NOVEMBER 2015www.endeavourmagazine.com

INSPIRED BY YOUR SUCCESS

MAJIS (Oman)Solutions On Tap

Founded in response to a growing need for industrial port support, Majis Industrial Services has gone from strength to strength. We spoke with company CEO, Ahmed Al Mazrouy, to find out what he attributes this success to.

WRITTEN BY MARY PARKER

SOLUTIONS ON TAP

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MAJIS (OMAN)00 968 26852400

WWW.MAJISOMAN.COM

Providing infallible services to all industrial and other occupants of Omans largest port and petrochemical estate, found at the Sohar Industrial Port Area (SIPA), naturally required an

organisation that was as knowledgeable as it was forward thinking

and proactive, not to mention fiscally stable. Ahmed Al Mazrouy

quelled any fears about these elements,Building, operating, maintaining and providing uninterrupted,

reliable and cost effective water utility services to the industrial

and port complex with over USD 15 billion in investment as a newly

created Omani company is a challenge the company took upon

itself. In several ways, it has been a challenging journey for Majis

as there was no such model in Oman, of a one stop industrial water

utility provider, to learn or replicate the experience from.

Leaping in at the deep end, Majis were far from just treading

water and demonstrated not only a vision of excellence to operate

in accordance with, but also the tenacity and ability to remain

consistently fluid and adaptive to new innovations and ideas.

Majis initially, and until 2010, operated its infrastructure

through a local contractor. This contract was essentially a manpower

supply contract with no performance obligation on the contractor.

The water utility services Majis provides to industries are

critical, to the extent that an unplanned service outage could lead

to significant losses and create associated problems of re-start up,

following the unplanned shutdown. There was an indication that

there will be a need for a central effluent treatment and recycling

facility, in time, to handle effluents that could be complex with

the refinery, petrochemical and metal businesses carried out

by industries at SIPA. This led Majis to a decision that it would

need the technical support of a sound partner to facilitate such responsibility.

With such a firm grasp on the future requirements of the

industries that are reliant on a reliable and quality service from Majis, the team is demonstrating wisdom far beyond its years and

a lasting commitment to ensuring all eventualities can be handled.

The Government of Oman initially built, with our engineering

support, a seawater intake and pumping station, portable water

distribution network and sewage collection network, which

Majis then took over but we did not stop there. We went on to

identify other water utility infrastructure required to service SIPA

and complete the entire water cycle requirements and so we built

further assets through a combination of debt and equity financing.

These assets included a common cooling water system, sewage

treatment plant, process water distribution network, irrigation

water distribution network and a reverse osmosis-based seawater

desalination plant. Not what you would call modest investments,

these assets allowed for a degree of future proofing, not to mention

all important client confidence. Keen to keep building, Majis invited

international water utility operators to tender for a position as its

strategic alliance partner. As you can imagine, the competition

for such a coveted role was fierce, but Veolia, France emerged

victorious in December 2010.

This contract is performance-based, whereby Veolia is

incentivised for excellence and savings brought about and penalised

for operational failure. In the last three years this strategic alliance

partnership has brought about a number of improvements in the areas of asset maintenance and customer service, which resulted

in the overall customer satisfaction rating for Majiss services

improving from 75% to 84%.

It has also offered training to Majiss employees, through various

initiatives including secondment to work at the various operational

facilities of Veolia and shadow training at Majiss own facilities.

A computerised maintenance management system has been integrated with Majiss ERP system and the team has successfully

obtained ISO 9000, 14001 and 18001 for the operational and

management services being offered to Majis by Veolia. There has

also been significant improvement in health and safety, thanks to

adopting the best practices they implement worldwide.

Though alliance partnerships are commonplace in modern

business, it is an impressive organisation that can admit that they

have benefitted, as a company, from the inclusion of external

influences, but that is Majis all over. Never ones to glory hunt,

they are always looking for the best solutions for the continued

provision of perfect water utility services for one of the industrial

hubs of Oman.

Moving forward, Majis is in the midst of some exciting projects,

most notably the erection of a second seawater pumping station, a

second desalination interest, a second industrial effluent recycling

plant the collection and recycling of treated industrial effluent.

Naturally, these measures are a welcome addition to the services

already on offer, not least from an environmental point of view,

something that an astonishing number of large corporations still try

to avoid acknowledging. Mazrouy added,

MAJIS (OMAN)

Founded in 2006 as a wholly Government owned company, Majis Industrial Services (Majis) was designed to create and look after every aspect of water utility services.

We currently provide tanker-based process water supply to

the Sohar Free Zone (SFZ). We are in discussion with stakeholders

and are expecting to provide all water utility services to SFZ over

the next two years or so.

The sheer scale of attainable ambition being demonstrated by

Majis is inspirational, so we enquired about the staffing support

that will be utilised.

We have 32 permanent and approximately 100 ad hoc staff

members, with all operating staff adhering to the ISO 9000, 14001

and 18001 standards. Staff development is the most important

element of our strategy. We have a competency mapping based

training program that is in effect for each employee and on an

average they all attend between 30 and 40 hours of training per

annum.

We wouldnt expect anything less than extraneous training,

unyielding support and stringent competency standards from Majis

and we can imagine that the staffing body is far more than a finely

tuned machine geared towards success and quality. It is most likely

an extremely satisfied team of individuals who feel appreciated

and quantified every day. Talking about what sets Majis apart from

competitors, Mazrouy explained,

We deliver eco friendly, sustainable water solutions that satisfy

customers through committed and competent resources and well

managed assets while remaining cost effective. Our continuous

focus on customer satisfaction means that we have delivered value

to clients for over nine years.

He continued on to explain how the Majis supply chain is

selected with client satisfaction constantly in mind,

We have a combination of strategies when it comes to

maintaining an effective supply chain. As a water utility provider we

rely on competitive strategies in terms of infrastructure creation,

while we strive to maintain long-term relationships for operational

outsourcing. We partner on a long-term basis to optimise cost

and improve reliability, without compromising on the governance

and competitive procurement strategy. This allows for exemplar

customer service to continue, uninterrupted.

Looking ahead, we asked what the most exciting upcoming

initiatives are and in true Majis fashion, they are ambitious, large-

scale projects,

We are looking to double product volume of cooling water from

350,000m3/hr to 700,000m3/hr, expand desalination capacity to

capture all available opportunities, treat effluent waste and recycle

to support the environment and generate value for customers and create a joint venture company with an internationally reputed

MAJIS (OMAN)

partner. This joint venture will be designed to deliver world class

water utility services to industrial areas in the region.

With plans to invest in the region of USD 50 million, over the

next three years, Majis is on track to set itself apart as the premier

supplier of water utility solutions for businesses in the region and

we have no doubts that they will success in their endeavours. By

retaining a focus on client satisfaction and anticipating future

needs, Majis is a fountain of industry expertise that looks set to

never run dry.

MENTIONABLE DEVELOPMENTS Majis have awarded company UEM a contract for the design,

construction and operation of an industrial wastewater treatment

and recycling plant in the Sultanate of Oman. The Project CETRP

Phase 1, Sohar Industrial Port is being constructed to serve the

Sohar Industrial Port Area (SIPA) and will treat, recycle and reuse

treated industrial effluent within the SIPA.

UEM will construct and operate a 10,000m3/d plant for

a period of Five years with an option for Five year Extension,

Mazrouy explains, This new design will also integrate a pre-

existing Sewage Treatment Plant of 3,000m3/d capacity already at

the site. This plant had been built by UEM in association with a

local construction company.

UEM was the obvious choice, Mazrouy continues, With its

years of experience in effluent treatment and recycling and its

prior experience of construction in the sultanate of Oman, it is fully

equipped to take on this project and deliver as per the timelines.

Majis Industrial Services SAOC is likely to award the contract

for design, build and operate (DBO) phase 2 of the central effluent

treatment and recycling plant (CETRP) at Sohar Industrial Port Area

(SIPA), by the first week of November 2015, We are in the final

stage of evaluating bids and the contract will be awarded by first

week of November 2015,

The tender, which was issued on May 13, 2015, had its

submission deadline extended to August 5, 2015 and has five

companies in the race to win it.

The scope of work includes design and construction of two

phases of 10 million litres per day CETRP and new online monitoring

stations for new tenants of SIPA. Phase 2 will be functional by the

first quarter of 2017.

Last year (2014), we awarded the phase 1 contract to India-

based UEM Group to construct and operate a 10,000 cubic metres

per day plant for a period of five years with an option for a five-year

extension, Mazrouy explains, Of course, we cant reveal who we

have chosen until the ink is dried.

UEM Group is an international multi-disciplinary environmental services company that specializes in providing turnkey services in the water and wastewater collection, treatment and disposal. UEM group provides complete, single source services from engineering, design to construction-installation with full responsibility on a performance guaranteed, water, waste-water or domestic waste treatment facility.

UEM Group of companies had provided quality services to industries and municipalities since 1973 and encompasses over 395 projects in around forty countries including USA, Malaysia, Indonesia, Thailand, India, Nepal, Pakistan, Kenya, Caribbean Islands, Taiwan, Mexico, Sri Lanka, Guatemala, Trinidad & Tobago, Oman, Ghana, Jamaica, Argentina and others.

uemgroup.com

MAJIS (OMAN)

A first choice for company Majis, UEM Group offers multi-disciplinary environmental services on a global scale. Providing turnkey services in the collection, treatment and disposal of water and wastewater collection for their clients and offering a complete, single source service ranging from engineering and design to construction and installation. And, it is their reputation for excellence and guaranteed performance that make them the first option in their industry. 900 highly trained professionals, with close on 400 projects under their belt and a presence in USA, Trinidad and Tobago and India, UEM has made a legacy of restoring this worlds most treasured commodity. Water.

UEM Group is an international multi-disciplinary environmental services company that specializes in providing turnkey services in the water and wastewater collection, treatment and disposal. UEM group provides complete, single source services from engineering, design to construction-installation with full responsibility on a performance guaranteed, water, waste-water or domestic waste treatment facility.

UEM Group of companies had provided quality services to industries and municipalities since 1973 and encompasses over 395 projects in around forty countries including USA, Malaysia, Indonesia, Thailand, India, Nepal, Pakistan, Kenya, Caribbean Islands, Taiwan, Mexico, Sri Lanka, Guatemala, Trinidad & Tobago, Oman, Ghana, Jamaica, Argentina and others.

uemgroup.com

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