By continuing to use the site you agree to our Privacy & Cookies policy

MEED
March 2007

View all stories from this issue.

  • $5bn deal for country's first aluminium smelter

    Abu Dhabi-owned Mubadala Development Company (MDC) has agreed Algeria's largest foreign direct investment to date in a deal to develop its first aluminium smelter at Beni Saf in the northwest. The 700,000-tonne-a-year smelter, and associated facilities, is set to cost $5,000 million.MDC will take a 70 per cent share in the joint venture, with state energy company Sonatrach holding the balance. The site will include a 2,000-MW dedicated power plant and a deep-water wharf to import raw mat

  • A new era for the global construction industry

    Some Americans may moan, but Halliburton's decision to move to the UAE makes sense and should be good for US business. At least $200,000 million worth of projects are under way or planned in the Gulf oil and gas sector. The Houston-based company's migration should help it get its share.

  • A powerful case for Jordan's membership of the GCC

    Amman is becoming one of the Middle East's most interesting cities. Its population has doubled in less than a decade to 2.6 million people. This figure will rise to 4 million in the summer when expatriates return from holiday. The prospects are both exciting and challenging. Amman's mayor Omar Maani told MEED's Jordan conference on 20 February that he believes the trend will continue for the foreseeable future. This could lift Amman's population to 5 million by 2020. Maani is working on a

  • Abu Dhabi gets the Louvre

    French architect Jean Nouvel is to design the AED 1,000 million ($272 million) Louvre Abu Dhabi museum to be built as part of the cultural district on Saadiyat island.The dome-shaped building will cover an area of 24,000 square metres and include 6,000 square metres of permanent galleries when it is completed in 2012.It is the second major international museum to sign up for Saadiyat after the Guggenheim, which is being designed by US architect Frank Gehry. The cultural city will

  • Abu Dhabi plans satellite launch

    Abu Dhabi plans to launch its first satellite in the second quarter of 2009. 'The project cost is about $1,000 million,' says Mubadala's chief operating officer, Waleed al-Mokarrab al-Muhairi.The hybrid military and communications satellite will have a footprint extending to Africa and Central Asia. Two companies, one from the US and one from Europe, are bidding to supply equipment for the project.

  • Abu Dhabi prepares to launch rival to Sabic

    Abu Dhabi is preparing to officially launch a new holding company aimed at developing heavy industry in the emirate. Abu Dhabi Basic Industries Corporation (ADBIC) is expected to become the second largest manufacturing company in the Middle East after Saudi Basic Industries Corporation (Sabic).

  • Abu Dhabi real estate firms opened to foreign investors

    Sorouh Real Estate has become the latest local property firm to open up to international investors by announcing on 6 March that it will allow foreigners to own 20 per cent of its shares.

  • Abu Dhabi to launch carbon capture study

    A feasibility study is to be launched into the carbon capture and storage programme planned by Abu Dhabi Future Energy Company (Adfec) under the Masdar initiative.

  • Adnoc and Total submit Fertil expansion proposals

    Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (Adnoc) and France's Total are understood to have submitted proposals to the Supreme Petroleum Council for the expansion of the Ruwais Fertiliser Company (Fertil). A decision on the estimated $700 million expansion is due soon.

  • Adnoc awards gas contract

    Germany's ILF Consulting Engineers has been awarded a $50 million front-end engineering and design (FEED) contract for a new gas pressure reduction station at Maqta in Abu Dhabi emirate.The three-month FEED contract, which will be awarded by Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC) Distribution, covers the design of a new plant to reduce pressure from several pipelines before being re-routed for domestic use.The pressure reduction station will have a target handling capacity of

  • Agoco makes major find

    The National Oil Corporation (NOC) announced on 12 March a major oil discovery by state-owned Arabian Gulf Oil Company (Agoco) in Block NC4 in the Ghadames basin.

  • Ahmadinejad to address Security Council

    Iranian President Ahmadinejad is to address the UN Security Council when it votes whether to impose a new package of sanctions on Tehran following its refusal to halt uranium enrichment.Washington has approved a travel visa for Ahmadinejad to visit the UN headquarters where the Security Council will meet on 21 March. Proposed sanctions include a freeze on assets of senior officials linked to the atomic programme and a ban on new loans and financial grants to

  • Ahmadinejad to travel to Saudi Arabia

    Iranian President Ahmadinejad will travel to Riyadh on 3 March to hold talks over regional issues, an Iranian official told Reuters on 1 March.'President Ahmadinejad will travel to Saudi Arabia on Saturday,' said the official, who asked not to be named.He said the president would leave the kingdom on Sunday and talks would cover regional affairs but gave no further details. The talks are expected to focus on Iranian influence in Iraq, Lebanon and the Palesti

  • Air Arabia completes largest share offer ever in Dubai

    Air Arabia has closed its AED 2,500 million ($681 million) initial public offering (IPO) on the Dubai Financial Market, making it the largest IPO in the UAE to date.The Sharjah based-airline offered 55 per cent of its shares to the public, including non-UAE nationals which was another first for the UAE, and both individual and institutional investors.Rody Yared, senior vice president of syndication at Shuaa Capital, said the IPO demonstrated that despite the

  • Airport plans free zone

    Abu Dhabi Airports Company plans to build a free trade zone at Abu Dhabi International Airport. The free zone will occupying an area of more than 7 million square metres adjacent to the airport. The airport is itself currently undergoing an expansion that will take its capacity to 40 million passengers and 2 million tonnes of cargo a year (MEED 15:12:06).

  • Al-Ahleia bids low

    The local Al-Ahleia Switchgear Company is the low bidder at KD 23.3 million ($80.3 million) for a contract to manufacture, supply and install 11-kV/433-volt ring main substations throughout the state. The only other bidder for the contract is the local Electrical Boards Manufacturing Company (Ebomac) with an offer of KD 25.5 million ($88 million). The client, the Ministry of Energy (Electricity & Water), is expected to make an award by the end of June.

  • Al-Ahmadiah bid success

    The local Al-Ahmadiah Contracting has been awarded the estimated AED 1,000 million ($272 million) construction contract on the Jumeirah Lake Towers development. The contract involves the construction of the five Jumeirah Business Centre commercial towers that range from 39 to 44 storeys. The local/Swiss Arabian Forasol has completed the piling works. The local National Engineering Bureau (NEB) is the consultant. The local Al-Fajer Properties is the client (MEED 7:12:06).

  • Al-Futtaim in Abu Dhabi

    The Al-Futtaim Group is planning to develop a $9,500 million mixed-use project in Abu Dhabi. The project will take 10 years to build and will occupy more than 1 million square metres of land. The project will involve a major commercial complex, hotels, and residential and office towers.

  • ALGERIA: Tentative progress

    The surge in hydrocarbons revenues over the past three years has allowed Algiers to embark on a major investment programme that will see $100,000 million spent on upgrading the country's infrastructure by mid-2009, including new and upgraded road and rail networks and 1 million affordable housing units.

  • Al-Habtoor Dubai deal

    The local Al-Habtoor Engineering Enterprises has been awarded the main construction contract on the AED 1,500 million ($409 million) Sky Courts residential development in Dubailand. The contract involves the construction of six residential towers overlooking The Villa development close to the junction of Al-Ain and Emirates roads.

  • Al-Ittefaq in $135m loan

    Al-Ittefaq Steel Products Company has agreed a $135 million multicurrency syndicated loan to be used for working capital and capital expenditure. The lead arranger on the loan was Gulf International Bank, with other lenders including The National Commercial Bank, The Saudi Investment Bank, Arab Bank, National Bank of Kuwait SAK, Samba Financial Group and Standard Chartered.

  • Al-Maliki visits Ramadi

    Iraqi Prime Nouri al-Maliki has paid a surprise visit to Ramadi, the capital of the predominantly Sunni province of Anbar. The visit, on 13 March, is the first by the Shia leader to the area. Al-Maliki met Anbar governor Mamoun al-Alawani as well as tribal leaders and US and Iraqi military commanders.'I love this province and I'm proud that it's part of Iraq,' Al-Maliki said. 'I haven't been to Ramadi since 1976.' Ramadi has been at the centre

  • Al-Naboodah builds villas

    The local Al-Naboodah Contracting has been awarded a AED 1,600 million ($436 million) contract to build 306 villas on the luxury Al-Barari development in Dubai. It is the second win for the Al-Naboodah group on the project. Located at Nad al-Sheba, the development will also include a luxury hotel, shops and a health resort. The client is Al-Barari Development Company (MEED 28:7:06).

  • Al-Qudra and Suez team up

    The local Al-Qudra Holding has signed a memorandum of understanding with France's Suez Environment to set up a new joint venture company. Ownership of the new venture, which will focus on water and waste management projects in the region, will be divided on a 50:50 basis.It is the latest joint venture scheme for Al-Qudra, which in March last year formed Emirates Utilities Company Holding to develop public sector projects across the region. That is a joint venture with Utilities Developme

  • Al-Toukhi wins Tihama power plant deal

    The local Al-Toukhi Contracting has signed the contract, worth SR 483 million ($129 million), to extend the Tihama power plant.

  • Amec in line for in-house contract after low bid

    The UK's Amec is set to be awarded a major in-house project engineering and management services contract for Kuwait National Petroleum Company (KNPC) after submitting the low bid for the work.

  • Amman parliament changes press law

    The Jordanian parliament on 21 March approved changes to the kingdom's controversial press and publications law, abolishing a clause which would have allowed possible jail sentences for journalists.State news agency Petra reported that lawmakers voted in favour of dropping the provision permitting up to three years imprisonment for acts such as slander and religious defamation. The law, which had originally been approved in early March, imposed heavy fines and prison terms

  • Amman secures Eur 265 million in political and economic aid

    The EU has granted Amman Eur 265 million to boost the kingdom's reform programmes.Speaking at a signing ceremony in Amman on 1 March, Benita Ferrero-Waldner, EU Commissioner for External Relations and European Neighbourhood Policy, said 'We are offering a new and substantial assistance package to accompany Jordan in the implementation of economic, social and political reform,' The four-year grant will go towards political development, including press freedom

  • Amman-Zarqa rail deadline set

    The Public Transport Regulatory Commission has given prequalified companies until 26 April to submit bids for the build-operate-transfer contract for the estimated $200 million Amman-Zarqa light rail system.In early February, the Transport Ministry announced that it would allocate JD 60 million ($85.2 million) over three years towards the infrastructure costs of the scheme. The railway is due to be completed by 2009 and 17 companies are prequalified for the project (MEED 15:12:06).

  • Amman-Zarqa rail proposals request out

    The Public Transport Regulatory Commission (PTRC) issued in mid-December the request for proposals for the build-operate-transfer contract for the Amman-Zarqa light rail system. The PTRC has prequalified 17 companies for the project.The scope of works for the estimated $140 million project covers the construction of an electric-powered, double-track, standard-gauge light rail line between the kingdom's two largest cities - Amman and Zarqa (MEED 1:12:06).Prequalifiers:Abu Dhabi

  • ANALYSIS: Water works

    Across the Middle East, governments have made investment in their water distribution and treatment a priority.Saudi Arabia is the biggest example of this. Following in the footsteps of Abu Dhabi and Muscat, Riyadh caught the industry's attention late last year by announcing plans for the wholesale privatisation of its water distribution and wastewater networks.It will start with six-year management contracts covering major cities. The successful contractors will be required to im

  • Apicorp assesses gas-to-liquids projects

    Saudi Arabia's Arab Petroleum Investments Corporation (Apicorp) is considering investments in gas-to-liquids (GTL) projects in Algeria and Egypt.

  • Apicorp to sign Islamic debt package with Sabic

    Arab Petroleum Investments Corporation (Apicorp) is close to sealing a landmark $850 million package of international Islamic debt financing for petrochemicals firm Saudi Basic Industries Corporation (Sabic).The investment company says the deal will involve local, regional and international banks and will be signed in April. According to a senior Apicorp executive, a strong group of Asian and European banks are expected to take part, in a recognition of the growing importance of Islamic

  • Arab League welcomes Palestinian unity government

    The Arab League has applauded the new unity government announced by Palestinian Authority Prime Minister Ismail Haniya.'The focus [for the League] will now be on moving the peace process with a united Palestinian stand,' said a spokesman for the organisation on 16 March.Haniya announced the formation of the new government on 15 March. The Palestinian parliament is expected to vote to approve it on 17 March. Although Tel Aviv has criticised the

  • Arabian Bemco agrees local finance package

    Arabian Bemco has agreed a SR 2,330 million ($622 million) financing package with local banks to fund two new power plant contracts in Riyadh.

  • Arabian Mines awards Jubail deal to Jacobs

    The US/local Arabian Amines Company (AAC) is moving ahead with its $150 million Jubail ethylene amines complex, and has issued the contractsto the US' Jacobs Engineering for the project managementconsultancy (PMC) and front-end engineering and design (FEED).

  • Arab-Israeli trade: Busting the boycott

    Made in Israel' is not a label that you are likely to see in the Middle East. Ever since the Jewish state was founded in 1948, most Arab states have maintained an official boycott on all trade and business dealings with their unwelcome neighbour. Even today, it is impossible to telephone an Israeli number from most cities in the Gulf.

  • Arabtec ends talks with Dubai Contracting

    The local Arabtec Holding has pulled out of talks to buy the local Dubai Contracting Company (DCC).Had the deal been concluded it would have created the largest construction company in the UAE. However, Arabtec's board of directors decided to stop negotiations after an agreement on the proposed purchase could not be reached.In 2006, Arabtec secured $1,793 million of new orders. DCC secured $855 million over the same period.

  • Arabtec sets up venture in Pakistan

    Dubai-based Arabtec Holding and Abraaj Capital's subsidiary AMN Mauritius have signed a joint venture agreement to set up Arabtec Construction Mauritius in Pakistan. Arabtec will hold a 60 per cent share in the company.The first project awarded to Arabtec Construction Mauritius is the $136 million Karachi Financial Towers being developed by Enshaan NLC Developments - a joint venture between Sharjah-based Enshaa Holdings and NLC Developers. The project involves the construc

  • Aramco invites faculty bids

    Saudi Aramco has issued invitations to bid for the faculties construction tender at King Abdullah University of Science & Technology as part of an ambitious plan to open the centre by 2009.

  • Aramco invites interest

    Saudi Aramco has invited international contractors to submit prequalification applications by mid-April for a contract to install a diesel hydrotreater unit at its Ras Tanura refinery. Invited companies include ABB Lummus Global, Fluor Corporation and Foster Wheeler, all of the US, South Korea's Samsung Engineering Company, Paris-based Technip, and Snamprogetti and Techint, both of Italy.

  • Aramco issues onshore Manifa tender

    Saudi Aramco has received expressions of interest from up to 30 international contractors for four main packages on the onshore portion of its Manifa gas field development.

  • Aramco launches Karan field

    Saudi Aramco has underlined its intention to implement the Karan gas field development on fast-track basis by issuing a tender for the joint front-end engineering and design and project management consultancy contract, just three weeks after receiving prequalification applications.At least six international companies have been invited to submit bids by 20 March for the contract, which covers the onshore portion of the multi-billion-dollar project. Offshore engineering is being carried ou

  • Aramco signs enlarged Chinese refinery deal

    State oil giant Saudi Aramco is to go ahead with an enlarged multi-billion dollar refinery and petrochemical project in China's Fujian province.

  • Arcapita awards headquarters contract

    Locally-based Arcapita has awarded the South African/local joint venture of Murray & Roberts Contractors (Middle East) and Nass Contracting the estimated $160 million main contract for its headquarters project on the Bahrain Bay development.

  • Arrested development for Middle East contractors

    Middle East contractors have never been shy of talking up the market. But concern over spiralling capital costs and a tight labour market is causing more than a few headaches.

  • Ashghal builds schools

    The Public Works Authority (Ashghal) has awarded Al-Sariya Trading & Contracting Company a QR 271 million ($74 million) contract to build seven schools. The contract involves the construction of schools in West Muaither, Al-Shahaniya, Al-Sayliya and Al-Abo Sadra. The total built-up area for each school is 9,857 square metres. They have been designed in house by Ashghal (MEED 4:8:06).

  • Atomic note for Tehran signals inflation

    Tehran has issued a new bank note showing the atomic symbol. The 50,000 rial note also has a quote from the Prophet Muhammad.On one side of the note electrons are shown in orbit around an atom on a map of Iran. The quote reads: 'Men from the land of Persia will attain scientific knowledge even if it is as far as the Pleiades.' The Pleiades are a cluster of stars. On the reverse side, the note shows the former Iranian president Ayatollah Khomeini.

  • Australians bid against Italians for smelter work

    Australia's Worley Parsons and Italy's Technip submitted bids on 18 March for Abu Dhabi's first aluminium smelter to be built at Taweelah.The contract covers engineering, procurement and construction management services for the smelter and is due to be awarded by mid-April. A similar package for the power plant is being tendered separately.The US' Fluor Corporation is understood to have declined to bid despite receiving an invitation from developer Emirates Aluminium (Emal), a jo

  • Authorities clamp down on extremist teaching

    Riyadh is implementing new measures to curb the teaching of extremist ideologies in schools.According to local media reports, the joint initiative by the education and interior ministries will impose a strict new screening process to assess Saudis applying to become teachers. The aim is to root out those holding extremist views from the profession.Saudis who apply to the ministry of education for teaching work will also be required to get the interior minist

  • Awards flow for drilling rigs

    Kuwait Oil Company (KOC) has awarded three five-year contracts, worth more than KD 115 million ($397 million), for the supply and operation of drilling rigs.

  • Baghdad blast shakes UN secretary-general

    UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon was forced to duck behind a table at a press conference in Baghdad after a large explosion just 100 metres away from the building he was in. Reports vary as to whether the explosion was caused by a mortar or a rocket.Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki was also present. The press conference continued following the attack.Maliki and Ban had held an hour-long meeting earlier in the day. It is the UN chief's firs

  • Baghdad to lift ban on Baath members

    Baghdad announced on 26 March plans for a new law to allow former Baath party members who served under the regime of former Iraqi president Saddam Hussein to return to senior government posts. The law has received backing from Washington, despite being a major reversal of the US' former policy of de-Baathification.The new law will be presented to parliament by Prime Minister Nouri Maliki and President Talabani. In a joint statement, the two leaders said: 'Th

  • Baghdad urges Damascus to secure common border

    Iraq has called on Syria to make greater efforts in securing the border between the two countries.Speaking before the final session of the Arab League summit in Riyadh on 29 March, Iraqi foreign minister, Hoshar Zabari, said Damascus must improve its border controls to prevent Islamic insurgents crossing into Iraq.'Not enough has been done to halt the infiltration of terrorists into Iraq,' he said. 'We do not say the [Syrian] government is directly responsib

  • Bahrain to launch largest Islamic bank

    The chairman of Bahrain's Al-Baraka Banking Group (ABG) unveiled plans on 28 March for the launch of the largest sharia-compliant bank in the world. The planned bank will have a capital of $100,000 million, which is being sought from institutional investors, Sheikh Saleh Abdullah Kamel said on the sidelines of an ABG ordinary general meeting. The capital will be raised in five-seven years.The Bahrain-based General Council for Islamic Banks & Financial Instit

  • Bangladeshi airline crashes at Dubai Airport

    A Biman Bangladesh Airlines airplane crashed at Dubai International Airport on the morning of 12 March.According to Dubai's Department of Civil Aviation a mechanical failure caused the accident in which 14 people were injured. There were 236 passengers on board the plane. Unconfirmed eyewitness reports have suggested that one of the aircraft's wheels fell off as it was about to take off, causing it to crash into the runway.The airport will be closed for at l

  • Bank gets stable outlook

    UK-based Fitch Ratings has affirmed a stable outlook and a short-term B and BB- issuer default rating for the Bank of Jordan. The ratings take into account 'the improving, although potentially volatile, operating environment in which the bank operates, with the economy exposed to regional political tensions', according to the ratings service. The bank has the second largest network in the kingdom, with 73 branches.

  • Bank gets UAE licence

    The Central Bank of the UAE has granted a licence to National Bank of Kuwait (NBK) to begin operating in the federation. NBK said the licence is part of its strategy to expand across the Gulf and the Arab world, and that it was a 'vital step that will eventually add further momentum to NBK's continuous growth'. NBK says it will also enhance its ability to service Kuwaiti investments in the UAE.

  • Bank offer moves on

    The Investment Ministry has invited banks to submit bids to arrange the initial public offering (IPO) of 15 per cent of Bank of Alexandria (BoA). The deadline for submissions is 1 March. The government sold 80 per cent of the bank's shares to Italy's Sanpaolo IMI in 2006 for $1,600 million in the country's first sell-off of a state-owned bank. It now wants to sell its remaining stake. Alongside the IPO, 5 per cent will be allocated to BoA's 7,000 workers (MEED 20:10:06).

  • Bank sale faces delays

    The start of the sale of state-owned Credit Populaire d'Algerie has been delayed until late March. It had been expected in early February but was pushed back to enable Rothschild, the financial adviser on the deal, to answer questions from the authorities in Algiers. An award is not expected until September. It will be made on a highest-price basis (MEED 26:1:07).

  • BANKING: Marginal returns

    Sense will have to prevail in this madness,' says Ravi Suri, head of project and export finance at Standard Chartered Bank. He is one of a number of bankers across the region pleading for an end to famished margins. But looking ahead to another storming year in GCC project finance, their grumbles seem unlikely to be heard.

  • Banks race for first securitisation

    The race to launch the first securitisation in the Middle East could be over by as early as June as a number of banks compete to be the first in the marketplace.

  • Bapco signs drilling deal

    Bahrain Petroleum Company (Bapco) has finalised a $33 million deal to drill 70 oil wells as part of the Oil Ministry's plans to explore 700 wells by 2015. The contract, signed between Bapco and the Kuwaiti Burgan Drilling Company, calls for the provision of two contract rigs in the Bahrain field, the island's only oil production site. The first will drill 48 wells beginning in April and the second will start in August drilling 22 wells.

  • Barclays finishes first stage of expansion

    The local subsidiary of the UK's Barclays Bank has concluded the first phase of an ambitious growth strategy in the country, with the opening of its fifteenth branch on 27 March.

  • Beijing, Washington finance Jordanian water projects

    Beijing and Amman have signed an agreement to finance a water project near Zarqa, the kingdom's second largest city. Under the deal signed on 19 March Beijing will provide a $7.8 million grant towards upgrading the water pipeline network in the Ruseifa area of the Zarqa governorate. The deal was signed by the Planning Ministry and the Chinese ambassador. It comes four days after a similar agreement with Washington to support the water sector in the kingdom.

  • Beirut acts against interference in government appointments

    In a move to improve the calibre of top government officials, Prime Minister Fouad Siniora is to stop selecting candidates for senior posts based on their political and religious allegiances.'We are following different criteria in the selection of top government posts. These [new] appointments are based on merits and qualifications,' said Siniora on 23 March. 'All candidates must undergo tests and the names of these candidates will not be disclosed during the exams. We are

  • Belgians win Arabian canal

    Belgium's Jan de Nul has started work on the first phase of the Arabian Canal project in Dubai.

  • Bidders line up for Mecca-Medina rail link

    Seven international groups have applied to build the $6,000 million high-speed rail link between the holy cities of Makkah and Medina.

  • Bidders wait for Kureimat power plant

    The New & Renewable Energy Authority (NREA) is preparing to award the contract for the joint engineering, procurement & construction (EPC) and operation & management (O&M) contract for the 30-MW solar phase of its 150-MW Kureimat hybrid power plant.

  • Bidding begins for offshore oil and gas projects

    The Petroleum & Mineral Resources Ministry will invite international oil companies (IOCs) to bid for four blocks as part of its first offshore oil and gas licensing round, according to deputy petroleum and mineralminister Hassan Zeinab.

  • Bidding opens for Nimr water treatment

    Petroleum Development Oman (PDO) has invited contractors to bid for a major water treatment and re-use contract at the Nimr oilfield.

  • Bids called for liner work

    Kuwait Oil Company has invited three international oilfield services companies to submit bids by 10 April for the contract to supply liner hangers and associated services. The prequalifers are Canada's TIW Corporation, and Baker Oil Tools and Smith International, both of the US. The estimated $75 million, five-year contract covers the supply of liner hangers for well completion work. A liner hanger is used to attach liners to the internal wall of a well casing.

  • Bids go in for Fertil revamp

    Technical and unpriced commercial bids from three international groups have been submitted for the contract to revamp and expand the Ruwais Fertiliser Company's (Fertil) ammonia and urea complex in Abu Dhabi.

  • Bids in for Ras al-Zour port

    Saudi Arabian Mining Company (Maaden) has started evaluating design and build bids for the marine works package on its new industrial zone at Ras al-Zour.

  • Bids in for Salam Street interchanges

    Abu Dhabi Municipality has received three bids for the overhaul of junctions along Salam Street on Abu Dhabi island.

  • Bids opened for Duqm port marine works contract

    The Tender Board has opened bid prices for the marine works package on Duqm port, which will serve the sultanate's new industrial and petrochemicals area.

  • Big demand for top bank traders in the Middle East

    Some of the world's biggest banks have begun recruiting significant numbers of new traders for their Middle East operations to manage their increased activity in the region. 'Every kind of banker you can think of is in high demand in the region,' says an HSBC spokesman.

  • Block 5B bids likely to face environmental scrutiny

    Bids for an engineering contract to develop block 5B in the south of Sudan are likely to come under close attention from environmental groups concerned about the impact of commercial drilling on the region's rare wildlife species.

  • BMG granted brokerage

    BMG Financial Advisers has been granted brokerage, asset management and custody licences by the Capital Market Authority in Riyadh. The firm recently opened a new office in the city, which is to become its headquarters. The new services are expected to be in operation by July. In preparation, BMG is partnering with Cairo's Beltone Financial to gain access to its asset management and brokerage experience.

  • Bonds crucial to growth, says IMF

    The development of the bond market is fundamental to the growth of Middle East economies, according to the IMF's Middle East chief, and will become more important than regional stock exchanges.

  • Booster station out to bid

    Kuwait Oil Company (KOC) has tendered the engineering, procurement and construction contract to build a gas booster station in the southeast, as part of plans to increase its gas handling capacity.

  • BP plans Gupco investment

    The UK's BP is planning to invest about $600 million over the next five years to upgrade the field infrastructure of its Egyptian venture, Gulf of Suez Petroleum Company (Gupco).

  • Brazil's Petrobas to study central oil shale deposits

    Brazil's Petrobras has signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the Natural Resources Authority (NRA) for a feasibility study into the commercial viability of surface oil shale deposits in the Attarat umm Ghudran block in the centre of the kingdom.

  • Building plan for Damascus

    Kuwait-based Al-Aqeelah Finance & Investment Company is planning two real estate projects in Damascus worth $5,600 million.

  • Bureaucracy cramps Alrar gas field revamp work

    State energy company Sonatrach is set to issue tenders by the end of March for an estimated $100 million contract to revamp gas facilities on the Alrar field on the southwest border with Libya. But the successful execution of the project, and others like it, could be hampered by red tape, say sources close to the project.

  • Busier time for insurance

    The number of insurance companies in the sultanate is about to double, increasing competition in the emerging insurance sector.

  • Cabinet resigns ahead of no-confidence vote

    The cabinet resigned on 4 March, just a day before the National Assembly (parliament) was due to take a vote of no-confidence in Health Minister Sheikh Ahmad Abdullah al-Sabah.The resignation was prompted by the government's failure to secure a parliamentary majority ahead of the no-confidence vote in Sheikh Ahmad. The health minister had been under pressure to resign since mid-February when opposition MPs accused him of being responsible for financial mismanagement and ad

  • Cairo plans stock market for smaller firms

    Cairo plans to establish a stock market designed for smaller companies, in a move that should help promote the development of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), Finance Minister Youssef Boutros Ghali has told MEED. 'The new market will ease SME access to capital by easing registration and disclosure requirements,' Ghali said on 21 March.

  • Capital boost for Gulf bank

    Gulf International Bank (GIB) has boosted its deal-making abilities after its shareholders gave it an extra $500 million in capital. The move also improves the bank's capital ratios and prepares it for the introduction of Basel II international banking standards.'It allows us to underwrite much larger transactions in the project finance area and compete with the larger international banks. This will allow us to underwrite transactions that are beyond the ability of most of the region's b

  • Capital regulator planned

    The Finance Ministry is planning to set up a new, independent regulatory body to oversee the stock market by the end of 2007. Currently, Banque du Liban (central bank) supervises the stock exchange. The new body was recommended in a report submitted in late February.

  • Cement plant planned

    The local Al-Ahsa Development Company is to set up a grassroots cement plant in Al-Ahsa, close to Hofuf in the Eastern Province. The new plant will have capacity of 5,000 tonnes a day, and a development cost of SR 1,200 million ($320 million). Al-Ahsa says it has a licence from the Industry & Commerce Ministry to produce ordinary and salt-resistant cement and is working on obtaining a permit to set up the project from the Petroleum & Mineral Resources Ministry.

  • Cement tariff imposed

    Trade & Industry Minister Mohammed Rachid Mohammed has imposed new tariffs on exported cement and steel in an attempt to calm rising domestic prices. Cement exports will face a tariff of£E 65 ($11.4) a tonne, while steel exports will be liable for a duty of£E 160 ($28) a tonne. The move comes amid fears that foreigners importing Egyptian cement were benefiting from the domestic subsidies.

  • Central Bank sets up obstacles to new banks

    The Central Bank of Oman (CBO) has raised the minimum capital requirement for a greenfield bank to RO 100 million ($259 million) from RO 50 million ($129 million). The CBO has also doubled the capital requirement for foreign banks establishing branches in the sultanate to RO 20 million ($52 million). The move has been construed as a bar to new banks entering the sector, which already has five local institutions and 10 foreign banks. The number of local banks

  • China strengthens ties with Dubai

    Chinese goods worth AED18 billion ($4.9 billion) have passed through the Jebel Ali Free Zone in Dubai last year, making China the biggest trading partner for both the Emirate and the Free Zone.'The past decade has seen relations between China and Dubai grow exponentially as a result of the all-round developments we have been witnessing in Dubai and the rest of the UAE,' said Salma Hareb, chief executive of the Jebel Ali Free Zone.The Free Zone has also annou

  • Chinese in fuel oil cracker talks

    Algiers is in discussions with China National Petroleum Corporation (CNPC) for the contract to take a majority stake in the development of aworld-scale fuel oil cracker at Skikda in the northeast, say industry sources.

  • Chinese take Bayswater

    Beijing-based China State Construction & Engineering Corporation has been awarded the AED 180 million ($49 million) main construction contract for the 25-storey Bayswater commercial tower at Business Bay. APCC has completed the piling works. Dubarch, also local, is the consultant.

  • Claims that Dubai is at risk from corporate collapses

    A major corporate collapse is likely to occur soon in Dubai, according to speakers at the Gulf Regional Audit Conference at Dubai.They claimed that fast growth, expanding wealth and poor internal controls make the region susceptible to the factors which brought down Enron and Barings Bank.'The atmosphere here is right for such an event to happen. Dubai is growing too fast and too big,' Basel Hantouli, head of internal audit at Dubai-based retail group Majid

  • CMA issues directive

    Cairo's Capital Market Authority (CMA) has launched a fresh drive to improve corporate governance among finance companies, with a new directive issued on 12 March. Companies will have to separate the roles of company chairman and chief executive officer. The CMA has also said the majority of board members must be non-executives. Companies are also only able to appoint auditors registered with the CMA. Companies have six months to comply.

  • Combined Group wins Musaimeer road upgrade

    Kuwait's Combined Group has been awarded a QR 277 million ($76 million) contract to upgrade the Musaimeer road in Doha.

  • Combined Group wins water deals

    The local Combined Group has signed two contracts, totalling KD33.6 million ($116 million), to improve the state's water infrastructure.

  • Committee set up to buy Landbridge land

    The Saudi Railways Organisation (SRO) is setting up a committee with two government ministries to oversee the acquisition of land for the Saudi Landbridge project which will link the Red Sea with the Gulf for the first time.

  • COMMODITIES EXCHANGES: Investing in the futures

    In just under two months, all eyes will turn to the Dubai Mercantile Exchange (DME) as it launches the region's first energy futures contract, potentially altering the way nearly one-quarter of the world's crude oil is priced [see box].

  • Confession by second British sailor aired

    A second British sailor has apologised for trespassing in Iranian waters, after he was arrested together with 14 other members of his crew on 23 March.'I would like to apologise for entering your waters without permission,' Nathan Summers said on Iranian television.UK Prime Minister Tony Blair warned that the airing of the footage by Iran was counterproductive. 'I really don't know why the Iranian regime keeps doing this,' Blair said. All it d

  • Consultants win contract

    Kuwait Oil Company has awarded the team of the UK's Atkins, the local Gulf Consult and Ernst & Young a further 12-month consultancy contract on the proposed Ahmadi township redevelopment. Worth up to KD 950,000 ($3.3 million), the contract covers planning, traffic and urban design studies. The redevelopment will be carried out on a build-operate-transfer basis (MEED 1:9:06).

  • Contracting community welcomes the splitting ministries

    The splitting of the Ministry of Oil from the Ministry of Electricity & Water following the cabinet reshuffle in late March has been broadly welcomed by the contracting community in the state.

  • Contractors line up to bid for Riyadh substations

    Saudi Electricity Company has issued tenders for the construction of two major 380-kV substations at the PP9 power station expansion and new PP10 power plant in Riyadh.

  • Contractors prequalify for Hodeirat bridge construction

    The local Tourism & Development Investment Company (TDIC) has prequalified companies for the construction of a new bridge connecting Abu Dhabi island with Hodeirat island. Tenders for the contract are expected to be issued in May.

  • CONTRACTS

  • Contracts signed for El-Tebbine

    Cairo Electricity Production Company (CEPC) has awarded two packages on its 650-MW El-Tebbine power plant, with further awards due soon.

  • Controversial date set for elections

    Rabat has announced that it will hold elections to the parliament's lower house on 7 September, amid controversy over the political implications of the chosen poll date.The country's main political parties failed to reach a consensus on the timing of elections after the government asked them to choose between 7 July and 7 September.Secularists preferred the July date, feeling that their Islamist rivals would benefit from holding the elections in September, j

  • Cooling in joint venture

    The local National Central Cooling Company (Tabreed) has entered a joint venture with local real estate developer Aldar Properties to build 25 district cooling plants in the federation. The projects will require about $3,000 million of investment. Known as A&T Cool, the joint venture's plants will generate 1.5 million tonnes of refrigeration over five years.

  • Corporate bond market to double in value in 2007

    The value of corporate bonds issued in the GCC will almost double in 2007 compared with the previous year, according to Moody's Investors Service.

  • Costain takes Das work

    The local/UK Costain Abu Dhabi has been awarded an estimated $51 million contract to replace a 14-kilometre underground pipeline network on Das island. The order, placed by Abu Dhabi Marine Operating Company (Adma-Opco), will take four years and will focus on the Das tankage area.

  • Credit bureau debut nears

    North Africa's first credit bureau, I-Score, will begin operations in Egypt in July, in a move that could boost levels of borrowing in the country.

  • Cristal buys US firm

    Saudi Arabia's National Titanium Dioxide (Cristal) has bought the titanium oxide business of US chemicals group Lyondell in a deal worth $1,200 million. Cristal will take over the operations of Lyondell's Millennium Inorganic Chemicals subsidiary, which has capacity of 670,000 tonnes a year (t/y). Cristal is an affiliate of National Industrialisation Company, majority owned by Saudi Arabia's Tasnee.

  • CULTURE & BUSINESS: Cultural revolution

    There was a collective Gallic shrug of the shoulders across France on 7 March. The Louvre, the greatest symbol of the country's cultural legacy, had been spun off to a distant satellite in the Middle East the previous day. The purists derided the deal as political and economic profiteering to the detriment of the homeland. But in the end everybody has a price. Abu Dhabi pulled off a coup at $1,300 million and in one fell swoop ensured the federation's emergence on the global cultural map.

  • Dar al-Arkan Sukuk closes massively oversubscribed

    Dar al-Arkan has confirmed that its recent sukuk finally closed massively oversubscribed at $950 million, prompting a further issue later this year.The real estate developer is negotiating a new $500 million syndicated loan to finance its building projects in Jeddah and Al-Khobar this year.However it is also now planning a $700 million sukuk in the third quarter of this financial year, to cater for those who missed out on the $950 million issue. Dar al-Arkan is in discussions wit

  • Desalination deal nears end stage

    South Korea's Doosan Heavy Industries & Construction is in final negotiations with the Saline Water Conversion Corporation (SWCC) to build a desalination complex next to the Shuaibah independent water and power project (IWPP).The contract covers the addition of 33-million-gallons-a-day (g/d) of desalination capacity at the site, using reverse-osmosis technology. The final price has yet to be determined, but is likely to be close to $300 million.The fast-track project is scheduled

  • Desalination deal nears end stage

    South Korea's Doosan Heavy Industries & Construction is in final negotiations with the Saline Water Conversion Corporation (SWCC) to build a desalination complex next to the Shuaibah independent water and power project (IWPP).The contract covers the addition of 33-million-gallons-a-day (g/d) of desalination capacity at the site, using reverse-osmosis technology. The final price has yet to be determined, but is likely to be close to $300 million.The fast-track project is schedu

  • Design work starts on Tameer Towers

    The US' Gensler has won the design contract on the new Tameer Towers mixed-use tower project in Shams, Abu Dhabi. The scheme will consist of four residential, office and hotel towers on Reem Island. The client, Sharjah-based Tameer Holding, says the tower will be one of the tallest in Abu Dhabi.

  • Developer Aldar plans to start work on Yas hotels

    Local real estate developer Aldar Properties is to issue tenders in May for contracts covering the construction of at least five hotels on Yas island, to take advantage of the anticipated boost in visitor numbers.

  • Developers join forces

    Abu Dhabi's four leading real estate developers have formed an alliance to invest outside the federation. Established by Aldar Properties, Sorouh Real Estate, Reem Investments and Al-Qudra Holding, Al-Maabar is studying development opportunities in selected regional and international markets. In a similar move, Dubai-based Majid al-Futtaim Group (MAF) has signed a memorandum of understanding with Abu Dhabi-based Al-Qudra Holding to develop projects in Abu Dhabi and across the Middle East.

  • Deyaar to fund international expansion

    Deyaar Development, the real estate subsidiary of Dubai Islamic Bank, has applied to the Economy Ministry to launch an initial public offering (IPO) in the first half of 2007. 'We have submitted a petition to the Ministry of Economy and it usually takes a few weeks before you receive any feedback,' says Deyaar's chief executive officer Zack Shaheen. The funds raised in the IPO will be used to launch new projects overseas. Deyaar is planning two projects in Kazakhstan, and is evaluating opportuni

  • Doha Bank goes into UAE

    Doha Bank will launch operations in the UAE in April.It will be the first Qatari bank to establish in the federation and was granted a full banking licence from the Central Bank of the UAE in August 2006. This brings the number of banks in the Emirates to 47.

  • Doha issues Ras Laffan C tender

    Qatar General Electricity & Water Corporation (Kahramaa) has issued the request for proposals to developers for the state's largest co-generation plant.

  • Doha receives upgrade to sovereign rating

    Qatar has secured the highest sovereign rating in the GCC from Standard & Poor's (S&P), after the agency upgraded it to AA- from A+.

  • Doha telecoms liberalisation

    Telecoms regulator the Supreme Council for Information & Communications Technology has taken the first step towards breaking the monopoly of Qatar Telecom (Q-Tel) by launching a consultation on the local telecoms network.

  • Double tax deal signed with South Africa

    Saudi Arabia has signed an accord with South Africa to avoid double taxation and forge stronger trade and investment links between the two countries.

  • Dozens of Al-Qaeda militants killed in Iraq

    Iraqi police said on 1 March that security forces had killed dozens of al-Qaeda militants a day earlier in the Anbar province. According to The Interior Ministry 80 militants were killed and 50 more were detained after Al-Qaeda fighters attacked the village of Amiriyat al-Falluja. The ensuing clashes lasted throughout the day. Washington plans to deploy 4,000 US troops in the Anbar province, which is at centre of a power struggle between local Sunni tribesme

  • Dubai Aerospace in talks for aircraft services firms

    Dubai Aerospace Enterprise (DAE) is in discussions to buy two aviation maintenance companies from the US-based Carlyle Group for more than $1,500 million.If the deal goes ahead, DAE will buy Landmark Aviation and Standard Aero Holdings, sell their aircraft fueling, de-icing and flight-scheduling services and keep the two companies' maintenance operations. The purchase of Landmark Aviation is subject to a review by the Committee on Foreign Investment - a US g

  • Dubai Bank triples capital

    Dubai Bank has raised its capital by AED 1,000 million ($272 million). The money will be used to fund an expansion of the bank's branch network and the launch of new retail, investment and corporate banking products. Existing shareholders Dubai Holding, which has a 70 per cent stake in the bank, and Emaar Properties, which holds the remainder, provided the new capital.The shareholders agreed to the increase, which triples the bank's capital to

  • Dubai gives sukuk dual listing

    Dubai Islamic Bank's (DIB) decision to become the first bank to list a sukuk in Dubai and London is believed to have been the result of political pressure to compel the bank to support local markets.

  • Dubai high-rise fire causes traffic gridlock

    Safety on Dubai construction sites has once again come under the spotlight after a high-rise tower, under construction on Sheikh Zayed road, caught fire. No casualties were reported in the incident, which saw Dubai's main highway closed for several hours, resulting in traffic chaos around the city.The fire broke out at 6am in the new Khalid al-Attar building, which is being built by the local Transemirates Contracting. It came just two months after another high-rise, the F

  • Dubai land sales double

    The number of vehicles registered in Dubai has shot up by a third in the past year, while land sales almost doubled, according to a new government report, Dubai in Figures.Car registrations were up 30 per cent to 212,867, said the report. It also underlined the buoyancy of the real estate sector by estimating the total value of land sales surged by almost 100 per cent to $17,700 million in 2006, as a result of a hike in land prices and an increased number of transactions.

  • DUBAI MARITIME CITY: Looking ship-shape

    As a growing company, Dubai-based Mideast Ship Management (MSML) is constantly on the lookout for new offices. After checking its options in Shaikh Zayed road and Garhoud, it settled late last year on a suite in the Musalla Towers in Bank Street to house its headquarters. But it may not be here for long. Founded in 1996, MSML manages 23 ships, including very large crude carriers (VLCCs), cargo and chemical carriers, and is a growing player in regional shipping.

  • Dubai oil futures gets regulator backing

    The Dubai Mercantile Exchange (DME) has received crucial backing from Asian regulators for its ambitious plan to create the region's first energy futures exchange (MEED 02:03:06).

  • Dubai real estate group moves into Saudi market

    KM Holding is to announce a SR 15,000 million ($4,000 million) project to build five new towers, its first large-scale construction project in the kingdom.

  • Duo sign off contracts

    Combined Group and United Gulf Construction Company (UGCC), both local, have been awarded the two contracts, totalling KD 19.4 million ($67 million), to upgrade infrastructure in the South Surra district of Kuwait City. The work covers road, drainage and lighting upgrades in Al-Siddiq areas one and two. Both contractors were low bidders for the packages when bids were submitted last November. The client is the Ministry of Public Works (MEED 17:11:06).

  • E.ON sets up shop

    Germany's E.ON Ruhrgas is to open representative offices in Doha and Dubai in a drive to secure liquefied natural gas supplies and upstream assets in the region. The offices will be headed by John Roper, who was previously regional head of Petro-Canada in Dubai.

  • Economic growth slows to five-year low

    National Bank of Abu Dhabi (NBAD) has said that the economy is set to grow at the slowest rate for five years because of lower crude oil prices throughout the year.

  • ECONOMY: Growth at a slower pace

    It may sound odd to describe an economy that is set to post 15 per cent nominal growth as slowing down. But that is the situation Qatar is facing in 2007. Lower oil prices and a projected cut in crude production will mean that economic growth will not match the stellar performances of 2004-06, when the economy expanded on average by 30 per cent a year.

  • Egypt votes on constitutional changes

    The Egyptian people have voted in a referendum on 26 March to decide whether controversial changes to the constitution will become law.The constitutional amendments would give the government the authority to ban political parties based on religion. They would also give Cairo greater power to deal with suspected terrorists, including wider powers of arrest, surveillance and trials in special courts.An unspoken target of the amendments is the Muslim Brotherhoo

  • EGYPT: Cairo's power play

    When Cairo's latest five-year electricity masterplan ends in 2012, Egypt will have total electricity generation capacity of about 27,000 MW, up 6,000 MW on current capacity, and 11,000 MW more than in 2002. In the period 2002-12, Cairo will have completed 21 separate power generation capacity expansion schemes.

  • EgyptAir stake to be sold

    Cairo is to sell a 20 per cent stake in national carrier EgyptAir through a stock market listing. Civil Aviation Minister Ahmed Shafik said the stake would be worth£E 4,000 million-5,000 million ($700 million-880 million). The government will retain the remaining 80 per cent of the airline.The proceeds from the sale have been earmarked to finance the purchase of 12 new aircraft - EgyptAir already maintains a fleet of 40 planes and operates 400 flights a week

  • El-Ezz plans Algerian factory

    The local El-Ezz Steel Company is planning to set up a factory in Algeria.

  • Emaar denies defects at Burj Dubai tower

    Local real estate developer Emaar Properties is applying extra reinforcement to floor slabs on the Burj Dubai tower, but has denied the slabs are defective.

  • Emaar set to list newly created entities

    Local developer Emaar Properties is to split its business into six new divisions within three years.

  • Emaar takes control of Egyptian arm

    UAE-based ~Emaar Properties~ has acquired full ownership of its Egyptian subsidiary ~Emaar Misr~.The deal, which involved the purchase of 60 per cent of the company from its Egyptian partner ~Artoc Group for Investment and Development~, is valued at $142 million.Emaar Misr's projects include Uptown Cairo and Marassi. It is evaluating two future projects on the Cairo-Alexandria Highway and along the Fifth Avenue in Cairo.Emaar is currently the

  • Emirates leases Boeings to cover Airbus delays

    Dubai-based carrier Emirates has signed an agreement with the US' GE Commercial Aviation Services to lease five more Boeing 777-300ER aircraft.

  • EMPLOYMENT: Raising the bar

    Economic success comes at a price. For the federation, it has been demographic imbalance. Some 80 per cent of the UAE's population is made up of expatriates, according to the latest census. In cosmopolitan Dubai, the number of foreigners outnumbers nationals by at least eight to one. The startling figures have created a status quo where economic success hinges on a satisfied foreign workforce. But as the country has forged ahead economically, growing frustrations have appeared among its resident

  • Energy City plans North Africa expansion

    Energy City Qatar, the hydrocarbons business hub, is exploring plans to establish an energy hub and commodities exchange in North Africa.

  • Energy Ministry awards Subiya contracts

    The Ministry of Energy (Electricity & Water) has selected contractors for the fourth and fifth emergency power contracts this year. A contractor has also been chosen for a major conventional power generating project.

  • Enfidha airport award due by month-end

    The award of an estimated $450 million contract to develop a new airport at Enfidha in the northeast is expected by late March, according to project sources.

  • Esfahan steel plant gears up to expand

    Esfahan Steel Company (Esco) has launched a tender for a new continuous casting unit to produce up to 1 million tonnes a year (t/y) of steel.The project will be financed on a conventional basis by Iran Mineral Industries Development & Renovation Organisation (Imidro), a Mines & Industry Ministry affiliate. The project is part of Tehran's attempts to increase steel capacity and diversify the economy.The engineering, procurement and construction project will include commissioning a

  • Ethylene club members bid to build cracker

    All five members of theethylene club have submitted expressions of interest to Saudi International Petrochemical Company (Sipchem) for the contract to build its planned ethylene cracker in Jubail.

  • EU loans win approval

    Cairo is to receive Eur 558 million ($736 million) in financial assistance from the EU.

  • EU resumes talks with Damascus

    EU foreign policy chief Javier Solana on 14 March held talks with Syrian President Asad, having also met Foreign Affairs Minister Walid al-Muallem and Vice President Farouk al-Shara. It is the first time Solana has held talks with Asad since the assassination of former Lebanese prime minister Rafik Hariri in February 2005. Solana was expected to announce that the EU will engage with Damascus in return for Syria's constructive involvement in the Middle East a

  • Evaluation begins for Qatalum smelter bidders

    Bids are under evaluation for one of the largest packages on the Qatalum smelter project, after three international groups submitted quotes to build the captive power plant.

  • Exchange Tripoli bound

    The Libyan Stock Exchange Market was moved from Benghazi to Tripoli on 11 March. No explanation was given for the move. Seven companies are listed on the exchange, but only five are fully subscribed. 'It was a premature move,' says a banking source. 'It has the potential to backfire. I am not sure they even have the manpower to run it.' The decsion to set up the stock exchange was announced in June 2006.

  • Extension expected for Hariri probe

    The UN investigation into the assassination of former Lebanese prime minister Rafiq Hariri in a car bomb is expected to be extended by up to a year.The head of the investigation, Serge Brammertz, said the investigation has reached a critical stage, following leads based on telephone calls made by the bombers prior to the attack.Brammertz was quoted by the BBC as saying 'The commission has identified further information of interest, including possible surveil

  • Finance Minister predicts inflation to halve

    Finance Minister Mahmoud Mohieldin says inflation could halve in 2007. Having seen it hit 12.6 per cent in February, its highest rate for more than two years, Mohieldin says Cairo will bring the rate down to 6-8 per cent this year.

  • Finance ministry buys Air Arabia shares

    The UAE Ministry of Finance and Industry has bought five per cent of the shares offered in the flotation of low-cost carrier Air Arabia on the Dubai Financial Market.The purchase of shares by the ministry came on the fourth day of the initial public offering. Shuaa Capital, the financial adviser for the airline, said the move confirmed that demand for the shares was strong.Under UAE law this is the maximum the ministry is allowed to purchase in an initial pu

  • Finance Ministry plans first sovereign bond

    Egypt's Finance Ministry is planning to launch a $500 million sovereign bond that will be priced in Egyptian pounds, but with interest payable in dollars. It will be the first bond of this type issued by an Arab country, according to the ministry.

  • Financial Centre to grow

    The Qatar Financial Centre (QFC) will double in size by the end of the year with the licensing of more than 30 companies by Qatar Financial Centre Authority (QFCA). HSBC and the Royal Bank of Scotland are among the institutions that have applied to join.

  • Firms aim for Jubail deal

    The local/French joint venture of Saudi Aramco and Total has invited six international contractors to attend meetings in London on 26 March to outline the engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) deal for its planned 400,000-barrel-a-day export refinery at Jubail.

  • Firms bid for Abu Dhabi exhibition centre contract

    At least four groups have been invited to bid for the second-phase expansion of Abu Dhabi National Exhibition Centre.The prequalifiers for the 15-month contract include: Al-Habtoor Engineering Enterprises and Arabtec Construction, both local, Hong Kong-based CSHK Dubai Contracting and the local/Belgian Six Construct Abu Dhabi. The closing date for bids is 12 April.The works include the construction of exhibition space and two multi-storey car parks. A third phase will include th

  • First Calgary seeks financing

    Canada's First Calgary Petroleums is looking for cash and financing commitments of up to $1,000 million to develop its 130,000 barrel a day (b/d) Menzel Ledjmet East discovery in the Berkine Basin.

  • Fishing deal ratified with the EU

    An agreement allowing European vessels to fish in Moroccan waters has been ratified by Rabat and the EU.Originally approved in July last year, the agreement will allow 119 European boats - mainly Spanish and Portuguese - to ply their trade off the Atlantic coast of Morocco. The two sides ratified the deal in Brussels on 28 February.While granting access to the kingdom's waters, the deal is designed to safeguard fish stocks. It includes an annual quota of 60,

  • Five-year rail and restructure plan agreed

    Transport Minister Mohamed Mansour has approved a five-year plan to reform the national rail system, based on a report carried out by the US' Booz Allen Hamilton in partnership with local and international transport consultants.Egyptian National Railways (ENR) currently makes a loss of£E 1,600 million ($280 million) a year and has£E 9,000 million ($1,578 million) of debt. It will now undergo a three-stage restructuring plan.The first phase, from 2007-09, will concentrate on impro

  • Flling plant prequalifiers

    Kuwait Oil Tanker Company (KOTC) has restarted prequalification for the project management contract on its Umm Alaish liquefied petroleum gas filling plant. Companies have until 9 April to submit applications. The contract includes technical bid evaluation of the engineering, procurement and construction contract. The $70 million-100 million project involves the construction of four to six LPG storage tanks. (MEED 10:3:06).

  • Fluor aims to go nuclear

    Fluor Corporation, the US-based engineering, procurement and construction firm, has set up a new business unit to target the nuclear market. The unit will use expertise from the firm's government and power divisions. The company's move, which was announced on 22 March, comes at a time when governments across the Middle East have expressed interest in developing nuclear power programmes. Fluor currently has offices in Saudi Arabia and Abu Dhabi.'We intend to

  • Former rebels warn peace deal could collapse

    Former Sudanese rebels warned on 27 March that a peace agreement signed in 2006 is in jeopardy if Khartoum rejects its demands, following clashes in Omdurman on 24 March that killed at least 10 people.Eight members of the rebel group, the Sudan Liberation Movement (SLM), and two Sudanese police officers were killed in Omdurman, on the west bank of the Nile opposite Sudan's capital Khartoum. The SLM was the only one of three Darfur rebel negotiating factions to sign a deal

  • Foundation goes on hunt for hospital contractor

    The Qatar Foundation has begun approaching contractors for its landmark Sidra Medical & Research Centre at Education City.

  • Four firms price private power advisory contract

    Bids have been submitted to the Finance Ministry for the first key contract on the kingdom's next independent water and power project (IWPP) at Addur.

  • Fourteen line up for fixed network

    Fourteen companies have submitted price and design proposals for the country's next-generation fixed-line telecoms network.

  • French and local firms sign up for substation contracts

    France's Areva T&D and the local SSEM have won two contracts, totalling more than $200 million, to build a substation and overhead power lines for the new Jubail 2 industrial city.

  • French killed in Saudi attack

    At least three French nationals have been shot dead in the Saudi Arabian desert north of Medina, according to diplomatic and media reports.Saudi sources told police they were treating the incident as a 'terrorist attack'. Saudi TV said the victims were part of a group of French nationals, some of whom were Muslims heading to the holy city of Mecca on a pilgrimage.Major General Mansour al-Turki said two men were killed instantly as they rested at the side of

  • Fresh calls for arrest of Israeli Infrastructure Minister

    Calls were growing in Cairo on 9 March for the arrest of Israeli Infrastructure Minister Binyamin Ben Eliezer if he enters Egypt. The concern follows allegations in an Israeli documentary that a unit under his command killed 250 Egyptian prisoners of war during the 1967 war. The accusations caused the minister to cancel his planned trip to Cairo. 'We demand that the Egyptian court bring these murderers and war criminals to justice on Egyptian soil,' said Mus

  • Frustrated Sabic considers China withdrawal

    Saudi Basic Industries Corporation (Sabic) may shelve its $5,200 million petrochemical plant in China due to frustrations over delays to the deal.

  • Fugro wins seismic work

    Fugro of the Netherlands has been awarded a contract worth $38 million to carry out 2D and 3D seismic surveys in the offshore Divided Zone, between Kuwait and Saudi Arabia. The 12-month contract covers high-density marine seismic data acquisition and processing. The client is Al-Khafji Joint Operations, a joint venture of Aramco Gulf Oil Operations and Kuwait Gulf Oil Company.

  • Fujairah 2 extended

    The bid closing date has been extended by three weeks on the Fujairah independent water and power project (IWPP) at the request of some of the prospective bidders. Proposals for the 2,000-MW, 130 million-gallon-a-day plant are now due by 19 April. Four developer groups are expected to bid for the project, which represents Abu Dhabi Water & Electricity Authority's seventh IWPP (MEED 12:1:07).

  • Gaddafi criticises global economic system

    Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi has said the world financial system is a dictatorship driven by fear. 'The prevailing powers today are in the hands of those who have economic and military power which puts fear in others,' Gaddafi said on 2 March. 'They can make you starve. They can close the doors for your exports of raw materials such as coffee or oil.' However, he added that Libya had no choice but to join the system of world trade after sanctions were lifte

  • Ganope names operators on delayed bidding round

    The delayed block awards from the 2006 international bidding round of Ganoub el-Wadi Petroleum Company (Ganope) have been completed.

  • Gas exchange to go live by the end of the year

    The International Mercantile Exchange (IMEX) has announced that it expects to go live by the end of 2007 after launching in London this week.IMEX also announced that it plans to create a spot market in liquefied natural gas (LNG) prices once it has been granted regulatory approval by the Qatar Financial Centre Regulatory Authority. The body is currently developing the regulations for the IMEX.Esam Janahi, chairman of the exchange, said he wants to create a h

  • Gas to fuel 300 brick factories

    The Environment Ministry is moving ahead with plans to convert 300 of the 1,000 clay brick factories in the country to run on natural gas. The project, which is estimated to cost $35.5 million, is due to begin later this year.The plan follows the successful conversion of 50 factories in 2006 in a project which was funded by the Canadian International Development Agency's Climate Change Development Fund. The same agency will also fund the new project.The factories are located in E

  • Gas-to-liquids obstacles mount up

    Legal changes, increased feedstock prices and spiralling construction costs are all endangering the successful award of the contract to develop Algeria's first integrated gas-to-liquids (GTL) project, say industry sources. But the three bidders for the estimated $2,500 million contract are undeterred, company representatives have told MEED.

  • Gateways go to mobile providers

    Egypt's international telecoms gateways will be sold to the country's three mobile operators, according to the National Telecoms Regulatory Authority (NTRA).

  • German firm to conduct pipeline study for Dolphin

    Germany's ILF Consulting Engineers has been awarded a feasibility study and pre-front-end engineering and design (FEED) contract for a new cross-country gas pipeline between Taweelah in Abu Dhabi emirate and Qidfa in Fujairah emirate. The client is the local Dolphin Energy.Under the six-month contract, ILF will identify the route, carry out basic design and conduct cost estimates for the project, which is aimed at delivering gas to the planned Fujairah 2 independent water and power proje

  • GMB lists Oman bank

    Gulf Merchant Bank (GMB) has received a licence to establish the seventh commercial bank in Oman. The bank will launch by the end of this year with a minimum paid-up capital of RO 50 million ($190 million). An initial public offering on the Muscat Securities Market will offer 40 per cent of the bank's shares to the public. The new institution, called Oman Investment Bank, will focus on corporate and investment finance.

  • Government drive to industry questioned

    The president of the Association of Lebanese Industrialists (ALI) has questioned Beirut's commitment to rebuilding the country's industrial sector after the war between Tel Aviv and Hizbollah in July-August 2006.

  • Grid authority plans for growth

    Dammam-based GCC Interconnection Authority (GCCIA) is considering expanding the capacity of the GCC electricity grid as a result of growing interest in power trading among the member states.'The grid was justified on the basis of sharing generating reserves and supplying power in emergency situations,' Hassan al-Asaad, the GCCIA's head of projects, planning and IT, tells MEED. 'But with member states now looking to buy electricity off the grid, we are discussing whether to expand the gri

  • Groundstar to re-check seismic

    Canada's Groundstar Resources has awarded the UK's Spectrum Energy & Information Technology a contract to reprocess 2D seismic information on its 42,000-square-kilometre West Kom Ombo block, which is expected to be complete by July.This comes ahead of the expected acquisition of new seismic data during the winter of 2007/08.Canada's Transglobe Energy is drilling two exploratory wells for Groundstar in its Nurqa block, east of West Kom Ombo. Re-processing of 3D seismic data on Gro

  • Growth in exports to US

    Exports to the US grew by 14.5 per cent in 2006, according to a new report issued by Cairo's trade office in Washington. Total exports rose to $2,400 million from $2,090 million in the previous year.

  • Gulf companies confident profits will grow

    More than half the companies in the GCC are confident their profits will grow in 2007, with a third expecting increases of up to 15 per cent, according to an HSBC survey of business confidence.

  • Hajj terminal contract signed

    After a delay of several months, the multinational consortium appointed to provide desalination services to the Hajj terminal at Jeddah international airport has signed its contract.The four-company consortium was awarded the $40 million deal last September and had been expected to begin work before the end of 2006. However, an official at the General Authority for Civil Aviation said there had been unspecified last-minute 'deficiencies' with the winning bid which had caused the delay.

  • Halliburton moves its head office to Dubai

    US oil services firm Halliburton is relocating its head office to Dubai, and seeking a share listing in the region.Chief executive Dave Lesar will relocate to the Middle East to lead efforts to grow its operations in the eastern hemisphere, which last year contributed more than 38 per cent of its $13 billion revenue.Lesar said: 'The eastern hemisphere is a market that is more heavily weighted toward oil exploration and production opportunities, and growing o

  • Halliburton wins work

    The US' Halliburton has won a KD 11.6 million ($40 million) contract for the provision of coiled tubing and associated services. Under the five-year contract, the contractor will provide tubing, common, nitrogen and pumping and stimulation services to Kuwait Oil Company (KOC). (MEED 7:7:06).

  • HALLIBURTON: From Houston to Dubai

    The timing was almost perfect. As the cream of the Middle East's oil and gas companies descended on Bahrain for a conference to discuss the future direction of the industry, US oil services firm Halliburton grabbed the spotlight with its own daring strategy shift.

  • Hamriya to be expanded

    Sharjah Electricity & Water Authority (Sewa) has invited bids by 20 May for the phase 2 development of the Hamriya power station.

  • Harmony attracts interest

    The local Capital Investment has issued expressions of interest for the Harmony Towers project in the Khalidiya area of Abu Dhabi island. The two-year project will involve the construction of two towers: a 34-storey office tower and a 31-storey residential building. Hong Kong-based Aedas is the architect for the scheme. The local Foresight Development & Project Management is the client representative.

  • Hikma Pharmaceuticals announces rise in profits

    Hikma Pharmaceuticals, the Dubai and London-listed firm, has seen profits rise 25 per cent in the past year, to $56 million. The company released its results for 2006 on 22 March.'The profit rise is due to an increase in demand for our branded, generic and injectable pharmaceutical products,' says Mazen Darwazeh, vice chairman of Hikma. Darwazeh says bureaucracy is reducing the potential growth of pharmaceutical companies across the Middle East and North Afr

  • Hong Kong wins Trident

    Hong Kong-based CSHK Dubai Contracting has been awarded the estimated AED 350 million ($95 million) main construction contract for the Trident Grand Residence tower in Dubai Marina. The 25-month contract involves the construction of a 45-storey residential building. UK-based RMJM is the consultant. US-based Hirsch Bedner & Associates is the interior designer. Parsons Brinckerhoff, also of the US, is the project manager.

  • Hotel for Empty Quarter

    The local Tourism Development & Investment Company plans to build a five-star hotel in the Empty Quarter near Liwa. Known as Qasr al-Sarab, the resort will be seven kilometres from the main Hamin highway. It will have a hotel with 150 rooms and 60 villas, a luxury health spa and conference centre. Construction is expected to start in May. South Africa's Northpoint is the consultant. A hotel operator has yet to be appointed.

  • HOTELS: New rooms end the boom

    It is a sobering thought for visitors to Doha. At $248 a night, average hotel room rates are now among the most expensive in the world, exceeding even the top tourist destinations of London and Paris.

  • HSBC appoints Nasr as chief executive for Middle East

    HSBC, the international banking group, has appointed Youssef Nasr as its first Arabic chief executive for its Middle East operations.He takes over from Niall Booker, who has been promoted to chief executive of HSBC Finance Corporation.The appointment means Nasr will head one of the biggest business divisions of HSBC. The Middle East has previously been used as a staging post to the group board. David Hodgkinson, who previously led the Middle East operations,

  • ILF to design pipeline

    Germany's ILF Consulting Engineers has won the front-end engineering and design contract on the expansion of the Fujairah-Sweihan water pipeline. The 20-month contract covers the doubling of capacity on the pipeline to 200 million gallons a day. The client is Abu Dhabi Transmission and Despatch Company (Transco).

  • International tenders drive wind-power plans forward

    The Energy & Mineral Resources Ministry is to issue an international tender for a wind power plant by the end of May, according to senior ministry officials.The tender is one of several wind-power projects aimed at increasing the kingdom's installed capacity by 200 MW. The ministry's strategy is to make renewable energy account for 3 per cent of the kingdom's energy consumption by 2015.Denmark's COWI is completing a feasibility study for the wind farm, which will have a capacity

  • Investment targets in doubt

    Doubts have been raised over the viability of Cairo's investment targets, as Egypt fell back into deficit for the first half of the 2006/07 financial year.

  • Investor favours consumer market

    The International Investor is moving its core business away from investment banking to consumer finance.

  • Iran reassures UK over navy detainees

    The Iranian Foreign Affairs Ministry has informed the UK ambassador in Tehran that the 15 Royal Navy personnel detained four days earlier are well and are being held in Iran. Ambassador Geoffrey Adams was told that the eight sailors and seven marines could be charged with illegally entering Iranian waters. UK Prime Minister Tony Blair has said he is 'utterly confident' the officers were in Iraqi waters when they were arrested.The navy personnel were detained

  • IRAN: Misplaced populism

    Iranian economists have spent much of the past three years wringing their hands. Since the 2004 Majlis (parliament) election, state spending has soared.

  • IRAN: Pressing ahead with private plans

    For independent power projects (IPPs) to work, both the state client and the private investor need time and confidence to become comfortable with the scale of risk attached.

  • Iraq endorses landmark draft oil law

    Iraq's cabinet has approved the draft of a new hydrocarbons law for the country, which will regulate how wealth will be shared by its ethnic and sectarian groups.Iraq, which has the third largest oil reserves in the world, said revenues would be put into a central account and distributed to its 18 provinces based on their populations.While the law still has to be approved by parliament, Iraqi Deputy Prime Minister Barham Salih said he hoped to enact the legi

  • Iraq survey highlights rising pessimism

    Iraqi citizens are growing increasingly pessimistic about their prospects and the future of their country, according to a new poll.A survey of over 2,000 Iraqis conducted by the BBC and ABC News, found that less than 40 per cent of respondents described their lives as good, compared to 71 per cent two years ago.Just 38 per cent said the situation in the country had improved since the 2003 invasion, while 50 per cent said it was worse. Some 67

  • Iraqi president receives treatment in Amman

    Iraqi President Jalal Talabani was in a stable condition on 27 February after receiving treatment for dehydration and exhaustion at the King Hussein Medical Centre in Amman.'I spoke with him this morning. He was in good spirits. He's suffering from exhaustion. The reports about him having a heart attack or a stroke are completely false,' Talabani's son Qubad told CNN in an interview. The 73-year-old Talabani was flown from Baghdad to Amman on 26 February following concerns

  • Islamic banks head for Damascus

    United Islamic Bank of Syria has become the latest Islamic bank backed by Gulf investors to be set up in Syria.

  • Islamic finance

    The UK government's move to create an environment friendly to Islamic finance does not stop at removing the negative tax implications for sukuks. Most market commentators see the latest developments as part of the Finance Ministry's plan to lay the groundwork to become the first Western government to issue a sovereign sukuk.

  • Israel to continue boycott

    Tel Aviv has insisted that it will not end its boycott of the Palestinian government, after a new cabinet was installed on 17 March. Prime Minister Ehud Olmert urged the international community 'not to be misled...and to persist with its position'. The new government is headed by Hamas' Ismail Haniya, but also includes members of the rival Fatah faction as well as independents. Palestinians had hoped the formation of a unity government would r

  • Israel troops end Nablus operation

    Israeli troops pulled out of the West Bank town of Nablus on 2 March, ending a five-day incursion in the militant stronghold, a military spokeswoman and Palestinian residents told Reuters.The army had been searching for Palestinian militants in Nablus as it thinks most suicide bombers who have attacked Israeli targets over the past year came from the city. It said it has arrested 10 militants since the operation began.Nablus district governor Kamal Sheikh sa

  • Israeli incursions into West Bank spark gun battle

    Troops from the Israeli Defence Force (IDF) continued the search for members of militant Palestinian militias in Nablus on 1 March, leading to a brief gun battle in the Faraa refugee camp outside the town.The 80 armoured vehicles that accompanied the troops made it Israel's biggest operation in the area so far this year. It was the fifth day of house searches in the town. Palestinian Authority Prime Minister Ismail Haniya claimed the 'criminal Israeli assaul

  • Israeli trade union calls off general strike

    Israel's main trade union Histadrut has called off a general strike on 21 March, which had affected international flights, closed banks and shut down public services.The eight-hour strike ended after a deal was signed between the union and the finance ministry over unpaid wages, according to daily newspaper Haaretz. 'I hereby announce that the strike is over and all workers can go back to their jobs,' said Ofer Eini, secretary general of Histadrut.

  • Istithmar buys a third US hotel

    Dubai's Istithmar Hotels has finalised the acquisition of its third five-star hotel in the US, while also pushing ahead with plans to develop easyHotel-branded budget hotels.

  • Joint venture signs port deal

    Qatar Gas Transport Company (Nakilat) has signed a joint venture (JV) agreement with KS Investments, a subsidiary of Singapore's Keppel Offshore & Marine, to develop a $450 million ship repair yard at Ras Laffan port.

  • Jubail & Yanbu starts bidding process

    The Royal Commission for Jubail & Yanbu is ramping up its tendering activities, with bidding due to start in April on nine new contracts in the two industrial cities.

  • Kayan axes amines tender

    Saudi Kayan Petrochemical Company has cancelled the tender for the amines package on its estimated $9,000 million petrochemicals complex in Jubail.

  • Key Shuqaiq agreements signed

    The key project agreements on the Shuqaiq independent water and power project have been signed between Water & Electricity Company (WEC) and the developer consortium of the local ACWA Power Projects, Kuwait-based Gulf Investment Corporation and Japan's Mitsubishi Corporation.The deals were signed in Riyadh on 28 February. The main agreements covered the power and water purchase, and the engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) and operations and maintenance (O&M) contracts.

  • Khartoum signs access agreement for aid agencies

    Khartoum signed an agreement with the UN on 28 March promising to give humanitarian organisations better access to the Darfur region in the west of the country.Under the deal, the government would speed up visas for humanitarian workers for non-governmental organisations (NGOs) and take other measures that the UN has been demanding.'New or outstanding applications for all required visas and permits will be granted until January 2008 and will be issued within

  • King Abdullah demands end to Palestinian blockade

    Saudi Arabia's King Abdullah told the Arab League summit on its opening day, 28 March, that the international blockade on the Palestinian people should end. He urged Arabs to work for the creation of a Palestinian state.'It has become necessary to end the unjust blockade imposed on the Palestinian people as soon as possible so that the peace process can move in an atmosphere far from oppression and force,' he told regional leaders gathered in Riyadh.Saudi Ar

  • Kingdom Hotel results suffer from Lebanon war

    Kingdom Hotel Investments (KHI), the luxury hotels group, has announced gross profits up 24 per cent to $14.3 million, despite last year's war in Lebanon adversely affecting trading at its Beirut and Damascus hotels.Analysts expressed disappointment that the figures were not as strong as they had been expecting, primarily due to the effects of the Lebanon conflict.The company, which listed on the Dubai International Financial Exchange and the London Stock Ex

  • Kingdom needs to create 3.5m new jobs, says study

    The job market in Saudi Arabia will need to double within 10 years if it is to sustain itself, according to new research.

  • Kingdom sets aside war chest for Asian investments

    Kingdom Hotel Investments has revealed that the majority of its $700 million war chest will be used to invest outside the Middle East, because of the high value of the real estate market in the region.

  • Koreans sign deal for methanol complex

    South Korea's GS Engineering & Construction has won the contract to build the grassroots methanol complex at Salalah.

  • Koreans sign major field facility deal

    South Korea's ~SK Engineering & Construction~ has signed the KD 180 million ($621 million) contract to build gathering centre (GC) 24 for ~Kuwait Oil Company~. SK was the low bidder for the work when bids were submitted last September, beating competition from five other international contractors (MEED 8:9:06).Yoo Woong Suk, president and chief executive officer of SK said at the signing of the contract, on 27 March, that the deal illustrated his company's g

  • Korea's Hanwha wins aromatics plant deal

    South Korea's Hanwha Corporation has won the estimated $500 million contract to build the second-phase aromatics plant in Yanbu, planned by the local Safra Company.

  • Korgas signs long-term deal with RasGas

    Korean Gas Corporation (Kogas), the world's largest liquefied natural gas (LNG) buyer, has signed a long-term sales and purchase agreement (SPA) with Ras Laffan Natural Gas Company (RasGas) to buy 2 million tonnes a year (t/y) from the Qatar producer.

  • Kuwait Airways to replace fleet

    National flag carrier ~Kuwait Airways Corporation (KAC)~ is planning to renew its fleet by buying up to 30 aircraft in a deal worth more than $7,000 million.'The plan is to buy up to 30 aircraft by 2015 and later increase the fleet to 55,' said Sheikh Talal al-Sabah, KAC chairman in an interview with state news agency Kuna on 21 March. The order, which will be placed with either the US' ~Boeing~ or Europe's ~Airbus~, will replace KAC's existing fleet of 17 a

  • Kuwait central bank warns currency speculators

    The Kuwait central bank says it may take measures to curb the wave of currency speculation created by the prospect of an imminent revaluation of the dinar.Deputy governor of the bank Nabeel al-Mannae says: 'We will make sure they [currency traders] will not make money on our currency.'Traders had begun buying dinar forwards following rumours that the central bank may revalue the dollar peg. Al-Mannae says there has recently been an 'increase in the volume of

  • Kuwait Finance House partner takes control of Malaysian bank

    A consortium led by Kuwait Finance House looks set to win its battle against Eon Capital for control of Malaysia's Rashid Hussain Berhad (RHB) Group after one of its partners acquired a controlling stake in the group.Malaysia's biggest state pension fund the Employees Provident Fund (EPF) is to acquire a 33 per cent stake in RHB from Utama Banking Berhad. The agreement will give EPF a controlling stake in Rashid of 51 per cent.After EPF announced it had agre

  • KUWAIT: Missed opportunity

    With oil production at about 2.5 million barrels a day and a population of fewer than 3 million, it is no surprise that the high oil prices of the past three years have delivered to Kuwait record budget surpluses and one of the world's highest per capita incomes. But behind the statistical veneer, there is little evidence that the oil windfalls are being translated into infrastructure developments or much-needed economic reforms.

  • Kuwaitis bid highest for third mobile licence

    A consortium led by Kuwait's MTC has submitted a bid of SR 22,900 million ($6,100 million), for the kingdom's third GSM license. The licence will be for 25 years. The final price is expected to be significantly higher than the $3,457 million paid by the UAE's Etihad Etisalat consortium to win the second licence in 2004.An award is subject to approval from Saudi telecoms regulator the Communications & Information Technology Commission.Other con

  • LABOUR MARKET: Doha's struggle to get Qataris into work

    The report was damning. The Labour Market Strategy for the State of Qatar completed in 2005 by the World Bank was a wake-up call for the government as its small indigenous population struggles to keep pace with the rapidly growing private sector. Commissioned by the Planning Council, the report graphically illustrates that nationals were playing only a minimum role in the private sector.

  • Labourers get homes

    The local Dubai Civil Engineering has been awarded the estimated AED 800 million ($218 million) contract to build 52 buildings to house labourers. It is the latest phase of accommodation to be built at Dubai Industrial City. When all phases are complete the accommodation will cover 1.4 million square metres and house 87,500 workers (MEED 3:11:06).

  • Landbridge project delayed

    The Saudi Landbridge project has been indefinitely delayed due to difficulties the Saudi Rail Organisation (SRO) is experiencing acquiring land.The $5,000 million project will provide the first rail link between the Red Sea and the Gulf. The SRO has run into problems trying to co-ordinate between the Transport and Municipalities Ministries and local authorities to acquire the corridor of land needed.'These are enormous projects to organise,' says an official for one of the compan

  • Leasing firm is first to order Dreamliners

    The local Aviation Lease & Finance Company (Alafco) will become the region's first recipient of the new Boeing 787 - known as the Dreamliner - after it signed a multi-billion-dollar deal for 12 of the aircraft as well as six 737-800s with The Boeing Company of the US.

  • Libya: Reformers make their move

    Most of the delegates crammed into the conference suite of Tripoli’s Corinthia hotel on 22 February have heard promises of economic reform before. And many have become doubtful whether Tripoli is capable of delivering real change. For despite the commitments of the country’s reformers in recent years, there has been little sign of progress. But the fact that more than 500 delegates turned up for the launch of the Libyan Economic Development Board (LEDB) shows that there remains genuine intere

  • LIBYA: Tripoli fails to deliver on promises

    The lifting of US and international sanctions on the Libyan Arab Jamahiriya in 2004 promised to usher in a new era of economic growth for a country run down by 30 years of isolation.

  • Limitless signs multi-billion dollar Indian deal

    Dubai-based ~Limitless~ has signed a 50:50 joint venture agreement with India's ~DLF group~ to develop real estate projects in India.The developments, which are estimated to require $20,000 million of investment, will be built near Delhi and in South Maharashtra. The projects will comprise residential, commercial, retail and industrial components and will cover 80 square kilometres each.The deal follows a similar agreement signed last year by Limitless in Pa

  • Litani conveyor contracts come under evaluation

    A long-running government plan to build the estimated $260 million Conveyor 800 project on the Litani river, which will supply villages and towns in the southern half of the country has taken a major step forward.

  • Local firms win contracts for Palm Jumeirah hotels

    Two more contract awards have been made for new hotel developments on the Palm Jumeirah.

  • Local partners awarded Saudia catering contract

    Al-Hokair, in partnership with Newrest, has won the bidding process for the privatised catering business of Saudi Arabian Airlines (Saudia).The Saudi leisure and tourism group and its French partner are believed to have offered over SR 830 million ($221 million) for 49 per cent of the national airline's catering operation.The consortium saw off competition from two other Saudi companies in the final round of bidding. Al-Monajim, backed by PricewaterhouseCoopers, and Al-Hinaki, pa

  • Locals buy into carmaker

    Local Islamic investment bank Investment Dar and asset management firm Adeem Investment Company have bought UK-based sports car manufacturer Aston Martin in a deal worth $875 million. Under the deal signed with the US' Ford Motor Company, Investment Dar will take 50 per cent of Aston Martin. Adeem, a subsidiary of the local EFAD Holding, will hold 28.5 per cent, with Ford retaining 9 per cent. The remainder will be held by US and UK investors.

  • Locals plan holding companies

    At least three new local holding companies are being planned in Damascus in an effort to target major real estate, tourism and infrastructure projects in the country.The local Cham Holding, with a capital of $200 million-300 million, will be formed by up to 70 local companies. The main investors in the new company include Rami Makhlouf, chairman of local telecoms company Syriatel, Puzant Yacoubian & Sons, Fouad Takla and Rateb Shallah, president of the Syrian Chambers of Commerce and cha

  • Locals scoop Gasco NGL expansion

    Engineering for the Petroleum & Process Industries (Enppi) and its sister company Petrojet have been awarded contracts on the expansion of Egyptian Natural Gas Company's (Gasco) gas liquefaction plant in Alexandria.

  • Locals win Khurais work

    Saudi Arabia's Contracting & Construction Enterprises (CCE) has won a major subcontract, worth an estimated $134 million, on the multi-billion-dollar Khurais programme.

  • Locals win offshore work

    Qatar Engineering & Construction (Qcon) has been awarded an estimated QR 80 million ($22 million) subcontract on the offshore Al-Shaheen oil field development. Placed by UK-based SLP Engineering Company, the main contractor for package 12. The Qcon contract covers the engineering, procurement and construction of four jackets and three bridges. Last year, SLP was awarded package 12, which covers the construction of accommodation platforms (MEED 29:9:06).

  • Maaden smelter project close to naming partners

    Selection of a strategic partner is understood to be imminent on the multi-billion-dollar Ras al-Zour aluminium smelter project planned by Saudi Arabian Mining Company (Maaden).

  • Majid al-Futtaim unveils mega plans

    The value of projects being developed by Dubai-based MAF Developments across the Middle East has now surpassed $20,000 million.

  • Major powers meet to discuss Iran's nuclear programme

    Diplomats from six nations met in London on 26 February to discuss possible responses to Tehran's continuing non-compliance with requests to halt its atomic programme.The negotiations between representatives from the five permanent members of the UN Security Council - the US, Russia, China, France and the UK - and Germany follow the confirmation by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) that Iran had ignored a deadline to suspend all nucle

  • MARKET IN FOCUS: AVIATION: Airline offerings are flying high

    March has been a busy month for the financial advisers of the Gulf's airlines, with a number of initial public offering (IPO) announcements indicating that the sector is in healthy shape.

  • MARKET IN FOCUS: DUBAI: Bourses escape global slump

    A dive in the value of global stock markets reverberated from Asia through to the US and back again in the last week of February, but Dubai's exchanges remained insulated from the shocks.

  • MARKET IN FOCUS: LEBANON: Paris III effect yet to take hold

    The Beirut Stock Exchange (BSE) is yet to feel the effects of the Paris III conference because of the ongoing political crisis in the country between the government and opposition parties, according to Beirut-based bankers. Yet plans for a new capital market authority are moving ahead.

  • MARKET IN FOCUS: Panic selling hits Tadawul exchange

    The Tadawul All-Share Index (TASI) took a dive at lunchtime on 26 March, shedding more than 520 points and wiping more than SR 80,000 million ($21,335 million) off the value of listed shares. The index closed at 8,098 points following the panic selling, its second largest drop since February 2006, which marked the start of the ongoing correction.

  • MARKET IN FOCUS: Repatriate games

    Regional stock markets such as Saudi Arabia's could benefit from the repatriation of funds as investors look to divest from underperforming markets such as London and New York, according to observers.

  • MARKET ROUND-UP: Oil breaks $60 a barrel barrier

    Oil prices sliced through the $60 mark but endured a rollercoaster ride during the week as traders digested a plunge in the Chinese stock market and continued uncertainty over Iran's nuclear plans.

  • MASDAR: Abu Dhabi's new direction

    It holds more than 8 per cent of the world's crude oil reserves and some 3.4 per cent of all gas. So why is Abu Dhabi pressing ahead with the region's most ambitious alternative energy programme, the Masdar initiative?

  • Masterplan set for final approval

    The results of a key study outlining development plans for the kingdom are awaiting final ratification from the government, with the findings expected to be made public soon.

  • Mauritanian elections go to second round

    A second round of presidential elections will be held on 25 March after the first round of polling, held on 11 March, failed to produce a winner.The leading two candidates in the first round field of 19 will go forward to the next round.'A second round will be organised on Sunday 25 March between the two candidates who obtained the greatest number of votes,' Interior Minister Mohamed Ahmed Ould Mohamed Lemine told a news conference on 13 March.

  • Medics plead not guilty to slander

    Five Bulgarian nurses and a Palestinian doctor on 25 February pleaded not guilty to charges of slander.The six medics, who have been sentenced to death for allegedly infecting Libyan children with HIV, are on trial again for accusing two Libyans of torture. The defendants said they confessed to infecting intentionally the children under duress. A Libyan police officer and a doctor are claiming $4 million in damages. The plaintiffs were acquitted of torture i

  • Medina Knowledge City seeks leader

    The consortium running the Medina Knowledge City project is seeking a new chief executive officer (CEO) after a high-profile management reshuffle in the real estate sector.

  • Medoil closure puts local jobs at risk

    The decision by the National Oil Corporation (NOC) to close its overseas procurement arms, Mediterranean Oil Services (Medoil) and Umm al-Jawaby, could backfire, with signs that the jobs could go to non-nationals once the operations are moved back to Libya.

  • Melrose on target

    Edinburgh-based Melrose Resources has announced that its gas production expectations are being achieved in its West Khilala development. Production began in early February at an initial rate of 34.1 million cubic feet a day (cf/d) of gas before rising to 63.2 million cf/d. Melrose expects to increase this to 80 million cf/d in March. It has also said that first production in its West Dikirnis concession was expected by late 2007 (MEED 15:12:06).

  • Metro Line 3 fast-tracked

    The National Authority for Tunnels (NAT) is planning to combine the previously separate first and second phases of the third metro line, in order to reduce construction time to six from eight years.Under the plan, the construction packages for phase 2 will be awarded to the winners of the corresponding phase 1 contracts. However, the plan is dependent on NAT reaching agreement with the contractors on phase 1.Phase 2 is a 6-kilometre-long stretch of the metro between Heliopolis an

  • Metro trailblazes sell-off

    The Roads & Transport Authority (RTA) is to start selling off sites for development along the routes of the Dubai metro by the end of the year.

  • Middle East falls behind in use of IT

    Middle East countries are less competitive in their use of information and communication technology (ICT) than a year ago, according to the latest rankings from the World Economic Forum.The latest Network Readiness Index, which measures countries' willingness to exploit ICT, shows most Middle East countries are being overtaken by competitors elsewhere in the world. The United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Kuwait, Jordan and Egypt have all fallen compared to their rankings last y

  • Middle East traders win bigger bonuses

    Traders in the Middle East have received bigger bonuses than their counterparts in New York and London for 2006, a survey by recruitment firm Napier Scott shows.The survey reveals that pay packages in the Middle East increased by 25-30 per cent, compared with 17-22 per cent in the UK and 10-15 per cent in the US. This means Middle East bank traders received the largest bonuses, in percentage terms, in the world.Shaun Springer, CEO of Napier Scott Executive S

  • Mine collapse to halve zinc production in Angouran

    Iran's largest zinc producer, Iran Zinc Mining Development Company (IZMDC), says its output in the coming year could halve because of a wall collapse at Angouran mine in the northwest.The company blames the collapse on Impasco, the state body which owns the mine and resumed its operation in 2005 after having contracted the work to IZMDC for six years.IZMDC has production capacity of 140,000 tonnes a year (t/y) of zinc ingot. It says production in 2008, which under the Iranian cal

  • Minimum wage draws near

    The Labour Ministry is to introduce a minimum wage as part of proposed revisions to the federal labour law. It will first target the construction industry, before being widened to include other sectors.

  • MINING: Diversification gains

    There are not many easy ways to get hold of $11,000 million, but that is exactly what the Saudi Arabian Mining Company (Maaden) needs to do for the development of its two latest projects in the kingdom.

  • Minister says Hebron settlers create unbearable situation

    Shimon Peres, Israel's deputy prime minister, said that Jewish settlers in Hebron had created an 'unbearable situation', according to media reports.Peres made the comments on 20 March, one day after settlers in the West Bank city took over a building they claim to have bought, despite claims from a Palestinian family that they had bought it themselves. Peres said the settlers ought to be evicted should they be found to have acted illegally. Hebron has often

  • Ministry acts on power deficiencies

    The Ministry of Energy (Electricity & Water) is acting to allay the state's energy crisis by issuing more tenders for emergency generating capacity for 2008. It is also evaluating bids for a fourth emergency contract for this year.

  • Ministry goes to Mecca

    Amman-based Dar al-Omran has completed a masterplan aimed at moving the Hajj Ministry from its existing site in Riyadh to Mecca, in the West. Construction costs for the new complex are estimated at $150 million and it will cover a total built-up area of 100,000 square metres. Tenders for the main infrastructure package are due to be issued by early April. The client is the ministry.

  • Ministry invites airport bids

    The Transport & Communications Ministry has invited contractors to prequalify by 23 April for the two main construction packages at Seeb International Airport (see Tenders). It is the latest stage in the ministry's efforts to improve the sultanate's transportation links, which also involves expanding Salalah Airport.

  • Mobily signs financing deal

    Mobile telecoms company Etihad Etisalat (Mobily) has signed a $2,875 million Islamic financing deal to fund its expansion in Saudi Arabia, believed to be the biggest Islamic financing deal to date.

  • Moody's delays ratings for GCC banks

    Banks in the GCC will have to wait for up to two months before Moody's Investors Service issues them a revised rating after the credit ratings agency was forced to change its latest methodology half-way through implementation.

  • More substations planned

    Dubai Electricity & Water Authority (Dewa) is expected to award contracts by the end of April under its latest transmission and distribution programme. Worth an estimated AED 1,400 million ($382 million), the programme involves the construction of 14 132/11-kV substations and extensive cabling. Dewa is likely to award four-five contracts. Among the bidders are Emirates Electrical Engineering (EEE), South Korea's Hyundai Engineering & Construction Company, Emirates Trading Agency (ETA) and German

  • MOROCCO: Rabat's power strategy in disarray

    The power sector in Morocco is in disarray as its failure to secure feedstock for two major planned power plants leaves it struggling to meet rising electricity demand.

  • Move to put rapid rail link plan back on the agenda

    The New Borg el-Arab City Investors Society is trying to revitalise plans for an electrified rapid rail link between Alexandria and Borg el-Arab.Mohamed Farag Amer, head of the group, says an open forum to discuss the scheme will go ahead before 15 March. It has been backed by the office of the Governor of Alexandria, the Transport Ministry, the Industrial Association of Borg el-Arab and the British Consulate in Alexandria.The forum will discuss a study of the project recently co

  • Muscat sows seed for botanic bloom

    Muscat is to build the region's first botanic gardens, at Al-Khod, 15 kilometres south of Seeb International Airport.

  • Najmat marina awarded

    China Harbour Engineering has been awarded the largest infrastructure contract so far on the $8,000 million Najmat Abu Dhabi real estate development on Reem island. Under the AED 201 million ($55 million) contract placed by Reem Developers, the contractor will build three marinas and a canal by late 2008. The consultant is the UK team of Hyder Consulting with Halcrow. Malaysia's KLCC Holdings is the project manager (MEED 1:12:06).

  • Nakheel Retail takes over from Istithmar

    Dubai World has centralised its retail activities under the ~Nakheel~ banner following the creation of a new retail property division, Nakheel Retail.The new division will provide planning, development and management services to the Dubai World group of companies. One of its first projects is expected to be the expansion of Ibn Batutta mall in Dubai.Previously called Istithmar Retail, the division will now operate under Nakheel to capitalise on the property

  • Nakheel sells Ireland

    Local property developer Nakheel has sold 40 per cent of the islands on The World development. The most recent deal involved the sale of Ireland to an Irish business consortium for AED 142 million ($39 million). The consortium plans to build a 22,500-square-metre resort known as Ireland in the Sun with apartments, restaurants and shopping areas. The project is made up of 300 artificial islands four kilometres offshore.

  • Nasser al-Hajri wins contracts

    The local Nasser al-Hajri Corporation has been awarded two construction contracts, totalling more than $250 million, on the Saudi International Petrochemical Company (Sipchem) phase 2 acetyls complex in Jubail.The first contract covers civil engineering on the 460,000-tonne-a-year (t/y) acetic acid plant, the 50,000-t/y acetic anhydride unit and the 300,000-t/y vinyl acetate monomer (VAM) unit. The second deal covers the construction of utilities.The work will be carried out alon

  • National Industries Group to enter debt markets

    National Industries Group (NIG) of Kuwait looks set to become the first Kuwait company to enter the debt markets after receiving a Baa2 foreign currency issuer rating from credit agency Moody's Investors Service.The rating is Moody's first in Kuwait and opens the door for the investment holding company to enter the debt markets.Moody's senior credit officer, Philipp Lotter, says: 'It is becoming more acceptable for companies in the Gulf to open their books to the ratings agencies

  • New Cairo gets two water plants

    An award is imminent for the contract to build a water plant in fast-growing New Cairo, while final designs are nearly completed for a wastewater plant in the same district. Both schemes are being run on a public-private partnership (PPP) basis.Five local companies have passed the technical evaluation for the design and build contract for a new water treatment plant, which will have capacity of 2 million cubic metres a day (cm/d). Financial offers will be opened within days and an award

  • New government to be unveiled within days

    Prime Minister Nasser Mohammed al-Sabah is set to announce his new cabinet by 24 March, after completing talks with all political blocs in the National Assembly. Rumours have abounded in Kuwait over ministerial positions since the government was dissolved earlier in the month. Speculation has been intense over the key energy portfolio, with local observers at odds over whether Energy Minister Sheikh Ali al-Jarrah al-Sabah will retain his portfolio.Sheikh Ali

  • New laws proposed for Saudi shops

    A new law proposed by the Shoura Council would limit employment in commercial establishments, retail and wholesale shops, distribution companies and street vendors to Saudi nationals. The law also imposes precise opening times for shops throughout the kingdom, prompting complaints from businessmen that millions of Riyals would be lost by shops that currently stay open throughout the night.According to the new regulation, shops will only be able to open from

  • New licensing round this year, says Khelil

    Algeria's long-awaited seventh international oil and gas licensing round has finally been set to take place in the fourth quarter, Energy Minister Chakib Khelil has revealed.

  • New rules for Iraqi refugees

    Amman has introduced new regulations for Iraqi refugees entering the kingdom.Under the regulations, brought in on 28 February, refugees must carry a new type of passport, called the G-series, which was only made available in 2006. The passports are only issued in Baghdad.Washington and London have also stopped recognising the old S-Series passports, over complaints that they are easily forged.According to UN Higher Council for Refugee figures,

  • New short-term work visas proposed

    The Shoura Council has passed draft legislation to allow short-term work visas for the kingdom.If approved by the cabinet, the new law would allow six-month visas to be issued for a fee of SR 1000 ($267). Four-month seasonal visas would also be allowed, designed to facilitate recruitment during the Hajj season.The Labour Ministry will oversee visa applications, assessing the number of visas requested and the types of work intended. The visas are not intended

  • New wind farm launched

    State-owned Office National de l'Electricite (ONE) has invited companies to express interest in an estimated $300 million contract to build and operate a 200-300-MW wind farm near Tarfaya in the south. Companies have until 21 March to submit applications to prequalify for the build-own-operate-transfer contract. ONE will sign a 20-year agreement with the successful bidder to supply power to the national grid.

  • Newly launched airline in search for finance director

    No-frills airline Sama is seeking a new finance director to join the company following its launch.

  • Nine vie for third mobile licence

    An intense battle for the kingdom's third mobile licence is expected after nine groups submitted applications in late February.

  • Nuclear watchdog doubtful over Iranian plans

    The chief UN nuclear inspector said his agency cannot guarantee Iran's nuclear proposal is peaceful, despite trying to verify its activities for the last four years.Mohammed el-Baradei, head of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), called on Iran to co-operate fully with the agency to help diffuse the 'emerging crisis' over its nuclear programme.Speaking at the start of the 35-member agency's board of governors meeting in Vienna on 5 March, el-Barad

  • Number of oil firms in Kurdish region to triple

    The number of foreign oil companies operating in Iraq's northern Kurdish region is set to triple by the end of the year.Ashti Hawrami, Minister for Natural Resources in the Kurdistan Regional Government, says that contracts with six or seven more oil companies are poised to be signed in the coming weeks. He added that more than ten new contracts could be agreed by the end of the year, adding to the five oil companies currently there.Speaking at a seminar in

  • Offshore blocks opened to IOCs

    Bahrain has received strong interest from international oil companies (IOCs) after unveiling four offshore blocks which mark the first new exploration on the island in more than 70 years.

  • Oger pays up ahead of time

    Dubai-based Oger Telecom has made the final payment to the Turkish treasury for the 55 per cent stake it bought in Turk Telekom in 2005, four years earlier than anticipated.

  • OIL AND GAS Alternativesolutions

    Not since the 1970s, when the first major oil price rises hit the world market, has there been so much focus on unconventional hydrocarbons. Thirty years ago, a widespread belief that the oil supply was peaking led to huge investment in oil shale refining. The phenomenon turned out to be short-lived but now, once again, high oil prices have triggered interest in alternative methods of oil and gas extraction.

  • Oil companies face Iraq investment lag

    International oil companies (IOCs) are still years away from striking deals in Iraq, according to a former adviser to the Iraqi oil ministry, despite the approval of a draft hydrocarbons law last week.

  • Oil firms face US sanctions over Iran deals

    Legislation proposed by a key US lawmaker could force the Bush administration to impose new sanctions on oil companies and countries that strike deals with Iran.Congressman Tom Lantos, chairman of the US House of Representatives Foreign Affairs Committee, said the Iran Counter-Proliferation Act of 2007 will put an end to the administration's ability to waive sanctions against foreign companies that invest in Iran's energy industry.'Until now, by shamelessly

  • Oil price hits a high for the year

    Oil prices shot up by more than $5 a barrel in the final week of March to hit their highest levels this year amid continuing unrest in Iran, the world’s fourth biggest oil exporter. Tehran’s detention of 15 British naval personnel and uncertainty over its nuclear programme led to renewed anxieties over supplies from the Gulf.

  • OIL PRICES: Oil nears $61 as markets tighten

    Oil prices shrugged off last week's concern over China's overheating economy with attention turning to a bullish price forecast by the Energy Information Administration (EIA) and continuing tension over Iran's nuclear ambitions.

  • OIL PRICES: Oil production to cut or not to cut?

    When Opec ministers met in Vienna on 15 March to analyse the latest demand, supply and inventory data, the debate was expected to be framed by one question: should oil production be cut?

  • OIL PRICES: Prices steady as Opec says no change

    Oil prices hovered just above $60 this week as concerns lingered over the state of health of the US and Chinese economies. Opec's decision to leave oil output unchanged did little to spur on the market. Brent oil traded at $60.37 a barrel on 21 February, compared with $61 a week earlier.

  • Oil storage deal signed

    Bahrain Petroleum Company (Bapco) has signed a joint venture agreement with three companies to build a $95 million oil storage and export facility with initial capacity of 500,000 cubic metres.The memorandum of understanding was signed on 1 March with Kuwait's Independent Petroleum Group (IPG), the UAE's Enoc/Horizon Terminals and Saudi Arabia's Arab Petroleum Investments Corporation (Apicorp). All have committed to taking equity stakes in the business, although the size of the stakes i

  • Olmert: Riyadh key to any future peace deal

    Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert said on 30 March that he sees Riyadh as key to reaching a comprehensive Middle East peace settlement.Reacting to the relaunch of the Saudi-sponsored 2002 peace initiative at the Riyadh summit, Olmert told Israeli daily Haaretz: 'Saudi Arabia is the country that in the end will determine the ability of the Arabs to reach a compromise with Israel. A bloc of states is emerging that understands that they may have been wrong to think that Isra

  • OLYMPIAN DREAMS

    All the talk beforehand was of a lack of hotel space, an unfinished road network and an airport that would not be able to handle the onrush. But in the end, it was neither limited capacity nor project delays that proved to be the main headache for the organisers of the 15th Asian games in Doha. Rather, it came from a far more unexpected source. Record rainfall in the first half of December played havoc with sporting schedules and threatened to derail the lavish opening and closing ceremonies.

  • Operator revamps contract terms

    International contractors are expected to reconsider business opportunities in Kuwait, after efforts by state upstream operator Kuwait Oil Company (KOC) to make the market more attractive.KOC has revealed details of its enhanced lump-sum turnkey (LSTK) contract which it plans to use for all future projects. Key changes include contracts which provide for provisional sums where the nature and extent of the work cannot be properly defined at the tender stage. There will also be a disputes

  • Opposition members arrested

    Security forces arrested at least nine members of Islamist opposition group The Muslim Brotherhood on 13 March. The arrests followed the group's rejection in parliament on the same day of proposed constitutional changes. The changes had been put forward by the ruling National Democratic Party (NDP). The most senior member of the group to be arrested was Mahmoud Ghozlan, who sits on its executive council. The group claims the arrests are designed to stop thei

  • Opposition party to boycott elections

    The country's leading secular opposition party says it will boycott upcoming parliamentary elections due to a lack of transparency and a lack of genuine parliamentary power.The secular Socialist Forces Front (FFS) released a statement on 10 March declaring that it would not participate in the elections for the 389-seat People's National Assembly on 17 May.'FFS has the honour, the liberty and privilege to announce its decision of non-participation in the next

  • Orascom fails in prequalification

    Orascom Telecom is seeking an explanation from the Saudi telecoms regulator to explain why it failed to prequalify in the bidding for the kingdom's third mobile licence.

  • Orascom joins up with Sonatrach

    Egypt's Orascom Construction Industries (OCI) and state energy company Sonatrach have formed a joint venture company to build two fertiliser plants near Arzew. Sorfert Algerie will build an estimated $750 million, 1 million-tonne-a-year (t/y) greenfield ammonia and urea plant, and a 700,000-t/y ammonia plant.Sonatrach has committed to enter a 20-year gas supply agreement with the new company. The plants are expected to begin operations in 2010 (MEED 1:9:06). OCI will take a 51 per cent stake

  • Orascom looks East for cement

    The local Orascom Construction Industries (OCI) has agreed to build a new cement plant in Saudi Arabia, just days after it launched a bid for a Turkish cement company.

  • Orascom Telecom customer numbers top 51 million

    Orascom Telecom has seen profits rise by just 5 per cent over the past year, as strong growth in the number of subscribers was offset by lower revenues per customer.The company announced on 11 March that its pre-tax profits had grown by 5 per cent over the last financial year, rising to $970 million from $927 million in the previous year. The company's subscriber base grew by more than 70 per cent to top 51 million over the year. However, sales revenue incre

  • Oryx ready to ship diesel

    Oryx GTL, the world's largest gas-to-liquids (GTL) plant, has shrugged off the recent failure of ExxonMobil Corpoation's GTL scheme by forging ahead with plans to ship 30,000 tonnes of diesel products by the end of March.

  • Palestine is still the big issue as the Iran storm approaches

    Before the Iraq invasion, advocates of war failed to demonstrate the existence of Iraqi chemical and nuclear weapons, Baghdad links with Al-Qaeda and coherent post-conflict reconstruction plans.

  • Palestinian parliament to vote on unity government

    Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh agreed on 14 March to present their plan for a new unity government to a parliamentary vote on 17 March.The cabinet for the new government will be unveiled on 15 March. The main talking point over the new cabinet concerns the position of Interior Minister - a role which controls several major security services.Under the unity government agreement signed in Mecca in early February, Hamas ch

  • Palestinian unity cabinet unveiled

    Prime Minister Ismail Haniya has unveiled the line-up of the new Palestinian unity government. The new ministers have also been approved by President Mahmoud Abbas. 'We hope that this government will mark the start of a new era and enable us to turn the page,' Haniya said on 15 March. The key finance, interior and foreign affairs portfolios will not go to Hamas or Fatah members. Hawi Qawasmi, an independent academic, will become interior minister while Salam

  • Pay dispute hits Bushehr plant

    Progress on the Bushehr nuclear power plant has been delayed by the diplomatic crisis over the nature of Iran's atomic programme and a pay dispute between the Iranian Atomic Energy Organisation and the Russian contractor Atomstroiexport.

  • Payment dispute delays Bushehr plant

    Disagreements over payment could delay work on Iran's Bushehr atomic energy plant, a Russia official told Reuters on 9 March. Russian contractors are building the plant.'A further dragging out of these questions will further worsen the existing delays to the timetable for building the [power plant,' the Russian official said. He was speaking after talks between Russia and Iran failed to resolve the dispute over Tehran's failure to pay Russian state-owned Atomstroiexport an

  • PETROCHEMICALS: Local opportunities

    'It is the perfect storm of petrochemical projects,' says Alan Lowe, senior vice-president and head of project finance at Riyad Bank. 'We have almost ideal conditions for project finance in Saudi Arabia historically low interest rates, excellent bank liquidity and high oil and constant feedstock prices. Profits in petrochemicals mean robust credit.'

  • Petrojet to work in Beirut

    Egypt's Petrojet is to carry out civil engineering works on Lebanon's Jieh 346-MW thermal power station, south of Beirut. The plant is being rebuilt after its partial destruction by an Israeli air attack in August 2006. The contract is worth an estimated $16 million (MEED 8:9:06).

  • Pharma sale struggles

    The government is struggling to attract interest in the sale of a majority stake in the country’s largest pharmaceuticals company, Saidal, worth an estimated $50 million.

  • Political will and capital will create employment

    Unlike many of his peers, James Zogby remains broadly optimistic that the Saudi government can make the changes necessary to meet his daunting employment targets.

  • POLITICS: No rush for reform

    Qatar will be heading for the polls on 1 April, but not for the long-planned inaugural parliamentary elections. Instead, Qataris will elect members to the third session of the Central Municipal Council (CMC), which acts as a consultative body to government institutions.

  • Port phases out containers

    Container traffic at Dubai's Port Rashid will be phased out as shipping lines migrate to the larger Jebel Ali port.'Port Rashid will remain open, but it is changing,' says DP World senior vice-president and managing director UAE Mohammed al-Muallem.'Two lines are moving to Jebel Ali this week at their request. They were calling into Port Rashid with 2,500-container ships and they now have 5,000-container ships so they have asked to be accommodated at Jebel Ali.'DP World w

  • Port Said prepares plan

    The Port Said Port Authority (PSPA) will relaunch the contract to prepare the revised master-plan for its 35-square-kilometre smart port in late March.

  • PORTS: Heading for overkill

    Strong economic growth and soaring trade volumes are driving a major overhaul of the federation's container ports. Nearly all of its ports are planning expansions that by 2015 will have doubled total capacity to about 30 million containers a year.

  • Power plant plans reviewed

    The General Electricity Company of Libya (Gecol) is reviewing plans to build a new 750-MW combined cycle power plant at the port city of Zwara, to the west of Tripoli.

  • Power sector restructures

    The Council for Development & Reconstruction (CDR) is seeking international consultants to advise state-run Electricite du Liban (EdL), the Energy & Water Ministry and the government on the restructuring of the country's power sector.Inefficiency at EdL costs the government up to $1,000 million a year in lost revenue.Germany's Fichtner has been prequalified for all three contracts. Dublin-based ESB International has submitted prequalification documents for the consultancy contrac

  • Power tendered

    Saudi Electricity Company (SEC) has issued the tender for the PP10 power plant, near Riyadh, inviting contractors to submit bids for the contract by the end of April.

  • Prequalifiers await tender

    Three companies have been prequalified to carry out mechanical works on the 650-MW El-Tebbine power plant. They are the Czech Republic's Skoda, Techint of Italy and Spain's Enertec Energia. The release of final tender documents is expected by May. The bid deadline for the plant's power distribution control system has been delayed until 2 April after bidders requested more time.

  • Prequals invited for Salalah project

    Government-owned Oman Power & Water Procurement Company has launched prequalification for the Salalah independent water and power project (IWPP).

  • Private finance for infrastructure considered

    Tripoli is considering using private finance to fund infrastructure projects for the first time.

  • Project finance alliance

    Austria's VA Tech Finance and Beirut-based Boyadjian & Associates have signed a co-operation agreement to target infrastructure projects.

  • Projects agency presses ahead with Bubiyan Island

    The Mega Projects Agency, part of the Ministry of Public Works, is understood to have provisionally prequalified five of the six companies that applied for the third-phase port works on the multi-billion-dollar Bubiyan island development.

  • Qafco prepares to tap the capital markets

    Qatar Fertiliser Company (Qafco) has been rated for the first time, in advance of theproducer going to the market by the end of April to financea major expansion of its Mesaieed complex.

  • Qatar able to survive without oil and gas revenue for 18 months

    Qatar's finance minister Yousef Hussein Kamal has said that the country could survive without any oil or gas revenues for 18 months.Speaking at the Finance and Investment in Qatar conference in London on 15 March, Kamal added that the country would maintain double-digit growth until about 2012. 'We can live without any oil or gas revenue for about 18 months. But I am not very sure whether our customers will be able to manage without our oil and gas resources

  • Qatar Airways to be launch customer for Airbus long-haul jet

    Qatar Airways is set to become the first commercial customer for Airbus' new long-haul A350 aircraft, with an order for 80 planes worth $16,000 million.The airline's chief executive, Akbar al-Baker, say the company is close to signing a letter confirming its intention to buy the aircraft, with the deal completed in the summer. Qatar's discounts on the $16,000 million list price are expected to be substantial.The deal, expected to be finalised in June will pr

  • Qatar Airways to use gas as aircraft fuel

    Qatar Airways is in talks with the UK/Dutch Shell Group and aircraft engine manufacturers about becoming the first airline to use gas-to-liquids (GTL) fuel.Certification of the gas-based jet fuel is expected by the end of the year, and once received Qatar Airways plans to start using it on its fleet.GTL technology converts gas into clean liquid fuels, which can either be used in their pure form or as a blendstock. Qatar is the centre of the GT

  • Qatar Petroleum looks for expansion capital

    Qatar Petroleum (QP) plans to raise $27,000 million in debt over the coming three years to support its capital investment programme.

  • Qatar to take global LNG crown

    Qatar is expected to shortly become the global leader in liquefied natural gas (LNG) production as part of a massive surge in Middle East output.According to a new report from PricewaterhouseCoopers (PWC), Qatar's leap will help to almost double world LNG supply between 2005 and 2010, delivering around 40 per cent of total gas growth.The report says the upsurge in Middle East output is 'significant' and has created a supply-side link between the previously s

  • QATAR: Doha's stellar performance

    A decade ago, Qatar was being written off by some as a place in terminal decline. But the past five years have seen an incredible turnaround. The economy has tripled in size, exports have soared and public finances have been transformed.High energy prices have played their part in Qatar's strong showing. But of equal significance has been the sharp ramp-up in oil and gas production, the result of an investment drive in the late-1990s. Since 2000, crude output has increased by 30 per cent

  • Qatargas assesses storage as North field ramps up

    Qatar Liquefied Gas Company (Qatargas) is considering investing in new storage facilities as it seeks to deal with an enormous ramp-up in gas supply from the North field over the next few years.Qatargas offshore operations manager Sheikh Ahmed al Thani says it will look for storage terminals to accommodate a tripling of its liquefied natural gas (LNG) supply to 77 million tonnes a year by 2011.'From our business plan, most of our volumes are for long-term contracts and this will

  • Qatargas, Emerson tie up

    Qatar Liquefied Gas Company (Qatargas) has formed a long-term alliance with US-based Emerson Process Management for the evaluation of its existing and future projects in Qatar. The two companies have worked together on the automating of six facilities at Ras Laffan over the last four years.

  • Q-Tel buys up Wataniya stake

    Qatar Telecom (Q-Tel) is set to substantially expand its regional presence after agreeing to acquire a majority stake in Kuwait's Wataniya Telecom for $3,700 million.

  • Queen Noor Aviation college for sale

    The Executive Privatisation Commission has announced plans to sell the state-owned Queen Noor Civil Aviation Technical College. Interested companies have until 14 March to express interest in a 100 per cent stake in the college being offered by the government. The college has a total built-up area of 10,800 square metres and is located near Marka airport, 12 kilometres from Amman city centre. Queen Noor college is planned to be developed into

  • RAK Airways replaces its cheif executive

    Just weeks before it is due to launch commercial services, RAK Airways has replaced its chief executive.Jack Romero has left in the wake of a series of delays in the launch of the UAE-based carrier. He has been replaced by Kishu Tekchandani, who has worked for the Airports Authority of India for three decades.The change in management comes just days after the airline received its air operator's certificate. The carrier is planning to start flights with two l

  • RAK Petroleum to acquire Indago assets

    RAK Petroleum has agreed with UK-based Indago Petroleum to acquire the majority of Indago's exploration and production assets in the UAE and Oman. The agreement will see RAK Petroleum acquire stakes in five blocks in Oman. It also involves the acquisition of 40 per cent stakes in the Saleh and RAK B fields located offshore Ras al-Khaimah (MEED 13:10:06).

  • Ras Laffan pipeline bids

    Commercial bids are due by 5 March for the contract to build the ethylene pipeline from Ras Laffan to Mesaieed, following the completion of technical bid evaluation by the client Qatar Chemical Company II (Q-Chem II). Prospective bidders include Turkey's Tekfen, Athens-based Consolidated Contractors International Company (CCC) and Punj Lloyd and Dodsal, both of India.

  • Ras Laffan prepares first major contract for bidding

    Qatar Petroleum and the US' ExxonMobil Chemical Company are preparing to issue the first major tender on their grassroots petrochemicals complex at Ras Laffan.

  • Ratings agency upgrades credit outlook to positive

    Morocco's credit outlook has been upgraded by Standard & Poor's (S&P) from stable to positive because of the economy's improved growth prospects. The ratings agency has also raised the prospect of Morocco reaching investment grade.

  • Real estate company to target Middle East

    Swiss-based private equity firm Swicorp and Los Angeles-based Pulsar Development have agreed to set up a real estate development company.

  • REAL ESTATE: A tall order for the northern emirates

    The Palm islands projects and the world's tallest buildings may be grabbing the headlines, but of all the projects completed across the federation few have had an impact as dramatic as the northern extension of Emirates road from Sharjah up to Ras al-Khaimah.

  • REAL ESTATE: The next phase for Lusail

    Stretching along 8.5 kilometres of coastline, the $5,000 million Lusail project has major significance to Doha and developer Qatari Diar Real Estate Investment Company. The development, on the outskirts of Doha, will complement the capital with a self-contained community for 200,000 residents, supporting the oil and gas, financial, tourism and education sectors.Covering an area of 35 square kilometres, Lusail comprises 10 self-contained districts, each with its own infrastructure and ame

  • Rebels kidnap 18 government workers

    A group of Sunni rebels in Iraq, thought to have links to al-Qaeda, kidnapped 18 government employees and soldiers on 2 March.The government later found the bodies of 14 security officers in Diyala province, northeast of Baghdad.Rebel group The Islamic State of Iraq posted a message on the internet claiming responsibility for the kidnapping. It said the kidnapping was in retaliation for the alleged rape of a Sunni woman by the police force. It demanded that

  • Reem Island project seeks expressions of interest

    The local Bayt al-Khidma has invited contractors to submit expressions of interest for the roads, bridges and utilities infrastructure on Reem island in Abu Dhabi.

  • Refiner break-up to start in April

    A consortium led by the US' Taylor DeJongh will sign at the end of March the consultancy contract to manage the break-up of Jordan Petroleum Refinery Company (JPRC). Work on the contract is due to start in April.

  • Refinery and plant new build projects under threat

    Middle East and North African refinery new builds were initially anticipated to add up to 3.5 million barrels a day (b/d) of new refining capacity by 2012. But little tangible progress has been achieved. Paris-based International Energy Agency says 15.2 million b/d of new global refining capacity has been announced for completion before 2011, yet just 10.3 million b/d is expected to be completed.In the Middle East, a sharp increase in investment costs threatens to derail several key pr

  • Refinery attracts strong interest

    More than a dozen international and local companies have submitted expressions of interest (EoIs) for the licence to develop a private sector refinery at Jizan in the far southwest, according to a project official.'There have been 15 applicants who submitted their EoIs for the Jizan investment opportunity,' an official at the Petroleum & Mineral Resources Ministry told MEED on 21 March. 'The names cannot be disclosed at this time, but the ministry shall announce the qualified applicants

  • Refinery retender for Al-Zour due by end of May

    Kuwait National Petroleum Company (KNPC) is planning to retender the four main process packages on its new refinery project at Al-Zour by the end of May, says chairman and managing director Sami al-Rushaid.

  • RENEWABLE ENERGY: Seeing the light

    I2005, renewable energy sources contributed about 10 per cent of world supplies, with the Middle East being one of the lowest consuming regions of wave, wind and solar energy. But things are set to change.

  • Repsol strikes oil in Libya

    Spain's Repsol has made its largest ever oil field discovery in Libya.The field, which lies in the Murzuq basin and holds 474 million barrels of oil, will double Repsol's production and reserves in the country. The announcement was made on 27 February.Repsol Oil Operations, a joint venture between Repsol and the National Oil Corporation, made the discovery. Repsol currently produces about 250,000 barrels of oil a day in Libya.

  • Rice urges Arab League to reach out to Israel

    American secretary of state Condoleezza Rice has urged Arab nations to reach out to Israel ahead of the Arab League summit starting in Riyadh tomorrow.Rice said Arab states must 'show Israel that they accept its place in the Middle East', although she admitted the presence of the militant Hamas faction in the Palestinian government made the issues 'more complex'.Her comments come as UN secretary-general Ban Ki-moon has raised the prospect of historic talks b

  • Riyadh halts cement firms

    The government has stopped any new raw materials licences being given to cement companies to prevent a collapse in the market.Despite the huge upswing in construction across the kingdom, the cement industry is already threatened with oversupply, prompting the latest move by Riyadh to limit new entrants to the market.'Even with all the projects appearing around the kingdom we expect supply to outstrip demand within the next two years and for prices to fall,' says an official at Ar

  • Riyadh seeks to improve relations with Damascus

    Riyadh invited Syrian President Asad on 25 February to attend the 19th Arab League summit in a move to improve relations between the two countries since the assassination of former Lebanese prime minister Rafiq Hariri in February 2005.The invitation is also aimed at breaking the current political deadlock in Lebanon between the government of Prime Minister Fouad Siniora and opposition parties led by Hezbollah. The conference is scheduled to be held in the Saudi capital bet

  • Road scheme bids invited

    Sharjah's Public Works Department has invited companies to prequalify by 9 April for the third phase of the King Abdul Aziz road scheme. The contract involves the construction of a 400 metre-long, 32metre wide bridge across the creek between Layyah and Arouba. The UK's Halcrow is the consultant.

  • Rolex tower job awarded

    The local Dubai Contracting Company has been selected to build the 63-storey Rolex tower on Sheikh Zayed road. The building will have a glass facade with ground floor shops, 30 floors of commercial space, and 23 floors of residential apartments, topped by several floors of penthouses. It will be completed by the end of 2009.

  • Ruwais tenders enter final stages

    Tendering for the three remaining process packages on the multi-billion-dollar expansion of the Abu Dhabi Polymers Company (Borouge) petrochemicals complex in Ruwais is entering the final stages after the submission of bids on 18 March.Commercial bids are in for the offsites and utilities (O&U) and polyolefins packages, while technical proposals have been submitted for the associated olefins conversion unit.For the estimated $1,200 million offsites and utilities package, four gro

  • Sabic bids for global dominance

    When it comes to corporate ambitions, they do not come much bigger than Sabic’s. Not content with being the Middle East’s biggest manufacturing company, Saudi Basic Industries Corporation aims to become the world’s largest petrochemicals producer over the next 13 years.

  • SAFETY: Fears mount over Dubai site safety

    The safety of Dubai's construction sites has been called into question once again after a third high-profile accident in as many months.

  • Sama hands over catering to rival

    Sama Airlines has agreed to outsource its ground handling and catering operations to local rival Saudi Arabian Airlines (Saudia).

  • Sama seeks bidders for Yiti

    Dubai-based developer Sama Dubai has invited selected companies to prequalify for a marine works package on the Yiti development in Oman.

  • Saudi Arabia faces shortage of employment opportunities

    Discussion at the recent Jeddah Economic Forum returned to the same topic again and again. In the hall and in fringe meetings, talk centred on the delicate demographic balance in Saudi Arabia, and the associated issues of labour and education reform.

  • SAUDI ARABIA: Changing focus

    Observers have been critical in the past of the kingdom's economic policies and anxious over its growing imbalances and reliance on oil. However, reports from the IMF and rating agencies last year were positive, encouraged by the government's conservatism in deploying its energy windfall, and endorsing its efforts to boost reform through the creation of new industrial cities.Saudi Arabia produced its largest budget surplus in 2006, at $70,000 million, compared with $57,000 million for th

  • Saudi Aramco records strong discovery figures

    Saudi Aramco discovered six per cent more crude oil than it produced last year and more than doubled its target for new gas reserves with 10.4 trillion cubic feet (tcf).

  • Saudi Kayan retenders Jubail process work

    Saudi Kayan Petrochemical Company is retendering the final two process packages on its estimated $9,000 million complex in Jubail after failing to agree terms and conditions with the original bidders.

  • Saudi Readymix to increase capacity

    Saudi Readymix, the manufacturer and supplier of cement and a subsidiary of the industrial conglomerate Alturki Group, has acquired its third cement plant in the country.

  • Saudia pricing overhaul favours pilgrims

    Saudi Arabian Airlines (Saudia) is finalising an overhaul of its pricing structure that will give discounted fares to pilgrims during the Hajj season.

  • Second UAE University bids in

    Al-Ain Municipality has received four bids for the second infrastructure package on the UAE University campus project in Al-Ain.

  • Seeking alternatives

    History is likely to show that the summer of 2007 was the point at which the Gulf states came closest to a full-scale energy crisis. On the back of four years of unprecedented economic and population growth, state utilities have been struggling to ensure demand does not outpace growth. But with the difference between demand and capacity set to be at its smallest this year, it remains to be seen whether the existing infrastructure will be able to cope.

  • Shareholders take issue with property stake

    Investors have reacted negatively to news that government-owned Dubai Holdings has acquired a stake in Emaar Properties.

  • Sharia board appointed for product launch

    The National Company for Co-operative Insurance (NCCI) has appointed its first sharia board to help with the development of new Islamic insurance products.

  • Sharjah to begin fertiliser production by year-end

    Sharjah's first petrochemicals plant is due to begin production in the fourth quarter of the year, following commissioning of an ammonia unit in the Hamriya free zone.

  • Shell makes four new finds

    Shell Egypt, the local venture of UK-based Royal Dutch/Shell Group, has made four discoveries in the Western Desert.Two of the wells, in the West Sitra concession are operated by Shell Egypt, while the other two, in the Badr el-Din acreages, are operated by Bapetco, Shell Egypt's joint venture with the Egyptian General Petroleum Corporation (EGPC).One of the two wells in Badr el-Din, well 1-19, tested at a rate of 25 million cubic feet a day (cf/d) of gas and 2,050 barrels a day

  • Shortlist given deadline

    The Water Authority of Jordan is inviting prequalified companies to submit bids by 5 April for the consultancy contract to design and supervise the construction of a wastewater collection system for the Naur Municipality. Prequalifiers include NamWonKeonSeol Engineering Company, Dowha Consulting Engineers, Saman Corporation, Cheil Engineering Company, Korea Engineering Consultants and Kyongdong Engineering Company, all of South Korea.

  • Shuaiba north project to go to Doosan and Siemens

    The hotly contested battle for the Shuaiba north power and desalination plant is likely to be won by the South Korean/German team of Doosan Heavy Industries & Construction and Siemens after the Ministry of Electricity & Water recommended its bid to the Central Tenders Committee. A formal award is due soon.

  • Shuaiba receives final bids

    Final clarifications have been submitted to the Ministry of Energy (Electricity & Water) for the contract to build the Shuaiba north power and desalination plant.

  • Six in short-list for Sahara Bank sale

    The Central Bank of Libya has short-listed six foreign banks to act as a potential strategic partner for the privatisation of Sahara Bank. Arab Bank, Arab Banking Corporation, BNP Paribas, HSBC, Societe Generale and Standard Chartered all expressed interest in acquiring a 19 per cent stake in the country's second largest commercial bank. The strategic partner will be allowed to increase its stake to 51 per cent in the medium term.The six banks will now enter

  • Sky Oryx secures Doha deal

    The Sky Oryx joint venture, made up of Japan's Taisei Corporation and Turkey's TAV, has been selected for the estimated $700 million concourse C superstructure package at the New Doha International Airport (NDIA).The contract is the second major award secured by Sky Oryx on the $5,000 million NDIA project. In March 2006, it was awarded the $807 million main construction package for the passenger terminal complex that involves the construction of concourses A and B.The local Midma

  • Sobha takes Fatima

    India's Sobha Contracting has been awarded the estimated AED 125 million ($34 million) main construction contract for the IT Plaza tower project at Dubai Silicon Oasis. Completion is expected by July 2008. The local National Engineering Bureau is the consultant. The local Fatima International is the developer.

  • Solana arrives in Riyadh to discuss Lebanon

    EU foreign policy chief Javier Solana arrived in Riyadh to hold talks with Saudi Arabia's King Abdullah on 13 March as part of the second leg of a regional tour, which has included a visit to Beirut a day earlier.The meeting, which also involved Saudi Foreign Affairs Minister Prince Saud al-Faisal, was expected to focus on resolving the political crisis in Lebanon and Damascus' role in the country.'Saudi Arabia cannot be bypassed in the region, especially co

  • Sonatrach offers majority stake in subsidiary

    State energy company Sonatrach has invited international companies to take a majority stake in its subsidiary Entreprise Nationale d'Industrie Petrochimique (ENIP) following the collapse in mid-2006 of plans to rehabilitate the country's petrochemicals facilities.

  • Sonatrach set to upgrade fuel oil refining capacity

    State energy company Sonatrach is set to issue tenders in June for engineering work on an estimated $200 million-250 million project to build a grassroots gas oil hydro-desulphurisation (HDS) plant at Skikda in the northeast, MEED has learned.'Algiers needs to upgrade the quality of its oil products in order to meet European standards,' says the local manager of one European oil contractor. 'Crude from the Hassi Messaoud field used to comply with international specifications, but they ha

  • SPORT & BUSINESS: Abu Dhabi gears for Formula One

    When local developer Aldar Properties launched its Yas Island development last December it was clear that the emirate had an ace up its sleeve.

  • Standard Chartered regional income tops $1bn

    Standard Chartered bank has reported income growth of more than 30 per cent in its Middle East and South Asia (MESA) business, resulting in the regional division breaking the billion dollar mark for the first time.In total, the MESA region reported operating income of $1,070 million for 2006, up from $812m in 2005. The figures were made up of a 44 per cent increase in income from the consumer banking division to $545 million, and a 21 per cent growth in that from the whole

  • State hit by bird 'flu outbreak

    Authorities have confirmed an outbreak of the deadly H5N1 strain of bird flu among several domestic poultry.A total of 12 new cases were reported on 27 February. This followed another 20 cases reported the day before in a zoo and a farm.Dozens of people who came into contact with the poultry, mainly turkeys and chickens, have been tested for the virus, but none has tested positive so far.

  • State initiates scheme to lift gas output

    State upstream operator Kuwait Oil Company (KOC) is due to tender its second phase early production facilities (EPF) project by the end of March. Once completed, it will significantly increase the state's gas production.

  • State to post record revenues

    The state earned record revenues of KD 14,380 million ($49,586 million) for the first 11 months of the fiscal year ending on 31 March, according to data released by the Ministry of Finance on 19 March.The amount earned is already greater than the record KD 13,710 million ($47,275 million) in revenues for the whole of the previous financial year. The rise in earnings is attributed to high oil prices, on which Kuwait is dependent for most of its income. Kuwait

  • Steel output set for significant increase

    Iran has paved the way for a massive increase in steel production capacity with companies invited to prequalify to build seven new plants, each with capacity of 800,000 tonnes a year (t/y).

  • Stock exchange to move to Business Bay

    The Dubai Financial Market (DFM) will move to Business Bay in 2009, from its current location at the Dubai World Trade Centre.Local developer Dubai Properties has announced that the DFM will be part of the Signature Towers development at Business Bay. The new exchange will have a three-storey building with a main trading floor, housing 120 broker offices compared with the existing 58.The building will be designed by Zaha Hadid, the UK-based architect whose d

  • Stock market launch delay

    The launch of the Damascus stock market has been pushed back to the end of January 2008, according to Rateb Shallah, chairman of the board of the stock exchange.

  • Substation work awarded

    Europe's ABB has been awarded an estimated AED 40 million ($11 million) contract by Sharjah Electricity & Water Authority (Sewa). The contract covers the engineering, procurement and construction of a 132/11-kV substation at Wasit, the site of one of the emirate's largest power stations. As is standard practice with its construction tenders, Sewa will tender the substation's civil works separately.

  • Sukuk gets rated

    Ratings agency Standard & Poor's has assigned its A preliminary rating to the dollar-denominated Dubai Islamic Bank floating rate sukuk trust certificates, due in 2012. The proceeds of the certificates will be used for the bank's general funding purposes. It will sell a percentage of a pool of assets to the issuer. The assets will then be owned jointly by the bank and issuer.

  • Takreer readies for tender

    Abu Dhabi Oil Refining Company (Takreer) is expected to issue bid documents in the second quarter for the main package on its green diesel project at Ruwais. The sulphur-free gas oil scheme includes the construction of a 37,000-barrel-a-day (b/d) hydrocracker, a 42,000-b/d sulphur hydrocracker unit, and the revamp of the existing gas oil hydro-treater at the Ruwais refinery. (MEED 11:8:06).

  • Tamleek plans equestrian centre and housing

    The local Tamleek Real Estate & Development is planning to develop an estimated $500 million equestrian centre on the Queen Alia airport highway near Amman.

  • Taqa prepares to launch sukuk to fund expansion

    Abu Dhabi National Energy Company (Taqa) is to launch its first sukuk as part of a $9,000 million debt raising programme this year to fund its expansion.

  • TAV takes towers order

    Turkey's TAV has been selected for the AED 700 million ($191 million) main construction contract on the U-Bora mixed-used tower complex at Business Bay. The contract involves construction of a 52-storey office tower, a 17-storey residential building and a five-level podium. Hong Kong's Aedas is the design consultant on the scheme. South Korean developer Bando Housing Corporation is the client (MEED 16:3:07).

  • Tehran deals defy US warnings

    Tehran is fighting back against US efforts to isolate its oil and gas industry, with deals with the Brazilian oil company Petrobras and German energy company E.ON being planned.

  • Tehran petitions IMF on US

    Iran is pressing ahead with complaints to the IMF over US attempts to financially isolate the Islamic republic.The US has sanctioned Bank Sepah and Bank Saderat and is putting pressure on other Western banks to stop doing business with Iran.Although the fund ruled in February that US sanctions against Iranian banks do not breach foreign exchange rules, Iran says it could now refer the case to the IMF board.Senior officials at local banks said in late March the case was no

  • Tehran refinery upgrade goes to tender

    National Iranian Oil Engineering & Construction Company (NIOEC) has issued a prequalification tender for the Eur 230 million ($303 million) upgrade of Tehran refinery, to improve product quality.

  • Tekfen awarded Khurais work

    Turkey's Tekfen has won a major subcontract, worth an estimated $200 million, on the multi-billion-dollar Khurais programme.

  • Tel Aviv criticises Norway-Hamas relationship

    The Israeli government cancelled a planned meeting with Norway's deputy foreign minister on 20 March after he held meetings with the prime minister of the Palestinian Authority's new unity government. Oslo was the first Western government to recognise the new government, which contains members of rival Palestinian groups Hamas and Fatah. Raymond Johansan visited Ismail Haniya, a member of Hamas, on 19 March, a day before his scheduled visit to Tel Aviv.

  • Tel Aviv rejects Arab League peace initiative

    Israeli Foreign Affairs Minister Tzipi Livni told Palestinian daily Al-Ayyam on 1 March that Tel Aviv could not accept a 2002 Arab League peace initiative in its current state.According to Livni the issue of borders must be resolved through negotiations, and not determined in advance. The foreign affairs minister said the proposal for a right of return for Palestinian refugees in the peace plan was also unacceptable to Israel. Tel Aviv's stance would depend on the extent t

  • Ten firms battle it out for fixed-line telecoms licences

    Ten applications were submitted on 10 March for the kingdom's first private sector fixed-line licences.The list includes regional consortiums as well as groups from Asia and the US, highlighting the strong interest in the region's largest telecoms market.The telecoms regulator, the Communications & Information Technology Commission, will evaluate the applications before issuing a shortlist of prequalified applicants.The number of licences to be awarded has not been finali

  • Tenders issued for U-Bora

    Prequalified companies have been invited to bid by 7 March for the main construction contract on the U-Bora mixed-used tower complex at Business Bay.

  • Terminal to get upgrade

    Iranian Offshore Oil Company (IOOC) is to upgrade its crude oil loading terminal at Bahregansar, as it works to increase output at Siri Island and Kharg Island. The company has issued an invitation to prequalify for a consultancy tender on the project. The contract includes a capacity study of the facilities and basic engineering. An invitation to bid is expected in the new Iranian year starting on 21 March. IOOC is a subsidiary of National Iranian Oil Company (see Tenders).

  • The big draw

    Islamic finance seemed like the perfect product upon which to build the Middle East's faltering exchanges, in an attempt to retain as much as possible of the wealth created by the oil boom.

  • The strange case of the missing Gulf energy strategy

    The MEED Power & Water conference in Abu Dhabi in early March was told that electricity demand in Qatar increased by 18.5 per cent in 2006 to more than 3,000 MW. The latest consumption estimate suggests it will grow by at least 200 per cent more by 2015.

  • Total chief executive in corruption probe

    The chief executive officer of France's Total, Christophe de Margerie, has been placed under formal investigation on suspicion of 'corruption of foreign officials' and 'misuse of company assets' in connection with the South Pars gas field project in Iran.De Margerie was released on condition that he does not contact former Iranian President Rafsanjani and his son Mehdi. Total signed the South Pars deal with the National Iranian Oil Company in 1997. Total has

  • Total delays LNG deal as Iran calls for commitment

    France's Total has delayed a final investment decision on a $10,000 million liquefied natural gas (LNG) project, despite Iranian demands for a quick commitment.

  • Township tenders issued

    The Public Authority for Housing Welfare has issued to bid two major construction contracts on block 8 of its Saad al-Abdullah township programme. The first contract, worth an estimated $125 million, covers the construction of 561 villas. The second, worth an estimated $75 million, involves the construction of 263 villas. The bid deadline for both is 15 April.

  • Trans-emirates pipeline

    Selection is imminent on the project management consultancy contract for the trans-emirates oil pipeline from Habshan to Fujairah on the east coast. Three companies Germany's ILF Consulting Engineers, the UK's Penspen International and Australia's WorleyParsons are competing. The project will involve the construction of a 360-kilometre-long pipeline. The client is Abu Dhabi-based International Petroleum Investment Company MEED 2:2:07).

  • Tripoli gives Arab Banking lead project financing role

    In a sign that Libya is finally opening up to project finance, Bahrain-based Arab Banking Corporation (ABC) has been appointed mandated lead arranger (MLA) on two real estate developments.

  • Tripoli names investment board members

    Tripoli has named the members of the board of governors for the newly established Libyan Investment Corporation (LIC).

  • Tripoli unveils $1.5bn project

    Dubai-based Majid al-Futtaim Investments (MAF Investments) is planning an estimated Eur 1,100 million ($1,463 million) development in Tripoli to create a new central business district for the capital. The Citygate project is one of several major projects being planned by the group.

  • Turks awarded Towers

    Turkey's Tepe Akfen Ventures has been awarded the $120 million contract to build Emirates Financial Towers at the Dubai International Financial Centre. The contract calls for the construction of a 26-storey twin tower complex with a glass sky bridge linking the two. The local/Turkish joint venture (JV) of Al-Habtoor Engineering Enterprises and STFA Soil Group has completed the foundations. A JV of Sharjah-based Emirates International Holding and the local Moafaq al-Gaddah Group of Companies is t

  • Two firms price first Abu Dhabi interchange projects

    Abu Dhabi Municipality has opened bids for the first in a series of major interchange projects on and around Abu Dhabi island.For the IP 44 and sea palace interchanges contract, just two contractors participated. The low bidder is Turkey's Nurol, which submitted a quote of AED 620 million ($169 million) for a 900-day contract and an offer of AED 666 million ($181 million) for the 730-day option. The other bidder, the local Saif bin Darwish, quoted AED 972 million ($265 million) for the 9

  • UAE reports strong growth for 2006

    The UAE economy expanded by 8.9 per cent in real terms last year, as a result of high energy prices and a strong performance by the non-oil sector, the Ministry of Economy reports.The strong showing was down to a 21.5 per cent rise in average oil prices and a slight increase in crude output. The value of the oil sector rose by 29 per cent, reaching AED 223,000 million ($60,746 million). Growth in the non-sector was more moderate but still high, rising by 20

  • UAE: Building on strong foundations

    Although the seven emirates of the UAE are at different stages of economic growth, there is little doubt that the overall picture is of impressive progress on a strategy of economic diversification, built on the foundation of the recent high oil prices.

  • UAE: Competing ambitions

    Saturday 3 February should have been Abu Dhabi's day. After months of behind-the-scenes negotiations, the emirate finally announced that it had secured the rights to hold its own Formula One Grand Prix. The sporting coup should have dominated the headlines, but it didn't. Instead, the front pages were hogged by a hastily arranged presentation of Dubai's strategic plan for 2015.

  • UK readies sukuk issue

    The UK government is expected to launch a sovereign sukuk within five years, according to an expert in Islamic finance, cementing its position as a key rival to Middle East centres for Islamic finance.

  • UK resolves sukuk tax

    The UK has announced measures to equalise the treatment of sukuks and conventional bonds, putting them on the same regulatory and tax framework as Eurobonds. Darshan Bijur, director of KPMG's Islamic Finance Advisory in London said: 'This has created the framework for London to emerge as the undisputed global leader in the Islamic finance industry.' The move is part of the country's strategy to become a global Islamic finance hub (MEED 22:03:07).

  • UN investigation points to political motive for Hariri murder

    In his latest report to the UN Security Council on 16 March, UN chief investigator Serge Brammertz said he had obtained 'promising new evidence' on the assassination of former Lebanese prime minister Rafiq Hariri, Brammertz said the inquiry was focusing on political motives for the killing, such as trying to affect the outcome of the 2005 elections. Although Hariri had not formally launched his parliamentary election campaign before he was killed in February that year, he

  • UN proposes new sanctions on Tehran

    UN diplomats have agreed in principle on a raft of new sanctions against Tehran, as it continues to refuse to halt its uranium enrichment programme.A draft resolution on the sanctions package was expected to be presented to the Security Council for discussion on 15 March, although no date for the subsequent vote has yet been set. Reports say the sanctions could include a ban on buying arms made in Iran and freezing the assets of senior Iranian officials invo

  • UN says world ignoring Iraqi refugees

    The UN refugee agency (UNHCR) on 20 March warned the international community it was ignoring the issue of Iraqi refugees. 'There has been an abject denial of the impact, the humanitarian impact, of the war, the huge displacement within Iraq of up to 1.9 million people who are homeless because of the war and those people who are homeless and never got back to the homes after Saddam Hussein was overthrown,' UNHCR spokesperson Peter Kessler said.Jordan and Syri

  • Unemployment rising among Saudi women

    Unemployment among Saudi women has risen in the last four years according to new statistics released by the country's labour ministry.The new figures show that the proportion of Saudi women out of work increased to 26 percent last year, from 21 percent in 2002. Speaking at a forum on women in business in Jeddah on 19 March, deputy labour minister Abdulwahid al-Homaid said that although women in Saudi Arabia make up 17 percent of the work force, nearly half o

  • US contractor to manage Yas island scheme

    US-based KBR has been appointed as the overall project manager for the AED 147,000 million ($40,000 million) Yas island development in Abu Dhabi emirate.

  • US Senate defies Bush over Iraq

    The US Senate on 29 March defied President Bush by passing a war-funding bill which sets a date of 31 March 2008 to withdraw all US troops from Iraq.The Senate narrowly approved the bill by a vote of 51-47 but Bush has vowed to veto. The bill requires the president to begin a troop withdrawal within four months and try to complete it by the end of March 2008. The US House of Representatives passed legislation last week setting a mandatory withdrawal deadline

  • US to co-operate with Libya on nuclear power

    Tripoli announced on 12 March that the US will help Libya produce nuclear power for civilian purposes. 'The General People's Committee (GPC) authorised the GPC for Liaison and International Cooperation to sign the agreement related to Libyan-American cooperation in the peaceful use of nuclear energy,' the official Jana news agency reported. Washington has not confirmed or denied the announcement. On 3 March, Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi said that Libya had

  • Vodafone increases Raya Telecom stake

    The UK's Vodafone has increased its stake in the local Raya Telecom, taking its total share to almost 97 per cent.Local technology and IT supplier Raya Holding sold its 45.9 per cent stake to Vodafone Egypt on 30 March in a transaction worth£E 93.6 million ($16.4 million).'In past years we have made massive investments in the telecommunications sector, but the profits were not as expected,' said Raya Holding chairman Medhat Khalil.Part of the

  • Voters back constitutional reforms

    More than three-quarters of voters have approved controversial amendments to Egypt's constitution, according to government officials. However, only a small minority of those eligible to vote took part in the referendum.The turnout was 27.1 per cent, the justice ministry said, with 75.9 per cent of voters approving the reforms. Some independent observers put the turnout at just 5 per cent.The constitutional changes give the government the authority to ban pol

  • Wara wins tennis complex

    The local Wara Construction Company has been awarded the contract, worth about $100 million, to build the new South Surra international tennis complex.The contract, the largest won in the state so far by Wara, which is part of the local Marafie Group, covers the construction of car parking, indoor and outdoor tennis stadiums with capacity for more than 6,000 spectators, a 120-bed hotel, a health club and players' facilities. The local Pan Arab Consulting Engineers (PACE) is the design co

  • Washington plans new sanctions on Khartoum

    Washington is planning new sanctions on the Sudanese government, including restrictions on companies that do business there in US dollars, due to Khartoum's refusal to allow UN troops into Darfur.The plans arose from a conference call on 15 March between US envoy Andrew Natsios and non-governmental groups, according to Reuters. Washington is also considering imposing travel bans and confiscating the savings accounts of three individuals - two politicians accused of 'atroci

  • Washington revives hopes for trade deal with Cairo

    US trade minister Carlos Gutierrez has revived hopes of a free trade agreement (FTA) with Cairo. The minister said that it was only a matter of time before such an agreement was reached.'It really comes down to a matter of timing - when is the right time?' said Gutierrez in a speech to US and Egyptian businessmen on 15 March. 'It's not if, it's when.'Egypt is central to the US goal of creating a Middle East free trade area by 2013, he said. The US has alread

  • Wataniya sale under study

    Key shareholders in the local Wataniya Telecom have formed a consortium to consider offers for a sale of their majority stake in the telco.

  • Waterfront tower to be world's tallest landmark

    The Al-Burj tower being planned by local real estate developer Nakheel will be the world's tallest, according to those close to the project. Construction will begin later this year and form the centerpiece of the Madinat al-Arab at Dubai Waterfront.The final height of the tower has not been confirmed but it will be taller than the Burj Dubai which is expected to exceed 800 metres. Companies involved in the project under pre-construction agreements last year have said the initial height w

  • WINDFALL REPORT CARD: Learning from past mistakes

    The Middle East has never had it so good. Three years of soaring oil prices and high levels of production have delivered a period of record economic growth for the region. The surge in oil revenues has generated unprecedented surpluses and launched a wave of investment projects that is changing the face of the Gulf.

  • World Bank calls for reforms to cut misuse of water

    Governments need to bring in a wide range of reforms to deal with potential water shortages, according to the World Bank, which has warned that per capita water availability will drop by 50 per cent by 2050.In a report issued in early March, the bank urges governments to bring in agricultural reform and reduce subsidies on energy and food which encourage inefficient water use. Farming uses more than 85 per cent of the region's water.'Agriculture is a prime factor in the issue of

  • World Trade Centre goes outfor bidding

    West Bay's latest tower project has gone for tender with selected contractors being invited to bid by 11 April for the main contract on the Qatar World Trade Centre.

  • WorleyParsons reveals North Africa focus

    One of the Gulf's leading energy contractors, Australia's WorleyParsons, is to increase its presence in the North African market to capitalise on mining and hydrocarbons opportunities.

  • WorleyParsons wins bid

    Australia's WorleyParsons has won the construction supervision contract for Egypt's 150-MW Kureimat hybrid power plant. The New & Renewable Energy Authority awarded the contract to WorleyParsons ahead of Germany's Fichtner and the local/US Power Generation Engineering & Services Company (Pgesco).

  • Zabeel starts work on Porto Dubai island

    Construction work has started on another offshore development in Dubai. Promoted by Zabeel Investments, Porto Dubai is the latest in a string of offshore islands to be developed in the emirate.

Newsletter Sign-up

More sector and country newsletters

Subscribe to MEED to receive your choice of premium newsletters

Find out more

Knowledge Bank

Company Profiles

Biographies

Databank

Top 100 projects

Top 100 listed companies

Qatar Projects 2012

Order your copy here

Read sample chapter

Follow MEED on

Linkedin     Twitter     RSS Newsletter