Contracts are awaited for the new Jumeirah Beach Residence real estate development in Dubai, UAE. The project will involve an estimated Dh5.2 billion ($1.4 billion) in investment and project chairman Mohammed Al Gergawi said many investors were seeking to buy properties in bulk, lured by the location and facilities.

Work is under way on a new five-star hotel being built at Oman's Al Ghubra area. The Chedi Muscat is being built at a cost of RO10.5 million ($27 million) by the newly floated Hotels Management Company International (HMCI). The hotel will have 160 rooms and 40 suites.

Bahrain is to raise spending on infrastructure projects, the Cabinet has been told. Projects costing BD338 million ($896 million) - more than twice the figure originally budgeted - will be carried out this year, the Cabinet meeting chaired by Prime Minister Shaikh Khalifa bin Salman Al Khalifa was told.

The new fish and vegetable market being built by the Al Ain Municipality and Town Planning Department in Al Ain, UAE, will open early next year. Work on the Dh50 million ($13.

A huge project to lay foundations for the 47-storey Almoayyed Tower in the Seef District has been completed. It is the largest foundation exercise ever carried out in Bahrain and the tower will be the kingdom's tallest when it finished next March. The Almoayyed Tower will stand over 200m high and will feature 41 storeys of commercial space.

Saudi Arabian architectural metal manufacturer Armetal Metal Industries is reinforcing its presence in the region with its role in high-profile projects in Saudi Arabia and other GCC states.

The local Belhasa Engineering & Contracting Company won a Dh168 million ($45.74 million) contract to build a residential development in Dubai. The Green Community will be located in the Dubai Investments Park, about 35km from downtown Dubai.

Bids are due this month for Abu Dhabi's Umm Al Nar independent water and power project. The shortlised bidders have already formed bidding consortia with some banks to back them. Other companies may go it alone, a senior Abu Dhabi Water and Electricity Authority (Adwea) official said.

The overall value of construction activity in the UAE could well exceed Dh20 billion ($5.4 billion) this year, according to industry sources. In Dubai alone, currently 730 multi-storeyed buildings are being constructed. This is apart from the residential neighbourhood projects undertaken by Emaar and Union Properties, said a report.

Work is well under way on a Dh1.4 billion ($381 million) project to expand the BurJuman Centre, an up-market shopping mall in Dubai, UAE. A contract is expected to be awarded shortly for vertical transportation at the New BurJuman expansion.

A blueprint for the future financing and development of Middle East cities will be mapped out in Dubai at the 4th International Property Investment & Management Conference (IPIC) in December.

Qatar signs deals worth $12.7m Doha: Qatar's Minister of Municipal Affairs and Agriculture, Ali bin Saad Al Kuwari, has signed contracts worth QR47.2 million ($12.7 million) for four projects. The first contract, for design work for a Doha highway, was signed with an international company. The QR4.

Dubai has banned the use of asbestos in roofing. Asbestos, which has earlier been banned in countries such as the UK, can cause a form of lung cancer called mesothelioma. The disease, which affects the lining of the lungs, usually is diagnosed 20 to 40 years after asbestos exposure.

UAE-based Al Fara'a General Contracting Company has started work on a new national archives building in Abu Dhabi. Work on the Dh90 million building for the Centre for Documentation and Research (National Archives) at the Presidential Office began in June and the project is expected to be completed in Feb 2004.

Interplast, a leading UAE manufacturer of electrical plastic products, has won a Dh30 million ($8.16 million) loan to help the company restructure its business. The loan was granted by the Emirates Industrial Bank (EIB), which also has a stake in the Sharjah-based manufacturer.

South Korean electronics giant LG has said its first-half sales in the Middle East and Africa (MEA) region increased by 19 per cent, compared with the same period in 2001. The company said regional sales turnover for the first six months amounted to $581.67 million, putting LG on course to break the sales target of $1.

Dubai to build new houses Dubai: Dubai Municipality's government housing section has undertaken a Dh121.5 million ($33.08 million) project to build government houses in different areas of the emirate.