Gulf Construction Online

Regional News

Update

01 May 2016

Renault Trucks enhances support

French truck manufacturer Renault has enhanced its optimised transport solutions in the Middle East with a wide range of financing solutions and after-sales support services for customers in the region.

These are aimed at helping companies boost their productivity and truck efficiency besides decreasing the overall cost of truck ownership for fleet managers, said Renault.

Sumail on track with infrastructure

Oman’s Sumail Industrial Estate has completed 15 per cent of an infrastructure project valued at RO39 million ($100.8 million) in Al Dakhiliyah Governorate, according to Nasser Al Mabsali, director of projects department at the Public Establishments for Industrial Estates (PEIE). The project involves development of infrastructure facilities of the estate on a total area of 753 hectares, with the first phase involving an area of 548 hectares and the second phase covering 205 hectares.

RMK unveils a new ‘Star’ in Bahrain

Bahrain’s RMK Projects, a division of RM Kooheji & Sons, has launched the $30-million Nasmah Star, a freehold residential tower in Juffair.

The 26-storey tower, which offers 137 freehold residential units and three parking levels and amenities, is the company’s third project in the Nasmah line of affordable residential projects, said RMK Projects CEO Ishaq Kooheji.

“Piling work is complete and the tower is expected to be ready by the second quarter of 2018,” he said.

Terra Sola plans $3.5bn solar projects

Terra Sola, a Bahrain-based investor and developer of solar power projects in the region, is in talks with the Egyptian government to build solar plants generating 2 gigawatts (GW) of power and costing $3.5 billion, a Gulf Times report said.

The plants may be built in Aswan and Luxor on the Nile and Salloum and Masrah Matruh on the Mediterranean coast, said the report.

$279m investment in Festival City

UAE-based Al-Futtaim Group Real Estate is set to invest E£2.5 billion ($279 million) over the next two years to complete the second phase of the Cairo Festival City project in Egypt, which includes 300 residential units, 240 villas and five administrative buildings over 53,000 sq m of land, reported Amwal Al Ghad magazine.

In addition, the company will pump E£1.5 billion ($167 million) into the project this year, said Mohamed Al Mikawi, the managing director. The first phase, which represents 40 per cent of the project, has been completed at a cost of E£7 billion ($782 million).

A-B pipeline deals by year-end

Construction contracts for the Bahraini stretch of the 115-km new multimillion-dollar A-B pipeline between Saudi Arabia and Bahrain will be awarded before the end of the year, said Bahrain’s Energy Minister Dr Abdul-Hussain bin Ali Mirza.

The contracts for the 43-km Saudi onshore stretch as well as the offshore 41-km stretch of the pipeline have already been awarded and will be completed in the second quarter of the 2018, Dr Mirza told OGN, our sister publication.

The new pipeline, from Aramco’s Abqaiq Plant to the Bapco refinery, will have an operating capacity of 350,000 barrels per day (bpd), with a 400,000-bpd design capacity, he added.

Qatargas sets up wastewater plant

Qatargas has completed the construction of a wastewater treatment plant at one of its liquefied natural gas (LNG) plants using the membrane bio-reactor (MBR) technology. The facility, which has a capacity to treat 1,300 cu m of wastewater per day, is a first for the LNG industry in the region, according to the company.

ACTS completes Doha metro probe

Advanced Construction Technology Services (ACTS) said it has completed geotechnical investigations and geophysical surveys on five construction packages of the metro lines being executed in Doha, Qatar. The geotechnical investigation contracts involved drilling more than 400 boreholes, reaching a maximum depth of 60 m. The company added that it deployed 16 drilling rigs, field testing equipment, and six geophysical teams.

Al Rashid awards mall project

Al Rashid Group, a division of Landmark Retail, has appointed the main contractor for the third and largest Oasis Mall in Bahrain, located at Juffair.

Under the agreement, Mohammed Jalal Contracting Company has been appointed the main contractor of the two-storey commercial project, with designing and implementation assigned to Mohamed Salahuddin Consulting Engineering Bureau (MSCEB).

Work on the estimated multimillion-dollar project is expected to commence this month (May) and is due for completion by February 2018.

Bin Faqeeh breaks ground on Layan

Bin Faqeeh Group, a leading real estate investment firm, is set to break ground on Layan, a luxury residential property with a private water park coming up at the $1.3-billion Durrat Marina, one of the most distinguished projects in Bahrain as well as the Gulf.

Layan offers a variety of residential options including studios, one-bedroom apartments and duplexes, two-bedroom apartments as well as penthouses and villas, with each villa coming with a combination of a luxury yacht and a car to investors.

Its unique features include picturesque landscaping, in-water movie theatres, in-water restaurants and a wave pool with a surfing area.

The project is expected to be completed in 24 months.

Work begins on new MTT building

Preparation works for the construction of the main building for Bahrain’s Ministry of Transport and Telecommunications (MTT) have begun.

Enabling works, which includes relocation of underground services being undertaken under Phase One of the project, was awarded to Al Moayyed Air Conditioning at a cost of BD480,000 ($1.27 million), while the consulting services and supervision were earlier awarded to Dar Al Khaleej Engineering.

Final design work is in progress for Phase Two, bids for which will be invited soon, said Mona Al Motawa, Ministry of Works, Municipalities Affairs and Urban Planning assistant undersecretary for construction and maintenance.

Closets expands in Bahrain

Bahrain-based Closets International has opened a new extension to its showroom in Salmaniya.

The opening ceremony was attended by architects, interior designers, engineers, and investors, during which the company presented its newest products that are designed to ensure highly efficient, distinctive, elegant and luxurious solutions for homes and offices.

Closets International has showrooms in Hamala, Salmaniya, Hidd and Sanad in the kingdom, as well as in Saudi Arabia.

DSR wins $93m Doha Metro work

Drake & Scull Rail (DSR) has won a QR340-million ($93.28 million) contract related to the delivery of the first phase of the Doha Metro depots, from Fujita Corporation of Japan, which is undertaking the construction of the depots on the Red and Green lines.

DSR, a unit of Drake & Scull International (DSI), will undertake the supply, installation, testing and commissioning of all MEP building services to be provided in both the depot and stabling yard related to the Red and Green lines and their associated buildings with a scheduled delivery slated for 2019.

Leminar to supply GF piping products

Kuwait-based Leminar Air Conditioning Company has signed an agreement with leading Swiss group Georg Fischer Piping Systems for the supply of its full range of piping systems in the country.

The agreement widens the portfolio of international brands for Leminar – a member of the Al Shirawi Group of Companies – and provides Georg Fischer access to its comprehensive distribution network in Kuwait.

MAF unveils Oman retail expansion

Majid Al Futtaim (MAF) of the UAE has unveiled a RO5-million ($13 million) retail expansion plan for City Centre Qurum in Oman. The additional redevelopment project, which is expected to be completed by the end of this year, will add 3,150 sq m of incremental leasable area to accommodate Centrepoint, the multi-brand retail concept of Landmark Group as well as additional car-parking spaces.

Oman to float tender for solar project

A procurement tender for a large-scale solar energy project in Oman is set to be floated this year, according to a report.

The two locations in Dakhiliyah Governorate – Adam and Manah – have been identified as prospective sites for the establishment of a grid-connected large-scale renewable energy scheme based on a combination of concentrated solar power and photovoltaic technologies, said the Oman Daily Observer report.

Work to start on copper tube mill

Construction work is due to start later this year on a major new copper tube mill worth $46 million at Oman’s Sohar Port and Freezone, following a land lease agreement. As per the agreement, the mill will be built over an area of 35,000 sq m with a further 30,000 sq m of land having been set aside to increase the plant’s capacity from 15,000 to 30,000 tonnes in the future, reported the Oman Daily Observer. The plant is due for start-up by mid-2018, with full production scheduled by October 2018, said the report.

Oman-Iran pipeline study complete

The draft project report of the proposed Iran-Oman gas pipeline has been completed by the Iranian Offshore Engineering and Construction Company (IOEC), according to sources. The 400-km pipeline, which is scheduled to be operational by 2017-end, is expected to pump 28 million cu m of gas for 15 years from Iran to Oman, reported the Oman Observer.

Push for new F1 City at BIC

A plan has been tabled for a new F1 City that would take shape around the existing Bahrain International Circuit (BIC), which hosts the Bahrain Grand Prix.

Approved by Bahrain’s Southern Municipal Council, the plan envisages a multi-million-dollar development including hotels, a shopping mall, cinema complex, tourist attractions, a motor racing training school, learning institutes for mechanics, a luxury car museum and a theatre.

Vision Tower launched in Bahrain

Kuwaiti Bahraini Trading and Contracting Company, in co-operation with Vincci Property Management and development, has launched the Vision Tower, a residential project located in Juffair, Bahrain.

Work on the project began earlier this year and is expected to finish by the end of 2017. It comprises 120 one- and two-bedroom apartments and includes a spa, tennis and squash courts, 300-m-long public walkway, coffee shop, cinema and 24-hour security.

Qatar Steel marks milestone

Doha-based Qatar Steel, a leading steel producer in the Middle East, has achieved a record production of more than one million tonnes of rebar at RM II, the company’s ultra-modern rolling mill, said a report.

RM II was commissioned in 2007 with a production capacity of 700,000 tonnes per annum of rebar with sizes ranging from 8 mm to 40 mm in diameter.

The mill has achieved its design capacity in the first three years of operations and excelled with the milestone production of over one million tonnes in 2015, added the Peninsula Qatar report.