Bahrain has signed a contract with Six Construct-Haji Hassan Group for the construction of a BD14.5 million ($40.05 million) bridge linking Manama and Muharraq. Work on the project started on August 1. The consultant is Hyder Consulting Middle East.

Sohar estate to be expanded The third and fourth sector of Sohar Industrial Estate will be expanded to set up more projects, according to Hamad bin Salim Al Mahdali, director-general of the Omani industrial estate. Gas-based projects, an oil refinery, an aluminium smelter and a quarry are among projects planned at the estate, said Al Mahdali.

The Dubai Municipality has issued a licence for the construction of a 43-storey tower costing Dh135 million ($36.75 million) on Shaikh Zayed Road in Dubai, UAE. The building will include apartments and offices, as well as a health club and swimming pool for residents.

Oman has signed a deal with a consortium led by BAA plc, Britain's largest airport operator, for the privatisation of Seeb and Salalah airports. The official Oman News Agency (ONA) quoted Omani Transport and Telecommunications Minister Malik Al Muammari as saying the agreement would go into effect from 2002.

Part of the first palm tree-shaped island under the 'Palm Islands' project in Dubai, UAE, is expected to be visible to the public in March next year, a top government official has said. "We are now 45 days ahead of schedule," Sultan bin Sulayem, chief executive of Dubai Ports, Customs and Free Zones Corporation , said.

Installation work on more than 320 SunPipes at the Latifa School for Girls in Dubai, UAE, is scheduled for completion this month.

Tendering for the second package of Dubai Convention Centre, comprising the office tower and podium, is currently under way, with the contract to be awarded in six weeks, said Ibrahim Belselah, coordinator general of the Dubai 2003 IMF-World Bank Conference. The contract will be worth around Dh160 million ($43.5 million).

Beirut airport opens new runway Beirut International Airport's new western runway, built largely with Kuwaiti help, was formally opened to air traffic last month.

Oman has broken off negotiations with the preferred bidder for a estimated RO100 million ($260 million) private wastewater project in Muscat after failing to reach an agreement, according to media reports. "There was a (May) deadline for negotiations to be completed but it was then extended to the end of June.

Preliminary work has started on the 42-storey Almoayyed Tower which will be Bahrain's tallest building when completed in 2003. UAE-based Fujairah National Construction Company has been awarded the main contract for the construction of the BD20 million ($53 million) tower in the Seef area.

The contract to build Bahrain's new state-of-the-art Shaikh Khalifa Port in Hidd has been awarded to a US company.

Four new towns are to be built in Bahrain with housing for a total of 250,000 people. The towns to be built in East Sitra, North Bahrain, West Hamad Town and East Muharraq are all part of a BD2 billion ($5.3 billion) housing campaign announced earlier this year.

Dubai's Department of Civil Aviation has invited contractors to prequalify for a number of packages as part of the Dubai International Airport expansion project. The new phase of the expansion is expected cost Dh5 billion ($1.36 billion) and include a new concourse exclusively for Emirates airline passengers.

Kuwait has signed a deal with Cowi-Consult of Denmark to design and supervise the construction of Subiya Bridge, which will link Kuwait City and the proposed Subiya City.

Al Banna to build warehousing Dubai-based Al Banna Engineering has been awarded the construction contract for the 2,740 sq m Chemstore project, a hazardous chemicals warehousing facility at Jebel Ali Free Zone (Jafza) in Dubai, UAE.

Corus Kalzip Division is aiming at new markets in the Middle East for its Kalzip system - a complete building envelope solution which includes standing seam roofing, integrated facade systems and a wide range of complementary products and accessories.

NOVEMBER 2001 5-7: First Arab Engineering Industries Exhibition, organised by the Bahrain Society of Engineers, at the Bahrain International Exhibition Centre, Bahrain. 5 - 9: Kuwait International Air-conditioning, Refrigeration & Heating Exhibition, Kuwait Regency Palace Hotel, Kuwait.

Two European banks and a local financial institution have extended a $225 million loan to finance the construction of a private power plant in Oman, said an official of the company developing the project.