The largest contract award in April was secured by South Korea’s Hanwha Engineering & Construction. The $2.12bn contract is for the construction of infrastructure at the Bismayah New City project in Iraq.

Infrastructure for the new city including over 300 schools and hospitals, together with police stations, fire stations, roads and water and sewage systems.

The contract adds to a larger $8bn deal won by Hanwha Group build 100,000 residential units at the 18.3 square kilometre city in 2012. When completed in 2019 it is expected to house over 600,000 residents.

The second largest deal awarded in April was won by El-Seif Engineering Contracting. The Saudi contract was awarded an estimated $1.4bn contract to build an Interior Ministry housing development in Saudi Arabia. The housing complex will contain 2,800 villas and will be located in the Najran province, which is located close to the Yemeni border in the south west of the kingdom.

The only other contract awarded in April worth more than $500m was won by Indonesia’s MedcoEnergi and its local Omani partners for the ongoing development of the Karim Small Fields (KSF) project in Oman.

Awarded by Petroleum Development Oman (PDO), the deal builds on the original 10-year contract MedcoEnergi signed in 2006 and extends the agreement until 2040.

MedcoEnergi is the operator of KSF and holds a 51 per cent stake in the fields, with the remaining share held by Kuwait Energy Company, two local partners and Oman Oil Company Exploration & Production (OOCEP).