Gulf Construction Online

Regional News

Update

01 January 2016

Grohe fittings for Damac tower

Damac’s Versace-designed tower in downtown Beirut, Lebanon, has been fitted out with Grohe’s signature Lineare faucet line.

Additionally, the tower will sport Grohe’s Euphoria shower systems, where perfect proportions and consistent geometric design enhance the visual appeal of its units, said the leading bathroom fittings manufacturer.

The fit-outs reflect the core values of minimalism, modernism and functional excellence, said Grohe. Located at the heart of Beirut, Damac Tower has been designed by Versace, the world-renowned Italian fashion house.

Dadabhai wins top property awards

Bahraini firms Dadabhai Development and Property Management Company (DDPM) and Pegasus Real Estate NAIBahrain (Pegasus) have won top regional honours at the International Property Awards Summit 2015-16 in London, UK.

DDPM was named Best in Arabia in the High-Rise Residential Project category and Pegasus, the Best in Arabia in the Property Consultancy Marketing category. Both firms are part of the Dadabhai Group and competed against the best in the world to win the accolades. DDPM was honoured for the Juffair Heights project and Pegasus for its agency services and exclusively represented projects including Juffair Heights and Galleria (see Bahrain).

The award citation said DDPM was chosen due to the quality of the project, value being offered to home buyers and timely execution.

Located in the heart of Juffair, Juffair Heights is a twin-tower freehold residential development comprising 376 luxury apartments and 385 parking bays.

Chiyoda Almana wins RasGas deal

Chiyoda Almana Engineering, a leading construction contractor in Qatar, said it has won a long-term engineering, procurement and construction management (EPCM) services contract from RasGas Company.

As per the five-year contract, Chiyoda Almana will provide EPCM services required for projects that support the operations of RasGas onshore and offshore facilities.

Go-ahead for sewage plant

A project to build a wastewater treatment plant in Bahrain’s Northern Town has been given the go-ahead.

The 10-hectare sewage plant will have a daily output of 85,000 cu m of recycled water, which will be used for urban irrigation, said the Bahrain News Agency (BNA).

The treatment plant has been designed in compliance with ecological requirements for disposing wastewater in the sea without damaging marine life, it added.

Oman to award wind farm deal

The contract for the development of Oman’s maiden commercial-scale wind farm is expected to be awarded in the first quarter of 2016, said a report quoting a senior official.

Oman’s Rural Areas Electricity Company (Raeco) is developing the project with the UAE’s renewable energy company Masdar, the Oman Daily Observer reported. Four international companies are in contention for an engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) contract to implement a 50 MW capacity wind-based renewable energy project at Thamrait in the Dhofar governorate.

According to Khalil Al Mantheri, section head for renewable energy at the wholly government-owned Raeco, the selection process leading to the contract is yet to be completed, the report said.

Around 17 to 25 wind turbines have been proposed to be installed and generation capacities will vary from two to 3.5 MW per wind turbine. An international operator will also be appointed to run the wind farm, the report said.

Deal to set up solar power venture

State-owned oil and gas producer Qatar Petroleum and utility Qatar Electricity and Water Company (QEWC) said they had agreed to establish a venture to generate electricity from solar power.

A memorandum of understanding (MoU) signed entitles Qatar Petroleum with 40 per cent of the venture and QEWC the remainder. They did not give details of their solar generation plans.

Electricity production by QEWC and its subsidiaries is expected to rise to about 11,000 MW in the first half of 2018 from around 8,600 MW currently, the company said.

Azzour plant eyes Q4 launch

The work at Azzour North One, the first gas-fired combined cycle power and water desalination plant in Kuwait, is progressing well and is due for completion by the fourth quarter of this year, said its developer Shamal Azzour Al Oula.

It is 40 per cent owned by a private consortium comprising Engie (formerly GDF Suez), Sumitomo Corporation, and AH Al Sagar & Brothers. The remaining 60 per cent stake at Shamal Azzour Al Oula is with the Government of Kuwait.

Once completed, the plant will boast a capacity of more than 1,500 MW of electricity and 107 million gallons of water per day (mgpd). This represents 10 per cent of Kuwait’s power capacity and 20 per cent of its water capacity. The plant, located at the Azzour region of Kuwait, is the first independently owned plant established under the country’s public private partnerships (PPP) law of 2008.