space Agency
(ESA), which encourages companies to
continually develop air travel by using
aerospace technology.
Aramex completes second phase of
construction
solidifying our position as a leader within
the region’s growing logistics industry,”
said Iyad Kamal, Chief Logistics Officer of
Aramex. “As a central commercial hub, the
facility will also link to other Aramex logistics
centres in Jeddah, Riyadh, Dammam, Aqaba,
Amman, Beirut, Cairo and Bahrain.”
Aramex has finished the second phase
of construction for its flagship logistics
facility in Jebel Ali Free Zone (JAFZA). The
warehousing complex measuring 25,000m2
will provide Aramex with a centralised
hub for its key markets throughout the
Middle East.
“The second phase of development for our
Jebel Ali Free Zone facility has created an
additional 10,000m2 of storage capacity,
Boasting high-level features including a
temperature-controlled storage area and
an inventory management system with
real time visibility of inventory levels, the
new facility will significantly improve the
services available to customers.
Aramex helps its clients gain a competitive
edge through efficient and transparent
supply chain solutions powered by
technologies that can be customized to the
needs of specific industries.
China, the UAE and Denmark. Dubai
port operator DP World has already
acquired a 90 per cent stake in Egyptian
Container Handling Company, located
near the mouth of the Suez Canal, for
$670 million.
Also the plan is to invest nearly 10 billion
pounds in the railways. Egypt’s economy
has been growing quite rapidly and in
2007 it grew at 7.1 per cent.
According to the Minister for Transport,
the current fiscal year investment in
transportation will reach five billion
pounds, a six-fold increase from 2006. He
said that in the next five years almost a
third of investments in roads would come
from the government and the remaining
from the private sector.
Link 23.indd 30
2/26/08 5:59:56 PM
Market Watch 31
Kuwait plans “city of silk”
a canal system and aims to boost Kuwait’s
efforts to become a regional trade and
financial centre.
At the centre of the commerce city, a 1,001
metre tower will be built. Its height is a
reference to the classic work of Arabic
literature, The One Thousand and One
Nights.
Kuwait has planned to build a major
new city to be called the “city of silk”
inspired by the Silk Route and hopes that
it will become a global trade and tourist
attraction. The $77 billion “city of silk”
aims to revive the ancient trade route.
Eric Kuhne, Managing Director of Eric
R. Kuhne and Associates that provided
designs, said the city, located in Subbiya
on the northernmost tip of Kuwait Bay,
will be home to 750,000 people when
Link 23.indd 31
completed in 2030. The city will be linked
to Kuwait by a 26-kilometre causeway,
thus reducing the current road distance of
some 120 kilometres. Two artificial islands
will be built alongside the causeway.
The city will be built on an area of 200
square kilometres and will have four
major zones - a city of commerce, a city
of leisure and recreation, a city of ecology
and a city of diplomacy and education.
The commerce city will sit in the middle of
Three blades that will be built near the top
of the tower, will carry a mosque, a church
and a synagogue to signify the unity of the
three monotheistic religions, he said.
The leisure city will house an internationalstandard Olympic village while the
education and diplomacy city will house
several universities and is also expected to
be home to a number of foreign missions.
The project has been approved in principle
and that work is under way to secure
passage of the necessary legislation for the
city to be treated as a free trade zone.
2/28/08 1:27:17 PM
32 Logistics
Health of Halal Logistics
W
ith nearly 1.8
billion Muslims
spread across the
world, the Halal food industry
is enjoying a surge. But one
question always stays put
in mind- “Is the food truly
halal?” Since the bulk of the
food consumed in the UAE
is imported and from nonMuslim countries people need
assurance from the authorities
on the integrity and quality
of the products sold in the
retail outlets.
“Dubai Municipality is very
proactive in ensuring that all
meat products that are sold
in the market are strictly of
Halal origin. It lays strict
guidelines with regard to halal
slaughter and packaging of
meat. These guidelines are
followed by abattoirs in the
foreign countries as well if they
want to export meat to this
country,” says Bashir Hassan
Yousif, Food Safety Specialist,
Public Health- Food Control
Section, Dubai Municipality
in an interview with The
Link Magazine.
The
Emirates Authority
for Standardization and
Metrology (ESMA) has set
certain standards for halal food
in the UAE which are now
under review by concerned
authorities. Due to the
importance of halal food trade
in the international market
guidelines are also laid down
by the Codex Alimentarius
Commission which develops
food standards, guidelines
“
Dubai Municipality
is extremely cautious
of the fact that each
package that arrives
in Dubai carries the
seal of the exporting
company and the
abattoir.
”
and related texts such as codes
of practice under the joint
FAO/WHO Food Standard
Programme.
Conditions of Halal Food
Halal food is the only food
allowed to be consumed
under the Sharia. It should
not contain any ingredient
that is prohibited according to
Islamic law. “In the business of
Halal food two things must be
kept in mind- the food should
be prepared, manufactured,
transported and stored under
conditions which are allowed
according to Sharia and
prohibited food should not be
mixed with Halal food,” points
Link 23.indd 32
2/26/08 6:00:09 PM
Logistics 33
out Saleh Abdullah Lootah,
CEO, Al Islami Foods.
Lootah makes it clear that
Al Islami takes utmost care
to ensure that the ‘halal
integrity’ of the food products
is maintained all through
the supply chain- right from
slaughter to the transportation
to the retail outlets. “We
strictly hand slaughter animals
for meat and we do that
without stunning. And all the
ingredients used in our food
products are of halal origin.
All our products undergo
proper checks and analysis
to ascertain that there is
absolutely no pork or alcohol
contamination,” he explains.
The General Secretariat of
Municipalities has appointed
a committee which visits
and certifies abattoirs in the
foreign states. In the UAE,
the importers can only
import from the government
approved slaughter houses.
“Dubai
Municipality
is
extremely cautious of the fact
that each package that arrives
in Dubai carries the seal of
the exporting company and
the abattoir. This is thoroughly
inspected at the port of entry.
In addition to that, there is
provision for further inspection
procedures at importers’
warehouses to double-check
if the consignments were
actually checked at the port of
entry,” says Bashir.
Both Lootah and Bashir agree
that contamination of halal
food by non halal products is a
cause of concern for everyone
in the industry. “Abattoirs in
the foreign countries are often
not very sensitive about the
ethics of halal food and flout
rules. Importers are sometimes
not sure whether all the
ingredients used in the food
are strictly of halal origin. We
at Al Islami of course spend
more money but we never
compromise on halal integrity
Bashir Hassan Yousif
Food Safety Specialist, Dubai Municipality
because we understand what
this integrity stands for the
Muslim community.”
“We import meat from several
foreign countries including
Brazil and Australia. We take
control of the whole process
and ensure that the integrity
is maintained all through the
supply chain,” he adds.
Bashir points out that Dubai
Municipality keeps regular
track of the records and history
of exporting companies and
abattoirs and if breach of rules
are detected their products are
not allowed to enter the country.
“Any kind of contamination
with pork can be checked at
the Municipality laboratory
through a special technique
called PCR (Polymerase Chain
Reaction). Municipality uses
this technique for species
identification to ensure that the
carcass has no pork and also
to ensure that processed meat
or ground meat like burgers,
sausages, mortadella which are
sold in the supermarkets do not
contain pork,” Bashir says.
Halal Logistics
Benefiting from the boom in
the global halal industry is the
logistics sector. 3PL service
providers have in fact coined a
new term ‘halal logistics’ which
Saleh Abdullah Lootah
CEO, Al Islami Foods
involves shipping and freight
forwarding, warehousing and
handling facilities exclusively
for halal products. “The basic
requirement in halal logistics is
segregation of halal and nonhalal food items,” says Lootah.
“In the UAE the logistics
facilities of halal products are
definitely
up-to-the-mark
but of course there is need to
review the process from time to
time to identify if there is any
loophole. Generally speaking,
there is
very little chance
of contamination since there is
no room for food smuggling
in this country. Containers
usually arrive sealed from
manufacturers and at the port of
entry everything is thoroughly
checked. So the chance of
contamination while on transit
is negligible,” says Bashir.
Market trends highlight that
halal food industry has a
promising future ahead and so
does the halal logistics industry.
For 3PL service providers it is
an easy journey provided they
understand the basics of halal
food production. They need
to deploy trained personnel
who are well acquainted
with halal guidelines and are
ready to pay heed to religious
sensibilities, regulations and
technical requirements of the
industry.
Link 23.indd 33
2/26/08 6:00:14 PM
34 ME
Developments
Gateway to Saudi’s economic prosperity
I
n the last couple of
years Saudi Arabia has
posted strong economic
growth thanks to oil revenues, structural reforms,
economic diversification and
stable governance. Although
the Saudi economy is highly
dependent on oil production,
it has started boosting nonoil trade as well in order to
drive economic growth and
get integrated into the global
economy.
Since time immemorial
Jeddah has sustained its
importance as a trading port
as it is the main gateway
to Saudi Arabia. To enhance
the operational efficiency
of Jeddah Islamic Port (JIP)
the project Red Sea Gateway
Terminal
(RSGT)
was
launched sometimes back to
accommodate the next generation vessels. RSGT, when
completed will have its own
dedicated navigation channel
and flaunt world-class equipment and infrastructure.
According to Aamer Alireza,
CEO, Red Sea Gateway
Terminal, it will increase the
importance of JIP among the
regional seaports by expanding its handling capacity by
1.5 million TEU per annum.
RSGT project
With a total quay length of
1,035m and depths of 18m,
this state-of-the-art terminal
will have a 650m turning
basin. Additionally it will
include 1,680 reefer points,
a planned and dedicated
feeder berth and inter-modal
connectivity to the Saudi
Land Bridge project. It will
have its own dedicated 16.5
m deep channel linking the
JIP’s main channel. The privately developed and managed RSGT is expected to be
ready to receive vessels by
the fourth quarter of 2009.
What’s happening now?
The construction at the
grass-root
build-operatetransfer container terminal
project has commenced this
year. RSGT has engaged
China Harbour Engineering
Company Ltd for civil construction and Shanghai
Zhenhua Port Machinery
Co Ltd (ZPMC) of China for
supply of cranes and other
equipment. “Presently, China
Harbour is setting up facilities on the site as well as
mobilizing the equipment
from China. The construc-
“
The strategic location
of the project combined
with Saudi Arabia’s
economic expansion,
growth in containerized
petrochemical exports,
development of economicc
cities, and government’s
emphasis on transportatio
on
infrastructure investmentt
will result in increased
trade opportunities in the
country.
”
tion of the terminal is under
way. And according to our
specifications the equipment
is in the design stage,” confirms the CEO.
“On our marketing and
business development side,
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2/26/08 6:00:23 PM
ME Development 35
the RSGT team is about to
embark on an Asia tour to
meet our prospective clients,” he adds.
a very crucial time since it
will augment capacity of the
port and enable it to handle
next generation ocean-going
container ships. It will also
provide an integrated logistics solution to its clients.
Sourcing finance for the
project
RSGT has signed an Islamic
financing agreement with Al
Rajhi Bank for providing SAR
1,700 million for the development of the Jeddah Islamic
Port’s third container terminal. Al Rajhi Bank and The
Standard Bank of South Africa
have jointly provided the financial advice to RSGT which is
now implementing the development on a Build-OperateTransfer (B-O-T) basis.
Saudi Arabia is at a juncture of
economic diversification and
growth and the whole world
is eyeing at it. The Red Sea
Gateway Terminal project has
already received overwhelming responses from around the
world. “Many leading players
want to come on board and
be part of the RSGT’s success
story,” the CEO says.
Set to create new job opportunities, RSGT will positively
contribute to the economic
development of the country.
“The Al Rajhi Bank-Standard
Bank consortium was chosen as the financial advisor
because of their wealth of
experience and strong multidisciplinary advisory team,”
says Alireza.
The container terminal is to
be built at an estimated cost
of about SR 1900 million.
The SR 1,700 million Islamic
Financing Facilities has been
fully underwritten by Al
Rajhi Bank, which includes
SR 1,275 million Ijara facility to cover most of the
equipment and construction
related costs during the 22
months construction period.
Al Rajhi Bank will provide
SR 900 million and Saudi
Fransi Bank will provide SR
375 million in Ijara facility
for RSGT. The remaining SR
425 million Islamic facilities
will be provided by Al Rajhi
Bank which will include a
standby facility, a working
capital facility and a letter for
credit for equipment supply.
Aamer Alireza
CEO, Red Sea Gateway Terminal
a significant edge to trade
flows and transshipment
activities in Saudi Arabia.
“The strategic location of the
project combined with Saudi
Arabia’s economic expansion, growth in containerized petrochemical exports,
development of economic
Benefiting Saudi economy
According to the CEO of
RSGT, the project will add
cities, and government’s
emphasis on transportation
infrastructure investment
will result in increased trade
opportunities in the country.” He also points out that
JIP has already reached its
optimum level, so the development of RSGT comes at
Market oriented business
strategy
The project aims at providing
service excellence by designing and building the facility tailored to its customers’ requirements. “We are
building our company based
on market oriented business
strategies. We are in contact
with our potential clients
and listen to their needs. We
always want to add value to
their needs and create a company which is tuned to the
requirements of the market,”
Poised to increase the port’s
container handling capacity
by more than 45 per cent,
RSGT will increase its importance as a regional logistics
hub by integrating it with the
Tusdeer Bonded Re-export
Zone. “RSGT aims to be an
engine of growth for the
economy and businesses by
providing world class logistics solution, port development and operations,” comments Alireza.
Supply Chain & Logistics Group | www.sclgme.org
Link 23.indd 35
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36 ME
Developments
Bahrain and Oman sign pact with India
and India also decided to
increase the existing traffic
entitlement from 8,500 seats
to 20,000 seats per week
with immediate effect, with
India offering additional
cities of Kozhikode, Lucknow
and Bangalore.
T
he Indian economy
is booming and the
contribution by the
Indian diaspora forms part of
it. Tapping this boom, India
has signed a major bilateral
civil aviation pact with Bahrain
and Oman, giving the over
four million Indian diaspora in
the Middle East more options.
The pact comes close on the
heels of the agreement India
signed with Saudi Arabia.
Bahrain’s flagship carrier Gulf
Air immediately announced a
daily service from Hyderabad
with plans to increase the
frequencies from Kochi and
Kolkata. ‘While agreeing
on designation of multiple
airlines, both sides also decided
to enhance existing traffic
entitlement to 11,500 seats per
week in each direction with
immediate effect,’ an official
statement said.
have been included as an
additional point of call besides
Mumbai, New Delhi, Kochi,
Thiruvananthapuram, Chennai,
Hyderabad, Lucknow and
Jaipur.’ The entitlement of seats
to Oman has been enhanced to
11,550 seats per week.
‘The success of this swift
bilateral aviation agreement
between the Kingdom of
Bahrain and India presents
a golden opportunity for
the two countries to boost
their economic and cultural
development,’ said Gulf Air
‘For the Sultanate of Oman,
Bangalore and Kozhikode
President Bjorn Naf. ‘Being
the first Middle East carrier
to operate to India, Gulf Air
considers this as a token of
appreciation for its longstanding commitment to
serve India,’ Naf added.
Recently,
Saudi Arabia
allowed Indian carriers to
operate scheduled air service
to Madina, 485 km from
Makkah, which would allow
Indian Haj pilgrims to land
directly in the holy city, in
the first such concession to
any country. Saudi Arabia
In the pacts with Bahrain and
Oman, the two respective
sides decided to free up
all limitations on the cargo
services, with no restrictions
in frequency and point of
call for carriers operating
cargo services. ‘With the
successful conclusion of the
agreement, airlines of both
sides will be able to add
new services on the IndianBahrain route, which will be
in the interests of travellers,’
the statement said.
Oman
has
agreed
to
designated Indian carriers
to use any point in Asia,
including the United Arab
Emirates (UAE), Qatar and
Bahrain, as intermediate
points, and any destination
in Europe, North America,
Asia and the UAE, Qatar and
Bahrain as ‘beyond points’.
This will allow Indian
carriers to not only fly to
Oman, but also pick up air
traffic there to fly to other
designated countries. The
same will apply when they
fly back to India. A similar
concession has been extended
by Bahrain.
‘The request of the Omani
side to grant Mangalore as
an additional point of call in
India will be considered only
after Mangalore is declared an
international airport. For India
the points of call in Oman are
Muscat and Salalah.’
Link 23.indd 36
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AD
Link 23.indd 37
2/26/08 6:00:45 PM
38 Product
Watch
OneSack Dunnage Bags
OneSack eliminates damage caused by loads
shifting while in transit. Transit damage is
an expensive and needless occurrence that
can add to the cost of final goods delivery
and impact on bottom line profits.
OneSacks are large inflatable pillows
made from an extruded LLDPE plastic
film covered by a 1-6 layer of heavy duty
‘kraft’ paper. They are designed to slip
flat between the voids in a load. Once
inserted, the bag is inflated by compressed
air, with the resultant expansion serving
to `wedge’ the load against other pallets
or the outside walls of the container.
OneSacks are suitable for bracing
loads in trucks, rail, or ship containers
and are ideal for bracing appliances,
chemicals, plywood paper, canned foods,
particleboard, fresh produce, machinery.
They are also the perfect bracing for any
drummed, palletised, bottled, package or
unitised goods.
OneSacks prevent cargo damage by bracing
loads against unwanted movement both
laterally and lengthwise. Companies that
adopt Dunnage Bag bracing over traditional
techniques, experience significant cost
savings by eliminating the need for
carpenters, timber and extra dock time.
OneSacks adapt themselves to almost any
shape, space or void, thus making their
use for bracing virtually limitless for any
type of load. Additionally, the bag use
no attachments, such as nails or plates
that can damage your container and/or
products. When shipping to third parties
a one-way bag is typically selected. Multitrip (reusable) Dunnage Bags are ideal
for inter-company or domestic shipping
decreasing costs with each subsequent use
and looking after the environment.
For details contact : [email protected]
Megadoor’s mega hangars
aluminium
beams.
Megadoor is designed for buildings such
as aircraft hangars, mine facilities, and
naval slipways. The key to Megadoor’s
adaptability is its light-weight construction
system, developed in Sweden. Its unique
door-leaves feature double vinyl-coated
polyester curtains supported by horizontal
Megadoor
glides
up
and
down
in weathers e a l e d
aluminium
g u i d e s
attached to
the structure,
and operates
by lifting the
bottom beam
upwards,
thereby stacking the intermediate beams
one on top of the other, with the fabric
folding on the sides.
Megadoor is specifically built to fit
individual customer needs. Some
applications, for example, may require
multiple doors to cover extremely large
areas. Megadoor can also be configured for
multiple-door openings using a patented
swing-up mullion system.
It is said to be extremely strong and
durable, despite its light weight. It is
designed so that accidental damage can be
easily repaired with little or no interruption
to normal traffic.
The design is particularly suited to
extremely harsh environments such as
shot-blasting or painting facilities, since
its fabric is virtually unaffected by sand,
paint or grit. The Megadoor system is
also highly weather resistant, with seals
on both sides and at the bottom. It can be
engineered to withstand almost any wind
load by varying the size and spacing of
the beams.
For details contact: [email protected]
Link 23.indd 38
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Product Watch 39
Noreq Rescue Boats
The RRB fully complies with the latest
SOLAS requirements and LSA Code.
The boat is made out of fire retardant
glass fibre reinforced polyester material
(GRP). Main parts are laminated in
independent moulds. To assure buoyancy
and strength, foam is injected into certain
areas between the inner liner and outer
hull. There are also bulkheads built up
with the keel to assure hull strength. A
synthetic fender reinforced with stainless
steel bar is fitted around the boat hull
and protecting the boat against impact.
All steel fittings are of stainless steel
quality 316 L.
Flightcom Denali
The stability of Noreq Rescue Boats
is ensured by their special design, as
the outer and inner hulls are shaped
in separate moulds, then connected to
shape the seats and buoyancy tanks.
The buoyancy tank provides sufficient
buoyancy to keep the boat afloat when
flooded and with all persons onboard.
The boat can be delivered with or
without an engine, and it has full
SOLAS and BV-EC approval. Noreq
has introduced new rescue boat, the
RRB 500. The boat is equipped with
40 HP gasoline outboard engine,
steering console and on/off load hook
arrangement. The RRB 500 is light
weighted and therefore ideal as a
package together with our SCH 12-3.5
R davit. Further details may be had on
www.noreq.no
Aviation restraint
designed
specifically for
children
The AmSafe Child Aviation Restraint
System (CARES) is the world’s first
aviation alternative to a car seat.
CARES is an innovative belt-andbuckle device that attaches directly to
the airplane seatbelt.
Simple to install, adjustable to fit
virtually any size airplane seat, CARES
is FAA certified for children weighing
between 20-44 pounds occupying their
own seat. Passengers with children can
now check the bulky car seat through as luggage and take CARES on board.
Weighing only one pound and fitting into a small carrying case, this child restraint
provides a low-cost, easy and effective solution for improved child passenger safety.
CARES is the first alternative aviation child safety device to be certified by the FAA
for all phases of flight - taxi, take-off and landing.
For details contact Louise Falk, [email protected]
Flightcom’s Denali is an extremely
lightweight headset that offers
exceptional
performance
and
outstanding comfort. The Denali is
engineered to fit unlike any other
aviation headset, providing excellent
passive and active noise attenuation,
a secure and comfortable fit and
extremely reliable performance
Denali’s protein leather ear seals help
abate noise and offer a comfortable fit.
The sleek ear domes stay securely in
place, reducing side force.
In addition to Denali’s soft and
comfortable protein leather ear seals
and headpad, our ANR model also
has SPS, a digital power management
circuit. The SPS conserves battery life
by shutting off the ANR circuit when
not in use. Full passive performance
is maintained when the ANR circuit is
off. Passive version 21dB NRR rating;
ANR model achieves additional 1921dB at certain key low frequencies.
Weight (passive): 11.1 oz. Weight
(ANR): 13.4 oz. Colors: J3 Yellow or
Graphite Blue Origin: U.S. Designed
and Made Mic: Elliptical, noisecanceling electret; integral muff Noise
Reduction: Additional 19-21 dB at
certain low frequencies Power Source:
ANR model: 9 Volt drop-in battery or
12-24 Volt aircraft panel power.
For details contact :
[email protected]
Link 23.indd 39
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40 Productwatch
Hi-Viz Jackets
Whatever environment one is working in,
Hi-Viz jackets ensure day and night visibility
while protecting one from electric arc, or flash
fire dangers. All zippers on these jackets are
molded nylon with nylon sliders.
DragonFurTM by True North provides
lightweight, breathable, wind-resistant,
water-repellent warmth that’s fire resistant.
The permanent protection won’t melt, drip,
or support combustion in the air. It cannot
be washed out or worn away.
The features include: 3MTM Scotchlite
reflective; two zippered hand warmer
pockets; two large inside cargo pockets;
full-length molded nylon zipper front with
stand-up collar; drop-tail rear hem for
increased coverage; stuff sack for highly
compressible packing and breathable,
quick-drying warmth.
For details contact: Box 28789, Seattle,
WA 98118.
Honda’s new
lawnmowers
Honda Motor Co., Ltd. announced that
it will import two newly released walkbehind lawnmowers—the HRG415C3
(410mm mowing width) and the
HRG465C3 (460mm mowing width)—
manufactured by Honda Europe Power
Equipment S.A. (Takayoshi Fukai,
President), located in Orléans, France.
The new HRG415C3 and HRG465C3
both feature an auto-choke mechanism
that automatically provides the optimum
choke setting during startup. This
eliminates the need to manually adjust
Pallet nets critical to aircraft integrity
nets are designed to exceed the stringent
requirements of the FAA, CAA and IATA.
The pallet net is the only certified form of
textile restraint that, at any point during its
life, may be called on to instantly restrain up
to 6.8 tons at 3g and thus protect the integrity
of an aircraft. For this reason, AmSafe’s pallet
The knotless nets exemplify AmSafe
Bridport’s commitment to innovation and
its position as the leading global provider
of engineered air cargo restraint solutions.
This design both maximizes the strengthto-weight ratio and ensures that our nets
can easily be repaired. When coupled with
proprietary anti-abrasive process, which
extends the net life, the knotless construction
also reduces snagging, enabling faster buildup times for loads compared to other nets.
For details [email protected]
Toyota’s thunder - Tundra
Toyota strives to build vehicles to match
customer interest and thus they typically
are built with popular options and option
packages. Not all options/packages are
available separately and some may not
be available in all regions of the country.
If you would prefer a vehicle with no
or different options, contact your dealer
to check for current availability or the
possibility of placing a special order.
Toyota Tundras are designed to meet
most off-road driving requirements.
Abusive use may result in bodily harm or
damage. Toyota encourages responsible
operation to protect the passenger, the
vehicle and the environment.
the choke for a richer intake mix during
initial startup, a task that until now was
standard procedure on conventional
power product engines. This contributes
to greater ease of use, allowing the
operator to begin mowing right away
after a simple startup procedure.
The key features include- it employs a
wax-type auto-choke mechanism that
eliminates the need to manually adjust
the choke before starting the engine and
after it has warmed up, facilitating easier
operation. Also, because the mechanism
automatically maintains the choke at the
optimum setting, the operator is able to
begin mowing immediately after startup.
It has an easy-to-grip, easy-to-operate
mowing height adjustment knob. Six
mowing height adjustments are available,
starting at 20mm. It has wide rear tires
and wheels with double ball-bearing
construction offer comfortable control
and solid reliability.
Link 23.indd 40
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Productwatch 41
Tata Motors unveil world’s cheapest car
effortlessly manoeuvre on busy roads in
cities as well as in rural areas. Its monovolume design, with wheels at the corners
and the powertrain at the rear, enables
it to uniquely combine both space and
manoeuvrability, which will set a new
benchmark among small cars.
When launched, the car will be available
in both standard and deluxe versions.
Both versions will offer a wide range
of body colours, and other accessories
so that the car can be customised to an
individual’s preferences.
Mr. Ratan N. Tata, Chairman of the Tata
Group and Tata Motors, unveiled in
January the Tata ‘NANO’, the People’s
Car from Tata Motors that India and the
world have been looking forward to. A
development, which signifies a first for the
global automobile industry, the People’s
Car brings the comfort and safety of a car
within the reach of thousands of families.
The People’s Car will be launched in India
later in 2008.
Stylish, comfortable
The People’s Car, designed with a family in
mind, has a roomy passenger compartment
with generous leg space and head room. It
can comfortably seat four persons. Four
doors with high seating position make
ingress and egress easy.
Yet with a length of 3.1 metres, width
of 1.5 metres and height of 1.6 metres,
with adequate ground clearance, it can
Lane divider
Tents for the family
What makes a good tent? It is that
one which can protect you from the
elements. That is why you will want to
keep an eye out for a tent with a proven
weather protection system to help keep
you dry, like a Coleman® tent with:
weather-resistant fabric; protected seams;
waterproof floors; leak-resistant seams;
Fuel-efficient engine
The People’s Car has a rear-wheel drive,
all-aluminium, two-cylinder, 623 cc,
33 PS, multi point fuel injection petrol
engine. This is the first time that a
two-cylinder gasoline engine is being
used in a car with single balancer
shaft. The lean design strategy has
helped minimise weight, which helps
maximise performance per unit of
energy consumed and delivers high fuel
efficiency. Performance is controlled by
a specially designed electronic engine
management system.
zipper protection and windstrong frame.
The Coleman Montana tent is 16x7 feet
and can sleep seven in the room. It has
a mesh vent for increased ventilation. It
is easy to carry and the instructions are
easy to follow. It is made in China and
Thailand.
American
Conveyor ’s
rugged, high
speed
lane
dividers
are
in continuous
use
at
36
dairies across
the country. Constructed of stainless
steel and Delran with wash-down proof
sealed bearings they have been proved
to be virtually maintenance-free in an
industry where harsh wash downs
are the rule. These lane dividers are
mechanically driven units that require
no electrical or air connections and their
versatility and long-lived reliability has
been successfully demonstrated with a
variety of glass and plastic containers in
round, rectangular, square and irregular
shapes at speeds in excess of 400 cpm.
Link 23.indd 41
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42 Gateways
Kathmandu new hub for Air Arabia
a median age of just 20, is clearly among
them. In this regard, we are especially
pleased to join efforts with Yeti Airlines,
which has nearly a decade of experience
serving this market and unmatched
management expertise.”
“With this new hub in Nepal, Air Arabia
will cover a new niche market, while
continuing to offer the level of superior
service that has made us one of the
premier airlines in the Middle East. From
Sharjah to Kathmandu, Air Arabia offers
unmatched reach, and is now positioned
to become one of the leading low-cost
carriers in the world.”
Air Arabia will be establishing a new
hub in the Nepalese capital, Kathmandu,
providing the Sharjah-based low cost
carrier with a platform from which to
serve markets stretching across South
and Central Asia, the Far East, Middle
East and Indian Subcontinent. Air Arabia
and Yeti Airlines, the market leader in
domestic air travel in Nepal, have signed
an agreement to this effect.
Air Arabia and Yeti Airlines will jointly
establish a new low-cost carrier, based in
Kathmandu that will provide affordable
and convenient service to a broad range
of international destinations. Air Arabia,
a major shareholder in the new company,
will apply its successful low-cost business
model to the management of Nepal’s first
international LCC.
“This is an enormously significant
agreement for Air Arabia, and an extremely
timely one” said Sheikh Abdullah Bin
Mohammad Al Thani, Chairman of
Air Arabia. “As we set our sights on
global expansion, we remain focused on
youthful, fast-growing markets where
the opportunities for growth are greatest.
Nepal, with a population of 29 million and
The Chairman of Yeti Airlines Lhakpa
Sonam Sherpa said “we are extremely
pleased to announce this partnership
with Air Arabia, already a trusted and
familiar name in Nepal. As one of
the first airlines, after Nepal Airlines
Corporation, in the country to receive an
Air Operator Certificate to operate as an
international LCC, we look forward to
offering expanded choices for regional
travelers, who will soon experience
for themselves the many benefits of
low-cost travel. Operating at the high
standards established by both carriers,
Yeti Airlines and Air Arabia will together
revolutionise air travel in Nepal and
across a much wider region.”
Changi to manage Dammam airport
Changi Airports International (CAI) has
been selected as the preferred bidder
by the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia’s
General Administration of Civil Aviation
(GACA) to manage and operate King
Fahd International Airport (KFIA), in
Dammam. The negotiations are in the final
stages and is expected to be completed in
two months.
Mr. Chow Kok Fong, Chief Executive
Officer of CAI said, “I am very pleased
that we have emerged as the preferred
bidder for the project as it would signify
CAI’s second major airport management
contract in the Middle East. The next
step is to hold further
discussions with GACA
to finalize a contract that
is at the best interests of
both sides.”
KFIA is the gateway to the
Eastern Province of KSA,
the largest province by
landmass and population
in the Kingdom. It is the
world’s largest airport
in terms of airport land,
covering 780 sq km, 10
per cent bigger than the
size of Singapore.
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Gateways 43
DP World invests in Maputo
Abu Dhabi Ports
Company (ADPC)
gets credit facility
from HSBC
Abu Dhabi Ports Company (ADPC)
will get one year revolving credit
from HSBC for Dhs 459m to meet the
initial construction costs of Khalifa
Port. Ahmed Al Calily, CEO and
Managing Director of ADPC, and
Youssef Nasr, Chief Executive Officer
of HSBC Middle East, have signed
the agreement to this effect.
The arrangement is the second bridge
facility arranged for ADPC to meet the
initial construction costs of Khalifa
Port. Strategically located between
the cities of Abu Dhabi and Dubai in
DP World is investing over US $32
million in the Maputo Port Development
Company (MPDC), partnering with
Grindrod International Ltd and
Mozambique Gestores SARL.
The seaport giant - DP World holds
the concession to operate the container
terminal at Maputo Port and is already
a 60 per cent shareholder in Maputo
International Port Services (MIPS),
the container terminal operating
company, with the Mozambique Ports
and Railways Company holding the
remaining 40 per cent. The terminal has
100,000 TEU (twenty-foot equivalent
container unit) capacity.
DP World has now purchased 48.5
per cent of Portus Indico - Sociedade
de Servicos Portuarios, SA. Grindrod
International Ltd holds another 48.5
per cent, with Mozambique Gestores,
SARL holding the remaining three
per cent.
Portus Indico has a 51 per cent interest
in MPDC which holds the concession
for the overall Port of Maputo until
2018, with an option to extend to 2028.
Portus Indico separately also holds
the agreement for the management of
MPDC. The Government of Mozambique
holds the remaining 49 per cent share
interest in MPDC.
The Chief Executive Officer of DP
World, Mohammed Sharaf (check
name) said “We are pleased to have the
opportunity to invest in Maputo. The
port is the backbone of the economy
and we look forward to helping
develop the infrastructure there and
contribute to the growth of Maputo and
Mozambique. Maputo is also one of the
main corridors for the Southern African
hinterland. We plan to invest further
in container handling facilities there
but we also believe there is potential
to grow commodity traffic as well, and
with our expertise in general cargo, bulk
and break bulk handling we believe
we can contribute significantly to fast
tracking the growth in this cargo sector
through Maputo.”
“We are very pleased to be working
in partnership with Grindrod and
Mozambique Gestores in Portus
Indico. They are both experienced and
professional operators in this market.
Together we have created a partnership
that will support the investment
required to build the Port of Maputo
into a notable force in the logistics chain
in Southern Africa.”
Taweelah, Khalifa Port and Industrial
Zone (KPIZ) is a multi-billion dollar
project designed as a multi-purpose
facility will have a world-scale
container and industrial port and
industrial, logistics, commercial,
educational, and residential special
economic and free zones over 100
square km area.
The zone will be part of the ambitious
‘Plan Abu Dhabi 2030’. The zone
will play a major role in Abu
Dhabi’s industrial and economic
diversification in serving as a key hub
for large scale industrial investments
that will be serviced by state-ofthe-art port, transport and other
infrastructure facilities and services.
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44 Transportation
Sharjah sets to revolutionize traffic system
W
ith Dubai growing at an
unprecedented rate Sharjah
as the next-door neighbor
is enjoying the spill over effect of the
growth. The population of Sharjah has
increased manifold in the last couple of
years leading to traffic congestion and
other related problems. To upgrade roads
and traffic condition Sharjah Municipality
has recently introduced a state-of-the-art
and fully automated parking ticket system
solutions as part of its ongoing effort to
enhance service efficiency within the city.
The parking ticket system will coincide
with another new facility that will
enable motorists to check parking fines
online. “Just by sending a text message
to the control room section of Sharjah
Municipality now motorists can extend
their parking duration as well,” says
Abdul Rahman Ahmed Al Mahmoud,
Head of Transport and Communications,
Sharjah Municipality.
The Transport and Freightage Department
of Sharjah Municipality is the first
organization to introduce a leading
edge mobility solution in the country.
Launched in association with Motorola,
Zebra Technologies and Bar code Gulf the
new system allows traffic wardens to issue
fines within seconds and synchronize the
issuance seamlessly with Sharjah Police
Traffic Department. This system according
to Abdul Rahman helps deliver faster and
more efficient result to Sharjah residents
and visitors. “After one year of testing
different products we chose Barcode Gulf,
distributor for Zebra technologies and
Motorola, based on the quality, value and
performance of their solutions and products
offered. This successful implementation is
a step forward to reaching our wider
goals in delivering services in all areas of
Sharjah,” adds Abdul Rahaman.
The new system revolutionizes the
existing procedure where traffic wardens
take up to three minutes to issue a ticket. It
eliminates chances of human error in data
entry because this solution completely
does away with hand writing issues.
Abdul Rahman Ahmed Al Mahmoud
Head of Transport and Communications, Sharjah Municipality
“Traffic wardens are issued with a
Motorola MC 70 handheld computer and
a Zebra MZ220 printer, where they can
monitor parking tickets by scanning the
barcode on the parking card to see if the
ticket is still valid. In case of ticket expiry
the wardens can issue parking fine on
the spot,” explains Abdul Rahaman. The
wardens can use the system to inspect all
parking spaces in Sharjah.
In the first phase of the DH2 million project
Sharjah Municipality has deployed 150
handheld computers. The zebra MZ220
are unobtrusive printers that weigh less
than 3/4th of a pound so they can be worn
comfortably for an entire shift. Stylish and
compact, they are ideal for customer facing
applications. Its features and functions are
intuitive and easy to operate.
Is paid parking the only solution to the
traffic woes?
“To some extent paid parking is the
solution to ease traffic congestion and
improve situation,” says Abdul Rahaman.
“We have introduced paid parking only
in the crowded areas. Experience says in
the crowded areas people cannot drive
smoothly through the main roads because
of double parking and illegal parking. By
introducing paid parking in congested
areas hopefully we will be able to tackle
this problem. Our primary objective is to
organize the parking lots in Sharjah and
improve traffic flow,” he adds.
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Link 23.indd 45
2/26/08 6:01:20 PM
46 Trade
& Economy
Philippines President visits UAE to strengthen
trade relations
O
ver 300,000 Filipinos
live in the United
Arab
Emirates
(UAE) and their remittances
reached about $400 million in
2007, having further growth
potential. Taking this forward
was the Philippines President
Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo
who visited the UAE in the
beginning of the year, to
boost bilateral trade relations
between the two.
Dubai’s imports from the
Philippines were over Dh679
million in 2006 and non-oil
trade amounted to Dh788.3
million. Manila’s imports
from the UAE, mostly oil,
were worth 356 million
dollars in 2006 while exports
totaled only $164 million. The
President wanted the UAE
to import more. “We would
like the UAE to buy more
from the Philippines. They
buy apples, they buy bananas
and they buy electronics
and we would like them to
import our fashion garments,
footwear and furniture.”
The highlight of the President’s
visit was her call to the oilrich UAE investors to invest
in Philippines in the areas of
information technology, agribusiness, medical tourism,
hospitality and leisure and
real estate. Another highpoint
was her appeal to the Asian
nations to work “more closely
together in view of the threat
of recession in US and its
impact on the rest of the
world.”
“The
global
economic
situation is a prime issue
for us with volatility in
the US, but the Philippines
among its 107,563 individual
and corporate members. Data
released by Dubai Chamber
indicate that exports by its
members to the Philippines
surged 321.6 per cent to
Dh72.52 million in 2007 from
Dh17.2 million the previous
year. They also show that
Dubai’s export and re-export
to the Philippines reached
Dh109.3 million in 2006. These
products include base metals
and related items; machinery,
electrical and electronics
equipment; vehicles, aircraft
and transport equipment;
plastic and rubber items and
prepared foodstuff.
Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo
President, Philippines
will withstand any impact
of the US slowdown due
to its strong economic
fundamentals,” she said
while addressing members
of the Dubai Chamber of
Commerce and Industry. In
her presence, the DCCI and
the Philippine Chambers
of Commerce and Industry
signed a Memorandum of
Understanding to explore
business opportunities. The
DCCI has 75 Philippine firms
Though there have been
investments from the UAE
in the Philippines, she noted
that it had not reached the
potential yet. One of the
main companies to operate
in the Philippines has been
the giant port operator, DP
World. Presently, Dubai
World’s leisure arm, Kerzner
has announced plans of
setting up a beach resort in
the Philippines. Also Kuwaiti
firms including logistics
provider Agility plan to
invest over $10 billion in
infrastructure projects there
such as airports, ports,
railways, power stations and
telecommunications.
The UAE on its part imports
from
the
Philippines
machinery, electrical and
electronics
equipment,
vegetable products, textiles,
toys and furniture.
Jafza to develop Subic Bay
During her visit, Jafza
International signed an
agreement with Subic Bay
Link 23.indd 46
2/26/08 6:01:25 PM
Trade & Economy
Metropolitan
Authority
(SBMA) for the development
and regeneration of Subic Bay
Freeport in the Philippines.
Salma Hareb, CEO Jafza
and Economic Zones World
signed the MoU with Armand
Arreza, Administrator and
CEO, Subic Bay Metropolitan
Authority (SBMA) for an
estimated investment of $200
million to $250 million over
3-5 years.
around the world, as well as
our intention to form a truly
global logistics network.”
Armand Arreza from SBMA
stated: “We are pleased to
announce
our
strategic
partnership
with
Jafza
International, known for
its
long-term
customer
relationships and world-class
services. The company’s
presence and involvement
with the development of Subic
Bay Freeport will certainly
augment its value to make
it an important port of call
for commerce, industry and
leisure in the region. We hope
that relations and cooperation
between the two sides will
expand to wider horizons.”
President Arroyo who toured
the free zone and port met
a number of senior Dubai
World officials including
Jamal Majid bin Thaniah,
Executive Vice-Chairman
DP World and Group CEO
Port & Free Zone World,
Mohammed Sharaf, CEO DP
World, Salma Hareb, and
Mohammed Al Muallem,
Senior Vice President and
Managing
Director
DP
World, UAE region.
The Subic Bay agreement
incorporates
Jafza
International’s
proposal
of the phased lease and
consolidation of four areas
within the Subic Bay Freeport
to form an adjacent industrial/
logistics zone within the
Freeport as well as the
renewal and re-alignment of
a prestigious residential and
leisure area. The four areas
47
under deliberation are the
industrial Technopark, Boton
Wharf, Subic International
Airport and the residential
Cubi area.
Salma Hareb said “The
Philippines’
trade
and
economic policies and the
strategic location of Subic Bay
not only gives it a genuine
edge as an investment area
because of its Freeport status
but also makes it an ideal
gateway to Asian markets.
The Subic Bay Freeport
fits well in our agenda of
forming beneficial alliances
and expanding operations to
vital business destinations
Subic Bay is the former
Asian Pacific base of the
United States Navy and has
been operated as a freeport
since the mid 1990s. The
Philippine government has
heavily supported the rapid
expansion and development
of Subic Bay and has been
instrumental in upgrading
the local infrastructure
(expressways, railways and
Clark Airport) in the area.
The Subic Bay Area is slated
to become a world-class
destination
for business,
commerce and leisure in the
Philippines.
Link 23.indd 47
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48 HR/Academia
Authentic Personal Branding
I
n life, as in business,
branding is more effective,
powerful, and sustainable
than marketing and sales and
an effective way to eliminate
your competitors. It’s about
influencing others, by creating
a brand identity that associates certain perceptions and
feelings with that identity.
Branding isn’t just for companies anymore. There is a
new trend called Personal
Branding. Successful Personal
Branding entails managing
the perceptions effectively
and controlling and influencing how others perceive you
and think of you. Having a
strong Personal Brand seems
to be a very important asset
in today’s online, virtual,
and individual age. It is the
positioning strategy behind
the world’s most successful
people, like Oprah Winfrey,
Tiger Woods, Michael Jordan,
Donald Trump, Richard
Branson and Bill Gates. It’s
therefore important to be your
own brand and to become the
CEO of your life.
Branding from a personal
marketing (selling) point of
view. Personal Branding is
more than just marketing and
promoting yourself.
Everyone has a Personal
Brand but most people are
not aware of this and do not
manage this strategically,
consistently, and effectively.
You should take control of
your brand and the message
it sends and affect how others
perceive you. This will help
you to actively grow and distinguish yourself as an exceptional professional. Most traditional Personal Branding
concepts focus mainly on
personal marketing, image
building, selling, packaging,
outward appearances, promoting yourself, and becoming famous, which can turn
into an ego trip and let you be
perceived as egocentric and
selfish. They define Personal
Your Personal Brand is the
synthesis of all the expectations, images, and perceptions it creates in the minds
of others, when they see or
hear your name. The boxed
text below shows some examples related to this aspect of
Personal Branding.
Your Personal Brand should be
authentic. Authentic Personal
Branding is a journey towards
a happier and more successful life. Your Personal Brand
should therefore emerge from
your search for your identity and meaning in life, and
it is about getting very clear
on what you want, fixing it
in your mind, giving it all
your positive energy, doing
what you love and develop
yourself continuously. Your
Personal Brand should always
reflect your true character,
and should be built on your
values, strengths, uniqueness, and genius. If you are
branded in this organic,
authentic and holistic way
your Personal Brand will be
strong, clear, complete, and
valuable to others. You will
also create a life that is fulfilling and you will automatically attract the people and
opportunities that are a perfect fit for you. If you are not
branded in this unique way,
if you don’t deliver according
to your brand promise, and if
you focus mainly on selling
and promoting yourself, you
will be perceived egocentric,
selfish and a unique jerk, and
branding will be cosmetic and
a dirty business.
no vision + no self-knowledge
+ no self-learning + no thinking + no mindset change +
no integrity + no happiness +
no passion + no sharing + no
trust + no love = no authentic
Personal Branding
Love is an important element
in this Personal Branding
equation. It is about loving
yourself (self-love), loving
others, and loving what you
do. You should love yourself in at least equal measure
to others or things. This can
be found in most religions:
“to love others as you love
yourself”. Remember what
Abraham Maslow said: “We
can only respect others when
we respect ourselves. We can
only give, when we give to
ourselves. We can only love,
when we love ourselves”.
Without knowing who you
Link 23.indd 48
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HR/Academia 49
is about your true values,
beliefs, dream, and genius.
A brand that is in harmony
with your dreams, life purpose, values, passion, competencies, uniqueness, genius,
specialization,
characteristics, and things that you
love doing. It’s based on my
new book entitled “Effective
Personal and Company
Brand Management; A New
Blueprint
for
Powerful
and Authentic Personal
and Company Branding”
(Information Age Publishing
Inc., 2008, USA), that has
been translated in 20 languages. In this book I have
introduced some powerful
tools to deliver peak performance and to create a stable
basis for trustworthiness,
credibility, and personal charisma. This book offers an
advanced breakthrough formula and a new blueprint to
build, implement, maintain,
and cultivate an authentic,
distinctive, relevant, consistent, concise, meaningful,
crystal clear, and memorable
Personal Brand, which forms
the key to enduring personal
success. This new approach
places more emphasis on
understanding yourself and
the needs of others, meet
those needs while staying
true to your values, improve
yourself continuously, and
realize growth in life based
on this Personal Branding
journey. This should be based
on your vision, rather than
inventing a brand that you
would like to be perceived as
and to sell this to others.
When we think Oprah Winfrey, we think warmth and
women’s empowerment.
Bill Gates brings to mind gadgets, geeks, and philanthropy.
Donald Trump is associated with ego and a decisive
ruthlessness.
JK Rowling is the professional writer behind the Harry
Potter series
Einstein is the great and gentle genius
Mother Teresa brings to mind helping the poor and saintly
behaviors
Michael Jordan is the greatest basketball player today
Tiger Woods is the greatest golfer in the world
are (self-knowledge), it’s very
difficult to love yourself and
others. You need to make a
positive emotional connection with yourself and find
yourself interesting first, otherwise others you will not
make a positive emotional
connection with you and will
not find you interesting. With
an authentic Personal Brand,
your strongest characteristics,
attributes, and values can
separate you from the crowd.
Without this, you look just
like everyone else.
In part 2 of this article I introduce an organic, holistic and
authentic Personal Branding
model which will help you
to unlock your potential and
build a trusted image of yourself that you want to project
in everything you do, which
In my related seminar/workshop in the UAE each of
the phases in the authentic
Personal Branding model will
be discussed in depth and
illustrated with many examples and cases.
Link 23.indd 49
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50
HR/Academia
Building an authentic Personal Brand
is an evolutionary and organic process
and a journey towards a successful life.
I am including below a holistic blueprint
and roadmap to help you formulating
and implementing an authentic Personal
Brand identity. This organic model consists of the following four phases (see
Figure 1), which are the building blocks
of a strong authentic Personal Brand:
1. Define and formulate your Personal
Ambition; This phase involves defining
and formulating your Personal Ambition
in an exciting and persuasive manner
and making it visible. Your Personal
Ambition is the soul, starting point, core
intention and the guiding principles of
your Personal Brand. It’s the fuel for your
brand and encompasses your personal
vision, mission, and key roles, related
to four perspectives, that should be in
balance: internal, external, knowledge &
learning, and financial perspectives (see
Figure 2). This will create balance in your
brand and in your life. It is about identifying yourself and figuring out what
your dreams are, who you are, what
you stand for, what makes you unique
and special, why you are different than
anyone, what your values are, and identifying your genius, incorporating an
introduced breathing and silence
exercise. You are almost twice
as likely to accomplish your
brand if you write this
down. Formulation is
critical to building a
strong brand. So take
the time to think
about your life and
to write down your
Challenge
Plan
Personal Ambition
statement.
The
Act
Deploy
breathing
and
silence
exercise
that I have introImplement and
Cultivate your
duced in the book
Personal Ambition,
will help you to think
Personal Brand
and PBSC
deeply during this
soul searching process,
to discover your genius,
values and uniqueness,
and to fix this in your mind.
It will provide you life energy to
translate the Personal Ambition into
Dr. Hubert Rampersad
action. Your Personal Ambition makes
your Personal Brand Personal and links
this to your values.
meaningful, exciting, inspiring, compelling, enduring, crystal clear, ambitious,
persuasive and memorable Personal
Brand promise, and use it as the focal
point of your behavior and actions. Take
the time to write down your Personal
Brand statement, which is in harmony
with your Personal Ambition, and create a related compelling brand story to
promote the brand called You. First of
all, perform a personal SWOT analysis
(Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities
and Threats) and evaluate yourself after
using the breathing and silence exercise.
The result of this analysis is the definition
of your personal life style. This relates
to your personal ambition and brand
objectives. Your brand objectives entail
what you want your Personal Brand to
accomplish. These should also be related
to the four mentioned perspectives: internal, external, knowledge & learning, and
financial (see Figure 2). You also need to
determine your specialization, concentrating on a single core talent.
2. Define and formulate your Personal
Brand; This phase involves defining and formulating an authentic, distinctive, relevant, consistent, concise,
Define your main specific services, your
key characteristics your single leading
and most powerful attribute. Finally,
determine what your audience (domain)
is and what their greatest needs are.
Your Personal Brand Statement entails
Internal
External
the total of your Personal Ambition,
Personal
Define and Formulate your
brand objectives, specialty, serPersonal Ambition
Personal Mission
vice dominant attribute, and
domain. It also includes your
Personal Key Roles
Unique Value Proposition.
The next step in this secKnowledge &
Financial
Learning
Define and Formulate your
ond stage is to define
Personal Brand
your Personal Brand
Internal
External
Story (Elevator Pitch),
Personal SWOT
Personal Brand Objectives
which is the essence of
Specialization
Services
what you want to say
Dominant Attribute
about your Personal
Domain
Personal Brand Statement
Brand in order to proPersonal Brand Story
Personal Logo
duce
a positive emoKnowledge
&
Financial
& Slogan
Learning
tional reaction. Finally
you should design your
Personal Logo, which is
Internal
External
Personal Critical
a single graphical symSuccess Factors
bol that represents your
Personal Objectives
Personal Brand.
Formulate your
Personal Performance
Personal Balance
Measures
Scorecard (PBSC)
Personal Targets
Personal Improvement
Actions
Knowledge &
Financial
Learning
Fig.: Authentic Personal Branding Model (© Hubert Rampersad)
I have summarized my Personal
Ambition, Personal Brand statement, logo, and slogan on a small card
Link 23.indd 50
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HR/Academia 51
Total Performance
Scorecard TM
TPS
Linking Human Capital to Businesss Success
and keep this in my pocket every day
(see below). I am using this as a compass
for my actions and decisions, to keep me
focused, to guide me in the right direction, and to help me communicate my
brand story effectively.
Personal Ambition & Personal Brand
Hubert Rampersad
and innovative organizations to unlock their
potential
Student: Learn something new every day and
always be a scholar
Linking Human Capital to Business Success
Passionate and compassionate to inspire
learning individuals to unlock their potential
1. Formulate your Personal Balanced
Scorecard (PBSC); Personal Ambition
and Personal Brand have no value unless
you take action to make them a reality. Therefore the emphasis in this stage
is developing an integrated and well
balanced action plan based on your
Personal Ambition and Personal Brand
to reach your life and brand objectives
and to eliminate any negative elements.
It’s about translating your Personal
Ambition and Personal Brand into your
PBSC (action). Remember: vision without
action is hallucination and a Personal
Brand without continuous improvement
of yourself based on your PBSC is merely
cosmetic and will not lead to sustainable
development of your potential and marketing success.
2. Implement and cultivate your
Personal Ambition, Personal Brand and
Personal Vision
To live life completely, honestly, and compassionately and to serve the needs of mankind
to the best of my ability. I want to realize this
in the following way:
• Enjoy physical and mental health
• Passionate and compassionate to
inspire others, earn their respect, and
always serve out of love
• Energize innovative organizations
where human spirit thrives and
which model the best practices in
business performance and personal
integrity
• Experience enjoyment in my work
by being full of initiative, accepting
challenges continuously, and to keep
on learning
• Achieve financial security
Personal Mission
Enjoy the freedom to develop and share
knowledge, especially if this can mean something in the life of others.
Personal Key Roles
In order to achieve my vision, the following
key roles have top priority:
Spouse: Rita is the most important person
in my life
Father: Guide Rodney and Warren on the
road to independence
Coach: Love to serve learning individuals
Stand out in the crowd
and dedicated to energize innovative organizations within the service and manufacturing industry. Using my holistic insight
and innovative Total Performance Scorecard
principles, I promise to help my customers to
realize their dreams.
Personal Balanced Scorecard; Personal
Ambition, Personal Brand, and the PBSC
have no value unless you implement
them to make it a reality. Therefore the
next step is to implement, maintain, and
cultivate your ambition, brand and PBSC
Link 23.indd 51
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52
HR/Academia
effectively. You have to articulate your
Personal Brand with love and passion, be
committed to change, and improve your
perceived value in the marketplace and
yourself continuously. In addition, try to
build credibility and become an expert
in your field. Get the word out through a
variety of media channels, do work you
love which is consistent with your Personal
Brand and values, gain experience in areas
of your brand in which you are weak, promote yourself, market your brand frequently and consistently, make conscious choices
about the people you associate with, build
a strong network, deliver on your brand
promise, and in short live according to your
brand promise.
•
Personal Ambition is the soul, starting point, core intention and the guiding
principles of the Personal Brand
•
Personal Brand without Personal
Ambition is not personal and not
authentic
•
Personal Brand and Personal
Ambition without Personal Balanced
Scorecard is hallucination
•
Personal Brand, Personal Ambition,
and Personal Balanced Scorecard without implementing these according to the
Plan-Deploy-Act-Challenge cycle is a
dirty business
•
Personal Brand, Personal Ambition,
Personal Balanced Scorecard, and implementation according to the Plan-DeployAct-Challenge cycle is the Personal Brand
Manifesto
Personal Vision
Internal
External
Personal Mission
Personal Key Roles
Personal
Ambition
Personal Brand Objectives
Specialization, Service,
Dominant Attribute
Personal
Brand
Domain
Personal Brand Story
Personal Critical Success Factors
Personal Objectves
Personal Performance Measure
Financial
Personal Targets
Personal Improvement Actions
As we can see from Figure 1, the Personal
Branding model consists of four wheels,
which are interrelated and need to turn
in the right direction in order to get the
large Personal Branding wheel moving
an evolving in the right direction successfully. The model gives us insight
into both the way authentic Personal
Branding can be developed effectively
and the coherence between its different
aspects.
This holistic Personal Branding framework will help you to create a brand that
builds a trusted image of yourself and
will help you enrich your relationships
with others, master yourself, unlock your
potential, and develop self-esteem. By
Personal Balanced
Scorecard (PBSC)
Knowledge &
Learning
aligning your Personal Brand with yourself you will create a stable basis for your
trustworthiness, credibility, and personal
charisma. Who you really are, what you
care about, and were your passions lie
should come out in your brand, and you
should act and behave accordingly (you
should be yourself) to build trust. Trust
will be built faster when others believe
you are real and when they witness you
being true to your beliefs and aligned
with who you really are. You will build
trust when your values connect to your
attitudes and actions and when you will
be true to yourself. The result of this
brand building process is a Personal
Brand identity that is not a not fake, not
cosmetic, not an ego trip, not selfish, not
focused on just promoting yourself, and
not a dirty business.
In my related seminar/workshop in the
UAE each of the phases in the authentic
Personal Branding model will be discussed in depth and illustrated with
many examples and cases.
Author:
Dr. Hubert Rampersad
President, TPS International (USA) &
Vice-President, TPS Arabia
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UAE Infrastructure 53
Emirates Modern Industrial Area
Adding a new dimension to Umm Al Qawain
the years with the aim of becoming
the leading property developer in
the region. In 2005, Tameer Holding
formed a strategic partnership with
Al Rajhi Investment Group and today
the firm’s investment portfolio in the
realty market totals more than AED150
billion. In addition to its design and
quality it is Tameer’s commitment to
carrying out work and delivering on
time which helps it maintain an edge in
this competitive market.
Omar Ayesh
President, Tameer Holding
W
ith a complete infrastructure
and range of state-of-the-art
services, The Emirates Modern
Industrial Area (EMIA) is designed
to cater to the needs of commercial
and industrial organizations. Located
adjacent to the Emirates Road Highway
in Umm Al Quwain, the project site is
just 15 to 25 minutes drive from Sharjah,
Dubai and Ajman.
Spanning approximately 80 million
square feet, EMIA is an AED150
million commercial, industrial and
residential development with a range
of infrastructural facilities from storage
space to labour accommodation.
The project is conceived and developed
by Tameer, a UAE based organization
which has grown and expanded over
The project has been designed in such
a way that each plot offers optimum
use of its ground, mezzanine and
first and second floors with direct
street access which ensures smooth
logistical operations. Provision has also
been made for ample labour camps
and storage space in the back area of
each plot. According to Omar Ayesh,
President of Tameer Holding, “It is the
first development of its kind in Umm Al
Quwain and offers investors a complete
infrastructure, uniquely tailored to
the needs of industrial enterprises.”
He also adds that in comparison with
neighboring emirates such as Dubai and
Sharjah where space is at a premium
EMIA can offer excellent piece of real
estate at extremely competitive rates,
while the site’s location does not
compromise on accessibility to major
transport routes. “The infrastructure and
facilities contained in the development
itself comprise an integrated community,
with all necessary community services
and amenities within close reach.”
EMIA and its impact on Umm Al
Quwain
Tameer originally intended to sell
out the project for AED1.4 billion but
finally the sale exceeded AED4billion.
“We are confident that EMIA will
continue to attract more businesses to
Umm-al Quwain, increasing liquidity
and further boosting the emirate’s
economy,” says Ayesh. The EMIA is the
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54 UAE
Infrastructure
first of its kind in Umm Al
Quwain and by means of its
practical and spacious layout
lends itself to the utmost
streamlining of industrial
activities especially in terms
of logistics and accessibility.
The thrust and infrastructure
of the project are ideally
suited
for
companies
dealing with logistics and
supply
chain
industry
such
as
warehousing,
removals and packaging
businesses. The project has
made ample provision for
labour
accommodation.
It
encourages
light
manufacturing industries as
well. The EMIA, in fact, does
not want to restrict itself by
patronizing any particular
industry. It welcomes all
types of businesses here. “We
want EMIA to operate as a
self-contained commercial,
industrial and residential
community and it is for this
reason that the project also
includes space for shops,
a business centre, office
spaces and residential areas.
What is most satisfactory
about this project is we
have received tremendous
responses from number of
leading corporations which
significantly exceeded our
expectations,” points out
Ayesh. Companies primarily
from the UAE, India,
Pakistan, Iran, Europe and
other GCC countries are
driving EMIA’s growth and
success going forward.
Generating employment
By attracting a wide range
of industries to set up base
in Umm Al Quwain, EMIA
plays an important role in
its endeavor to create job
opportunities in this region.
The industries have opened
avenues not only for manual
labourers but also for highly
skilled professionals who
come here from all over
the world. And as people
relocate to Umm Al Quwain
additional opportunities are
automatically created in the
residential real estate market,
education and hospitality
sectors. “An industrial park
of this magnitude has a
knock-on effect in terms of
job creation- one could safely
say that job creation is a byproduct of the development
like this,” he avers.
When other parts of the UAE
are progressing rapidly Umm
Al Quwain needed that much
needed kick start. The Emirates
Modern Industrial Area is
designed in such way that it
is capable of overhauling the
industrial landscape of Umm
Al Quwain. It can be very well
considered a true addition to
the industrial areas of the
UAE which compliments the
vision of this country.
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Legal Outlook 55
Carrier of goods - Its risky business !!
Dr. Khalid M. Kadfoor Al Mehairi
A
common carrier is one whose
regular business is carrying goods
or passengers from place to place
for all persons who choose to employ the
service. Common carriers hold themselves
out to carry goods or passengers from one
place to another, for all persons who offer
to employ them. Examples of common
carriers are bus service companies, taxicab
companies, and delivery companies.
act of God, or of the enemies of the country,
or by the act of the owner of the property.
Given the high potential risk of damage and
accidents, logistics companies are required
to take all reasonable precautions to prevent
any loss, damage or accident to cargo,
materials or equipments held under their
premises. Cargo risks vary considerably
as there are innumerable types of goods
imported and exported via several modes
of transport to ports and places throughout
the world. The carriers and consignors
deliver the containers and container goods
to harbour warehouses, transport stations
or other places of mutual consent in the
manner as specified in the bill of lading.
No responsibility or liability whatsoever
shall attach to the consignor for any loss
or damage to goods unless such loss or
damage occurs whilst the goods are in care
of the consignor, or is due to the wilful act
or default of the consignor. Further, the
consignor shall under no circumstances be
liable for loss or damage incurred through
goods being tendered with inadequate
packing, or any loss or damage whatsoever
caused by the perishable, fragile or brittle
nature of goods.
A common carrier of goods is in all cases
entitled to demand the price of carriage
before he receives the goods, and if
not paid he may refuse to take charge
of them; if, however, he take charge of
them without the hire being paid he may
afterwards recover it. The compensation
which becomes due for the carriage of
goods by sea is commonly called freight.
The carrier is also entitled to a lien on the
goods for his hire, which, however, he may
waive; but if once waived, the right cannot
be resumed. The consignor or shipper is
commonly bound to the carrier for the
hire or freight of goods. But whenever
Common carriers are generally of two
descriptions, namely carriers by land and
carriers by water. Of the former description
are the proprietors of stage coaches, stage
wagons or expresses which ply between
different places and carry goods for hire;
and truck men, teamsters, cart men and
porters who undertake to carry goods
for hire as a common employment from
one part or a town or city to another
are also considered as common carriers.
Carriers by water are the masters and
owners of ships and steamboats engaged
in the transportation of goods for persons
generally for hire and lighter men, hoymen,
barge-owners, ferrymen, canal boatmen
and others employed in the like manner is
so considered.
By the common law a common carrier is
generally liable for all losses which may
occur to property entrusted to his charge in
the course of business, unless he can prove
the loss happened in consequence of the
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56 Legal
Outlook
the consignee engages to pay it, he also
becomes responsible. It is usual in bills
of lading to state that the goods are to be
delivered to the consignee or to his assigns,
he or they paying freight, in which case the
consignee and his assigns by accepting the
goods impliedly become bound to pay the
freight, and the fact that the consignor is
also liable to pay it will not, in such case,
makes any difference.
Common carriers are bound to use
extraordinary care and diligence to carry
safely those whom they take in their
coaches. But not being insurers, they are not
responsible for accidents when all reasonable
skill and diligence have been used.
A carrier can limit its liability by contract,
unless forbidden by statute. Thus
a statement limiting the amount of a
carrier’s liability may be put on a bill of
lading given as a receipt for a freight or
express shipment, or on a receipt for a
freight or express shipment, or on a receipt
given a passenger for the passenger’s
baggage. Such statement is considered
binding by the courts and relieves the
carrier of additional liability. The general
rule is that a carrier may relieve itself
from all liability except for loss or damage
caused by it own negligence.
A common carrier is an organization that
transports people or goods, and offers its
services to the general public. In contrast,
private carriers do not offer a service to
the public, and provide transport on
an irregular or ad-hoc basis. Common
carriers typically transport persons or
goods according to defined routes and
schedules. Airlines, railroads, bus lines,
cruise ships and freight companies may
be common carriers.
About Author:
Dr. Khalid Kadfoor Al Mehairi
is the Founder of Emirates Advocates & Legal
Consultants in the UAE.
It should be mentioned that the carrier only
transporting the goods on a means of transport
refers to the person (legal or physical) that
is referred to as the “actual carrier”.
signs a contract of carriage with the shipper.
The carrier does not necessarily have to own
Although
common
or even be in the possession of a means of
transport
people[1]
transport. Unless otherwise agreed upon in the
United States the term may also refer to
contract, the carrier may use whatever means
telecommunications providers and public
of transport as long as it is the most favourable
utilities. In certain U.S. states, amusement
from the cargo interests’ point of view. The
parks that operate roller coasters and
carriers’ duty is to get the goods to the agreed
comparable rides have been found to be
destination within the agreed time or within
common carriers; a famous example is
reasonable time. The person that is physically
Disneyland.[2]
carriers
or
goods,
generally
in
the
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Events Spotlight 57
Oil and Gas Refinery Asia 2008
Grand Copthorne Waterfront,
Singapore
March 10-11
Refineries have been profiting from
the ongoing global shortage in refining
capacity. Existing refineries across
Asia are looking into upgrading and
modernisation in order to comply with
increasingly stringent environmental
and product quality standards and
successfully keep up with the demand
for both product quality and volume. As
we look for more efficient alternatives to
power our lives, the uncertainty in future
consumption of gasoline and crude oil
increases which will leads to uncertainty
in fuel pricing.
This conference will address the
challenges faced by the refiners in all
the emerging markets and will cover
key topics such as refinery economics,
supply and demand issues, investment
strategies and opportunities, the impact
of high oil prices, refinery integration
as well as the latest in technological
advances and the expansion of low-cost
production facilities. This is your chance
to meet with leading refinery experts
and decision makers who can share their
valuable experiences with you.
For details contact : [email protected]
Supply Chain Management – Opportunities
and Challenges
American University of Sharjah, Sharjah, UAE
April 25-27
Delving into latest developments in supply chain management
The American University of Sharjah (AUS)
- College of Engineering is organizing
an international symposium on “Supply
Chain Management—Opportunities and
Challenges”. The event will take place
from April 25 to 27.
Dr. Mohammed Al Zarouni, Director
General of Dubai Airport Free Zone
Authority and Vice Chairman and
CEO of Dubai Silicon Oasis Authority
is the Honorary Chair for this event.
The symposium will delve into the
latest
developments,
applications,
and technologies in the field of
supply chain management. The target
groups are individuals working in the
field of supply chain management,
distribution, logistics, inventory control,
warehousing, procurement, customer
TransLog Asia 2008
Intercontinental Hotel,
Singapore, April 9-11
Transport and logistics driving
business
Challenges facing refineries
Downstream oil businesses work
in
highly
competitive
markets,
characterised by tight margins. Cost
improvement, quality and control of the
production are becoming a critical factor
in the downstream product’s market.
In order to protect and build margins
and revenues, you need to achieve
operational
excellence
throughout
the supply chain, from refining and
distribution to stock control and
customer loyalty.
1st Intra Asia Summit
service, manufacturing, operations, and
shipping.
The following keynote speakers will
be sharing their experiences during the
conference: Mr. Khaled Lootah: Regional
CEO—Microsoft (Middle East); Dr. Mo
Bazara: Senior Vice President, Supply
Chain Solutions—Agility (USA); Dr.
Alain Martel: Professor of Supply Chain
Engineering & Management-University
of Laval, Canada; and Dr. Adel Guitouni:
Lead Defense Scientist with Defense R&D
Canada – Valcartier. Specialized training
on various topics related to SCM will be
held during the conference. Full details
about the topics that will be addressed
during the one day training sessions are
available on www.aus.edu/conferences/
isscm2008.
Beacon Events in collaboration with Global
Institute of Logistics and The Logistics
Institute – Asia Pacific is delighted to present
its premier benchmarking and networking
summit for transport and logistics executives
- TransLog Asia 2008 – 1st Intra Asia
Summit. This is a major new summit taking
place in Singapore from 9-11th April at the
Intercontinental Hotel in Singapore.
Transport and Logistics plays a pivotal
role in the Singapore economy – it is a
dynamic nation that continually upgrades
it transport and logistics infrastructure to
maintain global hub status. The transport
and logistics sector has always been key
to Singapore and it is a sector that is
important as an industry and an enabler. As
an industry, transport logistics accounts for
more than 8% of GDP and as an enabler, it
gives companies operating out of Singapore
a significant competitive advantage.
Beacon working together with leading
industry associations will ensure that
this summit is relevant, topical and an
excellent platform to benchmark, network
and learn. Extensive research has shown
a huge demand for this summit – the
only international summit addressing
the needs of the Intra Asian trade and
transshipment community – if you are at
all involved in the movement of goods
– then this event is for you.
TransLog Asia – 1st Intra Asia Summit will
deliver real value to those involved in the
business – buyers, sellers, government
representatives, infrastructure owners,
financiers, investors, bankers, legal counsel
and consultants. Addressing the freight
transport, logistics and SCM industries – this
summit will be Asia’s only event that will
cover the whole range of freight transportation
and logistics – from government policy to
customs, legal issues, port and terminal
operations, green transportation, challenges
to the key players to the latest trends in
technology and applications.
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58 Events
Spotlight
Asia Pacific Rail 2008 –
BioLogistics Asia 2008
Sheraton Grande Sukhumvit, Bangkok, Thailand
March 11 -13
SunTec International Convention Centre, Singapore
April 14-17
Advance your Asia Pacific rail business into the future
The dynamics of pharma industry
Asia Pacific Rail 2008 is focused
on key issues revolving around
the development of integrated
seamless
transportation
networks and regional rail
advancement; intelligent and
sustainable transport system;
rail financing/investment and
development; infrastructure
development and railway
management.
In the recent years, Asia
is assuming a stronger
position as the world’s drugs
manufacturing factory and
distributor. Yet each Asian
market is unique and presents
its own set of challenges.
With enormous untapped
opportunities for development
and investment, the Asia
Pacific rail industry is
a
multi-million
dollar
market for rail operators,
suppliers,
manufacturers
and consultants. Asia Pacific
Rail 2008 enables you to
reach a targeted audience
of key decision makers with
influential puchasing power
in the railway industry.
The event is being organized
by Terrapinn. For details
contact: Customer Services Ya Ling Ng; Tel: +65 6322 2771
Email: yaling.ng@terrapinn.
com
SCLG Endorsed Events Calendar
6th Intermodal Africa 2008
Date: 21/02/08 to 22/02/2008
Location: Ghana
Venue: Accra International Conference Centre
Organised by: Transport Events
BioLogistics Asia 2008
Date: 14/04/2008 to 17/04/2008
Location: Singapore
SunTec International Convention Centre
Organised by: Terrapinn
6th ASEAN Ports and Shipping 2008
Date: 05/06/2008 to 06/06/2008
Location: Vietnam
Venue: Ho Chi Minh City
Organised by: Transport Events
With this in mind, Biologistics
Asia 2008 will bring together
logistics and supply chain
professionals
representing
each segment of the drugs
value chain. Key logistics and
supply chain professionals
from Eli Lilly, Merck Serono,
Sanofi-Aventis, Merck Sharp &
Dohme, Pfizer, Baxter, Abbott,
SciGen, and Nicolas Piramal will
shareinsightsintocriticallogistics
and supply chain management
issues, cold chain management,
regulatory
compliance,
demand forecasting, inventory
management, distribution and
export strategies, reducing drug
counterfeiting and more.
The event is being organized
contact: Elin Tan, Tel: (65) 6322
2700; Fax: (65) 6223 3554; Email
- [email protected] or
Stella Teo, Tel: (+65) 6322 2737;
Fax: (+65) 6226 3264; Email [email protected]
Second Annual SCMLogistics
India 2008
Shangri La Hotel, New Delhi
March 18-20
Manufacturer-driven conference
Since
its
inception,
SCMLogistics
India
has
firmly established itself as
the only manufacturer-driven
conference in India that will
bring together India’s top
companies and global Fortune
500 companies across seven
key vertical industries to
discuss practical supply chain
and logistics issues across
all functional groups and
capitalize on cross-industry
learning opportunities, held
during the height of India’s
manufacturing boom.
The supply chain and logistic
sectors in India have always
been
highly
fragmented,
characterized by numerous
small market players, making
the
implementation
of
synchronized industry best
practices difficult.
The escalating logistics and
transportation costs resulting
from India’s infrastructure
inadequacies are eroding the
cost-savings achieved from
manufacturing in India.
This conference will bring
over 35 industry best practice
case studies focusing on
pertinent issues such as
how leading manufacturers
and solution providers can
strengthen their position by
enforcing new supply chain
and logistics strategies.
The event is organized
contact: Clarise Goh, Tel:
+65 6322 2778 Email: clarise.
[email protected]
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Transcription

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