Iraq’s Ministry of Electricity and GE Energy signed an agreement last month for power generation equipment and services valued at nearly $3 billion to provide much-needed electricity to support Iraq’s future economic development.

Saudi Arabia’s Riyadh Cables has won a contract worth QR1.3 billion ($356 million) to supply high-voltage power cables to the Qatar General Electricity and Water Corporation (Kahramaa). The contract is said to be the largest single cable order placed by Kahramaa since the establishment of the corporation seven years ago.

Structural core materials manufacturer Diab has been awarded a major contract by Premier Composite Technologies to supply core materials for 35,000 sq m of composite cladding that will be used on the final 200 m of the Development of King Abdul Aziz Endowment (Dokaae) tower in Makkah, Saudi Arabia.

Glass fibre reinforced polymer (GRFP) reinforcement bars are being used to build Qatalum, a multi-billion-dollar aluminium plant that’s on the rise in Messaied Industrial City, Qatar. The smelter is being built by Qatar Petroleum (QP) and Norway’s Norsk Hydro in an equal share joint venture, and is scheduled to come on stream by 2010.

City Cement Company (CCC) of Saudi Arabia has built a new cement plant at a massive limestone deposit near Riyadh, and is using two new Sandvik Rammer hydraulic hammers to open up the virgin quarry. Produce from the quarry, which is a major new resource of limestone, will be used to feed a newly-constructed cement plant nearby.

Seal of approval for UK firmFlexitallic of the UK has been awarded a certificate of appreciation by JGC of Japan, for its ‘significant contribution’ to the Petro Rabigh olefin plants in Saudi Arabia. A joint venture between Saudi Aramco and Sumitomo Chemical Company, the project was scheduled to start-up at the end of last year.

Saudi Arabia’s industrial development agency Modon has shortlisted 10 developers for Sudair City, a massive project that will cost Dh146.9 billion ($40 billion) to build, according to a regional press report. It will be the largest development of its type in Saudi Arabia, exceeding Emaar’s King Abdullah Economic City.

The Middle East will require investments of more than $500 billion in electricity infrastructure to facilitate economic growth in the coming years. At the same time, several countries in the region lag behind in their infrastructure planning.

An innovative computerised network built by Daikin Industries (DIL), which centrally manages information for the recovery of fluorocarbons, has won a prestigious Japanese environmental award.

Work on Qatar’s Cultural Village is progressing, as the country prepares to become Arab Capital of Culture in 2010, Minister of Culture, Arts and Heritage Dr Hamad bin Abdulaziz Al Kuwari was quoted as saying in local press reports.

The Saudi Electricity Company (SEC) last month awarded Saudi Arabia’s alfanar Construction – which is part of the alfanar  Group – a contract worth SR444 million ($118.37 million) to build a 380 kV substation in west Makkah.

Oman’s Geosol Engineering has been successfully using Bulroc down-the-hole (DTH) drilling equipment on foundation piling contracts. At a project in Barr Al Jissah near Muscat, Geosol had to construct micro piles through rockfill to depths of 8 m then a further 4 m through soft limestone (200 kg per sq cm-20.

Work on a 20-storey residential building in Bahrain is on track for completion this year, despite a shortge in building materials, according to the project’s contractor. The Gardenia Tower, located in Juffair, is an exclusive residential tower, offering high quality value with the benefits of a waterfront community.

Saudi Arabia’s largest luminaire manufacturer Saudi Lighting Company is to continue a campaign to save energy in the kingdom, which it successfully held last year.