Gulf Construction Online

Regional News

In Brief

01 March 2019

Infrastructure JV chief appointed

Investcorp, a leading global provider and manager of alternative investment products, and Aberdeen Standard Investments (ASI), a leading global asset manager, announced the appointment of Sir Gerry Grimstone as chairman of their joint venture for Gulf infrastructure investing.

The joint venture will invest in social and core infrastructure projects in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries. It will actively target greenfield and brownfield social and core essential infrastructure assets in sectors including healthcare, education, utilities, social housing, smart cities, roads and rail, it said.

Mohammed Alardhi, executive chairman of Investcorp, said: “Our joint initiative to invest in Gulf infrastructure projects is an exciting step forward for Investcorp and Aberdeen Standard Investments, and we are very pleased to welcome Sir Gerry as chairman of the venture.”

Safety milestone on fuel complex

BAC Jet Fuel Company (BJFCO) said it has achieved a key construction safety milestone by clocking over one million safe man-hours without lost time injuries (LTI) at its fuel farm complex site at Bahrain International Airport.

The strategic project, which is an important component of the Airport Modernisation Programme (AMP), will reinforce Bahrain’s position as a centre of aviation fuel services in the GCC region and contribute to the national economy in line with the kingdom’s Vision 2030, said BJFCO.

Housing three aviation fuel tanks with a capacity of 10,000 cu m each, the project covers a 77,000-sq-m area in addition to its operational buildings.

Armacell opens plant in Bahrain

Germany-based Armacell, a global leader in flexible foam for the equipment insulation market and a leading provider of engineered foams, has officially launched its 11,000-sq-m manufacturing facility in Bahrain.

The new plant at the Bahrain International Investment Park (BIIP) has been built at an investment of $11 million.

Production at the Bahraini site has launched immediately, said the company.

When fully operational, 60,000-cu m of technical insulation foam will be produced per year in Bahrain, providing a wide range of insulation solutions for the domestic market, including high-density materials and elastomeric insulation for heating, ventilation and air-conditioning (HVAC) systems.

Bahrain Airport enters next phase

Bahrain International Airport is poised for its next phase of development with the operational readiness and airport transfer (ORAT) procedure scheduled to begin soon on the new passenger terminal building, according to senior officials of Bahrain Airport Company (BAC).

They were speaking at the first joint meeting of the board of directors of BAC, Gulf Air Holding Group (GFG) and Gulf Aviation Academy (GAA) in 2019.

During the meeting, the board stressed the importance of the next stage, ORAT – which is a major achievement for the Airport Modernisation Programme (AMP).

Waste disposal plant for Sohar Port

Sohar Port and Freezone has signed an agreement with Oman Maritime Waste Treatment to develop a full-fledged Marpol-compliant facility for vessel waste disposal.

The facility will also host multi-stage processing to comply with the most stringent standards of waste disposal, both at the anchorage area and within the port through a purpose-built vessel.

Oman Maritime Waste Treatment is a joint venture between Khimji Ramdas of Oman, Ramky Enviro Engineers of India and Nature Group of the Netherlands.

Infrastructure drives growth

Bahrain’s annual real GDP growth of 1.6 per cent in the third quarter was underpinned by expansion in the construction and manufacturing sectors, as well as increased infrastructure spending, said the Bahrain Economic Development Board (EDB) in a new report.

Project activity in the GCC-funded projects alone has seen a major build-up, with the cumulative total active projects rising by 16.3 per cent year-on-year (YoY), according to the Bahrain Economic Quarterly (BEQ) published by the EDB.

Apart from the continued infrastructure build-up, Bahrain is seeing increased investment in technological modernisation and innovation. Construction has long been an important source of growth and the sector expanded by 5.4 per cent year-on-year in the third quarter. Overall it increased 6.2 per cent in the first three quarters of 2018.

Not only is construction performing strongly on its own, it also has an important multiplier effect into the country’s ecosystem, especially in other parts of the non-oil economy such as real estate, finance, manufacturing, and trade.

Isa Town Avenue completed

Bahrain’s Ministry of Works, Municipalities Affairs and Urban Planning said all the construction works have been completed for the development of Avenue 41 between 4109 and 4103 in Isa Town’s Educational District.

The project included the reconstruction of the avenue into a dual carriageway with two tracks in each direction carrying traffic on Sheikh Salman Highway to Road 4013, it stated.

The project also saw the development of a central island and sidewalks besides a rainwater drainage network, lighting, improvement of road traffic signs, as well as the development of ground channels for services to avoid future asphalt cracking.

Consultant sought for terminal

Kuwait’s Directorate General for Civil Aviation (DGCA) is set to sign up a global agency or consultant for its new T2 airport terminal project in order to meet all the necessary requirements and abide by the international standards.

An ad hoc committee has already been formed to study and meet the requirements for the new T2 airport terminal project in co-ordination with Ministry of Public Works and the Turkish company Limak, reported Arab Times, citing senior civil aviation officials.

DGCA is currently studying the offers of a number of global consultants that had applied for the project in co-ordination with the Central Tenders Committee (CTC), it stated.

The project is likely to be completed by 2022, the report added.

GE inks Iraq power project deal

Leading technology giant GE said it has signed an agreement with the Iraqi Ministry of Electricity (MoE) to provide an advanced 9E gas turbine to its Al Qudus Power Plant.

As per the deal, GE is installing the new gas turbine at the site and it is expected to generate up to an additional 125 megawatts (MW) of electricity.

The service agreement will enhance the reliability of operations at the plant, helping to maintain a stable supply of up to 875 MW of power over the course of the coming year, said GE.

In addition, the company has also agreed to provide services for up to seven GE 9E gas turbines at the facility throughout this year, including maintenance, supply of parts and rehabilitation, it added.

GE’s 9E technology is capable of running on more than 50 different kinds of fuel.