ABB grows with Qatar’s mega-projects
ABB, one of the globally leading power and automation technology group, has an office in Qatar since the 1960s. Inside Investor wanted to know more about the operations of the Swiss-based multinational from CEO and Country Director of ABB Qatar, Juha Alopaeus.
Q: Can you give us a brief history of ABB in Qatar, including some projects you have done?
A: ABB has been operating in Qatar since the 1960s, and has grown to a workforce of 250 people in 2013, with considerable growth over the past two years to help facilitate large projects with Shell, Qatar Petroleum and others. Besides industrial customers, we are also increasing our focus on heavy infrastructure projects, such as railways and stadiums to help meet Qatar’s growth plans.
Q: Any you involved in the forthcoming Qatar Metro project or similar endeavours?
A: Because these projects are segmented into many packages, we are involved in aspects of the Qatar LRT and other projects. Regarding the Qatar Metro, the prequalification round is going on as we speak.
Q: As a specialist in power and substations, what kind of experience can you bring to major projects in Qatar?
A: We have significant worldwide experience in rail projects particularly those requiring electrical power and in this sense these kinds of networks are an integral part of the development, including all of the metro stations. Depending on the origination of the rolling stock, it is likely that some of those manufacturers will be using ABB components compatible with motor and generator repair kits we have here in Qatar, which we also use to serve other countries in the GCC.
Q: Do you agree that the GCC’s power grid will eventually be integrated and if so how will ABB help to facilitate this?
A: ABB has significant experience of this integration in Europe, and has delivered many power links elsewhere in the world including China and South America. ABB is leading e.g. in ultra-high voltage distribution links. The success of this vision is more a question of deregulation of the grid, which is more a political issue. Additionally, as a global company with over 150,000 employees operating in over 100 different countries ABB has a lot to offer to this power grid integration especially through our specialist teams here in Qatar and in region.
A: I see the major challenge to develop and execute here being the approval procedures for electrical technologies which can be slow, limiting our ability to offer the latest technology recently commissioned in other locations. This is general challenge throughout the region, mostly because much of our technology is advancing at a rapid pace and has been developed in the past few years elsewhere. We are hoping to cooperate more with universities in Qatar to become even more localized.
Q: What big projects are you aiming for in the build-up to the FIFA World Cup 2022?
A: In my opinion, the stadium projects still have time, but the rail projects are the most interesting and need attention. We are focused on substations related to infrastructure transport projects like this. The government has awarded the tunneling license for the Qatar Metro project and soon after that commences, more work will follow, which needs to start soon.
Q: In terms of sustainable and eco-friendly products and services, what can ABB bring to the table?
A: One thing that Qatar has a lot is the sun. The largest solar power project in Spain, the first of its kind, is using ABB technology to power 15000 Spanish homes and avoid some 16000 metric tons of C02 emissions annually. ABB has the turnkey capability to provide solar power plants with generating capacities of 50MW to more than 250MW and is ideal for a wide range of applications such as solar desalination, and cooling.
[caption id="attachment_7448" align="alignleft" width="98"] Juha Alopaeus, CEO and Country Director of ABB Qatar[/caption] ABB, one of the globally leading power and automation technology group, has an office in Qatar since the 1960s. Inside Investor wanted to know more about the operations of the Swiss-based multinational from CEO and Country Director of ABB Qatar, Juha Alopaeus. Q: Can you give us a brief history of ABB in Qatar, including some projects you have done? A: ABB has been operating in Qatar since the 1960s, and has grown to a workforce of 250 people in 2013, with considerable growth over the past...
ABB, one of the globally leading power and automation technology group, has an office in Qatar since the 1960s. Inside Investor wanted to know more about the operations of the Swiss-based multinational from CEO and Country Director of ABB Qatar, Juha Alopaeus.
Q: Can you give us a brief history of ABB in Qatar, including some projects you have done?
A: ABB has been operating in Qatar since the 1960s, and has grown to a workforce of 250 people in 2013, with considerable growth over the past two years to help facilitate large projects with Shell, Qatar Petroleum and others. Besides industrial customers, we are also increasing our focus on heavy infrastructure projects, such as railways and stadiums to help meet Qatar’s growth plans.
Q: Any you involved in the forthcoming Qatar Metro project or similar endeavours?
A: Because these projects are segmented into many packages, we are involved in aspects of the Qatar LRT and other projects. Regarding the Qatar Metro, the prequalification round is going on as we speak.
Q: As a specialist in power and substations, what kind of experience can you bring to major projects in Qatar?
A: We have significant worldwide experience in rail projects particularly those requiring electrical power and in this sense these kinds of networks are an integral part of the development, including all of the metro stations. Depending on the origination of the rolling stock, it is likely that some of those manufacturers will be using ABB components compatible with motor and generator repair kits we have here in Qatar, which we also use to serve other countries in the GCC.
Q: Do you agree that the GCC’s power grid will eventually be integrated and if so how will ABB help to facilitate this?
A: ABB has significant experience of this integration in Europe, and has delivered many power links elsewhere in the world including China and South America. ABB is leading e.g. in ultra-high voltage distribution links. The success of this vision is more a question of deregulation of the grid, which is more a political issue. Additionally, as a global company with over 150,000 employees operating in over 100 different countries ABB has a lot to offer to this power grid integration especially through our specialist teams here in Qatar and in region.
A: I see the major challenge to develop and execute here being the approval procedures for electrical technologies which can be slow, limiting our ability to offer the latest technology recently commissioned in other locations. This is general challenge throughout the region, mostly because much of our technology is advancing at a rapid pace and has been developed in the past few years elsewhere. We are hoping to cooperate more with universities in Qatar to become even more localized.
Q: What big projects are you aiming for in the build-up to the FIFA World Cup 2022?
A: In my opinion, the stadium projects still have time, but the rail projects are the most interesting and need attention. We are focused on substations related to infrastructure transport projects like this. The government has awarded the tunneling license for the Qatar Metro project and soon after that commences, more work will follow, which needs to start soon.
Q: In terms of sustainable and eco-friendly products and services, what can ABB bring to the table?
A: One thing that Qatar has a lot is the sun. The largest solar power project in Spain, the first of its kind, is using ABB technology to power 15000 Spanish homes and avoid some 16000 metric tons of C02 emissions annually. ABB has the turnkey capability to provide solar power plants with generating capacities of 50MW to more than 250MW and is ideal for a wide range of applications such as solar desalination, and cooling.
