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Local conditions

What makes automation work in Abu Dhabi its own thing

The engineering does not change at the emirate border. The approvals do. Grid work in Abu Dhabi runs through TAQA Transmission and TAQA Distribution, municipal irrigation and parks infrastructure runs through the Department of Municipalities and Transport, and port work runs through Abu Dhabi Ports. Each has its own vendor registration, its own drawing approval route and its own view on what may be switched off and when.

A contractor already approved for your asset owner clears the design approval stage in weeks rather than months. That is usually the largest single programme risk on an automation contract in this emirate, and it is invisible in a bill of quantities.

Almafor has operated from Abu Dhabi since 2008, with an office on Khalifa Bin Zayed The First Street and a panel workshop in Mussafah Industrial Area. Nineteen delivered contracts are published on this site with client, scope and year against each one.

Asset owners

Who commissions automation work in Abu Dhabi

Most industrial automation spend in the emirate flows through a small number of organisations. Knowing which one owns your asset tells you which approval route the job will take.

TAQA Transmission

The transmission network, 400kV down to 33kV. Substation control and monitoring systems, bay control units, protection interfaces and the fibre that carries them. Work here is almost always done on stations that stay in service, bay by bay, inside agreed outage windows.

TAQA Distribution

Distribution substations, typically 33kV to 11kV, plus backup power and metering. Higher volume, shorter contracts, and the same discipline about keeping supply on while the control system changes underneath it.

Department of Municipalities and Transport

Irrigation mains, pumping stations, parks and public realm. SCADA over long distances, RTUs at remote chambers, and civil work in live roadside corridors. This is where most of the emirate's water and irrigation automation sits.

Ports, industry and institutions

Abu Dhabi Ports, ADNEC, ADNOC through its contractors, the Abu Dhabi Investment Council and the Abu Dhabi Sports Council. Building management, energy management, metering and process control, usually inside occupied buildings.

What we deliver here

Scope carried under one contract

  • Substation control and monitoring systems, new build and replacement on energised stations
  • SCADA for potable water pipelines, pumping networks and district irrigation
  • PLC and RTU replacement, including medium voltage drive and motor replacement
  • Control panels built and factory tested in our own Mussafah workshop
  • Building management, energy management and metering systems
  • Fibre optic and copper communication networks, including long roadside routes
  • The MEP and civil works around all of the above
  • Commissioning, site acceptance attendance and as built documentation

Track record

Delivered in Abu Dhabi

Four contracts across the four asset owner groups above, each with the client named.

See all 19 delivered projects →

Platforms

Systems we are approved or experienced on

  • PcVue
  • GE Vernova Proficy iFIX
  • GE Vernova Proficy CIMPLICITY
  • Schneider Electric
  • Hitachi Energy MicroSCADA
  • Siemens
  • Allen Bradley
  • IEC 61850
  • Modbus
  • DNP3

Getting approved

How an Abu Dhabi contract clears its approvals

  1. Confirm which register you are on

    Vendor registration is per asset owner and per scope. Being on the TAQA Transmission register for one package does not put you on it for another, and TAQA Distribution keeps its own. The first question on any Abu Dhabi job is which register the package sits under and whether the bidder is currently on it.

  2. Submit early and expect comments

    Schematics, panel general arrangement, IO schedules and network architecture go to both the client and the asset owner. Two review cycles is normal on transmission work. Programmes that assume first time approval slip at this point, not during construction.

  3. Book outage windows against the approval date

    Windows on the Abu Dhabi network are allocated well in advance and are not easily moved. They have to be requested against a realistic approved design date, because a window that arrives before the drawings are approved is a window you cannot use.

  4. Municipal and roadside permits run in parallel

    Trenching, chambers and duct runs on Department of Municipalities and Transport work need their own permits and traffic management, on their own timeline. On the irrigation and pipeline contracts this frequently sets the critical path rather than the automation does.

  5. Close out with the asset owner, not just the client

    As built documentation, test records and operator training are accepted by the asset owner. A job signed off by the main contractor but not accepted by TAQA or DMT is not finished, and retention reflects that.

Common questions

Questions we are asked about this

Where is Almafor based in Abu Dhabi?

The office is at Office 4, Mezzanine 2, Dongfeng car showroom building, Khalifa Bin Zayed The First Street, Abu Dhabi. The panel workshop is Workshop 13, Al Busnad 1 Street, M45, Mussafah Industrial Area. Panels are built and factory tested at the workshop before they go to site.

Do you work outside Abu Dhabi?

Yes. The company has delivered work elsewhere in the UAE and an oil and gas pumping station in Syria. Most of the portfolio is Abu Dhabi because that is where the utility approvals and the client relationships sit.

Are you approved by TAQA?

We have delivered substation control and monitoring systems for both TAQA Transmission and TAQA Distribution, including the Mussafah transmission substation and the Al Khazna 33kV to 11kV distribution substation. Current approval status for a specific package is worth confirming with us directly, because vendor registers are scope specific and are renewed periodically.

Can you replace a control system while the substation stays energised?

Yes, and most of our substation work is done that way. It is sequenced bay by bay inside outage windows agreed with the operator, with the existing system kept available until the new one is proved on that bay. The Khalifa Port contract covered three primary substations on that basis.

How long does an Abu Dhabi automation project take?

The engineering rarely sets the programme. Drawing approval with the asset owner and the availability of outage windows usually do. A contractor already registered with your asset owner will clear the first of those faster, which is why the approval question is worth asking before award rather than after.

Related

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Emailinfo@almafor.com
Sales+971 55 954 5801
Technical+971 55 954 5802
Office+971 2 665 5540
Address
Office 4, Mezzanine 2, Dongfeng car showroom building, Khalifa Bin Zayed The First St
Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates

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