Gulf Construction Online

Regional News

Update

01 November 2009

Binladin to build finance hub
Saudi Binladin Group (SBG) has been awarded a contract worth $3.7 billion for the construction of 30 buildings in the new King Abdullah Financial District (KAFD) being developed near Riyadh in Saudi Arabia.
Binladin was awarded the contract to develop the 30 parcels of land by Rayadah Investment Company (RIC), the government investment arm and a subsidiary of the Public Pension Agency (PPA), the master developer of the $10-billion KAFD.
The fast-tracked contract requires SBG to complete 27 of the 30 developments by March 2012 and the remaining three by November 2012. The deal includes construction of two of the tallest towers in the KAFD – the 303-m-high World Trade Centre and the 240-m-high GCC Bank Tower – which will be among the last three projects to be delivered.

Oman set to invite railway bids
OMAN is planning to invite bids for the construction of a 230-km railway project in Batinah before the end of the year, a Tender Board official said.
A contract for the engineering design consultancy services is expected to be awarded by mid-2010.
The mostly double-track broad-gauge network, which would initially serve freight trains, will be integrated into an inter-GCC rail system in the future.
The first phase will be a slow passenger and freight service from Barka to Shinas, close to the border with the UAE. A tender for the second phase will be issued next year. The third phase involving a railway network from the south of Oman to Yemen, is also expected to be tendered in 2010. Oman is consulting on the project with French rail company Systra.

Aquatech to design Egypt plant
aquatech has been awarded a contract to design and supply a seawater desalination system for an Egyptian plant. The company will use its multiple effect distillation (MED) system – as specified by client West Delta Electricity Production Company and consultant PGESCo – to enable uninterrupted water supply to boilers for the Abu Qir thermal power plant.
The desalination facility at Abu Qir comprises two MEDs with thermal vapour compression (MED-TVC) units, each with a capacity of 5,000 cu m per day, and will supply 10,000 cu m of fresh water a day.

Oberoi to open Doha property
INDIA’S Oberoi Hotels and Resorts is to build and operate a luxury property within the Al Wa’ab City development in Doha, Qatar. Due for completion in 2014, the Oberoi Hotel will crown what is to become Qatar’s premium retail, leisure and entertainment destination, the 44,000-sq-m piazza, Barahat Al Wa’ab. The hotel will have 225 rooms and suites, 30 serviced apartments in addition to fine dining, leisure and health amenities.

Indian firm wins Oman road contract
OMAN has awarded India’s Nagarjuna Construction Company an RO149-million ($387 million) contract to build the second phase of the Batinah coastal road.
The 240-km road is to be completed in two years.
Oman had awarded Turkey’s Makyol an RO125-million deal for the first phase of the project, which involves building a 59.5-km road from Naseem roundabout to Sayyid Said bin Sultan Naval Base at Wudam Al Sahel in the Wilayat of Musannah, 85 km of service roads and 15 km of link roads.
The overall project, overseen by Oman’s Supreme Committee for Town Planning, involves building a four-lane dual carriageway running parallel to the Gulf of Oman coast from Naseem Garden to Khatmat Malaha on the country’s border with the UAE.

Qatar rail work to start in 2012
WORK on Qatar’s mega railway project is expected to begin in 2012 with the first phase seeing the towers in the West Bay area in Doha linked by a monorail. Subsequently, work on a metro will begin and then plans for long-distance trains will be launched.
DB International, the overseas arm of Germany’s Deutsche Bahn, has started start consultancy work on the project, which is being undertaken by the government-owned Qatari Diar.
In cooperation with Qatari Diar, DB International will carefully review how a consolidated railway network can best link the systems that are already being planned and provide possible synergies that will have an overall benefit for the country.
Deutsche Bahn is one of the world’s leaders in modern railway services and seamless transit.

Bahrain chalks out airport plans
BAHRAIN International Airport’s (BIA) passenger capacity will reach 27 million when a BD1.8-billion ($4.7-billion) terminal expansion plan gets under way.
BIA has planned to build two new terminals within four years as part of the expansion plan – Terminal 1A will be operational by 2013 while Terminal Two will be commissioned by 2012.
The project will include leisure areas, shopping centres, hotels and even a swimming pool.
The existing terminal will be demolished in 2014 and replaced with the new state-of-the-art Terminal 1A. Construction of Terminal Two will begin early next year. There will be 110 aircraft stands including 87 with contact gates. This will include 17 new remote aircraft parking bays, automatic baggage screening facilities, and improved ground handling – overall setting new standards in passenger handling.
The cargo handling capacity will also increase from the present 350,000 cu m to 1.5 million cu m.
A new VIP terminal and an airport centre that will includes shops, entertainment facilities and car parking will be developed as part of the project.

Atkins wins Durrat contract
DESIGN and engineering consultant Atkins has been awarded an architectural and infrastructure design contract for the third phase of Durrat Al Bahrain.
The third phase of the development involves a 20-sq-km reclaimed series of islands at the southern tip of Bahrain, the delivery of which requires design and documentation of infrastructure works, landscaping and architectural engineering of the luxury villas plus facility buildings on the remaining four of the planned 13 islands.
Atkins began working on this signature development for Bahrain in 2004, with the construction work on the first and the second phases progressing well. Construction of the third phase is expected to start next year.
Atkins recently won the Engineering Firm of the Year at the 2009 Middle East Architect Awards held in Dubai, UAE.

Marina West on target
WORK on Marina West, Bahrain’s first gated beachfront high-rise residential and lifestyle community, is on target with the mock-up flats now set up on site.
“All the residential towers are progressing well with the roof slabs nearing completion,” says Mahmood Janahi, CEO, Marina West Real Estate Company. “The internal block work has been 60 per cent completed with the external cladding progressing equally well. On the whole, the shell and core of the residential apartments is likely to be ready by next month. Thereafter, the work on the internal finishes and services will be in full swing.”
Marina West comprises 350,000 sq m of residential, retail and leisure space that will be completed in the first quarter of 2010. The 11 towers will accommodate luxury apartments, duplexes, simplexes and penthouse suites. Alongside there will be a marina, private beach and retail facilities.

Foster Wheeler wins Saudi job
FOSTER Wheeler’s Global Engineering and Construction Group has been awarded a process design contract by SETE Energy Saudia for Industrial Projects for the expansion of an industrial wastewater treatment plant in Saudi Arabia.
The plant is owned by Marafiq, the power and water utility company for Jubail and Yanbu (Maafiq). SETE Energy, the water treatment utilities developer and part of the Latsis Group, is the engineering, procurement and construction contractor for this project.
Foster Wheeler will undertake the process design and provide technical assistance during pre-commissioning, commissioning and start-up phases. After the expansion, which is expected to be completed by the end of 2011, the plant will be able to treat 55,000 cu m a day of wastewater.