THE $5.7-billion Qatar Aluminium (Qatalum) plant, which was inaugurated last month, is set to add 585,000 tonnes of primary aluminium annually to the world’s supply and help meet global demand for the metal growing at five to seven per cent this year.

AL BILAD Real Estate Investment has awarded a contract worth  $25 million to Al Hasanain Company to build the quay walls for its Water Garden City located in the Seef district in Bahrain. Al Bilad, which has its headquarters  in the Bahrain Financial Harbour, will set up Water Garden City at a projected cost of BD1 billion ($2.

THE General Authority for Civil Aviation (Gaca) has denied media reports that the contract to develop and modernise Jeddah’s King Abdulaziz International Airport (KAIA) has been awarded to a Saudi company.

JPMC gets $110m boostTHE Jordan Phosphate Mining Company (JPMC), Europe Arab Bank (EAB) and International Finance Corporation (IFC) have signed a nine-year, $110-million facility to support JPMC’s expansion plans in the Port of Aqaba, Jordan.

A HOTEL complex under construction in Saudi Arabia will become the world’s second-tallest building on completion, topped by a clock six times the size of the London’s Big Ben, the hotel’s general manager said.

THE MADINAH Municipality has allocated 8.78 million sq m of land at four separate locations to build about 17,000 housing units, according to reports in a local newspaper. Each housing unit, covering 350 to 500 sq m, will adopt designs that will reflect the customs and traditions of Saudi families, the Arab News said.

DOHALAND has signed a landmark agreement for QR1.56 billion ($428 million) with a joint venture of Hyundai Engineering and Construction Company and HBK Contracting for the construction of major buildings in Phase 1A of its signature Musheireb project.

SAUDI Arabia’s King Abdullah has pledged to help Bahrain build a SR1-billion ($266.6 million) medical city as a gift to the people. The city will be called the King Abdullah bin Abdulaziz Medical City and will be affiliated to the Arab Gulf University (AGU) in Bahrain.

CAVOTEC Middle East, the UAE-based subsidiary of global engineering group Cavotec MSL, has signed an agreement worth €30 million ($39 million) with the Bahrain Airport Company (BAC) for jointly developing and integrating a comprehensive range of ground support equipment for Bahrain International Airport.

ENGINEERING and construction major Larsen & Toubro (L&T) is bidding for the construction of airports in Oman and  the UAE  in line with its expansion plans in the region. The bidding process for these projects is expected to be completed this year.

TWO Bobcat T320 compact steel tracked loaders supplied by local dealer Aetco are performing well in a very arduous application at Amman in  Jordan, working in 16 drying beds with sludge up to 0.8 m in depth at the Samra wastewater treatment plant (WWTP).

SCOTT Wilson has been awarded a contract by the Saudi Railways Organisation (SRO) to provide project management support to the Haramain High Speed Rail Project,which is the first of its kind in the Gulf.

KING Abdullah University of Science and Technology (Kaust) in Thuwal, near Jeddah, Saudi Arabia,  has been selected as one of this year’s ‘Top-10 Green Projects’ by the American Institute of Architects (AIA) Committee on the Environment (COTE).

WORK on Bahrain’s new BD3-billion ($8 billion) public transport network should start by the end of next year.Ten consultants have now been shortlisted to complete a detailed feasibility study, which is expected to be ready by December 2011, according to Works Ministry road planning and design director Huda Abdulla Fakhroo.

KUWAIT’S General Directorate of Civil Aviation is expected to sign a KD19-million ($66.7 million) deal with the UK-based Foster & Partners for the design of a passenger terminal at Kuwait airport.

SAUDI Arabia is to construct a SR300-million ($80 million) flight academy to train commercial and private pilots. Located at the Thumamah Airport, 28 km northeast of King Khaled International Airport in Riyadh, the Saudi Aviation Flight Academy (SAFA) is being developed in cooperation with Saudi Aviation Club and the Saudi Binladin Group.

THE Qatar Museums Authority (QMA) has revealed its plans for a new national museum, marking the next stage of its masterplan to develop Qatar into a cultural and communications hub of the Gulf and the world.

DRAKE & Scull International (DSI) has further strengthened its presence across the Middle East and North Africa region with the establishment of its newest subsidiary, Drake and Scull International Oman (DSO), specialising in mechanical, electrical and plumbing (MEP) contracting.

BAHRAIN-based Shafiq Glass & Mirrors offers all kinds of glass products and accessories under one roof. “We undertake project work for bath mirrors, shower glass panels and doors, glass shopfronts, glass sliding doors, sandblasting and etching onto glass, colour designs for glass and all related glass works,” a spokesman said.