Gulf Construction Online

Regional News

Update

01 July 2016

100 km of metro tunnelling complete

Qatar Rail has achieved a major milestone by completing 100 km of tunnelling across the city for its ambitious Doha Metro network and 41 per cent of the work related to the project.

With this achievement, 90 per cent of tunnelling has been done, with only 11 km more needed to complete all underground sections, said Qatar Rail chief executive Dr Saad Al Muhannadi.

The 100th km was crossed by a tunnel boring machine (TBM) on the southern section of the Red Line.

Towards the end of this year, Qatar Rail expects to move from construction into systems installation as track, power supply and signalling start to be installed, remarked Al Muhannadi.

Turks seal $4.2bn Iran power deal

Turkish energy company Unit International has reached a $4.2-billion deal with Iran’s energy ministry to build seven natural gas power plants there, in what it said was the biggest investment in Iran since the lifting of sanctions.

The power stations, to be built in seven separate regions of Iran, Turkey’s eastern neighbour, would have a combined installed capacity of 6,020 MW, the company said. Construction of the seven plants was planned to begin in the first quarter of 2017.

AESG honoured for Kuwait high-rise

AESG, a leading UAE-based consultancy firm, said it has received a prestigious award for its role in the development of Al Hamra Tower, the tallest building in Kuwait.

This was mainly in recognition of the significant positive impact that AESG’s commissioning services have played in the success of the project.

The commissioning services ensured that systems critical to the operation of the $550-million property such as HVAC (heating, ventilation and air-conditioning), plumbing, electrical, fire/life safety, building management systems and interior systems are being operated in accordance with the building requirements and at peak efficiency.

Bahrain acquires land for homes

Bahrain’s Housing Ministry has acquired necessary land in several areas of the kingdom for the construction of 25,000 new housing units for its citizens, said a report.

Meanwhile, hundreds of homes that are part of a multi-million-dinar social housing scheme in Diyar Al Muharraq will be ready by the end of next year. The Aloyoun Community Project, which is made up of 3,100 homes, is a joint public-private partnership between the Housing Ministry and Diyar Al Muharraq.

Bahrain starts major road revamp

Bahrain authorities have started work on the North Town entrance roads revamp project (W-Link) being funded by the Kuwaiti Fund for Arab Economic Development (as part of the Gulf Development Programme).

The BD7.69-million ($20.2 million) project, which will cater to 5,000 housing units in the Northern Governorate, was awarded to Al Ghanim International Company and Haj Hassan Group. It involves construction of a 1.2-km-long road with four lanes on each direction, connecting Janabiya and Budaiya Interchange to the North Town. A 135-m-long bridge will be constructed above the marine channel to provide a smooth traffic flow besides increasing the road capacity.

Bahrain to develop marine museum

Bahrain could have its first marine museum complex in the Northern Governorate, following the Northern Municipal Council approval of the award-winning proposal.

Five locations have been presented for the project with five different designs, which are being evaluated by the Works, Municipalities and Urban Planning Affairs.

Meanwhile, the Southern Municipal Council is negotiating to bring Australian-based Reef HQ Aquarium, one of the world’s largest living coral reef aquariums, to open a branch at the new Prince Salman F1 City in Sakhir.

Egyptian builder eyes $2bn projects

Societe Egyptienne D’entreprises (Moukhtar Ibrahim), one of the leading construction firms in Egypt, is actively looking at major infrastructure and industrial projects in Kuwait and hopes to win a share of lucrative contracts worth $2 billion, said a report.

Mokhtar Ibrahim’s move to join the race with other contracting firms for major roads and bridge contracts comes after being upgraded to the status of an international firm in Kuwait, the Amwal Alghad news website reported, citing its top official.

The company plans to double its volume of business and open new branches in a number of countries as part of its global strategy, remarked Mohamed Alkhatib, the company director and deputy chairman of financial and administrative affairs.

Hyflux gets funding for Oman IWP

Hyflux, a Singapore-based specialist in water treatment, said its Omani subsidiary has achieved financial close for the non-recourse project financing of Qurayyat Independent Water Project in the sultanate.

The $185-million facility is for Qurayyat IWP, the group’s largest desalination project in Oman, which will add another 200,000 cu m per day of drinking water to the country’s water supply, said Hylux.

Innovation Complex work on track

Oman is set to complete the first phase of the Innovation Complex, coming up on a 540,000-sq-m area near the Sultan Qaboos University (SQU) in Al Khoudh district of the sultanate, in 2017, said a report.

The seven-storey building will be constructed to the most advanced international standards which will make it a leading project for scientific innovation, reported the Oman Observer.

The Innovation Complex, Muscat, will cover four research fields and will be constructed in three phases in 10 years’ time. Work on the second phase will start in 2018.

New Kuwait court complexes opened

Kuwait has announced the launch of two major governmental establishments – The Jahra and Farwaniya Court Complexes.

The project, developed by The Amiri Diwan, in collaboration with the Ministry of Public Works, was officially opened by HH The Amir of Kuwait, Sheikh Sabah Al Ahmad Al Jaber Al Sabah.

The project was managed by Pace, an architecture, engineering, design and planning practice based in Kuwait, in partnership with Fentress Architects, a specialist global consulting firm.

The 16-storey main building spread over an area of 10,000 sq m will accommodate 80 courtrooms.

Oman set for heritage village revamp

The Omani government is working on a major project to revamp the ancient village of Muttrah in the sultanate and develop it into a modern city along with traditional houses and heritage sites to attract tourists from across the world, said a report.

The multi-million-dollar ‘Muttrah Infrastructure Integration and Redevelopment Project’ focuses on raising the efficiency of health and environmental services and expand the current necessary services, reported the Oman Observer.

The Muttrah city masterplan is ready and the focus will be on giving a major facelift to the ancient village.

Mideast dispute value up 7pc

The Middle East region saw its dispute value increase to nearly seven per cent, once more, to their highest value since 2011, according to a report by Arcadis, a leading design and consultancy firm.

It remains the only region with increasing dispute values compared to last year, stated the company in its report titled “Global Construction Disputes: Don’t get left behind”.

The report found that construction disputes were the highest in the Middle East at $82 million, followed by Asia at $67 million.

STP expansion to be ready in 2017

Haya Water, a major government-owned water reuse company in Oman, said expansion work on the Al Ansab sewage treatment plant (STP) was progressing well and was due for completion by July next year.

The STP presently provides more than 57,000 cu m per day of treated water to a large network of reuse water mains, which helps provide the city with its lush and attractive appearance, said Oman Observer.

The Al Ansab Phase Two STP project is the first sewage treatment project that Doosan Heavy Industries & Construction had won in the Middle East, it stated. With the expansion, Haya aims to double the pumping capacity at the Al Ansab STP from 130,000 cu m/day to 260,000 cu m per day, it added.

The plant will be the largest membrane bioreactor facility in the Middle East, capable of treating up to 150,000 tonnes of sewage per day, it added.

SSH to expand Bahrain operations

SSH, a specialist in masterplanning, infrastructure, building design, construction supervision and project management, has announced plans to invest further in the development of its Bahrain office.

SSH said the expansion will increase staff numbers, including senior executives, by 40 personnel.

SSH is already involved with several developments in Bahrain including the construction of the new Ras Al Barr Resort, Diyar Al Muharraq, and projects with the ministries of works, and housing, amongst others.

Asaas launches new construction unit

Muscat National Development and Investment Company (Asaas), a leading player in the country, has launched its new construction management subsidiary Kayan. The newly-formed unit will be responsible for the management and execution of Asaas’ real estate development projects starting with the recently announced RO15-million ($39 million) Hilton Garden Inn Muscat in Al Khuwair, said the company.

Qatar AC market to grow at 12.7pc

The air-conditioner market in Qatar is expected to grow at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 12.7 per cent during 2016 to 2021, according to a new report by TechSci Research, a research-based global management consulting firm. The demand growth is backed by increasing construction activities to host the upcoming Fifa World Cup in Qatar in 2022, coupled with an increasing number of commercial and residential buildings.

LG, Gree, Daikin, Samsung and Carrier are few of the leading companies operating in Qatar’s air-conditioners market in 2015, the report stated.