- New plant to introduce advanced construction technologies to the Gulf

- Faster project completion with buildings going up four floors at a time

2nd May 2007, Dubai, UAE - Capital Industries and Investments (CII), a private equity firm that invests in companies in the construction manufacturing industry of the GCC, today announced that it has forged an alliance with Construction Technology Pte Ltd a wholly subsidiary company of Sembawang Engineers & Constructors Pte Ltd (Sembawang), one of Southeast Asia's largest and most renowned construction company.

The new partnership comes just over a month after the announcement of CII's establishment and the creation of AED200million fund to finance mid-sized construction manufacturing businesses in the Gulf region.

The new joint venture between CII and Construction Technology Pte Ltd, the Singapore-based Precast Company, will see the entry of advanced construction technology - Integrated Precast Systems - into the Gulf region for faster and more efficient project completion. The new company will be known as Sembawang Precast Systems LLC.

An investment of AED 22.8 million capital, the new entity is an equal partnership between its founders. It will introduce for the first time in the region an integrated and custom-configured total solution technology for precast concrete components, which will improve and speed up construction processes.

Construction work on a new 624,000 ft2 precast manufacturing plant in Dubai Industrial City is due to begin shortly, and is expected to be completed by September this year. The facility will have an initial daily output of 200m3, and will enable architectural projects in the region to be built using advanced integrated precast systems. These have widely been used in Asian countries such as Singapore to enable rapid project completion and to address a pressing demand for urban development and limited resources and land area.

"With the launch of Sembawang Precast Systems, we are hoping to make a significant change in the landscape of the Gulf construction industry," commented Sheikh Sultan Bin Saud Al Qassemi, Chairman of Capital Industries and Investments and of newly-formed Sembawang Precast Systems. "Architects and contractors, whether working on buildings, tunnels or lightrail systems, can now take construction processes to a much more sophisticated level and, for the first time in the region, apply an integrated approach to the use of precast technology."

This integrated precast technology enables faster project execution, with the unique ability to erect four tiers precast column at a time instead of the current one-storey approach in the region. In addition, the advanced technology coupled with Sembawang's technical expertise, also significantly improves the finished quality of buildings.

With a multitude of urban development and infrastructure projects underway in the UAE, this progressive approach to construction can better serve the ambitious deadlines set for projects locally and across the region.

"The beauty of integrated precast systems is that they allow for swift erection of buildings with better quality and cost control," explained Alwyn Keith Bowden, President of Sembawang Engineers & Constructors. "Asian countries have greatly benefited from the pre-engineered construction approach, with a vast number of buildings in Singapore having been built in this manner for the last two decades. The UAE, as well as other Gulf countries, can take advantage of these technologies to continue its own rapid metamorphosis from desert oasis to international metropolis."

"As a city grows, with more projects under development simultaneously, and limited resources and site area, construction processes need to adapt themselves to better face these changing situations and challenges," explained Munther Hilal, CEO of Capital Investments and Industries. "Reducing costs, manpower, construction time and the overall disruption a project imposes on its surroundings are important advantages of creating 'pre-engineered' buildings. The combination of Construction Technology's years of solid technical expertise and CII's knowledge of the regional construction market will bring these advantages to the region".

Precast systems work through the production of standard industry construction elements, such as columns, beams and walls, being manufactured offsite and then installed onsite. Integrated precast systems take this approach a step further and aim to create combinations of these 'building blocks', which are custom designed for particular projects, and incorporated into the structure as one, e.g. Such as a column-beam-wall combination. Sembawang Precast Systems LLC will be the first company in the GCC to introduce integrated precast construction.

Faster implementation and on-time project completion are not the only advantages that come with this construction method. With production essentially taking place offsite in the controlled environment of a plant, the system offers improved cost control, quality control, safety standards, as well as lower dependence on on-site workforce. It enables a more environmentally-friendly way of working, with cleaner sites and more space available. Integrated precast systems are also a practical and less disruptive way of adding space extensions to existing buildings, with the possibility of attaching complete rooms and balconies to building exteriors.

-Ends-

About Construction Technology Pte Ltd
A wholly subsidiary Company of Sembawang Engineers & Constructors Pte Ltd, Construction Technology Pte Ltd has been set-up to promote and develop the Precast Prefabrication Technology since year 1994. Experience in a wide range of custom-configured precast components. Adherence to one-stop customer services and strict quality standards over the years makes Construction Technology Pte Ltd as one of the major and most experienced precaster.

About Sembawang Engineers & Constructors
Sembawang Engineers & Constructors (Sembawang) is among Southeast Asia's largest Engineering and Construction companies, and is a subsidiary of Punj Lloyd group, one of the largest Construction Company in India. For over twenty years, Sembawang was under the ownership of SembCorp and Temasek, and played an instrumental role in the urban development and infrastructure of Singapore.

About Capital Industries and Investments
Capital Industries and Investments (CII) is a private equity firm that invests in successful privately-held and mid-sized companies in the construction manufacturing industry of the GCC. It also looks into joint venture opportunities which introduce proven international construction technologies into the region. More information on the company can be found at www.cii.ae

© Press Release 2007