A number of key appointments were made last month on the Kingdom City and its centrepiece Kingdom Tower in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. Kingdom Holding Company (KHC) has appointed Calthrope Associates as the lead masterplanner for the estimated SR75 billion ($20 billion) Kingdom City.

JOTUN Paints has expanded its Jotashield range to effectively counter the challenges of the highly arid Middle Eastern climate, and to meet the growing demand for exterior coatings and sustainable paints across Saudi Arabia.

Investments in power and water projects across the GCC reached $25 billion last year, according to Meed Insight, an information solutions service. Saudi Arabia was the leader with a total of 148 projects worth more than $8 billion followed by Bahrain with $7.

KEO International Consultants has designed a new 27,000-sq-m university for Kuwait Institute for Science and Technology that will accommodate 1,500 students.

IN LINE with its ambition to expand its global footprint, Abu Amer Equipment Hiring Company, a privately-owned general hire firm, is spearheading a drive to transform its image in the market and promote its two new recently-launched brands: Mister Machine and iHire Software.

AL ANDALUS Holding Company has recently bolstered its partnership with 3M International by opening a first-of-its-kind showroom in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, in co-operation with the US multinational conglomerate to promote its high-quality industrial products.

THE UAE has granted Bahrain $2.5 billion to help fund development projects. The money – to be disbursed over 10 years on an annual basis of $250 million – will pay for projects in housing, electricity, water, infrastructure and social services.

New venture to supply premier paintsRED Sea for Building Materials and Equipment Company, a subsidiary of Red Sea Housing Services Company, has entered into a shareholders agreement with Sherwin-Williams, a leading international paint company to manufacture and supply paint and coatings for select markets in the Middle East, particularly Saudi Arab

SUNDUS Investments Projects has signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Rotana Hotel Management Company to develop a four-star Sundus Rotana by Rotana Hotels & Resorts in a hospitality complex taking shape at Airport Heights in Bausher, Muscat, Oman.

KiCE, which markets construction equipment in Saudi Arabia, has played a key role in helping Snowkey’s expansion in Saudi Arabia, where the Chinese principal has witnessed a 300 per cent increase in sales.

THE construction industry of Saudi Arabia holds major potential and is flourishing in the current economic environment in the kingdom, says a leading Saudi consulting engineer, cautioning however that the demand is now stretching resources.

NATIONAL Central Cooling Company (Tabreed), the Abu Dhabi-based district cooling utility company, will inject more funds into its Saudi affiliate, Saudi Tabreed, to develop a Dh549-million ($149 million) district cooling project that will serve the Jabal Omar development in Makkah, Saudi Arabia.

TURKSIH ceramics pioneer Kale Group says is expanding into the Middle East and Far East, on the strength of increased business and growth opportunities. Kale, which has been serving the Europe markets on a large scale for many years now, recently opened a showroom in Hong Kong as part of its expansion plans.