AN AMBITIOUS initiative to build the world’s tallest tower in Saudi Arabia has received the final go-ahead, with the award of the construction licence for the structure that is expected to rise more than 1,000 m high on the Jeddah skyline. The Kingdom Tower is to be built at a cost of SR4.6 billion ($1.

CASE Construction Equipment has partnered with the Roots Group for the distribution of its full line of equipment in Saudi Arabia. The announcement was made during the launch of the new Roots headquarters and showroom dedicated to Case Construction in Jeddah. The Roots Group, which posted revenues of SR2.

AL ANDALUS Holding Company, a well-diversified Saudi organisation catering to the construction and industrial sectors in the region, commissioned two new units recently.

QATAR’S rail network is a step closer with Qatar Railways Company (QRC) having issued tenders for the Doha Metro’s enabling works. “Companies will be expected to submit their proposals in a month,” Gulf Times quoted a senior QRC official as saying.

KAVALANI and Sons (KVL), a Bahrain-based supplier of industrial, construction and marine products, launched more than 25 grinding, cutting and diamond tools from Tyrolit of Austria at a product seminar last month in the kingdom.

MODERN Decor and Wood Products Manufacturing (Modecor) has taken its brand of laminates well beyond its domestic market, and is now exporting more than 60 per cent of its annual production to the European market, said Ziad Kossaifi, the company’s general manager.

GULF Depot Company launched one of its biggest stores in Saudi Arabia last month. Measuring 310 sq m in area, Mk40, Obhur is the company’s 30th store located about 28 km north of Jeddah. In addition to its own product range, on display at the store are products from Mazaya Aluminium, Metal Artwork, Samsung and Spit.

SAUDI-BASED East Fence Trade and General Contracting is poised to open an office in Abu Dhabi, UAE, in the next three months, as part of major plans to expand its services in the region.

KINGDOM Holding Company (KHC) will roll out a SR43.8 million ($11.67 million) expansion plan for the iconic Kingdom Centre in Riyadh. Under the plan, the mixed-use tower, which was built in 2002, will see its area boosted by 13,550 sq m.

SAUDI Arabia will execute projects worth SR2 billion ($533.3 million) at the two holy mosques in Makkah and Madinah, according to local press reports.

BIDS for the design and supervision contract of the Oman National Railway project are currently being evaluated, according to a Tender Board official.

Schneider wins eco centre award SCHNEIDER Electric, a global specialist in energy management, has been awarded a contract to provide automated lighting controls system for the aesthetically-designed Presidency of Meteorology and Environment (PME) centre in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, by Setra e.Vision, the project’s system integrator.

From left: Moosa, Al Kahla and Aicco managing director Mohammed Aijazuiddin at the agreement signing. ALAA International Contracting Company (Aicco), the construction arm of the AFI Group, has awarded Honeywell the process control system (PCS) contract at Saudi Aramco’s Yanbu Refinery.

BAHRAIN’S pioneering $1.6-billion Dilmunia Health Island has taken a step closer to becoming a reality with a call for tenders for the project’s initial infrastructure phase.

LOCAL construction firm Galfar Engineering and Contracting has been selected by the Tender Board to undertake the Phase One construction of the Batinah Expressway project in Oman at a cost of RO138.929 million ($358 million). Phase One covers an initial 45-km distance that starts where the Muscat Expressway ends in Barka.

SIEMENS has secured a $1-billion order for a combined cycle power plant (CCPP) project in Saudi Arabia. The company will supply key components for the IPP Qurayyah combined cycle power plant which, with an installed capacity of 4 GW, will be one of the world’s largest CCPPs.

THE Partnerships Technical Bureau in Kuwait (PTB) is pushing ahead with its plans to develop a new metro system for Kuwait City.

AL ASHOURY Industry of Saudi Arabia is planning to expand its steel structures factory this year, as part of a strategic plan to increase its market share. It is also looking at establishing sales offices in Qatar and other GCC countries over the next two years, according to Ashraf Al Ashoury, deputy executive manager of the Riyadh-based firm.

BAHRAIN awarded a total of 82 contracts in three sectors – roads, sanitation and buildings – in 2011, registering a 25-per-cent rise over the figures for 2010, despite last year’s unrest, Minister of Works Essam Khalaf said. The Ministry of Works (MoW) also floated 104 tenders in 2011, an increase of 40 per cent over 2010.