BAHRAIN-BASED United Steel Company (SULB) is to develop a $1.2 billion steel plant which, once operational, will be the region’s first fully integrated beams and structural sections producer.

ARABTEC Construction Company of Doha, Qatar, a subsidiary of Arabtec Holding, has received a letter of intent from Qatar General Insurance and Reinsurance Company for the construction of the World Trade Center in Doha’s West Bay area.

CMCS teams up with Sofcon COLLABORATION, Management and Control Solutions (CMCS) of Saudi Arabia, a leading provider of project portfolio management (PPM) solutions in the Middle East and North Africa (Mena), has signed a strategic partnership with the Sofcon Group to offer project management solutions and services to all Sofcon projects in the Mid

BUILDINGS and places need to be designed and developed in a sustainable way to allow communities to be less reliant on air-conditioning and cars, a leading architect said.

SIGMA Paints introduced its innovative Sigma Guardian Nano paint system to the Bahrain market last month, following the launch of technologically-advanced product in Saudi Arabia and Qatar last year. Nano was launched in conjunction with local partner Skyline Trading Corporation (STC) under the theme 'Sigma Guardian – Your Atomic Protection’.

KUWAIT-BASED Gulf Holding Company (GHC) has marked a milestone by completing the ‘topping out’ of tower B at its Villamar @ the Harbour project on schedule, with progress being made on the other structural work needed to complete the tower, as well.

DALLAS-BASED Wilson Associates, a leading interior design firm, has been selected to design 19 of the 26 hotels going up simultaneously in Makkah, Saudi Arabia. The hotels are part of a $6-billion redevelopment of Makkah, where the Grand Mosque is visited by more than 65,000 pilgrims from around the world every day.

THE BD1-billion ($2.7 billion) Water Garden City on the Manama coast in Bahrain – dubbed the ‘capital of the capital’ – has been given the go-ahead by the Manama Municipal Council.

REEF Venture Holding (RVH) is evaluating tenders to select the main contractor for its first real estate project in Bahrain. Called Difaaf, the luxury real estate development comprises two residential towers strategically located in Reef Island in the heart of Manama.

MOURJAN Marinas IGY has signed an memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Global Real Estate Development Company (Gredco) for the development of two marinas as part of the upcoming Marsa Al Seef project in Bahrain.

TWO sewage treatment plant (STP) projects being implemented by Bahrain’s Ministry of Works will have private sector involvement for the first time in the sanitary engineering field. Private companies will build a greenfield STP at Muharraq, northeast of Bahrain, and expand and upgrade Bahrain’s largest STP at Tubli in the east of the kingdom.

THE Qatari Diar Real Estate Investment Company and the Saudi Binladin Group (SBG), a multinational construction conglomerate, have signed a shareholders agreement to establish the QD SBG Group — a joint venture with an equal partnership between Qatari Diar and SBG.

THE Ar-Riyadh Development Authority (ADA) is investing SR14.31 billion ($3.8 billion) in four projects in Saudi Arabia’s capital city Riyadh.

OMAN’S Ominvest is planning to build a $1-billion tourism resort in the southern port city of Salalah, the company’s chairman said. “The integrated tourist complex will have four hotels and housing units which will be offered for sale to both local and international investors,” Hani Al Zubair said on the sidelines of an investment forum.

FRASERS Hospitality (Fraser) has launched Fraser Suites Seef Bahrain, the first of five properties to be completed throughout the region over the next two years. The 19-storey development is said to set new standards in luxury accommodation, with 91 one- or two-bedroom suites and three stunning penthouses.

DIYAR Al Muharraq, one of Bahrain’s biggest mixed-use residential urban developments, has appointed Aecom as its master-planner. This move is in line with the project’s second stage of development, which is to be carried out off the northeastern coast of Muharraq.