SUPPORTING DOCUMENT: Innovation Award

The Power of Foresight and Innovation:

How a 54 MW Power Plant installed in 23 days 

Empowered the Entire Yemeni Nation

Watch the video, below, and learn how Altaaqa Global built a power plant in just 23 days, helping more than half a million people in Yemen. The project avoided political, economic and social tension in Yemen.

http://youtu.be/FdCq_sazqiM


Background

When the Arab Spring revolution ended, the province of Aden, Yemen was suffering from severe energy shortage. The power outages caused political tension, economic losses and social unrest not only in the city but in the entire country. The Government of Yemen, with the aim of easing the pressure as immediately as possible, sought for the assistance of Altaaqa Global CAT Rental Power to build a 54 MW power plant in just 23 days. 

Due to various technical problems, including lack of power plants, unstable grid and insufficient power distribution facilities, the entire province of Aden was suffering from power outages lasting for 14 hours at a time. This dismal situation was creating chaos across different industries, including oil & gas, financial (banks and financial institutions), hospitality (hotels and restaurants), construction and industrial manufacturing.

What represented the most difficult challenge, however, was the security situation in Yemen during the time when the project was being completed. At the height of the terrorism alert in the country, all of the embassies and foreign entities were advised by their respective countries to flee Yemen. Altaaqa Global, too, was advised to abort its project and to go back to its headquarters, but it did not heed the call. The call of duty to provide electricity to the depressed areas of Aden and, ultimately, to start putting an end to the widespread social and political unrest in the country was louder than the appeal for retreat.

Description and Development  

In recognition of the unique circumstances surrounding the project, Altaaqa Global adopted a completely new mindset in project delivery in order to prepare for terrorist attacks. In formulating a sustainable plan of action, Altaaqa Global attempted to do what other companies considered as undoable. 

Steven Meyrick (left), Board Representative of Altaaqa Global, explains to the Governor of Aden (Middle) and PEC Director General (Right) how the company’s power solutions ended the power crisis in Aden

This photo was taken on the day when all Western embassies closed down in Yemen, with Steven Meyrick, Board Representative of Altaaqa Global and Mahmoud El Zaafarany, Sales Manager for MENA of Altaaqa Global

The company has set up a detailed plan on how to mitigate the effects of the security instability in the country and on how to counter terrorist attacks, social protests and politically motivated destabilization attempts.

In addition to services provided by the military and the company’s own security agency, and to increased security barricades erected at the area of operation, Altaaqa Global sought to be in harmony with the communities within the area where it was building the 54 MW power plant. The company recognized the importance of having the collective support of Aden’s citizenry in successfully, peacefully and safely seeing the 54 MW power plant project through completion. Towards this objective, Altaaqa Global hired and trained local Yemeni engineers, which ultimately comprised 95% of the workforce for the project.

A Yemeni engineer in training on HSE global standards prior to deployment. One challenge for Altaaqa Global in Yemen was to implement a global HSE standard that will protect the lives of the workers, the integrity of the equipment and the environment

Some Yemeni engineers who were hired to take part in the 54 MW power plant project. They were all trained in matters of safety, health, environment, quality and engineering installation

By hiring Yemeni engineers, Altaaqa Global showed its commitment to helping its immediate environs through the creation of employment opportunities in the areas where it operates. The company invested a significant amount of resources to train the Yemeni workforce in order to ensure that its operation was still on an optimum level. Altaaqa Global’s ultimate goal was to transfer its technological and technical know-how while maintaining its operational and safety standards and processes.  

As a result of this intensive drive, Altaaqa Global was able to successfully complete the project without any accidents, casualties or deaths. 

As the 54 MW project was being carried out during the Holy Month of Ramadan, Altaaqa Global would host the Yemeni workers and the local communities to Iftar (breaking of the fast) dinners. This brought the company closer to the locals, which, in turn, provided the “first line of defense” to the company’s assets and equipment. This proved that security transcends the exhibition of arms and uniforms – the people of Aden themselves largely contributed in ensuring that the project was successfully and peacefully seen through, recognizing the salient benefits that a sustainable and continuous supply of power could afford their community. 

For the local school children, Altaaqa Global also donated one crayon for every kilowatt rented, which meant that the company donated 54,000 crayons to Yemeni children. In addition to crayons, Altaaqa Global also handed out several important school supplies, as notebooks, books, pens, pencils, bags and lunch packs. For the company, this is a necessary step in achieving its goal of being able to build classrooms for impoverished children in remote communities worldwide by 2020. 

Altaaqa Global launched an educational campaign in Yemen to highlight the importance of saving electricity. The campaign lasted for six months and was regarded as the first large-scale energy conservation campaign in the country.

To further optimize the benefits of having a sustainable and continuous power supply, the citizens needed to be informed on how to conserve electricity. In this light, Altaaqa Global, in collaboration with various social development entities and non-governmental organizations, launched a six-month educational campaign in Yemen on how to save energy by following simple steps that could be carried out at home. The campaign was aimed at informing the citizens that having a supply of electricity was just an initial step towards social stability. By educating the local community of the adverse effects of power wastage, in synergy with various local governments, schools, non-governmental organizations, media and local communities, achieving sustainable power in Yemen was proven possible. 

As part of its commitment to help the local communities, Altaaqa Global invested a significant amount of its resources in sports and arts programs that will help foster a better understanding of various cultures, promote healthy living and appreciation of arts. Altaaqa Global sponsored AED 250,000 worth of its equipment for the world’s largest Beach Polo event that will benefit various charitable institutions that focuses on children’s education.

In addition to a uniquely hostile environment, Aden was also suffering from various technical and infrastructure deficiencies, including lack of power generation facilities, unstable grid and insufficient power distribution amenities, resulting in incessant power outages lasting for 14 hours at a time.

The 54 MW power project in Aden called for a clear break from previously established methods or processes. With the condition of the power infrastructure in Aden, the project necessitated new technologies that would not require what was absent from Aden. To this effect, Altaaqa Global installed the most advanced power plants that could directly be hooked to the grid without the need for a substation. The power plants were also equipped with the most advanced protection system and operational mode that allowed them to switch from island to grid to base load to standby power in just a push of a button.

The power plants installed in Aden has radically changed the landscape of the power industry. Altaaqa Global’s temporary power solutions were real breakthrough technologies for a diverse range of industries.

Altaaqa Global’s generators were touted to be the most cost-effective equipment in the temporary power industry. The company’s power plants had lesser footprint and a smaller number of accessories, resulting in lower transportation cost, lesser installation time and reduced manpower. All the company’s machines were in modular containers for easy transport and could be “plugged and played” for a swift installation.

The power plants installed in Aden has radically changed the landscape of the power industry. Altaaqa Global’s temporary power solutions were real breakthrough technologies for a diverse range of industries, including utilities, oil & gas, mining and industrial manufacturing, which were facing the dreaded consequences of unstable power and regular blackouts.  

Altaaqa Global’s highly skilled engineers are ready to be deployed and prepared to serve at a moment’s notice, even in hostile places, like Aden at the close of the Arab Spring revolution.

Altaaqa Global recognized that no matter how advanced a system was, only a highly competent and experienced team of engineers could make it achieve optimal performance. In line with this, the company made sure that its engineers has all understood and imbibed the critical nature of the 54 MW project at hand. In support of the engineers’ expertise, Altaaqa Global also made sure that after-sales and service parts and equipment were available at any time in its warehouse in Jebel Ali, Dubai or from over 1,700 Caterpillar dealer locations worldwide. 

Impact and Benefits

Thanks to a well-defined plan of action, impeccable coordination among various project stakeholders, over 100 years of combined expertise on the ground, groundbreaking power technologies, close relationship with the locals, and unwavering commitment, Altaaqa Global did what others thought was impossible: It successfully, peacefully and safely installed 54 MW of power in mere 23 days. The installed power plant benefitted more than half a million people.

In the advent of the 54 MW temporary power plant, businesses were afforded continuous and sustainable power to avoid losses, local employment opportunities were maintained, schools resumed classes, hospitals recommenced operations, political and social unrest progressively subsided and the trust in the national government was gradually restored.

In addition, Altaaqa Global was able to create job opportunities for and hone the ingenuity of the local communities; support local school children in their education by distributing necessary educational items and supplies; and encourage the community to participate in various sports and arts programs to help them lift the traumatic effects of the then-just-concluded mass revolution, and appreciate cultural diversity, the benefits of healthy living and the beauty and meaning of art. The company was also able to successfully launch and sustain planned energy conservation campaigns within the projected duration.

The project had had tangible benefits to Aden that its Government has added another 50 MW to the exisiting installation, bringing the plant's total capacity to more than 100 MW.

The Governor of Aden, Yemen and the Director-General or Public Electricity Corporation inaugurated the 54 MW power plant. They are flanked by several local tribe leaders and Altaaqa Global officials.

Reason

Though met with a lot of challenges, the 54 MW Aden project was successfully completed in world-record time. The achievement would not have been possible if not for ATG’s innovative technologies and a fresh and proactive approach to project management and execution. What ATG achieved in the project represented a clear break from traditional thought and methods of working. With the company’s ingenuity, resilience and mindful planning, the people of Aden and of greater Yemen were giving the power that they needed to recover from the devastating effects of the revolution – an achievement that others said was not possible.  

Watch the video, below, and learn how Altaaqa Global built a power plant in just 23 days, helping more than half a million people in Yemen. The project avoided political, economic and social tension in Yemen.

http://youtu.be/FdCq_sazqiM