Gulf Construction Online

Regional News

Update

01 May 2014

Qatar to build labour complexes

QATAR’S Ministry of Municipality and Urban Planning has invited tenders for the design, construct and management of six residential complexes that can accommodate 28,000 labourers.

The build-operate-transfer (BOT) tenders, mainly targeting Qatari companies, also include the construction of a separate complex providing various government services to the workers under one roof, along with entertainment facilities.

The construction work is expected to start in the second half of this year. The successful bidder, which can rent out the complexes, will be expected to build them with their own funds. Each complex is expected to accommodate not more than 4,000 workers.

Additionally, the company will be required to provide the development with road, electricity, sewage lines and potable water networks.

The contract will be for a period of 15 years.

Horse pageant project planned

A 30,000-sq-m open field for Arabian horses beauty pageants will be built at a cost KD1.065 million ($3.55 million) in the Sabhan area of Kuwait. Built by the Kuwait State Stud (Bait Al Arab), the arena will be equipped to host local and international contests.

Misa wins Saudi airport contract

IL&FS Engineering and Construction Company said its subsidiary Maytas Infra Saudi Arabia (Misa) Company has been awarded a SR166.89 million ($44.48 million) road drainage for the King Abdulaziz International Airport in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, by the Saudi Binladin Group.

The scope of work for Phase One includes excavation, steel reinforcement, concrete works, erection, and backfilling.

Qatar cement demand to double

DEMAND for cement in Qatar is projected to double from the current levels within the next three years, driven by heavy government infrastructure spending, according to a report.

Qatar’s domestic construction expenditure, which equated to 6.5 per cent of GDP (gross domestic product) in 2013, will touch 6.9 per cent of real GDP in 2014, according to Dubai-based financial services firm Arqaam Capital in its report on Qatar’s cement sector.

Qatar is expected to open up QR182 billion ($50 billion) worth of construction projects this year, up 15 per cent compared to 2013 and as part of a plan to invest QR757 billion ($208 billion) on infrastructure developments between 2013 and 2018, largely linked to the Fifa 2022 World Cup. Given that current projects under execution are worth $70 billion, and reflect an average churn rate of three to four years, the expenditure implies a doubling in cement demand within the next three years, the report concluded.

Oman construction sector grows

OMAN’S construction sector saw real growth of 3.3 per cent in 2013, with the momentum expected to pick up over the next five years at an average of 4.8 per cent, according to Business Monitor International (BMI).

The outlook for short- to medium-term growth, based on the government’s $78-billion five-year (2011-2015) spending plan, is supported by a strong project pipeline, particularly in Oman’s transport infrastructure sector, BMI said in its Oman Infrastructure Report for the second quarter of 2014.

The transport sector, with an allocation of about $20 billion, shows the strongest pipeline of projects and includes key developments such as the Oman National Railway. Other major projects include the Al Batinah Expressway involving the construction of a 45-km four-lane dual carriageway from Suwaiq to Shinas.

Oman is to spend more than $50 billion on infrastructure projects in the next 15 years.

Alstom secures $549m Iraq contract

ALSTOM, a global leader in power generation, has secured a contract worth nearly €400 million ($549 million) from Eni Iraq to build a 740-MW gas-fired power plant near Basra in southern Iraq.

Under this turnkey project, Alstom will be responsible for engineering, building and commissioning the plant as well as supplying key equipment – most notably four GT13E2 gas turbines. Alstom’s senior vice-president (gas business) Steve Meszaros said the plant will support the expansion of the Zubair oilfield near Basra.

Oasis Coils signs deal with HPT

OASIS Coils and Coatings (OCC), a premier heating, ventilation and air-conditioning (HVAC) coil manufacturer within the GCC, has signed an exclusive distribution agreement with Heat Pipe Technology (HPT) of the US.

Under the terms of the agreement, OCC will serve HPT as its exclusive distributor in the UAE, Qatar, Oman, Bahrain and Kuwait. The pact was signed at the AHR Expo 2014, a leading HVAC exhibition held in New York early this year. The agreement will have a significant impact with OCC as it delivers HPT’s energy-saving heat pipe systems to customers within the GCC and beyond, said Navin Valrani, CEO of OCC.

British naval HQ to expand

WORK has started on a multi-million-dinar expansion of the UK Maritime Component Command (UKMCC) complex in Juffair, Bahrain. The BD6.3 million ($16.71 million) project comprises a new headquarters and an engineering and logistics facility. Both buildings are due to be completed by July 2015 to coincide with the completion of the Salman Naval Base.

Project manager Royal Engineer Major Ros Elliott said it would be “the UK’s biggest operational theatre outside of the country”.