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MEED
October 2007

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  • $1.2 billion missing in police contract

    The US State Department concedes it is unable to account for almost $1,200 million paid out to train Iraqi police.Auditors say they are unable to show what the money provided to DynCorp International was spent on, and says records relating to the project were in 'disarray', according to a report by the Special Inspector General for Iraq Reconstruction (SIGIR).The report says the State Department's Bureau for International Narcotics and Law Enforcement A

  • : The candidates

    Michel AounThe opposition favourite is 72-year-old former army commander and (self-declared) president Michel Aoun. Head of the Free Patriotic Movement (FPM), Aoun would prove a controversial choice for many Lebanese, who recall his role in the collapse of Christian militia forces towards the end of the 1975-1990 civil war. Exiled from Lebanon for 15 years after Syrian troops defeated his rump army, on his return from Paris he engineered a dramatic volte-face, aligning himself with Hizbollah and

  • 13 militants killed in US raid in Baghdad

    Up to 13 suspected militants were killed in a US air strike in the west of Baghdad on 11 October. Three of them are believed to be members of al Qaeda in Iraq who were responsible for the killing of a Sunni Arab preacher, according to US forces.Al Qaeda had vowed to ramp up attacks against Iraqi and US security forces and against Sunni Arab leaders who have been cooperating with the US military.The strike came hours after the imam, identified as Abu Bil

  • 40 killed in government raid

    The government's bombing raid on the Darfur town of Muhajiriya has killed at least 40 people, according to the rebels controlling the town.'Until now the number of dead civilians are at least 40, with 80 missing and a large number of injured,' said the Sudan Liberation Army. The raids were confirmed by the head of the African Union (AU) force that currently patrols the region.'Yesterday…I was informed that there was some bombin

  • Abu Dhabi delays bonds

    National Bank of Abu Dhabi is to delay the issue of $1,700 million worth of bonds until conditions in the debt markets improve. Chief executive officer Michael Tomalin says although shareholders approved the issue of the bonds on 5 September, no bonds will be issued until pricing has become more favourable. 'Issuing will depend on market conditions where we can achieve the price we want,' says Tomalin.

  • Abu Dhabi firm to build refinery in Pakistan

    Abu Dhabi-based International Petroleum Investment Company (IPIC) is to develop a new $5,000 million refinery in Pakistan, after gaining approval for the project from the government there.The refinery will be developed in Balochistan, in a joint venture with Pakistan's Pakistan-Arab Refinery Company (PARCO). IPIC will hold 74 per cent of the venture.Preliminary work on the project has already begun and final commissioning is expected by the first quarte

  • Abu Dhabi inflation jumps higher

    Abu Dhabi's annual inflation rate jumped to 11.3 per cent at the end of June, from 8.3 per cent at the end of 2006, according to the official Emirates News Agency.The report said hikes in rent and fuel costs contributed to over half of the three per centage points increase, citing the emirate's Department for Planning and Economy. Transport and communication, and food and drink prices were also up. Last year Abu Dhabi placed a 7 per cent cap on rent increases in the emira

  • Abu Dhabi invites bids for transport plan

    Abu Dhabi's Department of Transport has invited firms to bid by 16 October for a transport plan covering Abu Dhabi island and its surrounding areas.

  • Adco to issue Sahil tender

    Abu Dhabi Company for Onshore Oil Operations (Adco) is preparing to issue tender documents for the first phase of its Sahil, Asab and Shah (SAS) full field development.Only four groups are believed to be prequalified for the $1,300 million-1,500 million engineering, procurement and construction contract (MEED 20:7:07).They are UAE-based Petrofac International; Paris-based Technip with UAE-based Dodsal; Italy's Snamprogetti with India's Dodsal; and Spain's TR with Athens-based Con

  • Adnoc issues tender for Abu Dhabi gas network

    Adnoc Distribution has issued the long-awaited tender covering the first phase of the Abu Dhabi gas distribution network project.The gas grid will initially cover Abu Dhabi city and the new island developments of Reem, Yas and Saadiyat, as well as the Mussafah industrial area, before being extended in later stages to cover a series of other areas of the emirate.Prequalified companies have been given until the end of December to submit bids for the estimated AED 1,000 million ($27

  • Adnoc postpones selection of Shah sour gas partner

    Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (Adnoc) is expected to delay choosing a partner for the Shah sour gas project until the end of November, after originally hoping to make an award by the end of October.Adnoc has been busy clearing a backlog of work, including a launching a tender for a gas distribution network.Four shortlisted international oil companies are in the running for the Shah project. ConocoPhillips, ExxonMobil Corporation, Occidental Petroleum, all of the US, and

  • Aedas to design complex

    Abu Dhabi Investment Council has selected the London office of Aedas to design a new office complex in Abu Dhabi. Located near the beach palace, the project will involve twin towers of 25-30 floors and will overlook the old Nahyan military base area. One tower will be the headquarters for the council, while the other will be the main offices for the newly-established Al-Hilal Bank.

  • African emigrants repatriated

    About 50 would-be immigrants to Spain have been returned to Libya, following their rescue by Spanish fishermen on 13 October.Tripoli agreed to the return of the group, which had set sail from Libya under a Portuguese flag, following two days of negotiations with Madrid and Lisbon.According to their rescuers, they were picked up from their sinking dinghy about 140 kilometres off the Libyan coast. They were rescued from 'certain death', said the owner of

  • Aggreko aims for growth

    The UK's Aggreko, which provides temporary power generators, predicts 50-60 per cent annual growth in revenues from its regional business over the next five years. Much of the growth will come from existing and planned real estate and infrastructure projects. Aggreko provides more than 300 MW of temporary electricity at various sites in the UAE including Jebel Ali airport, Palm Jumeirah and Dubai Festival City.

  • Ahmadinejad adamant over nuclear rights

    Iran's President Ahmadinejad has said that Tehran will no longer discuss its right to develop nuclear technology. 'The Iranian people are not ready to sit around a table and discuss their absolute nuclear rights,' Ahmadinejad said. 'They [western powers] have to know this.'Ahmadinejad was speaking in Tehran on Al-Quds day, a day of demonstrations supporting the Palestinian cause. He said the Islamic republic would work until 'all of Palestine is liberat

  • Aid group pulls out of Darfur

    International medical aid organisation Medecins Sans Frontieres has evacuated 16 staff from the town of Muhajiriya in southern Darfur as fighting in the area intensified. The Sudan Liberation Army - the only rebel group to sign a peace agreement with Khartoum in May 2006 – has blamed the Sudanese government for the renewed fighting. The group has said it is now re-evaluating its relationship with Khartoum. The government denies the allegations.Amn

  • Airline sale set for approval

    The Kuwaiti government aims to approve legislation authorising the privatisation of Kuwait Airways by the first week of December.

  • Airline sale set for approval

    The Kuwaiti government aims to approve legislation authorising the privatisation of Kuwait Airways by the first week of December.After weeks of turmoil at the company, which has resulted in the long-anticipated privatisation of Kuwait's national carrier being repeatedly delayed, the government is putting renewed pressure on parliament to pass a law sanctioning the sell-off.Communications Minister Abdul Wahid al-Awadi, whose remit includes transport, says he expects parliament

  • Al Rajhi reports growth in profits

    Al Rajhi Banking & Investment has reported a profit increase for the third quarter of the year.The bank, one of the region's largest by market value, reported an increase in net profit of 0.15 per cent to SR 1,694 million ($453 million) for the third quarter of 2007, up from SR 1,691 million ($452 million) for the same period in 2006.It is the first time that net profits have risen for any period this year.Operating income rose by 9.7

  • Alcatel to lay subsea cable

    Alcatel-Lucent, a French infrastructure company, has been awarded a AED 301 million ($82 million) contract to build a submarine telecoms cable between the UAE and Kenya. The UAE's Etisalat has a 15 per cent stake in the East African Marine Systems project. The cable will give businesses in the Gulf high-speed internet access to East Africa.

  • Aldar signs up Accor to manage hotels

    Abu Dhabi-based developer Aldar Properties has signed management contracts with France's Accor to develop hotels in Abu Dhabi. The agreement covers two hotels on the $40,000 million Yas island development that will be home to the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, together with a number of Accor branded hotels elsewhere in Abu Dhabi.On Yas island, Accor will be represented by its Ibis and Novotel brands, with about 650 rooms in total. Completion is scheduled for 201

  • ALGERIA: Algiers set to miss targets

    The story of Algeria's gas industry has so far been one of sustained success. It is the second-largest gas producer in the Middle East after Iran, and in 2006 it produced 84,500 million cubic metres of gas - almost double the figure for Egypt, its closest rival in Africa.

  • Algerian gas projects: Delays hit growth

    Plans to increase capacity are behind schedule.

  • Algiers approves Credit Populaire privatisation

    Algiers has agreed to the first privatisation of a state-owned bank. Approval was granted in mid-September for the sale of a 51 per cent stake in Credit Populaire d'Algerie (CPA), the country's third largest bank. The decision follows the submission of recommendations by financial adviser Rothschild earlier in the year. The sale is expected to raise up to $1,500 million (MEED 28:7:06).

  • Algiers approves Credit Populaire privatisation

    Algiers has agreed to the first privatisation of a state-owned bank.

  • Algiers begins sell-off

    Rothschild has been awarded the mandate to advise the Finance Ministry on the sale of a majority stake in state-owned Credit Populaire d'Algerie (CPA).

  • Algiers relaxes banking rules

    Algeria's decision to stop forcing public companies to use state-owned banks has been welcomed by the country's private sector companies, which say the move will boost interest in the privatisation of the country's banking sector.

  • Algiers relaxes banking rules

    Algeria's decision to stop forcing public companies to use state-owned banks has been welcomed by the country's private sector companies, which say the move will boost interest in the privatisation of the country's banking sector.Private sector banks were forced to sever ties with state companies after the collapse of the Khalifa Group in 2003. The latest change was announced by Prime Minister Abdulaziz Belkhadem on 16 October.'This is good for the entire banking community,'

  • Algiers set to miss gas export targets

    With two key gas pipeline projects still to be completed, planned increases in exports are unlikely to be achieved.

  • Algiers shuts 120 state-owned companies

    Algiers is dissolving 120 state-owned companies following a failed attempt to modernise them, Prime Minister Abdelaziz Belkhadem has announced.'The state will not continue to ensure perfusion for corpses and will pursue the dissolution of these companies,' said Belkhadem. The identity of the 120 companies has not been disclosed.The move is part of a broad programme to upgrade, privatise or dissolve underperforming companies.

  • Al-Habtoor builds centre

    The local Al-Habtoor Motors will build a AED 350 million ($95 million) services, distribution and warehousing centre in the transport zone in Dubai Industrial City. The city will be operational by the second quarter of 2009 and will have six industrial clusters, including ones for base metals, chemicals and machinery. Al-Habtoor joins another local firm, car dealer Al-Nabooda Automobiles, in the zone.

  • Al-Hanoo to makeNujoom award

    Saudi Arabia's Al-Hanoo Holding Company is expected to make an award shortly for the main infrastructure package on the AED 18,000 ($4,905 million) Nujoom islands development in Sharjah.The contract involves all roads and infrastructure for the project, which is being built on a series of waterways and man-made islands in the north-east of the emirate.Launched in 2005, the earthmoving and marine works on the project are approaching completion.Building works are expected t

  • Al-Kayan syndication faces delay until November

    Saudi Basic Industries Corporation (Sabic) is now unlikely to come to the market for syndication of $1,800 million in debt for its Al-Kayan project until the beginning of November.Bankers close to the deal say that roadshows prior to syndication will not begin until after Ramadan and the Eid holiday.Banks advising Sabic on the deal were waiting until the firm completed fundraising for its $11,600 million acquisition of US firm GE Plastics before launching more Sabic debt

  • Al-Khaliji plans acquisition

    Al-Khaliji bank is in negotiations with France's BLC Bank to acquire its assets in the UAE, which include bank branches in Abu Dhabi, Dubai, Ras al-Khaimah and Sharjah. It is part of the Qatar-based bank's plans to build a network in the GCC. Al-Khaliji, which was established in January, hopes to finalise the deal before the end of November. It will then seek regulatory approval.

  • All change for Kuwaiti oil

    Things are not done by halves in Kuwait, and when the board of directors at Kuwait Petroleum Corporation (KPC) announced on 10 October changes in the top jobs in the local hydrocarbons sector, they were typically wide-ranging.

  • Al-Qatranah work starts

    Construction work has begun on the $400 million cement plant in Al-Qatranah, planned by Saudi Arabia's Arabian Cement Company. The plant will produce 2 million tonnes of cement a year. It is being built by Germany's KHD Humbolt, which is also supplying the equipment for the production line. Cement production is expected to begin in 2009.

  • Al-Qudra and Hydra form international joint venture

    Abu Dhabi-based ~Al-Qudra Holding ~ and ~Hydra Properties~ have formed a joint venture company through their international divisions to pursue investment opportunities outside the UAE.~Q Hydra~, as the new division is known, will focus on investments in the real estate sector in the GCC and other international growth markets, particularly Asian markets, such as China and India.'This new partnership is in line with Al Qudra Holding International's plans

  • Al-Qudra develops Al-Ain

    Al-Qudra Real Estate is to build a mixed-use development close to Jebel Hafeet in Al-Ain.

  • Al-Qudra develops Al-Ain

    Al-Qudra Real Estate is to build a mixed-use development close to Jebel Hafeet in Al-Ain. Known as Ain al-Faydah, the project will combine healthcare and leisure with a mix of tourism, residential, recreation and retail elements. The healthcare services will include a rehabilitation centre and education facilities. Al-Qudra Real Estate is a subsidiary of Abu Dhabi-based Al-Qudra Holdings.

  • Alstom signs rail deals with Morocco and Tunisia

    French rail operator Alstom has announced a string of transport deals in North Africa, coinciding with French President Nicolas Sarkozy's visit to Morocco.The company has been recruited to build a high-speed rail link between Tangiers and Marrakech in a government-to-government deal worth about EUR 2,000 ($2,850 million).The 200-kilometre first stage of the line will link Tangiers and Kanitra, and is expected to be operational by 2013. Alstom will provide 18 double-decker trains

  • Alstom signs rail deals with Morocco and Tunisia

    French rail operator Alstom has announced a string of transport deals in North Africa, coinciding with French President Nicolas Sarkozy's visit to Morocco.

  • Al-Suwaidi casts doubt on union

    UAE central bank governor Sultan bin Nasser al-Suwaidi has cast further doubt on plans for a GCC single currency, which is due to be introduced by 2010. 'It is something we cannot see taking place even in 2015,' he says.

  • Al-Zour applications due

    Companies have until 11 November to submit applications for prequalification for three pipeline packages and two pumping stations for the Al-Zour North project. The scheme involves building pipelines from Al-Zour North to Mina Abdulla; from there to West Funaitees reservoir; and from Mina al-Zour to Al-Zour and Al-Zour North to Wafrah. The stations will be built at Al-Zour and Mina Abdulla. The client is the Electricity & Water Ministry (MEED 13:7:07).

  • Amlak bond faces delay

    Amlak Finance has delayed the sale of $250 million worth of bonds until later this year because of the credit market turmoil in the US pushing up interest costs on borrowing worldwide. The company had planned to sell the sharia-compliant mortgage-backed securities at the end of the summer. But it now says rising borrowing costs will push the plans back until November or December, when it hopes conditions will have improved.

  • Amlak bond faces delay

    Amlak Finance has delayed the sale of $250 million worth of bonds until later this year because of the credit market turmoil in the US pushing up interest costs on borrowing worldwide.

  • Amman invites independent election monitors

    Jordan's prime minister has invited independent observers to monitor the upcoming parliamentary elections on 20 November for the first time in the kingdom's history.Speaking on Jordan Television, prime minister Marouf Bakhit said: 'The government will allow NGOs [non-governmental organisations] to visit the ballot centre and get acquainted with government procedures.'In July, the country's largest opposition party, the Islamic Action Front, pulled its c

  • Amman names most promising sources of investment

    Jordan Investment Board (JIB) has identified 12 countries which it thinks are most likely to invest in the kingdom.The board chose three Arab countries, five European countries, and four Asian ones that it will now target for foreign direct investment.JIB chief executive Maan Nsour briefed the 12 countries' ambassadors on some 150 projects in Jordan that are currently seeking foreign investment.Nsour has identified 50 companies from t

  • Amman vows to protect virtual operators

    Amman is giving new mobile phone companies protection from incumbent operators, in a bid to encourage more operators to enter the market.

  • ANALYSIS: Dubailand suffers further setback

    Government-controlled developer Tatweer has taken control of the Al-Kaheel project at Dubailand. It is the latest difficulty for the mega-project, and the change in management could result infurther delays.The AED 1,600 million ($436 million) project was being promoted by the local Al-Kaheel Park. It involved building equine centres with indoor and outdoor arenas, a breeding centre, together with 400 villas, a hotel and a theatre on 1-million square metres of land in Dubailand'sE

  • Analysis: Qatar-Bahrain causeway takes shape

    News that the proposed construction of a $2,000 million 45-kilometre causeway linking Qatar and Bahrain will start in May 2008 is good for both Doha and Manama (MEED.com 2:10:07), as many had begun to question whether the project would ever happen. However, there are still significant hurdles to overcome if the scheme is ever to be completed.Despite the renewed optimism around the project, the memorandum of understanding signed by the Qatar Bahrain Causeway Foundation with the internatio

  • Anesrif awards rail contracts

    Algerian national railway investment company Anesrif has provisionally awarded billions of dollars' worth of rail contracts.Condotte with Rizzani de Eccher, both of Italy, will build a 130-kilometre line from Oued Tlelat to Tlemcen and a 200-kilometre line from Tlemcen to the Moroccan border for an offer of Eur 914 million ($1,296 million).Italy's Astaldi will build a 120-kilometre track from Saida to Moulay-Slissen. Astaldi bid Eur 362 million ($514 million). China Civil

  • Anger at US plan to partition Iraq

    Iraqi politicians and the US Embassy in Baghdad have reacted with fury to a US Senate vote calling for Iraq to be split along sectarian lines.The vote called for a federation of three states similar to the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG), with limited central control from Baghdad.Shia and Sunni representatives have put aside their differences to condemn what they see as unacceptable interference in Iraq's internal affairs.'The pro

  • Arabian starts building twin towers in Dubai

    Lebanon’s Arabian Construction Company has started work on a AED 873 million ($237 million) twin tower development on Dubai’s Shaikh Zayed road.

  • Aramco to award pipeline

    Saudi Aramco is expected to award jointly Italy's Saipem and the local Metal Services for Trading & Contracting Company the $200 million contract, dubbed UBTG-4, to build a 154-kilometre-long, 56-inch pipeline from Shedgum gas plant to Juaymah. Lebanon's Contracting & Trading Company is expected to win the $100 million award for a 60-kilometre, 20-inch pipeline from Khursaniyah to Ras al-Zour and an 18-kilometre, 20-inch pipeline from Safaniyah to Khursaniyah (MEED 31:8:07).

  • Aramco to press ahead with Yanbu

    Saudi Aramco is understood to be prepared to develop the Yanbu export refinery without the assistance of international oil companies (IOCs), after asking for submissions of interest on the next engineering and construction phase of the project.It follows news that Aramco and its joint venture partner, ConocoPhillips, took an initial decision to stop proceeding with the 400,000-barrel-a-day refinery, because of rising costs.Although a final investment decision on the scheme has ye

  • Asad warns against division of Iraq

    Syrian president Bashar Asad is warning the division of Iraq will be a 'be a bomb that will blow up the Middle East'. Speaking in Ankara, Asad also said Syria and Turkey were determined to keep Iraq united. The two countries oppose any moves by Iraq's Kurds to separate from the central government for fear that this could encourage secesionist ambitions among their own Kurdish populations. The latest comment from Asad comes after

  • Azarab takes Bisotoun thermal plant EPC job

    The local Azarab Energy has been awarded an engineering, procurement and construction contract to increase the power capacity at Bisotoun thermal power plant in Kermanshah province in the west of the country.Under the Eur 275 million EPC contract, Azarab will build two power plants with a combined capacity of 650 MW to add to the existing 1,650-MW complex. Azarab is the lead firm in a consortium consisting of Azarab Energy Industries Development, Global Energy Company and

  • Azzawiya invites bids

    The Azzawiya Oil Refining Company has invited engineering, procurement and construction bids for the upgrade of the lube oil blending plant at its refinery, 40 kilometres west of Tripoli. The project aims to increase its production capacity from 40,000 tonnes a year to 150,000. It follows a review of the refinery by Canada's Winfield Resources (MEED 1:9:06).

  • Backlog restricts Ras Tanura bids

    Saudi Aramco has received just three bids for the project management and basic engineering contract at the world-scale $7,000 million-8,000 million, 400,000-barrel-a-day (b/d) East Coast refinery at Ras Tanura.

  • Baghdad in talks with Ankara on Kurdish crisis

    Iraq's Defence Minister Abdul-Qader al-Obeidi and its Minister of State for National Security Sherwan al-Waili have held talks with their Turkish counterparts in an effort to prevent a full-scale Turkish assault on northern Iraq.Ankara has threatened to pursue Kurdish rebel groups into Iraq, following a series of attacks by the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) in recent weeks, which have left scores of Turkish soldiers dead.The talks between the two govern

  • Baghdad in talks with Ankara on Kurdish crisis

    Iraq's Defence Minister Abdul-Qader al-Obeidi and its Minister of State for National Security Sherwan al-Waili have held talks with their Turkish counterparts in an effort to prevent a full-scale Turkish assault on northern Iraq.

  • Baghdad report denies Blackwater claim

    An Iraqi government investigation in to the killing of civilians by US private security firm Blackwater has rejecte

  • Bank overhauls network

    The UAE's First Gulf Bank is investing in new network technology to increase the volume of data held by the bank. The IT systems will also give the bank a full back-up of its data offsite, giving it a disaster recovery capability. First Gulf, which is worth around $5,500 million, has bought equipment from American software company EMC, including a storage area network, as part of the project.

  • Bank profits bounce back

    Local banks are beginning to recover from the collapse of the stock market and see a pay-off from the development of new revenue streams, with a turnaround in profits in the third quarter of 2007.The figures show bank profits stabilising after falling dramatically for four consecutive quarters. Although most of the banks that have reported third-quarter results so far only show marginal gains, it is a marked difference from the beginning of 2007, when profits were falling by as much as 7

  • Bank sale advances

    Banks have completed due diligence on Credit Populaire d'Algerie in the lead-up to the sale of a 51 per cent stake in the state-owned bank, the first to be privatised in the country.

  • Bank sale advances

    Banks have completed due diligence on Credit Populaire d'Algerie in the lead-up to the sale of a 51 per cent stake in the state-owned bank, the first to be privatised in the country. The bidders, Banco Santander, Banque Populaire Group, BNP Paribas, Credit Agricole, Citigroup and Societe Generale, are now expected to submit their offers in October. Rothschild is the financial adviser (MEED 6:7:07).

  • BANKING: Banks protect their assets

    The tense political standoff is leaving few areas of Lebanese life untouched. Even the country's commercial banks, traditionally the cornerstone of the fragile economy, are looking nervously into the future. Byblos Bank chairman Francois Bassil has warned that profits may be hit if the presidential election is delayed, given that the bank may be forced to increase provisioning on non-performing loans.

  • Banks protect their assets

    International operations and a strong retail sector are helping banks remain profitable amid the political uncertainty.

  • Banks to advise Damietta project

    Ahli United Bank and Arab Banking Corporation have been mandated to arrange a $480 million financing package for the construction of the port at Damietta.

  • Banks wary over Landbridge

    Potential underwriters are being lined up by financial advisers to the four consortiums bidding on the $5,000 construction contract for the Saudi Landbridge project, which intends to link the Gulf with the Red Sea, via Riyadh.However, the size of the deal, the lack of details on the financing plans and escalating costs are understood to have left many banks nervous about committing to the project at such an early stage.BNP Paribas is advising a consortium including the local

  • Banque du Caire selects JP Morgan

    JP Morgan has been selected as the adviser on the sale of an 80 per cent stake in Banque du Caire, as Cairo pushes ahead with its privatisation programme. An agreement will be signed before the end of October and the acquisition is expected to be completed in six to eight months' time.

  • Barclays admits defeat on ABN Amro and Saudi Hollandi

    Barclays president Bob Diamond admits the bank is unlikely to beat rival Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) to the acquisition of ABN Amro. It means Barclays will lose out on gaining control of the Dutch bank's Saudi Arabian assets.'It is likely that we will not complete on the ABN Amro deal, we will know more by the end of this week,' says Diamond.ABN Amro owns a 40 per cent stake in Saudi Hollandi Bank, worth about $1,400 million.If Barcl

  • Barzan tender nears

    Qatar Petroleum (QP) and ExxonMobil are expected to issue the tender for the front-end engineering and design package on the offshore element of the Barzan gas development by early November. A September tender was expected, but was delayed after contractors queried scope and delivery. France's Technip, Australia's Worley Parsons and three US companies - Foster Wheeler, Fluor Corporation and Jacobs Engineering - are understood to be interested.

  • Batelco links final towns

    Batelco will have connected every property in Bahrain to its broadband network by August 2008.

  • Batelco links final towns

    Batelco will have connected every property in Bahrain to its broadband network by August 2008. The country's monopoly fixed-line operator will spend $16 million connecting the final towns, which include Al-Jazaer, Al-Wadi, Awali and Sakhir, to the network, taking the total cost of the project to $57 million. Batelco will offer voice, data and video services over the new network.

  • Beirut consults on reform

    Beirut has embarked on a comprehensive restructuring of state electricity company Electricite du Liban (EdL), with a series of consultancy contracts awarded in recent days. It is an attempt to transform the fortunes of a company running up losses of up to $1,000 million a year.However, power sector analysts and bankers in the capital say the latest moves are merely an attempt by Beirut to be seen to be taking action. Critics claim the government has simply appointed consultants to carry

  • Beirut postpones presidential election

    Beirut has delayed its presidential election until 12 November to allow more time for rival pro- and anti-Syrian groups to agree on a compromise candidate.The Lebanese parliament had been scheduled to meet on 23 October to choose a successor to pro-Syrian President Emile Lahoud, whose term expires on 23 November. Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri said in a statement that he was postponing the vote 'to allow for more consultations that would lead to consensus on electing a pr

  • Bghdad report denies Blackwater claim

    An Iraqi government investigation in to the killing of civilians by US private security firm Blackwater has rejected the company-+s claim that its employees opened fire in self defence.The probe follows a 16 September shootout in al-Nisoor square in Baghdad, in which 11 people were initially reported killed. Baghdad has now said it believes a total of 17 civilians died in the incident.In testimony before the US Congress last week, Blackwater founder and CEO Erik Prince defended t

  • Bids below budget for facilities project

    State upstream operator Kuwait Oil Company (KOC) is in an unusual situation after two bids for its second-phase early production facilities project came in substantially below budget.

  • Bids in for sewage plan

    Bids are due by 22 October for the engineering, procurement and construction contract to build a sewage collection system and main sewer at Seeb, near Muscat. The prequalifiers are Athens-based Consolidated Contractors International with France's Vinci; India's Larsen & Toubro; the local Galfar Engineering & Contracting; Turkey's STFA; and Egypt's The Arab Contractors (Osman Ahmed Osman & Company) with the local National Construction & Trading. The client is Oman Wastewater Services Company (MEE

  • Bids in for Sohar work

    The Transport & Communication Ministry has received bids from six companies for the contract to build a new interchange serving Sohar port. The bidders are Al-Adrak Transport & Contracting Company, Desert Line Projects, Al-Shanfari Trading & Company, all local, Larsen & Toubro, Nagarjuna Construction Company, both Indian, and Athens-based Consolidated Contractors International Company (CCC). The consultant is US-based Parsons International (MEED 7:9:07).

  • Bids in for tank work

    India's Bridge & Roof Company is low bidder at KD 2.4 million ($8.6 million) for the contract to build a new dry storage tank at gathering centre 1. The 18-month contract covers the construction of a new 65,000-barrel oil storage tank as well as the demolition of the existing crude storage tank and the brackish water tank at the gathering centre, and associated works. The client is Kuwait Oil Company (MEED 13:7:07).

  • Binladin signs for roads

    Saudi Binladin Group has signed a SR 129 million ($34.4 million) contract with Gnaar the Economic City to build a 13-kilometre-long road connecting the King Abdullah Economic City's main gate with the Bay La Sun Village residential area. It is the second big contract to be signed for the project in recent weeks.

  • Binladin to sign Hajj finance deal

    Saudi Binladin Group will sign a $200 million Islamic project finance deal with three banks before the end of October to fund the construction of the Hajj Terminal at King Abdulaziz Airport in Jeddah.

  • Blair criticises Iranian support for terrorism

    The former UK prime minister, Tony Blair, has compared Iranian support for terror and the worldwide rise of extremism to the 'rising fascism in the 1920s'.In his first major address since leaving office, the new envoy for the Middle East Quartet used a charity event in New York to accuse Tehran of state sponsorship of terrorism and of seeking to destabilise peaceful nations. Blair defended the decision to go to war in Iraq and said the US, UK and its al

  • Bomb injures Polish ambassador

    The Polish ambassador to Iraq, General Edward Pietrzyk, is in a stable condition in a US military hospital after his three-car convoy was hit by a roadside bomb in Baghdad.At least three of his bodyguards were injured and an Iraqi civilian was killed in the attack on the convoy, which was clearly marked with Polish flags.US military forces sealed off the street soon after the attack and evacuated the wounded.Poland has a 900-strong mi

  • Borse closes on Nasdaq

    Borse Dubai could win US regulatory approval to acquire a 20 per cent stake in Nasdaq by the end of the year. Borse Dubai will make a presentation to the US Committee on Foreign Investment, a government body, by the end of the month. The committee will assess the deal within 30 days and decide whether to launch a further investigation. The acquisition is part of a wider deal, which also involves Nordic stock exchange OMX.

  • BP outlines major revamp of operations

    UK oil major BP has announced a dramatic restructuring of its operating units in a bid to increase competitiveness and reduce 'unacceptably high' overhead costs.Chief executive Tony Hayward said BP is to fold its third business unit, gas, power and renewables, into its existing exploration and refining arms.A separate division, alternative energy, will handle BP's low carbon business and other growth options outside oil and gas.Haywar

  • Brain workers shrug off the crunch and head for the Gulf

    Paul Laudicina, chairman of the board and managing officer of management consultants AT Kearney, has seen a lot worse than the credit crunch that has made a thousand newspaper headlines in the past two months. 'I do not think it will have a serious impact on the world economy,' he said in Dubai during his first tour of the region since taking over the leadership of the US management consultancy last year.

  • Brain workers shrug off the crunch and head for the Gulf

    Paul Laudicina, chairman of the board and managing officer of management consultants AT Kearney, has seen a lot worse than the credit crunch that has made a thousand newspaper headlines in the past two months. 'I do not think it will have a serious impact on the world economy,' he said in Dubai during his first tour of the region since taking over the leadership of the US management consultancy last year.

  • Building new economies

    The Middle East construction boom is transforming not only the landscape of the region but also its economy as Gulf states diversify away from hydrocarbons.

  • Business passes judgement

    Saudi Arabian officials, business leaders and reformers have praised the wide-ranging judicial reforms approved by King Abdullah on 1 October. Passed by royal decree, the reforms have been billed as the most comprehensive change in the kingdom's judicial framework in a generation, and one that will bring Saudi Arabia's judicial system up to the standards required of a modern economy.

  • Business software sales soar to $500m

    Sales of business software systems in the Middle East will hit $500 million by the end of 2007, according to US-based IT consultant Gartner.

  • Business Town selects First United to construct towers

    The local First United General Trading & Contracting has been awarded the contract to build four towers as part of the $250 million Kuwait Business Town development.Two of the towers will be 27 storeys tall, with a third at 26 storeys and a fourth at 29. The consultant for this phase of the project is the US' Fentress Bradburn, with the local Pan Arab Consulting Engineers. Work on the towers is due to be completed by mid-2009.Three of the four towers have already been sold, to th

  • Busy lines of engagement

    A series of parties were held across the region in September to celebrate the relaunch of Kuwait-based mobile phone operator MTC as Zain. In Sudan, the celebrations were happy and raucous. The live satellite link from Kuwait showed regimented groups of dignatories in their dishdashes staring impassively at a stage. The Jordanian party was more relaxed while the Bahrainis were entertained by a fireworks display. If the relaunch of the telecoms operator was intended to show how far the company had

  • Cairo heads downstream as it seeks $20bn investment

    The government is renegotiating gas prices and increasing export opportunities, with plans to attract $20,000 million in foreign investment to its oil and gas sectors over the next five years, Petroleum Minister Sameh Fahmy said in September.

  • Cairo plans industrial zones

    Cairo will launch the second phase of its industrial development programme by 16 October, involving the creation of 10 new industrial zones, says a senior figure involved in the project.

  • Cairo postpones sell-off

    Cairo has delayed the auction of the 24 per cent state-owned stake in Egyptian Resorts Company that was due to take place on 2 October. The National Bank of Egypt said the auction was postponed to give investors more time to study the sale. The bank is managing the sell-off and holds a 9 per cent stake in the company. Egyptian Resorts shares closed at£E 11.52 ($2.08) on 3 October, down from£E 11.91 ($2.15) the previous day.

  • Cairo signs NATO co-operation agreement

    Nato has signed an agreement with Cairo to strengthen the military and political ties between Egypt and the Brussels-based defence body.Egypt will now join Nato's Individual Co-operation Programme, which aims to promote information sharing and joint projects.Egypt is the first Arab country in the Middle East region to sign such an agreement, although Nato already has ties with Algeria, Mauritania, Jordan, Morocco and Tunisia – as well as Egypt &nd

  • Cairo to deepen Suez Canal

    Work is set to begin in 2008 on increasing the draught of the Suez Canal to an ultimate final depth of 72 feet.Dredging is currently under way to lower the draught from 62 feet to 66 feet. That work is 75 per cent completed and will be finished next year.The work has taken six years and cost an estimated $250 million.A study to examine increasing the draught to 72 feet will begin as soon as the current work is completed.A road tunnel running beneath t

  • Cairo to deepen Suez Canal

    Work is set to begin in 2008 on increasing the draught of the Suez Canal to an ultimate final depth of 72 feet.

  • Cairo urges Lebanese politicians to compromise over president

    The Egyptian Foreign Minister Ahmad Abu al-Gheit has visited Beirut to urge opposing Lebanese politicians to find a solution to their differences over the election of a new president.

  • Cairo urges Lebanese politicians to compromise over president

    The Egyptian Foreign Minister Ahmad Abu al-Gheit has visited Beirut to urge opposing Lebanese politicians to find a solution to their differences over the election of a new president.On a one-day visit to the Lebanese capital on 25 October, Al-Gheit met senior politicians on both sides of the political divide and called for an end to foreign interference in the country's political process.'Electing a new president is an internal Lebanese affair and so w

  • Calyon beefs up regional activities

    Calyon is expanding its regional activities, with the strengthening of its investment banking team in Dubai, plans for a stand-alone investment bank in Saudi Arabia and moves into less developed markets. 'The Middle East is central to the bank's growth plans,' says Albert Momdjian, managing director for Middle East and Africa investment banking.

  • Candidates in the Lebanese presidential race

    When Lebanon's MPs convene on 23 October to vote on a successor to President Lahoud, pro-government supporters looking to strengthen links with the West will come up against oppostition equally set on reasserting the relationship with Syria.

  • Carriers struggle to take off

    In late September, the International Air Transport Association (IATA), a trade body representing airlines around the world, dramatically reduced its prediction for profitability among Middle East airlines.

  • Cellucom expands in India

    Cellucom, a UAE mobile phone retailer, is to open 1,000 stores in India over the next three years. The retailer will use money from the sale of a stake to the UAE's Rostamani Group to finance its expansion. The move mirrors the expansion strategy of the UAE's largest mobile phone retailer, Axiom Telecom, which plans to spend $200 million over three years and open 2,000 stores in India (MEED 24:8:07).

  • Central Bank forges ahead with merger of state banks

    The Central Bank of Libya has announced the merger of two government-owned banks: Umma and Gumhouria. These are the country's largest and fifth largest state-owned commercial banks respectively in terms of assets.The merged bank will have 143 branches, 5,800 employees and assets of LD 8,000 million ($6,500 million).The central bank claims the bank, which is yet to be named, will be one of the 10 largest institutions in North Africa.The merger is expected to be complet

  • Chemanol work goes to Larsen

    India's Larsen & Toubro has won a $60 million contract to build methylamines and dimethylformamide (DMF) plants at the Chemanol complex in Jubail.Under the engineering and procurement contract, the firm will provide residual process design, detailed engineering, project management and equipment procurement for the plants, which will have a capacity of 50,000 tonnes a year (t/y) of methylamines and 60,000 t/y of DMF.The methylamines will be manufactured using methanol and ammonia

  • Chemical Ali execution delayed

    The execution of Saddam Hussein's cousin, Ali Hassan al-Majid, has been postponed until after Ramadan, Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki has said.The move is designed to avoid a repeat of the controversy surrounding Saddam Hussein's execution during the religious festival of Eid al-Adha.Al-Majid, who was given the nickname Chemical Ali after ordering the use of poison gas against the Kurdish community during the 1988 Anfal campaign, was sentenced to death

  • Chevron to awarddeals for Jubail olefins complex

    Awards are due to be made imminently on the two main process packages at the multi-billion-dollar National ChevronPhillips (NCP) olefins complex in Jubail, following the submission of final revised prices in mid-October.

  • China wins Skycourts deal

    Beijing-based China State Construction Engineering Corporation has been awarded the estimated AED 1,500 million ($409 million) contract to build the Skycourts development in Dubailand. The contract involves the construction of six towers with 2,300 apartments. The project is due to be completed in the first half of 2009. The local Edara is the project manager. The local National Bonds Corporation is the client (MEED 6:7:07).

  • Chinese to construct Jizan aluminium plant

    A Chinese firm will build a $3,000 million aluminium smelter as part of the Jizan Economic City project.

  • Citadel buys Rally Energy

    Local private equity firm Citadel Capital has bought Canada's Rally Energy Corporation in a deal valued at CAD 877 million ($868 million). The shares in the firm were bought by Logria, a firm owned by National Petroleum Company which itself is owned by Citadel. The deal was partly financed by a $444 million senior debt facility, arranged by BNP Paribas, and a further $100 million worth of mezzanine debt.

  • Citi makes UAE private banking appointment

    Citi Private Bank, part of Citi Group has appointed Mohammed Azab as executive director and chief executive officer of its UAE offices. The appointment is intended to boost the bank-+s private banking activities. In the Gulf, Citi Private Bank has offices in Abu Dhabi, Bahrain, Dubai and Kuwait that offer services to high net worth individuals.

  • Citigroup launches $4bn Emal financing tranche

    Banks are receiving documents for the project finance tranche of the $4,000 million Emirates Aluminium (Emal) project. It comes despite the accompanying bond tranche for the project being unlikely to launch until 2008.Financial institutions are being invited to take part in a $2,000 million project finance debt that financial adviser Citigroup is hoping to finalise in the next two months.Because of the size of the deal, a large number of banks, both international and local, a

  • Citigroup launches $4bn Emal financing tranche

    Banks are receiving documents for the project finance tranche of the $4,000 million Emirates Aluminium (Emal) project. It comes despite the accompanying bond tranche for the project being unlikely to launch until 2008.

  • Civil rights activist arrested

    Authorities have arrested civil rights activist Mohamed el-Derini in the latest move against political dissent in the country.El-Derini is being held on charges including contempt of religion and tarnishing the reputation of Egypt's prisons, according to security sources. He was taken from his home on 1 October, said his lawyer, Hossan Bahgat.According to Bahgat, the charges are related to an interview given by El-Derini to the opposition Al-Ghad newspa

  • Clearing system hits delay

    The Central Bank of Jordan is to introduce a new cheque clearing system, two months behind schedule, according to the IMF. The system is aimed at making the country's banking sector more efficient and reduce risks associated with money transfers. The system is due to be implemented in November to cut the time it takes to process payments from four days to 24 hours. It will also keep a 15-year archive of every cheque processed.

  • Clearing system hits delay

    The Central Bank of Jordan is to introduce a new cheque clearing system, two months behind schedule, according to the IMF.

  • Commercial Bank books rise in profits

    Net profits at Commercial Bank of Dubai for the three months to 30 September have risen by 39 per cent, compared to the same period in the previous year, to AED 218.6 million ($59.5 million).

  • Commercial Bank books rise in profits

    Net profits at Commercial Bank of Dubai for the three months to 30 September have risen by 39 per cent, compared to the same period in the previous year, to AED 218.6 million ($59.5 million).The most significant rise was in the bank's net interest income, which rose by 41 per cent to AED 228.9 million ($62.3 million). The bank said this was mainly due to growth in the mortgage market.Fee income, which mainly relates to stock market activities, rose by 3

  • Commercial Bank to merge with Arab African

    Commercial International Bank and Arab African International Bank have taken their first step towards merging by signing a confidentiality agreement that will enable them to exchange statements and information that is not in the public domain.An official statement from the two banks to confirm they are merging is expected within days. It will be the first time they have officially acknowledged a deal between them, putting an end to wide-spread speculation in the market.Th

  • Commercial bid deadline approaches for Nimr field

    Commercial bids are due to be submitted by the end of November for the full-field water injection project at the Nimr C field in the south of the sultanate.

  • Commercial rents triple in Dubai

    Commercial rental rates in Dubai have almost tripled since 2005. A research report by Dubai-based property consultant Asteco found that, on average, rents rose to $785 a square metre, from $263.The growth in office rental rates over the past few years has been driven by demand from the high influx of multinational companies setting up operations, and growth in existing businesses.'We expect commercial office rents to remain high throughout 2007 and 2008

  • Commission opens college bids

    Saudi ABV is in pole position to land the contracts to extend two colleges in Yanbu following the opening of bids by the Royal Commission for Jubail and Yanbu.The Royal Commission opened bids on 3 October for the contracts that cover 10 student dormitories at the Yanbu Industrial College and four dormitories at the Yanbu Technical Institute site.Both packages also involve the construction of maintenance buildings and infrastructure.Six local companies bid for the combined

  • Companies hit back at new stock exchange rules

    Dozens of Kuwaiti companies have taken out full-page advertisements in newspapers to complain about rules announced by the Kuwaiti bourse that they claim will hinder the development of the market and encourage other firms to list abroad.The new regulations, unveiled on 1 October, say trading in shares of firms that buy into or sell out of other companies that have previously been turned down for a listing will be halted for 12 months.The advertisement,

  • Compressor bids in for Bab field

    Commercial bids were submitted on 2 October for the estimated $300 million deal to install new gas compressors at the Bab field.

  • Confidence rises in Gulf

    The majority of companies in the GCC are planning to hire more staff, as their businesses grow because of an expanding market. More than two thirds of companies polled by HSBC for its business confidence index expect revenues to grow in the next three months. More than a fifth expect revenues to grow by over 15 per cent this year, compared with 2006. Businesses in Bahrain are the most optimistic about the commercial climate.

  • Consortium buys Turcas

    The local Injaz Projects, with consortium partners Azerbaijan Oil & Gas Company, Kazakhstan's Kazmunaigaz Company and Turkey's Turcas Petroleum, has acquired a 51 per cent stake in former state-owned Turkish petrochemicals manufacturer Petkim Petrokemiya. The consortium was second highest bidder for the stake, paying $2,040 million. Petkim has licences to build an oil refinery and a utility plant.

  • Consortium lands Khalifa marine work

    The consortium of Geneva-registered Archirodon Construction (Overseas) with Netherlands-based Royal Boskalis Westminster and South Korea's Hyundai Engineering & Construction Company has been awarded the AED 5,500 million ($1,500 million) marine works contract for the first phase of Khalifa port in Abu Dhabi.

  • Consultant to study airline

    An international consultant has been hired to conduct a study on the initial public offering of shares in government-owned Kuwait Airways. The study was started in early October and is not expected to be finished until 2008. The Communications Ministry will review the report before the issue is discussed in the National Assembly. The government is expected to retain a 25-30 per cent stake.

  • Contract terms shifts in favour of state

    The renegotiation of the joint venture of Italy's Eni and state-owned National Oil Corporation, which has tipped the balance of contractual terms in favour of the state, could be the template for similar deals in the future, say industry sources.'I can see a number of joint ventures being renegotiated in Libya in the next five years,' says a European energy analyst specialising in the region. 'Given the current oil price environment, NOCs [national oil companies] see current contract ter

  • Contractor costs hit smelter

    Rising contracting prices are likely to increase the cost of the region's first copper smelter and refinery to in excess of $1,000 million, according to a senior project source.A consortium of the local El-Sewedy Cables and Swiss-based Glencore International signed an agreement in June to build the grassroots facility on the Red Sea coast for an estimated $850 million. But costs have already soared.'At today's prices, it is already likely to cost more than a billion dollars,' say

  • Contractors bid for Jubail

    International contractors have submitted prequalification proposals to client Saudi Aramco for five main packages at the proposed 400,000-barrel-a-day Jubail export refinery.More than eight companies are thought to have submitted proposals, with Aramco extending the prequalification deadline to 30 September after being asked to clarify several details on the coker unit package.The packages include an aromatics unit, a conversion unit, a distillate and hydrotreater package, a coke

  • Contractors compete for Trump tower contract

    Local real estate developer Nakheel has received bids from at least two companies for the contract to build the Trump International Hotel & Tower on the Palm Jumeirah in Dubai.The bidders are the local/South African joint venture of Al-Habtoor Engineering Enterprises and Murray & Roberts Contractors (Middle East) and the local/Australian Nasa Multiplex.The tower will be a 48-floor mixed-use development with a 300-room hotel and 360 apartments.It will have a viewin

  • Contractors speak out against residency cap

    Contractors working across the region have voiced serious concerns over the proposed residency cap that will mean the majority of construction workers can only stay in the Gulf for a maximum of six years.Companies fear the cap will force them to take on workers who lack the relevant experience and are not capable of working on major projects.'Some projects in Dubai and Abu Dhabi are very challenging,' says a contractor working in the two emirates. 'So if you are working at the to

  • Contracts (September)

  • Contracts (September)

  • Court overturns Water Ministry health scare decision

    A Jordanian judge has overturned a decision by the Water and Irrigation Ministry to dismiss a key official involved in a case of mass water contamination this summer.The Higher Court of Justice ruled that the ministry was wrong to transfer the civil servant from the northern region of Mafraq where more than 1000 villagers became sick from drinking contaminated water.Ahmad Rjoub was dismissed from his job as assistant secretary-general of the Water Autho

  • Credit squeeze forces Qatar Fertiliser to drop bond plan

    Qatar Fertiliser Company (Qafco) has dropped plans to use a bond to help fund its $1,200 million Qafco 5 project, because of adverse conditions in the credit markets.Financial advisers to the project are understood to be structuring the deal by only using project finance debt to fund the expansion of the firm's Mesaieed complex. The move comes despite the firm receiving a credit rating from Moody's Investors Service in March, in anticipation of approaching the bond market before the

  • Crescent finds solution to Iranian gas import problems

    Sharjah-based Crescent Petroleum says it expects to overcome technical glitches with Iran in the next few months, which will mean it can start importing gas supplies early in 2008.Iran has blamed the delay in the project on the company's refusal to pay a higher price for the gas, but Crescent says a series of technical issues have delayed the start-up.'We have been assured by the Iranians that the last element of the project, which is the main production platform, will be com

  • Crescent targets Mubarek

    UAE's Crescent Petroleum is to target development of the offshore Mubarek field in Sharjah in 2008, after successfully completing drilling in the northern and southern flanks of the reservoir. Crescent says the wells, flowing at742 barrels a day after initial tests, are the first to be drilled by the company in the Ilam reservoir since 1997.

  • Damac to offer shares

    The local Damac Real Estate Development has begun its JD 1.25 million ($1.76 million) initial public offering. The company was established with a capital of JD 5 million ($7 million). It is planning to launch three projects which will include commercial and residential property. Jordinvest is financial adviser, arranger and lead manager on the offering that will close on 11 November. The shares will list on the Amman Stock Exchange and bring the number

  • Damascus plans airport

    Damascus is seeking to upgrade its main international airport to meet increasing passenger demand, according to Transport Minister Yarub Badr. A delegation of aviation experts, engineers and technicians from Malaysia arrived in the country in early October, with the long-term aim of improving facilities at Damascus International Airport.

  • Damascus snubs peace talks

    Syria says it will not attend the US-led Middle East peace conference unless its concerns are dealt with.The Syrian President Bashar al-Assad said that he questioned the US' commitment to force a true compromise from Israel on the Palestinian issue. Although the focus of the conference, scheduled for November, will be the Israeli-Palestinian question, Syria also wants to push for the return of the Golan Heights by Israel, which have been occupied since

  • Darfur rebel groups hold talks

    At least seven Darfur rebel groups, yet to sign a peace agreement with Khartoum, are meeting in the southern capital of Juba to reach a common negotiating position with the government. The talks come ahead of a peace conference scheduled to take place in Libya on 27 October. The southern government is hosting the Juba talks. Representatives from the Justice and Equality Movement and from factions of the Sudan Liberation Army are attending.

  • Darfur rebels boycott Libya talks

    Six factions of the Sudan Liberation Movement will not attend peace talks in Libya on 27 October, according to Darfur rebel leaders. Ahmed Abdel Shafie, head of a breakaway faction of the Sudan Liberation Movement, says UN and African Union officials had not given the rebels enough time to agree on a united position and a delegation. The comments come after around 70 rebels met in the southern capital of Juba for talks. 'I was really

  • Date set for Mostorod

    The estimated $1,800 million main construction package to develop a diesel oil plant at Mostorod will come into effect in early 2008, according to a senior industry source. 'The effective date for the engineering, procurement and construction contract will not be before February 2008, following financial close,' says the source. A Japanese/South Korean joint venture of Mitsui and GS Engineering & Construction is carrying out engineering work following an early works agreement signed in August (M

  • Debts stallbroadcast launch

    Jordan's first independent TV station has been unable to start satellite broadcasts, despite receiving a licence on 2 October, because of outstanding debts.Zaid Rashdan, the director-general of ATV, wrote a letter to Jordan's media regulator, the Audio-Visual Commission, on 2 October to explain that it would first deal with its financial issues before starting broadcasts.Jordanian company Al-Ajayeb for Investments bought ATV for JD 15 million ($21 million) in September.

  • Deficit soars to record high

    Jordan's budget deficit for 2007 will be more than twice the government forecast because the kingdom's oil subsidy has become increasingly expensive as the price of oil has risen, according to a leading independent economist.

  • Deficit soars to record high

    Jordan's budget deficit for 2007 will be more than twice the government forecast because the kingdom's oil subsidy has become increasingly expensive as the price of oil has risen, according to a leading independent economist.Jordanian economist Fahed Fanek expects the government's budget deficit to be up to JD 900 million ($1,271 million) by the end of 2007. 'If the government insists on keeping oil derivative prices at current levels, the budget will suffer the widest deficit ever,'

  • Deposits hit record high

    Deposits in Algeria's banks in the first half of the year reached record levels of more than AD 3.5 trillion ($50,000 million), according to Banque d'Algerie, the central bank. The country's foreign exchange reserves at the end of June were more than $90,000 million, with 55 per cent of the total held in euros. Total hard-currency deposits in Algeria's state-owned banks, including the central bank, are estimated at AD 1.4 trillion ($20,000 million).

  • Deutsche expands trading

    Deutsche Bank is expanding its foreign exchange trading platform, dbFX, into an Arabic language version to attract Middle Eastern investors. The bank expects the volume of trades on the platform from the region to grow by about 30 per cent a year as a result. It is also evaluating whether to add GCC currencies to the platform. The product focuses on retail investors and small to medium-sized investment firms.

  • Developers struggle to turn visions of Dubai into reality

    At this year’s Dubai’s Cityscape exhibition in mid-October, each hall was packed with real estate projects planning to turn vast expanses of desert and hundreds of kilometres of shorefront into the cities of tomorrow. But as the development boom continues, a growing number of projects are struggling to move from the planning stages to construction.

  • Dewa plans power boost

    Dubai Electricity & Water Authority (Dewa) is planning two further power complexes at Hassyan. A tender for Q Station will be issued In early 2008. It will be built in two phases with a total capacity of 3,000 MW and 200 million gallons of water a day (g/d). A third complex is planned for 2008. The Hassyan site can accommodate up to 9,000 MW and 600 million g/d of additional capacity (MEED 24:8:07).

  • Doha considers plans to build free trade zones

    Doha has announced tentative plans to build three new free trade zones in the country.

  • Doha plans major capacity boost

    Qatar is planning an ambitious series of oil and gas projects designed to propel the gas-rich state into its next phase of growth.In an exclusive interview with MEED, Qatar Liquified Gas Company (Qatargas) chief executive officer Faisal Al-Suwaidi outlines a series of energy projects planned by Doha. The programme includes plans for the second phase of Qatargas' Barzan gas development.The second stage aims to deliver 2,000 million cubic feet a day of gas from the North field

  • Doha plays the waiting game

    What a difference a decade makes. Ten years after Qatar first started on its pioneering Qatargas project to develop liquefied natural gas LNG), the energy world has been flipped on its head.

  • Doha plays the waiting game

    What a difference a decade makes. Ten years after Qatar first started on its pioneering Qatargas project to develop liquefied natural gas LNG), the energy world has been flipped on its head.

  • Doubt grows over production claims

    Industry observers are casting doubts over Kuwait's claim that it will soon start producing its first meaningful quantities of gas.

  • DP World invests in Senegal port

    DP World has pledged to invest Eur 500 million ($708 million) in the port infrastructure of Senegal.On 8 October, the Dubai-based ports operator signed a formal accord with the Senegalese government, agreeing to take over management of the container terminal at Dakar at the end of this year.Capacity will be doubled to 550,000 TEUs by 2010, at a cost of Eur 115 million ($163 million).The group will also develop a new terminal at Port du Futur, which is

  • DP World moves forward on share sale

    DP World, the Dubai-based ports operator, is lining up the long-anticipated sale of its shares to the public, which could take place before the end of November.The Dubai-based ports operator could raise up to $3,500 million by selling 30 per cent of the company, making it the second-largest initial public offering in the Middle East, after the $4,100 million flotation of Saudi Telecom in 2003. DP World has had advisers in place with a view to the sale s

  • DP World to double capacity

    DP World intends to almost double its port capacity from 48.6 million TEUs to 90 million by 2017.

  • Dubai airport faces closure in eight years

    Dubai International Airport could be shut down in eight years' time and the site used for real estate development, according to a leading figure in the UAE's aviation and property sectors.Khalid Harib bin Harib, chief executive officer of real estate at Dubai World Central, part of Dubai Aviation Corporation Authority, says all airlines will have moved their operations to the new airport in Jebel Ali by 2015. At that point, the area will be redeveloped.'We will convert it

  • Dubai airport faces closure in eight years

    Dubai International Airport could be shut down in eight years' time and the site used for real estate development, according to a leading figure in the UAE's aviation and property sectors.

  • Dubai exchange introduces sharia-compliant structures

    The Dubai International Financial Exchange (DIFX) is to expand its range of traded structured products with the addition of sharia-compliant versions.The products, which allow investors to buy into groups of securities, are expected to list by the end of October.The exchange has already listed almost $14,000 million worth of sharia-compliant bonds.The DIFX launched the region's first structured product platform, DIFX Trax, in August, targeted at retail investors. Investor

  • Dubai extends tram bid deadline

    The closing date for the AED 2,000 million ($544 million) design and build contract for the Al-Sufouh tram scheme in Dubai has been extended to 3 December to give bidders more time to prepare.

  • Dubai extends tram bid deadline

    The closing date for the AED 2,000 million ($544 million) design and build contract for the Al-Sufouh tram scheme in Dubai has been extended to 3 December to give bidders more time to prepare.At least four groups have been prequalified for the contract. They include: France's Alstom with Belgium's Bel Hasa Six Construct; Japan's Marubeni Corporation with Italy's Ansaldo Trasporti; Japan's Mitsubishi Corporation with the local ETA Ascon; and Germany's Siemens with the local Al-Habtoor Eng

  • Dubai issues Time tender

    Dubai Multi Commodities Centre (DMCC) has invited companies to tender for a new business park next to its Jumeirah Lake Towers development on Sheikh Zayed road. Known as DMCC Time Zone, the project involves the construction of a 35-storey office tower and a 29-storey hotel, together with a series of low-rise buildings.

  • Dubai issues Time tender

    Dubai Multi Commodities Centre (DMCC) has invited companies to tender for a new business park next to its Jumeirah Lake Towers development on Shaikh Zayed road.

  • Dubai Metro faces delays

    The $4,600 million project to build the red and green lines on the Dubai Metro scheme could be facing delays of up to one year after contractors on the scheme indicated to the Roads & Transport Authority (RTA) that they need more time to complete work on the project.

  • Dubai Metro faces delays

    The $4,600 million project to build the red and green lines on the Dubai Metro scheme could be facing delays of up to one year after contractors on the scheme indicated to the Roads & Transport Authority (RTA) that they need more time to complete work on the project.According to several senior sources on the scheme, the JT Metro joint venture executing the civil engineering and construction works is seeking an extension to complete the project. 'The amount of time being discussed is chan

  • Dubai set to receive first credit rating

    Dubai is expected to receive a credit rating for the first time before the end of 2007, in anticipation of the emirate approaching the capital markets to raise funding for the first time.Ratings agency Fitch is understood to be working with the emirate on securing a rating, with JP Morgan providing financial advice on the rating and any eventual bond issue.Sources close to the rating agency confirm it is working on the rating and expects to publish the results before the end

  • Dubai tests Tijara interest

    Local developer Dubai Properties has approached contractors for the contract to build the first phase of its AED 6,000 million ($1,635 million) business park in Dubailand. Known as Tijara Town, the development will be built on a 1.8-square-kilometre plot. The local Al-Hashemi Planners, Architects & Engineers is the consultant (MEED 22:11:06).

  • Duo finance Mohammedia

    Office National de l'Electricite and the Islamic Development Bank have signed an agreement for the financing of 300 MW open-cycle gas-fired power plant at Mohammedia. The bank will provide Eur 137.2 million ($189 million) for the project. The US' GE with Spain's Socoin will build the plant (MEED 2:3:07).

  • EChem awards plant study

    The US' KBR has been awarded the contract to carry out feasibility studies for a $2,000 million greenfield aromatics plant. The award follows the collapse of talks between the client, Egyptian Petrochemicals Holding Company (EChem) and Fluor Corporation, alsoof the US.

  • EChem awards plant study

    The US' KBR has been awarded the contract to carry out feasibility studies for a $2,000 million greenfield aromatics plant. The award follows the collapse of talks between the client, Egyptian Petrochemicals Holding Company (EChem) and Fluor Corporation, also of the US.

  • Echoes of 1967 as the Gulf prepares to dump the dollar

    In a sequence of disasters, Britain's Middle East empire disintegrated in the quarter century following the end of the Second World War. London reneged on its promises by withdrawing precipitately from Palestine in May 1948 and allowing almost 60 per cent of its non-Jewish population to be driven out in 12 months. In October 1956, it ganged up with France and Israel against Egypt and failed.

  • Economic cities: Industrial developments

    Each city will focus on a different area of the economy.

  • Economic cities: Private sector holds key to new cities

    Unlike previous developments, Riyadh’s plan to build six new industrial centres at the same time relies on outside investment.

  • Economists slam proposals for national pay rise

    Proposals for a national wage increase in Saudi Arabia have been criticised by economists, who claim that a pay rise will add to the country's inflationary pressures.The advisory Shura Council has recommended that wages are increased and the government considers cutting utility bills to help the public deal with inflation, which hit a seven year high of 4.4 per cent in August.'An increase in wages is likely to feed demand pressures and stoke inflation further,' says Mushtaq Khan,

  • Egypt drains Etisalat profits

    Start-up costs at Etisalat's recently launched Egyptian operation have caused the parent company's profit margins to fall in its latest financial results, according to a telecoms analyst.Profit margins at Etisalat, the UAE giant, fell to 33.8 per cent of revenues in the three months to the end of September, down from 38.6 per cent the previous year.'It is mostly because of the Egyptian operation,' says Wael Ziada, telecoms analyst at investment bank EFG-Hermes. 'The cost of the l

  • Egypt to supply Jordan with extra gas

    Egypt will supply Jordan with an additional 550 million cubic metres of gas a year to meet the power needs of Jordan's industrial sector.

  • Egypt to supply Jordan with extra gas

    Egypt will supply Jordan with an additional 550 million cubic metres of gas a year to meet the power needs of Jordan's industrial sector.The kingdom relies on Egyptian gas to generate some 85 per cent of its electricity.Egypt agreed to supply Jordan with 2,300 million cubic metres of gas a year under a 14-year agreement it signed in 2004.Jordan gets its gas from Egypt at a lower price than it would have to pay on the open market.

  • EGYPT: Cairo heads downstream

    Cairo aims to attract $20,000 million in foreign investment to its oil and gas sectors over the next five years, Petroleum Minister Sameh Fahmy said in September. Drawing international oil companies (IOCs) to the downstream gas market is a priority for the ministry. With ambitious pipeline and liquefied natural gas (LNG) export plans, Cairo is eager to bring foreign companies on board.

  • Eight to bid for hydro treater

    At least eight companies are expected to submit bids by the new 20 October deadline for a $500 million contract to install a diesel hydrotreater at the Ras Tanura refinery.Four South Korean companies - Hyundai Heavy Industries, Hyundai Engineering & Construction, Samsung Engineering Company and SK Engineering & Construction, - are bidding along with Snamprogetti and Techint of Italy, Spain's Tecnicas Reunidas and Japan's JGC Corporation.Bids, originally due in early September, we

  • Eithad passengers rise

    Abu Dhabi-based Etihad Airways passenger numbers grew by 70 per cent in the first nine months of the year to 3.3 million.

  • Eithad passengers rise

    Abu Dhabi-based Etihad Airways passenger numbers grew by 70 per cent in the first nine months of the year to 3.3 million. In the same period in 2006, it carried 1.95 million passengers. The airline is due to launch its winter schedule on 28 October, with Kathmandu in Nepal becoming the latest addition to its network.

  • Emaar and Bawadi form joint venture for Dubailand

    Dubai-based real estate developers Bawadi and Emaar Properties have formed a AED 60,000 million ($16,349 million) joint venture to develop 5.5 million square metres of land in Dubailand.

  • Emaar profits rise

    Profits at local developer Emaar Properties increased by 4 per cent in the first nine months of the year, compared with the previous year, to AED 4,839 million ($1,317 million). However, third-quarter profits are 3 per cent down on 2006. The company says revenue from property sales in Dubai have been offset by costs incurred launching overseas sales and reorganising its subsidiaries.

  • Emaar to develop projects in Algeria

    Dubai's Emaar Properties is to invest $20,000 million in four mixed-use developments in Algeria.The developments are the New City of Sidi Abdellah, a tourist resort at Colonel Abbas, a waterfront development by Algiers Bay and a healthcare centre in Staouali County.The company began work on Sidi Abdellah on 15 September. The New City will cover an area of 400 hectares to be expanded to 1,500 hectares at a later stage.The Colonel Abbas

  • Emirates flies south

    Emirates Airlines has signed interconnection agreements with two South American airlines, opening up its new network on the continent. The Dubai-based carrier has struck the agreements with Brazilian carrier Tam Airlines and Chile's Lan Airlines. Tam flies to every major city in Brazil, while Lan operates hubs in Argentina, Chile, Ecuador and Peru.

  • Emirates NBD share price rises

    The share price of Emirates NBD rose by 14.5 per cent on the newly merged bank's first day of trading.

  • Emirates NBD share price rises

    The share price of Emirates NBD rose by 14.5 per cent on the newly merged bank's first day of trading. The shares closed trading on the Dubai Financial Market on 16 October at AED 10.65 ($2.89), up from the listing price of AED 9.30 ($2.53).The bank, created through the merger of Emirates International Bank and National Bank of Dubai, ended the day with a market capitalisation of AED 46,787 million ($12,739 million), making it the second largest listing

  • Emirates NBD to list

    The merged banking group Emirates NBD will list its shares on the Dubai Financial Market on 16 October. Both Emirates Bank International and National Bank of Dubai suspended trading in their shares on 8 October. The shares are expected to delist on 15 October. The merger is supported by the Dubai government, which owns stakes in Emirates Bank and National Bank of Dubai.

  • Engineers India wins Gasco management consultancy

    Engineers India (EIL) has won the project management consultancy contract on the Asab, Bab, Bu Hasa and Ruwais modifications project, planned by Abu Dhabi Gas Industries Company (Gasco).

  • Equity fund launches

    Abu Dhabi-based Emirates International Investment Company and the Cairo office of Abu Dhabi Islamic Bank are launching a private equity fund called Emirates Capital Egypt. It will be involved in direct investment, underwriting and securities, and managing private equity and real estate funds. The firm has an authorised capital of£E 500 million ($90 million). Alaa Amer, founder and board member of the Egyptian Capital Market Association, is chairman and managing director.

  • Erdogan calls on Baghdad to shut down rebel camps

    Turkish Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan called on Baghdad on 19 October to shut down camps run by Kurdish rebels in northern Iraq and to hand over guerrilla leaders.His comments come two days after the Ankara parliament, in defiance of Washington, authorised Turkish troops to cross the mountainous border into northern Iraq to track down the rebels, who use the region as a base from which to attack Turkey.'What will satisfy us is the closure of all [Kurdis

  • Eskan launches bonds

    Eskan Bank has raised BD 30 million ($80 million) with the country's first residential mortgage-backed securitisation. The bonds were split between three, five, seven and 10-year tenors and involved the securitisation of social mortgage loans issued by Eskan Bank. Since the loans securitised are for social housing, the Finance Ministry says it will provide financial support to the transaction. Local banks and pension funds are among the firms that bought the bonds.

  • Essar to build refinery

    Iran's state oil refining firm and India's Essar Group are to start construction of a 300,000 barrel a day (b/d) refinery in southern Iran early in 2008. The proposed refinery at Bandar Abbas, estimated to cost $8,000-10,000 million, will process a range of Iranian heavy crude and is expected to be completed by 2012. Essar will hold a 60 per cent stake in the project, with the National Iranian Oil Refining & Distribution Company (NIORDC) holding the balance.

  • Etihad considers IT outsourcing

    Etihad is conducting a review of its engineering processes with a view to outsourcing some of its in-house IT operations.

  • Etisalat seeks Omantel stake

    The UAE's Etisalat is considering making a bid for a stake in Omantel, after Muscat announced plans to sell shares in the company.'We would like to see the detail of that auction,' says Jamal al-Jarwan, chief executive of Etisalat International Investments. 'It is something that we would like to find out more about.'Oman's government will sell part of its 70 per cent controlling stake in the company, which is the country's largest mobile phone operator and the monopoly fixed-line

  • Expansion opportunities

    The alacrity with which the heavyweight Lebanese banks quickly insinuated themselves into the newly liberalised Syrian banking system came as no surprise, least of all to the banks themselves.Owners of Syrian origin control two of the biggest Lebanese banks: Blom Bank, run by the Azhari family; and Banque Europeenne pour le Moyen-Orient (Bemo) by the Obejis. These two banks have led a charge into Syria, opening branches and unveiling a series of products in a new market.Blom's Ba

  • Expansion opportunities in Syria

    Lebanese banks are taking advantage of Syrian liberalisation.

  • Exxon signs for lower Fars heavy oil work

    State upstream operator Kuwait Oil Company (KOC) and the US' ExxonMobil Corporation have signed a heads of agreement to develop heavy oil reserves from the state's northern oil fields.

  • Exxon signs for lower Fars heavy oil work

    State upstream operator Kuwait Oil Company (KOC) and the US' ExxonMobil Corporation have signed a heads of agree-ment to develop heavy oil reserves from the state's northern oil fields.Under the terms of the deal, which is due to be finalised by next summer, Exxon will assist in the long-term production of up to 700,000 barrels a day (b/d) of heavy oil from the lower Fars reservoir, part of the northern Ratqa field.The precise details of the deal remain unclear, although the sche

  • Fichtner to sign plant deal

    Germany's Fichtner is expected to sign the construction supervision contract on the 150-MW Kureimat hybrid power plant project, planned by the New & Renewable Energy Authority, before the end of October. A consortium of Spain's Iberdrola with Japan's Mitsui was awarded the engineering, procurement and construction contract for the combined-cycle phase of the project in August. Japan Bank for International Co-operation is funding the project (MEED 31:8:07).

  • Finance minister to face questions over irregularities

    Finance Minister Bader al-Humaidhi may be forced to step down after the members of the National Assembly (parliament) submitted a request to question him over alleged financial irregularities.Al-Humaidhi, along with Minister of Awqaf, Islamic Affairs & Justice Abdullah al-Maatouq, will be subject to a parliamentary questioning in a month, after being accused by several MPs of committing 'acts of fraud'.Generally in Kuwait, ministers tend to resign before such parliamentar

  • Financial regulators in talks on deal to allow dual listing

    The UAE's two main regulators, the Dubai Financial Services Authority (DFSA) and the Emirates Securities & Commodities Authority (Esca), are due to sign an agreement that will pave the way for local companies to list their shares on several local stock markets.

  • Firms bid for Exhibition City

    Dubai World Trade Centre is moving ahead with plans for Dubai Exhibition City and the redevelopment of Dubai World Trade Centre, with companies lining up for both projects.

  • Firms bid for Exhibition City

    Dubai World Trade Centre is moving ahead with plans for Dubai Exhibition City and the redevelopment of Dubai World Trade Centre, with companies lining up for both projects.At least three companies have submitted bids for the estimated AED 1,500 million ($409 million) main construction contract at Exhibition City. The bidders include the local Alec, South Africa's Group Five, and South Korea's Samsung Corporation.The contract involves sub and superstructure work, including

  • Firms bid for hydrotreater

    Seven companies submitted bids on 20 October for a $500 million contract to install a diesel hydrotreater at the Ras Tanura refinery. Four South Korean firms, Hyundai Heavy Industries, Hyundai Engineering & Construction, Samsung Engineering Company and SK Engineering & Construction, made bids, along with Snamprogetti and Techint of Italy and Spain's Tecnicas Reunidas. The client is Saudi Aramco. An award is due in December (MEED 5:10:07).

  • Firms compete for upstream mega-deal

    Kuwait Oil Company (KOC) has tendered one of the state's largest upstream contracts this year, covering effluent water and seawater injection facilities at its northern oil fields.

  • Firms compete for world's largest water pipeline

    More than 20 companies are competing for the contract to build the world's largest water pipeline. The estimated $300 million project will involve a 900-kilometre transmission system to pump 1 million cubic metres of water a day (cm/d) from the planned independent water and power project in Ras al-Zour to the capital.'When completed, the pipeline will be longer than the Great Man-Made River in Libya,' says a project source.The work involves the construction of two 72-inch pipelin

  • Firms line up for Yanbu

    More than 10 companies are thought to have submitted prequalification proposals for the estimated $500 million project to increase production capacity at the Yanbu domestic oil refinery. Saudi Aramco is boosting capacity atthe refinery by 125,000barrels a day (MEED 31:8:07).

  • Firms seek Infrarail stake

    International companies have submitted proposals for a stake in Infrarail, the rail infrastructure subsidiary of state rail company Societe Nationale des Transports Ferroviaires (SNTF). Offers were submitted by Egypt's Orascom Construction Industries, Sateba Systemes Vagneux and Seco-Rail, both of France, Alstom Algerie, Spain's OHL, Turkey's Yapi Merkesi, Portugal's Mota Engil and Russian Railways. The companies will be asked to make their official acquisition bids within three months.

  • Firms sign up for trade zone

    Some 25 companies have registered to invest and trade from a new qualified industrial zone (QIZ) in Upper Egypt, which will benefit from duty-free access to the US market, according to a leading government figure.'They will invest a total of LE 750 million [$134 million],' says Amr Assal, head of the Industrial Development Authority. 'We are looking for 150 companies to invest about LE 12,000 million [$2,147 million] over the next five years.'The country's nine existing QIZs were

  • Firms to bid for Meydan car park

    Firms have been invited to bid by 4 November for a contract to build a car park, roads and external works for the Meydan racecourse development in Nad al-Sheba. In September, the client, local Meydan , awarded the AED 4,600 million ($1,253 million) grandstand package to a joint venture of Arabtec Construction and Malaysia's WCT .

  • Firms to halt issues until 2008

    Companies that have postponed issuing bonds because of the crisis in the global credit markets are now not expected to launch their issues until at least the end of the year.

  • Fischer to design park

    Germany's Fischer Architects has been selected to design the German Business Park at Dubai Silicon Oasis. The AED 750 million ($204 million) scheme has two slender towers, rising 12 floors and 60 metres high. Its total built-up area is 82,000 square metres. The project is being carried out by a joint venture between Dubai Silicon Oasis Authority and Abu Dhabi-based Bin Jabr Group.

  • Five in line for Duqm port

    Muscat is evaluating technical bids for the contract to build a ship repair and drydock complex at Duqm port. South Korea's Hanjin Heavy Industries; China Harbour Engineering Company; Iran's Saff Offshore Industries Company; the local Galfar Engineering & Contracting with South Korea's Daewoo Engineering & Construction; and India's Larsen & Toubro have submitted bids. The contract includes two 410-metre docks, 2.8 kilometres of quay wall, crane foundations and office buildings.

  • Fixed-line phone network reopens in 2008

    Iraq will have a working fixed-line telephone network for the first time in five years when the state-owned operator opens a switching facility in Baghdad in 2008.The Iraqi Telephone & Postal Company has announced that the $22.7 million al-Mamoon Exchange and Telecoms Centre will be ready by February 2008. It is being built by the US Army Corps of Engineers and funded by the US.'Unless you use a cell phone, you cannot call friends and family on the other side of the Tigris River,

  • Fluor explains Al-Zour

    Prequalified contractors for the $14,000 million Al-Zour refinery have been invited to job explanation meetings with client Kuwait National Petroleum Corporation on 29 and 30 October at the Houston offices of the US' Fluor Corporation, the project's front-end engineering and design contractor. Bids for the four main packages are due by 16 December (MEED 12:10:07).

  • Four bidders compete to run international airports

    Four airport operator groups have submitted bids for the right to manage Saudi Arabia's main international airports.The final bidders are a consortium of France's Aeroports de Paris and Schiphol Group from the Netherlands, German operator Fraport, TAV Havalimanlari Holding from Turkey, and Changi Airports International of Singapore. The kingdom's General Authority of Civil Aviation (GACA) will select two operators to run the international airports in Ri

  • Four contractors line up for Ras Laffan cooling facility

    Technical bids have been submitted by four groups for the engineering, procurement, installation and commissioning (EPIC) contract for the common seawater cooling facility at Ras Laffan Industrial City.

  • Four firms compete for $4bn El-Merk export pipeline work

    Stiff competition is expected in the race to secure contracts on the estimated $3,000 million-4,000 million El-Merk oil field development, with at least four companies shortlisted for each of the six packages.Those selected to bid for the export pipelines package are: Saipem-Snamprogetti, Bonatti and Techint, all of Italy; the US' Bechtel; and a joint venture of US-based Willbros Group and Saudi Arabia's National Contracting Company (NCC).The shortlisted companies for the two off

  • Four line up for Tatweer

    The local Mizin has prequalified four groups for the contract to build the Tatweer Towers development at Dubailand. The project involves three high-rise towers for a five-star hotel and offices. The total built-up area is 900,000 square metres. The prequalifiers are the local Arabtec Construction, the local/South African joint venture of Al-Habtoor Engineering Enterprises and Murray & Roberts Contractors (Middle East), the local/UK Al-Nabbodah Laing O'Rourke, and Lebanon's Arabian Construction C

  • Freeing the media

    An Iranian woman known as SH may have done more than anyone else to modernise media regulation in the UAE. Journalists cannot reveal her name, her age, or where she lives, but the law suit she brought against the Dubai-based Khaleej Times could affect the way news is reported across the emirates.

  • French give approval for Abu Dhabi Louvre

    The French National Assembly has approved plans to build a branch of the Louvre Museum in Abu Dhabi under a 30-year cultural agreement between the UAE and France.The agreement allows the Abu Dhabi Louvre to borrow masterpieces from French major museums, including the Louvre, for a period of six to 18 months.French architect Jean Nouvel is designing the AED 1,000 million ($272 million) museum, which will be built as part of the cultural district on Saadiyat island.The dome

  • Fujairah F2 power agreement signed

    The UK/Japanese group of International Power and Marubeni Corporation has signed a 20-year power and water purchase agreement with the Abu Dhabi Water and Electricity Company (Adwec).The deal covers power and water output from the Fujairah F2 independent water and power project to be located at Qidfa in the emirate of Fujairah. Under the agreement, the plant will be owned by the Fujairah Asia Power Company, in which IP has a 20 per cent stake, with a fu

  • Gafi prequalifies companies for cement facilities

    The General Authority for Industrial Development (Gafi) has prequalified 24 companies for 17 licences to build or expand cement facilities in the country.

  • Galfar shares outperform

    The local Galfar Engineering & Contracting was the best performing stock on the Muscat Securities Market when its shares debuted on 23 October. It was the most active by volume and turnover on the bourse. Shares rose to a high of OR 1.1 ($2.9) before closing at OR 0.97 ($2.5), above its listing price of OR 0.95 ($2.4). Investor demand was strong for the company's shares, with the initial public offering 14 times oversubscribed.

  • Gasco mega-project attracts little interest

    Bids have been submitted for the project management consultancy contract on the independent sour gas mega-project being planned by Abu Dhabi Gas Industries Company (Gasco).

  • Gasco to award pipeline work

    An award for Abu Dhabi Gas Industries Company's (Gasco) $250 million contract to replace its existing 225-kilometre-long natural gas liquids (NGL) pipeline network is imminent.A number of contractors have priced the work. This includes the UAE's National Petroleum Construction Company, Athens-based Consolidated Contractors International Company (CCC), Larsen & Toubro and Punj Lloyd, both of India, and UAE-based Dodsal. The latter is understood to be the frontrunner for the engineering,

  • Gassi Touil faces three year delay

    The decision by state-energy company Sonatrach to develop the $6,800 million Gassi Touil integrated liquefied natural gas (LNG) project alone means the venture will come onstream three years later than planned.Algeria's Energy and Mines Minister Chakib Khelil said following its dismissal of Spanish partners Repsol and Gas Natural in early September, the project will be delayed.'We will have a delay of three years, which means that it will be operational

  • GASSI TOUIL: Going solo a viable option

    When the news emerged that Algeria's Energy Ministry had expelled its partners from the integrated Gassi Touil liquefied natural gas (LNG) scheme in early September, to many observers it was no more than the latest episode in a long-running and difficult story for the project's Spanish developers.

  • Gassi Touil: Going solo a viable option for Algiers

    With the Gassi Touil project long mired in difficulties, Algiers has expelled its Spanish partners and decided to go it alone.

  • Gaza clashes leave four dead

    Fighting erupted in Gaza City between Hamas and the Fatah-affiliated Heles clan, leaving four people dead. At least 20 people were also wounded in the clashes which broke out when Hamas security forces tried to arrest Heles clan members on the evening of 17 October. Of those killed, two were Hamas Executive Force security officers and two were from the Heles clan, Ihab al-Ghusain, a spokesman for the Hamas security forces told the AP news agency. A Fatah official said Ham

  • Gecol issues letters for power plant projects

    General Electricity Company of Libya (Gecol) has issued contractors with letters of intent to award contracts on the 1,400 MW extension to the Tripoli West power plant and the construction of the Al-Khaleej power plant (MEED 2:3:07).For Tripoli West, South Korea's Daewoo Engineering & Construction has now been awarded the civil works package.Another Korean company, Hyundai Engineering & Construction, will install the steam turbine and carry out electromechanical w

  • Getting closer to record price

    Oil prices on 16 October reached an intra-day high of $88.2 a barrel for West Texas Intermediate, nearing the record levels attained during the 1979 Iranian revolution, when prices hit an inflation-adjusted $90 a barrel.The weak dollar, strong demand and Turkey's threats of an incursion into northern Iraq pushed oil prices to $87.6 at the market close on 16 October, breaking the nominal oil price record for the third day running. Citigroup rated the chances of $90 oil as 'reasonable', an

  • Global to sell hotels stake

    The local Global Financial Investment is to sell its entire 24 per cent stake in Oman Hotels & Tourism Company. It has already sold half of its holding in the company. Shares in Oman Hotels rose by 3 per cent on the Muscat Securities Market on 17 October, to close at OR 3.6 ($9.4). In a separate move, Oman & Emirates Investment Holding Company recently increased its stake in the hospitality company to 31 per cent.

  • Government bars female MP from election

    Jordan's government has barred the kingdom's first woman MP from standing in the parliamentary elections on 20 November.The election committee in Amman removed Toujan Faisal's name from the list of candidates who are eligible to compete for the capital's 23 parliamentary seats.The chairman of the election committee, Amman Governor Saad Manasir, said Faisal was barred under Jordan's Elections Law because she has a criminal conviction.F

  • Government in turmoil as SPLM withdraws members

    The leading political party representing former south Sudanese rebels has announced the withdrawal of representatives from the national government.'The SPLM [Sudan People's Liberation Movement] has recalled all ministers and presidential advisers from the government of national,' said Pagan Amum, the organisation's secretary-general.The move comes in response to the alleged failure of the government's dominant grouping to fulfil key elements of the Comp

  • Government on course to raise $1bn of debt

    The Lebanese government is on track to raise nearly $1,000 million of new debt at preferential interest rates by the end of this year, according to Finance Minister Jihad Azour.The Finance Ministry will use some $817 million out of the $992 million of soft loans and grants that will be raised this year to pay back existing government debt and reform parts of the public sector.The remaining $175 million will be used to support the private sector.

  • Government targets Darfur peace partners

    Government forces have attacked a south Darfur town controlled by signatories of the 2006 Darfur peace deal, say the town's rebel leaders.The attacks follow the deaths of more than 100 people last week in an apparent government attack on African Union (AU) peacekeepers in another town in the war torn region.The most recent incursion was into Muhajiriya, a town controlled by a faction of the Sudan Liberation Army (SLA) and the only rebel group to have si

  • Government to reduce dependence on oil

    Iraq says oil sales as a percentage of next year's budget will decrease, as the country tries to diversify its revenue streams.Finance Minister Baqr Jabar al-Zubaidi announced oil sales will make up 85 per cent of the 2008 budget, compared with 93 per cent of the current budget and 97 per cent in 2006.Al-Zubaidi said the remaining 15 per cent of government income would come from taxes and other exports. Zubaidi said the current budget

  • Government to take action over inflation concerns

    Kuwait has vowed to target rising prices, as politicians come under more pressure to combat high inflation.Trade & Industry Minister Falah Fahd al-Hajeri told parliament the government would boost price controls and take legal action against people who were raising prices by more than necessary.'We are ready to deal with parliament on this issue. We will intensify price controls and refer anybody who raises prices in an unjustified way to the prosecutio

  • Greater Amman Municipality demands JD 2,000 deposit for elections

    Greater Amman Municipality (GAM) is demanding a JD 2,000 ($2,821) deposit from everyone who wants to stand in the parliamentary elections on 20 November.GAM spokesman Taha Abu Riden said that every candidate standing for a seat in the capital had to pay the returnable deposit.Candidates who fail to comply with recently changed election regulations will lose their deposits.The new rules were introduced to stop rival candidates from cov

  • Groups enter new plant bids

    Two groups submitted new technical bids for the contract to build two 1,200 MW combined-cycle power plants at Terga and Koudiet Draouch in early October.

  • Groups enter new plant bids

    Two groups submitted new technical bids for the contract to build two 1,200 MW combined-cycle power plants at Terga and Koudiet Draouch in early October.Bids were submitted by France's Alstom with Egypt's Orascom Construction Industries, and the US' GE with Iberdrola of Spain.Germany's Siemens was invited to bid by Algerian state energy company Sonelgaz, but failed to do so. Siemens had also been asked to submit an offer the first time the projects were tendered.The d

  • Gulf Air ends summer of discontent with unions

    Gulf Air management is restoring relations with trade unions after a summer of discontent came to a close following an agreement over an improved salary package for staff.Officials from the Gulf Air Trade Union (Gatu) have been allowed back to company offices, which they had been excluded from for two years.The rapprochement follows a successful conclusion to weeks of negotiations over improved salary and benefits for staff, particularly pilots.Gatu officials are now hope

  • Gulf Air set to restock with Boeings at Dubai show

    Gulf Air is poised to announce an order for new aircraft just months after reducing the company's fleet to curb massive losses.Bahrain's national carrier is expected to announce a large order for new planes at the Dubai Air Show in November, which is likely to include Boeing aircraft.Gulf Air moved to an all-Airbus fleet earlier this year in an effort to cut costs. An order with the US manufacturer would be a sign that the company has significantly improved its finances.T

  • Gulf Capital buys Marine

    A consortium led by Gulf Capital has completed its acquisition of Gulf Marine Services, buying the remaining 50 per cent of shares for an undisclosed sum. Gulf Capital's partners in the deal are local companies Al-Bateen Investments and Maritime Industrial Services, and the Dutch group Horizon Energy. The consortium first acquired a 50 per cent stake in the UAE-based barge and support vessel group in April 2007.

  • Gulf Finance profits rise

    Gulf Finance House has reported a 44 per cent increase in third-quarter profits. The Islamic investment bank attributes the rise to a sharp increase of income from investment securities, despite a slight fall in advisory fees. Investment income rose to $50.4 million. Net profits rose to $85 million for the three months to 30 September, while fee income dropped by 29 per cent to $4.97 million.

  • Gulf IT spending rises

    The GCC countries will increase their spending on IT by at least 10 per cent a year over the next three years, according to US-based consultancy IDC. The Gulf countries are expected to spend $7,700 million on PCs, IT systems and services, and imaging technology in 2007. In 2008, IDC predicts the GCC will spend at least $8,500 million. Spending in North Africa will grow even more quickly, at 15 per cent or more, IDC predicts.

  • Gulf loses second director

    A second director has departed Gulf Air less than three weeks after the first.Jeff Livings, former executive vice-president of technical operations, is understood to have left the Bahraini national carrier in the first week of October and left the country. His exit follows that of Lee Shave, the airline's former executive vice-president of marketing.Shave's departure was announced on 23 September. No mention was made of the circumstances of his departure.Gulf Air has dec

  • Gulf salaries increase

    Private sector salaries have risen by an average of nine per cent in the GCC over the last year, on the back of inflation.According to the survey conducted by online recruitment firm GulfTalent.com, salaries in Oman rose by 11 per cent, the largest increase in the region.This was followed by the UAE at 10.7 per cent and Qatar at 10.6 per cent. Bahrain recorded increases of 8.1 per cent, Kuwait 7.9 per cent and Saudi Arabia 7.7 per cen

  • Hamas and Fatah criticised over human rights

    A new report on conditions in the Occupied Palestinian Territories claims that the factional violence between Fatah and Hamas has caused serious human rights abuses on both sides.The report, by UK-based human rights group Amnesty International, accuses Hamas of arbitrary detention and torture of opposition figures since it overthrew Fatah in the Gaza Strip in June. At the same time the report, released on 24 October, accuses the Palestinian Authority, loyal to President M

  • Hamas offers talks with rival group

    The Palestinian group Hamas has indicated it is ready to attempt a reconciliation with its rival faction Fatah.The leader of the group in Gaza, Ismail Haniya, has suggested for the first time that it might be prepared to relinquish control of the Gaza Strip, which it seized in June.Haniya said talks between the rival groups would be held after the festival of Eid al-Fitr.'There is a serious movement in the realm of Palestinian dialogu

  • Harris to manage Al-Raha

    UK-based EC Harris has been appointed by local developer Aldar Properties to provide commercial management services on the Al-Raha Beach development in Abu Dhabi. The development occupies an area of 5.7 square kilometres and will house up to 120,000 residents.

  • Hasdrubal: Crucial gas strategy begins to take shape

    The state wants to ensure it has enough gas to supply the power sector for the next 15 years.

  • High Rise plans Jumeirah Village boulevard

    Local real estate developer High Rise Properties is to build a AED 3,000 million ($817 million) cluster of 10 buildings in Dubai.The High Rise Boulevard project will involve the construction of six residential tower and four commercial towers along a tree-lined boulevard in Jumeirah Village South.High Rise has a number of other projects at Jumeirah Village, including the three Wave business towers and the Rotating tower.

  • Hilary or Rudy will weaken the US in the Middle East

    Sixty years ago this month, US President Truman lamented the impact of what is now called America's Israel lobby as he grappled with the fate of Palestine.

  • Hill set to build financial district

    The US' Hill International has been chosen as project manager for the SR 29,000 million ($7.8 million) King Abdullah Financial District development in Riyadh. The project is expected to become the largest financial district in the region, covering 1.6 million square metres.It will be home to the Tadawul Stock Exchange and the Capital Market Authority. The client is the Public Pension Agency. The five-year contract to manage the design and construction of the project is worth SR 42.6 mill

  • Hochtief to build Barwa commercial centre

    Germany's Hochtief has been awarded the contract to build the Barwa Commercial Avenue development in southern Doha.

  • Hochtief to build Barwa commercial centre

    Germany's Hochtief has been awarded the contract to build the Barwa Commercial Avenue development in southern Doha.The mixed-use development forms the commercial centre of the Barwa City residential development which is under construction, and consists of office and residential buildings with ground-level shops along an 8.6 kilometre-long avenue.The first phase of Hochtief's contract involves a pre-construction agreement that will result in the contractor estimating the cost of t

  • Hofa project faces delays

    The deadline for bids on the eastern primary water transmission project has been delayed until 18 November, after prequalified companies requested an extension. The estimated $45 million project covers the construction of a pump station at Zatary in Mafraq and a 48-kilometre-long pipeline to the existing reservoir at Hofa. The project is being funded by the US Agency for Interntional Deveopment (MEED 19:10:07).

  • Hofa project faces delays

    The deadline for bids on the eastern primary water transmission project has been delayed until 18 November, after prequalified companies requested an extension. The estimated $45 million project covers the construction of a pump station at Zatary in Mafraq and a 48-kilometre-long pipeline to the existing reservoir at Hofa. The project is being funded by the US Agency for Interntional Deveopment (MEED 19:10:07).

  • HSBC to fund Borse Dubai bids

    HSBC has agreed to lend Borse Dubai up to $5,700 million for its bids for Nordic stock exchange operator OMX and the London Stock Exchange.

  • i2 plans launch in Jordan

    A mobile phone manufacturer from Saudi Arabia, i2, will launch as a virtual network operator in Jordan on 1 January 2008. But it is not yet clear which of the four existing operators in Jordan will strike a deal to let i2 offer mobile phone services over their existing networks in return for a share of revenue. The operators are Orange, Umniah, Xpress and Zain.

  • IFC: business environment in the Gulf is worsening

    Doing business in the Gulf has become more difficult over the past 12 months, according to the annual Doing Business report by the International Finance Corporation (IFC), the private sector arm of the World Bank. The four GCC states included slip down the ratings, while Algeria, Morocco, Syria and Yemen are among the most improved in the Middle East and North Africa region.

  • IMF reports strong economic growth for Khartoum

    Sudan has enjoyed GDP growth of 12 per cent in the past year, according to the IMF, despite the ongoing crises in Darfur and lower than projected growth in oil production.The IMF, which has just concluded its 2007 Article IV consultation with Sudan, says non-oil GDP increased by 10 per cent, driven by the agriculture, manufacturing, construction and services sectors. The 12-month inflation rate rose to 15.7 per cent from 5.6 per cent the previous year.

  • IMF urges further reform

    The IMF has urged Sanaa to continue with its economic reform programme, but warns there is still a long way for the country to go as it seeks to reduce poverty and drive up living standards.In its latest Article IV consultation with Yemen, published in late September, the body praises the country's growth record in recent years, which has been helped by high oil prices and favourable global economic conditions.However, the IMF highlights concerns over the direction of the eco

  • IMF welcomes tax plan at federal level

    The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has welcomed the UAE's plans to introduce a value added tax system (VAT) at the federal level. On 21 September, the executive board of the IMF concluded its Article IV consultation with the UAE.

  • Indians target Emirates

    The UAE is the largest importer of Indian consumer technology in the world, according to a survey of Indian companies by the country's trade body, the Electronics and Computer Software Export Promotion Council. Indian-made TVs worth $52.3 million were imported by the UAE in 2005-06. The country also bought Indian clocks and watches worth $39 million and video recorders worth $1.6 million.

  • Industry directors exchange jobs

    The managing directors of the state's upstream and downstream operating companies will swap jobs from the beginning of November as the government seeks to revitalise the local hydrocarbons sector.Farouk al-Zanki, chairman and managing director of Kuwait Oil Company (KOC) and Sami al-Rushaid, chairman and managing director of Kuwait National Petroleum Company (KNPC), will exchange roles in what acting Oil Minister Mohammed al-Olaim describes as a way of 'injecting new blood' into the

  • Inflation forces Kuwait and Iran to defend policies

    Politicians in Kuwait and Iran have been forced to defend their economic policies in the face of rising inflation and growing public concern about the issue.

  • Insurance company to list in Casablanca

    Insurance and reinsurance company Atlanta is to list its shares on the Casablanca Stock Exchange on 16 October. The company staged a three-day initial public offering of 17 per cent of its shares at the beginning of October and raised MD 1207 million ($152 million). Shares were sold at MD 1,200 ($151) to local and foreign institutional and retail investors. CDG Capital was financial adviser and lead manager on the offering with Safabourse acting as lead

  • Insurance company to list in Casablanca

    Insurance and reinsurance company Atlanta is to list its shares on the Casablanca Stock Exchange on 16 October.

  • INSURANCE: Firms line up for listings

    Riyadh's plans to open up the kingdom's insurance sector have attracted enormous interest from insurers.

  • INSURANCE: Firms line up for listings

    Riyadh's plans to open up the kingdom's insurance sector have attracted enormous interest from insurers. More than 70 companies have expressed interest in obtaining licences to sell insurance in the kingdom, and although many have previously been selling insurance to an unregulated Saudi market from an offshore base, all agree that Saudi Arabia's largely untapped insurance market is a massive opportunity.

  • Insurer extends interests

    Qatar General Insurance & Reinsurance Company (QGIRC) is considering establishing a holding company to manage its affiliated companies and investment portfolio. The QGIRC board has given approval for a feasibility study into the new company. The company launched a takaful (Islamic insurance) business in August and is developing real estate projects in Qatar. QGIRC has a paid-up capital of QR 136.4 million ($37.5 million).

  • Insurers to launch IPOs

    The Capital Market Authority has granted approval to another five insurance companies to launch initial public offerings. They are Commercial Union for Co-operative Insurance, Al-Saqr for Co-operative Insurance, Arabian Co-operative Insurance, Al-Khaleej Training & Education and Middle East Specialised Cables. Subscription to the issues will open on 27 October and close on 3 November.

  • InterCon networks hotels

    InterContinental Hotels has signed a deal with US technology companies Cisco and Nortel to supply its 74 hotels in the Middle East and North Africa with networking equipment.

  • InterCon networks hotels

    InterContinental Hotels has signed a deal with US technology companies Cisco and Nortel to supply its 74 hotels in the Middle East and North Africa with networking equipment. The two suppliers will install fixed-line voice and data connections, as well as equipment, at all of the UK group's hotels. InterContinental plans to increase its number of hotels in the region to 150 by the end of 2010.

  • Introduction: Presidential elections

    If all goes to plan, Lebanon's MPs - shut out of their parliamentary building for more than a year by opposition protests - will convene on 23 October to vote on a successor to President Emile Lahoud. The vote, if it goes ahead, will be loaded with significance.

  • Iran signs deal with Syria

    Iran and Syria have agreed to a $1,000 million deal under which Tehran will export 3 billion cubic metres of gas a year to Damascus. According to reports on Iranian state television, the exports will begin in 2009. Iranian caretaker oil minister Gholamhossein Nozari says the gas will be delivered via Turkey, which already receives Iranian gas through a pipeline. Nozari says Tehran is also considering building a joint oil refinery in Syria with capacity of 140,000 barrels a day.

  • Irancell rings up $1.4bn

    Irancell, the country's second mobile phone operator, generated revenues of $1,363 million in its first year since launch, according to its managing director Alireza Qalambor Dezfouli.Under its revenue-sharing agreement, Irancell paid revenues of $695 million to the government agencies that own 51 per cent of the venture. The remaining 49 per cent is owned by MTN Group, the South African telecoms company.The figures are the first evidence that Irancell has been able to generate a

  • Irancell rings up $1.4bn

    Irancell, the country's second mobile phone operator, generated revenues of $1,363 million in its first year since launch, according to its managing director Alireza Qalambor Dezfouli.

  • Irancell signs up 4.6m users

    Iran's second mobile phone operator has beaten analyst expectations by signing up 4.6 million active customers by the end of September, according to Alireza Qalambor Dezfouli, the company's managing director.

  • Islamic Action Front resignation fuels suspicions

    The political wing of Jordan's Muslim Brotherhood is in danger of suffering from a round of infighting, barely a month before parliamentary elections on 20 November.The Islamic Action Front (IAF), which will represent the Muslim Brotherhood in the poll, has been rocked by the resignation of one of its 17 members of parliament, according to the local media reports.MP Nidal Abbadi resigned after the leadership failed to include him in the party's list of

  • Israel confirms strike on Syria

    Nearly a month after an alleged breach of Syrian airspace by Israeli warplanes, Tel Aviv has confirmed the 6 September strike on its neighbour's territory. Israel had previously refused to confirm or deny the incident.Some US officials suggested the strike was aimed at a convoy of nuclear-related equipment imported from North Korea. Damascus denied the allegations, saying the Israeli jets bombed an empty area after anti-aircraft missiles were fired at t

  • Israel indicates Jerusalem discussion at conference

    Next month's Middle East peace conference will encompass the status of Jerusalem, according to a senior Israeli minister.While Palestinians have been keen to discuss final status issues at the conference, Israel has been reluctant, citing the difficulties of applying a timetable which could fail. Now however, Israeli vice premier Haim Ramon has indicated that sovereignty and division of Jerusalem will be on the agenda. 'Israel has an interest to get rec

  • Israel to confiscate more land

    The Israeli army has decided to confiscate Palestinian land between East Jerusalem and Jericho for the expansion of settlements in the West Bank.The decision has drawn accusations that Israel is seeking to carve the West Bank in two, ahead of November's US-led conference intended to resuscitate the peace process. The land seized would link the large settlement of Ma'aleh Adummim with Jerusalem, forcing Palestinian traffic between to the north and south

  • Jacobs secures management consultancy

    The US' Jacobs Engineering has been awarded the project management consultancy contract on the $400 million ethylene dichloride complex (EDC) in Jubail, which is being planned by the local Arabian Chlor Vinyl Company.

  • Jafza bidding opens

    Bids are due by early December for the engineering, procurement and construction contract for the AED 2,000 million ($550 million) Jebel Ali free zone (Jafza) utility project. Two firms previously thought to have been involved, Sharjah-based Metito and Italy's Lotti & Associati, have not been prequalified to bid (MEED 7:9:07).

  • Jafza plans Libyan venture

    Dubai-based Jafza International has signed an agreement with Misurata Free Zone Authority to explore the possibility of developing operations at the Misurata Economic Zone in Libya.Salma Hareb, chief executive officer of Jafza, says: 'Libya's liberal economic policies and its stategic location make it an ideal gateway to European markets.'The Misurata free zone fits well in our agenda of forming beneficial alliances and expanding operations to vital bus

  • Jafza plans US business park

    Dubai-based Jafza International has acquired 5.26 million square-metres of land in Orangeburg County, South Carolina. The $600 million project is Jafza's largest investment ever in North America.The Dubai World company plans to set up a logistics and business park comprising light manufacturing, warehousing, and distribution facilities. Jafza aims to transform Orangeburg into a major logistics hub, which will create about 8,000 to 10,000 jobs over the n

  • Japanese win Ajmakan

    Japan's Nikken Sekkei has been chosen to design the masterplan for the Ajmakan project in Riyadh, a joint venture of the UAE's Tameer Holding, and local firms Al-Shoula Holding Group and Land Company for Property Development & Investment. The SR 6,000 million ($1,600 million) development will cover 1.7 million square metres. Tenders for construction are expected in late 2008, with completion due in 2013.

  • Jazeera to raise cash

    Kuwait's Jazeera Airways expects to double its capital through a rights issue among shareholders to be launched on 21 October. The low-cost carrier anticipates raising KD10 million ($35.7 million), boosting its available capital to KD20 million ($71.2 million). The subscription period will run until 1 November. The funds raised will help to finance the airline's order for 40 Airbus A320s. The carrier is aiming to expand the network beyond its present 23 destinations.

  • Jeddah deadline nears

    Bids are due by 27 November for the contract to manage Jeddah's water networks. Seven groups are prequalified to bid. Five of the groups are already bidding for the Riyadh water network management contracts. Other prequalifiers include Spain's Grupo Agbar with the local Water & Environmental Services Company, part of the Bushnak Group; and Singapore Utilities International with Singapore-based Salcon Group. The client is the Electricity & Water Ministry (MEED 24:7:07).

  • Jiwar development to tower over holy site

    The local Jiwar Real Estate Management, Marketing and Development Company plans to build 21 towers just a few hundred metres from the Masjid al-Haram, the holiest site in Islam.The SR 22,000 million ($5,880 million) Rawabi Abraj al-Bait project will be built close to the partially finished seven-tower Abraj al-Bait. The development will consist of a seven-storey shopping mall, in addition to the towers, which will be 25-65 storeys high.Primarily intended to be used as serviced ap

  • Julphar forms venture

    Gulf Pharmaceutical Industries (Julphar) is to form a joint venture company to manage pharmacies in the Middle East and North Africa. The company will take a 40 per cent stake in the new company, with an unidentified partner holding the rest once the terms of the deal are finalised. The company has manufacturing plants in the UAE, Ecuador and Germany and its products are distributed in 40 countries.

  • Jumblatt accused of putting compromise at risk

    Hezbollah has accused leading anti-Syrian politician Walid Jumblatt of jeopardising Lebanon's search for a compromise presidential candidate, after he said that pro-Syrian forces including Hezbollah were responsible for the recent murders of his fellow MPs.The group said: 'Jumblatt is excused these days because he is cornered and hallucinating as consensus among the Lebanese is looming. Jumblatt's accusation against us is in fact an assassination attempt against all ongoi

  • Khelil confirms solo plan

    Algiers will not seek an international partner to develop the Gassi Touil integrated liquefied natural gas project, Energy Minister Chakib Khelil has confirmed. State energy company Sonatrach will carry out the project alone following the dismissal of Spanish firms Repsol and Gas Natural in early September. Khelil says the decision was taken to save time.

  • King Abdulah calls for inflation report

    King Abdullah has demanded an explanation for the Kingdom-+s rising inflation problem after recent figures showed price rises were hitting seven-year highs.The King called on Interior Minister Prince Naif bin Abdulaziz and the 13 provincial governors to provide -+prompt reports-+explaining why inflation hit 4.4 per cent in the year to August.The Chamber of Commerce and Industry in Jeddah took out a full-page advert in the Saudi press on 7 October that blamed inflation on external

  • King Abdullah issues succession rules

    Saudi Arabia's King Abdullah has issued new rules surrounding political succession, following up on last year's plan to create the Allegiance Commission to guide voting for future kings.Under the new executive statute, the commission should be composed of the sons of the founder, King Abdulaziz. If the sons are deceased, incapacitated or not interested, then the membership goes to one of their sons.The statute, announced via the state

  • King appoints new cabinet

    Two key changes have been made to cabinet personnel in a newly-appointed coalition government.Industry Minister Salaheddine Mezouar is the new finance minister, while former deputy foreign minister Taieb Fassi Fihri has been promoted to foreign minister.The cabinet, led by Prime Minister Abbas El-Fassi, was sworn in on 15 October by King Mohammed VI at the royal palace in Rabat.El-Fassi replaced Driss Jettou as prime minister on 19 Se

  • King gives $100m handout to army and civil servants

    King Abdullah has given 700,000 civil servants and soldiers a JD 70 million ($100 million) handout to help them cope with the higher prices of commodities.A statement from the Royal Court says: 'King Abdullah is keen to reduce financial burdens on individuals in light of the present economic conditions and the hike in prices.'The 700,000 people who will receive the payments include serving and retired members of the armed forces, civil servants, employe

  • Koreans bid low for gas train

    South Korea's SK Engineering & Construction is low bidder at KD 190 million ($678.6 million) for the contract to build the fourth gas fractionation train project planned by Kuwait National Petroleum Company (KNPC).Following the submission of bids on 1 October, SK's low bid is just over 4 per cent below the next best price of KD 198 million ($707 million) submitted by its compatriot, GS Engineering & Construction.Another South Korean firm, Hyundai Engineering & Construction Co

  • Kurdish rebels say they will return to Turkey

    The Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) has announced that Kurdish rebels in northern Iraq would move back into Turkey to target politicians and police. The statement on 12 October follows news that Ankara is planning an incursion into Iraq to fight the separatists.'The guerrillas are not moving to the south [northern Iraq]; on the contrary they are moving to… places in the north,' the PKK statement said. Turkish Prime Minister Rece

  • Kurds sign refinery deals

    The Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) is to build two new refineries and create four production-sharing contracts worth $800 million with international oil companies, despite the absence of a federal oil and gas law.The Kurdish authority has given the green light to two new 20,000 barrel-a-day (b/d) refineries worth an estimated $300 million.The first refinery in the Taq Taq/Miran area is expected to be completed in two years and is being funded on a

  • Kurds take to streets in protest

    Thousands of Kurds have marched through cities in northern Iraq in protest at the Turkish parliament's decision to allow its army to carry out cross-border raids on Kurdish militants based in norther Iraq.Around 5,000 people marched to the offices of the UN in Dahuk, near the Turkish border, waving Kurdish flags and singing nationalist songs. They presented UN representatives with a document calling on the organization to prevent Turkey from invading.In

  • Kuwait Finance House profits up by a quarter

    Kuwait Finance House has reported third quarter profits of KD 60.3 million ($215.4 million), up 23 per cent on the same period in the previous year.The bank reported a 43 per cent increase in profits to KD 176.9 million ($632 million) over the first nine months of the year. Earnings per share increased to 35 fils ($0.13) in the third quarter compared to 31 fils ($0.11) the previous year. Its shares closed trading on 11 October at KD 3.02 ($10.9), with 8

  • Kuwait Oil to tender upstream projects

    Kuwait Oil Company (KOC) is preparing to tender a host of upstream projects before the end of the year as part of its massive field upgrade and development programme.

  • Kuwait rejects partition of Iraq

    Kuwait refuses to accept any plan to split Iraq into federal regions and wants the US to remain there until the country is stable.'We will not accept the partition of Iraq, we consider this to be dangerous to us. It will be dangerous for the whole region,' says Sheikh Sabah al-Ahmad al-Sabah, referring to a recent US Senate vote to divide Iraq into federal regions. 'We are against this division and I think that even the Iraqis will not accept this,' he

  • Labour Ministry cancels fines

    Jordan's Labour Ministry has written off fines on foreign workers worth more than JD 6 million ($8 million).Some 5,839 foreigners working in the country's 13 qualifying industrial zones (QIZs) had been fined for staying in the country for longer than their work permit allowed. They will no longer have to pay the fines, provided that they get temporary identity cards from the ministry within the next three months.The director of inspection and safety at

  • Large companies record a drop in third-quarter profits

    Local companies have posted mixed results for the third quarter, with several large groups suffering a drop in profits.Savola Group reports a 72 per cent fall in profits compared with SR 151 million ($40 million) for the same period in 2006.Saudi International Petrochemical Company reports an 11.2 per cent drop to SR 87 million ($23 million).Banks profits have also fallen in the quarter, with Bank Aljazira posting a 68 per cent drop to SR 135 million ($36 million).

  • Lebanese presidential election candidates

    Michel Aoun: The opposition favourite is 72-year-old former army commander and (self-declared) president Michel Aoun. Head of the Free Patriotic Movement (FPM), Aoun would prove a controversial choice for many Lebanese, who recall his role in the collapse of Christian militia forces towards the end of the 1975-1990 civil war. Exiled from Lebanon for 15 years after Syrian troops defeated his rump army, on his return from Paris he engineered a dramatic vol

  • Levant: Forging gas supply links

    The countries of the Levant are seeking alternatives to Egypt as a source of gas as their demand for energy increases.

  • LEVANT: Forging supply links

    Standing at the apex of the region's gas plans is the Arab Gas Pipeline (AGP), the first stage of a regional cross-border energy grid that began with the export of Egyptian gas to Jordan in 2003. This is developing into a more ambitious cross-border gas network that could eventually bring in Iraq as an alternative source of supply.

  • Libya elected to UN Security Council

    Libya was elected to a two-year term in the UN Security Council on 16 October. A two-thirds majority vote by the General Assembly gave Libya, Vietnam, Burkina Faso, Croatia and Costa Rica a seat each. Libya's addition to the council is a sign of its improving relations with the international community. Tripoli's previous attempts to win a seat were crushed by opposition from Washington.'I think our relations with the US nowadays – they are back to

  • LIBYA: Untapped potential

    With the prospects for major non-associated gas finds in the Gulf decreasing rapidly by the year, it is no surprise that interest in Libya is as high as it has ever been. Thanks to two decades of international sanctions, the country has only recently opened up to international investment in its ageing hydrocarbons infrastructure.

  • Libyan gas reserves equal untapped potential

    Progress on exploiting Libya’s gas reserves remains slow as bureaucracy hampers its ambitious exploration plans.

  • Libyan projects: Working against the clock

    With the 40th anniversary of the creation of the Libyan republic approaching, Tripoli is struggling to complete its project schedule.

  • Libya-Tunisia gas pipeline: Impediments to progress

    The project to build the long-planned Melitah-Gabes trans-national gas pipeline has yet to get under way - and typifies the difficulties in getting major projects off the ground in Libya.

  • Limited resources

    Despite the advantage of cheap fuel, Saudi Arabia, and the wider Middle East, is lags behind other regions when it comes to producing minerals and metal ore.'Looking at the global metals market, the resources in the Middle East are fairly limited compared with Latin America, Canada, Australia, Africa and China,' says Dan Smith, metals analyst for the UK's Standard Chartered Bank.'There are some significant zinc mines in Iran, for example. These produced more than 125,000 tonnes i

  • Limitless plans Bangalore project

    Dubai-based Limitless is to build a $12,000 million, 4,000 hectare mixed-use project 35-kilometres southwest of Bangalore in India.Known as Bidadi Township, the project will house 750,000 people and hopes to attract billions of dollars of investment. It is the first of five townships the government is planning for the outskirts of Bangalore. Construction work on the project is expected to begin in the first half of 2008.The Bidadi Tow

  • Listing boosts local firm

    The price of shares in the local Baton for Blocks & Interlocking Tiles rose 73 per cent when it listed on the Amman Stock Exchange on 24 October. Shares closed at JD 1.73 ($2.4), up from a sale price of JD 1 ($1.4). The company closed its JD 3 million ($4.2 million) initial public offering of shares on 30 August. It produces cement and ceramic products. Jordan's Ready Mix Concrete & Construction Supplies has a 32 per cent stake.

  • Local banks sign Chemanol deal

    A $320 million project financing deal has been agreed for Chemanol. The deal, which was signed on 2 October, was financed entirely through shari-compliant means.The financing is understood to have been priced at about 140 basis points over the London interbank offered rate (Libor) and has been financed almost exclusively by Saudi banks.Samba took on the financial advisory role, in addition to being part of the six-strong banking group that also included Sabb, Riyad Bank, National

  • Local firms count profits

    Results for the third quarter show healthy profit levels for local companies. Qatar Real Estate Investment Company reports a 175 per cent increase in profits to QR 279 million ($77 million) for the first nine months of the year compared with 2006. Qatar Gas Transport Company (Nakilat) posts gains of 125 per cent to QR 88 million ($24 million). Industries Qatar posts profits of QR 3,402 million ($935 million), up 32 per cent on last year.

  • Local wins i-rise tower

    The local Al-Naboodah Contracting has been awarded the AED 555 million ($151 million) contract to build the 37-storey i-rise tower in Dubai. Located at site C of the Technology and Media Free Zone (Tecom), the project involves construction of a built-up-area of 180,000 square metres. Completion is expected in December 2009. Bahrain-based Projacs International is the project manager. Lebanon's Khatib & Alami is the consultant. Realty Capital Middle East is the client.

  • Lukoil suspends oil field work

    Russian oil major Lukoil has suspended work on the Anaran oil field in Iran that it is developing with Norway's Statoil Hydro, as a result of US sanctions.Lukoil vice-president Leonid Fedun says the Lukoil-Hydro joint venture had to suspend work on the project in western Iran. However, Statoil Hydro says it has yet to make a decision on the project.'When it comes to current activities in Iran, we will complete our contract obligations in the different p

  • Lummus and Basell win deals

    US-based ABB Lummus Global and Europe's Basell have been awarded the process technology contracts on the multi-billion-dollar Mesaieed petrochemicals complex planned by South Korea's Honam Petrochemical Corporation and Qatar Intermediate Holdings Company.

  • Maaden gold mine to start production

    The fifth major gold mining project planned by Saudi Arabian Mining Company (Maaden) is ready to start producing, according to Abdullah Dabbagh, the company's president.He says the Al-Amar mine, to the south-west of Riyadh, is starting up and should be running by the end of 2007.'It should be fully operational in a couple of months,' he says. 'We are expecting it to produce about 30,000 ounces by the end of the year.'Saudi Arabia has an estimated 8 million ounces of

  • Maaden plans shares sale

    Saudi Arabian Mining Company (Maaden) is expecting to launch an initial public offering (IPO) by early 2008 at the latest, according to chief executive officer Abdullah Dabbagh.In the $2,500 million IPO, half of the state-owned company will be privatised with 40 per cent of shares on offer to private Saudi investors and 10 per cent to be split between two pension funds.'Almost all of the work on the IPO is done, and we now just need to come to an arrangement with the authorit

  • Malaysian firms win plaza

    The Malaysian joint venture of Zelan Contracting and Al-Ambia has been awarded an estimated AED 932 million ($254 million) contract to build the Meena Plaza development in Abu Dhabi. Local developer Tamouh Investments is the client. Earlier this year, Zelan was awarded a contract to build a AED 318 million ($87 million) tower in Dubai (MEED 19:1:07).

  • Malaysian Resources holds talks over transport hub

    Developer Malaysian Resources Corporation Berhad is in talks to set up a $2,000 million transport and property development hub in one of four major cities in the kingdom.Malaysian Resources is responsible for the $2,050 million, 72-acre Kuala Lumpur Sentral development in the Malaysian capital, an integrated rail, air and road transportation hub surrounded by residential and commercial buildings.The model is being replicated in the northern Malaysian city of Penang, and the c

  • Marafiq to request proposals for Yanbu power project

    Major international developers are lining up for the Yanbu independent water and power project, with The Power & Water Utility Company for Jubail and Yanbu (Marafiq) due to issue a request for proposals in late October or early November.'More than 20 companies have expressed interest so far in the project,' says Zaid Abdulrahman al-Buti, general manager of Marafiq.Firms expected to submit statements of qualification for the scheme in early October include Saudi Oger, Acwa Pow

  • Margins plummet for ConocoPhillips

    US oil major ConocoPhillips has warned of significantly lower margins on its worldwide refining activities, although gains from the sale of some assets are expected to help boost its third quarter profits.The third largest oil company in the US said refining margins collapsed by about 50 per cent during the third quarter in many regions, compared with the previous three month period, although they are expected to be in line with the third quarter last year.

  • MARKET IN FOCUS: CASE: A special Case

    With bourses across the region languishing as the summer lull ran into Ramadan, the Cairo & Alexandria Stock Exchanges (Case) continued on what seems to be a non-stop climb since August. The index broke a series of all-time highs in the first two weeks of October, buoyed by healthy investor sentiment.

  • MARKET IN FOCUS: DIFX: Credibility boost

    When it lists on the Dubai International Financial Exchange (DIFX) on 26 November, DP World will become the first local company to trade shares on the bourse.The initial public offering (IPO) of 20 per cent of the firm's shares, estimated to be worth $3,000 million-3,500 million, will be the largest ever in the Middle East.The listing has been interpreted as a politically motivated move to boost the credibility of the DIFX and its host, the Dubai International Financial Centr

  • Market In Focus: Islamic BONDS: Delivering sukuks

    Bahrain's Liquidity Management Centre (LMC) is working with Reuters to establish an online market for sukuks. The move is part of an effort to develop a secondary market in Islamic bonds.

  • MARKET IN FOCUS: KUWAIT: Power playing

    In early October, the Kuwait Stock Exchange (KSE) started a furore among listed companies when it announced the introduction of a new set of rules. The new regulations, which state that listed companies cannot invest in firms that have either been denied a listing or failed to list within a specified timeframe, have provoked the ire of about a quarter of the 191 listed firms. Among those that published letters of complaint in the local press were market heavyweights Kuwait Projects Company (Kipc

  • MARKET IN FOCUS: UAE: Global access

    HSBC's announcement that it has become the first international bank to establish brokerage services in the UAE is likely to lead to a significant uplift in institutional investment on the Dubai Financial Market and Abu Dhabi Securities Market.Although the brokerage sector in the emirates is already overcrowded, HSBC's entry marks the first time that international institutional investors will be able to have access to the UAE stock markets.The news comes in the same week that

  • Marubeni buys into Taweelah

    Japan's Marubeni Corporation has agreed to buy a 40 per cent stake in the Taweelah A2 independent water and power project (IWPP) from Abu Dhabi National Energy Company (Taqa) for $140 million. The deal is widely seen as a way of restoring confidence in the emirate's privatisation process.

  • Marubeni: Building a bridge to Tokyo

    The announcement was straightforward enough. On 1 October, Japan’s Marubeni Corporation bought a 40 per cent stake in UAE-based power company Abu National Energy Company (Taqa) for $140 million. It was only the second time the Japanese trading house had bought into a UAE utility.Much of the focus has been on what the deal means for Taqa. But it is an equally significant step for Marubeni.

  • Masdar to bring in private sector

    Masdar, the Abu Dhabi alternative energy initiative, is expected to decide on how the private sector will participate in the building of the Gulf's first major solar power plant by the end of 2007.The initiative is run by the Abu Dhabi Future Energy Company (Adfec).Masdar has yet to decide on the contract model, but it is likely to issue expressions of interest to overseas firms for an engineering, procurement and construction contract in the second quarter of 2008. It is also ex

  • Mediterranean ring: Single grid plan stalls

    Technical difficulties are hampering efforts to create an electricity network for the Mediterranean basin.

  • Melamine plans attract interest

    A host of international firms have expressed interest in engineering and construction elements of the Ruwais melamine plant planned by Abu Dhabi Polymers Company (Borouge).Interested firms include Paris-based Technip, Italy's Snamprogetti, Germany's Uhde, the US' KBR, US-based ABB Lummus Global and Taiwan-based CTCI.The contract covers the updating of the front-end engineering and design, originally carried out by Milan-based Eurotecnica..Under the tendering schedule, pre

  • Middle East contracts awarded: October 2007

    Almost $6bn worth of contracts were awarded across the Middle East region in October, according to this selected checklist compiled from MEED reports throughout the month.

  • Military heads north

    Houses for 7,000 military officers are to be built in the north-west region of the kingdom, according to Crown Prince Sultan bin Abdulaziz al-Saud, deputy premiere and minister of defence and aviation. He told senior officers during Eid celebrations at the King Abdulaziz Military City in Tabuk that he had instructed Major General Saad al-Rumaih, director-general of military works, to prepare designs for the new housing.

  • Ministry tenders HQ work

    The Communications Ministry has issued a tender for the renovation and modernisation of its headquarters in Kuwait City. All local grade one contractors are invited to bid for the estimated $50 million contract. The closing date for the submission of bids is 12 November. A pre-bid meeting is due to be held on 17 October.

  • Ministry views sewage bids

    The Finance Ministry is evaluating proposals from three international firms for the financial consultancy contract to advise on the development of the Muharraq sewage treatment plant and the kingdom's sewage network. HSBC is low bidder with an offer of BD 848,000 ($2.3 million), KPMG is ranked second with a price of BD 1.7 million ($4.4 million) and BNP Paribas is ranked third.

  • Mizin plans for Dubailand

    Mizin, the real estate development subsidiary of the local Tatweer, is to build another residential development at Dubailand. The Remraam project will be located next to Global Village and Bawadi Boulevard. Another local company, ETA Star, plans to build a AED 2,500 million ($681 million) residential community within the Falcon City of Wonders development. The La Italia project will consist of low-rise housing in three traffic-free clusters (MEED 12:10:07).

  • Mobile licences may sell for $3bn each, says minister

    Lebanon's telecoms minister expects his country's two mobile phone licences to sell for up to $3,000 million each.

  • Mobinil delays decision on international licence

    Egypt's largest mobile phone operator, Mobinil, will wait until the 2008 auction of the country's second fixed-line licence before deciding whether to pay£E 1,500 million ($270 million) for an international telecoms licence.

  • Mobinil delays decision on international licence

    Egypt's largest mobile phone operator, Mobinil, will wait until the 2008 auction of the country's second fixed-line licence before deciding whether to pay£E 1,500 million ($270 million) for an international telecoms licence.On 19 October, the Egyptian telecoms regulator gave Mobinil its terms for a new international gateway licence - which allows an operator to directly connect calls to operators in other countries.Mobinil was asked to pay£E 100 ($18.00) per customer for

  • Mobinil seeks $1.1bn for 3G

    Mobinil, Egypt's largest mobile phone operator, is looking to raise£E 6,340 million ($1,137 million) to finance its new3G network.The operator, which is owned by Egypt's Orascom Telecom and France Telecom, needs£E 3,340 million ($599 million) to pay for the 3G licence. It needs a further£E 3,000 million ($538 million) to build the infrastructure, after awarding the contract to build its 3G network to Huawei, a Chinese infrastructure company, on 1 October.'We are in t

  • Morocco: Impetus to diversify into LNG

    A new liquefied natural gas receiving terminal is central to Rabat's plans to reduce its dependence on oil and coal imports.

  • Morocco: Shipping hub takes shape

    Morocco is realising its largest ever port construction project and providing new competition for Algeciras in Spain.

  • Muscat assesses water proposals

    Oman Wastewater Services Company is evaluating proposals from three firms for a major sewage conveyance contract on the $1,000 million Muscat wastewater scheme.A team of the local National Construction & Trading with Cairo-based The Arab Contractors (Osman Ahmed Osman & Company) is low bidder at RO 58 million ($151 million) for the contract to build a sewage collection and conveyance system and a gravity sewer network at Al-Mobellah.The local Galfar Engineering & Contracting is r

  • Muscat ponders healthcare strategy for the elderly

    Muscat is considering plans for a national healthcare strategy for the elderly to cope with the improvements in life expectancy in the Sultanate.People aged 65 years and over currently represent 3.5 per cent of the total population. By 2025, it is likely to rise to 10 per cent.Pilot studies that have been completed include home healthcare projects in Nizwa, 165 kilometres from the capital. A study in Al-Amerat Wilayat in the Muscat governorate focused on providing nursing care,

  • Muscat tenders Qaboos

    Tender documents have been issued to 11 companies bidding to expand capacity and improve facilities at the Sultan Qaboos seaport in Muscat. Local and overseas groups are among the groups vying to take on the RO 150 million ($390 million) refit, which will raise capacity to about 1 million TEUs. Among them is the local branch of Australian industrial group, WorleyParsons, the consultant on the project.

  • Mushrif to build Abu Dhabi souk

    Kuwait's Mushrif Trading & Contracting has been awarded the estimated AED 213 million ($58 million) contract to build the souk component of the redevelopment of the central market in Abu Dhabi.

  • Mushrif wins sewer deal

    The local Mushrif General Trading & Contracting Company has been awarded a contract for the latest stage of the Kuwait Sewerage Improvement Project. Under the engineering, procurement and construction contract for phase nine, Mushrif will construct 61 kilometres of sewers, 1,800 manholes and six connections to existing interceptor manholes. The Public Works Ministry is the client (MEED 18:5:07).

  • Muslim Brotherhood names election candidates for November

    The Muslim Brotherhood has named 22 candidates for Jordan's parliamentary elections on 20 November.The radical movement's political arm, the Islamic Action Front (IAF), will contest 19 different constituencies at the elections, including all six seats in Amman.IAF members will only stand in Jordan's largest cities and towns where support for the Muslim Brotherhood is believed to be strongest.Candidates will contest seats in the northe

  • Naeem advises on railway

    Naeem Holding will advise the government on the tendering process for the project to develop 12 railway stations in the Nile Delta and Alexandria areas using private investment. Delta Capital Investments had also submitted a bid for the advisory contract. Under the pilot scheme, the stations will be developed for commercial use under a 20-25-year concession at an estimated cost of up to£E 10 million ($1.8 million) a station (MEED 5:10:07).

  • Naeem advises on railway

    Naeem Holding will advise the government on the tendering process for the project to develop 12 railway stations in the Nile Delta and Alexandria areas using private investment. Delta Capital Investments had also submitted a bid for the advisory contract. Under the pilot scheme, the stations will be developed for commercial use under a 20-25-year concession at an estimated cost of up to£E 10 million ($1.8 million) a station (MEED 5:10:07).

  • Nakheel moves on Palm

    Local developer Nakheel has invited companies to express interest in two design, build, operate and maintain contracts for its Palm Deira development. The first is for district cooling plants and the second for sewage treatment plants. The first phase of the Palm Deira development requires eight district cooling plants with a capacity of 28,500 tonnes of refrigeration each and a sewage treatment plant with capacity of 40,000 cubic metres a day (MEED 17:8:07).

  • Nakheel seeks Village interest

    Local developer Nakheel has invited companies to prequalify for the contract to build the Village Centre project on the Palm Jumeirah.

  • Nakheel seeks Village interest

    Local developer Nakheel has invited companies to prequalify for the contract to build the Village Centre project on the Palm Jumeirah.

  • Nakheel sells Shanghai

    Chinese businessman Bin Hu has bought the island of Shanghai on The World development from local developer Nakheel for $28 million. The island of Greece was previously sold for $15.5 million, Ireland for $38.7 million, and local developer Aspire announced plans to build a $3,400 million resort on 17 islands.

  • Nakheel takes the project finance route to raise funds

    Local developer Nakheel is to move away from Islamic bonds and syndicated loans to raise funding through project finance.'We are looking at other forms [of financing] and within the next six months we will do project, non-recourse financing,' says Chris O'Donnell, chief executive officer of Nakheel . 'As a developer, we need to be using debt as a way to improve our return on equity.'Compared with Qatar and Saudi Arabia, few companies in the UAE use this form of financing, in whic

  • National Bank of Abu Dhabi reports profits rise

    National Bank of Abu Dhabi has reported a second consecutive increase in quarterly profits, with net profits up 14 per cent for the three months to 30 September.

  • National Bank of Abu Dhabi reports profits rise

    National Bank of Abu Dhabi has reported a second consecutive increase in quarterly profits, with net profits up 14 per cent for the three months to 30 September.Chief executive Michael Tomalin said that the equity markets in the UAE were improving, which helped the bank's brokerage and asset management business.The bank's income for the third quarter was $156.9 million, while assets held by it rose 38.4 per cent, compared to the same period in 2006, to

  • NORTH FIELD STUDY: Speculation rages over reserves

    At the height of Qatar's remarkable ramp-up in liquified natural gas (LNG) production capacity, the decision in 2005 to place a moratorium on future exploration in the giant offshore North field was an unwanted surprise for many.Qatar Petroleum (QP) officials had originally said the moratorium would be reviewed in 2007/08, but in October 2006 it was extended until 2010.Al-Suwaidi now says the results of the study will come out anytime between 2010 and 2012, as it will take that l

  • Number of public share offerings soars

    The number of initial public offerings (IPOs) in the region is accelerating, with companies raising close to $5,000 million in the first half of 2007, according to Ernst & Young. Public offerings in Saudi Arabia drove volumes, with $2,561 million of shares sold in the second quarter of the year, followed by the UAE and Qatar. The largest offering was the $1,800 million IPO of shares in Saudi Kayan Petrochemical Company.However, despite the rise in activ

  • Oasis buys into Addax

    Oasis International Leasing is planning to buy a 41 per cent stake in Addax Investment Bank.

  • Oasis buys into Addax

    Oasis International Leasing is planning to buy a 41 per cent stake in Addax Investment Bank. The Abu Dhabi-based company has come to a preliminary agreement with the Bahraini bank's board of directors to purchase the stake, which will make it the largest shareholder. Oasis is restructuring and will relaunch as Oasis Capital with four subsidiaries, covering leasing, real estate, maritime and financial services sectors.The company, whic

  • Offshore package fails to attract bidders

    Bahrain has been forced to withdraw one of its four offshore exploration packages, after receiving no bids for the block from any of the three shortlisted companies.A source at the National Oil and Gas Authority (Noga) says while one company did initially show interest in the northern field, it did not make the shortlist. 'It was seen as having less prospects than the others,' he explains. 'But we hope to put it back out to bid at some point. [The field] is not a lost cause.'The

  • Oil hits record price of $92

    The price rise comes in the wake of new US sanctions on Iran, which holds the world's second biggest oil reserves.

  • Oil hits record price of $92

    Oil has hit a fresh high of more than $92 a barrel. The price rise comes in the wake of new US sanctions on Iran, which holds the world's second biggest oil reserves. On 25 October, Washington branded the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps a proliferator of weapons of mass destruction and its Quds force as a supporter of terrorism.The US sanctions freeze the Iranian military's assets in the US and ban Americans from doing business with

  • Oil subsidy drains economy

    Jordan's economy will remain mired in debt because public hostility to rising prices will prevent King Abdullah II from ending expensive oil subsidies next year, according to ratings agency Moody's Investors Service.

  • Olmert and Abbas meet to agree programme

    Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas have held talks in Jerusalem to agree a programme for a peace conference in mid-November. The two leaders met on their own, before being joined by teams of advisers.In the two days leading up to the meeting, Israel released 86 Palestinian prisoners as a goodwill gesture, most of them members of Abbas' Fatah movement.Violence has continued in the Palestinian ter

  • OMAN: Rewriting the rulebook

    Typically, independent water and power projects (IWPPs) involve the development by private sector investors of greenfield (previously unused) land. With the privatisation of Al-Rusail Power Company and the award of the Barka II IWPP to a consortium of Suez-Energy International, Mubadala and National Trading Company, the sultanate for the first time extended the privatisation model to an existing, brownfield facility.

  • Omniyat plans property drive

    Omniyat Properties plans to build three new projects in Dubai that will treble the company's investment in the emirate's real estate sector.The local developer has purchased two plots of land at Business Bay, where it will build an AED 1,500 million ($408 million) office complex with a total built-up area of about 70,000 square metres.At Dubai Waterfront, Omniyat plans to build a AED 2,000 million ($545 million) mixed-use development in the Madinat al-Arab district facing the Pal

  • One scraps Cap Ghir plan

    The project to build a coal-fired 1,320 MW power plant at Cap Ghir, near Agadir, has been scrapped, according to a source close to the project. Discussions are ongoing about a new location for the independent power project. Office National de l'Electricite (One) is considering two sites - one at Safi, between Agadir and Casablanca and another further south, between Agadir and Tan Tan (MEED 4:5:07).

  • Opec investment in US bonds rises 12 per cent

    Investment in US government bonds by Opec member states has increased by 12 per cent in the year to July, as the booming oil price leaves Middle East producers awash with cash. However, economists say this trend may not continue, as expectations of another cut in US interest rates means other assets will become more attractive.

  • Operator cuts call charges

    Lebanon's monopoly fixed-line operator Ogero is cutting its charges for calls to other Arab countries and to Europe by 20 per cent in an attempt to increase the use of the network.

  • Operator cuts call charges

    Lebanon's monopoly fixed-line operator Ogero is cutting its charges for calls to other Arab countries and to Europe by 20 per cent in an attempt to increase the use of the network. Abdul Munim Youssif, director general of Ogero, says reducing call charges will stimulate the economy by increasing the number of international calls. The government has promised to privatise Ogero by the end of 2008.

  • Opposition politicians criticise telecoms privatisation

    Opposition politicians in Lebanon have criticised the government's plan to privatise its two mobile telecoms operators in February next year.Hassan Khalil, an MP for the opposition Liberation and Development bloc, said that the government did not have the power to force through the sale of MTC-Touch and Alfa.'This illegitimate government is hijacking the privatisation programme,' he says. 'The parliament has the right to study the off

  • Optimiza acquires G-Tech

    IT outsourcing company Optimiza has acquired the distributor of Dell products in Saudi Arabia. The Jordanian firm has not disclosed how much it paid for Gulf Electronics for Technical Solutions (G-Tech). Hazem Malhas, chief executive officer of Optimiza, says it wants to build up a strong local presence in the Saudi market to serve clients in Jeddah, Riyadh and Dammam.

  • Optimiza acquires G-Tech

    IT outsourcing company Optimiza has acquired the distributor of Dell products in Saudi Arabia.

  • Palestinian militant killed in missile attack

    An Israeli missile killed a Palestinian gunman in a car in the central Gaza Strip on 23 October, according to the Israel army and a Palestinian militant group.The missile destroyed the car in the attack, which took place on a coastal road in Hamas-run Gaza.Medical officials said one person was killed in the attack and one wounded. The Palestinian militant umbrella group the Popular Resistance Committees later said one of its militants was killed in the

  • Paris Club agrees to early repayment of Jordanian debt

    The Paris Club of 19 of the world's richest countries has approved in principle the Jordanian government's proposal to repay early debt worth $2,500 million.Each member of the club must now decide whether to accept the repayment terms being offered by Jordan's government before the end of the year. The government is offering to repay the money between 1 January and 31 March next year. Jordan's finance minister Hamad Kasasbeh said that

  • Parties search for compromise candidate

    The March 14 alliance of anti-Syrian political parties in Lebanon has voted to find a compromise candidate for the country's presidential election.The leaders of March 14 will negotiate with the country's opposition parties so they can decide on a candidate acceptable to all of Lebanon, ahead of the second-round of the presidential election on 23 October.March 14 and the opposition parties failed to elect a new president in the first round of voting on

  • Patriot goes missing in Qatar

    A Patriot missile hit a farm in Qatar on 16 October after being accidentally fireA Patriot missile hit a farm in Qatar on 16 October after being accidentally fired from a base used by US forces in the Gulf state, according to Al-Jazeera television.The Qatar-based broadcaster said the missile, which is part of an anti-missile defence system, was launched from Assayliyah base but did not cause any casualties. Qatar was a launch pad for the US-led invasion

  • Petronet in supply talks

    India's largest liquefied natural gas (LNG) importer, Petronet LNG, is in talks with Qatar's RasGas and Algeria's Sonatrach for new supply contracts. Petronet is expected to sign a 25-year contract with Algeria to import 1.25 million tonnes of LNG a year from Sonatrach's Skikda terminal, which is under construction. It also plans to import an additional 750,000 tonnes of LNG under an agreement with RasGas.

  • Plant: Arabian Canal sets off chain reaction

    Dubai’s massive Arabian Canal project will put further strain on the Gulf’s already stretched equipment supply chain.

  • Politician sentenced to prison for corruption allegations

    A former member of parliament has been sent to prison for two years after he accused Jordan and the current interior minister of being corrupt.The State Security Court found Ahmad Oweidi Abbadi guilty of undermining the country's reputation by sending false information to a foreign government.Abbadi was arrested on 3 May this year for sending an open letter to US Senate majority leader Harry Reid accusing Jordanian officials and interior minister Eid Fa

  • Port of Beirut stages recovery

    Beirut's levels of foreign trade are steadily recovering, with port revenues improving significantly on the lows following the war with Israel in the summer of 2006.According to its latest figures, revenues at the Port of Beirut rose by 44 per cent in the first nine months of 2007, compared with the same period in 2006, to reach $84.6 million.In 2006, the port was blockaded by the Israeli navy during the conflict.The amount of maritime freight passing through Beirut i

  • Port plan shifts to Mesaieed

    Plans to build a port facility at Doha have been abandoned, following a decree by the Emir of Qatar, Shaikh Hamad bin Khalifa al-Thani. Instead, the $5,500 million Doha port project is to be moved to the Mesaieed area south of Al-Wakrah.

  • Pressure on Opec builds as oil breaks $90

    Speculation is building that next month's Opec state summit in Riyadh may turn into an output review meeting after oil broke through $90 a barrel for the first time today.The rising price is being fuelled by tensions in Turkey and the falling US dollar.West Texas Intermediate (WTI) oil hit a new high of $90.07 this morning, before falling to $89.10 by 4pm, while Brent crude was trading at $84.70.Nigeria's petroleum minister, Odein Aju

  • Prices fall as supply fears ease

    West Texas Intermediate (WTI) oil dropped from $90-plus highs to below $85 in intraday trading on 24 October as a result of profit taking and a growing consensus that supply concerns may have been overestimated.Prices also lost some of their lustre after one oil analyst said Opec had already increased oil output in response to the record prices.Petrologistics analyst Conrad Gerber said Opec members are set to produce 27.5 million barrels a day (b/d) in October, compared with

  • Private banking licence introduced

    The Central Bank of Bahrain has created a new banking licence to make the country more attractive to private banks.

  • Private banking licence introduced

    The Central Bank of Bahrain has created a new banking licence to make the country more attractive to private banks.The Private Banking Licence is offered as a sub-category of the central bank's wholesale banking licence, and is aimed at wealth and asset management firms that target individuals with over $1 million to invest.The move follows the introduction in 2006 of a trust law, which the central bank hopes will encourage wealthy individuals to use Ba

  • Private investors shun equities

    Private investors are opting for hedge and private equity funds over equities despite their lack of knowledge of these assets classes, according to a new report.Less than one-third of investors surveyed by Barclays Wealth say they will invest in shares in the next three years, although almost half have bought equities over the past three years.In contrast, 41 per cent say they will invest in hedge funds in the future, up from 32 who have done so before.Less than 10 per ce

  • Privatisation: Model development

    Gulf governments are beginning to look to Europe and the US for new models for the privatisation of power and water supply.

  • Profits dip at Gulf International

    Gulf International Bank has reported profits after tax of $184.5 million for the nine months to 30 September 2007, a fall of 4.7 per cent compared to the same period in 2006.The bank said the decline in profits was largely due to a $13 million increase in expenses which it said was due to the impact of a weak dollar on foreign currency deposits.Net interest income grew by 23 per cent to $232.2 million, driven by growth in the bank's GCC lending portfoli

  • Profits growth slows at Riyad Bank

    Riyad Bank has reported a 10 per cent rise in third quarter profits, to SR 716 million ($190.9 million). The bank attributed the rise to aggressive growth in lending. Loans in the first nine months of the year were up 28 per cent compared to the same period last year.However, profit growth has slowed from the previous quarter when it was 24.3 per cent.The bank said operating income had risen by 6 per cent year-on-year to SR 3,830 mill

  • PROJECTS: Delays hit growth

    ON TIME - 1) Medgaz: Despite a recent dispute with the Spanish energy regulator over the volume of gas that could be sold by the company to Spain through the Medgaz pipeline, and the price at which it could be sold, senior project sources assure MEED that the project is still on target to deliver its first gas in mid-2009. Once on stream, the sub-sea pipeline will add 8,000 million cm/y to Algeria's export capacity.2) Transmed: The expansion of the Transmed pipeline, which delivers Alger

  • Qafac revives methanol plan

    Qatar Fuel Additives Company (Qafac) is understood to be trying to reactivate plans for a new methanol plant at its Mesaieed complex by reducing the project's scope to make it less costly.The original project called for the installation of 6,750 tonnes a day (t/d) of methanol capacity and 1,000 t/d of ammonia. However, the scheme was put on hold in 2005 in light of the rising engineering, procurement and construction prices, which have become increasingly significant for companies acros

  • Qasco finance deal founders

    Qatar Petroleum has pulled the plug on the financing plans of subsidiary Qatar Steel Company (Qasco), after financial advisers Ernst & Young failed to secure enough support from banks.

  • Qasco finance deal founders

    Qatar Petroleum has pulled the plug on the financing plans of subsidiary Qatar Steel Company (Qasco), after financial advisers Ernst & Young failed to secure enough support from banks.Bankers close to the deal now expect Qatar Petroleum to take a more active role in the financing by supporting its subsidiary in discussions with lenders.Qasco and its financial adviser had originally planned to have the $1,340 million refinancing of Qasco debt secured by September, but as negotiati

  • Qatar awards block 3

    Qatar has awarded offshore exploration block 3 in the north-west to the joint venture of Germany's Wintershall and Indonesia's Pertamina. Pertamina will provide $11 million worth of a total $40 million in funding for exploration activities, which are expected to start in late 2008.

  • Qatar considers La Skhira equity offer

    Qatar Petroleum International (QPI) is considering giving an equity stake in the La Skhira refinery project to Algiers or Tripoli in an effort to secure feedstock for the facility, says a source close to the project. However, the economic viability of the project is still in doubt.

  • Qatar Islamic profits up

    Net profits at Qatar Islamic Bank have risen by 17.9 per cent for the first nine months of the year, to QR 858.3 million ($235.8 million), while net operating profits were up 34 per cent to $1,225 million ($336.5 million).

  • Qatar Islamic profits up

    Net profits at Qatar Islamic Bank have risen by 17.9 per cent for the first nine months of the year, to QR 858.3 million ($235.8 million), while net operating profits were up 34 per cent to $1,225 million ($336.5 million).The bank's assets grew by 51.6 per cent during the same period, to QR 19,400 million ($5,330 million), while the annualised return on assets rose by 7.1 per cent for the year to 30 September. The bank said the drivers of the growth in assets had been the

  • Qatar targets 4-5% inflation band

    Qatar's finance minister expects the rate of inflation to stay within the 4 to 5 per cent band this year.Despite the consumer price index peaking at 15 per cent in the year to the end of March, Finance Minister Yousuf Hussain Kamal, is confident that government initiatives announced in the budget can tackle inflation.'Our expectations are that in 2007 inflation will be 4-5 per cent…the single reason for this is supply meeting demand,' he told the

  • Qatar-Bahrain causeway work to start next year

    Construction of the causeway linking Qatar and Bahrain will start in May 2008. An agreement has been signed with the joint venture of Qatari Diar and France's Vinci Construction Grands Projets to build the 45-kilometre structure.The $2,000 million project will link the Qatari coast of Ras Ashiraj to the village of Askar on the eastern coastline of Bahrain. The project is expected to consist of a number of bridges, combined with roads constructed on dams

  • Rabat signs nuclear pact with Paris

    France is to help Morocco build a civil nuclear industry in order to boost industrial growth and increase living standards.'We have decided to commit ourselves together to another big project, another big partnership, that of civil nuclear energy,' said French president Nicolas Sarkozy during a visit to Marrakesh.It follows an agreement between French energy company Areva and Morrocan mining and chemical conglomerate, Office Cherifien des Phosphates, to

  • Rabigh enters second phase

    Saudi Aramco and Japan's Sumitomo Chemical Company have launched the second-phase expansion of their $10,000 million Rabigh Refining & Petrochemical Company (Petro-Rabigh) integrated refinery and petrochemicals complex on the Red Sea coast.

  • Rabigh enters second phase

    Saudi Aramco and Japan's Sumitomo Chemical Company have launched the second-phase expansion of their $10,000 million Rabigh Refining & Petrochemical Company (Petro-Rabigh) integrated refinery and petrochemicals complex on the Red Sea coast.The project, which is estimated to be as big as the first phase, involves the expansion of the existing ethane cracker and aromatics complex, and the construction of at least15 downstream chemicalproduction plants.The central element wi

  • Rani invites Oberoi bids

    Companies have been invited to submit bids on 21 October for the AED 750 million ($205 million) Oberoi Centre in Dubai's Business Bay. The project involves building two 33-storey towers, with a total built-up area of 84,000 square metres. Rani International, part of Saudi Arabia's Aujan Group, is the client (MEED 6:7:07)

  • Razak accepts state job

    Saad Abdul Razak, group chief executive of Dubai Islamic Bank (DIB), is leaving the bank to assume a new job in the government of Dubai. He joined the bank in December 2001. The bank says Khaled Al Kamda, currently vice-chairman of the board of directors of UAE companies Tamweel and Istithmar, has been appointed as the bank's managing director.

  • RBS assesses Saudi stake

    A consortium led by Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) will spend 60 days from mid-October evaluating the 40 per cent stake in Saudi Hollandi Bank owned by ABN Amro. The group recently won a long-running battle to take over ABN. The stake is estimated to be worth about $1,400 million. It is described by RBS as 'not having a natural fit with any of the consortium members' and could be put up for sale.

  • RBS assesses Saudi stake

    A consortium led by Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) will spend 60 days from mid-October evaluating the 40 per cent stake in Saudi Hollandi Bank owned by ABN Amro.

  • 'Real boss' of Al-Qaeda wing killed

    The second-in-command of Al-Qaeda's North Africa wing has been killed, according to newspaper reports in Algeria on 9 October.Hareg Zoheir was shot dead on 7 October by local military at a checkpoint in Tzizi Ouzou in the east of the country, said the country's major daily newspapers. Two other rebels were also killed in the gun battle.Zoheir was understood to be the deputy chief of Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb, which grew out of the country's most p

  • Reconciliation benefits all

    After two rounds of negotiations, Qatar's Emir Shaikh Hamad bin Khalifa al-Thani and Saudi Arabia's King Abdullah bin Abdulaziz struck a deal to restore diplomatic relations in late September 2007.

  • Reconstruction: A work in progress

    Much has already been done to rebuild the country since the 2006 conflict with Israel, but more effort is needed.

  • RECONSTRUCTION: A work in progress

    Lebanon's post-2006 war reconstruction effort offers a mixed picture. Paris III aid has largely come in - at least for rebuilding shattered infrastructure. The Lebanese government claims to have repaired and reconstructed more than 90 per cent of the damaged infrastructure. Yet many villagers in the south of the country are still waiting to be rehoused more than 14 months after the end of the conflict.

  • Refinery deal on schedule

    The $1,370 million financing for the merged Oman Refinery Company and Sohar Refinery Company is complete. The funds, arranged by HSBC, have a 10-year tenor. Pricing on the deal is understood to be 65 basis points above the London interbank offered rate (Libor), with about 15 banks involved (MEED 17:08:07). The funds will be mainly used by Oman Refineries and Petrochemicals Company, as the merged entity will be known, to repay existing debt.

  • Rice meets Abbas

    US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice met Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas on 15 October to discuss plans for a US-backed peace conference with Israel. Palestinian and Israeli officials have said differences remain over a joint statement, which will outline the parameters of the summit due to be held in late November. Both Abbas and Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert say they hope the conference will be the start of negotiations over the

  • Rival Christian politicians seek presidential candidate

    The leaders of Lebanon's rival Christian political parties met on 15 October to search for a presidential candidate who would be acceptable to both sides of the country's political divide.Lebanon's politicians are due to vote on a new president on 23 October, after failing to reach agreement in September.The governing March 14 coalition of anti-Syrian political parties was represented by Carlos Edde, leader of the National Party. The

  • Riyadh curbs market abuse

    A new trading platform is expected to curb market abuse and speculation but may reduce trading volumes on the Tadawul, according to market analysts.The system was launched on 23 October using technology from OMX, the Nordic exchange operator at the centre of a takeover battle between Borse Dubai, Nasdaq and the Qatar Investment Authority.The system replaces the previous trading platform, which only assigned order numbers to trades and did not permit the regulator to track which i

  • Riyadh pushes for airport efficiencies

    On 2 October, four airport operator groups submitted bids for the right to manage the kingdom's three main international airports in Riyadh, Jeddah and Dammam (MEED.com 2:10:07). The condition of these airports has long been an embarrassment for the government.The tender marks the latest stage of the kingdom's effort to overhaul the General Authority of Civil Aviation (Gaca), and turn its airports into fully commercial enterprises, with an emphasis on improving revenues, services and

  • Riyadh starts the gold rush

    Saudi Arabia's mineral reserves have long offered huge potential for the world's mining companies. But with the kingdom's focus on the development of its hydrocarbons reserves taking priority, the Middle East's biggest stockpile of minerals reserves has remained largely undeveloped. That is set to change.The news last week (MEED 12:10:07) that state-owned giant Saudi Arabian Mining Company (Maaden) is preparing to float marks the beginning of the opening up of one of the region's most exciting m

  • Riyadh, Tokyo to co-operate on sewage plants

    The Water & Electricity Ministry and Japan International Cooperation Agency (Jica) have launched a technical co-operation project to improve the management of sewage water treatment plants in the kingdom.A Jica team has arrived in the country to hold talks with Ali al-Tukhais, Deputy Minister for Water Affairs. According to Ryuichi Tomizawa, a representative for Jica, the project consists of training programmes on management practices at sewage water tr

  • Rome assesses power link-up

    Centro Elettrotecnico Sperimentale Italiano (CESI) has completed a feasibility study for a potential electricity connection linking Libya and Sicily, possibly via Malta.It is the latest in a series of power connections planned between North Africa and Europe.The most recent study puts forward several alternatives for the construction of the 500-kilometre-long link between Abu Kammash in Libya and Partanna in Sicily.In one scenario, the line would have a capacity o

  • Rowad moves ahead with Dammam packaging plant

    The local Rowad National Plastics Company is pushing ahead with plans to build a new plant in Dammam to produce bi-axially oriented polypropylene (Bopp), which is widely used in the packaging sector. The cost of the project is estimated at SR 200 million ($53.3 million).The new plant will have a total capacity of 30,000 tonnes a year of Bopp film. Proprietary production technology has been licensed from Austria's DMT Technology. The European company will also engineer and ins

  • Sabb sees profits rise

    Sabb, the Saudi bank that is 40 per cent owned by HSBC, has reported its first growth in quarterly profits for over a year, with net profit for the third quarter rising by 0.8 per cent over the same period in 2006, to $174 million.The bank says growth in its lending outweighed a continued decline in stock market-related income. The lending business grew by 31.6 per cent compared with 2006, to $14,500 million.The bank says a 17.8 per cent growth in custo

  • Sabic and Maaden seek $2bn

    Saudi Basic Industries Corporation (Sabic) and Saudi Arabian Mining Company (Maaden) are planning to raise $2,000 million in what would be the region's biggest Islamic project finance deal.The financing will be used on their joint venture to develop a phosphate mine at Ras al-Zour.The financial advisers on the deal, Standard Chartered Bank and Riyad Bank, are understood to be evaluating how much of the financing will be Islamic, with Maaden expressing a preference for as much Isl

  • Sabic takes advantage of rising prices

    Saudi Basic Industries Corporation (Sabic) has reported third quarter profits of SR 7,400 million ($1,980 million), up 37 per cent on the previous year. For the first nine months of the year, the company reported profits had risen 42 per cent, to SR 20,200 million ($5,406 million). The profit increases reflect the rising price of key products and a 13 per cent increase in output to 40.9 million tonnes in the first nine months of the year, the company sa

  • Sadaf reviews styrene plant

    Saudi Petrochemical Company (Sadaf) is considering relaunching its planned styrene plant.

  • Samba profits fall again

    Samba Financial Group has reported a 7.1 per cent drop in net profits for the three months to 30 September, compared to the same period last year. It is. The bank blamed the drop, which is the fourth consecutive fall in quarterly profits, on falling brokerage activity.Net profits were SR 1,300 million (346.7 million) for the third quarter, while earnings per share fell from SR 7.12 ($1.91) to SR 6.46 ($1.73) year-on-year. Profit for the first nine months of the year fell

  • Saudi plans judicial reform

    Saudi Arabia is to overhaul its judicial system, with $2,000 million to be allocated to the construction of new courts and training judges. Passed by royal decree, the decision has been welcomed by business figures and reformers, who have long maintained that the Saudi judiciary is too opaque.With judges granted the discretion to issue rulings based on their own interpretation of Sharia law, critics have insisted sentencing is too arbitrary.

  • Saudia selects cargo bids

    Saudi Arabian Airlines (Saudia) has shortlisted 11 groups in the final round of bids to run the company's privatised cargo business.

  • Saudia selects cargo bids

    Saudi Arabian Airlines (Saudia) has shortlisted 11 groups in the final round of bids to run the company's privatised cargo business. The local and international firms have been selected from more than 30 that originally expressed interest. A due diligence process is under way. Bidding will close during the second week of December with a decision made early in 2008.

  • Sawiris hits acquisition trail

    Naguib Sawiris, the Egyptian businessman, could use funds from two private equity firms to finance a string of acquisitions in Europe and the Middle East.

  • Schlumberger wins deal

    The US' Schlumberger has won a contract, worth KD 22.5 million ($80.4 million), to provide oil field services to Kuwait Oil Company. Under the five-year contract, Schlumberger will provide the state upstream operator with measurement services for use during the drilling process. The deal follows the award to the US' Halliburton of a similar KD 17 million ($60.7 million) contract in mid-September (MEED 14:9:07).

  • Sea change in port plans with new Mesaieed project

    The project to build a new offshore port east of Doha has been abandoned in favour of a coastal location at Mesaieed.

  • Sector split over Fewa sale

    The cabinet decision to sell off assets controlled by the Federal Electricity & Water Authority (Fewa) has received a mixed response from Gulf-based developers, equipment suppliers and power consultants.Fewa is a federation-run utility supplying water and electricity to the northern emirates and has installed capacity of 1,000 MW and 55 million gallons of water a day of desalination. However, the majority of its power plants are diesel-fired and in need of rehabilitation. 'Of course we

  • Security concerns threaten nuclear power development

    Security is emerging as the key issue for a feasibility study into developing the country's first nuclear power plants.The plan is still awaiting cabinet approval. However, the US' Powered Corporation, which will build the plants if it goes ahead, is likely to consider relatively small reactors, as used by Atomic Energy of Canada.'Security is a huge issue and we will address this in the feasibility study,' says James Jeffrey, chief executive officer for North & South America & As

  • Sharjah extends deadline

    Sharjah Electricity & Water Authority is expected to extend the bid deadline for the emirate's largest power plant at Hamriyah from December to early 2008, after a request from firms. Prequalifiers include the US' GE, France's Alstom, Germany's Siemens and South Korea's Hyundai Engineering & Construction. (MEED 28:9:07).

  • Sharjah to award plant

    Sharjah Investment Centre will make an award by the end of December for the contract to construct a 25,000-cubic-metre-a-day sewage treatment plant. Eight companies are bidding for the contract, including two based in Sharjah, Eagle Electromechanical Company and Metito. Australia's Clifton Coney Group is the scheme's consultant.

  • Shia leader preaches unity and division

    A leading Shia politician has called for unity during a rare visit to the Sunni-dominated Anbar province.Ammar al-Hakim, son of Abdul Aziz al-Hakim, leader of the Supreme Islamic Iraqi Council (SIIC), said 'Iraq is for all Iraqis' and that 'we all stand together in one trench to defeat Iraq's enemies' during a visit to Ahmed Abu Risha, head of the Anbar Awakening movement that has united Sunni tribes in the province to drive out Al-Qaeda.However, Al-Hak

  • Sohar to add bitumen facilities

    Oman Refineries & Petrochemicals Company (ORPC) has invited local and international contractors to submit expressions of interest for a contract to add bitumen facilities to its 116,000-barrel-a-day Sohar refinery.

  • Sonatrach seeks partner

    State energy company Sonatrach is likely to seek an international partner to develop its proposed 300,000-barrel-a-day refinery at Tiaret, according to a source close to the project. In 2006, Algiers suspended plans to find a partner to take a 35 per cent stake in the development, estimated to cost $5,000 million-7,000 million. Theplans are back on the table following the completion of feasibility studies by HSBC and the US' Jacobs Consultancy earlier this year (MEED 24:8:07).

  • Sonede delays Djerba shortlist

    National water company Societe Nationale d'Exploitation et de Distribution des Eaux (Sonede) has again delayed shortlisting bidders for the contract to build a 50,000-cubic-metre-a-day (cm/d) reverse osmosis desalination plant on Djerba island.A shortlist was expected by the end of September, but this has been delayed until mid-November.Six bidders submitted prequalification documents in July. They are the US' GE-Ionics with SNC Lavalin of Canada; Inima with Aqualia; Cobr

  • Special report: Construction - Laying strong foundations

    Gulf contractors enjoy full order books and a slowdown in rising costs as a wave of government-backed mega-projects drive the region’s construction boom.

  • Special report: Lebanon - Polls apart

    When Lebanon’s MPs convene on 23 October to vote on a successor to President Lahoud, pro-government supporters looking to strengthen links with the West will come up against opposition equally set on reasserting the relationship with Syria.

  • Special Report: North Africa - A position of strength in gas supply

    In terms of location and resources, North Africa is well placed to become the leading gas supplier to the European market, if it can overcome the problems caused by government inflexibility and a lack of progress on key projects.

  • Special report: North African gas

    In terms of location and resources, North Africa is well placed to become the leading gas supplier to the European market, if it can overcome the problems caused by government inflexibility and a lack of progress on key projects.

  • Special report: Power surge

    Private developers have benefited from massive growth in the region’s power sector over the past 12 months, with capacity up by more than one-third as governments increasingly bring in outside help to meet soaring demand.

  • Special report: Power surge

    Private developers have benefited from massive growth in the region’s power sector over the past 12 months, with capacity up by more than one-third as governments increasingly bring in outside help to meet soaring demand.

  • State carrier buys Boeings

    Oman Air has agreed to purchase six Boeing 787 Dreamliner jets over the next eight years. Oman's national carrier has signed a memorandum of understanding with Kuwait's Aviation Lease and Finance Company (Alafco). The long-haul aircraft will be delivered between 2012 and 2015 to coincide with the airline's expansion of its international network.

  • State delays privatisation of three banks until 2008

    The Iranian Privatisation Organisation (IPO) has delayed the sale of three banks that were due to be floated on the Tehran Stock Exchange this autumn.The government agency has not said why it has postponed the privatisations of Mellat, Saderat and Tejarat.The sale of the three banks is one of the centrepieces of Iran's programme to privatise 80 per cent of state-owned assets by the end of 2009.'The IPO said the privatisations would take place in autumn, but has now said t

  • State offers fuel discount

    The government has announced plans to offer a 10 per cent discount on fuel charges to all airlines operating in and out of the country. The decision was made by Communications Minister Abdul Wahid al-Awadi and passed to the Directorate General of Civil Aviation. The new rule will include cargo flights, as Kuwait seeks to attract new airlines to the country and stimulate economic growth.

  • State opens utility projects to private firms

    The government is to allow the private sector to participate in the power and water sector in the federation, through the Federal Electricity & Water Authority (Fewa).A cabinet meeting on 22 October, presided over by Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid al-Maktoum, vice-president and prime minister of the UAE, agreed to the change in the federal law that will allow investors from the private sector to get involved in the production and distribution of water and electricity.

  • State reviews equity strategy

    The Kuwait Investment Authority (KIA) is to finalise a new private equity strategy by early 2008. The $210,000 million sovereign wealth fund is being advised on the strategy by StepStone, a US private equity asset management firm.Middle East sovereign wealth funds have typically invested in liquid assets, such as government bonds and US treasury bills, but are increasing their private equity activities.KIA has already been diversifying its portfolio to include more emerging marke

  • Steel shortage threatens regional property boom

    A global shortage of steel is the only thing that could hold back SaudiArabia's building boom over the next decade, according to the head of the country's largest real estate developer.'At present, we are not worried at all about a shortage of workers and engineers, and the cement situation is looking good,' says Saud al-Gusaiyer, chief executive officer of Dar al-Arkan.'By the middle of next year, there will several new cement plants producing at full capacity, taking the kingdo

  • Structures: Sustainable growth

    Property developers in the Gulf are increasingly incorporating environmentally friendly features into their projects.

  • Sudan Darfur accused of indiscriminate attacks

    The head of the UN's human rights organisation has claimed that Sudanese air attacks against villages in the western region of Darfur in late April appeared to be 'indiscriminate and disproportionate'.The attacks, which have been denied by Khartoum, are alleged to have taken place against at least five villages near El-Fasher in the north of Darfur between 19-29 April.Louise Arbour, High Commissioner for Human Rights, said that the attacks breached inte

  • Suicide bomber kills six people in Baghdad

    A suicide car bomber killed six members of an anti-al Qaeda tribal police unit on 15 October when he struck their checkpoint near the capital.Iraqi police said several other people were also wounded in the attack near Balad, 80 kilometres north of Baghdad. The act was the latest attack on the Salahuddin Awakenings Council, which is an alliance of tribes in the Sunni Arab province of Salahuddin, opposed to Al-Qaeda.Similar councils have been established

  • Supermarkets dominate sales

    Supermarkets have started to account for the majority of food sales in the UAE for the first time, according to market research firm Nielsen.Large retailers, including supermarkets and hypermarkets, accounted for more than 50 per cent of all food sales in the UAE in the first half of 2007. Nielsen predicts that the market share of large retailers will reach 60 per cent by 2010 because of the fast rate at which they are opening new stores.'Small stores still have a significant

  • Surge in rent prices drives inflation to seven-year high

    Inflation in the kingdom struck a seven-year high of 4.4 per cent in August on the back of a surge in rents, putting further pressure on the government to contain prices.A 12.1 per cent rise in rental costs for the year to August, coupled with a 6.6 per cent increase in food costs, were the main factors driving up prices in the country, according to the Central Department of Statistics.Earlier this year, the Saudi Arabian Monetary Agency (Sama - central bank), said inflat

  • Surviving the credit crunch

    The biggest question facing the Middle East financial community over the summer has been how the credit crisis created by the collapse of the US sub-prime mortgage market will affect the region.

  • Syria: Binding economic ties

    Strong links between Lebanon and Syria persist despite Damascus' withdrawal of troops and ongoing political tensions.

  • Tameer hires consultant

    Sharjah-based Tameer Holding has appointed the UK's RMJM as the design and supervision consultant for its AED 1,830 million ($499 million) Tameer Towers project at Business Bay. The project is made up of three towers and is expected to be completed by 2010.

  • TangMed invites interest in port expansion

    The Tangier Mediterranean Special Agency has invited international contractors to express interest in the estimated $1,400 million turnkey construction contract for the extension to the TangMed port complex, known as TangMed II.The expansion will cover two container terminals and two liquid bulk berths. The container terminals will have a total capacity of more than 5 million containers with 1,600 metres of berths. The liquid bulk facility will have 1,200 metres of berths. The port will

  • Taqa joins forces with National Power

    Abu National Energy Company (Taqa) has signed a co-operation agreement with the local National Power Company. Under the agreement, signed on 24 October, both firms will seek out joint venture opportunities in the local power and water, and industrial sectors. National Power is a 50:50 joint venture between El-Seif Group and Al-Zamil Group, both local. It was the first local firm to develop an independent power project in the kingdom, at the Sadaf petroc

  • Taqa plans Saudi power plants

    Abu Dhabi Energy Company (Taqa) is in the final stages of talks to build at least four captive power plants in Saudi Arabia, according to its chief executive .'At the moment, we are in discussions with our partner over this [the power plants],' says Peter Barker-Homek, chief executive of Taqa. 'We are still looking at that number.'The plants are designed to serve the new economic cities and industrial plants.Taqa is targeting at least $4,000 million worth of acquisitions

  • Taqa signs $2bn bond

    Abu Dhabi National Energy Company (Taqa) has completed a $2,000 million bond issue, split between a $1,500 million bond at 5.62 per cent due in 2012 and a $500 million bond at 6.165 per cent due in 2017. The company says it will use the proceeds to finance acquisitions, including the purchase of Canada' PrimeWest Energy Trust for $5,000 million, announced in late September, and the $540 million purchase of Pioneer Natural Resources Canada.

  • Taqa signs $2bn bond

    Abu Dhabi National Energy Company (Taqa) has completed a $2,000 million bond issue, split between a $1,500 million bond at 5.62 per cent due in 2012 and a $500 million bond at 6.165 per cent due in 2017.

  • Taqa signs to build book

    Abu Dhabi National Energy Company (Taqa) has signed a letter of intent with Kuwait Energy Company (KEC) to build up a portfolio of mature oil and gas assets. It covers production, development and exploration assets in the region and beyond. Under the agreement, which does not yet include any capital commitments, the two companies will set up a steering committee to manage the relationship.

  • Tatweer to start Ruwais bidding

    Technical bids are due to be submitted soon for the technology licensing contract on the Ruwais grassroots refinery expansion, planned by Abu Dhabi Oil Refining Company (Takreer).

  • Tax strategy drives outsourcing boom

    It is a good time to be an IT services company in the Middle East, with governments eager to attract more businesses. Just how good was made clear in mid-September when Jordan became the latest country to cut its tax rates for IT companies.

  • Tehran forecasts $90 oil price

    Iran has predicted the price of crude oil could hit the $90 a barrel mark by December if the US dollar continues to lose value.West Texas Intermediate (WTI) oil is presently trading at about $81.'If the value of the dollar continues to drop, the price of WTI will reach about $90 in three months,' said Hojjatollah Ghanimifard, international affairs director of the state-owned National Iranian Oil Company.Ghanimifard added that recent

  • Tehran plans oil flotation

    The Iranian Privatisation Organisation (IPO) has instructed the Oil Ministry to privatise 92 oil companies. The National Iranian Oil Company (NIOC) is not included. Under Tehran's socio-economic development plan, 5 per cent of the shares in the firms will initially be privatised. After that, the IPO will establish a market price, on which further offerings can be based.

  • Tehran prepares to nominate oil minister

    Iran is expected to make caretaker oil minister Gholamhossein Nozari its permanent head this week. He took on his present role when his predecessor Kazem Vaziri-Hamaneh resigned on 12 August.Nozari, the former managing director of the National Iranian Oil Company (NIOC), is expected to fill the role with Aliakbar Mehrabian, the present caretaker industry minister, also to take the industry minister position on a permanent basis. 'The president will most

  • Tehran supplies power to Baghdad

    Tehran has completed its share of two power connections linking the Iranian grid to the Iraqi network. They are the first of nine links planned between the two countries.Once work has been completed on the other side of the border, the Iraqi provinces of Diyala and Al-Amareh will be connected to the Iranian network. An Iranian company carried out a feasibility study and the construction of power pylons with associated facilities. When completed, the pro

  • Ten bid for North-South

    The Public Investment Fund (PIF) expects submissions from up to 10 companies when bidding closes on 28 October for the fourth and final construction package on the North-South railway. Invitations to tender for the project were issued to 12 groups in September. PIF officials say two have since dropped out. The final package of the 2,400-kilometre-long minerals rail link will involve the construction of a 480-kilometre stretch from Al-Zabirah junction to Riyadh's King Khaled International Airport

  • Tender process begins for Al-Zour refinery project

    State refinery operator Kuwait National Petroleum Company (KNPC) has invited prequalified contractors to pick up tender documents covering the four main process packages on its long-awaited new refinery project at Al-Zour.The prequalified international companies have been given until 16 December to submit bids for each of the main packages, although the deadline is likely to be extended by at least a month, given the size of each contract and the amount of preparation required.Pr

  • Three bid for Seeb sewer

    Oman Wastewater Services Company has received three bids for the engineering, procurement and construction contract to build a sewage collection system and main sewer at Seeb, near Muscat. Egypt's The Arab Contractors (Osman Ahmed Osman & Company) with the local National Construction & Trading was the low bidder with a price of RO 102 million ($266 million). India's Larsen & Toubro and the local Galfar Engineering & Contracting also bid (MEED 12:10:07).

  • Tight market keeps oil price steady

    Oil again hovered around the $78 mark with global oil balances continuing to tighten amid comment by Qatar's energy minister that crude oil prices should top $100.

  • Total considers South Pars project split

    France's Total is considering a request from Pars Oil & Gas Company (POGC) to split its South Pars project into smaller packages in a bid to reduce costs.A senior POGC executive says dividing the deal into smaller initial phases will help to move it forward.POGC has imposed a June 2008 deadline for Total to make a final investment decision on Phase XI of the project.'We have held meetings with senior management at Total and they are looking at our new proposal,' says the

  • Trio line up for $3.5bn Al-Zour package

    State refinery operator Kuwait National Petroleum Company (KNPC) has finalised the prequalification shortlist for its $14,000 million refinery project at Al-Zour in the south.Three groups are prequalified for the estimated $3,500 million process package 1, the largest of the four main engineering, procurement and construction contracts. All include South Korean companies.They are Italy's Snamprogetti with Hyundai Engineering & Construction Company; Paris-based Technip with SK Eng

  • Tripoli seeks investment for utility projects

    At least two independent water and power projects (IWPPs) are expected to be tendered in the country by mid-2008, according to industry sources. It will be the first time Tripoli has sought private investment to fund infrastructure projects.It is understood that Germany's Fichtner has been employed by a foreign developer to carry out studies for several possible IWPPs and has completed one six-month study. Fichtner declined to comment.With revenues from oil surpassing $31,00

  • Tripoli seeks investment for utility projects

    At least two independent water and power projects (IWPPs) are expected to be tendered in the country by mid-2008, according to industry sources. It will be the first time Tripoli has sought private investment to fund infrastructure projects.

  • Tripoli to build first solar plant

    Construction of the country's first solar thermodynamics plant is due to start in mid-2008. The plant, which will be on the coast near Tripoli, will consist of a solar and combined cycle component with a capacity of 5.8 MW each.

  • TUNISIA 01

    Tender no 18.7220/BIRD/2006. Project no P082999. Supply of computing equipment as part of the education quality improvement programme, phase 2 (Paqset II). Financed by the World Bank.

  • TUNISIA: Switching resources

    When the UK's BG Group announced plans in June to spend $1,300 million to boost natural gas production in Tunisia, it marked a new-found confidence in the country's ability to lure much-needed investment to harness its hydro-carbons reserves.

  • Tunisia: Switching resources from oil to gas

    As its ageing oil fields begin to dry up, Tunis is bringing in investment to develop its considerable gas reserves.

  • Turkey to consider Iraq incursions

    The Turkish parliament will meet after the Eid holiday to debate whether to allow Turkish troops to attack militant bases in Kurdistan – with or without permission from the Kurdistan Regional Government, the Iraqi federal government, or the US.Turkey has lost 15 soldiers in the past weeks to attacks from the Kurdistan Worker's Party (PKK), which is estimated to have around 3,000 fighters in the mountains of northern Iraq.Prime Minister Recep Tayyi

  • Turkey warns allies to act to prevent invasion

    Turkish Prime Minister Recep Erdogan has warned the US and Iraqi governments that they must take 'speedy steps' if they are to prevent a Turkish invasion of the Kurdish region of northern Iraq.US Secretary of State Condoleeza Rice has reportedly asked for 'a few days' to organise a response, following the deaths of 17 Turkish soldiers and 32 fighters from the Kurdistan Worker's Party (PKK) in clashes over the weekend.The fighting, which reportedly invol

  • Turkish invasion threat worries Baghdad

    Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki has called for 'urgent' talks with Ankara, after the Turkish parliament passed a resolution authorising a large-scale military incursion into Kurdistan.The move has been prompted by the deaths of 15 Turkish soldiers in the last fortnight as a result of attacks by the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK), which has about 3,000 fighters based in the Kurdistan mountains. The PKK has been waging a terror campaign against Turkey since the mid-198

  • Turkish parliament set to grant army right to enter North Iraq

    Ankara was set on 17 October to grant its army permission to enter northern Iraq, giving them the right to pursue Kurdish rebel fighters based there.Baghdad has stepped up diplomatic efforts to prevent any Turkish attack while Washington is strongly opposed to military action, fearing it will destabilise the north of the country, and possibly the wider region, by encouraging other neighbours such as Tehran to intervene.The imminent parliamentary vote wi

  • Twin bombs kill 19

    Two suicide bombs targeting a police chief and a tribal leader in the northern town of Baiji have killed 19 people and injured dozens more.The police chief, Saad al-Nifous, was unharmed by the bomb that exploded outside his house.It was unclear whether Thamer Ibrahim Atallah, a key figure in the Salahuddin Awakening Council, the coalition of tribes fighting al-Qaeda in Salahuddin Province, survived a second bomb which exploded outside his house minutes

  • Two bid for rail scheme

    Delta Capital Investments and Naeem Holding have submitted new financial offers for a pilot scheme for private investors to develop 12 railway stations in the Nile Delta and Alexandria areas. The Egyptian Company for Railway Projects and Transportation invited Naeem to bid after an original proposal from Arab African International Bank was disqualified. The stations will be developed for commercial use under a 20-25-year concession (MEED 10:8:07).

  • Two killed at US naval base

    Two US sailors were killed and a third was critically wounded during a shooting at a navy base in Bahrain, according to the US navy said.The incident was a 'domestic situation' and was not terror-related, the navy says. Officials closed the base temporarily, reopening it an hour later.The incident at the US Naval Support Activity base left two females dead and the alleged shooter, a male, wounded. The base, situated just outside the capital Manama, hous

  • Two killed by security firm

    Two killed by security firmAnger at the role of private security contractors in Iraq has deepened, following the killing of two women by a Dubai-based firm.The women were shot dead in their car in Baghdad on 9 October. Two children, who were travelling in the back seat of the vehicle, were unharmed.A spokesman for Unity Resources Group, an Australian-owned company based in the UAE, confirmed its employees had opened fire on the women'

  • UK to withdraw 1,000 troops this year

    Britain will bring 1,000 troops home from Iraq by the end of the year, Prime Minister Gordon Brown has announced.Speaking during his first visit to Baghdad since becoming prime minister in June, Brown said Basra province could soon be handed over to full Iraqi control. He added that he hoped 1,000 troops would be 'home by Christmas'.Britain currently has 5,500 soldiers in Basra province.'What we propose to do over t

  • UN nuclear team arrives in Tehran for talks

    The International Atomic Energy Agency's (IAEA) deputy director-general Olli Heinonen has met Iran's deputy nuclear negotiator, Javad Vaeedi in Tehran. The IAEA team is in the Iranian capital to discuss the country's controversial nuclear programme. In August, Tehran agreed to clarify the scope of its nuclear programme to the IAEA. A month later Iranian officials met their IAEA counterparts to discuss questions over centrifuges used in uranium enrichme

  • UN urged to pull out of quartet

    A UN envoy has urged the organisation to withdraw from the international quartet, which also includes the US, EU and Russia, which is set to mediate in the Middle East peace process.John Dugard, a rapporteur for the Palestinian territories says the UN is becoming compromised by its presence in the quartet for as long as Palestinian human rights continue to be undermined.He has warned of a possible new intifada if the situation in the West Bank and Gaza

  • UNHCR pressures Damascus over Iraqi refugees

    The UN refugee agency said on 5 October that it was putting pressure on Damascus to reopen its borders and grant Iraqis 'temporary protection'.Syria, which already has 1.4 million Iraqis, has reimposed rules barring entry to Iraqi refugees. The UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) said it was urging Damascus to allow Iraqis entry on humanitarian grounds, and had received verbal assurances that Iraqi refugees living there will not be forcibly sent home.

  • United bids low for pipes

    The local United Gulf Construction Company is low bidder at KD 9.7 million ($34.6 million) for the contract to install water effluent transfer pipelines between gathering centres 17, 27 and 28 and the Minagish water injection plant in west Kuwait. The second best offer of KD 10 million ($36 million) was submitted by Kuwait Controls Company. Ten other contractors priced the work. The client is Kuwait Oil Company (MEED 10:8:07).

  • United wins pipeline deal

    The local United Gulf Construction Company has won a contract worth KD 2 million ($7.2 million) to build a gas pipeline between booster station 140 and the GCMB manifold. The work covers the installation of a 30-inch high-pressure pipeline. The client is state upstream operator Kuwait Oil Company.

  • University breaks ground

    Work has started on the King Abdullah University of Science and Technology at Thuwal, north of Jeddah, with a groundbreaking ceremony held on 21 October. The SR 10,000 million ($2,600 million) project has been designed by the US' HOK International. Three local firms, Saudi Binladin Group, Nesma & Partners and Saudi Oger, are working on site development, utilities and construction packages. The client is the Higher Education Ministry and Saudi Aramco.

  • US admits to civilian casualties in Al-Qaeda raid

    The US has admitted killing 15 women and children during an operation against insurgents north of Baghdad. The incident, which occurred on 11 October in the Lake Tharthar region, 120km north of the capital, was targeting a meeting thought to be taking place between leaders of Al-Qaeda.Some 19 suspected insurgents were killed but the assault is believed to be one of the biggest single incidents civilian casualties since the start of the war.

  • US places restrictions on security firms

    The US government has ordered tighter restrictions on security firms operating in Iraq, following a series of high-profile incidents in which civilians have been killed.The new regulations, which were recommended by a recent report into the role of security contractors, have been ordered by Secretary of State Condoleeza Rice.They clarify the rules of engagement for private security firms, bringing them into line with rules governing the military's use o

  • US sanctions put power station upgrade in doubt

    Khartoum's power sector is under increasing pressure from US sanctions imposed on the country, with plans to upgrade a power station in the north of the capital now in doubt. National Electricity Corporation (NEC) has had to retender a contract to upgrade the Khartoum North oil-fired power station in an industrial area of the capital, after an international company was forced to pull out.Under US pressure, Europe's ABB, which had been selected for an engineering, procurement and construc

  • US says it will back freely elected president

    The US Ambassador to Lebanon has said the US will give its backing to a freely-elected Lebanese presidential candidate who is chosen without foreign interference.In an undisguised warning against Syrian influence upon the election, Jeffrey Feltman warned that foreign pressure would not be accepted.'Our policy is simple and clear: The United States will support a president who is freely elected - without threat, interference or intimidation from any regi

  • US Treasury argues against naming firms in Sudan

    US Treasury official Adam Szubin said on 3 October that the US Congress should refrain from passing legislation that requires a list of companies doing business in Sudan to be drawn up.It claimed the move would alienate allies and could hurt international efforts to end violence in Darfur.Szubin, director of the Treasury's sanctions arm, the Office of Foreign Assets Control, said a list would consist of foreign companies whose activities in Sudan were p

  • Watchdog warns Tehran

    The Financial Action Task Force, a 34-country anti-money laundering group, has criticised Iran for its inadequate regulations to stem money laundering and terrorist financing. The group calls for urgent action by Tehran and says financial institutions in the country should enhance their due diligence procedures. The statement from the task force is expected to increase pressure on international banks to withdraw from Iran.

  • Water bid deadline nears

    Pre-qualified companies have until 22 October to submit bids for the eastern primary water transmission project. The USAid-funded project calls for construction of a new pump station at Zatary in Mafraq and the extension of a 48-kilometre-long pipeline to an existing reservoir at Hofa. The Water Authority of Jordan has prequalified Morganti Group, Parsons, Condotte America and American International Contractors.

  • Weeding out rogue elements

    Back in 2004, many visitors attending Dubai's annual real estate exhibition, Cityscape, were left wondering whether the emirate's real estate projects were a reality or just fantasy. One of the largest exhibits at the show was a new project known as the Jewel. The masterplan development promoted by the local company Yoharah featured replicas of famous world landmarks, such as New York's Statue of Liberty and Paris' Eiffel Tower. With these replicas in the car park outside the exhibition centre,

  • Welcome voices of reason in a sea of ignorance and spite

    Those seeking sense in the world have been encouraged by 'A common word between us and you', an open letter signed by 138 Islamic scholars that was sent to Christian leaders on the final day of Ramadan on 11 October.

  • Whitesea orders tug boats

    Sharjah-based offshore services company Whitesea Shipping and Supply has placed a $120 million order for six new tug supply vessels. The boats will be built by Astillero Rio Santiago of Argentina and delivered within three years. Whitesea says it will dispose of some older vessels. The boats will be capable of pulling 100 tonnes and will be deployed in the Gulf, West Africa, and East Asia.

  • Winter supply concerns push prices higher

    Oil prices continued to edge toward record highs, buoyed by speculation that US stockpiles fell last week. In turn, rising prices sparked concern that the market would tighten further during the peak winter demand season.Brent crude traded at $78.09 on 3 October, close to its record high of $78.64 in August 2006, and up by almost $0.50 from the same period in the previous week.Investment bank Barclays Capital says the latest survey of Opec production shows output from the group i

  • Work starts on Jumeirah

    Foundations works have started on two projects by High Rise Real Estate at Jumeirah Village in Dubai. The local Atlas Foundations has been awarded the piling, shoring and excavation works for the Rotating tower. The local National Piling Company has been awarded the contract for Wave Business Towers. The local Dimensions Engineering is the consultant for both schemes (MEED 29:9:06).

  • Working for a common goal

    The US dollar, long held as a benchmark currency and vital component of the world economy, is reaching new lows by the day. The US Federal Reserve has cut interest rates in order to encourage borrowing that it hopes will sustain growth and ward off the threat of recession, as the shockwaves from the sub-prime mortgage crisis reverberate around the world.

  • World Bank studies roads

    The International Finance Corporation, an arm of the World Bank, is carrying out feasibility studies for road projects to be developed under a public-private partnership scheme. The six-month study is due to be completed by February 2008. Depending on the results, private investors could be invited to upgrade three roads - Alexandria-Cairo, Port Said-Marsa Matrouh and Banha-Zagazig - into freeways. The private investor will use tolls and roadside advertising to raise revenue (MEED 13:7:07).

  • WorleyParsons wins Mesaieed

    Australia's WorleyParsons has beaten the US' Mustang Engineering to win the front-end engineering and design (FEED) contract for the $200 million gas sweetening facilities integrated project at Mesaieed.

  • WorleyParsons wins services deal

    Australia's WorleyParsons has won the five-year contract, worth KD 87 million ($311 million), to provide in-house project management services to Kuwait Oil Company (KOC).The contract covers the provision of consultancy services to KOC, including the front-end engineering and design work for its major future projects, as well as project supervision.WorleyParsons was low bidder for the work when bids were submitted in August, beating the US' Fluor Corporation and the UK's Amec (MEE

  • Yanbu city plan introduces innovative approach to risk

    Elements of a new approach towards project risk have emerged on the plan for a new independent water and power project (IWPP) for Yanbu industrial city.A request for qualifications was recently issued to international developers in which the client, The Power & Water Utility Company for Jubail and Yanbu (Marafiq), said the developers would assume the demand risk on the plant's output.Normally the company set up by the client to buy the output, in this case Newco, takes on the

  • Zain launches country-wide wireless broadband

    Zain, the Kuwaiti mobile phone operator, has launched one of the world's first nationwide wireless broadband networks in Bahrain.The operator is using Wimax, a type of wireless internet technology that can transmit data over long distances, to provide broadband connections to homes that have no access to a fixed-line network.Customers who sign up to the wireless internet service will also be able to make phone calls over the Wimax network. Zain is also

  • Zain lobbies for phone watchdog

    Zain is calling on the Kuwait government to set up an independent telecoms regulator.'We would very much like to see the government and the legislators work together to establish a regulatory body to ensure a fair and equitable playing field for all parties,' says Khalid al-Omar, acting chief executive officer of the local subsidiary of Zain.Kuwait is the only member of the GCC without its own telecoms regulator.Zain, which started in Kuwait, also has operations in Ba

  • Zain lobbies for phone watchdog

    Zain is calling on the Kuwait government to set up an independent telecoms regulator.

  • Zamil wins $16m contracts

    The local Zamil Air Conditioners, a subsidiary of Zamil Industrial, has won SR 62 million ($16 million) worth of air conditioning contracts. The Dammam-based firm is supplying equipment to the Rabigh Development Project, the Saline Water Conversion Corporation, oil facilities in the Eastern Region, and several projects run by the Royal Commission for Jubail & Yanbu.

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