Gulf Construction Online

Regional News

Update

01 November 2003

Sand shortage hits construction
Manama: Bahrain's construction sector is in crisis due to a sand shortage, which is threatening to undermine the building industry, following Saudi Arabia's decision three months ago to stop all exports of sand and aggregate to its neighbours.

Construction companies are currently working at 40 per cent capacity because they lack the key ingredient to make concrete and mortar, according to a building expert. The country's construction industry is now relying on sand dredged from the sea, but this is not enough to meet current demand. Businessmen are planning to request King Hamad to intervene and persuade the Saudi authorities to lift the ban.

Bahrain needs to find at least 6,000 tonnes of sand every day as opposed to the 1,500 tonnes generated locally by dredging the sea bed.
Bahrain is committed to several major construction projects including the Bahrain Financial Harbour, Bahrain International Circuit, Durrat Al Bahrain resort and Amwaj Islands development, and the ban is expected to slow progress on these projects.

Fluor grabs $102m deal in Iraq
Baghdad: Fluor Corporation has received a $102-million task order from the US Army Corps of Engineers to support ongoing efforts to repair Iraq's electrical infrastructure.
Fluor will repair, replace or supplement generating, transmission, and distribution systems that are out of service, damaged, or operating at reduced capacity or efficiency within central Iraq, including Baghdad.

The company will perform a variety of tasks in support of this mission, such as repairing existing generation stations; repairing, replacing, and installing new high voltage transmission lines; repairing medium and low voltage substations; and rehabilitating distribution control centres.

Concrete technology discussed
Manama: New concrete technology used in marine environments came under focus at the recently concluded seventh international concrete conference, titled Concrete in hot and aggressive environments, held at the Bahrain Conference Centre, Crowne Plaza. The three-day event was organised by the Bahrain Society of Engineers, in association with the Concrete Society UK and The American Concrete Institute - Bahrain Chapter.
The event focused on the use of concrete in improving design and construction in hot and aggressive environments and was addressed by seven keynote speakers, including Norman Bright, a consulting engineer and visiting professor at Kingston University (UK) and a specialist in concrete masonry, regulations, codes, standards and research.

Halcrow lands Qatar Petroleum deal
Doha: International consultant Halcrow has been awarded a multi-million riyal commission to undertake the masterplanning, design development and construction supervision for the new Qatar Petroleum (QP) headquarters compound at Ras Abu Aboud as part of the Ras Abu Aboud Development Project (RAADP).
Halcrow said that QP's current industrial operations on this waterfront site are to be relocated and the site completely redeveloped to accommodate 3,000 staff from several offices around Doha.

The new facility will include a landmark main office measuring 50,000 sq m, training facilities for professional and industrial staff, a mosque, a medical centre, a fire station, recreation buildings and a sports stadium, as well as the refurbishment of other buildings, including the computer centre.

Work on the 45-month design and construction phase has already started. The master planning and concept design will be led from Halcrow's headquarters in London, where QP will co-locate eight members of its project team.
Detailed design and documentation for some buildings will be undertaken in the company's Doha and Dubai offices.

Iraq calls for Arab, foreign help
Baghdad: Iraq's interim housing and reconstruction minister, Bayan Baqer Sulagh Al Zubaidi, has called on Arab and foreign countries to help his ministry build five million housing units in post-war Iraq.
"We have an ambitious goal to build five million housing units and I hope that all Arab and foreign countries will play a role in rebuilding Iraq and in making this project come true," he said in Amman.

Zubaidi made the remarks after talks with Jordanian Prime Minister Ali Abu Ragheb, on the sidelines of an economic forum on investment opportunities in Jordan and its role in rebuilding Iraq.

Work progress on dam in Lebanon
Beirut: Volvo Construction Equipment's wheel loaders and excavators are being used by contracting company Mouawad-Edde in completing the Chabrouh Dam in Lebanon.
When commissioned in 2005, the dam is expected to supply eight million cu m of drinking water per year to the inhabitants of Kesrouan. The dam is located approximately 40 km to the northeast of Beirut and covers an area totalling 42 hectares.

Mouawad-Edde has taken delivery of two EC290 BLC excavators and four wheel loaders, ranging from Volvo's L20B compact machine to its L180E model.
The project will also include a recycling plant capable of processing 60,000 cu m of water each day and a viewing area for visitors to view the project.

Iran approves $190m sea bridge
Tehran:Iran's government has approved the construction of a bridge linking the southern port of Bandar Abbas to the free-trade zone on the island of Qeshm, an official was quoted as saying.
The deputy head of the free-trade zone, Fereydoun Alimoradi, said the cost of building the 1,800-m bridge to the island - situated in the strategic Straits of Hormuz - would be $190 million.
Iran has three free-trade zones - Qeshm, the nearby island of Kish and the port of Chabahar near its border with Pakistan.

EETC deal goes Alstom way
Cairo: Alstom's Transmission & Distribution (T&D) division has been awarded turnkey contracts worth EGP99.6 million ($16.2 million) to design and build the largest regional electricity dispatch centre by the Egyptian Electricity Transmission Company (EETC), owned by the Ministry of Electricity and Energy.
The centre will supervise and control the entire electrical network covering the West Delta region, which borders the Nile River.

Alstom's scope of the contract, the first of its kind signed with the EETC, includes Scada (supervisory control and data acquisition) and EMS systems, e-terra software as well as commissioning, training and testing services.
In addition, Alstom T&D will install its MiCOM range of protection and control relays around the network to supply essential information to the dispatch centre.
Alstom's partner, Electro Tharwat, one of Egypt's largest civil and electromechanical construction companies, will carry out all civil and erection work for the dispatch centre, which is scheduled for completion in September 2005.

Work on flyover project restarted
Manama: Construction work on a BD9.7 million ($25.73 million) flyover project, north of the existing Central Market roundabout in Bahrain, has restarted.
The North Manama Corridor Improvement (Central Market Interchange) project will be completed in early 2005, as originally planned, said works and housing undersecretary Nayef Al Kalali.

The Works and Housing Ministry had earlier awarded the contract to Khalid Abdul-Rahim Group-WCT for the construction of this flyover as well as another flyover at the Seef roundabout.
The Central Market flyover project was delayed following a case filed by Bahrain Telecommunications Company (Batelco), which said the construction work would damage the International Fibre Optic Gulf (FOG) telecommunication cable in the area.