Saudi Arabia's El-SeifEngineering & Contracting Companyis co-ordinating design and engineering work for a 31-storey residential high rise and a nine-storey building to contain shopping malls and restaurants. The company is planning to award two contracts, the first for excavation and piling work on the 7,100-square-metre site and the second for construction of the towers, by the end of November. Construction work will begin in December and be completed within 30 months.

Mezzanine floors in the smaller building will connect the Marina Towers complex with the neighbouring Four Seasons hotel. Construction of the hotel began in early October. El-Seif is overseeing work on both projects, which will look out onto the northern end of Beirut's recently completed marina. Saudi Arabia's Kingdom Holding Companyis the client on the estimated $250 million hotel project, and is understood to be interested in acquiring space in the Marina Towers complex as well (MEED 24:8:01).

Civil works for the Beirut marina, including quays and a breakwater, were completed at the beginning of the year. The marina is run on a 50-year concession by Lebanon's largest private company, Solidere, which has sold land next to the Marina Towers to Athens-based Consolidated Contractors International Company (CCC). According to industry sources, CCC has prepared designs for a similar high-rise development, but has still to take practical steps to start construction activities on the site.