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MEED
November 2006

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  • 100,000 dead in Iraq, says health minister

    Iraqi Health Minister Ali al-Shamari on 10 November said between 100,000 and 150,000 Iraqi civilians had been killed since the coalition invasion in March 2003. The figure is based on the number of casualties brought to hospitals and mortuaries every day. Al-Shamari said 100 bodies are delivered on a daily basis. On 9 November, the head of Baghdad's central mortuary said the bodies of up to 60 victims of violence arrive every day at the facility.In October, a US study esti

  • 100,000 dead in Iraq, says health minister

    Iraqi Health Minister Ali al-Shamari on 10 November said between 100,000 and 150,000 Iraqi civilians had been killed since the coalition invasion in March 2003. The figure is based on the number of casualties brought to hospitals and mortuaries every day. Al-Shamari said 100 bodies are delivered on a daily basis. On 9 November, the head of Baghdad's central mortuary said the bodies of up to 60 victims of violence arrive every day at the facility.

  • Abu Dhabi caps rent as Dubai prices soars

    Abu Dhabi has placed a 7 per cent cap on rent increases in the emirate in an attempt to prevent Dubai-style property inflation. In a decree issued on 6 November, UAE President and Abu Dhabi ruler Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed al-Nahyan announced the cap on both commercial and residential property in Abu Dhabi.

  • Abu Dhabi speeds reforms

    The government of Abu Dhabi's plans to implement one of the most comprehensive economic restructuring programmes in the Middle East are vital for the emirate to remain competitive in the era of globalisation, says chairman of the Abu Dhabi Department of Planning & Economy Sheikh Hamed bin Zayed al Nahyan.

  • Abu Dhabi tech fund makes debut deals

    The Abu Dhabi government's $250 million Masdar clean tech fund will complete three transactions by the end of the year. The fund is targeting stakes in companies developing alternative, renewable and sustainable energy technologies, including solar and water initiatives in the US, Europe and Asia. The fund has already completed one investment and is in the final stages of negotiating a further two. It will also invest $75 million in other clean technology funds and is expected to undertake 20-25

  • Abu Dhabi to step up capacity additions

    Abu Dhabi Water & Electricity Authority (ADWEA) is preparing for a new round of power capacity additions.

  • Abu Dhabi to step up capacity additions

    Abu Dhabi Water & Electricity Authority (ADWEA) is preparing for a new round of power capacity additions.Speaking at the MEED Abu Dhabi Conference 2006 on 12 November, director of privatisation Abdulla Saif al-Nuaimi said that final approval is expected by the end of November for the 250-MW extension of the Taweelah independent water and power project (IWPP). He also said that the release of the request for proposals (RFP) package is imminent for the utility's seventh IWPP, the 2,000

  • Abyaar hires NorthCourse

    Abyaar Real Estate Development , a joint venture of Aayan Leasing & Investment Company and Al-Rashdan Group , both Kuwaiti, has appointed the UK's NorthCourse Leisure Real Estate Solutions to help manage the company's property portfolio in Dubai (MEED 15:9:06).

  • African leaders meet over Darfur in Libya

    Four Arab and African leaders convened in Tripoli on 21 November for a summit on the conflict in Darfur. Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi is hosting the meeting between Egyptian President Mubarak, Sudanese President Al-Bashir, Chadian President Deby and Eritrean President Aferwerki. Central African Republic President Bozize is also due to take part. This is the African summit on the crisis to be held in Libya. Discussions will focus on ways to bolster the 7,000-strong African

  • African leaders meet over Darfur in Libya

    Four Arab and African leaders convened in Tripoli on 21 November for a summit on the conflict in Darfur. Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi is hosting the meeting between Egyptian President Mubarak, Sudanese President Al-Bashir, Chadian President Deby and Eritrean President Aferwerki. Central African Republic President Bozize is also due to take part. This is the African summit on the crisis to be held in Libya. Discussions will focus on ways to bolst

  • Ahli United Bank aims to launch Islamic service

    Ahli United Bank (AUB) is planning to open an Islamic window in Bahrain in the next two years to meet growing demand in the kingdom for sharia-compliant banking services. The bank will also offer murabaha (sharia-compliant) loans and Islamic commodities trading services.

  • Airport firms shortlisted

    Egyptian Holding Company for Airports & Air Navigation (EHCAAN) has shortlisted four international consortiums for the contract to carry out the modernisation of the Borg el-Arab airport. They are the local Arabco with Japan's Kajima, Japan's Taisei with Turkey's TAV, Lebanon's Consolidated Contractors Company with the US' Morganti Group and Belgium's Besix with the local Orascom Heavy Industries.The estimated $75 million project calls for the construction of a new terminal with capacity

  • Airport firms shortlisted

    Egyptian Holding Company for Airports & Air Navigation (EHCAAN) has shortlisted four international consortiums for the contract to carry out the modernisation of the Borg el-Arab airport. They are the local Arabco with Japan's Kajima, Japan's Taisei with Turkey's TAV, Lebanon's Consolidated Contractors Company with the US' Morganti Group and Belgium's Besix with the local Orascom Heavy Industries.The estimated $75 million project calls for the construction of a new terminal with capac

  • Airport operator deal nears

    Abu Dhabi Airports Company (ADAC) is close to bringing on board an international company to operate Abu Dhabi International Airport for the first time. Speaking at the MEED Abu Dhabi 2006 conference, ADAC chairman and managing director Khalifa Mohammed al-Mazrouie said the appointment was the first in a series of outsourcing initiatives aimed at raising efficiency and standards at the airport. 'By 2010, we will have a world-class airport in Abu Dhabi,' he said. 'To make the most of it, we will n

  • Al-Babtain offering flies

    The initial public offering (IPO) of shares in Al-Babtain Power & Telecommunication Company closed in mid-November about three times oversubscribed. For sale were 8.1 million shares priced at SR 10 ($2.67) each.

  • ALGERIA

    Expressions of interest. Drawing up a schedule of conditions for the setting up of an integrated budgetary management system as part of the budget system modernisation project. Financed by the World Bank.

  • ALGERIA

    Expressions of interest. Provision of technical assistance for general piloting as part of the budget system modernisation project. Financed by the World Bank.

  • ALGERIA: Lowering its horizons

    A little more than 18 months ago, state energy company Sonatrach launched plans to develop a comprehensive range of worldscale facilities intended to put the country back on the petrochemicals map after years of decline. The early signs were positive. Expressions of interest flooded in from some of the biggest international players in the sector, and the wholesale changes promised by the new hydrocarbons law of July 2005 helped to create a sense of optimism and forward momentum. Foreign atten

  • Algiers clears foreign debt

    Algiers settled its outstanding international debt to the Paris Club group of creditor countries in mid-November, with payments of $620 million to the US and $387 million to Germany.

  • Ali Moosa plans tower

    Sharjah-based Ali Moosa & Sons plans to build a AED 300 million ($82 million) commercial tower in Jumeirah Village south. Known as A1 Tower, the 45-storey tower will have a built-up area of 38,100 square metres and will have four external columns arching inwards to the top of the building. The local Dimensions Engineering is the consultant. Ali Moosa has a total of 33 plots at Jumeirah Village, of which 27 will be four-storey residential buildings, while five will be commercial and one will be a

  • Almabani wins airbase job

    The local Almabani General Contractors has been awarded the SR 153 million ($40 million) contract to build a new runway and taxiway at Prince Sultan military airbase at Al-Kharaj, about 100 kilometres from Riyadh. The 18-month contract centres on the construction of a four-kilometre runway with a width of 60 metres, a taxiway and associated facilities. The client is the Royal Saudi Air Force.

  • Al-Oula prepares Al-Khobar tower

    The local Al-Oula Development Company is planning to build the largest tower in Al-Khobar on the kingdom's east coast. The estimated SR 1,000 million ($272 million) project is one of several schemes proposed in the city as investors look to tap into the relatively undeveloped area.

  • Al-Qudra forms subsidiary

    The local Al-Qudra Holding has launched a subsidiary that will specialise in building greenfield factories. Q Industry is a joint venture of Al-Qudra, Doha-based Qatar Industrial Manufacturing Company, the local Emirates Holding, Dubai Investments, also local, and Kuwait's Mohammed Abdulmohsin Kharafi & Sons. The company's initial focus will be chemical and pharmaceutical materials, plastic and metal production, machinery and other building materials, as well as the food and beverages industry i

  • Al-Raha dredging extended

    Local real estate developer Aldar Properties has extended the scope of the dredging contract awarded to Belgium's Dredging International in January on its Al-Raha Beach development.The contract has been revised following a recent land acquisition and approval to adjust the borrow area limits. The extension involves the dredging and placement of an additional 15 million cubic metres with an estimated value of AED 340 million ($93 million).The original contract call

  • Al-Raha dredging extended

    Local real estate developer Aldar Properties has extended the scope of the dredging contract awarded to Belgium's Dredging International in January on its Al-Raha Beach development.

  • Al-Saad kicks off project

    The local Al-Saad General Contracting Company has been awarded a SR 100 million ($27 million) contract to build a new sports complex in Wadi al-Dawasser, south of Riyadh. The scheme centres on the construction of an outdoor stadium, football pitch, track and field facilities, medical centre, swimming pool and gymnasium. The total built-up area is 14,701 square metres. Construction will take 24 months to complete. The client is the Directorate of Youth Welfare.

  • Al-Sham debut hits the market

    The initial public offering of shares in the local Al-Sham Bank was launched in mid-November and will close on 7 December. On offer are 250,000 shares priced at£Syr 1,000 ($20) each, representing 25 per cent of the Islamic bank's capital. The transaction is open to local investors and Syrian expatriates in Kuwait. Subscription will be through Bank Audi Syria, which is also the international underwriter.

  • Al-Sharq plans towers

    Saudi-based Al-Sharq Development plans to build two commercial towers at Business Bay. Hong Kong-based P&T Architects & Engineers is the consultant for a 28-storey tower with a built-up area of 6,000 square metres. A team of New York-based Hillier Architecture, UK-based WSP and the local Dewan Architects & Engineers is the consultant for a 29-storey tower with a built-up area of 71,000 square metres.

  • Al-Siddiq to be revamped

    Combined Group and United Gulf Construction Company (UGCC), both local, have submitted the lowest bids for two infrastructure works contracts in the South Surra district of Kuwait City. Combined Group is low bidder at KD 11.5 million ($40 million) for the Al-Siddiq area one contract, while UGCC has submitted an offer of KD 7.9 million ($27 million) for the Al-Siddiq area two contract. The client, the Ministry of Public Works, is expected to make an award in early 2007 (MEED 8:9:06).

  • AL-ZOUR REFINERY: Site reserved

    If all goes to plan, bids are due to be submitted on 3 December for the four main packages on the largest project ever developed in the state, the 615,000-barrel-a-day (b/d) grassroots refinery at Al-Zour. But the event has been dampened somewhat by a counter claim over the use of the site plot. In October, it emerged that onshore Divided Zone operator on the Saudi Arabian side Saudi Arabian Texaco (SAT) had lodged a protest with Kuwait Municipality over the use of the land for the new refinery.

  • Amman aims to make its shale viable

    The Natural Resources Authority (NRA) has signed three memorandums of understanding with local and international companies for feasibility studies into the commercial viability of surface oil shale deposits in the Al-Lajoun block in the west.

  • Amoun sale wrapped-up

    The local Amoun Pharmaceuticals signed on 7 November an agreement to sell a 93 per cent stake to the all-US consortium of Citigroup, Concord International and Capital International in a deal worth£E 2,600 million ($451 million). The transaction will be effective from early December and will pave the way for the planned expansion of the existing Amoun Holding Company for Financial Investments (MEED 29:9:06).

  • An Olympian task

    'Not many people know that Qatar has won the men's Asian Games 100 metres title three times in a row,' says Abdulla Khalid al-Qahtani. 'But everyone remembers [Qatari athlete] Mohammed Sulaiman winning bronze in the 1,500 metres at the 1992 Olympics in Barcelona. That is the difference between the Asian Games and the Olympics.'

  • Annan holds Darfur meeting

    Outgoing UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan on 16 November convened a meeting of officials from the UN Security Council, the EU, Arab League and African Union (AU) in an effort to persuade Khartoum to accept a peacekeeping force made up of AU and UN troops in Darfur. As officials met in Addis Ababa, Khartoum told UN humanitarian chief Jan Egeland that the security situation was too fragile for him to visit all his planned destinations in Darfur. A day earlier, vice-president

  • Apache tests gas well

    The US' Apache Corporation has announced the successful testing of a wildcat well in its Khalda concession in the Western Desert. The Kahraman B-22 well, 29 kilometres north of the Qasr field, was drilled to 13,822 feet and tested at 16 million cubic feet of gas a day and 486 barrels of condensate a day. Kahraman B-22 is the ninth well to be drilled in Khalda.

  • Applicants line up for Maaden utility work

    At least 20 companies have submitted prequalification applications for the contract to build the Ras al-Zour power and desalination plant, planned by Saudi Arabian Mining Company (Maaden). The prequalification shortlist, along with the tender, will be issued soon (MEED 14:7:06). The captive plant will have capacity of 160 MW and 30,000 cubic metres a day of desalination, using multi-effect distillation technology. Saudi Aramco will supply crude feedstock.

  • Arab Bank in new venture

    Arab Bank is awaiting approval from the Dubai International Financial Centre Authority (DIFCA) for the establishment of a regulated investment banking subsidiary, called Arab Bank Capital (ABCapital). The venture received an unregulated licence when it was majority-owned by Amman-based Injaz. Arab Bank subsequently acquired Injaz's 60 per cent shareholding, while the remainder is owned by private investors. Paid-up capital is $10 million and the process of recruiting a management team is under w

  • Arab ministers break Palestinian embargo

    Arab foreign affairs ministers at an emergency meeting of the Arab League on 12 November announced they would break the embargo on the Palestinian government. The session convened shortly after the US vetoed a UN Security Council resolution condemning Israeli action in Gaza.The ministers said they would find a way to circumvent the Western-led boycott. 'Arab banks are to transfer the funds without abiding by any restrictions imposed on the banks,' said Amr Moussa, secretar

  • Arab ministers break Palestinian embargo

    Arab foreign affairs ministers at an emergency meeting of the Arab League on 12 November announced they would break the embargo on the Palestinian government. The session convened shortly after the US vetoed a UN Security Council resolution condemning Israeli action in Gaza.The ministers said they would find a way to circumvent the Western-led boycott. 'Arab banks are to transfer the funds without abiding by any restrictions imposed on the banks,

  • Arab states consider nuclear power

    Rising energy demand behind plans from several regional countries to develop nuclear powerAt least six Arab countries are developing domestic nuclear power programmes in order to diversify energy sources over the medium-to-long term and to combat a growing shortage of natural gas.'Some Middle East states, including Egypt, Morocco, Algeria and Saudi Arabia, have shown initial interests to use nuclear power primarily for [water] desalination purposes,'

  • Arab states consider nuclear power

  • Arab states consider nuclear power options, says IAEA

    At least six Arab countries are developing domestic nuclear power programmes in order to diversify energy sources over the medium-to-long term and to combat a growing shortage of natural gas.

  • Arabian awarded record contract

    The local/Lebanese Arabian Construction Company (ACC) has signed the biggest building contract ever placed in Abu Dhabi. The estimated AED 2,000 million ($545 million) contract covers construction of the Etihad towers, a mixed-use development on a site opposite the Emirates Palace hotel.

  • Arabian awarded record contract

    The local/Lebanese Arabian Construction Company (ACC) has signed the biggest building contract ever placed in Abu Dhabi. The estimated AED 2,000 million ($545 million) contract covers construction of the Etihad towers, a mixed-use development on a site opposite the Emirates Palace hotel.The project will have a built-up area of about 500,000 square metres. It will comprise five towers ranging in height from 50-75 floors. Three will be residential, one will contain a hotel and serviced

  • Arabtec thrives on projects

    The local Arabtec Holding has posted consolidated profits of AED 159 million ($43 million) for the first nine months of 2006, up 85 per cent from AED 85.5 million ($23 million) for the period last year.

  • Arabtec wins Infinity tower

    The local Arabtec Construction has received a letter of intent for the estimated AED 700 million ($191 million) main construction contract for the Infinity tower project in Dubai Marina. The 303-metre tower will rotate through 90 degrees (MEED 20:10:06).

  • Aramco awards onshore work to Foster Wheeler

    Saudi Aramco announced on 29 October the signing of the onshore project management consultancy and front-end engineering and design (FEED) services contract to the US' Foster Wheeler for the estimated $11,000 million Manifa oil field redevelopment in the Eastern Province.

  • Aramco embarks on gas exploration drive

    Saudi Aramco is embarking on a major exploration drive aimed at boosting gas reserves in the kingdom by more than 20 per cent over the next five years.Announcing the initiative, Aramco vice-president for exploration Abdulla al-Naim said the five-year programme to explore for associated and non-associated gas would involve the state-owned oil company drilling 307 new development wells, including 67 exploratory wells, in its existing production areas from 2007-11.Aramco will also b

  • Aramco set to retender seismic

    Saudi Aramco has put on hold the award of the 2D/3D seismic survey contract for the offshore Manifa field in the Eastern Province. Bids were submitted in late July for the three-year contract.

  • Arcapita picks its partner

    Locally-based Arcapita has concluded a conditional construction partnering agreement with the South African/local joint venture of Murray & Roberts Contractors (Middle East) and Nass Contracting for its estimated $100 million headquarters project.

  • Argentina issues Rafsanjani arrest warrant

    An Argentine court issued arrest warrants for former Iranian president Ali Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani and eight other former Iranian officials over the bombing of Buenos Aires Jewish Centre in 1994. Tehran has dismissed the charge, calling it a 'Zionist plot'.Buenos Aires has accused Tehran of ordering Lebanon's Hezbollah to implement the attack, which left 85 people dead and 300 more wounded. An attack on the Israeli embassy in Buenos Aires in 1992, which killed 29 people,

  • Argentina issues Rafsanjani arrest warrant

    An Argentine court issued arrest warrants for former Iranian president Ali Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani and eight other former Iranian officials over the bombing of Buenos Aires Jewish Centre in 1994. Tehran has dismissed the charge, calling it a 'Zionist plot'.Buenos Aires has accused Tehran of ordering Lebanon's Hezbollah to implement the attack, which left 85 people dead and 300 more wounded. An attack on the Israeli embassy in Buenos Aires in 199

  • Arig profits fall, but takaful arm starts strongly

    Bahrain-based Arab Insurance Group (Arig) has posted a 2 per cent fall in net profits for the first nine months of 2006. Arig blamed the fall to $12.9 million, down from was blamed on increased price competition in its non-life reinsurance business. In Arig's core Middle East and North Africa (MENA) market, facultative premium rates, particularly in property and engineering, declined by 5-10 per cent, while in the Far East primary premium rates have slumped by some 20 per cent since the start of

  • Army centre work begins

    A team of the US' American International Contractors (AIC) and Italy's Condotte d'Acqua have started work on a new military training centre for the Royal Jordanian Army Corps of Engineers near Amman. The scope of works involves the construction of houses and warehouses on a five-square-kilometre plot. The centre is expected to take 24 months to complete. A team of AIC, the US' Syska Hennessy Group and Geneva-registered Archirodon Construction Overseas has also started work on the King Abdullah I

  • Ashghal awaits pump bids

    Contractors are preparing bids for two separate pump station contracts, being tendered by the Public Works Authority (Ashghal). Bids are due on 28 November for the $30 million-40 million contract for the construction of pump station 25 in the diplomatic area of Doha. The project involves construction of a 3,300-litre-a-second pump station, tankage and two 1,200 millimetre-diameter rising mains. The second tender, for which bids are due on 7 November, is for phase 6 of the pump station refurbishm

  • At least 140 dead in Baghdad blasts

    At least 140 were killed by a series of explosions in the Shia Sadr City district of Baghdad on 23 November. The death toll is one of the worst since the US-led invasion of Iraq began in 2003. The attacks took place as gunmen lay siege to the Health Ministry in the capital. Media reports said the armed men were probably Sunni Muslims. 'Terrorists are attacking the building with mortars, machinegun fire and we can even see snipers,' deputy health minister Hakim Zamili told

  • AUB closes record loan

    Ahli United Bank (AUB) has signed a $1,200 million syndicated loan with a group of 50 banks. The facility was more than doubled in size from $500 million because of the level of subscription making it the largest ever syndicated loan for a financial institution in the region.

  • Austrian Airlines leads way to Irbil

    Austrian Airlines will begin twice-weekly services to Irbil International Airport from 11 December. The airline, which had originally planned to commence flights in March, will become the first major European carrier to begin flights to the country since the fall of Saddam Hussein's regime.

  • Authority passes beet plant for Nuberiya area

    The Industrial Development Authority approved in early November a proposal from a number of local investors to build a new sugar beet plant in the Nuberiya industrial area.

  • Awards flow on Pearl GTL

    Three more contract awards have been confirmed on the integrated Pearl GTL scheme. The client, the Royal Dutch/Shell Group, has placed the pipelines, tankage and temporary power supply packages.

  • Awards flow on Pearl GTL

    Three more contract awards have been confirmed on the integrated Pearl GTL scheme. The client, the Royal Dutch/Shell Group, has placed the pipelines, tankage and temporary power supply packages.

  • Azzawiya project remains on track

    The bidding process for the contract to rehabilitate the 120,000-barrel-a-day Azzawiya refinery is still on track, Azzawiya Oil Refining Company chairman Mohamed Nacr told MEED on 21 November.'We are still dealing with the last two contractors [Germany's] Uhde and [the Indian team of] Engineers India [EIL] and Punj Lloyd,' he said.'We are following normal procedure there are two bidders left and one of them will be the winner. The bids are under review by the tender committee and the w

  • Baathists to return to government

    Former Baath Party officials will again be allowed to take up government jobs, Ali al-Lamy, the head of the Supreme National Council for De-Baathification said on 7 November. 'The law will allow Baathists to return to their offices but not allow them the ideology of the banned Baath party,' he said. 'We consider those who insist on remaining in the Baath Party to be terrorist elements.' The predominantly Sunni activists were stripped of their positions following the US-led invasion in 20

  • Bahrainis target Egyptian bank

    Bahrain Islamic Bank (BIB) has submitted a request to the Central Bank of Egypt to carry out due diligence on Arab Investment Bank (AIB) with a view to acquiring a majority stake. 'Pending approval from the Egyptian authorities, we will conduct due diligence and then a feasibility study before deciding whether or not to make an offer,' says a BIB official.

  • Bahwan eyes fertiliser plant

    A group of state-owned Sonatrach with Oman's Bahwan Group has completed an initial study for a proposed world-scale fertiliser and urea complex to be built at Arzew in the northwest. Estimated to cost $1,500 million, the facility will have capacity of 4,000 tonnes a day (t/d) of ammonia and 7,000 t/d of urea.

  • Bandar Abbas bids opened

    National Iranian Oil Engineering Company (NIOEC) has opened five commercial bids for the Bandar Abbas condensates refinery project, which has been estimated at about $1,000 million. The client is adjusting the prices to the different technical levels of each proposal and project sources say a winner could be selected by the end of November (MEED 13:10:06).

  • BANKING: Cautious reforms

    There is a joke among Kuwait's banking community that 47 printing stamps are kept by the Central Bank of Kuwait (CBK), each bearing the word 'no' in a different language.

  • Banks target refinery work

    A shortlist of banks has been drawn up for the financial advisory mandate on the merger of Oman Refinery Company (ORC) with Sohar Refinery Company (SRC). The selected institution will also advise on the refinancing of the company's outstanding debt of some $1,400 million.

  • Batelco finalises loan

    Bahrain Telecommunications Company (Batelco) is close to finalising an arranging mandate with Arab Banking Corporation and Standard Chartered Bank for a short-term syndicated loan. The size of the facility is expected to be about $300 million.

  • Batelco makes wireless bid

    Bahrain Telecommunications Company (Batelco) has confirmed its intention to bid for one of the two national fixed wireless services (NFWS) licences being offered by the Telecommunications Regulatory Authority. Bids are due on 28 November, with the winners due to be announced on 13 December (MEED 13:10:06).

  • Batelco makes wireless bid

    Bahrain Telecommunications Company (Batelco) has confirmed its intention to bid for one of the two national fixed wireless services (NFWS) licences being offered by the Telecommunications Regulatory Authority. Bids are due on 28 November, with the winners due to be announced on 13 December (MEED 13:10:06).'We believe that the proposed NFWS licence will be complementary to our existing fixed and wireless services in Bahrain, as well as to our recently announced plans to launch nationw

  • Bechtel ends Iraqi operations

    The San Francisco-based Bechtel has completed work under its last contract in Iraq and will now leave the country, Cliff Mumm, president of infrastructure, told the San Francisco Chronicle newspaper in an interview published on 1 November. The engineering company was contracted by the US government to help rebuild Iraqi infrastructure after the coalition invasion and occupation in March 2003. Since 2003, 52 of the company's employees have been killed and 49 wounded in Iraq

  • Beirut downgraded

    Moody's Investors Service has downgraded Beirut's foreign currency government bond rating from stable to negative. The downgrade follows the resignations of six ministers from the cabinet on 11 and 13 November and the assassination of Industry Minister Pierre Gemayel on 21 November. 'The resignations by the ministers, most of whom were Shia, has undermined the government's standing, further calling into question its ability to maintain political stability or implement much-needed economic ref

  • Beirut to replace refineries

    Qatar Petroleum International (QPI), the investment arm of Qatar Petroleum (QP),will design, build and operate Beirut's first new refinery in 14 years on a 25-year build-operate-transfer concession, officials at the Higher Council for Privatisation (HCP) have told MEED.

  • Beit Hanoun mourns 18 dead

    The bodies of the 18 Palestinians killed in an Israeli tank assault in the Gazan town of Beit Hanoun were buried on 9 November after being carried through crowds of thousands of mourners. A day earlier, Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert said the deaths were the result of a technical failure and Tel Aviv has since halted artillery strikes on Gaza while it carries out an investigation into the deaths. However, Israeli Public Security Minister Avi Dichter said the operations

  • Beit Hanoun mourns 18 dead

    The bodies of the 18 Palestinians killed in an Israeli tank assault in the Gazan town of Beit Hanoun were buried on 9 November after being carried through crowds of thousands of mourners. A day earlier, Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert said the deaths were the result of a technical failure and Tel Aviv has since halted artillery strikes on Gaza while it carries out an investigation into the deaths. However, Israeli Public Security Minister Avi

  • Berger wins southern reconstruction

    The US' Louis Berger Group has won a contract worth up to $700 million to rebuild infrastructure in Southern Sudan. The five-year contract is part of the Sudan infrastructure services project being implemented by the US Agency for International Development (USAID).The scope of works will cover the reconstruction and rehabilitation of roads, water and sanitation networks, public buildings and power in Southern Sudan, Abyei, the Blue Nile state and Southern Kordofan.'It's a task o

  • Bid extension for Sirhan

    The Natural Resources Authority has extended to 19 November the date for international companies to submit proposals for an oil and gas licensing bid round for the North and South Sirhan blocks. The blocks cover a total area of 11,610 square kilometres in the east and will be awarded on the basis of 25-year exploration and production sharing agreements (EPSAs). The deadline to submit proposals for the contract to provide consultancy advice on a new databank was also extended to 31 October (MEED

  • Bids come in for new UAE University campus project

    At least five groups have submitted bids for a construction package covering phases 1-3 on the new UAE University campus project in Al-Ain. The contract involves the construction of the majority of the buildings.

  • Bids considered on Sokhna work

    The Al-Sokhna Port Development Company (SPDC) is evaluating bids for two construction contracts worth a total of about $60 million. Five companies have submitted offers for the contract to dredge the port to a depth of 17 metres. They include Ballast Ham Dredging and Royal Boskalis Westminster, both of the Netherlands, and Belgium's Dredging International.

  • Bids in for Al-Jalamid mine

    Saudi Arabian Mining Company (Maaden) received bids on 31 October from about six companies for the five-year contract to operate Al-Jalamid phosphate mine. The scope of works on the estimated $200 million mining services contract covers earthworks, drilling and blasting to move about 25 million tonnes a year of overburden and phosphate rock (MEED 21:7:06).

  • Bids in for met building

    The Presidency of Meteorology & Environment has received bids from three local contractors to build its new headquarters in Jeddah. The local Al-Angari Trading Establishment is low bidder at SR 189 million ($50 million), followed by Almabani General Contractors at SR 213 million ($57 million) and Saudi Binladin Group at SR 224 million ($60 million).

  • Bids in for Safra expansion

    Bid evaluation is under way at Safra Company for the main process contract on its estimated $400 million second-phase aromatics plant in Yanbu. A contract award is due in early January (MEED 9:9:05).

  • Bids near on Jabal al-Kabaa mega hotel

    Local property developer Abdul Latif Jameel Real Estate Investment Company has prequalified 10 local contractors for its proposed 1,800-room hotel in Mecca. The project is the first phase of the multi-million dollar Jabal al-Kabaa development, northeast of the Haram Mosque (MEED 21:4:06).

  • Bids near on Jabal al-Kabaa mega hotel

    Local property developer Abdul Latif Jameel Real Estate Investment Company has prequalified 10 local contractors for its proposed 1,800-room hotel in Mecca. The project is the first phase of the multi-million dollar Jabal al-Kabaa development, northeast of the Haram Mosque (MEED 21:4:06).Valued at SR 500 million ($133 million), the four-star hotel will have a built-up area of about 120,000 square metres.The main construction tender had been held up while the client se

  • Bids submitted for Jeddah airport desal

    The General Authority of Civil Aviation (GACA) received bids on 1 November from about six groups for the build-operate-transfer (BOT) concession to develop a 30,000-cubic-metre-day desalination plant to supply potable water to King Abdulaziz International Airport in Jeddah (MEED 31:3:06).

  • Bids submitted for minerals railway

    The Public Investment Fund will complete technical evaluations by late November for the first three construction packages on the 2,400-kilometre-long north-south railway project after receiving bids on 30 October. In total, 12 consortiums priced the contracts, although only eight priced all three packages. The rail project aims to transport phosphates from the Al-Jalamid deposit and bauxite from the Al-Zabirah deposit, both northwest of Riyadh (MEED 8:9:06).

  • Bioheart allocated funds

    A US medical fund targeting the healthcare sector has closed its first transaction in the region.

  • Block 24 exploration done

    China's BGP has completed seismic studies in block 24 in the east. 'A minimum of two wells will be drilled to depths of 2,400 metres each by the end of November,' says a source at Dallas-based Improved Petroleum Recovery International (IPR), the operator of the block (MEED 19:9:03).

  • Blue City bond booked

    The $925 million bond financing for the first phase of The Blue City (Al-Madinat al-Zarqa) mixed-use residential and tourism project has been completed. ~Bear Sterns International~ arranged the financing and ~Clifford Chance~ and ~Shearman & Sterling~ acted as legal advisers on the bond, which is the first of 10 financing phases. The joint lead managers and joint bookrunners were Bear Sterns, ~Credit Suisse Securities~ and ~Standard Chartered Bank~ with ~Shuaa Capital~ as a co-lead manager. ~Opp

  • Bomber targets wedding party

    At least 15 people were left dead and 19 injured on 31 October after a bomb targeting a wedding party hit a convoy of vehicles. The attack in Ur, outside Baghdad's Sadr City, came as residents of the area celebrated the lifting of a security cordon imposed on the predominantly Shia district. On the same day, 30 bus passengers were kidnapped by an armed group on a road going north out of Baghdad, after the bus driver was forced to stop at a fake checkpoint.

  • Bond hits the high road

    Roadshows were staged in London on 30-31 October and in Edinburgh on 1 November for the planned sterling-denominated bond issue by Abu Dhabi Commercial Bank. The tenor will be five years. Bank of America and Royal Bank of Scotland are the lead managers (MEED 27:10:06).

  • Borouge cracks on with Ruwais work

    Commercial bid evaluation is under way at Abu Dhabi Polymers Company (Borouge) for the cracker package on the multi-billion dollar expansion of the Ruwais petrochemical facilities. Technical bids have also recently been submitted for the polyethylene (PE) and polypropylene (PP) contract, while contractors are preparing to submit technical proposals by the end of November for the offsites and utilities (O&U) package.

  • Borouge cracks on with Ruwais work

    Commercial bid evaluation is under way at Abu Dhabi Polymers Company (Borouge) for the cracker package on the multi-billion dollar expansion of the Ruwais petrochemical facilities. Technical bids have also recently been submitted for the polyethylene (PE) and polypropylene (PP) contract, while contractors are preparing to submit technical proposals by the end of November for the offsites and utilities (O&U) package.

  • Brace of corporate syndications closed

    Abu Dhabi-based investment company International Capital Trading (ICT) and Saudi Arabia-based mobile phone retailer Itsalat International (I2) have made their debuts in the syndicated loan market, both signing deals in the UAE on 14 November.

  • Brace of corporate syndications closed

    Abu Dhabi-based investment company International Capital Trading (ICT) and Saudi Arabia-based mobile phone retailer Itsalat International (I2) have made their debuts in the syndicated loan market, both signing deals in the UAE on 14 November.

  • Bridge rights announced

    The winning consortium for the Saudi landbridge project will be given 50-year operational rights, the Council of Ministers announced on 21 November. The council also said that it would provide financial support to the successful consortium through a long-term grant. Requests for proposals on the planned $5,000 million Saudi landbridge rail project are due be issued by year-end. The client, Saudi Railway Organisation, has prequalified four consortiums. The project centres on the construction of a

  • Bu Attifel finally gets go-ahead

    Germany's MAN Ferrostaal and an Italian team led by Bonatti is low bidder for the contract to upgrade production facilities at the Bu Attifel oil field in the east Sirte basin, following the submission of bids by three shortlisted groups. The local/Italian client, Agip Oil, is expected to award the contract by the end of November.

  • Bubiyan begins third stage

    The Mega Projects Agency has invited interested companies to submit prequalification applications by 16 December for the third stage of the Bubiyan seaport project, covering the port infrastructure. Evaluation of applications is expected to take up to six months, with a tender likely to be issued in the second half of 2007.

  • Budget surplus balloons on booming oil revenues

    Soaring oil revenues more than doubled Riyadh's budget surplus in 2005 to SR 217,000 million, according to the annual report by the Saudi Arabian Monetary Agency (SAMA - central bank), released on 13 November. Nominal GDP expanded by about 24 per cent to SR 1,160,700 million.

  • Bush under pressure to speak to Tehran, Damascus

    Both Iran and Syria have said they are open to US overtures. 'If they [the US] really want to hold talks with Iran, they should officially propose it and then Iran will review it,' Iranian Foreign Affairs Ministry spokesperson Mohammed Ali Hosseini said on 13 November. US President Bush is under pressure to re-evaluate his policy on Iraq, following the victory of the Democratic Party in Congressional elections on 7 November. UK Prime Minister Tony Blair is due to call on 1

  • Bush under pressure to speak to Tehran, Damascus

    Both Iran and Syria have said they are open to US overtures. 'If they [the US] really want to hold talks with Iran, they should officially propose it and then Iran will review it,' Iranian Foreign Affairs Ministry spokesperson Mohammed Ali Hosseini said on 13 November. US President Bush is under pressure to re-evaluate his policy on Iraq, following the victory of the Democratic Party in Congressional elections on 7 November. UK Prime Minister Ton

  • Bushehr upgrade work tendered

    Bushehr Petrochemical Company (BPC) has issued two tenders for contracts to design and install three units at a new complex in Assaluyeh petrochemicals special economic zone. The first tender is for the engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) contract to install at the plant an 850,000-tonne-a-year (t/y) ethane recovery unit and a 670,000-t/y ethane cracker. The second is for the EPC contract to install a2 million-t/y methanol plant. Both contracts also cover the commissioning of the

  • Business leaders strike in Lebanon

    Lebanese business leaders on 24 November went on strike to protest against violence and political infighting. Factories, banks and financial institutions were ordered to close after a meeting between business leaders a day earlier. A statement by the striking parties called on the government and parliament to 'take national decisions... engage in dialogue and stop making threats of street protests'. Following the killing of Industry Minister Pierre Gemayel on 21 November,

  • Cable contract awarded

    Abu Dhabi Transmission and Despatch Company (Transco) has awarded the local Emirates Trading Agency (ETA) a contract worth AED 322 million ($88 million) to supply, install, test and commission 150 kilometres of 220-kV cable. The 36-month contract involves the replacement of 220-kV overhead lines with 220-kV underground cable.

  • Cairo opens technical bids for El-Tebbine steam plant

    Cairo Electricity Production Company (CEPC) has opened technical bids on a number of key works packages on its project to build a 700-MW steam power plant at El-Tebbine. An award is expected imminently for the steam generator package on the scheme.

  • Cairo opens technical bids for El-Tebbine steam plant

    Cairo Electricity Production Company (CEPC) has opened technical bids on a number of key works packages on its project to build a 700-MW steam power plant at El-Tebbine. An award is expected imminently for the steam generator package on the scheme.

  • Cairo plans Nile container ports

    Cairo is developing plans for at least five private container ports on the Nile. The River Transport Authority (RTA) is in negotiations with an international consultant for the contract to carry out a study on the scheme. It hopes to award the advisory contract in December.

  • Cairo takes final renewable steps

    The New & Renewable Energy Authority (NREA) is holding final contract negotiations and technical clarifications with Spain's Gamesa Energia for the contract to design and build the final 120-MW wind farm at its Zafarana base.The contract covers the design of the farm and the supply and installation of wind turbines, but excludes electrical and civil works. The project is being financed by the Danish International Development Agency (MEED 13:10:06).Gamesa Energia was also selected

  • Californians look at region

    The US's largest public pension fund is considering investing in the region. California Public Employees' Retirement System (Calpers) investment committee chairman Charles Valdes told the MEED Capital Markets conference that the fund is interested in investing in regional companies that comply with international corporate governance standards. Calpers is the retirement scheme for public employees of the state of California and has assets of about $215,000 million and 1.4 million members. Member

  • Cape Town taken over

    A consortium led by Dubai-based investment house Istithmar and the UK's London & Regional Properties has purchased the Victoria & Alfred Waterfront Company (VAWC) from South African government-owned Transnet for $1,000 million. A number of South African investors participated in the consortium that outbid at least 60 other interested parties. VAWC owns a mixed-use development in Cape Town that includes retail, hospitality, residential, office and entertainment facilities. Istithmar's sister comp

  • Capital names arrangers

    Arab Banking Corporation and Citigroup have been appointed mandated lead arrangers on a $50 million loan for Capital Bank of Jordan. The tenor is three years.

  • Carlyle comes to Dubai

    US-based private equity house The Carlyle Group has set up in Dubai. The buyout firm is one of the world's largest private equity players and has opened an office in the Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC). Paul Bagatelas is the group's managing director for investor relations and senior executive officer at the DIFC operation. He was a director at Credit Suisse in Dubai and Citigroup Private Bank in the emirate. The group has $44,300 million of assets under management and has invested $

  • CASE leads the way

    The Cairo & Alexandria Stock Exchanges (CASE) carried its steady autumn recovery into November, buoyed particularly by the banking and telecoms sectors. Corporate activity by market blue chips Telecom Egypt (TE) and Bank of Alexandria (BoA) encouraged investors. In October, TE increased its stake in Vodafone Egypt (VE), taking an additional 23.5 per cent of VE's shares in a deal worth£E 5,630 million ($981.5 million). Later in the month, Italy's Sanpaolo IMI won the auction for an 80 per cent

  • CASE leads the way

    The Cairo & Alexandria Stock Exchanges (CASE) carried its steady autumn recovery into November, buoyed particularly by the banking and telecoms sectors. Corporate activity by market blue chips Telecom Egypt (TE) and Bank of Alexandria (BoA) encouraged investors. In October, TE increased its stake in Vodafone Egypt (VE), taking an additional 23.5 per cent of VE's shares in a deal worth£E 5,630 million ($981.5 million). Later in the month, Italy's Sanpaolo IMI won the auction for an 80 per cent st

  • Casino funds bridge

    The local Casino du Liban will fund the reconstruction of the Casino bridge in Jounieh, 20 kilometres north of Beirut. The bridge, which is one of the four bridges along the highway connecting the capital with the northern town of Batroun, was damaged during the conflict between Israel and Hezbollah. Project costs are estimated at $3 million. Work has started on the 180-metre-long bridge and is due to be completed by June.

  • Central bank gets ready to loosen its ties to the dollar

    Damascus is planning to unpeg its currency from the US dollar, as part of a raft of economic reforms unveiled in early November by Central Bank of Syria governor Adib Mayaleh. 'We will not continue pegging the Syrian pound to the dollar, but will instead peg it to a basket of currencies,' he said. 'This does not mean that we are planning to introduce a floating exchange rate, but means we are giving an umbrella to external exchanges.'

  • Central bank gets ready to loosen its ties to the dollar

    Damascus is planning to unpeg its currency from the US dollar, as part of a raft of economic reforms unveiled in early November by Central Bank of Syria governor Adib Mayaleh. 'We will not continue pegging the Syrian pound to the dollar, but will instead peg it to a basket of currencies,' he said. 'This does not mean that we are planning to introduce a floating exchange rate, but means we are giving an umbrella to external exchanges.'Syrian pound exchange rates are set to be unified

  • Central Bank reserved on switch to euro

    The UAE is waiting for the euro to weaken before it makes any decision on switching reserve currencies away from the dollar, Sultan bin Nasser al-Suwaidi, governor of the Central Bank of the UAE, said in Abu Dhabi on 30 October. The central bank had announced earlier in the year that it intended to convert 10 per cent of its $24,355 million reserves into euros and gold, but Al-Suwaidi said he was 'waiting for circumstances to change', before the conversion takes place.In future, the bank

  • Centurion on track

    Alberta-based Centurion Energy International will complete by the end of 2006 installation of its liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) plant at El-Wastani. The plant will require 160 million cubic feet a day of natural gas feedstock and will produce 3,000 barrels a day (b/d) of LPG and 5,000 b/d of condensate. Canada's Presson Enerflex has designed and built the plant and the local Petrojet will build all the pipelines linked to the national grid.

  • China rig plans unveiled

    A new Egyptian-Chinese company established to build oil rigs will begin work in 2007. The as-yet unnamed company will initially build three rigs a year, rising to seven by 2008 and reaching 20 a year by 2010. Cairo and Beijing agreed to establish the 50:50 joint venture company during a visit by Petroleum Minister Sameh Fahmy.

  • City Centre loan signed

    MAF Investments Bahrain, a subsidiary of Dubai-based Majid al-Futtaim Investments, has signed a $300 million syndicated loan to finance the construction of the Bahrain City Centre mall in the Seef district of Manama. Gulf International Bank and HSBC were mandated lead arrangers (MLAs) and co-ordinators. Joining at syndication were Bank of Bahrain & Kuwait, Bank Muscat, Commercialbank, National Bank of Bahrain and National Bank of Dubai. The tenor is 10 years, with a step-up margin rising from 75

  • Clean break, dirty tricks

    Campaign tents torn down, abusive phone calls to candidates, murmurings of official corruption. Bahrainis are in the middle of the election season and the gloves are off. The country goes to the polls on 25 November to elect the second National Assembly (parliament) since the promulgation of a new constitution in 2001. And much is at stake.

  • Compressed Natural Gas: Cleaning up

    Compressed natural gas (CNG) is struggling to take off in the Middle East, as it has elsewhere in the world. Widespread noises of support for the sector have so far been matched by little more than a few pockets of development and the industry remains at an early stage of development. But interest in CNG, and in cleaner fuels in general, is growing as environmental considerations are pushed into the foreground. 

  • Concession bids due

    Bid documents were released on 4 November to 34 prequalified companies for the 14 onshore blocks on offer in Sanaa's third international licensing round. Companies have until 25 November to submit offers, with the winners due to be announced on 20 December (MEED 28:7:06).

  • Consolidate, says agency

    Moody's Investors Service has encouraged local banks to be more involved in consolidating the banking sector. 'The possible involvement of any of the rated banks in consolidation activity that could strengthen their local franchise could have a positive rating impact,' says the rating agency.

  • Consultants approached for offshore resort

    Selected international consultants have been approached about participating in the tender for the detailed infrastructure design contract on the Diar al-Muharraq mixed-use project off the coast of Muharraq. They are understood to include Atkins, Hyder Consulting and Jacobs Gibb, all of the UK, and Denmark's COWI. The work will cover water, electricity and sewerage networks and internal roads and bridges.

  • Consultants submit plans for Riyadh rail

    Consortiums of international and local consultants have submitted proposals to provide consultancy services for the proposed $2,000 million Riyadh light railway project. ADA aims to make an award by the end of the year with the contract lasting about six months (MEED 15:9:06).

  • Contractors eye college job

    Bids have been submitted for the two remaining college buildings on the estimated $400 million new Ardiya campus planned by the Public Authority for Applied Education & Training (PAAET).

  • Contractors jockey for Burj Dubai rival tower scheme

    Local real estate developer Nakheel has selected contractors to work on pre-construction agreements for its Al-Burj project. The tower will form the centrepiece of the first phase of the Dubai Waterfront development and is expected to be one of the tallest in the world. It may even challenge the 800-metre-plus Burj Dubai scheme being developed by the local Emaar Properties . In December last year, Nakheel confirmed that the tower will be at least 700 metres tall (MEED 9:12:05).

  • Contractors price Daman residential complex scheme

    Bids are under evaluation for the raft contract on the estimated $450 million Buildings by Daman project in the Dubai International Financial Centre.

  • Contracts

  • Corniche works start

    A joint venture of the local APCC with Vibro Foundation , a wholly-owned subsidiary of France's Soletanche Bachy , has started ground treatment works on Deira Corniche. The works cover 30,000 square metres of reclaimed land. The client, Nakheel , will use the land to build a sales tower and show homes. Deira Corniche is part of the larger Palm Deira development (MEED 18:11:05).

  • Crowds turn out for Gemayel funeral

    Tens of thousands of people flocked to Martyr's Square in Beirut for the funeral of assassinated Interior Minister Pierre Gemayel on 23 November. Many Lebanese accuse Syria of orchestrating the killing. The UN Security Council on 22 November approved a request by the Lebanese government to add the latest assassination to a number of other killings under investigation. Speakers addressed the crowd from a bullet-proof booth. The politician's father, former president Amin Gem

  • Crude futures launched

    The region's first energy contract started trading on 30 October on the Dubai Gold & Commodities Exchange (DGCX). The Fujairah 380 CST high-sulphur fuel oil futures contract is for 100 tonnes of oil for delivery in six months.

  • Curfew eased following Saddam death sentence

    Iraqi officials on 6 November began to ease a curfew on Baghdad, one day after former Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein was found guilty of crimes against humanity and sentenced to death by hanging. However, a vehicle ban will remain in place until 7 November.Saddam was found guilty over the killing of 148 Shias in the village of Dujail in 1982. Two of Saddam's six co-defendants were also sentenced to death, one received a life sentence and three were given 15-year jail terms. U

  • Curfew imposed as Baghdad counts dead

    The death toll from a series of explosions that tore through Baghdad on 23 November has risen to at least 202. A day after the bombings in Sadr City, mourners took to the streets to accompany the coffins of the victims on the journey to Najaf. An indefinite 24-hour curfew was imposed on the capital. In the northern city of Tal Afar, a car bomb killed 22 people. Gunmen also attacked a Sunni neighbourhood in a Shia district of Baghdad. On the same day, the Shia group headed

  • Damascus aims to launch bourse in 2007

    Damascus is pushing ahead with plans to launch the country's first stock exchange in early 2007, with a series of key appointments at the bourse. Rateb Shallah, president of the Federation of the Syrian Chambers of Commerce, has been appointed chairman of the new exchange.

  • Damascus mulls refinery investment plan

    Damascus is considering plans to jointly develop with a private investor a 150,000-barrel-a-day (b/d) refinery near Homs, in the west. The Petroleum & Mineral Resources Ministry plans to offer international investors a 33.3 per cent stake in a new project company to be established to build and operate the facility. The remaining shareholding will be split between local unions and pension funds, which will hold one-third, and local private investors. Interest in the scheme has already come fr

  • Damascus offers to help Iraq

    Syrian Foreign Affairs Minister Walid Muallem is due to hold talks with Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki on 20 November in the first visit by a senior Syrian official to Iraq in more than six years. A day earlier, Moallem met his Iraqi counterpart Hoshyar Zebari, who said the visit would open 'a new page in relations between the two countries'. Muallem urged Iraqis to put an end to sectarian violence. 'We are exerting all our efforts and understand that Iraq's security

  • Dana moves for Centurion

    Sharjah-based Dana Gas moved into the upstream sector on 12 November when it agreed the acquisition of Canada's Centurion Energy. Centurion's shareholders will meet in January to vote on the $1,020 million deal, which represents a premium of 36.4 per cent above the trading price of Centurion's shares at the end of October.

  • Dana moves for Centurion

    Sharjah-based Dana Gas moved into the upstream sector on 12 November when it agreed the acquisition of Canada's Centurion Energy. Centurion's shareholders will meet in January to vote on the $1,020 million deal, which represents a premium of 36.4 per cent above the trading price of Centurion's shares at the end of October.

  • Dana plans gas imports

    Sharjah-based Dana Gas has announced the signing of a two agreements as part of its plans to import liquefied natural gas (LNG) into Kuwait, Lebanon and Pakistan. A memorandum of understanding has been signed between a three-member consortium of Dana Gas, Single Buoy Moorings (SBM) of the Netherlands and US-based Granada Group to build an LNG receiving terminal, regasification and storage facility at Port Qasim, in Karachi. The proposed facility will have capacity of 3.5 million tonnes a year an

  • Darfur talks end without agreement

    African and Arab leaders failed to reach a deal over Darfur as a two-day meeting in Tripoli concluded on 22 November. The leaders rejected international calls for Sudan to allow international peacekeepers to deploy in the war-torn region. 'They want an African solution to their problems without external intervention and without putting pressure on Sudan,' Libya's head of African Affairs Ali Triki said. The UN Security Council is due to meet on 22 November to discuss plans

  • Darfur talks end without agreement

    African and Arab leaders failed to reach a deal over Darfur as a two-day meeting in Tripoli concluded on 22 November. The leaders rejected international calls for Sudan to allow international peacekeepers to deploy in the war-torn region. 'They want an African solution to their problems without external intervention and without putting pressure on Sudan,' Libya's head of African Affairs Ali Triki said. The UN Security Council is due to meet on 22

  • Deadline approaches for Gilan barrage

    Gilan Regional Water Corporation has invited engineering, procurement and construction contractors to submit bids by 8 November for a 137-metre-high dam, to be built in Gilan Province, northwest of Tehran. The estimated Eur 110 million ($137 million) project will house a power plant and deliver water for irrigation and drinking to surrounding areas. Prospective bidders, which have also been requested to arrange finance for 85 per cent of the project's cost, were due to attend a pre-bid meeting o

  • Defence complains about Saddam appeal

    Lawyers defending former Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein on 15 November complained that the court which sentenced him to death 10 days earlier has yet to provide them with a copy of the verdict. This means that the defence team has been unable to launch the appeal process. Under Iraqi law, this must be done within 30 days after the verdict. Chief defence lawyer Khalil al-Dulaimi accused the court of 'pursuing its continued efforts to obstruct the efforts of the defence to subm

  • Delta dives into telecoms

    Delta Capital, the private equity arm of Dubai-based Delta Partners, plans to close by year-end its $100 million fund, which will invest in telecommunication enterprises across the Middle East & North Africa (MENA). The seven-year MENA telecom fund will also invest in Iran, Sudan, Pakistan, Afghanistan and Turkey.Delta is conducting roadshows across the GCC for the fund that will invest growth capital in specialised companies involved in network operations, service provision, distributio

  • Delta plans to boost capital

    Egypt's Delta International Bank is planning a rights issue in mid-December to raise its capital by£E 100 million ($180 million). The move will see the bank issue 10 million new shares to existing shareholders. Currently, the bank has 50 million issued shares. The issue follows the takeover of the bank in August by a consortium led by Ahli United Bank (AUB) and including its subsidiary companies, which purchased an 89 per cent stake in the bank at£E 37 ($6.50) a share (MEED 25:8:06).

  • Developer calls for new Saadiyat dredging prices

    Abu Dhabi's Tourism Development & Investment Company (TDIC) has called on bidders to submit by 1 November revised prices for the dredging package on its AED 100,000 million ($27,200 million) Saadiyat Island project.

  • Developers shape Mecca cityscape

    The local Al-Shamiyah Urban Development Company (AUDC), a subsidiary of Al-Khobar-based Al-Oula Development Company, is in the final stages of completing the masterplan for a major residential development in Mecca. The Al-Shamiyah scheme is one of several mega developments planned in the holy city to cope with the rising number of pilgrims each year.

  • Devon sells assets

    Oklahoma-based Devon Energy has announced plans to sell its upstream assets in the country. Devon, which produces about 5,000 barrels of oil equivalent a day from its interests in eight concessions in the country four in the Western Desert and four in the Gulf of Suez, will invite offers in December. The sale is part of plans to redeploy the company's resources to projects in the Gulf of Mexico, West Africa and China.

  • Deyaar to build new tower

    Deyaar Development plans to build a 35-storey commercial tower at Business Bay known as the Burlington. The tower will be Deyaar's third project in Business Bay. Its Churchill tower and Citadel developments are already under construction (MEED 7:7:06).

  • DIFX gets market-maker

    Deutsche Bank has signed a market-making agreement with the Dubai International Financial Exchange (DIFX), the first international investment bank to do so. Deutsche will buy and sell shares in Saudi Arabia's Kingdom Hotel Investments and in newly listed South African gold-mining company Gold Fields. The deal is designed to boost trading volumes, which have so far been very thin on the exchange.

  • Dozens abducted from Iraqi ministry

    Gunmen on 14 November kidnapped more than 100 people from the Research Directorate of Iraq's Higher Education Ministry. The insurgents stormed the building and ordered women into one room, abducting employees, guards and visitors. 'We don't know if it's terrorists, militias or even government forces,' said Interior Ministry spokesperson Brigadier Abdul Karim Khalaf. The head of the education committee Alaa Makki interrupted a parliamentary session, calling on the prime min

  • Dozens abducted from Iraqi ministry

    Gunmen on 14 November kidnapped more than 100 people from the Research Directorate of Iraq's Higher Education Ministry. The insurgents stormed the building and ordered women into one room, abducting employees, guards and visitors. 'We don't know if it's terrorists, militias or even government forces,' said Interior Ministry spokesperson Brigadier Abdul Karim Khalaf. The head of the education committee Alaa Makki interrupted a parliamentary sessio

  • Dozens die in Iraqi violence

    Violence across Iraq left at least 30 people dead on 9 November following the lifting of a curfew imposed during the sentencing of Saddam Hussein. Six people were killed in Mahmudiya, south of Baghdad, in a car bomb attack on a market that also left 25 injured. Another car bomb targeting a market in Muqdaduya, to the north-east of the city, left four dead and at least six wounded. On the same day, a number of mortar attacks in Baghdad itself left at least five dead, while three

  • Dozens of bodies uncovered in Baghdad

    Iraqi police on 3 November said they had found 56 bodies, some showing signs of torture, scattered across Baghdad in the past 24 hours. This is the highest number of bodies found in the capital since the end of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan. The US military announced that it had killed 13 insurgents during a raid in Mahmoudiya, south of Baghdad.Also on 3 November, US national intelligence director John Negroponte made an unannounced visit to the Iraqi capital for talks

  • Dredgers unite for Manifa causeway

    Local and international dredging companies have formed into groups to bid for the contract to design and build the access causeway for the offshore Manifa oil field redevelopment project in the Eastern Province.

  • Dredging job awarded

    Beirut-based Dar al-Handasah (Shair & Partners) has been awarded the contract to supervise reclamation work on the $1,600 million Bahrain Investment Wharf project. The US' Great Lakes Dredge & Dock signed the 11-month dredging contract in early October, requiring the removal of 6.5 million cubic metres of material. The client is the local Al-Khaleej Development Company (Tameer MEED 13:10:06).

  • Drillers sought for Resalat and Pars

    Tehran is seeking local and international companies to prequalify for two separate offshore drilling contracts in the Gulf. Iran Offshore Oil Company (IOOC) is issuing a tender for the Resalat oil field, while Pars Oil & Gas Company (POGC) is seeking bids for eight development wells in the South Pars gas field. Both companies are subsidiaries of National Iranian Oil Company (NIOC see Tenders).The IOOC Resalat tender involves design, engineering, procurement, drilling and completion.

  • Dubai bourse all set for IPO

    An initial public offering (IPO) of 20 per cent of shares in the Dubai Financial Market (DFM) is due to be launched on 12 November. It is the first pubic flotation in the federation since the summer and is expected to attract strong investor interest. On offer to both domestic and foreign buyers will be AED 1,600 million ($436 million) of the holding company's capital, with shares priced at AED 1 ($0.27) plus a subscription fee of AED 0.03 ($0.01) . The sale will run until 23 November.Du

  • Dubai gas export hub bidders revealed

    Energy companies from Asia, Europe and the US are preparing to bid for the licence to develop and operate the proposed $1,000 million Dubai liquefied natural gas (LNG) storage hub project.At least nine international oil companies (IOCs), utility firms and gas trading companies are expected to submit bids by the extended deadline of 30 November for the position of developer/user on the project. They include Korea Gas Corporation (Kogas), the UK's BP, the Royal Dutch/Shell Group, ExxonMobi

  • Dubai Islamic rated

    Dubai Islamic Bank (DIB) has been issued with an A1/Prime-1 foreign currency issuer rating by Moody's Investors Service and an A long-term and A1 short-term rating by Standard & Poor's. 'Being ratedwill provide a significant boost to our aggressive expansion plans and aspirations in the region and beyond,' said Saad Abdul Razak, DIB's chief executive officer.

  • Dubai to introduce tolls

    Dubai's Roads & Transport Authority will introduce tolls on the emirate's roads from next July. A toll of AED 4 ($1.08) will be charged each time motorists cross Garhoud bridge and interchange 4. France's MVA Systra is the consultant for the scheme (MEED 8:4:05).

  • Dutch build up Sharjah storage

    Tebodin of the Netherlands has been awarded the engineering, procurement and construction management contract to build a multi-products storage facility in Sharjah's Hamriyah free zone. Other bidders for the two-year contract were Engineers India and Mott MacDonald and Penspen International, both of the UK.The scope of works for the $70 million-90 million project calls for the construction of storage tanks with total capacity of 83,000 cubic metres for gasoline, diesel, fuel oil and jet

  • Dutch sign ports deal

    Netherlands-based APM Terminals International on 8 November signed the 25-year concession agreement to operate Mina Salman and the new Khalifa bin Salman ports. APM was selected for the contract by the Finance Ministry in February (MEED 17:2:06).

  • ECONOMY: Surplus to requirements

    The reopening of the National Assembly (parliament) in late October marked the return of the needle to a broken record. Emir Sheikh Sabah al-Ahmad al-Sabah is calling for greater transparency in public affairs, for budget restructuring and for a reassessment of the role of the public sector in the economy. But continued tensions between the executive and legislature are likely to leave any reform plans revolving in endless parliamentary debate.

  • EFG stays with Lebanon

    EFG-Hermes is applying for an investment banking licence in Lebanon. 'We took the decision before the war [in July],' says EFG-Hermes head of research Philip Khoury. 'We've decided to stick with it. There will be opportunities there in the future.' The economy is struggling to recover from the impact of the conflict between Israel and Hezbollah that destroyed significant amounts of infrastructure.

  • EGYPT

    Expressions of interest. Project no P094230. Provision of consultancy services comprising advice to the World Bank on measures to strengthen the institutional framework responsible for the management and delivery of infrastructure and municipal services at the Greater Cairo metropolitan area as part of the Greater Cairo development project. Financed by the World Bank. The study will be carried out over six months. The estimated start date of the assignment is 20 December.

  • EGYPT

    Construction of a tunnel as part of a potable water supply project. Bid bond is£E 75,000.

  • Egypt, China agree on nuclear energy

    Egypt and China have agreed to co-operate on the use of civilian nuclear power, the official Chinese Xinhua news agency reported on 7 November. The deal was reached during a meeting between Egyptian President Mubarak and his Chinese counterpart President Hu Jintao. The details of the agreement were not made public. On 2 November, Mubarak held talks with Russian President Putin. The two leaders agreed to strengthen co-operation on the nuclear front. Russian officials have s

  • Egypt, China agree on nuclear energy

    Egypt and China have agreed to co-operate on the use of civilian nuclear power, the official Chinese Xinhua news agency reported on 7 November. The deal was reached during a meeting between Egyptian President Mubarak and his Chinese counterpart President Hu Jintao. The details of the agreement were not made public. On 2 November, Mubarak held talks with Russian President Putin. The two leaders agreed to strengthen co-operation on the nuclear fron

  • EGYPT: Pushing for growth

    Egypt possesses all the basic ingredients for a flourishing petrochemicals industry. Blessed with 67 trillion cubic feet (tcf) of proven gas reserves, a location ideal for access to major markets and a cheap yet well-educated workforce, it could - and perhaps should - be a world-beater. Yet supply growth in the petrochemicals downstream sector remains surprisingly sluggish.

  • EGYPT: Relief on the line

    Egypt's need to modernise its rail network has become critical. Two years ago, a woman passenger was killed when the floor collapsed under her on a moving train. In the past three months, two more serious accidents have left dozens of people dead. New Transport Minister Mohamed Mansour knows the time of shrugging and hoping for the best is over. 'We need a total restructure,' he told a German-Arab Chamber of Industry & Commerce meeting in Cairo in mid-September. 'People's lives are involved we

  • Eighteen dead in Israeli shelling

    At least 18 Palestinians were killed and 40 wounded by Israeli shelling of the northern Gaza town of Beit Hanoun on 8 November. Israel apologised for the artillery barrage, while the Palestinian government called for three days of mourning. Palestinian officials said Palestinians retaliated by firing shots at the office of the EU in Gaza. Israeli troops withdrew from Beit Hanoun a day earlier following a six-day-long operation in which more than 60 Palestinians and an Israeli soldier wer

  • Eighteen dead in Israeli shelling

    At least 18 Palestinians were killed and 40 wounded by Israeli shelling of the northern Gaza town of Beit Hanoun on 8 November. Israel apologised for the artillery barrage, while the Palestinian government called for three days of mourning. Palestinian officials said Palestinians retaliated by firing shots at the office of the EU in Gaza. Israeli troops withdrew from Beit Hanoun a day earlier following a six-day-long operation in which more than 60 Palestinians and an Israeli s

  • Eleven die in Baghdad suicide bomb

    At least 11 people were killed and 18 wounded in a suicide bomb attack on a minibus in north Baghdad on 13 November. The explosion took place in the predominantly Shia Shaab district of the Iraqi capital. Another car explosion in the Green Zone damaged 13 cars and injured one person. A day earlier, two suicide bombers killed 35 people and injured 60 at a police recruiting centre in the west of the capital.

  • El-Sewedy enters Syria

    Egypt's El-Sewedy Cables Company is planning to establish a transformer factory in Syria at an estimated cost of £E 100 million ($17.5 million). The facility will have annual production capacity of 2,000 transformers of up to 5 mega-volts, for the local market and for export. Start-up is due in April 2007. El-Sewedy already has factories in Egypt, Sudan and Syria.

  • Emaar kicks off airport site redevelopment

    Emaar Middle East (EME) has invited contractors to submit bids by 13 December for the contracts to build three towers at its Jeddah City scheme. The project is part of the overall redevelopment of the city's old airport.

  • Emaar ponders Zwara investment

    Dubai-based Emaar Properties is mulling plans to develop a new economic city and investment zone at Zwara on the Mediterranean coast.

  • Emal smelter plan rolls on

    Emirates Aluminium (Emal) has appointed Citigroup as financial adviser and signed a land allocation agreement with Abu Dhabi Ports Company for its $5,000 million grassroots smelter project at the Khalifa Port & Industrial Zone in Taweelah. The company, a joint venture of Abu Dhabi's Mubadala Development Company and Dubai Aluminium Company (Dubal), plans to commission in 2010 its first-phase development of about 700,000 tonnes a year (t/y MEED 6:10:06).Emal is aiming to achieve financial

  • Emirates Bank eyes Asian trade

    Emirates Bank has established a representative office in Singapore to participate in trade finance and syndicated transactions in the Asia-Pacific region.

  • Emirates snubs Airbus

    Dubai-based carrier Emirates has cancelled its order for 20 A340-600 aircraft from Europe's Airbus after Airbus said it was considering changing the aircraft's design (MEED 20:6:03).

  • Emirates Steel mulls offers for Mussafah plant finance

    Responses have been received from the majority of banks on the debt package to fund the Emirates Steel Industries iron and steel project. Appointment of a mandated lead arranger (MLA) group of about five banks is expected by mid-December for the scheme, which Abu Dhabi government-owned General Holding Corporation is planning at the Mussafah industrial district.

  • Empire closes in on first property award

    The local Empire Holdings is close to awarding the first main contract on its proposed $300 million Empire World real estate project in Irbil. A Lebanese and a Turkish contractor are vying for the work after 12 companies expressed interest in the work. It involves the construction of a 20-storey office tower and an attached retail plaza with a car park.A shortlist of contractors is also due imminently for zone 2, involving the construction of a 15-storey, five-star hotel with 240 roo

  • Empire closes in on first property award

    The local Empire Holdings is close to awarding the first main contract on its proposed $300 million Empire World real estate project in Irbil. A Lebanese and a Turkish contractor are vying for the work after 12 companies expressed interest in the work. It involves the construction of a 20-storey office tower and an attached retail plaza with a car park.

  • ENERGY DEMAND: Asian giants grow hungrier

    Running 2,400 kilometres from west to east, the mighty Himalayas separate China and India - two of the world's fastest growing economies, with an insatiable thirst for oil. In 1962, the two states went to war here over a border dispute. And although the war drums have faded, China and India are now locked in an increasingly fierce battle for resources to fuel their booming economies.

  • ENERGY DEMAND: Asian giants grow hungrier

    Running 2,400 kilometres from west to east, the mighty Himalayas separate China and India two of the world's fastest growing economies, with an insatiable thirst for oil. In 1962, the two states went to war here over a border dispute. And although the war drums have faded, China and India are now locked in an increasingly fierce battle for resources to fuel their booming economies.The two countries first locked horns about a decade ago, in the wake of fast-depleting domestic reserve

  • ENHANCED OIL RECOVERY: Enhancing the future

    Enhanced oil recovery (EOR) is not a phrase that trips off the tongue. But the acronym is increasingly bandied about in conversations among oil executives in the Gulf and particularly in Oman, where ageing fields require innovative extraction methods.

  • Eni seeks bids for Bu Attifel field upgrade

    Italy's Eni has invited three groups to bid by the end of November for the estimated $75 million contract to upgrade and re-engineer gas re-injection facilities on the Bu Attifel oil field in the Sirte basin.

  • Etisalat picks Huawei

    Emirates Telecommunications Corporation (Etisalat) has selected China's Huawei Technologies Company to supply equipment for a nationwide universal mobile telecommunications/high-speed packet access network. Under the contract, Huawei will provide more than 1,000 base stations for the network.

  • EU opens coffers to region

    A total of about Eur 3,000 million ($3,841 million) will be directed to southern Mediterranean countries in 2007-10 by the EU's European neighbourhood partnership instrument, which provides funding towards sustainable development and institution-building across the southern Mediterranean and Eastern Europe.

  • EU reveals Middle East peace plans

    Spanish Prime Minister Jose Luis Zapatero on 16 November announced that Madrid, Paris and Rome are set to launch a Middle East peace initiative. 'Peace between Israel and the Palestinians means to a large extent peace on the international scene,' he said. A proposal will be unveiled at an EU summit in December.The plan will provide for an immediate ceasefire and the formation of a national unity government. It will also cover a prisoner exchange, negotiations between Israe

  • European visa procedure made easier for Algerians

    France's Interior Minister Nicolas Sarkozy on 13 November announced that the waiting time for visas for Algerians wishing to enter Europe would be cut by up to two weeks. He said the 15 countries which make up the Schengen zone will no longer consult each other before granting visas to Algerians. Sarkozy was speaking during a visit to Algiers. He called on the Algerians and French to 'build a common future' and put historical animosities aside. 'I come as a friend,' he sai

  • European visa procedure made easier for Algerians

    France's Interior Minister Nicolas Sarkozy on 13 November announced that the waiting time for visas for Algerians wishing to enter Europe would be cut by up to two weeks. He said the 15 countries which make up the Schengen zone will no longer consult each other before granting visas to Algerians. Sarkozy was speaking during a visit to Algiers. He called on the Algerians and French to 'build a common future' and put historical animosities aside. '

  • Europeans in line for major substations

    Europe'sABB and France's Areva T&D are low bidders for two major substation contracts to serve the new Jubail and Qurayyah power plants. The client on the two-year contracts, Saudi Electricity Company (SEC), is due to make awards soon.

  • Exxon targets Gulf gas projects in regional expansion

    The Gulf's fast-developing gas market is at the top of US oil major ExxonMobil Corporation's plans to expand in the Middle East, say two of the company's most senior executives in the region.

  • Exxon targets Gulf gas projects in regional expansion

    The Gulf's fast-developing gas market is at the top of US oil major ExxonMobil Corporation's plans to expand in the Middle East, say two of the company's most senior executives in the region.'We are seeing an opening up of opportunities for international oil companies [IOCs] in the region, such as the sour gas initiative in Abu Dhabi and the gas exploration programme in Saudi Arabia,' says Richard Brown, ExxonMobil area manager for Middle East. 'We are evaluating opportunities downst

  • FACTFILE: History of a clean idea

    Compressed natural gas (CNG) is a comparatively clean alternative to petrol or diesel. In use since the 1920s, it produces 90 per cent less carbon monoxide in vehicle exhausts and fulfils all global emissions standards without the need to install extra equipment, such as catalytic converters. Made by subjecting highly combustible methane extracted from natural gas to low temperatures and to pressures between 3,000 and 3,600 psi, compressed gas can be stored in high-pressure cylinders and transpo

  • FACTFILE: What is sour gas?

    Natural gas that contains more than 1 per cent of hydrogen sulphide (H2S) is called sour gas. It is associated with oil and gas reserves and their processing.Sour gas has a distinctive 'rotten egg' odour and can be fatal to healthy adults when concentrations are higher than 250-500 parts per million.As natural gas is processed, H2S is stripped from the natural gas stream and residual amounts are incinerated to form sulphur dioxide (SO2) which is released to the atmosphere.SO2 is

  • Feedstock pipeline offered

    The Royal Commission for Jubail & Yanbu has invited contractors to submit bids by 7 January for a contract to build five fuel and feedstock pipelines to serve the first stage of the Jubail 2 industrial city. The scope of works covers the procurement and construction of three 36-inch-diameter methane pipelines and two 36-inch-diameter ethane pipelines. The gas for both will be supplied by Saudi Aramco.

  • Fertiliser plant planned

    State-owned Yemen Oil Refining Company is set to issue imminently an invitation to investors to participate in a project to build a new fertiliser plant in Aden Free Zone. The facility will have a capacity of 650,000 tonnes a year of ammonia and urea, and will supply both the local agricultural market and the export market. A feasibility study has been carried out by the UN Food & Agriculture Organisation.

  • Firms bid for congestion-beating contracts

    Dubai's Roads & Transport Authority has received bids for three major contracts aimed at reducing congestion between Dubai and Sharjah. The contracts cover the upgrade of Ittihad road and the widening of the Dubai bypass.

  • Firms circle $700m Ayla Oasis first phase

    Companies are preparing to submit bids by the end of November for the phase 1 infrastructure package on the estimated $700 million Ayla Oasis project in the gulf of Aqaba (MEED 30:6:06).

  • Firms fancy Nasdaq listing

    A number of regional companies are in talks with the US' Nasdaq stock exchange about listing their shares on the bourse. No Middle East companies are currently listed on the exchange. 'It is very early days,' says Nasdaq International head Charlotte Crosswell. 'We've been talking to companies that are already listed elsewhere and those that want to stage an IPO [initial public offering]. There's a lot of investment and trading from the region [on the exchange]. And there are a number of companie

  • Firms flock to new centre

    Membership of the Qatar Financial Centre (QFC) is set to double as regional and international firms join the new financial hub. 'We've issued 24 licences and have about the same number in the pipeline,' QFC chief executive officer and director general Stuart Pearce said at the MEED Capital Markets conference in Dubai on 20 November. 'We offer a different platform [from other financial centres], different regulatory and legal structures and are in an asset-backed economy.' On the same day, the QF

  • Firms invited to bid for Abu Dhabi resort

    A consortium of local private developers has invited selected companies to prequalify for the main construction package for a major mixed-use resort on Abu Dhabi island. The Lagoon Club project involves the construction of a five-star hotel with 350 guest rooms and 150 serviced apartments, an office tower with a built-up area of 45,000 square metres, a 2,000-square-metre shopping mall, a three-level basement car park and a health club with a built-up area of 2,500 square metres.

  • Firms line up for Gardens

    About six local contractors have been invited to submit bids by the end of November for a contract to build The Gardens residential complex in the Mahaboula district of Kuwait City. The estimated KD 8 million ($28 million) project includes construction of two 12-storey residential towers. The local Option1 is the design consultant. Local property developer Commercial Real Estate Company (CRC) is the client (MEED 27:5:05).

  • Firms seek to prequalify for Ras Tanura

    Prequalification applications were submitted on 8 November for the joint front-end engineering and design, project management services and construction management services contract on the mega Ras Tanura refinery upgrade and integrated petrochemicals complex.At least six international companies are understood to have submitted applications. They include Australia's WorleyParsons, and Foster Wheeler, Fluor Corporation, Bechtel, Kellogg Brown & Root and Jacobs Engineering, all US-based. Ev

  • Firms take over road project

    Local real estate developer Aldar Properties together with the local Tourism Development & Investment Company (TDIC) has replaced the Municipalities & Agriculture Department as the client on the highway that will connect Saadiyat island with Abu Dhabi airport. The scheme is one of the largest road projects planned in the emirate.The proposed 25-kilometre-long highway with five lanes in each direction will run from Shahama onto the AED 100,000 million ($27,200 million) Saadiyat island

  • Firms take over road project

    Local real estate developer Aldar Properties together with the local Tourism Development & Investment Company (TDIC) has replaced the Municipalities & Agriculture Department as the client on the highway that will connect Saadiyat island with Abu Dhabi airport. The scheme is one of the largest road projects planned in the emirate.

  • First King Abdullah City packages out to tender

    Emaar The Economic City has invited at least five contractors to bid for the first two construction packages on its $50,000 million King Abdullah Economic City (KAEC) development at Rabigh, on the Red Sea (MEED 11:8:06).

  • First National to up capital

    First National Bank (FNB) plans to boost its capital to $150 million from $32 million in 2007 following the acquisition of an 18 per cent stake in the bank by UAE-based Invest Bank. The major shareholders in FNB include Kuwait's Commercial Facilities Company, private Kuwaiti and Saudi investors, bank chairman Rami Nimer, and a company identified as Promotions Investment.

  • Foreigners abducted in Iraq

    British and US forces are searching for four Americans and an Austrian abducted from a civilian convoy near the southern Iraqi town of Basra on 16 November. A convoy operated by Crescent Security Group, a Kuwaiti company, was stopped at a false checkpoint and 14 foreigners were kidnapped. All those kidnapped were security contractors. Nine hostages from India, Pakistan and the Philippines were later released. Reports that the Austrian had been killed and one of the America

  • Former aide to King Hussein could face jail

    Jordan on 2 November charged Adnan Abu Oudeh, a former senior aide to the late King Hussein, with slander and inciting sectarian strife. The charges were levelled against Abu Oudeh following complaints by several Jordanians who accused him of being unpatriotic. In a recent interview for Doha-based satellite television channel Al-Jazeera, Abu Oudeh said Jordanians of Palestinian origin lacked sufficient representations in government and parliament. 'I am surprised because t

  • Four more die in Gaza fighting

    Israeli forces killed four Palestinians, including two civilians, in the northern Gaza town of Beit Hanoun on 2 November. Witnesses reported that soldiers rounded up local residents and drove them to the outskirts of the town for questioning. 'I have no doubt that the vast majority will then be allowed to return home unhindered,' an Israeli army spokesperson told Reuters news agency. 'This is intended to avoid friction and reduce shooting incidents.' The army has said that the current op

  • Four Seasons gets a bid

    Riyadh-based Kingdom Hotels International (KHI) and the US' Cascade Investment have tabled an $82 a share proposal to take private Canada's Four Seasons Hotels. The transaction would value the company at about $3,700 million and KHI and Cascade would own about 90 per cent of shares. KHI acquired fellow Canadian operator Fairmont Hotels & Resorts earlier in the year (MEED 3:2:06).

  • Fourth economic city unveiled at Jizan

    A joint venture of the local Saudi Binladin Group (SBG) and Malaysia's MMC Corporation has been awarded a licence to develop a $30,000 new economic city at Jizan on the Red Sea coast - the kingdom's fourth economic city. The two companies will establish a 50:50 joint venture to develop and manage Jizan Economic City (JEC) over 30 years.

  • Fourth economic city unveiled at Jizan

    A joint venture of the local Saudi Binladin Group (SBG) and Malaysia's MMC Corporation has been awarded a licence to develop a $30,000 new economic city at Jizan on the Red Sea coast - the kingdom's fourth economic city. The two companies will establish a 50:50 joint venture to develop and manage Jizan Economic City (JEC) over 30 years.

  • Fouzan gets hospital work

    The local Al-Fouzan Trading & General Construction Company has been awarded an estimated SR 600 million ($160 million) contract to build a new 300-bed hospital in Medina for the National Guard Health Affairs. The Ministry of Health has received bids from 12 local companies to build a new 500-bed hospital, also in the holy city. The estimated SR 250 million ($67 million) project will be completed in 2009 (MEED 15:9:06).

  • Free zone project planned

    Local real estate developer Ta'sees plans to build an estimated AED 1,000 million mixed-use development at Ras al-Khaimah Airport free zone. Known as Airport Towers, the project consists of 10 commercial buildings, 10 residential blocks, a luxury hotel and a cargo facility. The local Dimensions Engineering is the consultant.

  • Freedom of expression declining in Egypt, says Amnesty

    Human rights group Amnesty International on 14 November said freedom of expression in Egypt is on the decline following the recent arrest of a blogger and the incarceration of a Talaat Sadat, a leading opposition politician and nephew of former president Sadat.Abdel Karim Suleiman, an aspiring human rights lawyer, was arrested in early November for writing articles criticising Islam and the government. He was expelled from the Islamic Al-Azhar University this year.

  • Freedom of expression declining in Egypt, says Amnesty

    Human rights group Amnesty International on 14 November said freedom of expression in Egypt is on the decline following the recent arrest of a blogger and the incarceration of a Talaat Sadat, a leading opposition politician and nephew of former president Sadat.Abdel Karim Suleiman, an aspiring human rights lawyer, was arrested in early November for writing articles criticising Islam and the government. He was expelled from the Islamic Al-Azhar Un

  • French do Nabeul seismic

    The UK's Plectrum Petroleum has awarded France's Compagnie Generale de Geophysique (CGG) the contract to conduct a 3,000-kilometre 2D seismic survey of the offshore Nabeul block in the Gulf of Hammamet. The MV CGG Princess vessel will carry out the survey in the second quarter of 2007. Plectrum holds a 50 per cent interest in Nabeul, with state oil company Entreprise Tunisienne d'Activites Petrolieres retaining 50 per cent (MEED 25:8:06).

  • French troops targeted Israeli jets

    French troops stationed in Lebanon came within seconds of firing on Israeli military jets, it was announced in the French parliament on 9 November. The aircraft were reported to have dived towards UN positions in October and to have been perceived as a threat by the soldiers. 'Two seconds later there would have been a shot against the aircraft which were directly menacing our forces,' French Defence Minister Michele Alliot-Marie told parliament.She added that catastrophe w

  • fuels: Crude awakening

    Coal is making a comeback. One of the many alternatives to oil and gas, coal fell rapidly out of favour towards the end of the last century, mainly due to the introduction of tough environmental laws. But the last year has seen a sudden resurgence in interest in this oldest of fossil fuels.

  • fuels: Crude awakening

    Coal is making a comeback. One of the many alternatives to oil and gas, coal fell rapidly out of favour towards the end of the last century, mainly due to the introduction of tough environmental laws. But the last year has seen a sudden resurgence in interest in this oldest of fossil fuels.

  • Funds forming in Damascus

    Kuwait-based Al-Aqeelah Finance & Investment Company is planning to launch a $500 million private equity fund targeting investments in the local telecoms and housing sectors. 'The fund's creation is in its final stages and it will be launched in the first quarter of 2007,' says Al-Aqeelah chairman and managing director Hamed Khajah.

  • Galadari to build palace

    The local Galadari Investments will develop the Palaces hotel and resort at the Bawadi development in Dubailand. The 1,000-room hotel will be inspired by famous palaces around the world.

  • Galsi line capacity sold

    Five Italian companies have signed deals with state energy company Sonatrach covering almost 90 per cent of the capacity of the planned Galsi gas pipeline to Italy. Edison and Enel both signed deals to purchase 2,000 million cubic metres a year (cm/y) of gas, Hera agreed to buy 1,000 million cm/y and Ascopiane and Worldenergy will each take 500 million cm/y. The 8,000 million-cm/y pipeline is due to come on stream by 2011 (MEED 23:12:05).

  • Gamesa lands Zafarana farm

    The New & Renewable Energy Authority has awarded Spain's Gamesa Energia the lump-sum turnkey contract to design and build a 120-MW wind farm in Zafarana. Japan's Mitsubishi Corporation and Vestas Italia also submitted bids.

  • Gas find set to be kingdom's biggest

    A new gas discovery in the Gulf could be the kingdom's biggest ever gas find, say officials at Saudi Aramco. Seismic studies carried out over the summer on the gas find in the offshore Karan field in the Khuff reservoir northeast of the giant offshore Safaniya field have revealed an unexpectedly big prospect. Aramco is now pushing ahead with further drilling work.'The prospects from Karan are very high,' Khalid al-Falih, Aramco's senior vice-president for industrial relations, told MEED

  • Gasco pipeline on course

    Egyptian Natural Gas Company (Gasco) will complete by the end of the year designs for a 136-kilometre-long section of the gas pipeline between Beni Suef and Aswan. The $75 million project covers the second section of the scheme and runs from Abu Qurqas, on the Nile, 245 kilometres south of Cairo, to Assiut. Construction is expected to be completed by 2008.

  • GCC issuers spread wings

    Emirates Bank International (EBI) has issued a $Aus 250 million ($193.7 million) Australian dollar-denominated bond, as part of a recently launched $Aus 1,000 million ($774.7 million) Australian domestic debt issuance programme being lead managed by NAB Capital and UBS.

  • GE selected for Nuberiya

    The US' General Electric (GE) has been selected by Egyptian Electricity Holding Company for the contract to supply two 250-MW gas turbines for the 750-MW Nuberiya 3 combined cycle power plant. Technical evaluation is also under way on bids from three local companies Hassan Allam & Sons, Orascom Construction Industries and Petrojet for the civil works contract on the plant. An award is expected by late November. The plant is being part-financed by a $194 million loan from the European Investmen

  • GE wins Qatargas order

    Florence-based GE Oil & Gas has announced the award of a contract to supply three Frame 6B gas turbines for installation at the Qatar Liquefied Gas Company (Qatargas) complex. The contract calls for the 120 MW of new generating capacity to be delivered to Ras Laffan in the first half of 2007, with installation scheduled for the third quarter. The turbines will be used for Qatargas' baseload operations.

  • German court convicts Moroccan over 9/11

    Germany's highest court of appeal on 16 November found Mounir al-Motassadeq, a Moroccan, guilty of being an accessory to murder in the 11 September 2001 attacks on the US. Motassadeq could be sentenced to up to 15 years in jail.Motassadeq knew three of the hijackers involved in the attacks, including their leader Mohammed Atta, while they were studying in Hamburg. The court found that he had handled bank transfers for the group while they were in the US receiving flight tr

  • Germans to sweeten Aden

    Germany's Braunschweigische Maschinenbauanstalt has been awarded the contract to build a sugar refinery in Aden Free Zone by Saudi Arabia-based Midroc al-Amoudi Group.

  • Giants post profits

    Arab Bank and Arab Banking Corporation (ABC) have both posted strong increases in profits for the first nine months of 2006. ABC's net income rose by 54 per cent to $151 million while total assets also climbed by 25 per cent over the first three quarters to $22,000 million. Arab Bank saw nine-month net income rise by 28.3 per cent to $494.4 million and assets climb to $30,500 million.

  • Glass plant planned

    The local Al-Hamed Enterprises has formed a joint venture (JV) with the UK-based Pilkington Group to establish a $200 million float glass manufacturing line in Abu Dhabi. The plant will be located at Industrial City Abu Dhabi (ICAD) in Mussafah and will have a capacity of 550 tonnes a day. It will produce clear and tinted glass for the construction industry and automotive sector. The plant is the third float glass plant planned in the federation. Construction work has started on a plant for D

  • Government probes private sector deals

    The government has formed a ministerial committee under the chairmanship of Prime Minister Sheikh Nasser al-Ahmed al-Sabah to look into irregularities in the build-operate-transfer (BOT) model. Almost all of the state's BOT projects are under investigation as authorities grapple with claims of corruption and a lack of a transparency.

  • Government statements diverge over mass kidnapping

    Iraq's ministries have given diverging accounts of the number of people kidnapped from the Research Directorate of the Higher Education Ministry on 14 November. Government spokesperson Ali al-Dabbagh said that the 37 hostages who were released a day later accounted for most of those abducted, with only two to five still missing.Higher Education Minister Abd Dhiab said 27 of his ministry's employees had been released, but up to 80 were still missing. He told Reuters news ag

  • Grand Museum award imminent

    Detailed design work will begin in January on the Grand Egyptian Museum following the imminent award of the project management and consultancy (PMC) contract for the scheme. The Culture Ministry is evaluating bids from two teams - a team of Pacific Consultants International (PCI) and Yamashita Architects, both of Japan; and a team of the US' Hill International with the local EHAF and Japan's Nihon Sekkei.

  • Gulf bond market activity heats up

    The pace of bond market activity in the Gulf is accelerating, with roadshows due to be launched in late November for bond issues by Doha Bank and Qatar Gas Transportation Company (Nakilat). The launch is also imminent of debut issues from Abu Dhabi Islamic Bank (ADIB) and Dubai-based real estate developer Nakheel , while bonds from Sabic Europe and Kuwait Projects Company (Kipco) have been priced.

  • Gulf bourses at a turning point as the IPO tide ebbs

    The masters of GCC share markets need a new strategy as investors and companies planning to go public seek alternatives to failing local stock exchanges.

  • Gulf Capital takes stake in Metito

    Abu Dhabi-based private equity house ~Gulf Capital~ has purchased a 60 per cent stake in the Sharjah-based water services company ~Metito~. The deal is Gulf Capital's largest to date, requiring an initial commitment of $24 million that will increase to $100 million over the next five years.

  • Hamilton takes Prism

    The local Credo Investments has appointed the local Hamilton to provide project management services for its proposed Prism development at Business Bay. Completion of the 35-storey office tower is scheduled by the end of 2008.

  • Hamriyah line contract awarded

    The local/New Zealand Dutco McConnell Dowell is carrying out an estimated $50 million-75 million contract to supply and install a 30-kilometre-long, 48-inch-diameter gas feedstock pipeline from Sajaa to Hamriyah free zone (HFZ) in Sharjah.The 1,000 million-cubic-feet-a-day pipeline will supply feedstock for a power plant and industries planned in the HFZ. Australia's WorleyParsons is the project management consultant.The order was placed by Sharjah-based United Gas Transmissions

  • Hamza flies at Sohar

    The Transport & Communication Ministry has awarded a consortium led by Egypt's Hamza Associates a RO 2.3 million ($6 million) contract to design a proposed new airport at Sohar. Other members of the consortium are Robert & Company with a 25 per cent stake and Burgess & Niple, with 25 per cent, both of the US. The 47-month contract covers pre-design study services, detailed design, tendering and construction supervision (MEED 26:5:06).

  • Hasdrubal onshore let

    UAE-based Petrofac International has signed the $400 million contract to build onshore facilities on the Hasdrubal gas/condensate field in the Gulf of Gabes, the company announced on 15 November. The lump-sum turnkey, engineering, procurement, installation and commissioning contract calls for new gas and liquefied petroleum gas facilities on the estimated $800 million field development, scheduled for completion by 2009. The local Pireco is the main subcontractor. The client is a 50:50 consortium

  • Health officials targeted by gunmen

    Gunmen in Iraq targeted the convoy of deputy health minister Hakim al-Zamily on 20 November in Baghdad. 'The convoy was blocked off by several cars and we were fired upon from within the cars and the areas,' Zamily told Reuters. 'Two of my guards were killed but we were able to fight our way out and escape.' A day earlier, another deputy health minister, Ammar al-Saffar, was abducted from his home in the Sunni district of Adhamiya by gunmen. A popular Iraqi comedian was shot dead on 20 N

  • Hidd steel deal closed

    Syndication has closed of the $153 million debt package to fund the United Stainless Steel Company (Usco) project at Hidd, with eight banks joining the deal.

  • Highway tenders issued

    Abu Dhabi's Municipalities & Agriculture Department has invited firms to bid by 30 October for a project management consultancy contract on the estimated AED 2,200 million ($600 million) upgrade of the Mafraq-Ghuweifat highway. The scheme will involve the widening of the highway and the construction of new intersections serving neighbouring communities (MEED 28:4:06).

  • Hirbodan powers refinery

    Oman Refinery Company has awarded a team of Iran's Hirbodan with the UAE's Hico FZE the RO 26 million ($67 million) engineering, procurement and construction contract for a 48-MW co-generation plant at its Mina Fahal refinery. The contract is part of a plan to increase the refinery's output to 105,000 barrels a day (b/d) from 85,000 b/d (MEED 7:7:06).

  • Hotel deal lands Investment Dar on Park Lane

    Kuwaiti investment house The Investment Dar (TID) has acquired Grosvenor House Apartments for £250 million ($467 million) through its subsidiary Park Lane Properties Jersey. The company holds the lease on Grosvenor House hotel apartments on Park Lane in London. The property requires refurbishment and the price includes development costs. 'It's part of our expansion and distribution of risks,' says TID executive vice-president Amr Abou el-Seoud.The purchase is the latest in a series of hi

  • HSBC hikes euro issue: HSBC expands euro notes

    HSBC Bank Middle East has increased the size of its euro medium-term note (EMTN) programme to $3,000 million, having filled the initial $1,000 million programme launched in 2004. A senior drawdown is imminent, lead managed by HSBC. Fitch has assigned the overall programme an AA- senior unsecured debt rating. Five-year bond issues of $300 million and $700 million were staged by HSBC Bank Middle East in December 2004 and May 2005 (MEED 4:2:05).

  • HSBC lands Abu Dhabi sukuk programme

    Abu Dhabi Islamic Bank (ADIB) has appointed HSBC to arrange a $5,000 million euro medium-term note (EMTN) programme, the biggest so far established in the GCC. HSBC will also act as sole lead manager and bookrunner on the first drawdown.

  • IAEA delays decision on Arak reactor

    The International Atomic Energy Agency on 21 November delayed its decision on Iran's request for aid for its Arak heavy water reactor project. Members of the IAEA's technical affairs committee remained divided over the issue. 'Efforts to reach consensus are stuck,' an unnamed senior IAEA diplomat said. 'So they have decided to send the Iran item to the full board without the usual recommendation on whether to approve or not, and let the board decide.'Western members of the

  • IAEA delays decision on Arak reactor

    The International Atomic Energy Agency on 21 November delayed its decision on Iran's request for aid for its Arak heavy water reactor project. Members of the IAEA's technical affairs committee remained divided over the issue. 'Efforts to reach consensus are stuck,' an unnamed senior IAEA diplomat said. 'So they have decided to send the Iran item to the full board without the usual recommendation on whether to approve or not, and let the board decide.'

  • IAEA inspectors visit Iranian uranium enrichment plant

    Inspectors from the UN's International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) have visited Iran's second network of centrifuges at the Natanz uranium enrichment plant, the official IRNA news said on 5 November. The inspectors are in Iran to collect information for the November report from Mohammed el-Baradei, the IAEA chief to the agency. 'Their activities in Iran are based on the (nuclear) non-proliferation treaty and the IAEA's safeguards,' an unnamed official told IRNA. The US is

  • IAEA meets to discuss Iranian reactor

    The UN's International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) convened in Vienna on 20 November to discuss an Iranian request for help with its heavy-water nuclear plant at Arak. Tehran has applied for IAEA aid to ensure that the reactor conforms to safety standards. Media reports say the general consensus within the UN agency was to deny Tehran aid to complete work on the plant, but the 35-member states had not agreed on the way forward on seven other projects. The West fears that the Arak reactor

  • IAEA will not assist Iran with Arak reactor

    The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) on 23 November blocked Iran's request for technical aid on its Arak heavy water reactor due to fears that the plant could be used to develop weapons-grade plutonium. However, the agency's board of governors approved assistance on seven other projects deemed not to be a threat. 'The decision is that the [Arak] project will be definitely put on hold,' IAEA director Mohammed el-Baradei said. 'Obviously, if matters move in a differ

  • Ibn Zahr olefins contract repriced

    Four engineering, procurement and construction firms have submitted revised prices for the contract to build a new olefins conversion unit (OCU) at the Saudi European Petrochemical Company (Ibn Zahr) polypropylene complex.New prices for the estimated $100 million contract were submitted on 5 November by Taiwan-based CTCI, US-based ABB Lummus Global, and Samsung Engineering Company and Daelim Industrial Company, both of South Korea. The lump-sum turnkey contract covers a 288,000-tonne-a-y

  • IDB to raise fresh funds

    The Islamic Development Bank (IDB) is in talks with a number of central banks from member countries about issuing privately-placed sukuks on their behalf. Falling under the Jeddah-based development bank's euro medium-term note (EMTN) programme, the paper is likely to be worth $200 million-300 million and to be denominated in Malaysian ringgits a favoured reserve currency in South-East Asia.

  • Indians strike oil in Farsi 2

    India's ONGC Videsh (OVL) has discovered oil in the offshore Farsi 2 block, following the drilling of a third exploratory well. 'We are drilling a fourth [exploratory] well and target completion by year-end,' says OVL vice-president of business development Joeman Thomas. 'The results so far have been encouraging and we will carry out more geological tests. Our aim is to start production by mid-2007.' The wells are being drilled to depths of 2,300-3,400 metres.

  • Insurance group licensed

    The Central Bank of Bahrain has granted a licence to the ACE Group to establish a representative office in the kingdom. ACE provides property and casualty insurance and reinsurance and will use the new office as its base for existing operations and expansion in the Middle East and North Africa.

  • International City moves ahead with phases 2 and 3

    Local real estate developer Nakheel has invited companies to prequalify for the infrastructure works on phases 2 and 3 of its International City development. The 7.2-square kilometre site has been rough graded and is located to the north of International City phase 1 and bordered to the west by Emirates road and Dubai Silicon Oasis to the south.The project will consist primarily of residential and commercial buildings. All individual parcels of land, except those designated for u

  • Investcorp lists in London

    Investcorp has launched an offering of global depositary receipts (GDRs) on the London Stock Exchange. The total size of the share sale is expected to be about $400 million and pricing is due to take place by mid-December. Each GDR will represent 100th of an ordinary share. Citigroup and Credit Suisse First Boston are lead managers and bookrunners, JP Morgan is co-lead manager and Global Investment House is co-manager. Investcorp is planning to launch a fifth product line, called Gulf Growth Cap

  • Investcorp mulls listing

    Bahrain-based Investcorp is considering a listing of global depositary receipts on the London Stock Exchange, the investment bank said in a statement to the Bahrain Stock Exchange site of Investcorp's primary listing on 15 November. 'This would increase liquidity for new and existing investors, while creating balance sheet flexibility [and] would enhance the firm's credibility and brand awareness in Europe,' said the bank (MEED 28:7:06).

  • INVESTMENT: Development mission

    The Kurdistan regional government (KRG) is struggling to secure funding for its reconstruction. Be it roads, schools or hospitals, the municipal infrastructure is in dire need of modernisation. The limited revenues from the federal budget will not suffice as the region bids to tap into its relative security and build itself as a hub for investment into Iraq.

  • Investors remain hungry

    At least 154 initial public offerings (IPOs) will be launched in the GCC in the next three years, says Abu Dhabi-based ~Gulf Capital~ chief executive officer Karim el-Solh. Speaking at the MEED Capital Markets conference in Dubai on 21 November, El-Solh said: '[Despite the severe correction] retail investor appetite is still there. But investors will be more discerning. Companies will have to be profitable with an established track record to attract investors,' he said.

  • IRAN

    Prequalification. Tender no P071191-IR. Development of water and sewerage projects in Shiraz and Ahwaz. The project is for the coverage of 2.2 million people in Ahwaz and 1.9 million in Shiraz. It covers an area of 19,765 hectares in Ahwaz and 22,075 hectares in Shiraz. The scope of works comprises the supply of equipment and the provision of consultancy services. Financed by the World Bank.

  • IRAN

    Expressions of interest. (Open to local/foreign contractors or joint venture companies with at least 51 per cent local partner shares). Provision of finance, design and construction of the 90-metre-high Emarat dam, 180 kilometres of transmission line including pipe, canal and tunnel, an 18-MW power transmission and distribution system, and a 19,200-hectare irrigation and drainage network including main and sub-main piping, sprinklers and tricklers in Irdebil province. The dam will have rock fill

  • IRAN

    Prequalification. (Open to local/foreign joint venture companies with at least 51 per cent local partner share). Construction operation of the first phase of the new town of Sahand freeway and construction of some parts of land preparation (lot no 3). The main scope of works comprises: 1) substructure and construction operation of technical structures of the Tabriz new town of Sahand freeway (East Azerbaijan) over 12 kilometres, including carrying out earthen-based operations and construction

  • IRAN

    (Open to local/foreign contractors or joint venture consortiums only). Provision of foreign finance, design and engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) of the Chmeshir storage dam and power plant on the Zohreh River some 35 kilometres south of Dogondadan city in Kohkiluyeh and Boyerahmad province. The Chanenshir dam and relevant facilities will have capacity of 1,800 million cubic metres, the water transmission tunnel will be about 5.5 kilometres long, and the power plant will have po

  • IRAN

    CD extension. Tender no 85/4. Provision of telecommunications consultancy services.

  • IRAN

    Expressions of interest. (Open to local/foreign consortiums or joint venture companies with at least 51 per cent local partner share). Provision of finance, design and construction of the Narmab storage dam, and irrigation and drainage network some five kilometres south of Minoodasht in Goletan province. The dam will be a homogeneous earth dam type, with a crest width of 10 metres, a length of 807 metres and a height of 60 metres. Subprojects comprise: the Khormaloo diversion dam with a 6,335-me

  • IRAN

    Tender no FLS-8400072-FL/BT. Supply of 90/10 CU/NI 20,000 tubes. Bid bond is Eur 550.

  • IRAN

    Prequalification. Contract no AWW11-P18-WWTP/06. Project no P076884. Carrying out detailed design, construction, operation and maintenance of the Anzali wastewater treatment plant in the eastern zone (Ghazian) as part of the northern cities water supply and sanitation project for the Guilan Water & Wastewater Company. It is expected that invitations for bid will be made on 3 February 2007. Financed by the World Bank. Applications for prequalification must be submitted to Guilan Water & Wastewate

  • IRAN

    Prequalification. (Open to local companies or local/foreign joint ventures, with at least 51 per cent local partner share.) Implementation in various provinces, an on engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) basis, of a direct reduction iron ore handling and stacking/reclaiming of pellets project with capacity of 800,000 tonnes a year. The scope of works includes the design, engineering, supply of equipment and machineries, transportation, carrying out civil construction works and complet

  • IRAN

    Prequalification. (Open to local/foreign consortiums or joint venture companies with at least 51 per cent local partner share). Provision of finance, design and construction of the Nazloo storage dam in west Azerbaijan province. The dam will have an earth fill of 4.1 million cubic metres, a clay core of 700,000 cubic metres, a crest length of 420 metres and a height of 98.5 metres. It will have rock and alluvium dam foundation excavations of 620,000 cubic metres and plastic cut of wall of 5,000

  • IRAN

    Prequalification. (Open only to local/foreign joint ventures, with at least 51 per cent local partner share.) Implementation, on an engineering, procurement and construction basis, of an Ilmenite concentrate and Titania slag plant with production of 70,000 tonnes a year, located at 25 kilometre of the Kahnooj-Bandar Abbas road, in a suburb of Kerman province. The project will include execution of basic and detailed design, supply of equipment, facilities, materials and related technical servi

  • IRAN

    Prequalification. (Open only to local/foreign joint ventures, with at least 51 per cent local partner share.) Implementation, on an engineering, procurement and construction basis, of a titanium dioxide pigment production plant with production of 50,000 tonnes a year, located on the Kahnooj-Bandar Abbas road, in a suburb of Kerman province. The project will include a survey and comment, and completion of the conceptual design and execution of basic and detailed design, supply of equipment, facil

  • IRAN

    Prequalification. Carrying out, on an engineering, procurement and construction basis, of phases 6, 7 and 8 of a gas sweetening project in the South Pars gas field development in Assaluyeh. The aim of the project is to produce 3,900 million cubic feet a day (cf/d) of reservoir fluid from three wellhead platforms, 1,300 million-cf/d each, and to transport the fluids, after separation of free water, to mainland Assaluyeh, where the onshore treatment facilities are installed at a distance of abo

  • IRAN

    Tender no G-ICB-04. Project no P074499. Supply and installation of water quality field monitoring and sampling equipment to establish a water quality monitoring system for the Karoon river as part of an environmental management support project. Financed by the World Bank. The equipment is to be delivered to the Khuzestan Department of Environment in Khuzestan Province. Bid bond is $80,000.Details on payment of $150 from Department of Environment, World Bank Environmental Project Liaison

  • IRAN

    Prequalification. Provision of all services for the drilling of eight development wells in the South Pars gas field.Details from Pars Oil & Gas Company, National Iranian Oil Company, Director of Oil & Gas Engineering, 133 Parvin Etesami Street, Fatemi Avenue, Tehran, telephone (9821) 88989251, fax (9821) 88989252.

  • IRAN

    Tender no 85-28. Supply of 21,100 tonnes of ST37-3N type steel and 2,600 tonnes of ST52-3N type plates.

  • IRAN

    Tender no FKS-8500021-FK/A.SH. Supply of 1,500 platform aluminium anodes.

  • IRAN

    CD extension. Tender no S-DM8500332-PH. Supply of 200 H2S disposable gas alarms, with minimum sensor life of at least two years, for the Shahid Hashemi Nejad gas refinery.

  • IRAN

    Tender no J-30758-4-0177-PH. Supply of air compressors for the Shahid Hashemi Nejad gas refinery. Bid bond is IR 500 million or Eur 50,000.

  • IRAN

    Prequalification. Tender no OF/85/176. Provision of three years' engineering, procurement and drilling (EPD) services in the Resalat field.

  • IRAN

    Tender no FLP-53003-FL/MM. Supply of 2,600 30-inch-diameter conductor pipes. Bid bond is $4,281.

  • Iran open to talks with Italy

    Iranian President Ahmadinejad has said Tehran is willing to consult with Rome in an effort to resolve problems in the Middle East. Ahmadinejad conveyed his message in a letter to Italian Prime Minister Romano Prodi, which was delivered by Iran's deputy foreign affairs minister Sayed Jalili. A day earlier, Iran's chief nuclear negotiator Ali Larijani indicated that Tehran could be willing to resume talks over its nuclear programme. 'We are ready to negotiate, and are commit

  • Iran seeks nuclear centrifuges

    President Ahmadinejad on 14 November announced that Tehran is seeking to install about 60,000 uranium-enriching centrifuges in the long term. 'We want to produce nuclear fuel and eventually we will go for 60,000 centrifuges,' he said. 'We should continue along this path. We are at the beginning of the wave.' Tehran has said it will install 3,000 centrifuges by March 2007.Uranium enrichment is carried out in groups of centrifuges known as cascades. When highly enriched, ura

  • Iran seeks nuclear centrifuges

    President Ahmadinejad on 14 November announced that Tehran is seeking to install about 60,000 uranium-enriching centrifuges in the long term. 'We want to produce nuclear fuel and eventually we will go for 60,000 centrifuges,' he said. 'We should continue along this path. We are at the beginning of the wave.' Tehran has said it will install 3,000 centrifuges by March 2007.Uranium enrichment is carried out in groups of centrifuges known as cascades

  • Iran takes 'final step' in nuclear programme

    Iranian President Ahmadinejad on 16 November said Tehran was about to take the 'final step' in its nuclear programme, but did not elaborate on what would constitute the move. He reiterated that Iran would hold nuclear celebrations before March, the end of the Iranian year. 'This path that Iran has chosen is irreversible and big powers should not make useless efforts to prevent the Iranian nation from moving forward,' Ahmadinejad said. The US gove

  • Iran test-fires dozens of missiles

    Iran's Revolutionary Guards on 2 November fired dozens of rockets as part of a military exercise, state-run television announced. The missiles included the 2,000-kilometre range Shahab 3 and the Shahab 2, capable of carrying cluster bombs. Observers say the Shahab 3, which can carry nuclear warheads, could reach Israel and US bases in the Gulf.The tests come two days after US-led war games in the Gulf came to an end. 'We want to show our deterrent and defensive power to tr

  • Iran threatens rethink of IAEA relations

    Iran's chief nuclear negotiator Ali Larijani on 10 November warned that the Islamic republic would review its relations with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) unless the UN Security Council accepts changes proposed by Russia to a draft sanctions resolution. Larijani was speaking as he arrived in Moscow for talks on nuclear policy. 'We will review our relations with the IAEA if the UN accepts the Euro-troika resolution without taking into account the amendments

  • Iran threatens rethink of IAEA relations

    Iran's chief nuclear negotiator Ali Larijani on 10 November warned that the Islamic republic would review its relations with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) unless the UN Security Council accepts changes proposed by Russia to a draft sanctions resolution. Larijani was speaking as he arrived in Moscow for talks on nuclear policy. 'We will review our relations with the IAEA if the UN accepts the Euro-troika resolution without taking i

  • Iran will hold nuclear celebration in 2007, says Ahmadinejad

    Iranian President Ahmadinejad on 15 November vowed that Tehran would pursue its nuclear programme 'until the end'. He was speaking a day after a report by UN's International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) said the Islamic republic was not co-operating on probes into the nature of its atomic programme. 'By the grace of God, we will hold a great nuclear celebration before the end of this year, all over Iran,' Ahmadinejad said. The IAEA report said Iran had so far

  • IRAQ

    Tender no BD/F/21/2006. Supply of a 50-tonne hydraulic truck mobile crane.Details from Oil Products Distribution Company, Oil Ministry, PO Box 7751484, Baghdad, email cdpo_mat_pur@yahoo.com.

  • IRAQ

    Tender no 2052-QR-09. Design, engineering and supply of equipment and materials for two deaeration units each with flow rates of 2,167 cubic metres an hour as part of the West Qurna water injection project. Supervision on precommissioning, commissioning and start-up services is also included.Details on payment of $1,000 from State Company for Oil Projects (SCOP), Director-General, Oil Ministry, Oil Complex Building, Port Saeed Street, PO Box 198, Baghdad, telephone (9641) 8177000/8177021

  • IRAQ

    Tender no 5332/IR-05. Supply of field instruments, including electric and pneumatic transmitters, and control valves, local controllers, switches, converters, variable flow meters, analysers, and pressure, temperature, level and flow local indicators.

  • IRAQ

    Tender no 214.06.E. Supply of intelligent temperature transmitters with PID control capability. Bid bond is 3 per cent of tender price and performance bond is 5 per cent of contract price.

  • IRAQ

    Tender no 234.06.M. Supply of a heat exchanger laboratory trainer and a distillation tower unit for training. Bid bond is 3 per cent of tender price and performance bond is 5 per cent of contract price.

  • IRAQ

    Tender no Req-100-2006. Supply of 25,000 metres of 20-inch-diameter high-density polyethylene (HDPE) pipelines and fittings for wastewater.Details on payment of $100 from South Refineries Company, Shuaiba, Basra Refinery, PO Box 77, Basra, telephone (9641) 8861762/8875850, (9644) 212929/313840, fax (9641) 8875850/8861762.

  • IRAQ

    Tender no Req-101-2006. Supply of skid-mounted, heavy-duty water tube package boilers to feed a lube oil plant by superheated steam. The available fuel is natural fuel gas. Contractors may bid for either three 30-tonne-an-hour (t/h) boilers or two 50-t/h boilers, but not both.Details on payment of $100 from South Refineries Company, Shuaiba, Basra Refinery, PO Box 77, Basra, telephone (9641) 8861762/8875850, (9644) 212929/313840, fax (9641) 8875850/8861762.

  • IRAQ

    Tender no SCOP/QR-01/2006. Supply of complete submersible pumps with electric motors for the Oil Ministry building.Details on payment of $50 from State Company for Oil Projects (SCOP), Director-General, Oil Ministry, Oil Complex Building, Port Saeed Street, PO Box 198, Baghdad, telephone (9641) 8177000/8177021/8177050, fax (9641) 8177119, telex 212230/212790 scop ik, email genscop@warkaa.net.

  • IRAQ

    Tender no IDC3/B/2006. Supply of two track-mounted, four-wheel-drive water rigs with maximum drilling depths of 250 metres. Bid bond is 3 per cent of tender price and performance bond is 5 per cent of contract price.

  • Iraq death toll soars

    A UN report on 22 November revealed that the death toll in Iraq in October rose to 3,700 - a record high. Most of those killed were victims of sectarian violence centred around Baghdad. 'The civilian population of Iraq continues to be victims of terrorist acts, roadside bombs, drive-by shootings, crossfire between rival gangs or between police and insurgents, kidnappings, military operations, crime and police abuse,' the report said.The report also drew attention to the nu

  • Iraq death toll soars

    A UN report on 22 November revealed that the death toll in Iraq in October rose to 3,700 - a record high. Most of those killed were victims of sectarian violence centred around Baghdad. 'The civilian population of Iraq continues to be victims of terrorist acts, roadside bombs, drive-by shootings, crossfire between rival gangs or between police and insurgents, kidnappings, military operations, crime and police abuse,' the report said.The report al

  • Iraq minister says hostages tortured

    Employees abducted from the Research Directorate of an Iraqi ministry have been tortured and killed, Higher Education minister Abd Dhiab said on 16 November. Some of the 70 hostages who had been released a day earlier showed signs of torture. There are 'rumours and reports that some of them have been killed, even a number of those who have been were treated very badly, some of them had their legs and hands broken', Dhiab told the BBC. According to the minister, about 40 people are still

  • Iraq report prompts review of US sanctions on Syria

    Washington is expected to review its existing sanctions on Damascus in early 2007, following the publication of a report due to be issued in January being prepared by former US Secretary of State James Baker.

  • Iraq report prompts review of US sanctions on Syria

    Washington is expected to review its existing sanctions on Damascus in early 2007, following the publication of a report due to be issued in January being prepared by former US Secretary of State James Baker.

  • Iraq violence linked to US elections, says Cheney

    US Vice-President Dick Cheney on 31 October linked the latest surge in violence in Iraq to upcoming congressional elections due to be held on 7 November. He said Al-Qaeda and other militant groups operating in Iraq were stepping up their violent campaign in an effort to 'break the will of the American people' and influence the results of the elections. 'They're very sensitive to the fact that we've got an election scheduled,' he said, adding that militants were using the internet to foll

  • IRAQ: Waiting in the sidings

    Stretching for 2,600 kilometres, Iraq's railway system is one of the most extensive in the region. Five lines span the country, running from north to south, east to west. However, 30 years of neglect during Saddam Hussein's regime, damage incurred during two Gulf wars and, more recently, insurgent attacks have left the network in dire need of attention.

  • Iraqi corruption is costing billions, says US official

    Endemic corruption within Iraq's government is wasting billions of dollars in reconstruction funding, Stuart Bowen, the US special inspector-general for Iraq reconstruction, said on 9 November. 'I call it the second insurgency. The money that is stolen does not merely enrich criminals, but frequently goes out to fund criminal militias or insurgents,' said Bowen. He said recent estimates claim corruption could be responsible for the loss of $4,000 million a year, more than

  • Iraqi corruption is costing billions, says US official

    Endemic corruption within Iraq's government is wasting billions of dollars in reconstruction funding, Stuart Bowen, the US special inspector-general for Iraq reconstruction, said on 9 November. 'I call it the second insurgency. The money that is stolen does not merely enrich criminals, but frequently goes out to fund criminal militias or insurgents,' said Bowen. He said recent estimates claim corruption could be responsible for the loss of $4,000

  • IRAQI NETWORKS: Track changes

    The Ministry of Transport (MoT) has drawn up detailed plans for about 2,300 kilometres of new rail links, including two lines linking the Syrian and Iranian borders. The largest project, valued at about $200 million, will complete the link between Al-Qaim and Deir al-Zor in Syria. A 30-kilometre stretch was completed on the Syrian side before the war. The Iraqi element would comprise about 120 kilometres.

  • Iraqi security officials charged with prisoner abuse

    A total of 57 employees have been charged with human rights abuses by the Iraqi Interior Ministry. The abuse took place in a secret prison, which US and Iraqi officials found in a building in east Baghdad. More than 1,400 prisoners - mainly Sunnis - had been in detention. The prison is believed to have been run by Shia militias.

  • Iraqi Sunni leader dismisses accusations

    Harith al-Dhari, a senior Sunni cleric, on 17 November criticised the Iraqi government for ordering his arrest a day earlier. Interior Minister Jawad Bolani said Al-Dhari, the head of Iraq's Sunni Association of Muslim Scholars, has been accused of encouraging sectarian violence. 'The government's policy is that anyone who tries to spread division and strife among the Iraqi people will be chased by our security agencies,' Bolani told the local Al-Iraqiyah television statio

  • Iraqia eyes new planes

    National carrier Iraqi Airways is planning to purchase five Boeing 737-400 passenger jets in a bid to modernise its fleet and meet growing passenger demand. The airline has invited companies authorised to sell the aircraft to submit bids by 4 December. The airline, which currently has a fleet of four, resumed flights following the fall of the Saddam Hussein regime in 2003. It flies to Egypt, Syria, Jordan and the UAE and has a domestic network taking in Irbil and Sulaimaniyah in the north.

  • Irbil and Tokyo negotiate water treatment plant funding

    Talks are under way between the Japan Bank for International Co-operation (JBIC) and the Municipalities Ministry of the Kurdish regional government (KRG) about providing funding for a major water treatment plant to serve Irbil. The Ifraz 3 project calls for the construction of a 10,000-cubic-metre-a-day (cm/d) water treatment plant and conveyor system to divert water from the Upper Zab river, about 30 kilometres from the city.

  • Irbil road revamp begins

    Turkey's Tasyapi has started mobilising on the estimated $52 million rehabilitation of the 60 Metre Old ring-road in central Irbil. The 600-day design and build contract involves the construction of three underpasses over a nine-kilometre stretch of road. Work also includes road widening, landscaping, signalling works and the establishment of new water and sewage pipes. The client is the Municipalities Ministry in the Kurdish regional government.

  • Irbil seaches for $30bn for development

    The Kurdish region of northern Iraq requires $30,000 million of investment over the next five years in order to develop its civilian infrastructure, Kurdistan regional government (KRG) Planning & Development Minister Othman Shwani has told MEED.

  • Israel dismisses ceasefire offer

    Tel Aviv has rejected an offer by Palestinian militants to stop launching missiles into Israel if Israel ends its offensive in the Gaza Strip. The suggestion concerns a partial ceasefire, limited to rocket fire from the Gaza Strip in exchange for a total halt to Israeli operations on all fronts,' Israeli government spokesperson Miri Eisin said. 'This is not serious.' She said the offer did not demonstrate a real commitment to ending violence. The offer came out of a meetin

  • Israel rejects peace plan

    Tel Aviv has rejected a Middle East peace proposal put forward by Spain, France and Italy. Israeli Foreign Affairs Minister Tzipi Livni dismissed the plan, saying it was unacceptable for a new initiative to be launched without co-ordination with Israel. On 17 November, a day after the plan was proposed, Spanish Foreign Affairs Minister Miguel Angel Moratinos said he had discussed the issue with Livni. He said he 'tried to convince her that it's not an anti-Israeli plan'. S

  • Israel rejects peace plan

    Tel Aviv has rejected a Middle East peace proposal put forward by Spain, France and Italy. Israeli Foreign Affairs Minister Tzipi Livni dismissed the plan, saying it was unacceptable for a new initiative to be launched without co-ordination with Israel. On 17 November, a day after the plan was proposed, Spanish Foreign Affairs Minister Miguel Angel Moratinos said he had discussed the issue with Livni. He said he 'tried to convince her that it's n

  • Israeli army kills Hamas members

    Israeli forces killed two Hamas members in the Gaza Strip on 31 October, on the same day that representatives of the group visited Cairo to discuss a possible prisoner exchange. Tel Aviv said that the two men, members of the Ezzedine al-Qassam Brigades, were shot dead during an operation against 'terrorist infrastructure' and were caught in the act of planting explosives. The Hamas delegation was in the Egyptian capital to discuss handing over kidnapped Israeli soldier Gilad Sh

  • Israeli forces kill Palestinian militant

    Israeli troops on 16 November killed an alleged Palestinian gunman in the Al-Ein camp near the West Bank town of Nablus. Earlier, Israeli air strikes targeted the homes of several senior Palestinian militants in Gaza. At least one person was injured. The Israeli army said the buildings were used by militants to store weapons and hold meetings.Palestinian militants launched two rockets into the south of Israel. One of the missiles hit a kibbutz building. On 14 November, mis

  • Israeli minister cancels Qatar trip

    Israeli Foreign Affairs Minister Tzipi Livni has cancelled plans to attend a conference in Qatar on 5 November on the grounds that Hamas representatives will also be present. A less senior official will travel to Doha in her place for the sixth International Conference on New or Restored Democracies, which will discuss issues such as freedom of speech and women's political participation. 'We have learnt that members of Hamas will represent the Palestinians at the international

  • Israeli settlements built on private land, says Israeli group

    Almost 40 per cent of Israeli settlements are built on land privately owned by Palestinians, the Israeli Peace Now group reported on 21 November. The land in questions has been 'effectively stolen' from Palestinians, violating Israeli law. Peace Now has urged Tel Aviv to return the land to its Palestinian owners. The group's findings are based on a leaked database of Israel's Civil Administration in the West Bank. 'The claim by the State and settlers that the settlements h

  • Israeli settlements built on private land, says Israeli group

    Almost 40 per cent of Israeli settlements are built on land privately owned by Palestinians, the Israeli Peace Now group reported on 21 November. The land in questions has been 'effectively stolen' from Palestinians, violating Israeli law. Peace Now has urged Tel Aviv to return the land to its Palestinian owners. The group's findings are based on a leaked database of Israel's Civil Administration in the West Bank. 'The claim by the State and sett

  • Israeli troops pull out of Beit Hanoun

    Israeli tanks and troops on 7 November withdrew from the town of Beit Hanoun in northern Gaza, following six days of military operations in the area. About 50 Palestinians, including 16 civilians, were killed during the latest incursion. Also on 7 November, witnesses said Israeli troops had killed four gunmen and two civilians. Two women were killed in an air strike on the home of Jamila Shanti, a Hamas MP. The withdrawal came as Palestinian Authority President Abbas and P

  • Italy convicts Egyptian over Madrid bombing

    An Italian court on 6 November sentenced an Egyptian to 10 years in prison for his role in the 11 March 2004 Madrid train bombings. Rabei Osman Sayed Ahmed, also known as 'Mohamed the Egyptian', is the first person to be convicted for the attacks, which left 191 people dead. Ahmed had been charged with subversive conspiracy and international terrorism.A second Egyptian, Yahya Mawad Mohammed Rajeh, received a five-year jail-term in the case.

  • Janjaweed kill 63 in Darfur

    At least 63 people have been killed in a week in Darfur by militias supporting the Sudanese government, African peacekeepers said on 3 November. According to the UN, of those killed, 27 people were children younger than 12. Darfur rebels have accused Khartoum of remobilising Arab militias known as the Janjaweed. The government has denied the charge.'The government has begun mobilising the Janjaweed widely, especially in West Darfur, because they want to clea

  • Jeddah redevelops airport

    Jeddah Municipality has appointed the US' HOK to masterplan the redevelopment of the city's old airport into a multi-billion dollar residential and business district. The six-month contract centres on developing a masterplan for a 5-square-kilometre plot owned by the municipality. The entire scheme, which covers an area of 12 square kilometres, will be developed jointly by the municipality and private developers.Work has already started on the first phase of the development following th

  • Jeddah tackles shortages

    The Saline Water Conversion Corporation (SWCC) is planning a new desalination plant to address water shortages in Jeddah. The plant will have capacity of 200,000 cubic metres a day and use reverse osmosis (RO) technology. The project will be built on a fast-track basis in order to resolve Jeddah's pressing water shortage, which this summer saw thousands of city residents left without running water. It will be funded by the state, with the main construction contract to be let on a lump-sum turnke

  • Jizan to get new mall

    The contracting division of the local Abdul Rahman Saad al-Rashid & Sons (Artar) has started mobilising on the new Jizan mega mall. The estimated SR 180 million ($48 million) project includes an indoor amusement park, retail and food facilities, an ice-rink and a car park. Artar is also negotiating with firms for the contract to manage a hypermarket in the commercial centre. Located at the junction between King Fahd road and Prince Sultan road, the mall will have a built-up area of 105,000 squar

  • Joint venture takes Saadiyat bridge contract

    The local Tourism Development & Investment Company (TDIC) has awarded Germany's Ed Zueblin with the local Saif bin Darwish the estimated AED 700 million ($190 million) bridge contract to connect Saadiyat island and Abu Dhabi island. The project is one of the largest infrastructure schemes in the emirate (MEED 6:10:06).

  • Joint venture to launch Islamic home loan business

    A 50:50 joint venture of Shamil Bank and Bank of Bahrain & Kuwait will launch by the end of November a local Islamic finance company targeting the property market. Sakana Holistic Housing Solutions will initially offer sharia-compliant mortgages and plans to expand into property finance, management and consulting. It will be the fifth Islamic home finance provider out of a total of 12 mortgage lenders in the kingdom.'The market is not as big as Dubai but there are thousands of units [in

  • JORDAN

    Tender no 16 WB/2006. Project no P075829. Supply of the following electronic vocational workshop equipment as part of the education reform for knowledge economy project: 1) telephone exchanges and facsimile machines; 2) video/audio equipment; 3) computer components; 4) printed circuit boards; 5) measurement devices; 6) soldering stations; 7) electrical equipment; 8) power supplies; and 9) audio-video trainers. Contractors may bid for one or all lots. Financed by the World Bank.

  • Jordan reshuffles cabinet

    Jordan's King Abdullah on 22 November swore in nine new ministers in a reshuffle aimed to facilitate greater cohesion in Prime Minister Marouf Bakheet's cabinet. Bakheet kept 14 of the 23 members of his previous cabinet and changed the portfolios of two. Abdelelah al-Khatib kept his position as Foreign Affairs Minister. Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Ziad Fariz and Interior Minister Eid al-Fayez also held onto their posts. Sharif al-Z

  • JORDAN: Rail renaissance

    At its peak, the Hijaz railway transported up to 300,000 pilgrims south each year for the annual Hajj. Begun in 1900 at the behest of Ottoman Sultan Abdul Hamid II, the line stretched 1,300 kilometres from Damascus to Medina a remarkable feat of engineering. In its early years it was attacked by local tribesmen, and during the First World War it was repeatedly damaged at the hands of the guerrilla force led by TE Lawrence during the 1916 Arab Revolt.

  • Jordanian slander case dismissed

    A military court on 5 November dismissed the slander charges levelled against Adnan Abu Odeh, a former aide to the late King Hussain. The official Petra news agency quoted an anonymous attorney-general as saying that Abu Odeh 'will not be tried and the case against him is considered closed'.Abu Odeh allegedly criticised Jordan's royal family and the government over their treatment of Jordanians of Palestinian origin during an interview with Doha-based satellite television

  • Jorf Lasfar acid line under way

    Construction work is under way on the estimated MD 2,000 million ($229 million) project to build a new phosphoric acid production line at the Jorf Lasfar complex.Civil works are being carried out by local construction companies including Societe Maghrebienne de Genie Civil (Somagec) and Sogea Maroc, a subsidiary of France's Vinci.The plant, due to come on stream in mid-2007, will produce 1.1 million tonnes a year (t/y) of sulphuric acid and 375,000 t/y of phosphoric acid.

  • Kantara fund increased

    The European Investment Bank's Facility for Euro-Mediterranean Investment & Partnership (Femip) is to contribute Eur 10 million ($12.6 million) to the Kantara fund managed by Societe Generale Asset Management (SGAM), the asset management subsidiary of Societe Generale Group (SG Group). The multi-sector private equity investment fund, the first of its kind by a major European asset manager in the region, will eventually reach Eur 120 million ($152 million). The fund will target medium to large

  • Khansaheb tees off

    The local Khansaheb Civil Engineering has received a letter of intent for the estimated AED 160 million ($43 million) contract to build the first two championship golf courses at Jumeirah Golf Estates. The local Al-Naboodah Contracting is working on the bulk earthworks package. The UK's Mott Macdonald is providing engineering consultancy services. Dubai-based property developer Nakheel is the client (MEED 14:4:06).

  • Kharafi gets into taxis

    The local Kuwaiti-Syrian Holding Company (KSHC), a subsidiary of Kuwait's Mohammed Abdulmohsin Kharafi & Sons, is planning a new taxi service for Damascus. To be called Star Taxi, KSHC will invest up to $10 million in the new company, which aims to run 500 cars as part of its long-term strategy. The company will start operations by the end of 2006.

  • Kharafi unveils projects in Damascus and Aleppo

    Kuwait's Mohammed Abdulmohsin Kharafi & Sons is planning two major investments totalling $580 million in Damascus. The first, $217 million project, to be called Kiwan, will be located in the centre of the capital on a 50,000-square-metre plot.

  • Kharafi wins airport work

    Kuwait's Kharafi National has been awarded two contracts estimated to be worth a total of AED 400 million ($108 million) at Dubai World Central (DWC). The contracts cover two central utility complex packages that will serve the airport and the DLC headquarters and office park buildings. A joint venture of Beirut-based Dar al-Handasah (Shair & Partners) and France's Aeroports de Paris is the overall consultant for DWC, formerly known as Jebel Ali Airport City (MEED 25:8:06).

  • Khartoum ready for rebel talks

    A senior adviser to the Sudanese president said on 9 November that Khartoum was ready to begin unconditional talks with the National Redemption Front (NRF) to quell violence in Darfur. However, Nafie Ali Nafie also said that the government saw no need for a new peace deal. 'We accept dialogue with the NRF without imposing any preconditions on them and without accepting any condition. If we agree then we will thank God. If not, then we will continue the dialogue,' said Ali Nafie.

  • Khartoum ready for rebel talks

    A senior adviser to the Sudanese president said on 9 November that Khartoum was ready to begin unconditional talks with the National Redemption Front (NRF) to quell violence in Darfur. However, Nafie Ali Nafie also said that the government saw no need for a new peace deal. 'We accept dialogue with the NRF without imposing any preconditions on them and without accepting any condition. If we agree then we will thank God. If not, then we will continue the dialogue,' said Ali Nafie

  • KIA funds: No small nest egg

    The Kuwait Investment Authority (KIA) was established in 1982 after it became clear that a specialised body was required to manage the state's increasing amount of assets. Since 1976, when the government created the Future Generation Fund and set aside 10 per cent of annual budgetary revenues to it, officials have been prohibited from revealing the precise size of the fund, although close examination of the state's accounts can provide a basic picture. In 1986, the government revealed that reve

  • King Khalid uni expands

    King Khalid University has invited local contractors to submit bids by mid-January to build colleges and buildings at its new Abha campus. The tenders, each worth about $27 million, include construction of a women's college, faculties of literature, computer sciences and sharia and a general administrative building. Zuhair Fayez Partnership Consultants is the consultant.

  • Kipco plans second eurobond

    Roadshows were launched on 8 November for a floating rate note (FRN) issue by Kuwait Projects Company (Kipco), the second under its euro medium-term note (EMTN) programme (MEED 14:4:06). The euro-denominated paper is expected to be worth Eur 200 million ($254.1 million) and, following market sounding, will have a tenor of two years. 'We discovered that appetite was strong at the moment for shorter-term paper,' says a Kipco official. Dresdner Kleinwort Wasserstein and Lehman Brothers are the

  • Kipco plans second eurobond

    Roadshows were launched on 8 November for a floating rate note (FRN) issue by Kuwait Projects Company (Kipco), the second under its euro medium-term note (EMTN) programme (MEED 14:4:06). The euro-denominated paper is expected to be worth Eur 200 million ($254.1 million) and, following market sounding, will have a tenor of two years. 'We discovered that appetite was strong at the moment for shorter-term paper,' says a Kipco official. Dresdner Kleinwort Wasserstein and Lehman Brothers are the l

  • Koreans ahead for Olefins conversion

    South Korea's Samsung Engineering Company is understood to be frontrunner for the contract to build the region's first olefins conversion unit (OCU) at the Saudi European Petrochemical Company (Ibn Zahr) polypropylene complex in Jubail, following the submission of revised commercial bids in early November. Final contractor selection is due imminently (MEED 10:11:06).

  • KURDISH IRAQ: Marriage of inconvenience

    For once, history has not repeated itself in northern Iraq. Five million Kurds are in the ascendancy. As the rest of the country spirals out of control, the Kurdistan regional government (KRG) is positioning itself as the main gateway to Iraq. Draft investment and oil laws are close to approval. Foreign companies are flying freely into Irbil and Sulaimaniyah in search of business. 'We will use our constitutional rights for the good of our people in Iraq,' says regional prime minister (PM) Nec

  • Kurds seek refineries

    The Kurdistan regional government (KRG) is examining options to resolve the region's refining shortage, a senior KRG official said in mid-November. 'We have been looking to buy refineries, but there is nothing in the market,' said KRG Natural Resources minister Ashti Hamrani. Refined products across the north are being smuggled from Turkey, Iran and the rest of Iraq as local authorities struggle to meet growing demand for refined products.

  • KUWAIT

    Tender no HS/S/117. (Open to prequalified contractors only.) Operation and maintenance (O&M) of a sewage water purification station at Umm al-Haiman for the Public Works Ministry. Bid bond is 5 per cent of tender price. A pre-bid meeting will take place on 4 December.

  • KUWAIT

    Tender no ME/EW/62/2006-2007. (Open to prequalified contractors only.) Installation of street lightening equipment over all of Kuwait for the Energy Ministry. Bid bond is 2.5 per cent of tender price. A pre-bid meeting will take place on 29 November.

  • KUWAIT

    Tender no MSAL/3/2006-2007. Carrying out maintenance and expansion works for a social development centre building at Jahra for the Social Affairs & Labour Ministry. Bid bond is 5 per cent of tender price. A pre-bid meeting will take place on 29 November.

  • KUWAIT

    Tender no ME/EW/66/2006-2007. (Open to prequalified contractors only.) Construction, completion and maintenance of a 1,200-millimetre-diameter ductile iron distilled water pipeline extending from the Doha West water distillation station up to the Doha water storage and distribution complex (P10), chemicals building and mixing station, and carrying out modifications inside the pumping station and related works at the Doha Water pumping and distribution complex (P10) for the Energy Ministry. Bid b

  • KUWAIT

    CD extension. Tender no PAHC/M/745-2006/2007. Construction, completion and maintenance of 443 houses, and public buildings and main services works for the Saad al-Abdulla city housing project, block 8.

  • KUWAIT

    CD extension. Tender no RFP/1394. Improvement to the header ESD system at South Kuwait gathering centres (GCs) 3, 4, 6, 7, 8 and 21.

  • KUWAIT

    Tender no PTT/612/2006/2007. Supply of a telegraph network for the Communications Ministry. Bid bond is 2 per cent of tender price.

  • KUWAIT

    CD extension. Tender no RFP/1330. Provision of completion equipment and associated services for development wells for Kuwait Oil Company. Bid bond is 2.5 per cent of tender price. A pre-bid meeting will take place on 24 December.

  • KUWAIT

    Tender no ME/EW/56/2006-2007. (Open to prequalified contractors only.) Connection of 125 main electrical transformer stations for control and monitoring centres for the Energy Ministry. Bid bond is 2.5 per cent of tender price. A pre-bid meeting will take place on 19 November.

  • KUWAIT

    Tender no ME/EW/71/2006-2007. (Open to prequalified contractors only.) Construction, completion and maintenance of three ground concrete tanks with capacity of 55 million gallons of seawater and carrying out associated works at the water storage and distribution complex at Subiya, C1, stage two, for the Energy Ministry. Bid bond is 2.5 per cent of tender price. A pre-bid meeting will take place on 27 November.

  • KUWAIT

    Tender no ME/EW/68/2006-2007. (Open to prequalified contractors only.) Construction, completion and maintenance of a 1,200-millimetre-diameter main seawater distribution line extended from the West Jileeb tower to link up with the 600-millimetre line through the sixth ring road for the Energy Ministry. Bid bond is 2.5 per cent of tender price. A pre-bid meeting will take place on 22 November.

  • KUWAIT

    Tender no ME/EW/72/2006-2007. (Open to prequalified contractors only.) Repair of damages and accidental breaking, detection of leakages in the pipe extension of a water network and maintenance of accessories in the southeast area for the Energy Ministry. Bid bond is 2.5 per cent of tender price. A pre-bid meeting will take place on 24 December.

  • KUWAIT

    CD extension. Tender no HS/104. (Open to prequalified contractors only.) Renovation of a sanitary drainage network, stage nine, part B, in Sabah al-Salem for the Public Works Ministry. Bid bond is 5 per cent of tender price.

  • KUWAIT

    CD extension. Tender no HS/103. (Open to prequalified contractors only.) Renovation of a sanitary drainage network, stage nine, part A, in Mushrif for the Public Works Ministry. Bid bond is 5 per cent of tender price. A pre-bid meeting will take place on 1 October.

  • KUWAIT

    Tender no 9/2006-2007. Three years' maintenance and rehabilitation of fire brigade installations and utilities for the Fire Brigade General Directorate. Bid bond is 5 per cent of tender price. A pre-bid meeting will take place on 25 November.

  • KUWAIT

    Tender no ME/EW/50/2006-2007. Replacement and maintenance of electricity and water meters and carrying out disconnecting and connecting works all over Kuwait for the Energy Ministry. Bid bond is 2.5 per cent of tender price. A pre-bid meeting will take place on 28 November.

  • KUWAIT

    Tender no ME/EW/53/2006-2007. Supply of cable defect detecting devices for the Energy Ministry. Bid bond is 2.5 per cent of tender price.Details on payment of KD 200 from Central Tenders Committee, Khalid bin al-Waleed Street, PO Box 1070, Safat 13011, telephone (965) 2401200, fax (965) 2416574.

  • KUWAIT

    Tender no S/MQA/51/2006-2007. Construction of a sub-electric station for a new building at an infectious disease hospital for the Health Ministry. Bid bond is 5 per cent of tender price.

  • KUWAIT

    CD extension. Tender no ME/EW/42/2006-2007. Carrying out upgrading and production increasing works for first relay distillers at Doha power station for the Energy Ministry.

  • KUWAIT

    Tender no RFP/1442. (Open to prequalified contractors only.) Construction of a new gas pipeline. Bid bond is 2.5 per cent of tender price.

  • KUWAIT

    Tender no 79/2006-2007. Building, supply, operation, delivery and guarantee of land and sea vehicles (Hawwama) for the border security sector.Details on payment of KD 500 from Interior Ministry, Tenders Department, General Directorate of Financial Affairs, Ardiya.

  • KUWAIT

    Tender no RFP/1357. (Open to prequalified contractors only.) Provision of pest control services. Bid bond is 2.5 per cent of tender price. A pre-bid meeting will take place on 15 November.

  • KUWAIT INVESTMENT AUTHORITY: On the move

    The board of directors of the Kuwait Investment Authority (KIA) recently handed it a daunting task. 'We have been set a target of doubling our investment portfolio over the next 10 years, independent of any additional cash injections [from the state],' says KIA managing director Bader al-Saad. 'It's a challenge, but I'm confident we can do it.'

  • Kuwait parliament votes to sever ties with Denmark

    Kuwaiti MPs on 7 November voted in favour of a non-binding recommendation calling on the government to end diplomatic and commercial ties with Denmark over controversial cartoons of the Prophet Mohammed. The government is not obliged to take the parliament's recommendation on board. Foreign Affairs Minister Sheikh Mohammed al-Sabah said any severing of ties would need to be undertaken in co-ordination with other Arab and Islamic countries. The parliament (National Assembly

  • Kuwait rules out sabotage in latest refinery explosion

    Kuwait National Petroleum Company (KNPC) has ruled out sabotage and vandalism as causes of an explosion on 4 November that halted production at the 200,000-barrel-a-day (b/d) Shuaiba refinery. The state refinery operator immediately launched an investigation into the incident, which brought back memories of a series of incidents in the state that caused substantial damage to several facilities in 2000-02.

  • Kuwait rules out sabotage in latest refinery explosion

    Kuwait National Petroleum Company (KNPC) has ruled out sabotage and vandalism as causes of an explosion on 4 November that halted production at the 200,000-barrel-a-day (b/d) Shuaiba refinery. The state refinery operator immediately launched an investigation into the incident, which brought back memories of a series of incidents in the state that caused substantial damage to several facilities in 2000-02.

  • Kuwait, Abu Dhabi to invest in refineries

    Kuwait and Abu Dhabi are pushing ahead with plans for significant overseas refinery investments. Kuwaiti Energy Minister Sheikh Ali al-Jarrah al-Sabah has signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Louisiana governor Kathleen Blanco to set up a refinery in the state, while the Abu Dhabi government-owned International Petroleum Investment Company (IPIC) is planning to build a $5,000 million refinery in the Hub area of Baluchistan province in Pakistan.The Kuwaiti deal, signed on 10 No

  • Kuwait, Abu Dhabi to invest in refineries

    Kuwait and Abu Dhabi are pushing ahead with plans for significant overseas refinery investments. Kuwaiti Energy Minister Sheikh Ali al-Jarrah al-Sabah has signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Louisiana governor Kathleen Blanco to set up a refinery in the state, while the Abu Dhabi government-owned International Petroleum Investment Company (IPIC) is planning to build a $5,000 million refinery in the Hub area of Baluchistan province in Pakistan.

  • L&T wins Sohar homes

    Larsen & Toubro (Oman) has won a $120 million contract to build a residential complex at Sohar. The contract involves the construction of nine apartment blocks and about 150 villas, as well as leisure facilities and a shopping complex and is expected to take 18 months to complete. The developer is the local Saud Bahwan Group. The project follows the local Majan Gulf Properties' announcement in July that it is developing a $145 million residential and commercial scheme at Sohar. Demand for housin

  • Labour camp planned

    Al-Enma'a House for Real Estate , a subsidiary of Kuwait Finance House , is planning to develop a BD 12 million ($31.6 million) labour camp in the Bahrain International Investment Park at Hidd. A consultant is due to be appointed imminently to draw up detailed designs.

  • Labourers left dead by Sadr City bombing

    A bombing in the Sadr City area of Baghdad on 30 October left at least 33 people dead and wounded another 60. The majority of the victims were understood to be labourers queuing for work. Reports said that the device was concealed in a rubbish bin in Mudhafa Square, on the edge of a predominantly Shia district. 'The bomb was hidden in a plastic bag. It is the third time this year that the square has been targeted by bombers,' a witness told AFP. No group has yet admitted respon

  • Lahoud rejects Hariri tribunal

    Pro-Syrian Lebanese President Lahoud on 14 November spoke out against the cabinet's approval of a draft UN proposal for a tribunal to try suspects in the assassination of former prime minister Rafiq Hariri. He said the decision was unconstitutional as he had not backed it. 'The cabinet's approval of the plans... are not binding on the Lebanese state,' Lahoud wrote in a letter to UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan.Hezbollah also rejected the decision after its two ministers an

  • Latakia tourism projects planned

    Qatari Diar Real Estate Investment Company is planning an estimated $200 million tourism development on the Mediterranean coast near Latakia which will have a total area of 220,000 square metres.

  • Latakia tourism projects planned

    Qatari Diar Real Estate Investment Company is planning an estimated $200 million tourism development on the Mediterranean coast near Latakia which will have a total area of 220,000 square metres.

  • Lebanese factions discuss unity government

    Leaders of Lebanon's rival political factions on 6 November met to discuss Hezbollah's demands for the formation of a national unity government. The US, Saudi Arabia and the UN have backed the talks, which were called for by Nabih Berri, the Shia speaker of parliament. Hezbollah leader Sheikh Hassan Nasrallah did not attend the talks following Israeli threats to assassinate him. Nasrallah has threatened peaceful demonstrations calling for new elections if the current anti-Syrian governme

  • Lebanese government starts to crumble

    Environment Minister Yacoub Sarraf on 13 November resigned from the Lebanese cabinet, bringing to six the total number of ministers to do so in two days. Sarraf is a Christian allied to Lebanon's pro-Syrian President Lahoud. On 11 November, two Hezbollah ministers and three of their allies from the Amal movement submitted their resignations, which Prime Minister Fouad Siniora rejected. The ministers quit after Siniora rejected Hezbollah's demands for one-third of the cabinet seats. For t

  • Lebanese government starts to crumble

    Environment Minister Yacoub Sarraf on 13 November resigned from the Lebanese cabinet, bringing to six the total number of ministers to do so in two days. Sarraf is a Christian allied to Lebanon's pro-Syrian President Lahoud. On 11 November, two Hezbollah ministers and three of their allies from the Amal movement submitted their resignations, which Prime Minister Fouad Siniora rejected. The ministers quit after Siniora rejected Hezbollah's demands for one-third of the cabinet se

  • Lebanese leaders continue talks

    Leaders of Lebanon's rival political factions met again on 7 November to discuss Hezbollah's demands for the expansion of the cabinet. 'The session was frank, deep and it was rich because of the discussions on what's happening and the crises in the country,' said parliament speaker Nabih Berri. The talks were attended by leaders of all the major parties in Lebanon. Hezbollah leader Sheikh Hassan Nasrallah was not present. Mohammed Raad, the head of the group's parliamentar

  • Lebanese leaders resume negotiations

    Lebanon's anti-Syrian parliamentarians were expected on 9 November to reject a demand from Hezbollah for more cabinet seats for its political allies. If the request had been granted, it would have given the opposition nine seats in the 26-member cabinet. The government is understood to be willing to give seats to allies of Michel Aoun, the Christian opposition leader and ally of Hezbollah, but not to surrendering one-third of the total seats. That would give the opposition

  • Lebanese leaders resume negotiations

    Lebanon's anti-Syrian parliamentarians were expected on 9 November to reject a demand from Hezbollah for more cabinet seats for its political allies. If the request had been granted, it would have given the opposition nine seats in the 26-member cabinet. The government is understood to be willing to give seats to allies of Michel Aoun, the Christian opposition leader and ally of Hezbollah, but not to surrendering one-third of the total seats. Tha

  • Lebanese minister recalls resignation

    Lebanon's Interior Minister Hassan al-Sabaa has recalled his resignation which he submitted in February. 'In response to the Prime Minister's [Fouad Siniora] appeal and in view of the delicate political situation in Lebanon... I announce drawing back my resignation from the government,' Al-Sabaa was quoted as saying on 23 November. The announcement came shortly after Siniora urged resigned ministers to return to their posts. Six pro-Syrian cabinet members quit their jobs earlier in Novem

  • Lebanese minister shot dead

    Lebanese Industry Minister and Christian leader Pierre Gemayel was shot dead in Beirut's Sin el-Fil suburb on 21 November. Gunmen attacked the minister's convoy as it drove through the capital's Christian neighbourhood. Gemayel, son of former president Amin Gemayel, was a member of the Phalange party and a leading anti-Syrian politician. Saad Hariri, son of the assassinated former prime minister Rafiq Hariri and leader of the anti-Syrian coalition in Lebanon's parliament,

  • Lebanese minister shot dead

    Lebanese Industry Minister and Christian leader Pierre Gemayel was shot dead in Beirut's Sin el-Fil suburb on 21 November. Gunmen attacked the minister's convoy as it drove through the capital's Christian neighbourhood. Gemayel, son of former president Amin Gemayel, was a member of the Phalange party and a leading anti-Syrian politician. Saad Hariri, son of the assassinated former prime minister Rafiq Hariri and leader of the anti-Syrian coalitio

  • LEBANON

    CD extension. Prequalification. Carrying out the Baalbek and Tyre archaeological project as part of the cultural heritage and urban development project. Co-financed by the Agence Francaise de Developpement, Italy and France. The scope of works include: 1) archaeological works: 2) conservation of archaeological structures; 3) conservation of archaeological surfaces; and 4) presentation and landscaping. An information and presentation session will take place on 27 November.

  • Lebanon mourns slain politician

    Mourners on 22 November gathered around the coffin of assassinated Lebanese Industry Minister Pierre Gemayel as it was carried through the village of Bikfaya, east of Beirut. Gemayel was shot dead a day earlier when at least three gunmen intercepted his convoy in the Sin el-Fil district of Beirut. Gemayel's funeral will take place on 23 November.Several politicians have blamed Syria for the killing. Damascus has denied the allegation. 'It seems the Syrian regime will conti

  • Lebanon mourns slain politician

    Mourners on 22 November gathered around the coffin of assassinated Lebanese Industry Minister Pierre Gemayel as it was carried through the village of Bikfaya, east of Beirut. Gemayel was shot dead a day earlier when at least three gunmen intercepted his convoy in the Sin el-Fil district of Beirut. Gemayel's funeral will take place on 23 November.Several politicians have blamed Syria for the killing. Damascus has denied the allegation. 'It seems t

  • Legal advice sought

    Washington is seeking a legal adviser to help draw up legislation aimed at attracting investment into the country's oil sector. The US Commerce Department published in late October a solicitation notice for a 12-month contract. The deadline for quotations is 20 November.

  • Libya plans airports revamp

    The Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) is accelerating work on its $1,000 million programme to modernise the country's ageing airports. Bids were due on 16 November from nine companies for the $100 million construction contract to build a new passenger terminal at Benghazi Airport.

  • Loan oversubscribed

    Syndication has closed of a $4,000 million revolving loan facility for Saudi Aramco and documentation is under way. The deal, which consists of a $3,000 million five-year tranche and a $1,000 million, one-year portion, was oversubscribed about 1.5 times. Tickets of $300 million and $150 million were on offer. The mandated lead arrangers (MLAs) and bookrunners, committing to at least $400 million, were BNP Paribas, HSBC, JP Morgan and Riyad Bank (MEED 19:7:02).

  • Locals bid low for inter-Jubail power line

    The local SSEM is low bidder at SR 213.5 million ($57 million) for a contract to build a transmission line between the planned Jubail independent water and power project (IWPP) and the Jubail 2 380-kV substation, following the opening of commercial bids on 14 November.SSEM's offer is marginally lower than the next best price of SR 226 million ($60.3 million) submitted by the South Korean/local Middle East Engineering & Development Company (Meedco). Pakistan's National Power Construction

  • Locals form shipping firm

    Egyptian investors established a new shipping company in early November. Egyptian Company for Petroleum Tankers has a paid-in capital of $150 million with investments from National Bank of Egypt, Banque Misr, National Navigation Company, Egyptian General Petroleum Company, Middle East Tankers, Petroleum Marine Services, Petroleum Pipelines and the Egyptian Kuwaiti Holding Company. The new company will own and rent its ships and will specialise in the transportation of liquefied natural gas.

  • Locals take Hidd work

    The local Bokhowa Group has been awarded the BD 16.2 million ($42.6 million) contract by the Works & Housing Ministry to construct the port buildings at the new Khalifa bin Salman port at Hidd. The 86-week job, due to start in January, includes operations, customs and harbourmaster buildings. Netherlands-based APM Terminals signed the 25-year concession agreement for the new port in early November (see transport).

  • Locals take Sohar power

    The local Al-Hassan Engineering has been awarded the mechanical, electrical and instrumentation package on the power island to serve the Sohar aluminium smelter. The one-year, RO 9.3 million ($23.9 million) contract covers two steam turbine generators and four heat recovery steam generators, four gas turbine generators supplied by France's Alstom, which is the engineering, procurement and construction contractor on the 1,000-MW plant. The US' Bechtel is carrying out the engineering, procurement

  • Locals win Pearl tower

    Local developer First Qatar Real Estate has awarded the local Qatar Arabian Construction the estimated QR 265 million ($73 million) contract to build a residential tower on Pearl Qatar. Completion is expected by August 2008. Bahrain-based Projacs International is the project manager.

  • Lummus wins Sasref work

    US-based ABB Lummus Global has been selected for the contract to design and build an ultra-low sulphur diesel complex at the Jubail-based Saudi Aramco Shell Refinery Company (Sasref) refinery. Contract signing is due soon (MEED 25:8:06).

  • Madrid approves Medgaz

    Spain's Industry, Tourism & Commerce Ministry has approved the Medgaz project to build a 774 million-cubic-feet-a-day subsea gas pipeline between Beni Saf, 100 kilometres west of Arzew, and Almeria in southern Spain. Bids are under evaluation for the four main construction packages and a final investment decision by the Medgaz consortium, comprising Algerian state energy company Sonatrach, Gaz de France and Total, both of France, Iberdrola, Cepsa and Endesa, all of Spain, and the UK's BP, is exp

  • Mafraq gets next economic zone

    King Abdullah announced on 21 November plans to establish the kingdom's second special economic zone in the northern Mafraq governorate.

  • Major Abu Dhabi development planned

    Abu Dhabi National Exhibitions Company plans to build a major mixed-use development alongside Abu Dhabi National Exhibition Centre. Known as Capital Centre, the project will involve the development of a 2.3-kilometre-long marina, a monorail, 30 towers, two shopping centres and the expansion of the existing exhibition centre.

  • Major Eastern Province line goes for bid

    Saudi Aramco has invited 13 international and local companies to submit technical and commercial bids by 25 December for a major oil pipeline project in the Eastern Province.Called Shbab 1, the engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) contract covers the fabrication and installation of a 200-kilometre-long, 30-38-inch-diameter pipeline from the Shaybah oil field to the central processing facility at Aqbaiq.The new pipeline will run parallel to the existing 480-kilometre Sh

  • Major Gaza raid kills six

    At least six Palestinians were killed and 45 more were wounded on 1 November as Israel launched one of its biggest raids on Gaza since it began its current offensive. The military operation was triggered by the kidnapping of the Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit in a cross-border raid on 25 June. Israeli troops carried out several air strikes and moved to surround the town of Beit Hanoun. Fighting was reported in the Jabaliya refugee camp and the town of Beit Lahiya. One Israel

  • Major projects get under way in Beirut

    Developers are pushing ahead with plans for two major schemes totalling $625 million in the Beirut Central District (BCD), less than three months after the Israeli assault brought the country's economy to a standstill.

  • Margham plans new compressors

    Companies responded in late October to an initial inquiry for a contract to provide detailed engineering, design and procurement services for a Margham Dubai Establishment (MDE) project to supply and install two sets of new 10,000-hp compressors, modifications to the existing facilities.

  • Margham plans new compressors

    Companies responded in late October to an initial inquiry for a contract to provide detailed engineering, design and procurement services for a Margham Dubai Establishment (MDE) project to supply and install two sets of new 10,000-hp compressors, modifications to the existing facilities.

  • Maritime City job awarded

    The local Bin Hafeez General Contracting & Transport Establishment has been awarded the estimated AED 370 million ($100 million) 2B infrastructure works at Dubai Maritime City. The scope of works covers roads, services and paving for half of the reclaimed area. The local/Belgian Bel Hasa Six Construct is working on package 2A. The US' Turner Construction International is the project manager and Mouchel Parkman of the UK is the infrastructure consultant. The local Nakheel is the client (MEED 8:9:

  • Market in focus: Saudi Arabia: TASI goes into a nosedive

    Investors who thought they had seen the worst of the share price crash in the first quarter were faced with a rude awakening in early November. The Tadawul All-Share Index (TASI) plummeted after Eid, sinking below 9,000 points and reversing all gains since early 2005.

  • MARKETS IN FOCUS: REGIONAL: 'An Oasis of opportunity'

    Investors escaping the Gulf to nearby South-East Asia for the Eid break are unlikely to have spent much time flicking through the financial pages of the local press. If they did, however, they might have reflected that conditions at home are not too bad. In spite of the wariness that has set in since the first-quarter crash, GCC bourses hold plenty of potential.

  • Marmul, Al-Burj tendered

    Petroleum Development Oman (PDO) has issued tenders for two engineering, procurement and construction contracts covering the Marmul enhanced oil recovery (EOR) and Al-Burj full-field water reinjection projects.

  • Mayadeen capital hiked

    The local National Ranges Company (Mayadeen) is planning a rights issue and a private placement of shares in order to raise its capital to KD 100 million ($346 million) from KD 2.4 million ($8.3 million). New shareholders will hold 87 per cent of the company's stock once the placement is completed. The company is listed on the Kuwait Stock Exchange and plans to dual-list on the Dubai Financial Market. The move is part of the company's plans to diversify away from its core shooting range business

  • Medina job discussed

    The local Shibh al-Jazira Contracting Company is in negotiations with Medina Municipality to build a major bridge in the city. The estimated SR 100 million ($27 million) contract centres on the construction of a 600-metre bridge in the city centre. Construction will take 24 months.

  • Medina job discussed

    The local Shibh al-Jazira Contracting Company is in negotiations with Medina Municipality to build a major bridge in the city. The estimated SR 100 million ($27 million) contract centres on the construction of a 600-metre bridge in the city centre. Construction will take 24 months.

  • Medina transport plan nears

    The local Najd al-Arabiya for Joint Development is finalising plans with the government to develop a comprehensive transport system for Medina.

  • MEED Comment: Going nuclear

    In January, Saudi Arabia's Foreign Affairs Minister Prince Saud al-Faisal told MEED that Riyadh wanted a nuclear free Gulf. Prince Saud's comments were made in the context of mounting international tension over Iran's nuclear enrichment programme and were clearly aimed at Tehran. 'We are urging Iran to follow our position,' he said. 'The Gulf and the Middle East should be nuclear free.'The kingdom's position was based primarily on the desire to prevent a nuclear arms race

  • Melrose takes Mesaha

    Ganoub el-Wadi Petroleum Holding Company (Ganope) has awarded Edinburgh-based Melrose Resources a block in the latest bidding round. Melrose will acquire a 40 per cent working interest in the Western Desert's new Mesaha concession, with its partners, Greece's Hellenic Petroleum and Australia's Oil Search, which will each take a 30 per cent stake.

  • Melrose takes Mesaha

    Ganoub el-Wadi Petroleum Holding Company (Ganope) has awarded Edinburgh-based Melrose Resources a block in the latest bidding round. Melrose will acquire a 40 per cent working interest in the Western Desert's new Mesaha concession, with its partners, Greece's Hellenic Petroleum and Australia's Oil Search, which will each take a 30 per cent stake.

  • METHANOL: Making the most of it

    When Riyadh decided in the mid-1970s to deploy its associated gas for the development of a petrochemicals industry, one of the first products to emerge from Jubail was methanol. Thirty years on, the substance has been eclipsed by other, more lucrative alternatives such as liquefied natural gas (LNG) and ethylene. Nevertheless, the region enjoys the same unmatched global competitiveness in methanol as in these commodities, and regional capacity is being ramped up fast.

  • Middle East Airlines: Keeping the flag flying

    One minute I was negotiating with Boeing and Airbus, the next we were being bombed,' says Mohammed el-Hout, chairman of Middle East Airlines (MEA).

  • Middle East millionaires on the rise

    The number of high net-worth individuals (HNWIs) in the region those with financial assets of at least $1 million grew by 9.8 per cent in 2005, according to a report published by Merrill Lynch and Capgemini in mid-June. Globally, the number of HNWIs grew by 6.5 per cent over the period to 8.7 million, of which there are about 300,000 in the region.'Accounting for nearly two thirds of the world's oil reserves, the Middle East continued to benefit from the global dependence on fossil fue

  • Middle East tops Tokyo's new lending list

    The Gulf's booming projects market has pushed the Middle East ahead of Asia for the first time in lending by the Tokyo-funded Japan Bank for International Co-operation (JBIC). The region accounted for the largest proportion of new global lending in the 2005/06 financial year, which ended in March.

  • Minister lays out economic priorities

    Muscat will not launch further major gas-based projects in the near future, but will instead concentrate on developing downstream industries to maximise job creation, Commerce & Industry Minister Maqbool bin Ali Sultan told MEED on 3 November.

  • Minister lays out economic priorities

    Muscat will not launch further major gas-based projects in the near future, but will instead concentrate on developing downstream industries to maximise job creation, Commerce & Industry Minister Maqbool bin Ali Sultan told MEED on 3 November.'The next gas-based phase will be value-added, for example turning the Oman Polypropylene output [from Sohar] into plastics,' he said. 'Big new gas-based industries are off the agenda at present because of limited gas. Gas and oil exploration are bo

  • Mitsui group bids low for Shuaiba north

    The group led by Japan's Mitsui & Company is low bidder for the contract to build the Shuaiba north power and desalination plant, south of Kuwait City, following the submission of technical and commercial bids on 19 November. The client, the Ministry of Energy (Electricity & Water), will take three-four months evaluating bids before making an award (MEED 8:9:06).

  • Mixed performance by Middle East in corruption study

    A survey of international organisations and businesses has concluded that political and public sector corruption in the UAE is the lowest in the Middle East. Iraq is seen as the most corrupt country in the region.

  • Mizin to build Majan

    Local real estate developer Mizin is to build a AED 15,000 million ($4,087 million) development in Dubailand. Majan, formerly known as Dubai City, will involve the construction of 150 towers and will be located off Emirates road close to Global Village. The local Khansaheb Civil Engineering is working on the enabling works package. The UK's Halcrow is the masterplan and infrastructure consultant (MEED 13:10:06).

  • Mock raids staged over Beirut

    Israeli warplanes on 31 October staged mock attack raids on Hezbollah targets in Beirut and areas of south Lebanon, according to Lebanese security forces.Eight Israeli warplanes flew at low altitude over the city and dived at targets, but no bombings were reported. The mock raid was the biggest show of Israeli air strength in Lebanon since the 34-day conflict ended in August. Tel Aviv has warned that it would continue to fly over Lebanon to prevent Hezbollah

  • Mohammed acts on working conditions

    UAE vice-president and Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al-Maktoum has ordered the federal government to improve working conditions across the federation. The move comes shortly before publication on 12 November of a report by US-based Human Rights Watch, which is expected to be critical of the UAE's record on working conditions.A previous Human Rights Watch report in March said: 'The government of the UAE should take immediate steps to end the abusive labour practices that

  • Mohammed acts on working conditions

    UAE vice-president and Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al-Maktoum has ordered the federal government to improve working conditions across the federation. The move comes shortly before publication on 12 November of a report by US-based Human Rights Watch, which is expected to be critical of the UAE's record on working conditions.

  • Monorail plans take shape

    Dubai Properties, part of Dubai Holding, is considering plans for a monorail system linking its Culture Village development with Dubai International Airport. Formerly known as Arabian Bays, the development includes residential buildings, hotels, an exhibition centre and a wharf. The local/Belgian Bel Hasa Six Construct is working on the infrastructure and quay wall packages. UK-based Halcrow is the infrastructure consultant (MEED 21:7:06).

  • Moody's rates banks

    Moody's Investors Service has upgraded Burgan Bank's financial strength rating to D+ from D and long-term foreign currency deposit rating to A1 from A2, with a stable outlook. Moody's has also assigned A1 long-term and Prime-1 short-term local currency deposit ratings to Al-Ahli Bank of Kuwait. New management and better financials were again behind the change: Colin Plowman, formerly managing director of Barclays Cairo, was recently appointed chief executive officer.

  • More oil for Sipetrol

    Sipetrol, the international subsidiary of Chile's state-owned oil company Empresa Nacional del Petroleo, announced on 12 November a new discovery in its East Ras Qattara block in the Western Desert. The Shahd-1 well, drilled to 3,480 metres, tested at a flow rate of between 700-1,000 barrels a day of crude. Sipetrol operates the concession and holds the majority stake in an exploration licence it shares with Australia's Oil Search (MEED 1:9:06).

  • More time for landmarks

    Revised bidding schedules have been announced on three major building projects in Abu Dhabi. On the 379-metre-high Sky Tower project on Reem island, the local Sorouh Real Estate is now preparing to receive bids on 12 November (MEED 25:8:06). The local ALDAR Properties has also extended the bid deadline to 19 November for the main package on the central market, while bids are now due to be returned on the same day for the 329-metre-high Landmark tower project (MEED 29:9:06; 1:9:06).

  • Morocco warns against Western Sahara state

    Moroccan King Mohammed VI on 6 November warned that an independent state in the Western Sahara would harbour terrorists. The king was addressing the nation during a speech to mark the 31st anniversary of Morocco's annexation of the former Spanish colony. Morocco has said it will not offer Western Sahara more than autonomy. A draft proposal would be prepared soon, King Mohammed said. 'We confirm by this approach our commitment to the Arab Maghreb unity and our willingness t

  • Mott in line for Nasr study

    The UK's Mott MacDonald is understood to be in line for the combined conceptual study and front-end engineering and design (FEED) contract on the Nasr field development in offshore Abu Dhabi. Revised commercial bids were submitted in early September to the client, Abu Dhabi Marine Operating Company (Adma-Opco), for the six-month contract (MEED 15:10:06).The conceptual study will be for the full-field development, while the FEED package will cover the early production scheme (EPS). Prices

  • Mubarak speaks out against Saddam verdict

    Egyptian President Mubarak on 10 November warned against executing former Iraqi president Saddam Hussein, saying the move would further inflame the situation in Iraq. Saddam was sentenced to death by hanging five days earlier. Mubarak's comments are the first by an Arab leader on the sentencing.'Carrying out this verdict will explode violence like waterfalls in Iraq,' Mubarak was quoted as saying by official newspapers. The verdict 'will transform [Iraq] into pools of bloo

  • Mubarak speaks out against Saddam verdict

    Egyptian President Mubarak on 10 November warned against executing former Iraqi president Saddam Hussein, saying the move would further inflame the situation in Iraq. Saddam was sentenced to death by hanging five days earlier. Mubarak's comments are the first by an Arab leader on the sentencing.'Carrying out this verdict will explode violence like waterfalls in Iraq,' Mubarak was quoted as saying by official newspapers. The verdict 'will transfor

  • Mubarak to stay on for life

    Egyptian President Mubarak on 19 November said he may change the constitution to allow him to stay in power for the rest of his life, while making it easier for the opposition to seek the presidency. 'I will continue with you the path of transition to the future, bearing the responsibility and burdens of it, as long as there is in my chest a heart that beats and I draw breath,' Mubarak told the parliament. His words drew standing ovations from members of the two houses of parliament.

  • Mubarak, Putin discuss relations

    Egyptian President Mubarak on 2 November arrived in Moscow for talks with his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin. Following the meeting, the Egyptian president said Cairo would seek to strengthen trade relations with Russia and increase co-operation on nuclear and aerospace issues, while Russian officials said they would bid for nuclear power plant projects in Egypt. 'We undoubtedly will take part in the tender and I think we have a good chance to win,' Boris Alyoshin, head of the Russia

  • Mubarraz revamp tender prepared

    Saudi Aramco has invited companies to express interest by late November for an estimated $75 million lump-sum procure and build contract to optimise oil production at the Mubarraz area in the Eastern Province.

  • Mumtalakat Holding forms

    Four companies submitted bids on 8 November for the mandate to advise on the structuring of a new holding company being established to manage the government's corporate shareholdings.

  • Munshaat studies Qeblah

    Kuwait's Munshaat Real Estate Projects Company received bids on 31 October to build one of the largest residential projects in Medina. The Dar al-Qeblah complex will be located about 150 metres to the south of the Prophet's mosque. Valued at about SR 400 million ($107 million), the scheme will have a built-up area of 100,000 square metres.The project will house residential suites, a five-star hotel and offices for the local municipality. Saudi Projacs, the local subsidiary of Bahrain-bas

  • Muscat changes oil pricing

    Oman is to change its oil-pricing mechanism to reflect the planned launch of the Omani crude oil futures contract on the Dubai Mercantile Exchange (DME) when the commodities bourse becomes operational next year. The Ministry of Oil & Gas (MOG) will offer a forward price to consumers based on the daily settlement price on the DME, rather than pricing deliveries based on historic prices as it does at present.

  • Muscat issues Duqm inquiry

    The Oil & Gas Ministry has invited selected firms to express their interest by late November in bidding for the front-end engineering and design (FEED) contract on the proposed Duqm refining and petrochemical complex. Under the proposed bidding schedule, the invitation to bid is due to be issued in January with an award due next April. The FEED will be the second major award on Duqm: in September, the UK office of Jacobs Engineering was appointed to carry out the project's feasibility study.

  • Muscat studies coal power

    Petroleum Development Oman (PDO) is considering plans to develop the region's first coal-fired power plant. PDO is expected to appoint soon a consultant for a feasibility study into the new facility, which is to be built at Raysut in the south. The study will examine the optimal configuration and cost of the plant and coal imports. It will also assess the cost of electricity to the PDO transmission system.Coal is being considered due to constraints on gas supplies in the sultanate and th

  • Muscat's mercantile move

    The Oman Investment Fund has bought a 30 per cent stake in the Dubai Mercantile Exchange (DME). The acquisition gives the sultanate a significant stake in the exchange, which will trade the Oman crude oil futures contract when it starts operations in early 2007. Under a new policy announced in mid-November, Muscat will base its oil price on the contract. Other shareholders in the DME are the New York Mercantile Exchange and Tatweer, a Dubai Holding company.

  • Mushrif wins tower job

    Kuwait's Mushrif Trading & Contracting has won a $20.8 million contract to build an 18-storey serviced apartment tower in Abu Dhabi. Called the Al-Dhahery building, the tower will also have a three-storey basement car park, gym and pool. The client is a local investor.

  • Muslim Brotherhood demands minister's resignation

    Egypt's Muslim Brotherhood on 17 November called on Prime Minister Ahmed Nazif to force Culture Minister Farouk Hosni to resign after he said the veil worn by Muslim women was 'regressive'.'We have presented an urgent appeal to parliament demanding that Culture Minister Faruq Hosni be relieved of his duties after statements in which he said that wearing the veil is 'regressive',' Muslim Brotherhood deputy Hamdi Hassan said. He called on parliamen

  • Nakilat bank roles assigned

    Roles have been assigned on the bank tranche of the $4,300 million financing package for Qatar Gas Transportation Company (Nakilat). A 22-strong group of mandated lead arrangers was appointed on the 15-year deal in October (MEED 27:10:06).

  • Nakilat bank roles assigned

    Roles have been assigned on the bank tranche of the $4,300 million financing package for Qatar Gas Transportation Company (Nakilat). A 22-strong group of mandated lead arrangers was appointed on the 15-year deal in October (MEED 27:10:06).

  • Nakilat inks towage deal

    Qatar Gas Transport Company (Nakilat) has signed a joint venture agreement with Svitzer Middle East, part of Denmark's AP Moller, to provide harbour towage and mooring services at Ras Laffan port. The joint venture will service a 22-year contract, awarded by Qatar Petroleum to Nakilat for towage and mooring at the northern port (MEED 24:3:06).

  • Nakilat orders a tanker

    Qatar Gas Transport Company (Nakilat) has placed its 17th liquefied natural gas (LNG) tanker order of the year, contracting South Korea's Samsung Heavy Industries to build a 265,000-cubic-metre carrier. The Q-Max vessel, to be 100 per cent owned by Nakilat, will be chartered on a long-term basis to the RasGas 3 project. The new vessel brings to 45 acquired to service the state's LNG investment programme. Of the total, Nakilat holds 100 per cent interests in 17 carriers and stakes of 30-60 per ce

  • Nakilat ties up with Shell

    Qatar Gas Transport Company (Nakilat) has awarded the UK's Shell International Trading & Shipping Company a 25-year contract to manage its fleet of liquefied natural gas (LNG) carriers. Currently comprising 27 vessels, the agreement will see Shell provide various services including ship management and the transfer of expertise to enable Nakilat to develop its own LNG ship management company.

  • Nasrallah calls for demonstrations

    Hezbollah leader Sheikh Hassan Nasrallah has called on his followers to be 'psychologically' prepared to hold demonstrations in support of his demands for a greater portion of cabinet seats in national unity government. 'We do not want riots,' Nasrallah said in a speech aired on Hezbollah's Al-Manar television station on 19 November. 'We respect private and public properties. We will not allow any clash.' He did not specify a date for the protests. Hezbollah is seeking one

  • Nasrallah calls for demonstrations

    Hezbollah leader Sheikh Hassan Nasrallah has called on his followers to be 'psychologically' prepared to hold demonstrations in support of his demands for a greater portion of cabinet seats in national unity government. 'We do not want riots,' Nasrallah said in a speech aired on Hezbollah's Al-Manar television station on 19 November. 'We respect private and public properties. We will not allow any clash.' He did not specify a date for the protests.

  • NATIONAL ASSEMBLY: What's on the agenda?

    Zakat bill MPs voted unanimously on 7 November on an amendment to the Social Securities law that would force all local companies to pay 1 per cent of their net profits to the state in the form of Zakat (alms). In a rare example of bipartisanship, the bill was supported by both the government and parliament;Telecommunications bill both the executive and legislature want to introduce a third mobile operator into the state, although they are at odds on the method of doing so. The government wants

  • National Contracting to build Tabuk plant

    The local National Contracting Company (NCC) has been awarded a SR 426 million ($113.6 million) contract to build the 250-MW Tabuk power plant. The award is the first of several in the power generation sector, as Saudi Electricity Company (SEC) attempts to ramp up capacity to meet rising demand.The scope of works on the two-year deal calls for the supply and installation of five distillate-fired, 50-MW turbines, supplied by the US' GE Energy. The consultant on the scheme is National Eng

  • NBK: Firm foundations

    With assets almost twice those of its nearest rival, the state's most extensive branch network and a well-established regional expansion plan, National Bank of Kuwait (NBK) is a local and a regional colossus.

  • New Al-Jazeera channel launches

    Doha-based satellite television channel Al-Jazeera on 15 November launched its English-language station. Al-Jazeera English will initially broadcast for 12 hours a day before extended this to round-the-clock broadcasting in January. It will be broadcast from Doha, Kuala Lumpur, London and Washington DC as well as from 20 other locations, reaching 80 million homes. 'We are trying to expand our audience beyond the Arabic-speaking world, and enter the English-speaking world,'

  • New Al-Zour deadline

    State refinery operator Kuwait National Petroleum Company has again extended the bid deadline, to 3 December, for the four main process packages on its planned 615,000-barrel-a-day refinery at Al-Zour (see Special Report, pages 69-73).

  • New blood for hotel firm

    Dubai-based ~Kingdom Hotel Investments (KHI)~ has appointed Ghaith Shocair as chief financial officer and senior vice-president of finance. Shocair joins KHI from US-based ~PepsiCo International IT~ and replaces Ra'ed Saqfelhait, who has resigned from the board. KIH is a subsidiary of Saudi Arabia's ~Kingdom Holding Company~ and has stakes in 30 hotels and resorts across the Middle East, Africa, Asia and Europe (MEED 29:9:06).

  • New chief for Islamic bank

    Mubasher Khokhar has been appointed as the first chief executive officer of Mashreqbank's Islamic finance subsidiary Badr al-Islami. The new company has been launched with a paid-up capital of $500 million and will initially offer investment banking services. It plans to expand into retail operations through the acquisition and conversion of a local bank (MEED 8:9:06).

  • New head at Sharjah

    Sharjah Islamic Bank has appointed a new chief executive officer (CEO) to take over from Hussain al-Qemzi. Former deputy CEO Mohammed Ahmed Abdulla replaces Al-Qemzi, who was CEO for three years.

  • New Jubail alkyl facility unveiled

    The US' Chemtura Corporation and the local Al-Zamil Group have announced plans to jointly develop a new worldscale metal alkyls plant in Jubail. The two companies will form a joint venture to develop the plant to produce aluminium alkyl, which is used as a catalyst for the production of various olefins.

  • New oil found at Sirte

    National Oil Corporation (NOC) announced on 31 October two new discoveries in the onshore Sirte basin. The local Zueitina Oil Company, acting on behalf of operators NOC, Austria's OMV and Occidental Petroleum Corporation of the US, has tested initial flows of 550 barrels a day (b/d) from block NC 74A. An appraisal well was drilled to a depth of 5,032 feet at the concession. Germany's RWE Dea has also discovered oil at block NC 193, reporting test flows of 410 b/d. The well was drilled to a de

  • New projects for Dubai park

    Dubai Investments Real Estate Company (DIRC), is planning its first residential project at Dubai Investments Park (DIP). Known as Ritaj, the development will have more than 2,200 housing units.

  • New regional bank set up

    Commercial International Bank (CIB) has joined forces with Oasis Capital Egypt, US-based Dynamic Securities Trading and local businessman Naguib Sawiris to form a financial services group with its investment arm, Commercial International Capital Holding (CICH). CIB will retain a majority stake with Oasis and Sawiris as significant minority shareholders (MEED 25:08:06).

  • New subsidiary approved

    National Bank of Dubai has received approval to launch an investment banking subsidiary called NBD Investment Bank (NBD-IB) in the Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC) to expand the bank's investment banking offering throughout the region. NBD-IB will initially focus on the GCC before branching out to the wider Middle East, Turkey, India and China.

  • New towers on the way

    The local First United General Trading & Contracting Company has begun work on two adjoining high-rise commercial towers in the Sharq district of Kuwait City. Called the 25 February and 26 February Towers, in celebration of liberation from the Iraqi occupation in 1991, the two high-rises will have a height of 32 and 37 storeys respectively. Construction is expected to be completed by early 2008. The local Soor Engineering Bureau is the design consultant. The client is the local Tijara & Real Est

  • No recognition of Israel, says Hamas

    Hamas officials on 14 November said a future national unity government will not recognise Israel and will not accept a two-state solution. 'We reject the two-state solution, which is the vision of US President Bush, because it represents a clear recognition of Israel,' Hamas spokesperson Fawzi Barhoum said. 'Our position on this remains unchanged. We reject joining any government that recognises Israel.' Moussa Abu Marzouq, the second highest Hamas official at the group's

  • No recognition of Israel, says Hamas

    Hamas officials on 14 November said a future national unity government will not recognise Israel and will not accept a two-state solution. 'We reject the two-state solution, which is the vision of US President Bush, because it represents a clear recognition of Israel,' Hamas spokesperson Fawzi Barhoum said. 'Our position on this remains unchanged. We reject joining any government that recognises Israel.' Moussa Abu Marzouq, the second highest Ham

  • Nortel rolls out network

    Monopoly fixed-line operator Iraqi Telecommunications & Post Company (ITPC) has awarded Canada's Nortel a $20 million fibre optic networking contract.Under the deal, Nortel will build a 5,000-kilometre network covering 35 cities across the country.

  • NUCLEAR POWER: A guide to going nuclear

    MEED's revelation in November that at least six Arab states are hoping to develop nuclear power capabilities came as a shock to many in the West. But some observers are surprised it has not happened sooner. Iran's obstinacy over its atomic programme in the face of Western threats has galvanised other regional states to consider their own schemes. There are also genuine concerns about the need to diversify energy sources, as rapid industrialisation in the Gulf puts ever-increasing demands on o

  • Ocean Heights tender issued

    Local real estate developer Damac has invited companies to bid by mid-December for the main construction package on its Ocean Heights development at Dubai Marina. The prequalifiers include Al-Naboodah Contracting, ALEC and Target Engineering Contracting Company, all local.

  • OCI pushes into Europe

    Belgium's Besix Group, which is 50 per cent owned by Egypt's Orascom Construction Industries (OCI), has acquired Socogetra and Cobelba, both Belgium-based, in deals worth a total of $40 million. Socogetra has production capacity of about 1.1 million tonnes a year of aggregates and also produces ready-mix concrete and asphalt, while Cobelba is a general contractor. 'The Besix Group acquisition affirms OCI's drive into two strategic activities, including infrastructure concessions and construction

  • Offering adviser found

    France's Sofreco has been appointed to provide technical assistance to the Executive Privatisation Commission (EPC) on its regulatory reform and privatisation programme. Under the provisional 33-month contract, Sofreco will co-ordinate the programme management unit at the EPC. The European Commission is funding the consultancy work (MEED 24:3:06).

  • Office tower prices sought

    Local real estate developer Emaar Properties has received prices from at least three local companies for a 35-storey office tower in Dubai Marina. Prices were submitted by Al-Nekreh Contracting, ALEC and Bu Haleeba Contracting. The total built-up area is 130,000 square metres. Meinhardt Singapore is the consultant.

  • Oger cancels London debut

    Dubai-based Oger Telecom, part of Saudi Oger, has cancelled plans for an initial public offering (IPO) on the London Stock Exchange, blaming volatile conditions on Gulf stock markets.

  • OIL & GAS: Drawing down supplies

    With total proven reserves of just over 2,500 trillion cubic feet (tcf), the Middle East is home to 40 per cent of the world's gas reserves. Yet increasingly, oil companies in the Gulf find they simply do not have enough of it. With unprecedented demand from the power, industrial and oil sectors, and huge volumes already tied up in export projects, natural gas has become one of the most sought-after commodities in the region. Unless national oil companies (NOCs) can develop additional reserves i

  • OIL & GAS: Hitting the gas

    Kuwait's upstream hydrocarbons sector is one of the few to have really moved ahead over the past three years. Production is up to 2.55 million barrels a day (b/d) and is on target to hit 3 million b/d by 2010 as planned. Contractors are maintaining their interest in the major tendered projects, and the non-associated gas find earlier this year proves the sector still has much to offer.

  • OIL MARKET OUTLOOK: Everyone's a loser

    In early August, as prices nudged $80 a barrel, OPEC issued a statement of concern and reassured the market of its willingness and ability to release additional supplies. Three months is evidently a long time in the world oil market. With prices now down by some $20 a barrel from their peak, producers are concerned with the need to cut, not increase, output. Consumers, on the other hand, seem little happier with the global supply status quo than they were during the spike.

  • OIL ROUND-UP: OPEC and geopolitics combine to keep prices high

    Oil prices surged then fell back again in the second week of November, ending up little changed over the course of the week. A product inventory draw, OPEC hints of further output cuts and violence in Nigeria injected bullish sentiment to the market. Spot Brent was trading at $55.78 a barrel on 8 November, compared with $55.99 a barrel a week earlier.

  • OIL ROUND-UP: OPEC and geopolitics combine to keep prices high

    Oil prices surged then fell back again in the second week of November, ending up little changed over the course of the week. A product inventory draw, OPEC hints of further output cuts and violence in Nigeria injected bullish sentiment to the market. Spot Brent was trading at $55.78 a barrel on 8 November, compared with $55.99 a barrel a week earlier.

  • oil round-up: OPEC threatens more production cuts as oil price rallies

    Oil prices rallied in mid-November as traders digested the possibility of a further round of OPEC production cuts when the producers group holds its next monthly meeting in Abuja, Nigeria, in mid-December. Spot Brent hit $59.50 a barrel on 22 November, up more than $3 a barrel on the previous week.

  • OIL: Getting its fair share

    The Kurdistan regional government (KRG) is expected to pass its hydrocarbons legislation by the end of the year. The law is a first for the new Iraq, which so far has relied on regulations drawn up from the 1960s and 1970s when the Iraqi petroleum industry was nationalised. It has been designed to fit into Iraq's constitution, while the Supreme Oil Committee (SOC), headed by Deputy Prime Minister Barham Saleh, irons out the remaining obstacles to a federal draft law.

  • OMAN

    Tender no 179/2006. Demolition and disposal of a tetra-ethyl lead (TEL) storage and blending facility for Oman Refinery Company.

  • OMAN

    Tender no 172/2006. Supply and delivery of vehicles for the Housing, Electricity & Water Ministry.

  • OMAN

    Tender no 174/2006. Provision of emergency, survey and maintenance services for the 11-kV electrical network in the south Al-Batinah region for the Mazoon Electricity Company.Details, available until 6 December, on payment of RO 150 from Tender Board, PO Box 787, PC 133, Al-Khuwair, telephone (96824) 602073, fax (96824) 602063.

  • OMAN

    Tender no 176/2006. Provision of emergency, survey and maintenance services for the 11-kV electrical network in the Al-Sharqiya region for the Mazoon Electricity Company.Details, available until 6 December, on payment of RO 150 from Tender Board, PO Box 787, PC 133, Al-Khuwair, telephone (96824) 602073, fax (96824) 602063.

  • OMAN

    Tender no 184/2006. Carrying out 433-V and 11-kV electricity distribution network extension works to feed power supplies to unit houses and existing houses in the Shafrat area of the Sharqiyah region for the Rural Areas Electricity Company.

  • OMAN

    Tender no 183/2006. Maintenance of landscaping and irrigation services for Sultan Qaboos University.Details, available until 13 December, on payment of RO 600 from Tender Board, PO Box 787, PC 133, Al-Khuwair, telephone (96824) 602073, fax (96824) 602063.

  • OMAN

    Tender no 185/2006. Supply and installation of a simulator for the International Maritime College for the Manpower Ministry.Details, available until 13 December, on payment of RO 150 from Tender Board, PO Box 787, PC 133, Al-Khuwair, telephone (96824) 602073, fax (96824) 602063.

  • OMAN

    Tender no 180/2006. Provision of a visitor area at Owaifia in the Bahla wilayat for the Tourism Ministry.

  • Oman Air head named

    Oman Air has appointed Ziad bin Karim al-Haremi as its chief executive officer (CEO). Al-Haremi has been acting CEO since September 2005.

  • OMAN: Virgin territory

    Oman's first plastics producer swung into commercial production at the end of October. The start-up of Oman Polypropylene's (OPP's) 340,000-tonne-a-year (t/y) grassroots facility is the first of more than half a dozen petrochemicals projects under development at Sohar industrial port, in what the government hopes will be a vibrant petrochemicals cluster and a key element in its diversification drive.

  • On the right track

    From the great railroads of 19th century America to the rail networks of colonial India, governments have long recognised the many social, economic and even military benefits of railways to large countries. When the Ottomans completed the Hijaz rail link between Damascus and Medina in 1908, the objective was to offer pilgrims an easy access route to the holy cities, while also maintaining a grip on its ramshackle empire. The journey once took weeks. Troops and cargo could now be transported betw

  • OPEC: Rolling out the barrels

    OPEC called it 'an act of interim stabilisation' when, at an emergency meeting in Doha on 20 October, it announced a 1.2 million-barrel-a-day (b/d) reduction in output. The cuts came into effect on 1 November. But industry analysts are warning it is a promise that will be difficult to keep.

  • Operator calls for pipeline services work prequalifiers

    State upstream operator Kuwait Oil Company (KOC) has called for contractors to prequalify for two contracts to carry out state-wide pipeline services work.Interested companies have until 16 December to submit applications for the first contract, which covers the provision of specialist services for KOC's state-wide oil, gas, condensate and water injection pipeline network. The successful contractor will provide pigging services, including all the necessary equipment for pipeline purging

  • Opposition warns of vote rigging in Bahraini elections

    Bahrain's opposition on 23 November warned of possible vote-rigging in parliamentary elections due to take place on 25 November. The leftist National Democratic Action Association (NDAA) said 10 out-of-constituency voting centres could potentially be susceptible to fraud. About 295,000 people are registered to vote in 39 voting centres - one per constituency. Ten additional centres are located outside constituencies. On 21 November, Information Minister Mohammed Abdul Ghaf

  • Orascom plans bond

    The local Orascom Hotels & Development (OHD) has appointed Arab African International Bank to arrange a £E 700 million ($122.2 million) bond issue. Discussions are under way with the government on the structuring and subscription is expected to be launched by the end of November. The tenor will be five-seven years and the funds raised will be used partly for OHD's international expansion, which includes projects in Oman and the UAE (MEED 2:6:06).

  • Palestinian missile kills Israeli

    An Israeli woman was killed and a man was injured on 15 November after Palestinian militants launched six rockets into the town of Sderot, close to the border with Gaza. Several groups, including the militant wing of Hamas have claimed responsibility for the attack. Hamas said the missiles were fired in retaliation for the deaths of 19 Palestinians as a result of an Israeli military operation in Beit Hanoun a week earlier. 'These organisations will pay a heavy price,' said

  • Palestinian PM says he is willing to quit

    Palestinian Authority Prime Minister Ismail Haniya has said he will relinquish his position in a unity government if it will result in the lifting of a Western embargo. '[They have] one condition, that the siege will not be lifted unless the prime minister is changed,' Haniya told worshippers at a Gaza mosque. 'When the issue is like this, the siege on one hand, the prime minister on the other I prefer the siege be lifted and the suffering ended.'Talks between rival Hamas

  • Palestinian PM says he is willing to quit

    Palestinian Authority Prime Minister Ismail Haniya has said he will relinquish his position in a unity government if it will result in the lifting of a Western embargo. '[They have] one condition, that the siege will not be lifted unless the prime minister is changed,' Haniya told worshippers at a Gaza mosque. 'When the issue is like this, the siege on one hand, the prime minister on the other I prefer the siege be lifted and the suffering ended.'

  • Palestinians agree on new prime minister

    Rival Palestinian factions Hamas and Fatah are thought to have agreed on a new prime minister to replace Hamas' Ismail Haniya. Officials said representatives from both groups had selected Muhammed Shbeir, a Gaza academic, with ties to Hamas. The appointment of a candidate has not been officially announced.Shbeir is the former head of the Islamic University in Gaza. He must now be endorsed by Palestinian Authority President Abbas. 'We can say that Fatah did not give any obj

  • Palestinians agree on new prime minister

    Rival Palestinian factions Hamas and Fatah are thought to have agreed on a new prime minister to replace Hamas' Ismail Haniya. Officials said representatives from both groups had selected Muhammed Shbeir, a Gaza academic, with ties to Hamas. The appointment of a candidate has not been officially announced.Shbeir is the former head of the Islamic University in Gaza. He must now be endorsed by Palestinian Authority President Abbas. 'We can say that

  • Palestinians and Israelis feel abandoned, says UN human rights chief

    Both Israeli and Palestinian victims of violence feel abandoned by the rest of the world, according to Louise Arbour, UN high commissioner for human rights. Arbour said her talks with both parties during her five-day trip to the region revealed 'their profound sense of frustration and abandonment, including a perception that the international community is not doing enough to protect them'. She was speaking in Jerusalem on 23 November.Arbour stressed that the situation in G

  • Palestinians reach deal on unity without Haniya

    Rival Palestinian factions Hamas and Fatah on 5 September tentatively agreed to form a national unity government of technocrats, which would not be lead by the current Palestinian Authority Prime Minister Ismail Haniya. 'We have agreed on the political platform of the new government,' Yahya Moussa, a Hamas leader told Reuters. 'The Hamas movement has also agreed that the next prime minister will not be Haniya.'Although Hamas has agreed on a candidate to take over from Hani

  • Palm Water to pick firms

    The local Palm Water has invited selected companies to prequalify by 12 November for a sewage treatment plant (STP). The 200,000-cubic-metre-a-day STP will serve developments in and around Jumeirah Golf Estates. Tenders are expected by the end of November and an award is due in early 2007. The local office of KEO International Consultants is the technical consultant (MEED 13:10:06).

  • Palm Water wins Dubai sewerage

    The local Palm Water has been awarded a contract worth AED 2,018 million ($550 million) by Jebel Ali Free Zone Authority (JAFZA) to design, build, own and operate water and wastewater plants. The plants serve Jebel Ali Free Zone, Dubai Techno Park and downtown Jebel Ali.

  • Pan to select Jizan partner

    Pan Kingdom Investment Company (PKIC) will select a strategic partner by early 2007 for its proposed 1 million-tonne-a-year steel plant in Jizan Economic City (JEC). PKIC is in negotiations with three firms to acquire a minority share in the steel plant (MEED 30:6:06).The plant, set to be JEC's anchor project, centres on the construction of a rolling mill and a meltshop producing 8-32-millimetre construction grade rebar. Saudi Pan Kingdom for Trading, Industry & Consulting (Sapac), PKIC'

  • Pan to select Jizan partner

    Pan Kingdom Investment Company (PKIC) will select a strategic partner by early 2007 for its proposed 1 million-tonne-a-year steel plant in Jizan Economic City (JEC). PKIC is in negotiations with three firms to acquire a minority share in the steel plant (MEED 30:6:06).

  • Papyrus tower delayed

    Egyptian Airport Company has extended to 10 December the deadline for the submission of bids to build the new air traffic control tower at Cairo Airport's new third terminal. Saudi Binladin Group has withdrawn from the process, leaving five prequalified companies in the competition. They are Arab Contractors (Osman Ahmed Osman & Company), Orascom Construction Industries, Industrial Construction & Engineering Company (SIAC) and Hassan Allam & Sons, all local, and Turkey's TAV. Beirut-based Dar al

  • PDO set to boost exploration investment

    Petroleum Development Oman (PDO) is to significantly ramp up exploration activity over the coming two years, as part of a $10,000 million, five-year investment programme aimed at boosting production from its ageing oil fields. One-third of the expenditure will be targeted towards enhanced oil recovery (EOR) projects, according to PDO chief executive officer John Malcolm.

  • Petro-Canada takes on two central fields

    Calgary-based Petro-Canada has announced plans to spend up to $660 million to explore and develop the Al-Shaaer and Al-Shareefa gas fields near Palmyra in the centre of the country. The company announced the plans in early November following the completion of its $46 million acquisition of a 90 per cent stake in its 25-year production sharing agreement (PSA) to operate the two fields. Under the terms of the purchase from the US' Marathon Oil Corporation, Petro-Canada will act as the field ope

  • Petro-Canada takes on two central fields

    Calgary-based Petro-Canada has announced plans to spend up to $660 million to explore and develop the Al-Shaaer and Al-Shareefa gas fields near Palmyra in the centre of the country. The company announced the plans in early November following the completion of its $46 million acquisition of a 90 per cent stake in its 25-year production sharing agreement (PSA) to operate the two fields. Under the terms of the purchase from the US' Marathon Oil Corporation, Petro-Canada will act as the fie

  • Petrofac to build Khalda's train 3

    The local Khalda Petroleum Company has awarded UAE-based Petrofac International a $200 million lump-sum engineering, procurement and construction contract to build a third gas processing train at its natural gas plant in Matruh. The local Petrojet will be involved as a subcontractor. Train 3, which is expected to be operational by 2008, will expand the plant's capacity by 100 million cubic feet a day (cf/d) of gas to 610 million cf/d and by 14,000 barrels a day (b/d) of sales condensate to 52,0

  • Pgesco seeing double

    West Delta Electricity Production Company has awarded the local/US Power Generation Engineering & Services Company (Pgesco) the engineering, procurement and construction management contract to build two new combined cycle power plants at El-Atfa and Sidi Krier. The identical plants will each operate using one steam and two gas turbines and will each have a capacity of 750 MW. The £E 2,000 million ($348 million) plants are both expected to be completed by 2009 (MEED 29:9:06).

  • Plastic revolution

    Petrochemicals producers are enjoying a prolonged period of good fortune. From the ageing naphtha crackers of Europe to the shining new ethane-based facilities in the Middle East, strong world demand and scarce fresh supply is translating into healthy profits. But as the peak of the industry cycle nears, conditions are about to become tougher. Despite the current balmy conditions, Gulf producers are already preparing for a battle.

  • Plastics complex announced

    The local United Maritime Lines is planning a newpolybutylene terephthalate (PBT) production complexat Yanbu. The necessary butane feedstock allocation has been granted by the Ministryof Petroleum & Mineral Resources and the projectcompany, Osos Petrochemicals, is in the process of beingincorporated.

  • Ports company sets out its stall

    The scale of the proposed Khalifa Port & Industrial Zone (KPIZ) at Taweelah was revealed for the first time by the Abu Dhabi Ports Company (ADPC) at MEED's Abu Dhabi Conference 2006. The first phase development alone will cover over 100 square kilometres of industrial logistics and commercial zones and the construction of a $2,500 million container and industrial port, ADPC's strategic planning & commercial development director Carlos Borde said in a 13 November presentation given on behalf of A

  • Prequalification gets under way for control tower

    Prequalification documents are due to be submitted by early December for the estimated AED 402 million ($109 million) air traffic control complex at Abu Dhabi International Airport (ADIA).It will be built between ADIA's two runways and will include a five-storey technical and support building integrated with a 110-metre-high control tower. France's Aeroports de Paris (AdP) is the design and supervision consultant.The US' Parsons International is the programme manager on the entir

  • Prices due for Takreer terminal

    Commercial bids are due to be submitted by the extended deadline of 19 November to Abu Dhabi Oil Refining Company (Takreer) for the main engineering, procurement and construction contract on the phase 3 expansion of its Ruwais sulphur handling terminal.Two groups submitted technical bids in mid-September for the estimated $200 million-250 million contract. The scope of works includes the construction of two 1,100-tonne-a-day (t/d) granulation units and an 11,000-tonne cylindrical liquid

  • Prices tumble on warmer weather and US economic news

    Oil prices fell by close to $2 a barrel in the last week of October, on warmer weather and slower economic growth in the US. OPEC members queued up to pledge their intention to follow through on the 1.2 million barrel-a-day (b/d) cut agreed on 19 October. But the market remains unconvinced. Spot Brent was trading at $55.99 a barrel on 1 November, compared with $57.75 a barrel a week earlier.

  • Prisoner swap talks under way, says Hezbollah

    Hezbollah's leader Sheikh Hassan Nasrallah on 31 October announced that indirect negotiations over a prisoner exchange between Israel and the Shia group are under way. Nasrallah claimed the talks were being mediated by a UN envoy. 'They are serious negotiations the issue is on track,' he told Hezbollah's television channel. 'We are moving ahead.' He failed to indicate how long the talks would go on for. Israel has not confirmed the negotiations. Hezbollah captured two Isr

  • Private bank licensed

    EFG Bank, a Zurich-based private bank, has been granted a licence by the Central Bank of Bahrain. The bank will use the kingdom as a hub from which to expand its wealth management operations in the GCC. It manages assets globally of more than $37,000 million.

  • Private equity fund flies

    NBK Capital, the investment and merchant banking subsidiary of National Bank of Kuwait, has completed the first closure of a planned $300 million private equity fund. A total of $200 million has been raised so far for the NBK Capital Partners Equity Fund, which will invest in companies seeking finance for expansion or restructuring in the GCC, Egypt, Turkey and the Levant. The NBK group will contribute$30 million to the fund. NBK Capital was launched in July 2005 and has opened offices in Dubai,

  • Private investors reshape Muharraq real estate project

    A group of private investors is planning a major new development close to Amwaj Islands off the coast of Muharraq.

  • Private sector needed to deliver $60bn utilities plan

    Private sector finance, operation and management of the kingdom's utilities is essential if Riyadh is to meet rising demand for electricity and water in the kingdom, senior Saudi officials have said.Speaking at the Jeddah Water & Power Forum on 11-12 November, officials from Saudi Electricity Company (SEC) and Saline Water Conversion Corporation (SWCC) said that close to $60,000 million worth of investment was needed from both the public and private sectors if shortages were to be avoide

  • Privatisation plans essential to meet rising demand

    Riyadh is committed to water privatisation and developing renewable forms of power to meet rapidly increasing demand for both water and electricity, Water & Electricity Minister Abdullah al-Hussayen has told MEED.'We are trying to upgrade our [urban water distribution] performance by employing reputable water companies with a long history of water management,' says Al-Hussayen. 'We decided on the PPP [public-private partnership] path as we think it's a very good starting point. I'm confi

  • Proposals in for Zarzaitine

    Two companies have submitted technical bids for the estimated $100 million contract to revamp gas facilities on the Zarzaitine oil field in the Illizi basin. A third is seeking to submit a late bid. China's Sinopec received bids by the end of October from UAE-based Petrofac International and Japan's Mitsubishi Corporation.

  • Punj Lloyd and Tekfen to lay Qatar Petroleum pipelines

    Qatar Petroleum (QP) has awarded international contractors two pipeline contracts totalling more than $200 million. India's Punj Lloyd has won the $175 million engineering, procurement, installation and commissioning (EPIC) contract on the Doha urban pipeline relocation project (DURP), and Turkey's Tekfen has the estimated $45 million contract to build the Umm Bab-Mesaieed main oil line. Bids have also recently been invited for the construction package on the Ras Laffan-Mesaieed ethylene pip

  • Punj Lloyd and Tekfen to lay Qatar Petroleum pipelines

    Qatar Petroleum (QP) has awarded international contractors two pipeline contracts totalling more than $200 million. India's Punj Lloyd has won the $175 million engineering, procurement, installation and commissioning (EPIC) contract on the Doha urban pipeline relocation project (DURP), and Turkey's Tekfen has the estimated $45 million contract to build the Umm Bab-Mesaieed main oil line. Bids have also recently been invited for the construction package on the Ras Laffan-Mesaieed ethylene pipeli

  • Qafco seeks advisers

    Selected banks submitted bids on 7 November for the mandate to arrange a $1,000 million corporate-style financing for ~Qatar Fertiliser Company (Qafco)~. The funds raised will be used partly to fund the estimated $650 million Qafco 5 project to expand the company's Mesaieed complex (MEED 22:9:06).The debt package could consist of a mixture of bank and bond debt along the lines of last year's ~Ras Laffan Liquefied Natural Gas Company II (RasGas II)/RasGas 3~ funding and the financing unde

  • QATAR

    Tender no GTC/07/109/ED. Provision engineering, procurement, installation and commissioning (EPIC) services for the upgrade of fire water ring systems at Khattiya main, Fahahil main, Jaleh and Diyab. Bid bond is QR 700,000.Details on payment of QR 500 from Qatar Petroleum, Room 339, Contracts Department (Engineering), Third Floor, Al-Dana Towers, Opposite City Centre, West Bay, Doha.

  • QATAR

    Tender no GTC/07/113/OED. Carrying out instrumentation works in the Dukhan fields including 10 plant change requests and engineering, procurement, installation and commissioning services. Bid bond is QR 500,000.Details on payment of QR 500 from Qatar Petroleum, Contracts Department, Room G-14, Fourth Floor, Block G, Royal Plaza, Al-Sadd Street, Doha.

  • QATAR

    Tender no GTC/07/116/MR. Charter for a two-year period of an NDT/inspection survey vessel. Bid bond is QR 200,000.

  • QATAR

    Tender no GTC/07/102/OED. Carrying out an inplant piping survey of the Arab D and Fahahil North gas lift compressor station in the Dukhan fields. Bid bond is QR 100,000.

  • QATAR

    Tender no 58-1006/2007. Supply of eight 12,000-litre and 40 18,000-litre cesspit emptier vacuum pumps for the Municipal Affairs & Agriculture Ministry. Bid bond is QR 580,000 and performance bond is 10 per cent of contract price.

  • QATAR

    Tender no 57-1006/2007. Supply of one 35-tonne bulldozer, one D9 bulldozer, one excavator with a backhoe bucket and 11 two-wheel-drive dumper trucks for the Municipal Affairs & Agriculture Ministry. Bid bond is QR 204,000 and performance bond is 10 per cent of contract price.

  • QATAR

    Tender no 63-1006/2007. Supply of eight drinking water tankers, eight tractor water tank trailers and one 80-tonne low-loading trailer for the Municipal Affairs & Agriculture Ministry. Bid bond is QR 198,000 and performance bond is 10 per cent of contract price.

  • QATAR

    Tender no 63-1006/2007. Supply of 11 tractor farrow ploughs, three tractor five-disc ploughs and two four-by-four/four-by-two tractors for the Municipal Affairs & Agriculture Ministry. Bid bond is QR 43,500 and performance bond is 10 per cent of contract price.

  • QATAR

    Tender no GTC/07/103/FSD. Expansion of closed-circuit television (CCTV) for security surveillance systems in the Dukhan fields consisting of nine cameras. A CCTV network is also required in the Dukhan sewage treatment plant. Bid bond is QR 250,000.

  • QATAR

    Tender no PWA/GTC/064/06-07. Construction of the Muraikh area drainage and outfall (CP-565-DSC/0039). Bid bond is QR 9 million.

  • QATAR

    CD extension. Tender no PWA/GTC/048/06-07. Construction of the new PS 25 civil project, no 678. Bid bond is QR 7 million.

  • QATAR

    CD extension. Tender no PWA/GTC/055/06-07. Development of roads in Wakrah north and south, areas 1 and 4 (ERC-1412-D1-C1). Bid bond is QR 4.5 million.

  • QATAR

    CD extension. Tender no PWA/GTC/056/06-07. Construction of the new Izghawa link road (ERC-1416-D1-C1). Bid bond is QR 2 million.

  • QATAR

    CD extension. Tender no PWA/GTC/055/06-07. Development of roads in Wakrah north and south, areas 1 and 4 (ERC-1412-D1-C1). Bid bond is QR 4.5 million.

  • QATAR: Impact assessment

    It was not the news that either Qatar's neighbours or a host of international oil companies (IOCs) wanted. On 17 October, Qatar Petroleum (QP) reacted to months of growing speculation about its plans for the future development of the North field by issuing a curt statement. 'No new North field development will be discussed with any company at present,' it said. 'It is our assessment that no decision will be taken on this front before 2010.'

  • Q-Tel debt launched

    A group of five mandated lead arrangers (MLAs) has been appointed on the $2,000 million, three-year syndicated loan for Qatar Telecom (Q-Tel). They are Barclays Capital, Development Bank of Singapore, Gulf International Bank, Qatar National Bank and Royal Bank of Scotland. MLA banks were asked to underwrite $400 million and hold $200 million. General syndication is now under way of the facility, which will fund Q-Tel's expansion plans (MEED 3:11:06).

  • Q-Tel seeks loan

    Qatar Telecom (Q-Tel) has approached banks about joining a $2,000 million syndicated loan as mandated lead arrangers. The tenor will be one-three years; Qatar National Bank is the financial adviser. MLAs are being asked for commitments of $400 million. The borrowing will be used to fund the company's expansion plans, which include moves overseas (MEED 15:9:06).

  • Quartet submits bids for Upper Zakum gas project

    Four international companies have submitted technical and commercial bids to Zakum Development Company (Zadco) for the post of project manager on its gas treatment plant at its central processing facility on Zirku island. The bidders are the US/Canadian VECO, Australia's WorleyParsons, the UK's Mott MacDonald and Tebodin of the Netherlands.

  • Rabat accelerates reform programme

    Rabat's economic reform programme is behind a three-fold increase in gross domestic product (GDP) growth in the kingdom in 2006, Economic Affairs Minister Rachid Talbi al-Alami has told MEED.

  • Rabat tenders power project

    State electricity company Office National de l'Electricite (ONE) has invited developers to submit expressions of interest by 20 December for an independent power project at Cap Ghir, north of Agadir. Commercial operations are due to start in 2011.

  • Raphael to power Sulaimaniyah

    UK-based Raphael Group has received a licence from the Kurdistan regional government (KRG) to build a private power plant in Sulaimaniyah. The proposed gas-fired project will have a capacity of about 500 MW.

  • Ras Laffan prepares for more private power

    Doha has invited international developers to submit prequalifications by early December for the Ras Laffan C independent water and power project (IWPP). With capacity of 2,600 MW of power and 40 million gallons a day of desalination, the C station will be the largest co-generation plant in the state.

  • Rasmala set to start up

    The local subsidiary of Dubai-based Rasmala Investments expects to start operations in the kingdom in early 2007. In September, the Capital Market Authority granted Rasmala Investments (Saudi Arabia) a licence to conduct investment banking activities. 'We are building infrastructure there,' says Rasmala partner Khalid Sifri. 'We have a particular corporate finance mandate from a client to raise money and the other aspect is brokerage' (MEED 15:9:06).

  • Reaching the nadir?

    The dogged optimism sustaining investors that the region's equity markets had bottomed out and would start climbing again in just another month or two is finally on the wane. The summer slowdown, followed by the quiet Ramadan period, and the release of third-quarter results have seen the picture worsen in most of the region's markets. And many analysts are now suggesting that the first quarter correction that saw bourses in the Gulf lose more than 50 per cent of their value may persist for a

  • REAL ESTATE: Paradise reclaimed?

    The Palm has a number of imitators, not only in Dubai but across the Gulf and beyond. These offshore islands and reclamation projects all have similar attractions. They offer highly prestigious real estate, and they solve some basic problems of geography at a stroke. The lagoon projects under development at Aqaba, for example, will more than double Jordan's Red Sea coastline.

  • Recognise unity government, says Meshaal

    Exiled Hamas leader Khaled Meshaal on 20 November called on the West to recognise a possible Palestinian national unity government. 'This is an opportunity for the international community to correct its mistake,' Meshaal said. 'Some of its members did not respect the will of the Palestinian electorate. They now have to learn and respect Palestinian consensus.' Meshaal was speaking after a meeting with Ahmed Qurei, a senior Fatah official, in Damascus.Talks over the formati

  • Red-Dead study set back to 2007

    The tender for the feasibility study for the $800 million Red Sea-Dead Sea Conveyor project to save the Dead Sea has been put back to early 2007, according to a World Bank official.

  • Refinery package award closes

    Evaluation of bids is at an advanced stage for the contract covering mechanical and erection services on the 70,000-barrel-a-day expansion of Jebel Ali refinery. Four companies have priced the estimated $50 million package. They are Pakistan's Descon Engineering, Sharjah-based Maritime Industrial Services (MIS) and Larsen & Toubro and Punj Lloyd, both of India. An award is due in early December.The UK office of the US' Foster Wheeler is carrying out the main package under a $380 million

  • Regional institutions seek murabaha funds

    Gulf Finance House (GFH) and Kuwait-based Aref Investment Group, a subsidiary of Kuwait Finance House, have both approached the bank market for syndicated murabahas.

  • Resort seeks contractors

    Local property developer Emerald Palace Group has invited expressions of interest for the main construction package for its proposed 250-room Emerald Palace resort on the Palm Jumeirah. The 24-month contract is expected to start in early 2007. New York-based PEBM is the design consultant and UK-based Atkins is the lead consultant. Swiss-based hotel operator Kempinski will manage the property. (MEED 29:04:05).

  • Ring-road work awarded

    The US/local team of Parsons Brinckerhoff and Gulf Consult has been awarded the construction supervision contract covering phase 1 of the first ring-road upgrade project. Contractor prequalification has been completed for the second phase, with a tender due to be issued soon. The client on the scheme is the Ministry of Public Works (MEED 25:8:06).

  • Riyadh says Ras-al-Zour will be oil-fired

    The world's largest independent water and power project (IWPP) at Ras al-Zour will be oil and not gas-fired as originally planned, Water & Electricity Company (WEC) has confirmed. 'It will use crude feedstock,' says WEC president Omar al-Ghamdi. 'We hope to issue RFQs [request for qualifications] for the Gulf coast project in mid-December, and RFPs [request for proposals] in early 2007.'

  • Riyadh says Ras-al-Zour will be oil-fired

    The world's largest independent water and power project (IWPP) at Ras al-Zour will be oil and not gas-fired as originally planned, Water & Electricity Company (WEC) has confirmed. 'It will use crude feedstock,' says WEC president Omar al-Ghamdi. 'We hope to issue RFQs [request for qualifications] for the Gulf coast project in mid-December, and RFPs [request for proposals] in early 2007.'

  • Riyadh unveils export refinery

    Riyadh is planning a major expansion of the kingdom's refining infrastructure with the construction of a new worldscale export refinery on the Red Sea, and the integration of petrochemicals production units at two grassroots export refineries proposed at Jubail 2 and Yanbu industrial cities.

  • Russia will not back sanctions on Iran

    Moscow will not support a draft UN resolution on Iranian sanctions, Russian deputy foreign affairs minister Sergei Kislyak was quoted as saying by the local Interfax news agency on 3 November. 'We will not support the present version,' he said adding that the draft 'requires major fine-tuning'.Kislyak was speaking before EU foreign affairs ministers met their Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov to discuss the proposal. The five permanent members of the UN Security Council, p

  • Saadiyat rebids submitted

    Abu Dhabi's Tourism Development & Investment Company has received fresh prices from five bidders for the dredging package on its AED 100,000 million ($27,200 million) Saadiyat Island project. The bidders are the local National Marine Dredging Company, Van Oord Gulf and Royal Boskalis Westminster, both of the Netherlands, and Dredging International and Jan de Nul, both of Belgium. The contract calls for the dredging and reclamation of 40 million cubic metres of material. The consultant is US-base

  • Sabic deals receive mixed response from the market

    Sabic Europe, the wholly-owned subsidiary of Saudi Basic Industries Corporation (Sabic), will launch international roadshows for a euro-denominated bond issue in early November.

  • Sabic moulds new rubber strategy

    Saudi Basic Industries Corporation (Sabic) and the US' ExxonMobil Chemical are developing plans to manufacture synthetic rubber products at their joint venture plants at Jubail and Yanbu. Sabic announced on 5 November that a feasibility study was under way for a scheme to build new downstream units at Saudi Yanbu Petrochemical Company (Yanpet) andAl-Jubail Petrochemical Company (Kemya).The study will look at establishing units to produce carbon black and rubber and thermoplastic spec

  • Sabic moulds new rubber strategy

    Saudi Basic Industries Corporation (Sabic) and the US' ExxonMobil Chemical are developing plans to manufacture synthetic rubber products at their joint venture plants at Jubail and Yanbu. Sabic announced on 5 November that a feasibility study was under way for a scheme to build new downstream units at Saudi Yanbu Petrochemical Company (Yanpet) andAl-Jubail Petrochemical Company (Kemya).

  • Sadat's nephew sentenced to prison

    Talaat Sadat, the nephew of assassinated Egyptian President Sadat, was sentenced to one year in prison by a military court on 31 October. Sadat was charged with defamation after he alleged that Egyptian military officials had been complicit in his uncle's death in 1981.Sadat is the second member of the opposition to be imprisoned in a year. Ayman Nour, a candidate in the 2005 presidential elections, was jailed following charges he had forged poli

  • Saddam back in court

    Saddam Hussein returned to court on 7 November for the first time since he was sentenced to death by hanging two days earlier. In his second trial, Saddam and six co-defendants face charges of genocide over their role in the anti-Kurdish Anfal campaign of the 1980s, which left more than 180,000 people dead.During the proceedings, Saddam called on Iraqis to reconcile. 'I call on all Iraqis, Arabs and Kurds, to forgive, reconcile and shake hands,' he told the court.

  • Saddam back in court

    Saddam Hussein returned to court on 7 November for the first time since he was sentenced to death by hanging two days earlier. In his second trial, Saddam and six co-defendants face charges of genocide over their role in the anti-Kurdish Anfal campaign of the 1980s, which left more than 180,000 people dead.During the proceedings, Saddam called on Iraqis to reconcile. 'I call on all Iraqis, Arabs and Kurds, to forgive, reconcile and shake hands,'

  • Saddam lawyers walk out again

    The the trial of former Iraqi president Saddam Hussein resumed on 30 October following the Muslim holiday of Eid al-fitr, but was interrupted as defence lawyers staged a new walk-out. The chief defence lawyer, Khalil al-Dulaimi, filed 12 requests to the court at the resumption of proceedings, including one which asked the court to investigate the alleged beating of one of the defendants by court guards. The judge's refusal to grant the requests provoked the walk-out. Saddam stands accuse

  • Saddam lawyers walk out again

    The resumption after Eid of the trial of former Iraqi president Saddam Hussein was interrupted again on 30 October after his lawyers staged a new walk-out. The legal defence team had been boycotting the trial following the sacking of the previous chief judge over charges of alleged bias. However, the chief defence lawyer, Khalil al-Dulaimi, filed 12 requests to the court at the resumption of proceedings. For example, one request asked that the court should agree to investigate

  • Saddam to be executed by year-end, says Al-Maliki

    Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki says former Iraqi president Saddam Hussein will be executed by the end of 2006. 'We would like the whole world to respect the judicial will of Iraq,' he said in a BBC interview.Saddam was sentenced to death on 5 November for his role in the massacre of 148 villagers from Dujail in 1982 after a failed attempt on his life. An automatic appeal process will now be launched. If the original verdict is not overturned, the execution must be ca

  • Saddam to be executed by year-end, says Al-Maliki

    Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki says former Iraqi president Saddam Hussein will be executed by the end of 2006. 'We would like the whole world to respect the judicial will of Iraq,' he said in a BBC interview.Saddam was sentenced to death on 5 November for his role in the massacre of 148 villagers from Dujail in 1982 after a failed attempt on his life. An automatic appeal process will now be launched. If the original verdict is not overturne

  • Sanaa secures $4.7bn in aid

    International donors have pledged $4,736 million to support development in Yemen over the next five years. The pledges came after Sanaa presented its reform strategy for 2006-11 to a donors' meeting organised by the World Bank and members of the GCC.

  • SAUDI ARABIA

    Tender no PIC-A-1026D. Construction of a checkpoint at Madinat Yanbu al-Sinaiyah. A pre-bid meeting will take place on 10 December.

  • SAUDI ARABIA

    Replacement of telephone exchanges (PABX) at corporation sites at the Riyadh headquarters, west coast plants and east coast plants.Details on payment of SR 1,000 from Saline Water Conversion Corporation, Mecca Road, PO Box 5968, Riyadh 11432, telephone (9661) 4630503/4630501/4631780.

  • SAUDI ARABIA

    Connection of electrical power for seven locations at the Riyadh-Qassim pipeline.Details on payment of SR 1,000 from Saline Water Conversion Corporation, Mecca Road, PO Box 5968, Riyadh 11432, telephone (9661) 4630503/4630501/4631780.

  • SAUDI ARABIA

    Design, supply and erection of new CO2 generation units in Shuqaiq.Details on payment of SR 500 from Saline Water Conversion Corporation, Mecca Road, PO Box 5968, Riyadh 11432, telephone (9661) 4630503/4630501/4631780.

  • SAUDI ARABIA

    Replacement of a feed and brine pipeline for Umluj RO trains 100 and 200.Details on payment of SR 500 from Saline Water Conversion Corporation, Mecca Road, PO Box 5968, Riyadh 11432, telephone (9661) 4630503/4630501/4631780.

  • SAUDI ARABIA

    Tender no SH-R-E-065. Carrying out a major overhaul of electric overhead cranes in Shuaiba plants, phase 1, and at the Mecca-Taif pipeline.

  • SAUDI ARABIA

    Tender no 204-C48. Supply and construction of a fuel and feedstock pipeline network for ethane and methane gases supplied by Saudi Aramco to feed stage 1 of Jubail II. The network consists of three 36-inch-diameter pipelines for methane gas and two 36-inch pipelines for ethane gas. A pre-bid meeting will take place on 20 November.

  • Saudi Arabia to construct Iraq security fence

    Saudi Arabia will push ahead with a $12000 million project to build a security fence on the border with Iraq, Kuwait's Al-Anbaa newspaper quoted Interior Minister Prince Nayef bin Abdulaziz as saying on 14 November. The 900-kilometre fence is designed to stop militants and immigrants from crossing the border into the Kingdom. Construction is due to begin in 2007 and continue for up to six years.'All of Iraq's neighbours are suffering directly from what is happening in Iraq

  • Search is on for Fujairah pipeline manager

    Abu Dhabi-based International Petroleum Investment Company (IPIC) has started the process of selecting a project manager for the trans-emirate Habshan-Fujairah oil pipeline scheme, by inviting expressions of interest for the contract by 9 November.

  • Segas deal nears

    Banks are expected to be approached before the end of the year on the refinancing of the debt taken out by Spanish Egyptian Gas Company (Segas) in 2004 for the construction of its liquefied natural gas (LNG) train at Damietta. The sponsor is aiming to convert the five-year, $600 million corporate borrowing into a project finance deal, backed by revenues from the now-operational plant. It will enable shareholders Union Fenosa of Spain and Italy's Eni to remove guarantees originally provided. The

  • Senior Muslim brotherhood member dies

    An Egyptian Muslim Brotherhood leader, Hassan al-Haiwan, died of a heart attack on 18 November, three days after he was released from prison. Al-Haiwan was arrested following violence broke during legislative elections in 2005. He was charged with possessing weapons and planning to use them during parliamentary elections in November and December. Hundreds of Muslim Brotherhood members have been arrested since the elections. About 220 members were detained in June during a

  • Seven bidders emerge for Jeddah desal

    Seven groups have emerged for the build-operate-transfer concession to develop a 30,000-cubic-metre-day desalination plant to supply potable water to King Abdulaziz International Airport in Jeddah. Under the tendering schedule, an official award is expected by 13 December (MEED 3:11:06).

  • Seven bidders emerge for Jeddah desal

    Seven groups have emerged for the build-operate-transfer concession to develop a 30,000-cubic-metre-day desalination plant to supply potable water to King Abdulaziz International Airport in Jeddah. Under the tendering schedule, an official award is expected by 13 December (MEED 3:11:06).The bidders are the local ACWA Power Projects; the local El-Seif Engineering Contracting with Sharjah-based Metito; the UK's Aquatech with Italy's WTD, Sete and Haji Abdullah Alireza & Company, Sa

  • Shale sale moves forward

    The Energy & Mineral Resources Ministry aims to sign memorandums of understanding (MoUs) by early September with three companies to carry out feasibility studies into surface oil shale deposits in the Al-Lajoun block in the west. The ministry estimates the kingdom to have surface oil shale reserves of up to 40,000 million tonnes (MEED 17:2:06).Based on the results of these studies, the ministry will invite international oil companies (IOCs) to participate in a new oil shale licensing

  • Shale sale moves forward

    The Energy & Mineral Resources Ministry aims to sign memorandums of understanding (MoUs) by early September with three companies to carry out feasibility studies into surface oil shale deposits in the Al-Lajoun block in the west. The ministry estimates the kingdom to have surface oil shale reserves of up to 40,000 million tonnes (MEED 17:2:06).Based on the results of these studies, the ministry will invite international oil companies (IOCs) to participate in a new oil shale licensing bid

  • Sharjah sukuk planned

    Sharjah Electricity & Water Authority (SEWA) has appointed ABC Islamic Bank, Gulf International Bank, Kuwait Finance House and Sharjah Islamic Bank to arrange a $350 million sukuk. The 10-year bond is expected to be launched in early 2007.

  • Sharon's condition deteriorates

    Former Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon was moved to intensive care on 3 November after being diagnosed with a heart infection. Sharon has been in a coma since January when he suffered a stroke. He was succeeded in his post as prime minister by Ehud Olmert, who won elections in March.Sharon became prime minister in 2001. He previously served as an army commander, having orchestrated Israel's invasion of Lebanon in 1982. As Housing Minister in

  • Shell plans pipeline

    The Royal Dutch/Shell Group together with Ras al-Khaimah-based RAK Petroleum is considering plans to pipe gas into Ras al-Khaimah from Iran. The proposed pipeline would help meet growing demands for gas in the UAE. The project will compete with a pipeline being built by Abu Dhabi-based Dolpin Energy that will pipe gas into Abu Dhabi from Qatar and a scheme planned by Sharjah-based Dana Gas that will pipe gas into Sharjah from Iran.

  • Shobak proposals due

    The Water & Irrigation Ministry is preparing to issue a request for proposals (RFP) to 12 prequalified companies for the contract to build a wastewater treatment plant in Shobak, 200 kilometres south of Amman. The scope of works includes the construction of a small wastewater plant. The consultant is a consortium comprising IRG, ECODIT and Stearns & Wheler, all of the US, and Amman-based MWH Arabtech-Jardaneh.

  • Showdown looms with Irbil over oil law

    Former Iraqi oil minister Issam al-Chalabi has warned of an imminent clash between Baghdad and Irbil over the shape of the country's oil sector. Speaking to industry executives in London on 7 November, Al-Chalabi warned that Baghdad's plans to restructure the sector around a centralised national oil company would be resisted by the Kurdistan regional government (KRG), which has proposed its own hydrocarbons law covering its territory. 'We will be heading for a major showdown if the federal law r

  • Shuaa plays market maker

    Dubai-based Shuaa Capital is set to become the second market-maker to trade shares on the Dubai International Financial Exchange (DIFX). 'We're negotiating an agreement [with DIFX] but haven't specified a stock yet,' Shuaa managing director of capital markets Salam Saadeh told MEED on 20 November. 'We need a new issue that will do well.' Deutsche Bank is currently the only market-maker on the bourse.

  • Shuaa poised to spend

    Dubai-based investment house Shuaa Capital in late November opened a representative office in Turkey. The move is part of aggressive plans by the company to expand its operations in the region and the surrounding area. The plans see the company targeting the acquisition of financial services companies in the Middle East, India and Pakistan.

  • Shuqaiq debt readied

    The debt package for the Shuqaiq independent water and power project (IWPP) will be launched to banks at meetings in Dubai and London in late November. The financing is expected to be worth about $1,300 million, with the main tranche having a tenor of 22 years. No export credit agency funding will be included. The core mandated lead arranger group comprises BayernLB, Gulf International Bank, Riyad Bank, Samba Financial Group and Woori Bank. The developer team lead by the local ACWAPower was name

  • Single currency challenge is the GCC's toughest test

    The GCC single currency is the world's most ambitious monetary union project since the launch of the euro in 2002. Whether it will be good for Gulf economies depends on how currency union is achieved and the exchange rate selected.

  • Single currency could float

    The GCC single currency will be pegged to the dollar when it is launched in 2010 but might be allowed to free-float within five years, Sultan bin Nasser al-Suwaidi, governor of the Central Bank of the UAE, said following a meeting of GCC central bank governors on 30 October in Abu Dhabi. Currently, all GCC currencies are pegged to the dollar, which limits central banks' control over monetary policy.

  • Siniora condemns tyranny of minority

    Lebanese Prime Minister Fouad Siniora has said he will try to keep his diminished government functioning after six ministers handed in their resignations. Speaking on 14 November, Siniora said he would not succumb to the 'tyranny of the minority' sought by Hezbollah and its allies.In an interview with Reuters, Siniora said the majority was willing to expand the cabinet, but would not accept Hezbollah's possession of one-third of its 24 seats. 'They will become able to para

  • Siniora condemns tyranny of minority

    Lebanese Prime Minister Fouad Siniora has said he will try to keep his diminished government functioning after six ministers handed in their resignations. Speaking on 14 November, Siniora said he would not succumb to the 'tyranny of the minority' sought by Hezbollah and its allies.In an interview with Reuters, Siniora said the majority was willing to expand the cabinet, but would not accept Hezbollah's possession of one-third of its 24 seats. 'Th

  • Sipchem in lawsuit

    The US' Celanese on 16 November filed a law suit in a Texas district court against Saudi International Petrochemical Company (Sipchem) and its vinyl complex project companies, International Acetyls Company and International Vinyl Acetate Company. The US firm is seeking a court injunction preventing the companies from using its commercial know-how on Sipchem's phase 2 vinyls complex in Jubail. 'Sipchem intends to defend vigorously against Celanese's claims,' said Sipchem in a statement.

  • Sky Tower project bids in

    Local property developer Sorouh Real Estate has received bids from at least three companies for Sky Tower. The 379-metre tower is set to be one of the tallest towers in Abu Dhabi (MEED 3:11:06).The bidders include the Greece's Aktor, the local/Lebanese Arabian Construction Company (ACC), and the local Arabtec Construction. The 83-storey residential tower is one of eight towers that form the Gate at the entrance Sorouh's Shams Abu Dhabi project on Reem island.The local/Turkish joi

  • Sky Tower project bids in

    Local property developer Sorouh Real Estate has received bids from at least three companies for Sky Tower. The 379-metre tower is set to be one of the tallest towers in Abu Dhabi (MEED 3:11:06).

  • Sohar methanol expansion is put on the back-burner

    Plans to build a second 3,000-tonne-a-day (t/d) methanol plant at Sohar have been put on hold, pending the signing of a gas supply agreement with the government. Oman Methanol Company (OMC), which is developing a 3,000-t/d plant at Sohar industrial port, had planned to establish a second identical facility to be called Sohar Methanol Company adjacent to its first plant.

  • Sohar methanol expansion is put on the back-burner

    Plans to build a second 3,000-tonne-a-day (t/d) methanol plant at Sohar have been put on hold, pending the signing of a gas supply agreement with the government. Oman Methanol Company (OMC), which is developing a 3,000-t/d plant at Sohar industrial port, had planned to establish a second identical facility to be called Sohar Methanol Company adjacent to its first plant.

  • Sohar port signs up for iron study

    Sohar Industrial Port Company (SIPC) has signed a memorandum of understanding with Brazil's Companhia Vale do Rio Doce (CVRD) for a feasibility study on a proposed iron ore pellet plant at Sohar. CVRD would supply the 7.5 million-tonne-a-year plant with raw materials.

  • Sonatrach's 15th find

    A consortium of state energy company Sonatrach and Canada's First Calgary Petroleums (FCP) has discovered oil and gas on block 405b of the Ledjmet prospect in the Berkine basin, bringing to 15 the total number of hydrocarbon discoveries by Sonatrach this year. The GSM 1 well tested at 1,321 barrels a day of oil and 1.1 million cubic feet a day of gas at a wellhead pressure of 810 psi (MEED 30:6:06; 5:5:06).

  • SOUR GAS: Underground solution

    The UAE and Oman are on the verge of breaking new ground in the regional gas industry, with the first commercial development of sour gas reserves. Three projects are mounted on the drawing board, which aim collectively to produce at least 4,500 million cubic feet a day (cf/d) of new capacity.

  • South Oil seeks field developers

    South Oil Company (SOC) has invited companies to submit bids by the end of November for two major oil field development tenders covering the south of the country. The larger of the two contracts involves the establishment of a crude oil processing plant at the Nahr ben Umar field.

  • Sports city planned

    The local Al-Qudra Real Estate plans to develop a AED 40,000 million ($10,900 million) development in Al-Ain. The project will build a masterplanned community with residential units, commercial centres, sports stadiums and tourism and entertainment facilities (MEED 13:10:06, Cover Story).

  • SPOT LNG: Spotting new trends

    The 30-year-old trade in liquefied natural gas (LNG) from the Middle East is about to see some major changes. While LNG trade has traditionally been conducted on a long-term contractual basis, one-off and non-committed spot deals are coming to the fore.

  • Spring consortium wins Tlemcen desal project

    An Asian consortium, known as Spring Utility, has received a letter of award to act as foreign developer on the 200,000-cubic-metre-a-day Tlemcen desalination project in the northwest.The consortium, in which Malaysia's Malakoff International has an 80 per cent stake and Singapore's Hyflux 20 per cent, will establish a new project company with Algeria Energy Company (AEC) to build, own and operate the reverse osmosis plant (MEED 14:4:06).The project company will be 51 per cent ow

  • Star signs clinker loan

    Star Cement, a subsidiary of Dubai-based ETA-Ascon, has signed a $104 million, 10-year term loan with a group of 10 banks. Abu Dhabi Commercial Bank and Gulf International Bank were the mandated lead arrangers.

  • State of inertia

    It has been a rollercoaster year for Kuwait, filled with ups and downs, stops and starts and in the end finishing up where it started. With three different emirs, a hotly-disputed parliamentary election and increasing accusations of corruption and inefficiency, the state has failed to make the most of its massive financial and natural resources to move ahead. Some have even described it as the very definition of a democracy in inaction.

  • State set to ramp up gas production

    State upstream operator Kuwait Oil Company (KOC) is aiming to produce up to 1,000 million cubic feet a day (mcf/d) of non-associated gas by 2015, according to KOC chairman and managing director Farouk al-Zanki.'We expect to be producing 170-180 mcf/d of gas by the end of 2007, in addition to 50,000 barrels a day [b/d] of condensate through the EPF [early production facilities] scheme,' Al-Zanki told MEED on 29 October. 'As phase 1 proceeds, we plan to ramp up production to 600 mcf/d by 2

  • Steel industry set for new sell-off

    State-owned Metallurgical Industries Holding Company (Micor) will launch in mid-Novemberthe sale of its 83 per cent controlling stake in Al-Arabiya Steelworks. International and local investors will have until late-January to express interest in the sale. The remaining shares are already held by private sector investors. Al-Arabiya produces 140,000 tonnes a year of steel for cars and rail projects and is located in the Sadat City industrial zone, 90 kilometres north-west of Cairo, with annual ea

  • Steel set for new sell-off

    State-owned Metallurgical Industries Holding Company (Micor) in late November will launch the auction of it 83 per cent stake in Al-Arabiya Steel. International and local investors will be asked to express interest in the sale by late-January. The remaining shares are already held by private sector investors. Al-Arabiya produces 140,000 tonnes a year of steel for cars and rail projects and is located in the Sadat City industrial zone, 90 kilometres north-west of Cairo.

  • Sudan accepts UN help

    Sudan on 16 November for the first time accepted the help of UN troops in the war-torn region of Darfur. 'It is agreed in principle that, pending clarification of the size of the force, we should be able to take it forward,' UN Secretary General Kofi Annan told an international meeting in Addis Ababa. 'The troops should be sourced from Africa as far as possible and the command and control structure would be provided by the UN.' The force will consist of 17,000 troops and 3,000 police.

  • Sudan accepts UN help

    Sudan on 16 November for the first time accepted the help of UN troops in the war-torn region of Darfur. 'It is agreed in principle that, pending clarification of the size of the force, we should be able to take it forward,' UN Secretary General Kofi Annan told an international meeting in Addis Ababa. 'The troops should be sourced from Africa as far as possible and the command and control structure would be provided by the UN.' The force will consist of 17,000 troops and 3,000

  • Swailham prepares block

    Mohammed Ali al-Swailem Company is gearing up to build an estimated SR 170 million ($45 million) office complex in Riyadh. Located on Al-Olaya road, it will centre on the construction of two buildings with a total built-up area of 40,000 square metres. Saudi Projacs , the local subsidiary of Bahrain-based Projacs International , is the construction manager.

  • Syria and Iraq resume ties

    Damascus and Baghdad are set to resume diplomatic ties after a quarter of a century. The agreement was announced on 21 November by Syria's Foreign Affairs Minister Walid Muallem and Iraqi counterpart Hoshyar Zebari. Muallem is the most senior Syrian official to visit Iraq since the US-led invasion in 2003. 'The latest talks between the Syrian and the Iraqi side have been crowned by declaring a new era with the participation of the Syrian brothers in working on the security and stability

  • Syria and Iraq resume ties

    Damascus and Baghdad are set to resume diplomatic ties after a quarter of a century. The agreement was announced on 21 November by Syria's Foreign Affairs Minister Walid Muallem and Iraqi counterpart Hoshyar Zebari. Muallem is the most senior Syrian official to visit Iraq since the US-led invasion in 2003. 'The latest talks between the Syrian and the Iraqi side have been crowned by declaring a new era with the participation of the Syrian brothers in working on the security and

  • Syria sees peace in 2007

    Syrian Foreign Affairs Minister Walid al-Muallem on 6 November predicted that peace talks with Israel would resume in 2007. Israel 'must understand that war does not resolve anything', he said at a press conference with his Norwegian counterpart Jonas Gahr Stoere. 'If they are planning to start a war in 2007, we, for our part, believe the peace process will be relaunched in 2007.'Muallem called on Tel Aviv to listen to Israeli voices calling for renewed peace efforts. 'Sin

  • Tabreed cools Etihad

    The local National Central Cooling Company (Tabreed) has been awarded a contract to provide cooling services for the Etihad Towers development in Al-Bateen. The contract calls for 12,500 tonnes of refrigeration, which will be provided by Tabreed's Baynoona plant.

  • Talks start on Mesaieed power finance

    Selected banks have begun preliminary discussions on joining the financing of the Mesaieed independent power project (IPP). Calyon is providing bank support to Marubeni Corporation, which received a letter of commitment in mid-October. Royal Bank of Scotland is advising the client Qatar General Electricity & Water Corporation (Kahramaa), Qatar Petroleum and Qatar Electricity & Water Company which is taking the lead in determining the debt structure.

  • Tamouh plans university

    Local real estate developer Tamouh Investments is considering plans for two new developments in Abu Dhabi. The first, known as University City, involves the construction of four university campuses and service accommodation on a nine-kilometre-long tract of land close to Abu Dhabi International Airport. The second project, known as Yasmine, involves the construction of a mangrove resort off Abu Dhabi island alongside the East road (MEED 15:9:06).

  • Tangier storage on horizon

    A consortium led by the UAE's Horizon Terminals and including Kuwait's Independent Petroleum Group and the local Afriquia SMDC on 8 November signed with Tangier Mediterranean Special Agency a 25-year concession to develop and operate the 110-metre-long hydrocarbons terminal on the TangMed port project. Phase 1, valued at $66 million, involves the construction of 300,000 cubic metres of oil storage capacity (MEED 2:6:06).

  • Tap opened on water work

    The Ministry of Energy (Electricity & Water) has invited 14 local contractors to submit bids by 9 January for a major water distribution contract between the Doha west power and desalination plant and the Doha water storage and distribution complex nearby. Evaluation of bids will take about three months, with an award due by the end of the first quarter.

  • Tebodin takes charge of Ruwais seawater

    Abu Dhabi Oil Refining Company (Takreer) has awarded Tebodin of the Netherlands the contract to provide project management consultancy services for a major expansion of the seawater cooling system at Ruwais. Tebodin beat off competition from Mott MacDonald of the UK, Germany's Fichtner, Australia's WorleyParsons and the US/Canadian VECO for the 30-month contract (MEED 22:9:06).

  • Tech park gets go-ahead

    Kuwait Finance House-Bahrain (KFH-Bahrain) has signed a memorandum of understanding with the Economic Development Board (EDB) to establish a $1,000 million science and technology park in the south of the main island, close to the Durrat al-Bahrain resort, which KFH-Bahrain is also developing. The EDB will work with KFH-Bahrain to attract investment to the two-square-kilometre zone. The project will be implemented in three phases, starting with infrastructure and followed by the development of sc

  • Tecom tower planned

    Local property developer Asam Investments & Real Estate plans to build a AED 450 million ($123 million) office tower. The Grosvenor Business tower will be located in the Dubai Technology e-Commerce & Media Free Zone (Tecom) area between the fourth and fifth interchanges on Sheikh Zayed road. Completion is scheduled for April 2008. The local Arch Group is the consultant.

  • Tehran launches contest for new dams

    The Energy Ministry has issued engineering, procurement and construction tenders for two major storage and irrigation dams to be built in Ardabil province in northwest Iran and Kohgilu & Boyer Ahmad province in the southwest. A third, much smaller storage dam project has also been tendered in Golestan province in the northeast. All three projects are open to local contractors or joint ventures in which the local partner has the majority stake. Contractors are due to be selected by March 2007.

  • Tehran tenders steel plants

    National Iranian Steel Company (Nisco) has invited foreign and local contractors to prequalify by 6 December to build up to three new iron and steel plants. Each of the projects will involve installing direct reduction capacity of 800,000 tonnes a year (t/y) and sponge iron material handling, stacking and reclamation capacity of 1.2 million t/y.

  • Tehran turns on waterworks

    Tehran has begun the tendering process on its $1,000 million programme to upgrade water and wastewater facilities across the country. The programme kicked off in early November with the launch of the prequalification process for projects to design and build water and sewerage networks in Ahwaz and Shiraz.The Shiraz and Ahwaz projects involve construction and rehabilitation of water networks, development of a wastewater treatment plant, construction of new pipelines, water reservoirs and

  • Tel Aviv approves more operations in Gaza

    The Israeli security cabinet on 22 November approved renewed incursions and 'targeted killings' in Gaza. Tanks rolled into the Palestinian territory shortly after the decision. Reports said two Hamas gunmen were killed in clashes. The army says the new operations are aimed at ending Palestinian rocket fire into Israel. A day earlier, a Palestinian missile killed a man in the Israeli town of Sderot. This is the second death caused by rockets from Gaza in a week (

  • Tel Aviv approves more operations in Gaza

    The Israeli security cabinet on 22 November approved renewed incursions and 'targeted killings' in Gaza. Tanks rolled into the Palestinian territory shortly after the decision. Reports said two Hamas gunmen were killed in clashes. The army says the new operations are aimed at ending Palestinian rocket fire into Israel. A day earlier, a Palestinian missile killed a man in the Israeli town of Sderot. This is the second death caused by rockets from Gaza in a week (

  • Telco buys more Djezzy

    Egypt's Orascom Telecom (OT) has raised its stake in Orascom Telecom Algeria (Djezzy) to 95.6 per cent through the acquisition of a 7.9 per cent share held by Emirates International Investment Company for $399 million. OT chairman and chief executive officer Naguib Sawiris said that the deal formed part of a broader strategy to buy out minority shareholders in its key overseas subsidiaries. The purchase will be funded through internal cashflow and by some of the proceeds of a $2,500 million, fiv

  • Telecom Egypt links continents

    Telecom Egypt (TE) has announced that it has signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) to roll out a $520 million submarine telecoms cable with the UAE's Emirates Telecommunications Corporation (Etisalat), Saudi Telecom, Telecom Italia Sparkle and India's VSNL. The cable will link countries across the Middle East and Europe with India, including the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Italy and France. Completion of the cable, which will provide interconnection facilities, is expected by mid-2008 with

  • Telecoms: Emergency call

    With the Paris donor conference fast approaching, Beirut is pinning its hopes on the sale of its two mobile phone licences. A successful auction would, it hopes, prove its commitment to reform to lenders. But the government's approach to the sale and its past record in the sector are likely to come under close scrutiny.

  • Ten local firms invited to bid for Subiya water tanks

    The Ministry of Energy (Electricity & Water) has invited 10 local contractors to submit bids by 24 December for a contract to build three new water tanks at the Subiya water storage and distribution complex. The scheme is part of the Subiya water transmission system which will distribute potable water from the Subiya desalination complex to Kuwait City.

  • Terminal deal in doubt

    The government and Dubai Ports International (DPI) remain in negotiations over the 35-year concession to operate Aden Container Terminal (ACT), with inclusion of the adjacent Aden Free Zone in the contract in doubt.

  • Terminal deal in doubt

    The government and Dubai Ports International (DPI) remain in negotiations over the 35-year concession to operate Aden Container Terminal (ACT), with inclusion of the adjacent Aden Free Zone in the contract in doubt.

  • Thinking the unthinkable about Arabian aviation

    Speaking at MEED's Abu Dhabi conference on 13 November, Abu Dhabi Airports Company chairman Khalifa al-Mazrouie unveiled the design of the passenger terminal to be built at the new Abu Dhabi International Airport. It will be the first in the world to be built in an X-shape to reduce the time it takes passengers to travel from check-in to the boarding gate.

  • Three aim for refinery work

    Three banks have been shortlisted for the financial advisory mandate on the merger of Oman Refinery Company (ORC) with Sohar Refinery Company (SRC). The selected institution will also advise on the refinancing of the company's outstanding debt of some $1,400 million.

  • Three aim for refinery work

    Three banks have been shortlisted for the financial advisory mandate on the merger of Oman Refinery Company (ORC) with Sohar Refinery Company (SRC). The selected institution will also advise on the refinancing of the company's outstanding debt of some $1,400 million.Citigroup and HSBC are among the frontrunners, with an award expected imminently. SRC's outstanding debt, taken out in 2003 to fund the refinery's construction, comprises a $261.6 tranche covered by Nippon Export Credit Agenc

  • Three chase Abu Dhabi

    At least three companies are preparing to submit bids by 15 November to Abu Dhabi Gas Industries Company (Gasco) for package 1 on the offshore associated gas (OAG) project. The prospective bidders are Paris-based Technip, India's Larsen & Toubro and the local Dodsal. The estimated $500 million-600 million contract involves the supply and installation of compressor and booster stations on Das island (MEED 8:9:06).

  • Three firms bid for Abu Dhabi gas project

    Three companies submitted commercial bids on 19 November to Abu Dhabi Gas Liquefaction Company (Adgas) for package 1 on the offshore associated gas (OAG) project. Bidders for the $650 million contract are Paris-based Technip, the local Dodsal and India's Larsen & Toubro. The contract involves the supply and installation of compressor and booster stations on Das island (MEED 10:11:06).

  • Three firms list in Dubai

    The local United Kaipara Dairies Company was listed on the Dubai Financial Market on 31 October, becoming the 43rd firm to join the exchange. On the Dubai International Financial Exchange (DIFX), National Bank of Dubai listed its recent $500 million, 10-year subordinated debt instrument and South African mining firm Gold Fields also staged a secondary listing of shares (MEED 27:10:06).

  • Three in for Dubai chamber

    The Dubai Chamber of Commerce & Industry (DCCI) has prequalified at least three companies on its second Deira building complex project. The prequalifiers are the local ALEC, the local/UK Al-Naboodah Laing O'Rourke and the local/UK Dutco Balfour Beatty (MEED 8:9:06).

  • Three killed in Algeria

    Incidents linked to militant Islamist groups left three people, including two soldiers, dead, according to media reports on 2 November. The soldiers were killed by a bomb explosion near the north-eastern city of Skikda. A second bomb seriously injured a civilian near Boumerdes, 50 kilometres from Algiers. An Islamist was shot dead by security forces at Menaceur, near Tipaza. The attacks have been blamed on the Salafist Group for Preaching and Combat (GSPC), which was respo

  • Three killed in truck bomb blasts

    Three people were killed and more than 20 injured in bomb attacks on police stations in two northern towns in the early hours of 30 October.Vehicle bombs were detonated in near-simultaneous attacks in the eastern Algiers suburb of Dergana and the town of Reghaia, 20 miles east of the capital. The attacks are reported to have been carried out by Islamist insurgents.The incidence of such attacks has fallen in recent years following the civil war of the 1990s,

  • Tokyo deals new blow to Iran projects market

    Japan Bank for International Co-operation (JBIC) has announced that it will issue no loans for Iranian projects until the international dispute over Iran's nuclear programme is resolved. Far Eastern and European banks have been unwilling to finance Iranian projects in the hydrocarbons and industry sectors for more than a year, partly because of increased political risk.

  • Trans-Maghreb gas pipeline moves ahead

    Tunis and Tripoli are preparing to tender an estimated $250 million contract to design and build a 266-kilometre-long gas pipeline to supply Libyan gas to Tunisia. Tunisian-Libyan Gas Transportation Company (Joint Gas) a 50:50 joint venture of Libya's National Oil Corporation (NOC) and Tunisia's Societe Tunisienne de l'Electricite et du Gaz is expected to launch in January the tender process for at least one engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) contract to build the pipeline.

  • TRANSPORT: Full to overflowing

    Kuwait's transport infrastructure is buckling under the strain of coping with five years of rampant growth. Its ageing road network is becoming increasingly congested as the number of vehicles and car trips multiply. Kuwait International Airport (KIA) is fast approaching full handling capacity. And the public bus and taxi system is struggling to cope with the unprecedented demand on their services.

  • Tripoli reforms public sector

    Tripoli will accelerate its structural reform programme in early 2007 with the establishment of a new holding company to restructure the country's state-owned enterprises. To be headed by Planning Minister Abdulhafez Zlitni, the Libyan Institution for Investment (LII) will be responsible for managing and restructuring state enterprises such as the Fund for Africa and the Economic and Social Development Fund. However, despite recommendations from the International Monetary Fund (IMF), banks wi

  • Tripoli reforms public sector

    Tripoli will accelerate its structural reform programme in early 2007 with the establishment of a new holding company to restructure the country's state-owned enterprises. To be headed by Planning Minister Abdulhafez Zlitni, the Libyan Institution for Investment (LII) will be responsible for managing and restructuring state enterprises such as the Fund for Africa and the Economic and Social Development Fund. However, despite recommendations from the International Monetary Fund (IMF), banks will

  • Turks bid low for pipeline

    Turkey's STFA is the low bidder for the engineering, procurement and construction contract to replace a main oil line (MOL) near Qarn Alam. Its offer of about $76 million is 10 per cent lower than the next price of $84 million submitted by China's Sinopec. Turkey's Tekfen has priced the contract at about $90 million. Called the Hubara-Sahmah and Sahmah-KP 114 MOL, the scheme covers the installation of 102 kilometres of 32-36-inch-diameter pipeline and a 114-kilometre, 28-inch pipeline. The cl

  • Turks complete road designs

    Istanbul-based Protek Proje has completed the final designs for the construction of a major road linking Irbil with Dohuk and Ibrahim al-Khalil on the Turkish border. The estimated $800 million scheme centres on the construction of a 182-kilometre dual carriageway, 40 bridges and culverts. Construction will take three years and be completed in four phases.The road will cut the journey from Irbil to Zakho from 4 hours to about 1.5 hours. The client is Directorate of Roads & Bridges for th

  • Two bid for Mesaieed gas

    Australia's WorleyParsons and Mustang Engineering of the US submitted revised commercial bids in early November to Qatar Petroleum (QP) for the front-end engineering and design contract covering its proposed gas sweetening integrated project at Mesaieed. An award is due by year-end. The plant will have capacity to process about 750 million cubic feet a day of gas, which will primarily be used as feedstock for new petrochemicals capacity planned at Mesaieed (MEED 3:11:06).

  • Two killed in fresh Gaza operations

    Israeli forces conducting raids in northern Gaza killed two Palestinians on 23 November. The new operations came a day after Israel's security cabinet approved new attacks, but not a full-blown new offensive.Israel launched a military operation in the Gaza Strip after Palestinian militants kidnapped an Israeli soldier in a cross-border raid. Exiled Hamas political leader Khaled Meshaal arrived in Cairo to discuss efforts by Cairo to mediate a prisoner exchange.

  • Two killed in Israeli raid in Gaza

    Two Palestinians, including an elderly woman, were killed during Israeli operations against militants in the Gaza Strip on 21 November. Clashes broke out as armoured vehicles entered the Zeitoun area of Gaza City. Israeli forces stormed the home of Wael Hassanin, a Hamas leader, and shot him dead. The military said more operations were under way in Jabaliya refugee camp and Beit Lahiya. Palestinian militants responded by firing a missile into Sderot. The rocket landed only

  • Two killed in Israeli raid in Gaza

    Two Palestinians, including an elderly woman, were killed during Israeli operations against militants in the Gaza Strip on 21 November. Clashes broke out as armoured vehicles entered the Zeitoun area of Gaza City. Israeli forces stormed the home of Wael Hassanin, a Hamas leader, and shot him dead. The military said more operations were under way in Jabaliya refugee camp and Beit Lahiya. Palestinian militants responded by firing a missile into Sde

  • UAE

    Tender no CE/468/2006. Supply of 11-kV, SF6 insulated ring main units. Bid bond is 5 per cent of tender price.

  • UAE

    Tender no CE/404/2006. Supply of electric house service meters and current transformers. Bid bond is 5 per cent of tender price.

  • UAE

    Tender no CE/288/2006. Supply, installation, testing and commissioning of 14 new 132/11-kV substations and carrying out associated 132-kV cable laying works. Bid bond is 5 per cent of tender price.

  • UAE

    Tender no CE/402/2006. Supply of 1,000-kVA pocket substations. Bid bond is 5 per cent of tender price.

  • UAE

    Tender no CE/396/2006. Supply of mineral oil filled distribution transformers. Bid bond is 5 per cent of tender price.

  • UAE

    Tender no CE/390/2006. Supply of chemicals including antiscalant, antifoam, hydrochloric acid, sodium hydroxide, limestone, ferrous sulphate, trisodium phosphate, ammonia, hydrazine hydrate, eliminox, sodium sulphite, sodium chlorite, acid inhibitor, kurilex, polycrin, superfloc, zok, rochem, turboklenz and sponge rubber balls. Bid bond is 5 per cent of tender price.

  • UAE

    Tender no CE/156/2006. Supply of tetra radio sets. Bid bond is 5 per cent of tender price.

  • UAE banks enter Sudan

    National Bank of Abu Dhabi (NBAD) plans to establish operations in Sudan and open six branches by 2008. The bank has appointed a regional manager, Mahgoub Hassan Shabo, who established the corporate banking group at NBAD in 1996. NBAD joins a number of UAE banks with operations in Sudan. Dubai Islamic Bank (DIB) holds a 55 per cent stake in Bank of Khartoum, while Abu Dhabi Islamic Bank, DIB and Sharjah Islamic Bank are shareholders in Emirates & Sudan Bank, which was launched last year (MEED 20

  • UAE begins oil production cuts

    The UAE on 1 November began cutting oil production by 101,000 barrels a day (b/d), Abu Dhabi National Oil Company head Yousef Omair bin Yousef told the local Al-Itihad newspaper. The move is part of an OPEC deal to cut supply by 1.2 million b/d.UAE Energy Minister Mohammed bin Dhaen al-Hamli said it was too soon to tell whether the cartel of oil producing countries would move to further reduce supply when it meets in Nigeria in December. 'We will decide when we get there,'

  • UAE dismisses workers' rights report

    The UAE on 13 November challenged a report published a day earlier by the US-based Human Rights Watch (HRW) group, accusing the country of failing to stop the abuse of foreign workers. Local lawyers and members of non-governmental organisations accused the report of making 'imbalanced recommendations' and 'sensational arguments', UAE-based Gulf News reported. The report entitled 'Building Towers, Cheating Workers' was based on interviews with 60 workers employed by construction

  • UAE to protect foreign labour

    UAE Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid al-Maktoum on 7 November said measures should be instituted to protect the rights of foreign workers. The reforms include setting up a labour court, the adoption of a health insurance system to cover all employees and the creation of a watchdog to monitor labour conditions. He also ordered the creation of a mechanism to ensure that workers receive their wages on time. Sheikh Mohammed called on Labour Minister Ali bin Abdullah a

  • UAE to protect foreign labour

    UAE Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid al-Maktoum on 7 November said measures should be instituted to protect the rights of foreign workers. The reforms include setting up a labour court, the adoption of a health insurance system to cover all employees and the creation of a watchdog to monitor labour conditions. He also ordered the creation of a mechanism to ensure that workers receive their wages on time. Sheikh Mohammed called on Labour

  • UK aims to be a centre for sukuks

    The UK government is working to equalise the tax treatment of Islamic and conventional bonds to encourage the development of London as a global centre for sharia-compliant finance, Ed Balls, economic secretary to the Treasury, told the Commonwealth, Middle East and North Africa Business Forum in London on 30 October.'Now that 85 per cent of all bonds issued in the GCC are sukuks, it is important that London is in a position to compete,' he said. 'Due to the transparent structure of the S

  • UK could hand Basra over to Iraqis

    UK Foreign Secretary Margaret Beckett on 22 November said UK troops could hand control of Basra over to Iraqi forces within several months. 'The progress of our operation in Basra gives us confidence we may be able to achieve transition in the province at some point next spring.' However, she stressed that leaving prematurely could only make the situation worse.Four British troops were killed and three more were wounded in a bomb attack on their boat in the Shatt al-Arab

  • UK could hand Basra over to Iraqis

    UK Foreign Secretary Margaret Beckett on 22 November said UK troops could hand control of Basra over to Iraqi forces within several months. 'The progress of our operation in Basra gives us confidence we may be able to achieve transition in the province at some point next spring.' However, she stressed that leaving prematurely could only make the situation worse.Four British troops were killed and three more were wounded in a bomb attack on their

  • UK firm wins masterplan

    The UK's Llewelyn Davies Yeang (LDY) is understood to have been awarded the masterplan contract for the city of Naseriya, about 225 kilometres southeast of Baghdad. Under the contract, LDY is preparing a comprehensive plan for the entire urban area to identify future growth needs and development areas. The client is the Municipalities & Public Works Ministry.

  • UK investors home in on $4bn Sulaimaniya scheme

    UK-based Anglo-Kurdistan (AK) is in final stages of securing approvals for a proposed $4,000 million housing programme across Sulaimaniyah governorate. The contract was initially signed in June with the Kurdish regional government (KRG), but has been held up following the passing of a new investment law for the area.

  • UK launches Syria diplomacy

    UK government officials on 1 November confirmed that Prime Minister Tony Blair has launched a diplomatic initiative aimed at ending Syria's international isolation. Officials confirmed a meeting between Blair's most senior foreign policy adviser and Syria's President Asad on 30 October. The visit by Sir Nigel Sheinwald marks the highest-level exchange between the two countries since the US-led invasion of Iraq in 2003. The UK has denied that the move signifies a major change in policy to

  • UK lawyers advise Tripoli

    The UK's Law Society of England & Wales is advising Tripoli on legislative reform as part of a joint project between London and Tripoli. As part of its legislative review, the Law Society will recommend changes to banking law, corporate and company law and dispute resolution procedure. A report of the findings will be presented on 11 December.

  • UK MPs reject Iraq inquiry

    The UK's House of Commons (parliament) on 31 October voted against an immediate inquiry into the Iraq war. The motion, which was put forward by the Scottish National Party and the Welsh Plaid Cymru, was opposed by a majority of 25 MPs despite support from 12 Labour MPs. 'The issue at heart is far bigger than party politics - it's about accountability, it's about the monumental catastrophe of the Iraq war - the worst foreign policy disaster certainly since Suez, possibly si

  • UK, US lay out conditions for engaging with Iraq neighbours

    London and Washington have said they will not change their stance towards Syria and Iran and involve them in efforts to stabilise Iraq. In a foreign policy speech on 13 November, UK Prime Minister Tony Blair called on Tehran to 'stop supporting terrorism' in the region or risk isolation.Blair accused Iran of using 'pressure points' in Iraq, Lebanon and the Palestinian Territories to derail Western efforts to curb its nuclear ambitions. 'We offer Iran a clear strategic choi

  • UK, US lay out conditions for engaging with Iraq neighbours

    London and Washington have said they will not change their stance towards Syria and Iran and involve them in efforts to stabilise Iraq. In a foreign policy speech on 13 November, UK Prime Minister Tony Blair called on Tehran to 'stop supporting terrorism' in the region or risk isolation.Blair accused Iran of using 'pressure points' in Iraq, Lebanon and the Palestinian Territories to derail Western efforts to curb its nuclear ambitions. 'We offer

  • UN delivers Hariri tribunal draft

    The UN on 10 November handed Lebanon a draft document outlining the framework of a tribunal which will try suspects in the assassination of former Lebanese prime minister Rafiq Hariri. Officials did not reveal details of the draft, which must now be approved by the Lebanese government and passed into law by parliament. Hariri was assassinated by a suicide truck bomb on 14 February 2005. The UN investigation has implicated senior Lebanese and Syrian officials in the attack.

  • UN delivers Hariri tribunal draft

    The UN on 10 November handed Lebanon a draft document outlining the framework of a tribunal which will try suspects in the assassination of former Lebanese prime minister Rafiq Hariri. Officials did not reveal details of the draft, which must now be approved by the Lebanese government and passed into law by parliament. Hariri was assassinated by a suicide truck bomb on 14 February 2005. The UN investigation has implicated senior Lebanese and Syri

  • US accuses Syria, Iran of Lebanon plot

    The US on 1 November accused Damascus, Tehran and Hezbollah of plotting to overthrow the government of Lebanese Prime Minister Fouad Siniora. The White House said it was 'increasingly concerned by mounting evidence that the Syrian and Iranian governments, Hezbollah and their Lebanese allies are preparing plans to topple Lebanon's democratically elected government'. The statement further claimed that Syria would seek to prevent the Lebanese government from setting up an international trib

  • US aids coastline clean-up

    Washington has signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the Environment Ministry to provide assistance on the oil clean-up operation along the country's northern coastline following the recent military attacks by Israel.

  • US Elections: American mid-terms offer hope for a new Middle East

    US elections are setting the scene for two challenging years as the region’s key players vie for influence in the White House. Observers should be prepared for something big...

  • US firms compete for transmission study

    State-owned National Electric Power Company (Nepco) is evaluating five proposals from US companies for the contract to carry out a feasibility study that will look into decreasing the transmission loss in the kingdom's power distribution lines.

  • US in $1,500 million sale to Saudi Arabia

    The US Department of Defence on 14 November informed Congress of a possible $1,500 million sale of new or refurbished F15 fighter jet engines to Saudi Arabia. The proposal is reported to include engines produced by the US' General Electric (GE) and Pratt & Whitney. Saudi Arabia 'is considering re-enginning its 70 F15S aircraft, or undertaking a massive recovery plan of the current engines, or a combination of both,' the Defence Security & Cooperation Agency said.

  • US policy is a joke, says Khatami

    Former Iranian President Khatami has criticised US policy on Afghanistan and Iraq during his visit to the UK. Speaking at the London-based think-thank Chatham House, Khatami said the Islamic republic was supporting the establishment of strong governments in both countries, but that their neighbours - not 'foreign alien forces' - should be responsible for the handling of security issues. 'This has been a terrible idea,' Khatami said. 'You know the Americans are suffering, a

  • US still committed to Iraq, says ambassador

    US ambassador to Iraq Zalmay Khalilzad on 8 November said President Bush remains committed to Iraq and will work with Democrats to achieve success in the country. The announcement comes after the Democratic Party won a majority in the US House of Representatives. 'Americans are prepared to continue to support Iraq as Iraqis take the needed steps,' Khalilzad said.Seeking to assure Iraqi leaders that the Democratic win would not result in a hasty American pullout, Khalilzad

  • US still committed to Iraq, says ambassador

    US ambassador to Iraq Zalmay Khalilzad on 8 November said President Bush remains committed to Iraq and will work with Democrats to achieve success in the country. The announcement comes after the Democratic Party won a majority in the US House of Representatives. 'Americans are prepared to continue to support Iraq as Iraqis take the needed steps,' Khalilzad said.Seeking to assure Iraqi leaders that the Democratic win would not result in a hasty A

  • US troops should stay for three years, says Talabani

    Iraqi President Talabani on 2 November said US troops should remain in Iraq for three more years, allowing local authorities to strengthen their own security forces in the meantime. 'We need time,' Talabani said. 'Not 20 years, but time. I personally can say that two-to-three years will be enough to build up our forces and say to our American friends 'Bye bye with thanks.''Speaking at the start of a week-long visit to France, Talabani denied that Iraq was descending into c

  • Wafabank buys African

    Morocco's Attijari Wafabank, the largest bank in the Maghreb, is set to sign in November an agreement to purchase from private shareholders a 66.7 per cent stake in Banque Senegalo-Tunisienne (BST). Created in 1986 by the Tunisian and Senegalese governments, BST was restructured in 1999, giving private Senegalese investors a 92.7 per cent stake, with the balance held by Societe Tunisienne de Banque. BST has 12 branches, all in Senegal. The acquisition is aimed at accelerating Attijari Wafabank's

  • Washington denies that Cheney is in Iraq

    The office of US Vice-President Dick Cheney on 23 November dismissed reports that he is in Iraq celebrating Thanksgiving with US troops. The visit was reported by Iraqi state television and other Arabic news channels. A spokesperson for Cheney denied that the vice-president was on a surprise trip. 'That is not true,' Megan McGinn told Reuters news agency. 'He is not there.' Asked whether Cheney was due to arrive, she said: 'Not to my knowledge.'Cheney will t

  • Waste project for Dubai

    National Projects Holding, a subsidiary of Kuwait's National Real Estate, plans to build a AED 550 million ($150 million) recycling park at Dubai Industrial City. Known as Dubai Recycling Park, the project involves establishing up to a dozen recycling plants that will handle waste. Tatweer, part of Dubai Holding, is developing Dubai Industrial City (MEED 29:9:06).

  • Woodside strikes gas

    Australia's Woodside Energy has made a new gas discovery in block NC 210 in the Murzuq basin. Preliminary tests to depths of 1,961 feet showed gas flowed at more than 20 million cubic feet a day. This is the third find by Woodside in the block, which runs along the Algerian border.

  • WORLD ENERGY OUTLOOK: A bleak future

    Energy security is high on the international political agenda once more. The US worries about oil dependence on volatile and increasingly hostile states in the Middle East. Europeans fear reliance on Russian gas. And China is on a desperate hunt for long-term energy partners to ensure its heady economic growth can continue unconstrained. So the 7 November launch of the 2006 edition of World Energy Outlook (WEO), the International Energy Agency's (IEA's) flagship publication, met a particularly r

  • World has forgotten rights abuse in Iran, says Ebadi

    The nuclear standoff between Tehran and the West has overshadowed human rights abuses in Iran, Nobel Peace Prize Winner Shirin Ebadi said in an interview published on 24 November in the French newspaper Les Echos. 'For the past two years, the whole world has forgotten human rights in Iran,' said the lawyer who won the Nobel prize in 2003. Fearing for its own security, the international community has turned away from the problem of human rights in Iran to concentrate on the nuclear progra

  • WorleyParsons nets Jubail job

    Australia's WorleyParsons has been awarded the front-end engineering and design and programme management contract for the third phase of the Jubail petrochemicals complex planned by Saudi International Petrochemical Company (Sipchem). The company will also provide some engineering, procurement and construction management services (MEED 21:7:06). WorleyParsons'first task will be to complete afeasibility study and prepare a budget estimate.

  • YEMEN

    Contract no GIDA-3/PWP3. Project no P082976. Supply and installation of school furniture as part of the third public works project. Financed by the International Development Association. Bid bond is $7,500.Details on payment of YR 10,000 from National Co-ordination Unit, Saeed Abdo Ahmed Ahmed, Project Manager, PO Box 18361, Sanaa, 18316, telephone (967) 407354/8, fax (967) 407353, email pwp-yem@y.net.ye.

  • yemen

    Tender no 1/2006. Project no P076183. Provision of a management information system, including hardware and software, for Sanaa and Aden universities as part of the IT sector's higher education development project. Financed by the International Development Association. Bid bond is 2.5 per cent of tender price.

  • Yemen conference calls for funds

    Donors meeting at an international conference in London on 15 November are seeking to raise up to $5000 million in aid for Yemen. The new funds will be channelled towards fighting poverty in the country, the poorest in the Middle East.The UK has already pledged $220 million in aid over the next four years. The additional funds will be used for the provision of better basic services, including education for girls, maternal healthcare and job creation. 'Eight

  • Yemen conference calls for funds

    Donors meeting at an international conference in London on 15 November are seeking to raise up to $5000 million in aid for Yemen. The new funds will be channelled towards fighting poverty in the country, the poorest in the Middle East.The UK has already pledged $220 million in aid over the next four years. The additional funds will be used for the provision of better basic services, including education for girls, maternal healthcare and job creat

  • YEMEN LNG: Striking a balance

    Little more than a year after the final investment decision by shareholders, construction of the greenfield Yemen LNG (YLNG) liquefied natural gas (LNG) project is more than a third complete. Such haste is understandable. Sales are scheduled to start in 2008 while the world LNG market is unprecedentedly buoyant. But the speed of execution is striking for a project that has been on the drawing board since 1992.

  • Zabeel buys into property

    The local Zabeel Investments has acquired a stake in Asteco Development Management , the real estate development division of local property services company Asteco . Asteco is working with Zabeel Investments on the AED 2,100 million ($571 million) Tiara Residence project on Palm Jumeirah (MEED 1:9:06).

  • Zadco gets ready for Upper Zakum main oil line project

    Zakum Development Company (Zadco) has invited companies to express interest by 23 November for an engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) contract covering the replacement of a crude oil pipeline in offshore Abu Dhabi (MEED 23:6:06).

  • Zayed mosque cooled

    The local National Central Cooling Company (Tabreed) has secured contracts in Abu Dhabi to provide a total of 57,000 tonnes of refrigeration. The contracts cover the Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan al-Nahyan Mosque (the grand mosque), a mixed-use development comprising five blocks for the local Al-Hamid Group, a commercial and residential building for the local Dhabi Enterprises Establishment and a new building for Abu Dhabi Retirement Pension & Benefits Funds (MEED 6:10:06).

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