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News in brief

01 November 2019

Galfar, Turkish builder vie for mega Oman road project

Oman’s Galfar Engineering & Contracting and Turkish group Kolin Insaat are in the fray for the sultanate’s ambitious Diba-Lima-Khasab road development, says a report.

The project will have nine tunnels covering a total distance of 21 km in addition to 14 bridges, nine major junctions, and 11 minor junctions, reports Oman Observer, citing senior officials of the Ministry of Transport and Communications, which is overseeing the implementation of the project.

Given the mountainous topography through which the alignment runs, the Diba-Lima-Khasab road project promises to be a marvel of road engineering and construction, they state.

The ministry had sought proposals from interested bidders for the following three options:

• Design of a single carriageway road, with single bore tunnels, including all appurtenances;

• Design of a single carriageway road, with dual bore tunnels and appropriate tunnel-to-roadway transitions, including all appurtenances;

• Design of a dual carriageway road including all appurtenances.

In yet another option, dubbed the Wadi Muwwa Road option, the ministry included a 8-km-long road element, incorporating a 4-km-long tunnel, just 20 km west of the start of the project.

Although a relatively short 55-km stretch, the proposed carriageway spans plunging valleys and cuts through lofty mountains characteristic of the rugged terrain of Musandam Governorate, said the report.

As per the contract, the winning bidder will be required to operate and maintain the road for a period of 10 years after construction and thereafter hand it back to the government in a specified minimum condition, it adds.

Meanwhile, Galfar says it has secured a sub-contract for structural steel erection works at the pet coke storage shelters within the offsite facilities at Duqm refinery.

The contract, valued at $2.72 million, was awarded by Italian construction major Saipem as part of the engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) Package 3 at the offsite facilities in Duqm Refinery, says Galfar in its filing to the Muscat Securities Market.

The Omani contractor will start the structural steel erection works on November 20 and complete it by mid-July next year.

Siemens Gamesa to develop 250 MW Egypt wind project

Siemens Gamesa Renewable Energy (SGRE), a leader in the renewable energy industry, has been awarded a turnkey EPC (engineering, procurement and construction) contract by renewable power generation company Lekela for a 250 MW wind project in the West Bakr region of Egypt.

As per the deal, Siemens Gamesa will install 96 SG 2.6-114 turbines and will also provide long-term maintenance through a 15-year service agreement.

The West Bakr Wind project, situated 30 km northwest of Ras El Ghareb, in the Gulf of Suez, will produce over 1,000 GWh per year, powering over 350,000 homes and saving around 550,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide emissions annually.

The first wind turbines will be delivered in mid-2020 and the project is set to be fully operational in 2021.

The power purchase agreement and network connection contract was signed by Lekela with the Egyptian Electricity Transmission Company and the New and Renewable Energy Company Authority earlier this year.

SGRE Onshore CEO Alfonso Faubel says: “We are proud to have been selected to contribute to the ambitious goals in renewable energy the government has set for the coming years. Our aim is to support the government to deliver long-term and lasting impact for our communities, environmentally, economically and socially.”

All civil and most electrical and logistical work will be handled by local subcontractors and the majority of the wind turbine towers will be produced in Egypt. In total, 70 per cent of the project’s construction scope will be delivered by local subcontractors, which will also help bolster the local economy.

The project will increase the country’s installed wind energy capacity by 18 per cent, up to 1,650 MW, and is part of the Egyptian government’s build, own, operate (BOO) framework.

EFS Facilities Services wins over $46m contracts this year

EFS Facilities Services Group, a leader in delivering integrated facilities management (IFM) solutions in the region, has secured contracts worth over Dh170 million ($46.2 million) in the first 10 months of this year.

EFS has a proven track record of delivering state-of-the-art FM services to some of the prominent local and multinational clients in the region for the last 19 years with the highest-ever contract retention of near 100 per cent and at par technology integration, cost optimisation, service innovation, client engagement and operational excellence, says the company.

This year, EFS marks accomplishments of flagship projects from large government entities in the UAE and Saudi Arabia, it states.

The company has maintained spectacular performance in its global operations with further expansion into Bangladesh for providing FM services to multinational banking projects.

EFS says it also recorded a good score on employer-workforce relationship.