THE fate of a new $14-billion refinery in Kuwait will be decided after the country holds its parliamentary elections over the coming months. Oil minister Sheikh Ahmed Al Abdullah Al Sabah said the plan to build the refinery had been “frozen” by the cabinet and the new government would make the final decision on it.

KUWAIT plans to issue a new tender this month to build a power plant which it expects will now cost far less than earlier estimates in excess of $2.4 billion.

Scott Wilson commendedUK-BASED consultancy Scott Wilson won a commendation at the British Expertise International Awards 2008-2009 for its work on a project in Bahrain.

KUWAIT'S Ministry of Public Works is set to award a KD41.3 million ($151 million) Subiya Expressway contract to the local United Gulf Construction Company (UGCC). The third phase of the Jahra-Subiya expressway covers a 27-km-long section with two spurs, to the Iraqi border and Bubiyan island. The work is expected to take three years to complete.

A TOWER in Kuwait has been fitted with a self-cleaning glass and aluminium facade that will improve the structure’s aesthetics while reducing maintenance costs, according to the system’s suppliers.

MANARA Developments, a Bahrain-based real estate development company, will soon be launching a new residential project aimed at mid-income Bahraini and GCC families.

DANUBE Building Materials of the UAE has opened its Buildmart brand one-stop shop in Bahrain. The Bahrain store, which was inaugurated last month, follows the launch of Danube’s first Buildmart store, in Ras Al Khaimah in the UAE earlier this year. A third Buildmart is planned for Saudi Arabia.

MANITAL, an Italian manufacturer of door hardware, won an award at last month’s International Design Awards which was held in Los Angeles, US. The company’s Dots Gloom door handle, which was designed by Paolo Pedrizzetti, won the second prize in the ‘Home Interior Products – Windows, Doors’ category.

TWO major construction contracts at Hail and Taibah universities in Saudi Arabia have attracted low bids worth a total of almost SR4 billion ($1.06 billion). The local Abdul Rahman Al Rashid and Sons submitted the lowest bid of SR2.4 billion ($639 million) for staff housing at Hail University.

KUWAIT’S ETA Engineering and Elevator Company has won an order to supply and install two Mitsubishi spiral escalators at the Amiri Flight Terminal near Kuwait International Airport.

BAHRAIN International Air-port plans to start work on a second terminal early next year which will almost double the current capacity of the airport, allowing it to handle 12 million passengers every year, up from 7 million at present.

SAUDI Arabia’s Rabigh Refining and Petrochemical Company (Petro Rabigh), a joint venture between Suitomo Chemical Company and Saudi Aramco, plans to build another large petrochemical complex, according to reports. The new complex is planned to be located adjacent to the $10.

DRAKE & Scull International (DSI) has won a contract worth Dh596 million ($162 million) to design and build a 65,000-ton district cooling plant at the Durrat Al Bahrain artificial island project in Bahrain. The contract is DSI’s largest IWP (infrastructure, water and power) project to date.

KALESERAMIK, a leading Turkish ceramics specialist, has won a renowned design award for one of collections of luxury wall tiles. The Orientile collection, designed by Can Yalman for Çanakkale Seramik and Kalebodur – two of Kaleseramik’s brands – won a coveted 2009 red dot award in the category of product design.