Gulf Construction Online

Regional News

Update

01 April 2012

Work on museum gathers speed

WORK on the National Museum in Muscat, Oman, has been gaining momentum for the project “to open on schedule”, according to the Oman Observer.

Work is under way on the museum’s 17 pavilions, which will showcase Oman’s cultural diversity, maritime history, achievements, the glory of Islam, collections of manuscripts, traditional costumes and folklore arts.

Built at an initial budget of RO12 million ($31 million), the museum was initially scheduled to open in December last year.

Hill wins Jabal Omar contracts

HILL International has secured two new contracts related to the Jabal Omar development in Makkah, Saudi Arabia.

The global leader in construction risk management said it received the contracts from Jabal Omar Development Company for a combined value of approximately SR25.3 million ($6.7 million).

The Jabal Omar project is a 57-acre real estate development featuring 38 high-rise towers. Hill’s new contracts involve an increase in manpower resources for the company’s existing project management contract for the first and second phases of the development as well as design review services for phases three, four and five. Hill has been the project manager on the development since August 2010.

Siemens to build Dammam facility

SIEMENS has signed a land lease agreement with Saudi Industrial Property Authority for the construction of a manufacturing and service facility in Dammam, Saudi Arabia, that will generate qualified jobs and serve as a technology hub for knowledge transfer.

Under the terms of the agreement, Siemens Energy will lease a 220,000-sq-m plot of land – equivalent to about 30 soccer fields – in Dammam Industrial City and build a centre for the local manufacturing of gas turbines, compressors and heat recovery steam generators as well as repair shops and service facilities for the Saudi market. Construction on the project is due to start next month (May) and is expected to be completed in late 2013.

Atkins talks on climate change

ATKINS Middle East chairman and former chief executive Keith Clarke delivered a lecture entitled “Beyond rhetoric – delivering a low carbon society”, in Bahrain recently.

Clarke’s Brunel International Lecture set out his views on the challenges of tackling climate change from the point of view of the engineering design sector. The lecture was delivered on behalf of the UK’s Institution of Civil Engineers (ICE), held under the patronage of the Minister of Energy Dr Abdul-Hussain bin Ali Mirza, and supported by the Bahrain Society of Engineers.

Hyundai wins $1.5bn order

SOUTH Korea’s Hyundai Engineering and Construction Company has been awarded a $1.5-billion order to build an alumina refinery in Saudi Arabia.

Under the terms of the contract, Hyundai will carry out engineering, procurement, construction and pre-commissioning work for the 1.8 million-tonne-per-year refinery, a joint venture between Saudi Mining Company (Maaden) and US-based Alcoa.

900 school buildings delivered

NINE hundred school building projects were delivered to Saudi Arabia’s Ministry of Education last year by a subsidiary of the state-owned Tatweer Holding Company, which is specialised in developing modern school buildings.

Worth SR6 billion ($1.5 billion), the new buildings are part of “the ministry’s effort to have attractive school buildings that will cater to the present and future educational needs in the kingdom,” said Minister of Education Prince Faisal bin Abdullah.

Among the completed buildings, 164 are in Riyadh province, 154 in Makkah, 43 in Madinah, 72 in Qassim, 95 in the Eastern Province, 137 in Asir, 45 in Hail, 30 each in Tabuk and Baha, 13 in the Northern Border, 47 in Al Jouf, 51 in Jazan and 19 in Najran.

‘Q’ Power plant wins key award

QATAR Power Company (‘Q’ Power) said its Ras Laffan B power and water plant in Qatar has won the ‘Power and Water Utility of the Year’ award at the recently held Middle East Electricity Awards in Dubai, UAE (February, 2012).

The plant is owned and operated by ‘Q’ Power, a joint venture between International Power (40 per cent), Qatar Electricity and Water Company (55 per cent) and Chubu Electric Power of Japan (5 per cent). Ras Laffan B, located at Ras Laffan Industrial City, has the capacity to produce 1,025 MW of power and 60 million gpd (gallons per day) of desalinated water.

Nathan wins Duqm project deal

THE US-based global economic consulting firm Nathan Associates has undertaken to design a ‘financial simulation model’ for the Special Economic Zone (SEZ) at Duqm under a contract awarded by the Omani government.

Nathan Associates, which has operations in nearly 140 countries around the world, has been tasked with formulating a financial model that simulates the financial prospects of the Duqm SEZ Authority during its first 10 years of operations. The model will help the Duqm Authority assess the implications of fiscal policies for zone cash flows in the medium and long term, the consulting firm said. The Omani government has so far invested around RO1.7 billion ($4.4 billion) in the development of infrastructure at Duqm.

KEO in talks to build a new Libya

KEO International Consultants played a key role in organising “Building a New Free Libya”, a high-level event focused on immediate and long-term strategies to reconstruct the country.

Held as part of a series of workshops last month (March 19 to 20) in Tripoli, the event was jointly sponsored and organised by Keo, a Middle East and North Africa (Mena)-based project management, planning, design and engineering firm, and the Libyan Ministry of Planning.

KEO experts presented management and procurement approaches that have been adopted successfully in various GCC countries with an in-depth analysis of lessons learned on mega projects through case studies. KEO compared key development challenges that Libya will face to those experienced in the incredible growth of GCC countries over the last decade.

Norton Rose to advise Qatari Diar

QATARI Diar Real Estate Investment Company (Qatari Diar), an international leader in sustainable development and investment, has appointed Norton Rose to provide legal consultancy for its international resource and real estate finance panels.

The announcement was made after 46 international firms tendered for six legal panels. Norton Rose will partner with Qatari Diar for the real estate finance panel, to help provide a legal structure to its funds and projects in conjunction with the respective commercial banks and Islamic finance options.

Meanwhile, the international resource panel will be called upon when Qatari Diar needs to appoint an international firm that will be able to mobilise a team of experienced lawyers at short notice and work as international counsel on projects in emerging markets.

Turkey’s Le Meridien hotel opens

LE MÉRIDIEN Istanbul Etiler, which marks the debut of the Le Méridien hotel brand in Turkey, has opened its doors in Istanbul, said Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide, the owner of the brand.

Owned by Makyol Construction Industry Tourism and Trading Company and designed by leading Turkish architect Emre Arolat, the hotel is situated in Istanbul’s most exclusive neighbourhood and overlooks the Bosphorus with panoramic views over two continents.

Set to become a landmark in the city, the 34-storey hotel features iconic architecture and a dedicated curated art programme showcasing Turkish contemporary artists. The hotel features three distinct, vertically stacked blocks.
The building gradually becomes transparent as it rises towards the sky, providing impressive views of the Bosphorus. The hotel features 259 guest rooms, including 21 long-stay residence suites.