MEED
Issue No 40 3 - 9 October 2008
View all stories from this issue.
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Abu Dhabi sewerage scheme nears financial close
Consortiums to secure two financing packages totalling $550m for Abu Dhabi water treatment plants. -
Adnoc invites interest in Shah gas field
Record $10bn energy project to develop onshore sour gas reserves will be tendered in 10 packages. -
Baghdad to auction off West Qurna field in licensing round
Bid by Russia’s Lukoil to revive mid-1990s exploration deal fails. -
Bechtel wins smelter deal at Ras al-Zour
US-based Bechtel has been appointed as the engineering, procurement and construction management (EPCM) contractor for the Al-Zabirah aluminium smelter project at Ras al-Zour. -
Bidding deadline for Al-Zour pipeline faces third delay
State upstream operator Kuwait Oil Company (KOC) is extending the bidding deadline for the contract to build a pipeline network serving the planned refinery at Al-Zour for the third time. -
Cairo will pay more for deep-sea gas
Oil majors strike fresh deals to explore the deep-water gas reserves of the Mediterranean Sea. -
Caution is key for Gulf carriers
Finding credit to pay for all the new planes will become difficult for all but the largest and wealthiest Gulf aviation operators. -
Concerns mount over exposure of Dubai banks to real estate
Dubai is likely to come under increasing pressure to protect its real estate industry, after concerns were raised over local banks’ exposure to the property sector. -
Contract disputes: Dubai seeks arbitration role
Contract disputes are on the rise in the Gulf but in the wake of fresh legislation, the Dubai International Financial Centre is seeking to become a regional hub for resolution services. -
Dubai Holding and Emaar plan joint ventures
Local developer Emaar Properties and Dubai Holding are planning a series of joint ventures for projects in Dubai. -
ESB International sole bidder for deal to expand Bahrain's power grid
Bahrain’s Electricity & Water Authority (EWA) is likely to award a consultancy contract to Ireland’s ESB International (ESBI) in the latest stage of a programme to upgrade and expand its power distribution network. -
Finance houses exit Gulf aviation market
Airlines struggle to fund fleet expansions as debt markets tighten and passenger numbers fall. -
Gulf Investment House shelves $1bn healthcare city plan
Kuwait-based Gulf Investment House (GIH) is dropping plans to develop a OR300-400m ($780m-1bn) healthcare city near Muscat. -
Infrastructure in the GCC is a top priority
The drying-up of project finance poses a tough challenge to GCC states Pushing ahead with infrastructure development must be the priority. -
Kingdom draws up shortlist for women’s college campus
The Saudi Finance Ministry has prequalified a number of local and international contractors, including Saudi Oger and Saudi Binladin Group, to build a university campus north of Riyadh. -
Libya foreign investment
The six key figures in Libyan investment: Mohammed Layas, Hamed Hoderi, Mustafa Zarti, Mahmoud Jebril, Abdulrahman al-Gamoudi and Ibrahim Zlitni. -
Mohammed Layas
Mohammed Layas heads up Libya’s sovereign wealth fund, the Libyan Investment Authority -
Muscat has to secure gas supply
Any delays to the Iran deal will almost certainly put the brakes on the country’s economic growth. -
Muscat nears multi-billion-dollar gas deal with Iran
Oman and Iran in final talks to secure 3 billion-cubic-feet-a-day deal following 2007 agreement. -
Muscat’s model for power
The privatisation of Oman’s electricity transmission company will be a first in the Middle East, creating a blueprint for other governments to follow. -
Politics in Lebanon deters private investors
With power shortages a common occurrence, Lebanon urgently needs additional capacity. But investment will not come until the government sets out clear plans for the sector. -
Power & Water developer profile - International Power
The UK’s International Power has had to weather geopolitical and financial storms to get to the leading position it enjoys today in the Gulf’s private power sector. -
Power & Water developer profile: Acwa
Acwa Power’s continued presence near the top of the private power league table can in part be attributed to the company’s sheer ambition. -
Power & Water developer profile: Gulf Investment Corporation
Unlike the other companies leading the private power developers table, Gulf Investment Corporation (GIC) is a financial institution. Owned by the governments of the GCC, its policy is to support private enterprise and provide funding to projects that are of national significance to the six states, and that contribute to their economic and social development. -
Power & Water developer profile: Marubeni Corporation
Marubeni Corporation has drawn up a $6bn spending plan for the next two years, $3bn of which has been ringfenced for investment in its oil and gas, mining and IPP businesses. It is this strength of financial commitment that gives the Japanese company a competitive edge in winning tenders in the Gulf, says Hiroshi Toyoshima, president of Marubeni Europower. -
Power & Water developer profile: Suez Energy International
For Guy Richelle, chief executive officer (CEO) for the Middle East, Asia and Africa region at Belgium’s Suez Energy International, the key to winning a tender for an independent power project (IPP) or independent water and power project (IWPP) in the Gulf is to offer the most competitive proposal, demonstrating the experience and knowledge base to complete each aspect of the project on time. -
Power & Water developer profile: Sumitomo Corporation
Japan’s Sumitomo Corporation is pursuing a strategic plan to develop a global power portfolio with a net holding capacity totalling 6,300MW by 2010. -
Q&A: Kamal Kothari, CEO, Qatar Shipping Company
Fixed contracts protect income in global economic downturn -
Qatar Shipping Company
The Doha Securities Market-listed company plans to expand its fleet while the market is in a downturn -
Qatar Shipping Company: MEED Assessment
QSC in a strong position to grow its asset base as new vessels set to flood the market -
Regional contractors focus on state-backed deals
Small private schemes lose appeal as confidence is hit by financing crisis and mistrust of real estate. -
Rising power demand forces Amman to act
The success of Jordan’s efforts to cope with rapidly growing electricity consumption hinge on its ability to accelerate the development of a third independent power project. -
Riyadh and Cairo relinquish control of electricity industries
Egypt and Saudi Arabia are beginning the process of liberalising their electricity industries, but they are a long way from leaving behind the state-dominated structures of the past. -
Riyadh faces calls to help economic cities
Global financial crisis threatens to derail progress on the kingdom’s private-sector developments. -
Riyadh must meet power needs first
The kingdom’s restructuring plans look more like an academic exercise than an achievable reality for now. -
Riyadh outsources wheat industry
Saudi Arabia is phasing out its domestic wheat growers and seeking to shift production overseas. -
Riyadh's wheat strategy carries risks
From 2009, Riyadh will begin importing wheat, ending almost three decades of self-sufficiency. -
Sanctions benefit Gulf power developers
While leading international developers remain deterred from investing in Iran, smaller regional companies have an opportunity to build up their power portfolios. -
Special Report: Power & Water - Gulf developer rankings
Rising demand for electricity, coupled with chronically inadequate physical and financial infrastructure, means the region’s emerging markets have enormous potential for private power developers. -
Sponsors in the Gulf explore financing options
As global liquidity dries up, Gulf governments will be increasingly called upon to provide project funding. -
Suez heads off Asian challenge in Gulf power and water sector
Belgium’s Suez Energy International dominates MEED’s power and water private developer rankings after winning every project awarded this year, but Japanese firms are climbing the table. -
Tripoli strives to retain interest of big oil
After nearly two decades in the political wilderness, Libya has become a major centre for oil and gas exploration, but it must remove bureaucratic hurdles if it is to keep the oil majors on board. -
Wastewater project stalls as Cairo revises pricing model
Government seeks to balance end user tariffs and operator incentives.
