Bahrain Petroleum Company’s (Bapco) Install Refinery Wastewater Treatment Plant Project has been named the GCC’s project of the year at the MEED Quality Awards for Projects 2014.

The $120m state-of-the-art wastewater treatment plant, which provides secondary treatment of refinery wastewater was named the winner of the overall project of the year awards after previously being named Sustainable Project of the Year.

The MEED Quality Awards for Projects 2014, which is run in association with Mashreq, recognises the best projects completed in the GCC in 2012 and 2013.

UAE projects won the biggest number of trophies at the awards ceremony, which was held at Dubai’s Sofitel Palm Hotel on 12 May, scooping four different category awards.

The UAE’s winning projects included Abu Dhabi National Oil Company’s (Adnoc) Industrial Gas Development Project, nominated by Abu Dhabi Gas Industries Ltd. (Gasco), won Industrial Project of the Year; while Dubai Electricity and Water Authority’s (Dewa) Mohammed Bin Rashid Al-Maktoum Solar Park Phase 1 Project, nominated by First Solar Middle East, triumphed in the Power Project of the Year category.

The Louis Berger Building Project of the Year was awarded to Cayan Group Real Estate Investment & Development’s Cayan Tower Project; while Ruwais Fertiliser Industries’ Fertil-2 Ammonia & Urea Expansion Project, nominated by Samsung Engineering, received the HLG Oil & Gas Project of the Year award.

Bahrain Ministry of Works’ North Manama Causeway Project, nominated by Hyder Consulting Middle East Ltd, won the CH2M HILL Transport Project of the Year award.

Saudi Arabia’s award-winning projects include King Fahad National Library’s King Fahad National Library Project, this year’s Social Project of the Year winner; National Water Company’s Riyadh Water Supply Project, winner in the Water & Water Reuse Project of the Year category; and MARS Inc.’s MARS Chocolate Factory Project, nominated by Hyder Consulting Middle East Ltd, which won the Small Project of the Year award.

United Real Estate Company’s Salalah Gardens Mall and Residences in Oman received the Leisure and Tourism Project of the Year award; while Qatar’s Baytna - Qatar’s First Passivhaus Project, jointly owned by Qatar Green Building Council (QGBC), Barwa Real Estate Group (BRE) and Qatar General Electricity & Water Corporation (Kahramaa), and nominated by ETA Star Engineering & Contracting, won the Award for Innovation.

Julio Armando De Quesada, Head of Corporate and Investment Banking Group, Mashreq, headline sponsor of the awards, congratulated the winners and praised their commitment to executing their projects to the highest standards of quality and project excellence.

“We salute the winners for their unwavering commitment to delivering their projects according to the industry’s recognised quality benchmarks and hope that others will follow their commendable example. The excellent execution of these projects ensures their intended business objectives as well as the invariable socio-economic and environmental impact that they have optimised. We are delighted to be a part of this recognition programme that we believe will not only benefit the projects sector, but also contribute to the progress of the GCC in the years ahead,” De Quesada added.

“We received a record number of entrants this year, and expected a stiffer competition from completed projects across the GCC. This is a clear affirmation that the projects industry throughout the region has regained its robustness, completing projects at a much faster pace following the slowdown in recent years. We congratulate the winners for delivering their projects to the highest quality standards and contributing to the socio-economic development of the region,” said Edmund O’ Sullivan, Chairman, MEED, organisers of the MEED Quality Awards for Projects, in association with Mashreq.

The other major highlight of the awards ceremony, MEED handed out special citations to two distinguished organisations for their contributions to the projects sector in the region.

Qatar Foundation received the MEED Editor’s Award, an honour given each year to a person or organisation that stands out not only for specific achievements, but also for what it represents in terms of leadership and vision, in being a role model for the region. The other special award, the Angus Hindley Award for Project Excellence 2014, was given to Acwa Power from Saudi Arabia for its excellent track record and outstanding achievements in the delivery of electricity and desalinated water projects throughout the world.

Find out how to enter the MEED Quality Awards for Projects 2015